What is praying the hymn, Joyful, Joyful? Lord Hear Our Prayer.

1 Joyful, joyful, we adore You, God of glory, Lord of love; Hearts unfold like flow'rs before You, Op'ning to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day!

2 All Your works with joy surround You, Earth and heav'n reflect Your rays, Stars and angels sing around You, Center of unbroken praise; Field and forest, vale and mountain, Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea, Chanting bird and flowing fountain Praising You eternally!

Always giving and forgiving, Ever blessing, ever blest, Well-spring of the joy of living, Ocean-depth of happy rest! Loving Father, Christ our Brother, Let Your light upon us shine; Teach us how to love each other, Lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the mighty chorus, Which the morning stars began; God's own love is reigning o’er us, Joining people hand in hand. Ever singing, march we onward, Victors in the midst of strife; Joyful music leads us sunward In the triumph song of life.

Where is sunward? and How does joyful music take us there? I am praying about that today.

1 Lord we bring our hearts before you. We thank you that the sunrose so beautifully and were it not for your grace we would be down on our knees worshipping the sun as our ancestors were in their idolatry, so many years ago. We have seen the beauty of the Savior to have saved our souls and so we worship You, the One true and living God, with a simple prayer of blessing Your Holy Name and the redemption that was purposed in eternity and lived out in the perfect life of our Gracious and Merciful Savior Jesus.

2 Every part of Your creation reflects Your perfection and we attempt to imitate those perfections that You have placed all around us, but our wills are so entrenched in our own ways that we keep running to the habits of idolatry, we ask your forgiveness for that, when we do, LOrd and we ask that our daily schedules and the lives that we live would be like the earth and heaven that Praise You in their daily courses.

We pray for our relationships that are far below the beauty and perfection of the relationship that we have seen in the Trinity. We keep using our relationships for our own glory and appetites and we ask that You would place us on a course of loving as You loved.

4. We are what we are, Lord and we have only time to act out these intentions, Dear God. We pray that You would early join us to Your Church in communion with You and the Saints in Glory, that we would have time to live out these intentions upon the earth for Your glory and for our good. In Jesus Name, Amen.

We took her back, yesterday.

We know that our children don't belong to us. But we borrowed our Evvy from Chowan for the weekend. They are borrowing her from us for a while and we are borrowing her from God, along with the other wonderful loans that we have in our family.

Great weather we enjoyed, for our Wednesday through Sunday rendezvous. We had thought we would do a lot, ie. play tennis, go to the AG Store, etc.

The first night it was Ev and I, together. "Mom, can I sleep in your bed?" NOOOOOO!--Okay, it will be alright for just one night. Why?

I don't think we ever get used to being a "mommy"{representing motherhood to a bunch of people} I guess, I lived up to the challenge and let her sleep in my bed for the night. For that one moment, she was able to regress to a second grader. We went through the challenges of college freshman year and carried it together for a minute and she said can I put my side of the furniture on the floor for a minute and take a breath. Sure, said everybody else in the family. We are so glad to have you home. Our agenda was set aside and we all just watched Evvy be who Ev is to us for a brief{all too brief 5 days}.

Do you have to go back so soon?

Not a cloud was in the sky, all the way up north the 5 hour drive. Lots and lots of traffic, but no clouds were around. Last couple of times, it was an entire show of cloud stories to write about. This time we were all ears on Evvy. Dad gave a tutorial on drawing eyes. {Em felt left out of that huge gift, because she was driving} "How come Evvy gets all of the good stuff?" We're not jealous, but we could be.

From Tuesday to Sunday the trees had completely changed in color. It was glorious in color on the right and the left sides the trees were in their most beautiful reds and yellows and browns. There was a lot of variety of color and still a little green, before the dormancy of the trees that is quickly coming upon us.

Then, as we got close to the campus, the white of the cotton that annoyed us immensely, by its redundancy had become bales and bales and bales of this icky looking off-white stuff covered with tarps on the sides of the roads.

I guess, I never saw the real significance of "Eli Whitney" and the cotton-gin. I just kept saying his name over and over as we saw the seeming unending mounds of cotton that were everywhere. His name was just one of the answers to the question in Social Studies class and now it seemed that we were

FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS!

He is the Champion of Love!

I will cherish the old Rugged Cross...

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Now on the matter of the children's deportment

Duties of Parents---What a needed resource, that I found. JC Ryle....

I do not mean that you are to spoil him, but I do mean that you should let him see that you love him. Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct. Kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, forbearance, patience, sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish troubles, a readiness to take part in childish joys,— these are the cords by which a child may be led most easily,— Ryle, J.C. (2012-10-09). The Duties of Parents (p. 4). . Kindle Edition.

I found an old treasured book at Amazon.com for 99cents I bought it again. I have to remind myself to be a "Parent for Jesus". Ryle always grabs my mind's eye and brings it back to my responsibilities. I hope you will read the whole book too. it is great reading.

God's Mercies and Stronger than the Strong Man!

It is a very overcast Sunday Morning!

I can imagine that the view of the reservoir is pretty wrinkly on this overcast and nearly rainy day. It seems to be ripe for a huge torrent. The clouds and the sky are very close to the ground. We haven't heard thunder or seen any lightning yet. It seems God, doesn't mind if we sleep a bit more before the light show and thunderation. Probably, as soon as we get to church the angels will have their loud praise party.

I love being in church when it rains and thunders because the heavens seem in synchronization of our worship. Sometimes I can't tell if we are saying amen to them or them to us. I think that it is certainly the latter. The heavens always declare the glories of God. We are the ones who are choosing to praise Him on the overcast and thunderous day.

On sunny days the calm is worshiping and on tumultuous days the rhythm of the thunderclouds give us the heavenly metronome to join in. Halleluia for the privilege of worship!

OooooH! I am so glad to have found this wonderful resource for teaching little minds to know Jesus!

We had this in our home for years and years and I do hope that other young minds will have access to it.

Cries to God from a new generation! I am engaged to pray for the "Cries of my sweet young voices in sympathy" Draw us to Unity in our Praises, Lord! There is only one God!

I worship You Lord from the depths of my heart! You Alone! Polytheism set aside. Idolatries crushing. Arms of flesh set aside!

Reference(s) Found.

Psalm 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Psalm 135:7 He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. Isaiah 41:9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Isaiah 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Jeremiah 10:13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Jeremiah 51:16 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Zechariah 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

1 Samuel 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Luke 11:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

Psalm 83:1

Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. Psalm 83:2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. Psalm 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. Psalm 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. Psalm 83:5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: Psalm 83:6 The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Psalm 83:7 Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Psalm 83:8 Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah. Psalm 83:9 Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: Psalm 83:10 Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth. Psalm 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: Psalm 83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. Psalm 83:13 O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. Psalm 83:14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; Psalm 83:15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. Psalm 83:16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. Psalm 83:17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: Psalm 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.