Welcome to my "Open Window"...a place of hope, encouragement, and adventure as we journey down the road from "Closed Doors" to the new opportunities God places in our pathway. I hope you will take the time to go back and follow the trail of mixed blessings and fears, failures and triumphs from the past and side-trips in the present. Perhaps it will conjure up some of your own special memories, and be an invitation for you to share with others. I look forward to spending this time with you!
What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Sunday, January 17, 2021
Beside the Still Waters
This was the scene on Still Waters Pond early this morning, when it was about 36 degrees here in Florida. The steam was rising off of the water, and the geese were swimming to the shore where the water was probably a little bit warmer.
The photos don't do it justice, but the steam on the water was magical and mystical.
The sun was rising in the eastern sky, and there was frost on the ground around us.
What a beautiful way to start our SONday morning!
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
And then to go to church and find out that the pastor was preaching from the 23rd Psalm in addition to John 10:11-21, "The Good Shepherd"
How Great Thou Art
O LORD my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made;
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in:
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home - what joy shall fill my heart!
Then shall I bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Especially this week, when things are likely to get difficult at best, it might be a good idea to plan ahead to spend some special times away from social media and alone with the Good Shepherd. Maybe take your Bible or a hymnal and sing some favorite hymns of praise to the Lord. Maybe we each need to set aside some specific time early this week, to pray for our nation and our government, and pray for a "peaceful transition", regardless of whatever side of the political aisle we may be on. More than ever we need to draw close to the Lord and spend time alone with Him to help us through these turbulent times.
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever."
Amen.
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How Great Thou Art. This is probably my best loved hymn. My pastor and his wife sang it in my church this morning .no, we can't meet at church, but we can watch online.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been "THE DAY" for that wonderful hymn to be sung! We need so much to remember our Great Creator God, and give Him honor and praise every day. I am glad you were able to "attend church" online as well!!
DeleteOur visiting Pastor last week preached 45 minutes on just "The Lord is my Shepherd". Just those words. It was awesome, actually. I always love your photos of that lovely pond!! We didn't get quite that cold here last night! Warmer days coming, I hope. Love & hugs, Pam!
ReplyDeleteWow, I guess the Lord wants us to know about "The Lord is my Shepherd", or "The Good Shepherd". In these turbulent times we need to draw even closer to Him and listen for His voice above the din. Yes, warmer days are coming, but I hope not too hot too soon. I saw you had strawberries today. I have some in the fridge that are from Florida, and they are good. I need to make a shortcake before they go bad. But I've been eating them just the way they are. Such a nice winter treat!
DeleteBeautiful scenes from around your home. I waited until we had our soup for dinner before listening to the sermon and singing on your video. I enjoyed both very much. Thank you for sharing,
ReplyDeleteOh, I am so glad you enjoyed the message both in song and sermon. We love our pastor. He is an excellent Bible teacher/preacher, and very down to earth and personable. We are very thankful for him and his wife, who is our music leader. What kind of soup? I love soup, especially if it is homemade.
DeleteSemi homemade......potato soup using hash brown potatoes!
DeleteOh, I bet that was good. I'd like to see the recipe you use. I love potato soup.
DeleteThere is one tracie doll left do you want me to pick her up for you?i woukd be glad to! I emailed you my phone number ok
ReplyDeleteI just saw your messages! What a wonderful surprise. Now we will have to talk about the how to get it to me and the cost...what a sweet thing to do!! Thank you!!! I can't wait to see her!
DeleteI love How Great Thou Art! Psalm 23 is one of my favorites too! I learned it as a song and sang it to all my children and grand children as I rocked them. I want my first born grandson to read it when I pass on. I do plan to spend a lot of time in the word and Bible journaling this week. Enjoy your week too!
ReplyDeleteyes, I believe the 23rd Psalm is probably the most read and well known passage in Scripture, and it is so because it is so comforting. I would like that read at my funeral someday too...but I am happy to have it to live by now. And yes, staying in the Word this week is a very good idea for all of us. It's going to be a rough week, I am thinking. Pray, pray pray!
DeleteThe second stanza and chorus from "How Great Thou Art" is sung by Racer in my books, Pamela. Do you recall that? :) What a beautiful hymn! When we led the praise team at church, we would end the song, "How Great is Our God," with the chorus from this beloved hymn. Oh, how the congregants loved it! And the 23rd Psalm? Just reading it here brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. The Lord is with us, no matter what may happen in this transient world.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, my friend!
Yes, we have the Lord, our Great Shepherd, right beside us, guiding and leading us all the way. He even carries us when we get lost and go astray...no matter what, He is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us, because He IS the GOOD Shepherd, Who gave His life for His sheep. Yes, now that you mention it, I do remember Racer singing the 2nd verse, which would make sense, since they lived in the "glade"...I love that song so much...every verse has special significance to me. I am glad you enjoyed this as well.
DeleteLove the 23rd Psalm. When Mary said her Alexa didn't know it, I had to try ours. Nope. Disappointing! Yours are wonderful suggestions. All I know is, our television will be in 'off' mode for much of the time; and while I know I'll be on social media, I'm making a promise to myself not to engage.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Myra. Maybe you can teach Alexa the 23rd Psalm. She needs to know it too! :) Yes, I plan to try my best to avoid as much news as possible this week. I hope to spend time praying, taking walks in the woods and spending time with my hubby and also reading God's Word. Mostly praying for our nation to come to its senses before it is too late. Have a blessed week. We will all stand strong together.
DeleteThe weather has been chilly but that sunshine surely has felt good to this old country gal. Thank you for praying for me dear Pam and please continue too. I spent some time today reading the Word of God and working some in a Bible Study and it surely refreshed my soul. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteSpending time in God's Word is always a wonderful way to get refreshed and restored. We need all the refreshing we can get these days. Enjoy the sunshine! Yes, it is wonderful to feel the warmth of the sun even on a chilly day. It's a reminder of God's warmth and love shining down on us. Take care my friend.
Deletemy grandmother liked that song very much. Hope the end of your day was as nice as the start.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Annie. Oh yes, the end of my day was so beautiful...I posted sunset pictures last night on FB...it was amazing! Another of God's masterpieces in the skies!!
DeleteWhat a great reminder to step aside out of the chaos and simply be and relax. It's challenging when all around us is going crazy, but there's the peace that surpasses all understanding when we fix our hearts and minds on Jesus.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
That is SO true, Kim. Keep our eyes on Jesus...He will never disappoint or lead us astray. Hope you are doing well and staying warm!!
DeletePam, I have been reading, but I am doing what you gave as good advice. I knew even though we were turning the calendar page it wasn't going to be an easy month. I have tuned out the world as much as I absolutely can. I watch one news program and follow one news lady on her website. No FB, Twitter, and stuff like that. I made a very long list of things I wanted to do in the house because January is not the most fun month. I have been a busy bee on my tasks, lots of time in the Word, lots of quiet, midday walks with the dogs. I decided I couldn't do a thing about the world except pray for His people and that I wasn't going to fill my head with worry. I will be back to blogging on Jan. 31 or Feb. 1st. Enjoy your blog. We have to lift each other up!
ReplyDeleteYes, Sandy, we do have to lift each other up, and especially the more so in the coming days and weeks and years. Praying that God will help us all to rise above the fray and stay focused on Him and His wonderful love and grace. Enjoy our families, our homes, and our friends here and not let the world get us down. I am glad you are getting a lot done in this month. I wish I could say I was doing the same thing, but it seems like every day there are other things to do that take my time so that I can't get to my "projects". Little by little they will get done, but I have to stay more focused if I intend to accomplish very much. I guess that is the way it is in retirement... Have a blessed day and week and thank you for coming out of "confinement" to visit here today!
DeletePsalm 23 and How Great Thou Art are both beautiful ways to start the day, Pamela. I pray throughout the day...before I get out of bed, during breakfast, afternoon, and my favorite way is while I’m taking a bath with a candle lit (now you know my secrets!). I’m finding as I get older, the more a need to pray.
ReplyDeleteYour picture of the water are beautiful! The view must nourish your soul.
Oh, a bath with a candle sounds so divine. I have a large tub and a candle, but do I ever take the time to get in there and enjoy it? No...I think because it has been too cold lately and our tub is just a plain old tub, not a jacuzzi that has warm water jets circulating...and the water gets cold too quickly. But I think you are reminding me that a nice long hot bath just might be in order very soon. Thank you...and yes, it is a good time to pray. These days it seems as though I have a prayer on my lips all day long. We are reminded in the Bible to pray without ceasing, and I believe that I do that quite a bit. Thank you for your kind thoughts today. I hope you are having a blessed and wonderful day.
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