I used this chapter of Psalms to open the new year in 2014 for a Karen's Korner!

As we come to celebrating our country's 250th anniversary, it talks about 'Your Holy Nation', which could be 'Any/All Nations' who Honor God!

Has God 'honored our nation' because we are 'holy'. Sort of like our lives:  not perfect but 'honoring Him' at least in spots and parts of our lives!

Psalm 145

New Life Version (NLV)

"I will praise You, my God and King. I will honor Your name forever and ever. I will honor You every day, and praise Your name forever and ever. The Lord is great and our praise to Him should be great. He is too great for anyone to understand. Families of this time will praise Your works to the families-to-come. They will tell about Your powerful acts. I will think about the shining-greatness of Your power and about Your great works. Men will speak of Your powerful acts that fill us with fear. And I will tell of Your greatness. Many words will come from their mouths about how good You are. They will sing for joy about how right You are.

"The Lord is full of loving-favor and pity, slow to anger and great in loving-kindness. The Lord is good to all. And His loving-kindness is over all His works. All Your works will give thanks to You, O Lord. And all those who belong to You will honor You. They will speak of the shining-greatness of Your holy nation, and talk of Your power. They will make Your powerful acts and the great power of Your holy nation known to the sons of men. Your holy nation is a nation that lasts forever. And Your rule lasts for all time.

"The Lord holds up all who fall. He raises up all who are brought down. The eyes of all look to You. And You give them their food at the right time. You open Your hand and fill the desire of every living thing.

"The Lord holds up all who fall. He raises.

"The Lord is right and good in all His ways, and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He will fill the desire of those who fear Him. He will also hear their cry and will save them.  The Lord takes care of all who love Him. But He will destroy all the sinful. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. And all flesh will honor His holy name forever and ever."

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Today's Max Lucado:

NO EXEMPTION FOR ANXIETY

"Anxiety is a meteor shower of what-ifs.  The sky is falling, and it’s falling disproportionately on you.  Anxiety ain’t fun!

"One would think Christians would be exempt from anxiety.  But we are not.  It’s enough to make us wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing.”  Is that what he meant?  Not exactly.  He wrote the phrase in the present active tense—implying an ongoing state.  As if to say, “Don’t let anything in life leave you perpetually breathless and in angst.”

"The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional. Could you use some calm? Of course you could.  We all could.  We all could use a word of comfort. And God is ready to give it."

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"For the wicked
have strung their bows,
drawn their arrows tight against the bowstrings,
and aimed from ambush
at the people of God.
'Law and order have collapsed,' we are told.
'What can the righteous do but flee?'

"But the Lord
is still in his holy temple;
he still watches everything that happens here on earth.
He puts the righteous
and the wicked to the test,
he hates those loving violence."
~ Psalm 11: 2 - 4 LAB
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Bible Commentary:  "When law and order collapse and we wish we could hide, remember that God is still in control. Nothing happens without His knowledge and permission. When we feel like running away---run to God. He will restore justice on the earth in His good time."

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I really liked today’s ( June 29) “Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence” by Sarah Young:
 

“As you get out of bed in the morning, be aware of My Presence with you. You may not be thinking clearly yet, but I am. Your early morning thoughts tend to be anxious ones until you get connected with Me. Invite Me into your thoughts by whispering My Name. Suddenly your day brightens and feels more user-friendly. You cannot dread a day that is vibrant with My Presence.
 
“You gain confidence through knowing that I am with you---that you face nothing alone. Anxiety stems from asking the wrong questions, ‘If such and such happens, can I handle it?’ The true question is not whether you can cope with whatever happens, but whether you and I together can handle anything that occurs. It is this you-and-I together factor that gives you confidence to face the day cheerfully.”

~ Taken from Psalm 5:3; Psalm 63:1 (NKJV); Philippians 4:13

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Got this forward from a friend on Monday. It said 'Happy Monday!"

I am sharing it with you today, so 'Happy Friday!'.

"Before you get to perusing the headlines,
take a moment to remember
that the news
you read today
might be important,
but it's not
God-of-the-universe important.
Keep the big things big,
the small things small,
and stay focused on eternity.
It changes everything."

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Compassion
means
entering the suffering of another
in order 
to lead the way out."

~ Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

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I really enjoy reading the book of Psalms. I am reading two of them each day. And since there are 150 chapters, it is going to take a few weeks to get them read!

Today's 'korner' is a couple of verses in chapter 34. I have the word ALL circled, each time it is printed. There appears to be nine of them in my version. If you have the time, read all of chapter 34!

When taking tests, if you see words like 'always', ''never', or maybe 'all'. That is a good sign the true and false question is 'false'. Except in the Bible! God's 'always', and 'never' tend to always be true.

"The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking;

He rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins.

The good man does not escape ALL troubles---he has them too.

But the Lord helps him in each and every one."

~ Psalm 34:18 - 19 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "We often wish that we could escape troubles---the pain of grief, sorrow, failure, or even the small daily frustrations that constantly wear us down. God promises to be our source of power, courage, and wisdom to help us through our problems. Sometimes He chooses to deliver us from those problems. When trouble strikes, don't get frustrated with God. Instead, thank Him for being by our side."

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Relying on God Alone

"When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout......the wall fell down flat."

~ Joshua 6:20 NKJV

"God surely gave Joshua the strangest strategy for overcoming Jericho that any general has ever been given! God told him to lead his armed men in a silent march around the outside walls of the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times. On the last lap, the priests in the army were to blow trumpets loudly and the people were to shout. Then the wall would collapse, and Joshua's army could successfully capture the city!

"God answers prayer, but sometimes the way He goes about it can incredibly confusing and unconventional, which is one reason He goes about it that way----so that our faith rests totally in Him. Then, when the answer comes, we know without a shred of doubt that it comes from Him alone and that He knows best. And we give Him all the glory."

~ Written by Anne Graham Lotz

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Yesterday was Father’s Day. We all have dads; some still here on earth with us and some have passed away.

But there is one ‘Father’ who will never leave us. And will always Love us no matter what. We can’t get tired of His reminding us! Taken from “100 Things God Loves About You” by Tama Fortner.
 

God Loves to Call You His Own
 
“See what great love the Father
Has lavished on us, that we
Should be called children of
God! And that is what we are!”

~ I John 3:1

 
“God loves you. More than just a little. More than a lot. He loves you-----lavishly. His love is not the stingy, strings-attached love of this world. It is a love that stretches beyond the stars and reaches far into eternity. Just call His name, reach out to Him------and His love will sweep into your life, scoop you up, and whisper softly over and over, ‘You are Mine,’……for you are His very own.”

 
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A 'Saturday's Karen's Korner' to make up for the Thursday that I missed!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND!!

A good chance to honor fathers everywhere! God knew what He was doing when He created fathers. Parenting is basically, a two-fisted sport. Bringing up kids takes more than one person. And dads do a good job filing that role.

As our two girls were growing up and needed some reminders how to treat one another, I can recall hearing them fighting upstairs. All Jim would do is say, "GIRLS!!" in his loud dad voice. And they would respond, "Dad, we will be good!"

And if there happens to be no dad in a family, we can add on male teachers, coaches, neighbors, church friends to that missing piece.

And there is one "DAD", who is the great equalizer and we all have:  "OUR HEAVENLY FATHER"!

Good day to refocus on The Lord's Prayer"; lots of different versions. This one is the NIV translation:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one."
~ Matthew 6:9 - 13

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