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Memorize Scripture: Psalm 119:73-76

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

The last couple of stanzas of Psalm 119 have dealt with affliction. But where does this come from? That’s the topic of the tenth stanza, the one that begins with the Hebrew letter yodh. You can see the first half of this stanza in Psalm 119:73-76:

Psalm 119:73-76

The tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is yodh is the smallest of letters, and it takes just a simple stroke of the pen to form. This is probably the letter Jesus had in mind when he stated in Matthew 5:18, that “not the smallest letter, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law.” It is a small letter, and it is the letter that begins this tenth stanza of Psalm 119, but the import of this section of the psalm is by no means small. It may be one of the most significant, especially in this section that deals with affliction.

We will break this stanza into two sections in order to memorize it, but it flows together very tightly as a whole. The past few stanzas have dwelt on the topic of affliction, and have hinted at the source. But right here, the psalmist reveals the source of his affliction, and it is God himself. Look again at verse 75:

I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

God is the source of the affliction. But before we dig to deeply into that, we need to back up a bit. In the first verse of this stanza, the psalmist speaks of being made and formed. This brings to mind the passage from Jeremiah 1:5, where God states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Even more so, it brings to mind images from the creation narrative in Genesis 1 and 2, where God created the earth and everything in it.

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Coffee Break – 07.16.2018

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1790, the District of Columbia, or Washington DC, was established as the permanent seat of the United States Government. In 1926, the first underwater color photographs appeared in National Geographic magazine. The pictures had been taken near the Florida Keys. In 1935, Oklahoma City became the first city in the U.S. to install parking meters. And in 1945, the United States detonated the first atomic bomb in a test at Alamogordo, NM.

Coffee Break

Today Is National Get Out Of The Doghouse Day!
Do you need to send someone an apology?

The Best Coffee Grinders Under $100 – One of the biggest pitfalls many people make when it comes to coffee is grinding it incorrectly. Perhaps the best, or one of the best, investments you can make is to purchase a quality grinder. You’ll be surprised at how it changes things in your coffee. Here’s a guide to some of the best options.

Buying The Perfect Dress Shirt – One of the hardest things I have found is making sure I buy the most versatile wardrobe that I can. Everything needs to have a purpose, and should have more than one. But the hard part for me is dress shirts. I get tired of plain white or blue, but find that other varieties don’t work as well as they should with plenty of options. So here’s a guide to buying the perfect dress shirt.

How 16th-Century European Mapmakers Described The World’s Oceans – Describing the vast reaches of the oceans on this earth had to be a nearly impossible task for early mapmakers. This is a very interesting article.

The Subway Of Congress – Did you know that our Congressional leaders have their own subway system? It’s not big, but it’s pretty cool.

The thoughts that come often unsought, and, as it were, drop into the mind, are commonly the most valuable of any we have, and therefore should be secured, because they seldom return again.

John Locke, to Samuel Bold, May 16th, 1699
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Formula Of Deception by Carrie Stuart Parks

A Book Review for The Randleman Review

Formula of DeceptionMost of the time, I read books that create an opportunity for growth and give me things to think about. But occasionally, I feel the need to throw a fictional novel or two into the mix and simply enjoy a good story. That is what I have done for the past couple of weeks, and especially so with this book, Formula Of Deception, by Carrie Stuart Parks. I have only read a couple of her books, this one and When Death Draws Near, which I reviewed in the fall of 2016. And so far, I have enjoyed them both.

Formula Of Deception is a story set in Alaska in modern times, but with a family secret that has been lurking under the surface since World War II. Murphy Anderson is trying to survive life after the death of her twin sister, and is having trouble getting her feet underneath her. When she falls into the opportunity to use her artistic skills as a forensic artist, she stumbles upon a secret that has been buried for more than half a century.

As she discovers more and more, she falls deeper into the grip of a family determined to keep the truth hidden, and begins to question her own sanity in the process. With several plot twists and turns that will catch you off guard, the story that Murphy Anderson unravels will keep you riveted to the point that you won’t be able to put this book down.

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What Blooms From Dust by James Markert

A Book Review for The Randleman Review

What Blooms From DustRecently, I have enjoyed reading several books by a new author to me, James Markert. This week, I was able to read another of his novels, What Blooms From Dust. I really enjoyed the previous two novels from Markert, All Things Bright And Strange and The Angels’ Share. But this one was a bit different.

In the end, this one may be my favorite of them all; it just took a while to get to that point. I even considered giving up on trying to finish it, but am really glad I stuck it out.

What Blooms From Dust is a story set in the Dust Bowl era of western Oklahoma in the mid-1930s. It begins when a man named Jeremiah Goodbye escapes from prison after nearly dying in the electric chair. With the flip of a coin, he returns to his hometown in the panhandle of Oklahoma, where there are a lot of secrets, mysteries, and tensions, especially among his own family, and even the whole town.

What happens while he is there is nothing short of miraculous. And the town needs a miracle, especially after years of relentless dust storms and drought. Jeremiah learns something about his family, and the town learns something about Jeremiah, and they all learn something about love and kindness.

For the first half of What Blooms From Dust, the story plodded along at a miserable pace, and I found it extremely boring, almost to the point of giving up. But as tensions began to rise, the plot began to pick up, and by the end of the book, I was thoroughly intrigued. Again, it might just be my favorite of all his works that I have read.

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Coffee Break – 07.09.2018

Your Monday Dose Of Inspiration

On this day in history: In 1808, the leather-splitting machine was patented by Samuel Parker. In the doughnut cutter was patented by John F. Blondel. In 1877, Alexander Graham Bell, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, Thomas Sanders and Thomas Watson formed the Bell Telephone Company. In 1878, the corncob pipe was patented by Henry Tibbe. And in 1941, British cryptologists break the secret code used by the German army called the Enigma Key.

Coffee Break

Today Is National Sugar Cookie Day!
Is any cookie more iconic than the sugar cookie?

The Upside Down AeroPress Coffee Brewing Tutorial – I love the Aeropress, and if you don’t have one, you should (grab one from Amazon). But don’t use it like the directions tell you to. Your coffee will be much better if you invert it. So go get one, and then read this article for some of the best coffee you’ll ever brew.

How To Build An Interchangeable Wardrobe – One of the things that I have found to be true in my life is that I buy too many things that I don’t need or use as much as I should, especially when it comes to clothing. RMRS has a solid point when they show that a versatile wardrobe is best, for both use and budget.

Most Female And Male Occupations Since 1950 – Demographical studies intrigue me, and this study of males versus females in the workforce since 1950 is full of interesting information.

A Life In Numbers – This was an interesting little video with an excellent point at the end. However, I could live my entire life without the sports, and they forgot the coffee. Maybe it’s an even substitution…? Nah, I spend way more time than that on coffee.