Presently

As I was walking on the treadmill the other morning, my Bible memory notebook was open to Psalm 116.  I love this psalm because it says how I feel:

I love the Lord because he heard my voice.  He heard my cry for mercy.  

Because he turned his ear to me I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me

I was overcome with trouble and sorrow,
Then I called on the name of the Lord:  "O Lord, save me!"
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

I found a book on the shelf that I had not read before, so pulled it down and found why people have found such hope in the psalms:  "Because these detail the heart experiences of men in fear and doubt and guilt and soul-hunger, describing how they have felt and how God has met them." (from Continuous Revival ~ The Secret of Victorious Living by Norman Grubb)

No matter how bad my circumstances, I can find rest in God.  He quiets my heart because my hope is not found in my circumstances, but in my faithful, unchanging, loving, full of grace God.

Speaking of the treadmill - I decided I wanted it upstairs.  It's pretty demotivating and depressing to exercise in the basement  with no natural light.  So one weekend when several big, strong sons-in-law were visiting, I bribed them to bring it upstairs.  That thing is a beast, heavy and bulky.  But it was accomplished and I enjoy walking on it now.  My view is so much more inspiring looking out on the lawn and nature, as well as watching traffic go by.

In addition to adding the treadmill to the front room, I decided to get rid of the futon and put in a day bed.  When the futon is made into a bed, it takes up so much of the room, there is hardly enough space to walk around.  So I've been having fun re-doing the room, ordering room darkening shades, a day bed, new bed covers.  I really like the way it turned out.  

The futon opened up

The new daybed

The day bed came in a flat box and was quite a challenge for us to put together.  But we managed it finally and were still speaking to each other afterwards!

I'm not sure what to call the room.  There are several possibilities:  the front room, the toy room, the guest room...It gets called any number of things, I guess depending on the mood of the moment.

Last Sunday Amy and Ricky and kids went to church with us, then home for lunch.  Dawn & Tommy and their girls joined us for lunch - I ordered pizza and made a salad.  Amy brought dessert.

Of course, the kids had fun playing together, then we all watched the Eagles game.  It was quite satisfying because the Eagles won.

Whose lovely feet are marring the beauty of this picture???

Earlier in the month, Andy and I took a trip to Berks County to my mother's church because they were having a special service and luncheon to honor her for being a founding member, as well as her faithful service through the years.  All my siblings were there, along with their spouses.  I'm very thankful that we all enjoy being together.  And it was good to see my Mother again because now that she's moved to the assisted living in western PA, I will probably not see her unless she comes back east.

I had been somewhat dreading the trip because our recent car journeys have been stressful.  But it really wasn't bad this time.

A favorite question I get asked nowadays is:  "How is Andy doing?"  I'm very thankful that my current answer is truthfully:  "He's feeling very well physically."  This is a blessing because a year ago, he was at his worst.  He is faithfully doing his exercises that the physical therapist recommended.  He is also riding his bike to and from church.  He seems to be tolerating and thriving from the exercise.  And maybe the medications are helping, as well.  Whatever, we're thankful.  He still is forgetful and easily confused, but it's tolerable right now.  Maybe I'm getting used to the way things are now.  We had a friend who used to say, "You get used to hanging if you hang long enough."

We continue to bask in the goodness of God. 
Lamentation 3:22-23 
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

In one of Ann Voskamp's recent devotionals, she wrote:  "Every sunrise proves the burn of his passionate heart."

If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking!  Great is his faithfulness!