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Morning Devotional...

Psalm 41

Our Lord rules the earth according to certain definite and righteous principles.  The principles are: 1) He blesses those who love Him and care for others, and 2) He curses those whose hearts are hard toward God and man.

David loves, admires and worships a God Who rules that way.  In fact he wants to be like Him - he too wants to "consider the poor."  God hears him when he prays to do so, You may remember, in fact, that David  , was called "a man after God's own heart," and as David himself puts it,  "The Lord will deliver (such a man) in time of trouble.  The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies." In other words, simply put, God delights in the man who delights in Him and in His ways.

Because David loves such a God, he also loves the people of that God as well, so of course he wants them to increase in their knowledge of Him, and he  rejoices in them when they do.  It's for that reason that  he has them repeat in song the words of this psalm as they begin their day, with the hope that, when they leave the temple, their lives, too, will be characterized by love to God and service to His people that day.

With that in mind, David sings of prayer and answered prayer - in other words a loving relationship that God sustains with those who love him and who love and serve His people.  The particular prayer that David was thinking of on this occasion was prayed in an especially perilous situation, one in which David was very, very sick.  He describes it when he says, "I said, 'Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.'"  He tells of his enemies' hatred and of their hope that he will never rise again from his sickbed - even though they had been his "own familiar friends in whom I trusted."

But David particularly wanted the people to remember that the Lord did actually answer his prayer and help him.  So he sings, "By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.  As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your Face forever!"  David would not have realized how much the Lord loved him if it had not been for just such a perilous time, a time the Lord used to open David's eyes to that love.  He does the same for us.  He often opens our own eyes to His love by means of the trouble we experience and His deliverance from it.

Next, after describing how God blessed him and answered his prayer, he finally and simply leads the people in praise to the God Who deals in such a merciful way with them.  He sings,"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!  Amen and Amen!"

How's your own relationship to God?  Does it affect your relationship to other people?  Do you love them because you love Him?  Do you "consider the poor (poor in this world's goods, poor in spirit, poor because of a lack of friends)?"  And do you feel free to call on the Lord in all your own trials?  Not that you've earned His favor by your "goodness" - but He's glorified by the work of His own Spirit within you - and you'll experience how much He loves you!  It's a happy relationship with God, a relationship you evidence by loving God and caring for His people. If this is your case, then bless your graciously loving God today!
Al Moak


Here's a hymn that reflects these thoughts.  Just click to hear the music.

Good evening everyone.  Al I will read that tomrrow morning when I am less busy.  David is one of my favourite Bible characters.  Our pastor spoke on David this AM.

Janet, Etta Sue, Al praying.

HAve a good evening everyone.

This is Vote Number 1!!
Since there were so many entries, we are voting for our top 25 favourites from the list of 98 and then we'll vote again on a new poll on Thursday.

Where is everyone today? 

This week's Non-essential, Non-thinking  Trivia



Do you mostly leave your computer on or do you turn it off every night?

1.  Do you turn off the lights every time you leave a room or leave them on knowing you'll be back in shortly?

2.  Do you turn on your oven more or your microwave?

3.  Do you leave the TV on when you're not watching it just to have some background sound/pictures?

4.  Do you like to turn music or the radio on as soon as you walk in a room?

5.  Do you have a remote for your radio/stereo system?

6.  Do you keep your cell phone on mostly or do you turn it off every night?

7.  Would you say you mostly in the summer start your car a few minutes earlier to cool it off or do you just let it cool down once you're in and driving?

8.  Would you say you mostly in the winter start your car a few minutes earlier to warm it up or do you just let it warm up once you're in and driving?

Turn it on or Turn it off


Do you mostly leave your computer on or do you turn it off every night? Turn off.  Only turn on the desktop to print something and the laptop would turn off anyway!

1.  Do you turn off the lights every time you leave a room or leave them on knowing you'll be back in shortly?  I use night lights instead of the overhead lights.

2.  Do you turn on your oven more or your microwave?  No

3.  Do you leave the TV on when you're not watching it just to have some background sound/pictures?  No

4.  Do you like to turn music or the radio on as soon as you walk in a room? Sometimes.  I like listening to music on the laptop with Bose speakers!!

5.  Do you have a remote for your radio/stereo system?  Yes, but don't use it.

6.  Do you keep your cell phone on mostly or do you turn it off every night?  Charge it at night.

7.  Would you say you mostly in the summer start your car a few minutes earlier to cool it off or do you just let it cool down once you're in and driving?  Drive and cool down.

8.  Would you say you mostly in the winter start your car a few minutes earlier to warm it up or do you just let it warm up once you're in and driving?  Drive and warm it up.

Hooray!  Bed, 11pm.  Got up, 9am.  Only up once during the night!  Praise God.  That's a first for me for about 40 years!!! 

But I am anxious to get this all off of me and then hope that I don't have to wait ages for the permanent InterStim Therapy! 

Praying for Beth and Darrell!  You hardly get home and it all starts again!

Cooler today and raining.  Looks windy also.  I need to go to Kitty's today.  They are gone and I am cat watching and getting in their mail and paper this week.  Think I will go to McD's for lunch, too! 

Turn it on or Turn it off


Do you mostly leave your computer on or do you turn it off every night?
I used to leave it on all the time just turn off the sound, now I turn it off most of the time, If I have lessons on the screen I leave it on.

1.  Do you turn off the lights every time you leave a room or leave them on knowing you'll be back in shortly?
Yes unless I forget to turn them off

2.  Do you turn on your oven more or your microwave?
Microwave

3.  Do you leave the TV on when you're not watching it just to have some background sound/pictures?
yes, sometimes

4.  Do you like to turn music or the radio on as soon as you walk in a room?
no

5.  Do you have a remote for your radio/stereo system?
yes

6.  Do you keep your cell phone on mostly or do you turn it off every night?
It is on all the time

7.  Would you say you mostly in the summer start your car a few minutes earlier to cool it off or do you just let it cool down once you're in and driving?
let it cool while I am driving

8.  Would you say you mostly in the winter start your car a few minutes earlier to warm it up or do you just let it warm up once you're in and driving?
start it earlier to warm it up.

The weather has been beautiful, we worked in the yard both weekend days.  I planted my garlic in the flower bed in front of the big plate glass windows,

Keith had blood work done last week and has to go back tomorrow to have part of it done again, his PSA was  up from 4 to 7.5 and his blood sugar was up as was his cholesterol, the cholesterol  not up too much just to 168 so that was no big deal. But he can sure use your prayers.

Happy is finally all healed up and raring to go when I say "Walk".

Do you mostly leave your computer on or do you turn it off every night?
Turn it off

1.  Do you turn off the lights every time you leave a room or leave them on knowing you'll be back in shortly?
Turn them off when leaving the room

2.  Do you turn on your oven more or your microwave? microwave

3.  Do you leave the TV on when you're not watching it just to have some background sound/pictures? Often

4.  Do you like to turn music or the radio on as soon as you walk in a room?
No ... there are not any "rooms" to walk into.

5.  Do you have a remote for your radio/stereo system?
No

6.  Do you keep your cell phone on mostly or do you turn it off every night?
Don't have a cell phone

7.  Would you say you mostly in the summer start your car a few minutes earlier to cool it off or do you just let it cool down once you're in and driving?
Let it cool down while driving

8.  Would you say you mostly in the winter start your car a few minutes earlier to warm it up or do you just let it warm up once you're in and driving?
Warm it up while driving.

Do you mostly leave your computer on or do you turn it off every night? I do a shutdown, but it turns itself back on sometime in the early AM.

1.  Do you turn off the lights every time you leave a room or leave them on knowing you'll be back in shortly?  We have all flourescent, so sometimes we leave them on.

2.  Do you turn on your oven more or your microwave? Micro.

3.  Do you leave the TV on when you're not watching it just to have some background sound/pictures? No

4.  Do you like to turn music or the radio on as soon as you walk in a room? No

5.  Do you have a remote for your radio/stereo system? No

6.  Do you keep your cell phone on mostly or do you turn it off every night? Don't have one.

7.  Would you say you mostly in the summer start your car a few minutes earlier to cool it off or do you just let it cool down once you're in and driving? Cool while driving.

8.  Would you say you mostly in the winter start your car a few minutes earlier to warm it up or do you just let it warm up once you're in and driving?  Do start it to warm it up a little.

Jane - that was a good idea using the colors.  Ya got me doing it!

Hi everyone.  A very busy but productive day.  After coffee at McDonald's and walking at the gym, I came home and installed a new handheld showerhead in the master bathroom.  Managed to spray water on the floor but wasn't too bad.  The instructions were non-existent but think I have it where there are no leaks. 

I then went to my regular Monday men's lunch.  We went to a Chinese buffet today and it was pretty good and certainly reasoable, only $5.39 plus tax.  I then stopped and bought a new door bell unit for the front door and then on to the oral surgeon's office.  I saw him and he will contact my cardiologist and then will tell me what medicine to stop taking, probably for 5 days, and they will schedule the extraction.  The visit today was $105 to talk with him and the extraction will be $300.  He said this will be a pretty tough extraction and I will probably have a 4 to 5 day recovery as it is a lower back tooth.  Not looking forward to the experience.  It has been many years since I had a tooth taken out.

I came home and installed the door bell unit on the front door so the bell works again.  There were a couple of other jobs that will have to wait until another day.

Pat left before 8 am this morning to take a good friend to the hospital where she had knee surgery.  They didn't take her to surgery until 1 pm and Pat called a little while ago and said that her friend was finally out of surgery but that it will be a couple of hours more before she will get home.  Just hope the Saturn will start for her or I will have to go and get her later this evening.

Al, thanks for the devotional for this week.  I have read all the messages but am tired tonight so will cut this short for tonight.

Feeling weary, went to have a fresh dressing on my foot today as my other came off over the weekend, felt sick when I came out the health crnter, so came home and had a sleep, just couldn.t pull myself too to have a drink of water, you know I don't think the hole in my foot due to the burn is getting any less, despite the antibiotics, and having the dressings changed every three days. A couple of weeks back I got a phone call from the health center, "We've got a priscription for some dressings for you to pick up," I thought, "I hope I'm not having to dress the wound myself." I didn't, but I do have to take them along when I go. The doctors receptionist actually tore one of the prescriptions up. Two prescriptions for dressings? Its a good job she did, I came away with three large bags of allsorts, it looked like a buying in from a supermarket, There's enough dressings to start a field hospital here, I hope they will take them back once my foot heals, chances are, once they are dispenced you can't return them.

Awww... Michael, I'm sorry you aren't feeling well.

I hope that you will start feeling better soon.  You are eating allsorts??  Those are my favorite candies!!!

We have some fun for you all.  Oldiesmann has added some new games for you to play!

http://www.christianphotographers.com/community/index.php?action=arcade

Larry, I definitely pray that the extraction  won't be as tough as predicted and that the recovery time will be much shorter.

What day is it?  I have lost another day, as was really sick all night and all day yesterday.  I think it is Tuesday now, so I am even farther behind.  I had dysentery. Ugh.  And Darrel has shingles.  Double ugh.    Prayers will be appreciated. 

I will go inquire about having the shingles shot today, as I would like to avoid getting them if possible.

I will be back later, have doctor app't and need to see about my poor sick Beth.  The home called and she is really sick.  Boy, I hate to see her have more surgery in her weakened condition......mercy, God, please, mercy!

I'm so sorry, Janet. 

Praying for you here.

I am wireless now.  I set my alarm to wake me up and went to Ivalou's for her to remove the dressing and the wires.  She said the right wire was under the skin about a foot...the left only a few inches.  It hurt worse to have all the tape removed!  Ivalou is now getting a perm...the reason for me to go over early!  Then I came home a got a shower since I have had to sponge bath since surgery! 

I got news yesterday that one of my classmates was in a freak accident Saturday.  His Mother owns a mobile home park and he and his cousin were leveling a mobile home.  A cement block turned and the mobile home fell on both of the men.  Neighbors were having a yard sale and heard the crash.  They raised the mobile home with hydraulic jacks.  The cousin got out and only has a sore chest.  Fred had stopped breathing but the paramedics revived him and Fred was taking to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by helicopter.  The died Sunday afternoon.  So sad.  I haven't seen Fred since graduation May 18, 1960!!  And the accident was a little over a half of a mile straight north of me!  We had 54 graduate in 1960...eight of them are gone now.   

Today is Euchre...then to go take care of Kitty's kitties... 

Larry, Etta Sue, Janet, Darryl.  YOu are all being prayed for.  Too many of our members are under the weather.  Know you are being prayed for.

Turn it on or Turn it off


Do you mostly leave your computer on or do you turn it off every night?  off

1.  Do you turn off the lights every time you leave a room or leave them on knowing you'll be back in shortly? off

2.  Do you turn on your oven more or your microwave?

microwave unless microwave is too small

3.  Do you leave the TV on when you're not watching it just to have some background sound/pictures? on

4.  Do you like to turn music or the radio on as soon as you walk in a room? on

5.  Do you have a remote for your radio/stereo system? no remote

6.  Do you keep your cell phone on mostly or do you turn it off every night?  on

7.  Would you say you mostly in the summer start your car a few minutes earlier to cool it off or do you just let it cool down once you're in and driving?

get in and drive
8.  Would you say you mostly in the winter start your car a few minutes earlier to warm it up or do you just let it warm up once you're in and driving? warm up

Turn it on or Turn it off


Do you mostly leave your computer on or do you turn it off every night?  I turn it off after running a scan for viruses and removing tracking cookies.

1.  Do you turn off the lights every time you leave a room or leave them on knowing you'll be back in shortly? almost always turn it off. Seems so wasteful to leave them on, since they aren't fluorescent.

2.  Do you turn on your oven more or your microwave? rarely use the oven.

3.  Do you leave the TV on when you're not watching it just to have some background sound/pictures? sometimes - primarily keep some sound going somewhere in the apartment (and in my car when driving).

4.  Do you like to turn music or the radio on as soon as you walk in a room? yes - when working at the computer, my preference is easy-listening type Christian music from Pandora.com. At night, it's public radio.

5.  Do you have a remote for your radio/stereo system? no

6.  Do you keep your cell phone on mostly or do you turn it off every night?  on and on the charger.

7.  Would you say you mostly in the summer start your car a few minutes earlier to cool it off or do you just let it cool down once you're in and driving? I start it and enjoy the warmth from the sunshine until it gets too stuffy, then I turn on the air conditioner. After all, lotsa people PAY to go into a sauna!

8.  Would you say you mostly in the winter start your car a few minutes? I start it and drive, hoping it will warm up as quickly as possible.

Larry, sorry about your tooth.  Extractions are surely no fun, but I hope it goes well, and you recover quickly.

Michael, what happened to your foot?

Pat---allsorts is a candy??? Hmmm.

I managed to go to town, get my adjustment, go ask the nurses at both the Senior Center and the County (one sent me to the other) about the shingles shot.  But next I have to call the doctor's nurse, then wait h=for her to call me back.    Then I went to see about Beth, who is feeling so bad.    By the time I got home, I was worn out, so have just had another nap.  I will be glad when I get to feeling like me again!

I will do the little quiz thing later.

Yes, Licorice Allsorts!!  My favorite candy!

Hi everyone.  

Another day seems to have sped by.  I didn't walk this morning as wanted to be here when our neighbor came up to work on the sink in the kitchen.  He took the spray hose lose and the compression cap Lowe's sold me was the wrong size.  So he hooked the hose back up so we could use the sink.  

I went to a meeting and when I got home Pat and I went to Macaroni Grill for a nice lunch.  

Then we went back to Lowe's to return the shower head I had installed yesterday, which just wasn't going to work for us, and the compression cap.  We decided to use the existing shower head, bought a new coffee pot as ours had failed a few days ago, got a smaller compression cap and some sand to redo the pavers in the back yard and came home.  

We called the neighbor again and he came up and removed the hose again and once again the cap was the wrong size.  So he put the hose back on again.  He is going to redo the pavers in the back yard and a couple of other small jobs for us.  I am glad to have someone close by that I can call upon.  

Janet, so sorry to hear of all the illness with you, Beth and Darrel.  It looks like you got home just in time.  

Thanks for the expressions of concern for my upcoming tooth extraction.  I am not worried about the tooth extraction as this too shall pass and I know the dentist will give me medication to control the pain.

Etta Sue, sorry to read of the death of your classmate.  These accidents can happen so suddenly.  Glad you are wireless now.

Michael, I can imagine the bags of dressings as our daughter had to use many dressings when she was fighting the foot infection and had an open wound.  At that time we have having to take IV antibiotics twice a day.  Hope your foot isn't too painful.

The thing is, its not painful at all, as I have no sensation in my feet up to my knees, the nurses debride the wound before they dress it, could be pretty painful, not to me.

Janet, burnt it on a very hot water bottle, very cold night, put two bottles in not realising one was at the foot of the bed, having no sensations in my feet, I must have fallen asleep with my foot on the bottle, the following morning, blisters all over the left hand side of my foot, must remember not to do that again. Licorice allsorts just don't tempt me, trouble is I don't like the coconut rings, I lke the flat ones best, and your picture of them looks just scrummy.
   Mind you going up to the health center's quite nice, I get seen by Laticia, she's Chinese, four foot nothing, has a broad Lancashire accent, what a character, bless her, she is my usual podiatrician when I go to have my feet done, anyway that's my foot at the moment. You know, whatever you do, good or bad there's always a story to be had, and there's some blessing lurking in the background. You know Bill Bryson could make a good story up (true ones) just finding a hotel room or having a coffee. Try, Notes From A Small Island.

PAt We are alike in that too.....our chioce of candy!

Hi Everyone!

Have you all peeked at the games?

http://www.christianphotographers.com/community/index.php?action=arcade

Today is the dentist.  Just cleaning and scraping!!  I hope that is all and that I don't have to return until my 6-month checkup! 

Since I am going by myself...Ivalou decided she needed a day at home...I plan to eat out, go to the grocery and then maybe go see Charlene and the little ones that she babysits for.  That is always fun!

The A/C man called and canceled today for a cleaning and maintenance on my A/C unit.  Seems it has to be above 70 degrees before checking it out.  Ivalou's A/C is the same kind as mine so she is having hers done the same afternoon...now May 6.  Hope we get a discount for doing ours the same day!  One trip!

Pat, the picture of the candy is beautiful, but I don't care at all for licorice. 

I thought I was over my problem, ate a little bit of supper, and it returned with a vengeance!  But Darrel is better, we are continuing with the apple cider vinegar treatment on him.

I must run, got to meet Beth at the hospital, see what they will be doing for her. 

I asked Darrel to cook some rice for me this morning; since we ate rice every meal for over a month, I thought it might stay put.  So far, so good. It is surprising how good plain rice can taste if you haven't been able to eat for a while!

See you later...............