A Thanksgiving Hodgepodge....

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite family holiday; so, yeah, I'll do this week's hodgepodge. Click the link to find the party!

1. Talking turkey...are you cooking the turkey this year? Does ham belong on a Thanksgiving day menu? When it comes to gravy do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it altogether, or land somewhere in between? Cranberries-homemade or jelled right out of the can? Do you look forward more to the main course, the savory sides, or the desserts? 

We have a set menu that changes not from year to year, lol. My grandmother's method for slow-roasting a turkey (done the day before), also her (yankee style...no cornbread) dressing; mashed potatoes and gravy,  my mother's candied sweet potatoes, my mother-in-law's green bean casserole, corn I brought back from the August trip to Indiana and put in the freezer, my Aunt Judy's apple salad, plus a cheese tray, a relish tray, yeast rolls (my other grandma's recipe if I'm ambitious, Sister Shubert's if I'm not), and...don't judge me...Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce.  Sometime after dinner has digested enough, we'll cut the pies...pumpkin (The Princess is doing that this year) and my aunt Ruth's pecan pie.  And I have to say...the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  It's a package deal and I look forward to the full plate.

2.Holiday movies...tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs? 

We always watch 'Miracle on 34th Street'...the original black and white version...while we eat our pie; it's a great transition since it starts with (an actual...they really filmed a parade!) Macy's parade.  The whole family rattles off the dialogue and it gets quoted year 'round.  But my FAVORITE Christmas movie, hands down, is 'A Muppet Christmas Carol'. I love the Christmas Carol story...have since I was a kid...but the Muppets just add a whole 'nuther level.  And, except for the fact that Scrooge goes to Bob Cratchet's on Christmas day in the finale, it is one of the most faithful-to-the-text renditions.  And, y'all might not notice, but the costuming is superb. (If you are curious, Abby Cox has a whole video pointing out the details in a true fangirl style).  Another movie that we all recite the dialog in real time and quote throughout the year. So. Much. Fun.  The holiday isn't complete until we eat pizza and watch  it.

3. A favorite way to give back and help others?

Church theater. Sounds kinda 'not helping' ...but it is my favorite ministry area.  We have a couple of showings of our Christmas production this year that are purely outreaches...tickets reserved for a particular group...and we will have food and fun along with the performance.  (We also do a number of other outreaches...this is just the one that I am the most involved in).  Dorothy Sayers, via her character Lord Peter Wimsey, points out that when people come to be entertained, the guard is lowered, and truth that would be rejected if it were just spoken can be slipped in via entertainment.

4. Name a place or setting you encountered this month that made you feel grateful. 

We had an AWESOME church service Sunday, and I was very thankful to have been there.

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday what would you do differently? 

Literally yesterday?  Or...something in the past?  I think if I had known more about...life...I would have had much less angst as a teenager.   If I had known that I would have nasty leg cramps Monday, I'd've made sure to drink more liquids the day before, lol.

6. Spill your own random thought here. 

The color has been late and sporadic this year.  Too little rain, too warm, lots of wind...trees lost their leaves before all of them changed...but we finally have a bit of color on the hill up the street.  Not as amazing as it has been in other years, but still pretty enough to know it's fall.  The heavy rain that had been predicted for Thursday is not in the forecast anymore, so mayhap this will stay around for the holiday.

Blogging Bible Study: the Heart of the Matter - Psalms, part 5 Ps. 41 - 50

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Oy.  Y'all, I am struggling with the demands of the season.  Got a bit convicted this morning about not putting a priority on the Scripture digging.  So I'm repenting and...putting it at the top of my list today, lol.

Anyway, we are cruising through the Bible on a long slow journey looking at the use of 'Heart/ Hearts' as listed in the NIV Exhaustive concordance (Zondervan, 1990), and we are now in the Psalms.

Ps. 41 is one of David's, and he is relating how his enemies...and some of his friends... have gossiped about him:

Whenever one comes to see me, he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander; then he goes out and spreads it abroad. -- Ps. 41:6; 'Heart' is Strong's H3820, which we've seen frequently.

David is describing an individual who comes and speaks kindly to him, whilst looking for dirt to spread around about the king once he leaves.  We are familiar with the idea of hiding God's word in the heart (we'll get there when we hit Ps 119) ...but it is apparent that other things can be hidden in one's heart as well.  Like details of another's hardship...which sometimes get masked as 'prayer requests'.

Of course, David's trust is in God, who vindicates him, but it is a good moment to mention...checking one's motives.

I have a notation in my Bible that Ps. 42 begins 'Book II'.  I suppose I could chase that down and learn about the structure of Psalms and all, but that's not my purpose here, so cruising on to the next mention of 'heart/hearts' brings us to Ps. 44, written by 'the sons of Korah'. This is a lament of those who do not perceive why God is letting them go through hardship.

Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path.  -- Ps. 44:18; 'Hearts' is once more H3820.

If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he know the secrets of the heart? -- Ps 44:20-21; H3820 again.

Not unlike Job, the psalmist(s?) struggles with understanding what has happened, although this is on a national, not a personal, level.  However, there is no questioning 'Why'...just a plea for God to rise up and deliver his people.  This isn't a 'God knows my heart despite my actions' situation...this is a genuine 'my heart is clear and God can see it all' mystification...but still resting on the assurance that God cares and does redeem.

Ps. 45 is another by the sons of Korah, and it is labeled  'a wedding song', extoling the qualities of the groom and the bride.

My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. -- Ps. 45:1; 'heart' is, again, H3820.  The psalmist is introducing the poem, moved in his heart by the occasion.

For a poem about love, it's kind of odd that the only other reference to heart is a verse celebrating the king's military might

Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. -- Ps. 45:5; H3820 once more.

Literally, the vital organ of the heart here;  the psalmist is declaring victory over the enemies of the king.

Psalms 46 is also written by the sons of Korah; I'm going to quote two verses for context:

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea -- Ps. 46:1-2; keeping the string going, that's H3820 again...the midst, center. A description of a true natural disaster.

Cataclysmic events should not spark fear.  Interesting and timely, given the cataclysmic events (storms, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods) that have happened of late.  The earth is groaning...which is pretty far afield from my topic but worth a mention.

One more verse today; in the 49th psalm, also from the sons of Korah.

My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. - Ps. 49:3  Batting a thousand today; that's H3820 again.

The psalmist is pretty confident that the revelation in his heart is something worth sharing.  The first two verses are actually encouraging folks to pay attention as he shares what he has seen/heard/ understood.

I suddenly feel like I have something in common with this unknown poet, lol.  Maybe he would have been a blogger...if blogging had been a thing...

A Blast from the Past...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Just a little story about my writing process...or not, lol.

Last week I had a chat with a friend who is a published author and a supporter of new writers.  Something came up in our conversation that hit a nerve and I suddenly remembered A Thing I had started writing back when my kids were small.

I gave her a quick -ish- synopsis of the story and she strongly encouraged me to pull it out and finish it.

She asked me how many words I'd written and.. I had no idea.  I was, however, pretty sure everything I've ever written was somewhere in my writing folder under my documents.  I'd been pretty careful to make sure to move stuff over.

So the next day, whilst My Sweet Babboo was on a camping trip, I sat down to the computer and pulled up the writing folder.

Nothing.

I poked around a while in some other folders.

Still nothing.

I ran searches on key words and...still nothing.

I looked on our backup drive. More nothing.

Somehow, that file didn't get transferred over to this computer.  It may not even have been on the previous one.

Rats.  Could I re-write it?  

As I was heading to bed that night, I suddenly remembered that there is a physical folder in the filing cabinet with some of my old writing in it.  Maybe...

The next day, I looked and, lo and behold, there it was.

Y'all.  That is CONTIUNOUS FEED paper from a DOT MATRIX printer.  I knew it was old, but I didn't know it was THAT old.  And the backup is apparently on that old floppy disc.  I'd written it on the very first computer we owned... a hand-me-down Apple IIc.  I suspect the files weren't compatible with the Windows machine we replaced it with.

Only about half of what I wrote is on the printout, but what is there is a hoot.

Nobody has a cell phone.  The protagonist checks her phone messages.  They rent a movie from Blockbuster.   She made coffee from those little single-serving tea-bag thingies (remember those?).

I am going to see if a local Old Computer Tech company can extract the files from the floppy disc...but, wow, there's a LOT of work that needs doing, lol. The basic plot is not affected by the time period but all those details...

Or maybe I'll just leave it set in the 90's and call it a creative choice, lol.  

But first to see if the files can be salvaged.

Blogging Bible Study: the Heart of the Matter - Psalms, Part 4; Ps. 31 - 40

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Our perusal through the scripture, looking at verses containing 'heart/ hearts' as listed in the NIV Exhaustive Concordance brings us to the last verse in Ps. 31,  another of David's,  which seems particularly appropriate at this point in time:

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.  -- Ps. 31:24  

"Heart" here is Strong's H3824, Lebab which we have seen many times.  But as best I can tell, that first phrase is translated from three words, Hazaq (Strong's 2388) amets (Strong's h553) lebab  ...strong courage heart.

Other translations phrase this such that it is GOD who strengthens the heart. "Take heart' as always seemed to be a rather odd phrase to me.  From where do I take this?  What specifically am I taking?  I've always just sort of read that as 'receive strength and courage from God' anyway, so for it to be translated along those lines makes sense.     

Next up is the last verse in Ps. 32, again, written by David; I'm going to add the previous verse for context - 

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.     Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart! --Ps. 32:11

"Heart" is the other most-frequently-used word, Strong's H3820, Leb   This is a description of character...'upright in heart' ...folks who have a clear conscience and earnestly try to do the right thing.  Praising God is a natural occurrence with those folks.

No psalmist is mentioned as authoring Ps. 33; there are three verses that mention 'Heart/Hearts': 

But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. - Ps. 33:11; 'heart' is H3820 again.  This verse speaks of God's heart, not man's.  God's heart has purposes...which are fixed and eternal.

From his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth -- he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.  Ps. 33:14-15 "hearts'  is H3820 again.  The hearts of mankind, formed by God and visible to him.  

One thing that has struck me through the years...folks who are, um, lackadaisical about following the exhortation of scripture but shrug it off as too difficult or inconvenient, saying 'The Lord knows my heart."  ...don't seem to realize that yes, the Lord knows every individual's  heart.   And knows the self-deception that makes deliberate disobedience seem ok.  The Lord knows our hearts better than we do.  To me, my heart desires to do better but I struggle.  God sees the underlying rebellion that my actions manifest, despite claiming the heart wants to do better. He REALLY knows.  Which is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...recognizing that he is not fooled.  He. Knows.

In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. -- Ps. 33:21; 'Hearts' is H3020 again.  

I am reminded of the almost physical sensation of a 'rejoicing heart'...something that almost always happens when I contemplate God's goodness.

The next Psalm that mentions 'heart/ hearts' is Ps. 36...one of David's

An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:  There is no fear of God before his eyes. -- Ps. 36:1; 'Heart' is, once more, Strong's H3820.  

"Oracle" - prophetic declaration...As a writer, I can kind of identify here. The word that is fizzing around and must be written down.  David  has something burning inside and he has to express it.

Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart  -- Ps. 36: 10.  We are going to get some repetition of poetic phrases; I'm kind of surprised we haven't really had more.  "Heart" is, again, H3820, and it's a repeat of the phrase 'Upright in heart', except this time David is talking about the response of God to someone who is upright in heart. 

Psalm 37 is also one of David's:

This is one of the verses that gets quoted a LOT:

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. -- Ps 37:4; 'Heart' is H3820 again.

We tend to look at that verse and think that means God will give us whatever we want.  But there's a frequently overlooked condition that begs the question -- What does it mean to 'delight oneself in the LORD'.  Doesn't that mean that we make HIM our main desire?  Pursuing God out of the desire of the heart WILL find that desire fulfilled.  It doesn't mean if I go to church and do the stuff that God's going to give me a new car and a bigger house....

The next two verses need context so I'll include it.

The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.  But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.  -- Ps. 37: 14-15.  'Hearts' is, again, H3820, referring this time to the actual organ; basically, the attacks of the wicked will be turned back on them.  Eventually.

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart and his feet do not slip.  -- Ps. 37:30-31; H3820 again.

Again, a character description.  The heart...the source...contains God's law.  So wisdom and justice are what is spoken and the walk is solid.

Ps. 38 is a lament of David, owing to his own sin.

I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in aguish of heart.  All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.  My heart pounds, my strength fails me, even the light has gone from my eyes. -- Ps. 38:8-10; both instances of 'Heart' are H3820.

The whole psalm describes the physical and mental anguish of guilt and shame, with full acknowledgement that God sees, God knows, and God helps once confession is made.

In Ps. 39, David laments the futility of trying to keep from saying things that will cause trouble by just...not saying anything.  Didn't work.

My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue. - Ps. 39:3; 'Heart' is, once more, H3820

Oh, I know this feeling!  The bee in the bonnet that just gets louder and more bothersome until...the words come out of the mouth (or posted on social media) and, oh, then there's TROUBLE.

Seen a lot of that lately....

One more Psalm today, another of David's...

I desire to do your will, O my God; you law is within my heart. I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hid your righteousness in my heart; i speak of your faithfulness and salvation.  I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. -- Ps. 40:8-10.  'Heart' in verse 10 is H 3820 again, but the word rendered 'Heart; in verse 8 is H 4578 - me'e  - belly, bowels, heart, womb.  Guts.

He feels God's love deep in his guts, and declares it freely.  Which is so much better than spewing the long-stewed-over reaction speech that causes issues.

Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.  For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see.   They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. -- Ps. 40:11-12.; H3820 again.

Sounds like the results of sin have caught up to him and he's feeling overwhelmed; so he does the only thing he can do...he turns to God for deliverance and help.

There were a lot of verses today;  it's kind of disjointed feeling to me but there are some nuggets definitely worth pondering.  Do I truly delight myself in the Lord??? is definitely not the least of them.

Blogging Bible Study: The Heart of the Matter - Psalms, part 3, Ps. 21 - 30

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Returned from the mountains and the awesome writer's retreat and actually posting on my scheduled day! (ETA...well, I was working on it on the scheduled day, anyway...and it's still Friday in the Mountain Time zone and points west).  We are looking through the Bible at Heart/Hearts, as translated by the NIV 84, and are just chopping away at the Psalms, and we jump right into Ps. 21, one of David's.  Starting with verse 1 for context:

O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.  How great is his joy in the victories you give!  You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.  Selah.  -- Ps. 21:1-2. 'Heart' is the familiar Strong's H3820 - leb : Inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding. 

 This whole psalm is written in third person, which is an interesting literary choice.  I wonder at what point in his life David wrote this Psalm...clearly after being crowned King of all Israel, but...before the family drama with his kids?  Or after?  Has he endured the hardest parts of his life, and is still grateful, recognizing what God has really done for him?  I kind of think that would be David's attitude, regardless of when this was written.  He never really forgot what God had done for him.

At least the first bit of Ps. 22 is considered Messianic; it's a pretty fair description of crucifixion and is the Psalm Jesus references while on the cross. It is not attributed to anyone. 

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.  'Heart' is Strong's H3820 again.  

I have heard that this is a description of the physical effects of crucifixion, that it actually affects the organ.  Bones out of joint is also associated with hanging on the cross.  
But at about verse 22, the tone of the psalm changes...as is common...and in verse 26 we have 

The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him  -- may your hearts live forever!   'Hearts' here is Strong's H 3824 - lebab:  Inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.  It's also the word from which H 3820 was derived.  

When I looked up the Hebrew, I saw that the KJV translates this singular. ..'your heart shall live forever'...but, singular or plural, that seems to be the result of seeking/ praising God.

Psalm 25 is attributed to David; the notes in my Bible  subtitle it 'A plea for defense, guidance, pardon'.  In verse 17 he laments, 

The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish.  -- 'Heart' is H 2834 again.

In the verse before, we read that the psalmist is 'lonely and afflicted'; the following verse mentions 'affliction and distress'.  This is  not, primarily, stress from the outside,...in terms of circumstances, although circumstances could be a contributing factor... but interior distress...worry, regret, disappointment, grief, etc.  I think it's worth noting that he is taking his inner turmoil to God.

Psalm 26 is David kind of doing a Job...he's declaring his integrity.  In a later psalm we will see David asking God to search him in order to purify him...but in this case, he is asking God to search him to see that his heart is pure.

Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted the LORD without wavering.  Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.  -- Ps. 26:1-3; 'heart' is Strong's H3629, Kiya -kidneys, reins.  Also the mind, interior self.  

I honestly am kind of surprised that we see this word here.  Maybe my modern Western thinking is just inclined to 'pure heart' whereas the connotation in that time was 'pure guts'...both meaning the same thing in their time/place. The psalmist is blameless.  His conscience is clear.

Ps. 27 is a declaration of David's faith; three verses mention heart:

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.  Ps.27:3, "heart" is H3820

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"  Your face, LORD, I will seek. -- Ps. 27:8; 'heart' is H3820

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  Ps. 24:14; 'heart' is H3820

This whole psalm is just a joyous declaration.  These three verses are a good representation .  I will be confident, I will not fear, I will seek God's face, I will wait on him.  The combination of 'be strong' and 'wait' is very interesting.  'Be strong' usually suggests taking a course of action, but this implies that waiting is the thing that requires strength.  

I will be chewing on that one for a bit.  

Psalm 28 is another one of David's; we have two verses here:

Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts."  -  Ps. 28:3; 'Hearts' is H 3824

There are several points that could be made here, but since we're looking at hearts I will focus the attention on the description of 'the wicked, those who do evil' as people who 'speak cordially ...but harbor malice in their hearts.'  Notice...these wicked people are called out just for carrying malice towards others.  They aren't talking about it, but it's there.  And there is judgement coming for it.  

That's worth a selah to check motives, what?

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.  - Ps. 28:7, both instances of 'heart' are H3820.

This is just a happy verse.  My heart trusts in God...it leaps for joy.

The last verse for today is Ps. 30:12; David is still praising God

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.          

I was just going to conclude that this verse is continuing the praise but got pulled up by the Hebrew. The word translated 'heart' in this verse is one we haven't encountered here before... It's Strong's H3519, kabod - 'good' weight, splendor, glory... 'That my glory may sing...'

I am not entirely sure why the NIV used 'heart' here; it has a different connotation altogether.  Clothed with joy and dancing, the glory of coming out of  wailing and sackcloth does indeed sing and give thanks to God.  "My heart sings" speaks of something internal, perhaps even private; but glory, the heavy weighty kabad, is a thing that is observed from the outside...it is a testimony

Something else worth a ponder or two over the next few days.