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Morning Devotional...

Being His
C. H. Spurgeon

My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies. Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains. Song of Songs 2:16-17

Surely if there is a happy verse in the Bible it is this—"My beloved is mine, and I am his." It is so peaceful, so full of assurance, so overflowing with happiness and contentment, that it might well have been written by the same hand that penned the Twenty-third Psalm. Yet though the prospect is very bright and lovely—as fair a scene as earth can display—it is not an entirely sunlit landscape. There is a cloud in the sky, which casts a shadow over the scene. Listen: "Until the day breathes and the shadows flee."

There is a word, too, about the "cleft mountains," or "the mountains of division," and to our love, anything like division is bitterness. Beloved, this may be your present state of mind. You do not doubt your salvation, you know that Christ is yours, but you are not feasting with Him. You understand your vital interest in Him, so that you do not have a shadow of a doubt about being His and of His being yours, but still His left hand is not under your head, nor does His right hand embrace you. A shade of sadness is cast over your heart, perhaps by affliction, certainly by the temporary absence of your Lord, so that even while exclaiming, "I am his," you are forced to take to your knees and to pray, "Until the day breathes, and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved."

"Where is He?" asks the soul. And the answer comes, "He grazes among the lilies." If we would find Christ, we must get into communion with His people, we must come to the ordinances with His saints. Oh, for an evening glimpse of Him! Oh, to eat with Him tonight!

Pat, thank you for today's devotional.  The Song of Solomon is a beautiful love story and is wonderfully explored in this lesson. 

I hope - we all hope - that you're well on the way on the road to full recovery.   

Hi everyone.  It is a cool 61 degrees this morning but headed up to around 90 degrees this afternoon.  There is zero chance of rain today. 

This morning I have a 9 am appointment to get the oil changed in our Hyundai Sonata.  They said it would take about an hour and the place is only about 20 minutes from here.  Then at noon I have my Monday meeting.  That will be it for today and will stay in where it is cool the rest of the day. 

Yesterday was a wonderful day both weather wise and also at our church.  Following the service we went to a favorite place and Pat and shared a club sandwich and a serving of potato salad.  Pat had ordered this sandwich a couple of weeks ago and had to bring half of it home so we decided we could have a good lunch by splitting an order.  It was delicious.  Later in the afternoon I watched most of the golf tournament until the 6:30 news came on but checked later and found the man leading most of the day yesterday ended up with a decisive win. 

Pat, thanks you for sharing that fine devotional thought for this week.  I certainly second what Jeanne said in her post just above about the lesson and also about your health. 

Hi everyone on a bright, sunny Tuesday morning.  We are headed back to very hot weather as this afternoon we will get to 95 degrees.  I got a lot accomplished yesterday morning while it was still reasonably cool.  I did get the oil changed, then went to the Credit Union to cash some checks, got my call filled with gas and got my medical tests scheduled for mid-July.  When I got home I had a call from the chair lift company saying they had also decided we had a lemon and so will be here this morning to replace the operating parts of the chair.  Hopefully this will fix the problem and we won't have a re-occurrence of the problem. That is pretty much going to be it for today as just plan to stay inside where it is cool. 

Hi everyone.  It looks like I am writing to myself the last couple of days so will just check in here this morning and move on to a couple of other discussions on the Seniors and Friends board. 

Larry, you're not writing to yourself - I'm here reading (lurking?) every day.  I just have nothing to report most times - except sometimes to provide a real contrast to your weather.  And who wants to always be complaining? 

For instance, Monday it was 90 with high humidity and gusty winds, making it hard to breathe and making my feet swell (which they're never done before this year).  One load of laundry on the clothesline dried fast but was all I could handle for the day. 

Monday night meant sleeping with fans blowing directly on me and lots of water close at hand.  Middle of the night came a strange storm -  rain with lightning but very little thunder, and then the temperature started to fall.

Then yesterday some cooler temperatures and last night I needed a warm blanket.  Now today my outdoor thermometer says 58^o at 11:00 a.m.  The sun is shining and there is a very brisk breeze - I suppose I could get a load of laundry done if I can convince myself I have enough strength and breath.

Now aren't you glad to hear from me?   

Hi everyone.  We are starting our day already at 78 degrees and headed to 96 this afternoon.  I plan on going to coffee and then a quick stop at the Walmart Pharmacy to get the rest of the prescription on the medicine I picked up yesterday morning.  We don't have the Wisdom group at church today as the minister had to attend a meeting out-of-town.  I emptied the dishwasher this morning and watered my plants on the patio and a couple of other things and then had to sit down for awhile as was exhausted.  I have now watered the flowers on the front porch so my outside chores are done for today. 

We stayed home for our evening meal yesterday as Pat felt it was too hot to try to get out and eat.  It worked out well as Scott didn't get here until after 6:30 so we had a late dinner. 

Jeanne, thanks for letting me know you are "lurking".  However, let me assure you I find whatever you write about of interest.  Most of us don't really have much excitement in our lives so it is the mundane things that fill most of our days but that is what is going on with us.  To me it isn't what is said but just the sharing a bit of our lives that is meaningful. 

Pat  Thanks for devotions.  they are so comforting.  We all love to hear from you.

Larry:  Don has a few errands today as well and I am feeling "iffy" so will stick to laundry and moping a couple of tile floors.    I can't remember you buying a Hyundai - we have had our Toyota Venza (I call it the Edsel because it is no longer being produced.)  It is wonderful on the highway and powerful enough for our trips up the hills.  Don doesn't like the extra length as compared to our Murano though - too long for parking at times.   Tell Pat that I am working on a flannel quilt and about to use a really thin batting "Soft and Crafty Thermocollante"that the gals recommended.  *Working* is not the true word here - I am going about this in a lazy way of just a bit at a time - then, taking time to read the book club book and taking more time to visit.  My neighbor also gave me a 9 book series of her favorite author.  Nice - but where is the time? 

My call to the county on the pile of dead trees and fence which were almost fully blocking a drain was promptly (2 days) taken care of - they came with a huge trailer and 3 men. 

We had a phone call from Arizona that was not fun.  Apparently, our water has been turned off outdoors for six weeks and bushes are not looking good.  The lawn guys have a key to our house so they went in and checked everything (yes, they are wonderful Christian fellows) and said that they super soaked everything in sight and it may be alright. 

Our DIL took their little doggie to a new vet and found that she had to have 6 teeth extracted and was terribly infected - we all shed tears hearing that news.  DIL called her former vet and told him - he apologized a lot but such a shock to the poor little dog - doing super well now. 

Jeanne:  Be careful on your feet swelling.  Yes, we are always glad to "hear from you". 

Hi, friends. I'm still here at my daughter's home. I hope the doctor visit on July 1 will give me a walking boot which will allow me to go home 

When they were away for a weekend, the security system was turned on. When a friend came to take care of the dogs, he forgot to push the button to allow movement in the house. Each time I stepped away from where I was sitting, that alarm would sound. After several calls about this, they called the friend to come back over and reset the settings. Then those nuisance calls could stop. I surely was thankful they resolved the problem.

Y'all have a great day.

Ruth Ann

Hi everyone on another hot South Carolina morning.  I have finished my outside chores and plan on spending most of today inside where it is cool.  I awoke at 6:30 this morning but decided to pick up my phone and read my email and these message boards before getting up for the day.  Other than to reset the times on my watering system to earlier in the mornings I have no other definite plans and will just play it by ear. 

Yesterday morning was busy as after coffee and taking my friend back to his house I stopped at Aldi's for groceries, came home and unloaded and put them away and then Pat and I went to Chick-Fil-A for our main meal of the day.  I came home and rested for a couple of hours and that was basically it for the day.

Carol, I bought the Hyundai in 2009 and it has given me wonder service.  If I ever buy another car it may well be another Hyundai.  I got a 20 year warranty on the power train and transmission when I bought the car so unless am involved in an accident I don't foresee the need to replace it in the next 10 years.  When my second car bites the dust Pat and I have decided we will go back to having only one car.  The only day we have a conflict is on Thursday and when our current Pastor either retires or is reassigned, which is a possibility once a year, I will no longer have the Wisdom group to participate in and can always choose another day to go to coffee or will be home from that before Pat needs the car. I had a Toyota years ago that was a very good car but ended up giving it to Stacey to drive.  Our Hyundai is long and I also have a problem of getting it square into a parking slot so can relate to Don's problem.  I copied out your message for Pat and emailed it to her.

Ruth Ann, what a problem to be trapped with an alarm that sounded whenever you moved in the house.  Glad the problem was resolved while you still had your sanity. 

Ruth Ann:  I can relate to your story about setting off an alarm.  The sound is deafening.

Today, a friend called (he lost his wife this year) and he is setting up a memorial service for her.  No religion involved.  I am trying to get in touch with anyone she might have known in the area - they moved last year. 

Can anyone tell me why my font size keeps on being so small unless I highlight all in a larger font?  Something has changed. 

Hi everyone, Last weekend we went up the coast to Neskowin  and took Freckles with us. We had a great time, walked on the beach, and took pictures of the house that Keith's granddfather built and where they stayed every summer as a family for vacation. The is a new owner now as Keith' father had sold the place years ago.

This morning I went to DMV to change my name and it cost me $26.50 to do that , they told me when I renew my license in 16 that it will be $40. Gee whiz, I remember when my first one was only $3.00, The guy told me it is because of all the new stuff on the license, like the barcodes and holograms.

All is well here  in the Riley household. Freckles goes to the Vet Monday to have her teeth cleaned, she had her yearly exam and vaccinations on Wednesday, the vet said she is a perfect specimen and perfectly behaved during the visit.

I go back to the ENT Tuesday for the resluts of my cT scan on my noes structure and my sinus's. He though he saw a bone spur  or something in my nose at my last appointment.

Hi, friends. Not much to report. It's good to hear from everyone. Y'all have a good day.

Ruth Ann

Hi everyone.  I am much later than usual getting to these boards.  I have been awake since 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep.  Finally I put on my headphones and started by audiobook and listened until it was time to get up.  I went early to get a haircut and decided to go ahead and get a pedicure as my big toes were bothering me and the shop opened just as I finished at the Great Clips and I didn't have to wait very long.  They were getting very busy by the time I left. 

I came home and met out new neighbors, who started moving in yesterday and are continuing today.  I also met the ladies parents who are helping them with the move and they live close by.  The new neighbors are in their mid-forties and she has a 17 year old son, who is visiting with his Dad in California right now.  It looks like they will be fine neighbors.  They also have two small dogs that apparently spend most of their time in the house.  I watered my flowers, later than I normally like to do, but didn't want them to get totally dried out.  We are expecting another 97 degree afternoon.  I will spend the rest of the day inside where it is cool. 

Carol,  nice of you to help your former neighbor by getting the word out about the memorial service.  On the size of your font it sounds like you have accidentally reduced it.  Try holding down the Control key and rolling the scroll wheel on your mouse up and down as that changes the size.  You can also hold down the Control key and hit the plus or minus on your numeric key pad. 

Marilyn, expensive name change at the DMV.  Nice you could see where your husband spent time in the summers with his family at the shore. 

Ruth Ann, hope today is a very nice day for you.

Trying the 14 pt. size type now.  It doesn't stay though and has to be changed every time. 


There is a large fire on the NW side of this state and over 300 people working on that area fighting the fire.  Hard to control because so many trees have beetle kill and are not living so it is like a lumberyard burning. 

Larry:  Sounds like nice neighbors for you and Pat.  We are blessed with great neighbors here.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone! 

Fires wiping out everything in one area and floods washing away everything in another.  Too bad we can't use the floods to drown out the fires.  But in all of it, God is in charge.

Today we're building the heat and humidity again, and tomorrow they will peak and Monday will start the down-slide again.  Nothing like variety, but we're not having those disastrous conditions, so I can't complain. 

Hi, friends, I'm excited to be able to see my son tonight. He'll be here anytime. Y'all have a great day.

Ruth Ann

Hi everyone.  It looks like we are going to get a break in the heat for today with the high only expected to get to 91.  It is expected to be to only 87 at noon, which we will appreciate after church.  I know Pat plans on eating out after church as she indicated that yesterday.  I did have a good nights sleep and have taken care of the outside chores this morning.  I am looking forward to Sunday School and church.  Today I am bringing the devotional for the Sunday School class.  This afternoon I will listen to Don's classical music program and later watch some golf as I have a quiet afternoon and evening. 

Carol, Pat asked me to let you know she had not heard of that brand of batting before but liked the guarantee on the label that she found on Amazon.  She wanted to know how you liked it for your quilt. I suppose the fires are natures way of being able to restore the forests over time although certainly hard to endure for we human and animals.  We sure can't beat good neighbors.

Jeanne, glad to read that you will have some cooler weather starting tomorrow.  Do you have much humidity in the mountains?

Ruth Ann, glad your son came to see you last evening.

Good Morning Glad to hear that everyone seems to be doing well on this fine Sunday Morning. I am almost ready for church.

Please remember my sone Roger (one of the twins) in  your prayers, he has age 4 renal Sarcoma, He had a kidney removed some years ago and the cancer has come back  100 fold. It has metastasized with 2 tumors each on liver and lin gs, 10 on  his pancreas. He is still working as he needs the insurance to pay for the treatment.

Time to start a new week HERE