Tagged: Psalm 139

O LORD, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O LORD, being thoroughly aware of it. You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me. Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee to escape your presence? If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there.… Read More

O LORD, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O LORD, being thoroughly aware of it. You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me. Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee to escape your presence?   Psalm 139:7 We are journeying verse by verse through Psalm… Read More

O LORD, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O LORD, being thoroughly aware of it. You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me. Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it. Psalm 139:6 (NET) We are journeying verse by verse through Psalm 139. To read last week’s reflection, click here. I am writing this from above the clouds… Read More

For my big bear. O LORD, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O LORD, being thoroughly aware of it. You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me.   Psalm 139:5, NET We are journeying verse by verse through Psalm 139. To read last week’s reflection, click here. I never knew how much I loved being squeezed until I had a child who could not bear it. In the… Read More

We are journeying verse by verse through Psalm 139. To read last week’s reflection, click here. O LORD, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O LORD, being thoroughly aware of it. Psalm 139: 4 I’ve seen all kinds of art in frames. In my home, there is an oil pastel of a pear, a glass, and a bottle, created by our son just before his fifth birthday, that won awards from judges who couldn’t believe… Read More

O LORD, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. Psalm 139:2   I am memorizing Psalm 139 in earnest this new year. I’ve lived between its lines since girlhood, and especially young womanhood, as I struggled to accept the embodiment of my soul in a vessel I did not love. Some portions of Psalm 139 became well-worn. Others were just filler words between the ones I needed most. In this season of life, I find myself pulling out these familiar truths like a string of family pearls, wanting to hand them down to my daughter, who is growing up in a world where it’s hard to tell… Read More

O LORD, you examine me and know me. Psalm 139:1 At the beginning of a new year, there is much unknown. We try to know all we can, but the fact is, we cannot. We have a complicated relationship with knowledge. We want to know but we are afraid to know. We long to know and be known. We dream of being known and loved despite it all. But we are afraid of examination. Knowing might be stressful. In some countries, students must go through the grueling process of interrogazione. Interrogation in English conjures up images of prisoners being grilled and even tortured until they admit the truth. In the case of students in the Italian school system, it simply means a panic-provoking, shame-inducing oral… Read More

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and… Read More

For C, with love …Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:21 I awoke to the sound of hyenas last night. In the darkness, everything seemed wild and terrifying. Anything could happen, or so I thought in the inky black of my bedroom. Are they at my window? Will they devour me? Am I safe? As my focus cut through the heavy blanket of sleep, I remembered the truth. I am in Kenya, there are many wild animals here, but I am safe. The hyenas cackled away as if my realization had them in stitches. In the dark, everything can seem wild and terrifying. Anything could happen, right? Sometimes, even God is shrouded in darkness. He who is the Light, to… Read More

  O Lord, you have searched me and known me. Psalm 139:1 Jesus sees me fully. The woman sitting on the floor in the train station is hungry. Or is she a swindler? Her dogs look fat and happy even as she intones her blessings on passersby and asks for euros to fill their water bowl. Maybe she is going without so they can survive. The boy who struggles up the stairs with two suitcases is in a panic, his glasses askew and face crinkled as the train whistles its warning. Where are his parents? Behind her perfect hair and makeup, the girl on the corner with the silver high heels is scared. The man sitting beside me on the bus is humming a chant.… Read More