Carolina lily, AT trail blaze. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory because of your steadfast love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1 It's counter-intuitive to our cultural ethos that leadership is "not about us." Yet for followers of Jesus, leadership never points to one's self. Leadership does not need pats on the back and cheering. Leadership is not … [Read more...] about Psalm 115 (Psalms on the Trail)
grace
Psalm 108 (Psalms on the Trail)
"For your steadfast love is greater than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." Psalm 108:4 Reflection: This psalm is a bit of a strange one in that it has borrowed chunks from two other psalms--- Psalm 57 and Psalm 60. So if it sounds familiar, it is. No matter. The repetition gives an opportunity to talk about chesed, the Hebrew word that is … [Read more...] about Psalm 108 (Psalms on the Trail)
Psalm 61 (Psalms on the trail)
Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call upon you as my heart grows faint.... Let me abide in your tent forever, find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Psalm 61:1-2,4 Reflection: As the AT hike progressed, my hiking buddy and I were able to put in more miles. We would often stop for supper around 4:30 or 5:00 and then hike … [Read more...] about Psalm 61 (Psalms on the trail)
Psalm 15 (Psalms on the Trail)
"O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell in your holy hill?" Psalm 15:1 Reflection: My husband warned me that posting a psalm meditation everyday would be hard. I'm two weeks into it now. He is right. It is hard to abide in the task we think God has given us to do, isn't it? I think back: at this point on the trail I had a bum knee and didn't know the half of … [Read more...] about Psalm 15 (Psalms on the Trail)
Generosity
I’ve been thinking a lot about generosity: noticing how hard it can be to find an abundance of it in our culture, wondering why it is so hard to be generous, wishing I were a more generous person, knowing I can have a hard time accepting generosity. I don’t think hikers on the Appalachian Trail are more generous than any other group of people. But somehow generosity was more … [Read more...] about Generosity