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Psalm 35:24-27

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 20, 2021
Psalm 35:24, 25 “Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God; do not let them gloat over me. Do not let them think, ‘Aha, just what we wanted!’ or say, ‘We have swallowed him up.’”
[A number of years ago, when I first wrote these comments on Psalm 35, I was involved in helping a group resolve a serious conflict. The leader, who had been confronted by his teammates on abusive leadership, maintained that he was blameless and all the rest of us, including those he asked to come in from the outside and help him, were wrong. He thought he’d “swallowed us up” as he steamrolled us with his logical arguments, not realizing that he was demonstrating exactly what his teammates objected to!
Lord, protect us from having such pride, such self-righteousness, selfish ambition and self-deception. Expose the sins of ours to us quickly so we can, unlike this leader, immediately repent, be wise and kind and avoid bringing dishonor to your name. I thank you, Lord God, for how you will help us in your wisdom which is much higher than ours: you are always firm and clear in what is best. I give you glory and honor now for what you are doing in all our lives.]
Psalm 35:26 “May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace.”
[Lord, may Satan and his hordes all be brought to shame in their attempts to bring disunity and distress. Even years later this leader I mentioned has not accepted his fault and continues to hold a bitter grudge against those who tried to help him; may he come to a true and deep repentance and thereby to a greater usefulness for you, Lord.
Thank you for leading us to forgive him as you have forgiven us. In faith I give you praise now for what you are doing through the turmoil this man has caused and what you are doing in him, for you, Lord, are good, gracious and loving.]
Psalm 35:27 “May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, ‘The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.’”
[Yes, may YOU win, Lord, vindicating your servants in the way you know is best; may you be exalted as we obey you in humility; may you be the One who is lifted up in our joy and gladness at your goodness. We can trust you in all things, knowing that you will periodically lead us through the dark valleys, down snowy paths so that you can eventually bring us out into wider, greener pastures.]
May be an image of nature, snow and tree
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 19, 2021
 
More from my autobio
 
They kept Barbara and Joshua in the hospital for three days, and I was very glad when I could finally bring them home. That evening Barbara nursed Josh and then put him into his little bed next to ours.
 
“There,” she said, “he’ll sleep for four hours now, so he’ll be up again at 1 am. We should be able to get some good sleep before the next feeding.”
 
We went to bed and quickly fell asleep. However, we were soon awakened by Josh’s crying. I looked at the clock: 11 pm. “I thought he was supposed to sleep for four hours!” I grumped. “Why is he awake so early?”
 
“I don’t know,” said Barbara.
 
“You don’t know?!!!” I said emphatically, feeling some panic. “But you’re the mother!! You’re supposed to know!”
 
“This is my first time to be a mother,” Barbara replied calmly, “I don’t know everything yet!” She got up, took Josh from his little bed and brought him into ours. As she snuggled with him, he stopped crying and was soon asleep.
 
“He was cold,” she said, “the hospital was much warmer than our bedroom is.” So she did know what to do after all! I was relieved.
 
And so we began our apprenticeship as parents, with our new son as our teacher. Barbara’s mother came the next week and spent three weeks giving us advice, some of which was useful.
 
Josh’s arrival brought out in the open a quiet conflict that had developed shortly after our wedding: arriving places on time. When getting ready for church or some other meeting, Barbara would slowly prepare herself, and as part of this would also straighten things up, puttering about taking care of household details. This often resulted in us arriving a bit late.
 
This really aggravated me; I liked to be on time, or better yet early so I could visit with some with people before the meeting started.
Now with a child added to the mix, this timing thing got worse. Since there was no margin in Barbara’s preparation, if something went wrong, like Josh filling his diaper just as we were going out of the door, there was no avoiding us being definitely late.
 
I tried everything to remedy this situation, especially on Sunday mornings. I made breakfast, I got Josh ready, I cleaned the kitchen, I got everything necessary prepared, taken out and into the car. And still we were late!
 
Finally in one of our discussions about this, a discovery came to light: we each had a different idea of what it meant to be on time! For Barbara being on time meant that we were driving into the parking lot when the second hand on the clock swept up to 12, arriving at the time the meeting was to start.
 
For me, being on time meant we arrived about 10 minutes before the scheduled start, got our coats hung up, greeted people and were in our seats when the second hand swept up to 12. And now with a child to deliver to the nursery, according to my schedule, we needed to be there at least 15 minutes before the start.
 
In the end we made an agreement: she would work to be on time by my definition if I would keep my desk more orderly. She had a point there: orderliness was not one of my strong traits. In fact her ability to organize was one of the qualities I appreciated most about her. When she approached a scene of mild chaos, things almost jumped into place by themselves! Or so it seemed.
 
I will say that over the years, Barbara has done a better job at keeping our agreement than I have. But our conflict was not yet over, because the root causes had not yet been uncovered. The Lord would reveal them in his own time.
Picture: My sister Marcia with Barbara and little Josh
May be a black-and-white image of 2 people, child, people standing and outdoors
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Rock, Salvation, High Tower

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 18, 2021
 
“Find rest my soul in God alone; my hope comes from him.”
Psalm 62:5
 
Psalm 61:1b says, “From you comes my salvation,” so why should I look elsewhere? Yet in my sinful independence, my first reaction is to look to “Egypt,” that is to other sources of help. Just as I read last night in Isaiah 30:1-2: “Woe to the obstinate children…who go down to Egypt without consulting me, who look for hope in Pharaoh’s protection, to Egypt’s shade for refuge.”
 
You, Lord God, tower over, dwarf and eclipse the micro-power of any help we can find on earth. You are the One who deserves praise, trust and obedience. My hope comes from you and you alone. Forgive me for looking elsewhere.
 
Psalm 62:2 has a trio of your qualities. You “only are my rock:” unshakable, unyielding to any force, firm, solid, enduring and trustable. When I stand in you, no tremor, no problem, no earthquake, no tragedy, no seismic shifting can shake me, for all is in your hand, all is under your power, and you never change, never alter.
 
“You only are my salvation”: no one else can save me from death, from sin, from hell, from sickness, from accidents, from eternal suffering–only you. As you stand beside me, with your great sword in your hand, no evil can come near me, no difficulty can approach without your permission, no harm can waylay me. Every weakness, hardship, insult, persecution and difficulty are a privilege, a blessing from your hand, a chance to praise, to trust, to give you glory.
 
“You only are my high tower”: you stand there, immensely tall, strong and good; you reach down, lift me up and set me up on your shoulder. There I am close to you, can hear you, can speak to you, and can see from your perspective: wider, longer, higher. No one can shake me there in this intimate, high level relationship with you–my God, my Savior, my Protector, my Brother, my King.
 
Truly, I will not be shaken when I am in Jesus, on my rock, surrounded by my salvation, up in my high tower. You, Lord Jesus, in your powerful love are worthy of worship, of glory, of unending honor for you are the Mighty Rock and Secure Refuge of the universe.
 
Prayer: “To you, Lord Jesus, be exaltation, majesty, strength, glory and praise throughout today and for all eternity. I pray today that you will help me rest in your greatness, to gaze upon your beauty, to bow before you in obedience in each choice that comes up today. May you be exalted in my heart, in my thoughts, in my actions and words. Amen.”
May be an image of nature, sky, twilight, lake and tree
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Hope

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 17, 2021
“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1
 
Growth involves motives. Knowing our motives is a significant and integral aspect of our walk with God, for then we can reject the negative and neutral motives, while affirming the positive ones. And one of our positive motives should be wanting to trust and please God.
 
This past week Romans 15:13 was my general prayer for all. It says,
“May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him
so that your life may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
 
This verse emphasizes that our responsibility is to trust this God of goodness, wisdom, power, mercy and justice. He will then give us the joy and peace He has prepared for us, plus cause an overflowing abundance of hope in our lives.
 
Such hope, of course, is not just airy, wishful thinking, but a certainty of what was accomplished at the cross and of what God will bring to pass—protection, provision, power, patience and His presence, to name a few. These promises are guaranteed with the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our lives.
 
While meditating on hope, other passages came up in my reading that show further how important it is. Colossians 1:5 speaks of the “faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven….”
 
I’d never noticed so clearly that faith and love flow from our hope. Our faith is based on the certainty of God’s character and on what God has in store for us; then as we focus on our certain hope rather than on earthly things, His love flows from God through us to others.
 
In a further insight, 1 Thessalonians 1:3 shows how this trinity of faith, hope and love should be foundational motives in all we do, especially in our service of obedience to God’s leading. It says, “We continually remember…your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” All we do should flow out of these three.
 
I’m sorry to say that faith, hope and love are many times not the motives I have; mine are more often the desire to feel good, the desire for significance, the desire for the approval and adulation of others. These verses, however, have clarified things as never before and have given a standard to measure my motives.
 
Contrary to the world’s message, the bottom line is not our performance; instead the bottom line is our hope in God, our solid trust in His powerfully faithful, gracious character—all else will flow from that.
 
Prayer: “Lord, help me to pray this verse regularly for myself and for others. Help me to live it out, trusting you by obeying what I know to be true out of the motives of faith, hope and love. Help me to do this so that hope will overflow from my life to all those around me, bringing you more glory and them more grace. Amen.”
May be an image of African daisy and nature
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 16, 2021
More from the Add-on Eskimo
 
Chapter 19 Changes
 
“Ayit, I have some news for you!” called Okfagit, “come here.”
“What is it father?”
“You are going to be married. We have picked a girl for you. She is the daughter of my cousin and her name is Tianna.”
 
For Ayit this was no big surprise, as it was the custom that one’s parents chose one’s spouse. “When can I meet her?” Ayit asked.
 
“First,” said his mother, “let us tell you why we chose her. She is a strong, healthy girl, which means she will be able to bear you many children. She is a hard worker, talented in sewing, skinning and tanning as well as cooking. She also is a quiet and obedient girl who will not give you trouble. She is a little older than you, but that is a good thing, as you will get a mature woman!”
 
“That sounds good, mother. When will I get to meet her?”
 
“At the end of the week your mother and I will go to finalize the relationship with her parents” explained Okfagit. “Then you will be able to meet her.” Ayit smiled, confident that his parents had picked wisely.
 
“Father, one more question,” added Ayit. “Does this girl, Tianna, follow the Way of Jesus? I would like a wife I can pray with.”
 
“Well,” said Okfagit, “she is not opposed, but has yet to make a decision to leave the old ways for the Jesus Way.”
Ayit looked thoughtful. Hmmm, he said to himself. When we meet, we must immediately talk about this; it is very important to me, and I hope it is to her.
 
At the end of the week Okfagit and Nisana went to talk with Tianna’s parents. Her father was one of the boat captains who had decided to follow Jesus, to become a Christian, so Okfagit thought there was a good possibility that the girl would be open to also becoming a Christian.
 
When the negotiations, including a bride price and arrangements for the groom to serve his new wife’s family for a year, were complete, they talked about when the young couple would meet. It was decided that the next day Ayit and his parents would come so their son could meet his bride.
 
When he stepped through the door of his inlaw’s house, he saw Tianna standing by the inner tent. She was shorter than him, had raven black hair and was dressed in her good parka with white artic fox ruff on the hood, which made her look exceptionally pretty.
 
They quietly acknowledged each other with a slight bow of the head and then each rubbed their own chest in greeting.
Nisana introduced them and they went into the inner tent to drink tea. All talk between them would be in the presence of their parents, but this did not intimidate Ayit who, as a hunter had learned to handle difficult situations. He also knew what he wanted to know and would draw her out.
 
After she had served them all tea, Tianna sat next to her father across from Ayit. He asked her about her family and then got to what was important for him.
 
“Your father has chosen to follow Jesus and his Way. What do you think about that?”
 
She smiled shyly and looked down. “A daughter must follow her father’s lead,” she said.
 
“What do you know about Jesus?”
“I know that Jesus is the son of Apa,” she replied. “I know that he came to the earth to live as a man, and to die to take our punishment on himself. And that he defeated the devil, death and demons by rising from the dead. Your father himself has talked about this with my father in our house, so I heard all these things.”
 
“Then have you decided to follow the Way of Jesus for yourself?”
 
“Yes,” she replied. “My father follows Jesus because your father has talked about how Jesus has helped and protected him. He says that this New Way is much better than the old. And Jesus promises eternal life for those who surrender to him. That is a very good thing which we did not have in the old way.”
 
Ayit smiled broadly and said to himself, My parents have chosen wisely. The arrangements were made for the wedding, and for Ayit to come and live with his in-laws for one year. A new period of Ayit’s life was about to begin.
Picture Eskimo girl (from internet)
Native American Woman Photo Eskimo Photograph Indigenous | Etsy
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our Lavish Lord

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 15, 2021
You, Lord, are “…slow to anger, abounding in love” (Ps. 103:8b).
 
You are patient, working with your stubborn, rebellious, obstinate creatures over long periods of time. With Abraham, you endured his fear of Pharaoh, his listening to his wife’s cultural urgings, his repeated failures; you waited and taught, taught and waited. In the end, Abraham trusted you completely, being willing to offer his only son, the promised son, and became the spiritual father of faith for us all.
 
With Jacob, you promised him all but he did not believe you. So, you patiently waited while he manipulated, twisted and turned everything to what he thought was his advantage. You gently wrestled with him through his whole life, for 137 years, and in the end, he finally bowed before you in worship.
 
You are slow to anger, your love abounds, it is immeasurable, it is ever flowing.
Praise be to you, our Great God, our Lavish Lord, the King of Kindness, Commander of Compassion, God of Grace, Lord of Love, Revealer of Reality, Provider of Patience, Teller of Truth, Redeemer of rebels—for you are worthy.
 
Prayer: “To you be glory and honor in my life today, Lord God, the compassionate, gracious and patient One. I bow before you in adoration, I rise up to obey you in love. Guide me in doing all in your wisdom and power today. Amen.”
 
May be an image of rose and nature
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Revelation

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 15, 2021
“He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel….” Psalm 103:7
 
You, Lord God, our Heavenly Father, are the God of revelation. You make known to your creatures what we cannot possibly learn from research, study or observation. You spoke to Abraham, you spoke to Jacob, you spoke to Moses and Aaron, revealing to them what was needed.
 
You revealed to them your acts, your way of thinking and judging, your way of loving and directing—and through these revelations, you showed your character. You spoke through your mighty deeds done for Israel in bringing them out of Egypt: the 10 plagues; the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night; rescuing Israel from Pharaoh by opening the Red Sea; providing manna, water, birds and protection in the desert—we stand in awe of these displays of your power and wisdom and majesty.
 
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious…” (Ps. 103:8a).
 
You are full of rich love, caring for your creatures with deep, overflowing, unending compassion. You are deeply concerned for each one and each situation. You watch, observe, protect, guide and reveal yourself to each, calling them all to drink of your grace.
 
You are the ever-giving, ever-sharing, ever-generous, ever-kind and ever-helping God. You provide air, sunshine, food, water, relationships, beauty, protection, guidance and wisdom. You generously pour out on us your goodness every day.
 
Every morning when we awake, you are there and while we sleep you watch over us. Your unending supply of all that is good never fails, you are graciousness itself and we exalt you for that.
 
Help us, Lord, to see and remember your goodness rather than complain, worry and fret. Help us to remember that you are moving history to its conclusion and taking us with you, so it’s ok!
May be an image of nature and tree
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Psalm 35:19-23

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 13, 2021
Psalm 35:19 “Let not those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; let not those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye.”
David had a lot of enemies who were jealous of his position, power, wealth and standing, people who were glad to see him in trouble. Satan has the same motives in attacking us.
We have been given eternal life,
while he is doomed to eternal death;
we have the Holy Spirit living in us, the power of the living Lord,
while he is separated from God;
we have been made heirs with Christ
while he has lost all;
and we are children of the King, members of His family, citizens of His Kingdom and partners in His great plans,
while Satan is an outcast, a loser, a reject by his own decision.
He will do whatever he can do to help us forget who we are in Christ and urges us to veer off onto our own selfish course of life and action, just as he has done himself and led Adam and Eve to do.
Psalm 35:20, 21 “They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land. They gape at me and say, “Aha! Aha! With our own eyes we have seen it.”
[Satan uses people with their lies and unjust accusations to pressure us to get our eyes off of God and onto the natural desires for safety and comfort, significance and fulfillment. And yet in Christ we already have a super abundance of each of these!
We must be carefully and consistently listen to Truth, recognizing the lies of the enemy. We can do this by daily reveling in the richness of belonging to Christ, nurturing our first love for Him, rejoicing in and delving into His powerful living Word.]
Psalm 35:22, 23 “O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord. Awake, and rise to my defense! Contend for me, my God and Lord.”
[David here makes exactly the right move: when threatened he comes immediately to God for help, seeking input from the Rock, from Truth Himself, from the Most Powerful and Wise One.
Sadly for us, prayer is usually our last resort when it should be our first response. Forgive us, Lord, for trying to do things on our own; help us to follow David’s good example, to turn first to you, our rock, and make you, “my God and Lord” our refuge right away!]
May be an image of nature and tree
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Chapter 39 Multiplying accidents and family members

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 12, 2021
From 1978
Barbara was due to deliver our baby on September 28th, her birthday. I told her that I hoped the baby came before or after so the child would have its own birthday! She didn’t agree, but since we had no control over the timing, it didn’t really matter.
 
One day when Barbara had an appointment with the doctor, I was working in the tire shop. Shortly before lunch I saw Dad walking down the lane. He looked odd and was holding one arm. I ran to meet him and saw that his face was bloody and his eyes looked strange.
 
“You’d better take me to the hospital,” he said.
 
I helped him into the car and we roared off. On the way he told me what had happened. He had cut down a tree growing on the edge of the woods. Since it had many large branches growing out towards the light, It didn’t fall completely to the ground but was resting on those out stretched branches.
 
Dad had begun cutting off the long branches so he could get to the main trunk. As He was working, the tree suddenly rolled and he was struck on the head by a branch he didn’t see coming. It hit with such force that it crushed the front of his skull, knocking him to the ground and hurting his arm. Since the bones around his eyes were broken, one eye was looking upwards and the other downwards.
 
The average person would not have survived such a serious accident but Dad was such a tough old Yankee that he didn’t even lose consciousness. Instead, he got up, shut off his chain saw and walked home in the 95 degree heat, climbing over two stone walls on the way!
 
When we got to the emergency room, the doctor called in a facial specialist. As this doctor was examining him, Dad asked him, “Are you going to have to operate on my face?”
 
“Yes, I’ll have to lift off your whole face and wire all those bones back together,” replied the doctor.
 
“Well, when you’re done will I be able to play the piano?” Dad asked.
 
“Why certainly,” said the doctor.
 
“Great,” said Dad, “I could never play it before!”
 
The doctor laughed and shook his head, “Well, we’ve got no problem with spirit here, do we?” he commented.
 
That was Dad; when others would be totally incapacitated, he was cracking jokes.
 
After getting him taken care of, I went around to the front of the hospital where Barbara’s doctor had his practice and went in to tell her about Dad’s accident. She was surprised to see me, but not surprised that Dad had had another injury. He certainly made life exciting for all of us.
 
Two of Barbara’s cousins and the fiancé of one came for a visit near the end of August. They joined in with our life on the farm and made day trips to see the sights around us.
 
They were scheduled to leave on September 26th and we planned to take them to JFK. However, at 1:30 am on the 26th Barbara woke me up and said, “The baby is coming! It’s time to go!”
 
We called my parents and made arrangements for Mom to take our guests to the airport and then we zoomed off to the hospital. The nurses put Barbara into a labor room and prepped her for the birth. I was to be in with her, so they prepped me too, handing me a gown and cap.
 
When the labor pains were close enough together, the nurse began to push the bed towards the door, saying to Barbara, “It’s time to head for the delivery room. You get a free ride there!”
 
“Oh no she doesn’t,” I said, responding automatically with my Scottish instincts, “We’re paying for every inch of it!” The nurse laughed and off we went.
 
Barbara did well, applying the training we got in the Lamaze classes we’d attended. But she has always had limited physical resources, and in the end her strength gave out, so the doctor used forceps to pull the baby out.
 
I sat at Barbara’s head, holding her hand, watching the procedures. And suddenly there was our child in the doctor’s hands. The doctor’s face lit up in a big smile as he held the baby aloft, “It’s a boy!” he shouted.
 
These were the days before ultrasound so we had not known what the baby would be. I felt a rush of gladness, although I would have been happy to have a girl, too. I wondered if the doctor was so happy with Josh’s being a boy because he’d get an extra fee for the circumcision! Those Scottish roots at work again! But I found out later that he had six daughters, so was excited for every boy he delivered!
 
After the nurse had cleaned Josh up, she brought him and placed him in Barbara’s arms. He opened his eyes and looked up at us. He had a “what are you doing in my world?” look on his face, like a little adult. And that’s what he continued to be throughout his childhood.

Picture: my sister Marcia with little josh. See how he’s looking at the world, wondering what’s going on?

May be an image of child, standing and indoor
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Psalm 103:1-3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 11, 2021
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!” Psalm 103:1 NKJV
 
You, King Jesus, the mighty Ruler, administer a Kingdom of light where blessings flow all the time. You are the One who is to be praised! Without reservation, all of my being praises you, for you are worthy of total submission, absolute surrender and whole-hearted service: you are grandly good, purely positive and persistently patient.
 
Every part of me – my mind, my will, my emotions, my spirit and my body – rejoices in you, exalts you, extols you, exults in you–for You are worthy of this and far more.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Ps. 103:2).
 
You are to be praised and lifted up for your goodness shown in how you poured out your gifts upon your enemies: you have given us eternal life, eternal comfort, eternal provision, eternal presence, eternal joy.
 
“Who forgives all your iniquities” (Ps. 103:3a);
 
there is not one unforgiven sin left in our lives—you took all our guilt, all our shame, all our condemnation, our full record of wrongs, and nullified their power to condemn us. Forgiveness sets us free, separates us from sin, superimposes your righteousness on our record. We stand in your righteousness before the great Judge who declares, “You are forgiven, enter into my joy!”
“Who redeems your life from destruction…” (Ps. 103:4a).
 
We lived in destruction, under the power of the destroyer, heading towards eternal devastation, existing only in the living death of time without you, Lord. But you bought us; you snatched us off the disassembly line moving inexorably towards the pit; you translated us into the light of your Kingdom and made us your beloved, cherished children.
 
“Who crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies.”
 
You are so kind, so lavishly loving, so gracious to us. Your gifts are many, multiple, magnificent, and marvelous. You are the God of promise, persistence and provision. We lift up your name in praise for your gorgeous heart, your glorious love, your great and good gifts. You alone are worthy of worship, all through today and every day.
 
Prayer: “May you be glorified in my life today as I live consciously in this lavish love of yours, O Lord God Almighty. Amen.”
 
May be an image of twilight, sky, nature and tree
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