The First Day of Summer: A Day of Rest and Rejoicing

It is the First Day of Summer and I have declared that today shall be a day of REST!!  I know, you are probably thinking, "it isn't Sunday or the Sabbath yet..."  But my body tells me it is to be for me a "day of rest".  We traveled last week, came home and had something to do every single day since we got home, and today is the first day that we don't have anything that we absolutely HAVE to do, so I am declaring it a day of rest!!  Besides, it is supposed to get into the high 90's today, and the humidity seems to be way above 100%, if that is possible...so it is a good day to stay indoors and try to keep cool...and rest. 

We started the day with our time of devotions... We read Psalm 97 and also Matthew 6:7-15, which included The Lord's Prayer. 

Verse 1 of Psalm 97 says:

"The Lord reigns;

Let the earth rejoice;

Let the multitude of isles be glad!"

After reading our devotions we took our morning walk, (before it got too hot)  which is a time of joy and blessing and worship for me as I thank the Lord for His beauty that surrounds us, and for His marvelous creation that He has given for us to enjoy:

 Even the ponds and lakes reflect the Glory of God  

"The heavens declare His righteousness;

and all the peoples see His glory."

Psalm 97:6

The Sand Hill Crane family was gathered together, apparently getting their breakfast....

And then this deer stepped out in front of me...

and she leaped across the road to the safety and security of the woods...

But then she stopped and waited to see what I would do...(and of course I stood there and watched her and took her picture! What else would I do?)

She seemed to want to get a better look at me...checking me out to see if I was a threat...

She actually even stepped toward me for a little closer look, and I just spoke softly to her and reassured her I meant her no harm...

She's thinking about that...

And then she turned to go further into the woods...

It wasn't until I got home and looked at my pictures up close that I noticed this deer is a mama...if you look between her legs and under her belly you will see that she is a "nursing mama"....

And then she moved on into the woods, and took one more look back at me, and I decided to go on my way and leave her alone...perhaps her fawn is hidden there in that thicket...!

I am comparing this picture below to those above....this one was taken several weeks ago in our yard, and at the time I said that I thought this deer was "with child"...and if you look at the markings on her face compared with the one above, I believe this may well be the same deer...and now I know my suspicions were correct!  So now I will definitely be on the alert to watch for the baby fawn(s) to appear.  

"Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,

and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name."

Psalm 97:12

Okay, back to my "resting" for  the day.  In honor of the First Day of Summer I had this for breakfast:

Cheerios with fresh peaches, blueberries, and strawberries on top! Yummy!!

So, how are YOU celebrating the first day of summer?

"Shout Joyfully to the Lord"

Psalm 98:4-9 "Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. sing to the Lord with the harp, with harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, For He is coming to judge the earth, with righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity."

Psalm 96: 10  "Say among the nations, 'The Lord reigns! The world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved."

You know, sometimes we just have to stop what we are doing and take time to praise the Lord!  As I was reading the above verses, one led to another...Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Psalm 97, Psalm 98, 99, 100...All Psalms of praise and thanksgiving to God.  They each  talk about the power and majesty of our God, Who is "most high above all the earth; exalted far above all gods."  (Psalm 97:9)  Verse 4-5 says that "His lightnings light the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord."
In the New Testament, Luke 19: 39-40, it says that some of the Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke the people for rejoicing at His entrance into Jerusalem, but Jesus said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out!"

How awesome is our God!  How marvelous is the Lord, Our Savior and King!  It is good to sing praises to Him...Praise lifts the broken hearted and gives comfort to the weary and weak.  When I am feeling sad,  lonely or afraid, if I start singing praises to God, whether it be in the form of a hymn, reading the Psalms, or calling out my own words of praise,  I cannot help but be lifted out of the gloom.  My focus turns from looking inward at my own struggles and problems to an outward expression of joy and thankfulness.

Do I always feel like praising God? Am I really that shallow that I can just turn off the sorrow and turn on the praise? No, I don't always feel like praising. So often my grief and pain is so deep that I don't even know how to express it adequately.  That is when this gift of praise takes control...I believe it is a gift from God to be able to praise Him in the midst of the crisis...it is not something I can do in and of myself. It often is an act of the will...I will praise Him, even when I don't feel like it. And when I deliberately set about to praise Him, something beautiful takes place.  There is a healing balm that covers my soul, causing the tears to flow where before they could not...and opens my heart to joy. That is the gift of praise...which, in turn, brings about more praise! 

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!" 

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4, 6-7

I guess I just needed to take this "praise break" today...for our God is an awesome God!!

Amen.