Claimed, gathered and sent

    "The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation" (Psalm 118:14, English Standard Version) Martin Luther's comments on this verse were helpful this morning: Note the fine, threefold summary of the psalmist: The Lord is “my Strength,” “my Song,” “my Salvation.” The first indicates that he trusts wholly and completely in God, that God does, speaks, and quickens ... everything in him; and he will not boast of his own power, ability, knowledge, wisdom, holiness, or deeds. He will be nothing; in him God will be all and do all. What a sublime song and how rare in this world! He trusts and relies on no man or prince, on none of this world’s power, wealth, friends, alliances, support, wisdom, deeds, comfort, or help. He trusts in God alone, in contrast to himself and all the world’s might, wisdom, and holiness. This is expressed even more impressively in the song: God alone shall be his strength, trust, and defiance. Next, the psalmi...

You know the old adage, "April showers bring May flowers." Well along with the showers comes mold (to which I'm especially allergic). Ray, on the other hand is allergic to most anything green that grows--grass and trees. The spring is a beautiful time of year, but we're a bit on allergy overload right now. The last couple of weeks we've had few days without rain. And just to make it interesting, there have been tornado watches and warnings! So, we are finding our energy flagging a bit from the allergies. This is at a time that although Holy Week is done, there remains much to do that requires energy. My internship winds up in June and there really isn't that much time between now and then.  So, basically, I think I may just be whining a bit, but neither Ray nor myself feel very good right now. We're not sick, but just are off the charts with allergies. So, this seems to be another reminder of my inability to do anything in my owns strength, of which the...