i love the psalms...

i love the psalms in the ot. back 25 years ago, i went through what i call my jerk time. i lived totally for myself. they were not good times in our family life. and during that time my father died and that threw me into a time of deep depression. just a side light. when you are living totally for yourself you will eventually go into depression. depression is a negative self focus.

now a good thing that came out of that and there always are good things in bad times, you just have to look for them, but a good thing that came out of that was a deep love for the psalms.

david, the writer of many of the psalms has a great way of bringing a positive out of a negative. many times he starts his psalm by being discouraged and then changes his focus from himself and what is going on around him and putting his focus on GOD.

and that was what i needed then and that is what i need now and what we all need now.

i just got back from my daily starbucks reading newspaper time. after hearing about all the negative stuff in a-rod's life and the major catastrophe that can only be avoided by passing the stimulus package or the deadly fire in australia, i needed to come home to some psalms time.

and i read psalm 10 and sure enough david started off where many of us are today, he said, GOD, are you avoiding me? a good honest question that many of us have and have a right to ask. he then goes through and talks about those who are luckless and how they feel but then comes down and says in verse 14, but YOU know all about it — the contempt, the abuse. i dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in YOU. YOU won't let them down: and then in verse 16, GOD'S grace and order wins.

GOD's grace and order wins. and because HE wins i win.

we need to keep our focus on GOD and what HE has done, what HE will do and what HE is doing right now.

just some thoughts up here on bill's front porch.