We ate (very) well

I hope everyone (who celebrates it) had a nice Christmas. We did.  We certainly ate too much, but don't a lot of people do so around the holidays?

Christmas Eve my husband played at our church's 2 Christmas Eve services, one at 3 p.m. and the second at 4:30 p.m.  We wanted something quick to put together for dinner that night so we threw this Wild Mushroom Stew in the crock pot that morning.  Easy to put together and so delicious!  We had bread with it (and of course wine).  Doesn't look real appetizing, but truly the taste was very good.  We had enough for leftovers on Sunday night and to freeze some for hubby's lunch meals.  

Christmas morning we made a Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole (though we didn't make it ahead like you could according to the recipe).  We also used ground turkey instead of pork sausage to reduce the sodium content in the recipe.  

(Just a note, any recipe that says to use salt, we omit it since we are eating no/low sodium and we try to find substitutes for other ingredients, like no salt tomato sauce, no salt beans if the recipe calls for them, etc.).

It wasn't too labor intense, but did take some time to assemble and bake.  It had to sit for 15 minutes when the casserole came out of the oven.  

Here is how it looks when it is cut.  It was really good.  We had it with small bagels and strawberry cream cheese.  

(By the way, that bag of M and M's you see on the table came from my hubby for a little sweets on Christmas Day.  They are almond M and M's.  Let's just say if you like M and M's and almonds and chocolate, don't buy a bag of them.....)

(The Penguin's name is Wally; just in case you are interested).

The breakfast casserole serves 10.  We gave some to son/wife (the kids won't eat it) and had enough for 2 more morning breakfasts.  

We made a rum cake for dessert for Christmas Night.  It is really good and moist but after eating a lot of M and M's, I didn't have any of the cake except a little nibble to see how it turned out.  (I'm usually not a big dessert eater....unless it is chocolate.....)  We gave half of the cake to son/wife (the kids won't eat it).

Christmas dinner was salmon, twice baked potatoes, and crab/shrimp stuffed portabella mushrooms.  No formal recipe used; just how hubby wanted to prepare the dishes.  And wine, of course.  (Usually my dessert is wine, unless there is chocolate in the house).  

(I don't keep chocolate in the house except around Christmas and maybe a few other times during the year, but not often....)

We were in the kitchen a lot cooking/baking on Christmas.  Poor Winslow.  He had to keep an eye on us so he didn't get his usual naps.  He was one tired pup! 

All in all, it was a fun holiday season.  Now we are off to 2022! 

May you all have a Very Happy New Year!

When you got to go, but you don't want to go

So, it rained on Christmas Eve.  Really rained.  Like pouring down rain for hours (literally).  We had huge puddles in the backyard.....

and a corgi that had to take care of business, if you get my drift.

A reluctant corgi.......

You want me to go out there??  I don't think so......

My husband coaxed him out on the lawn.  There, Winslow decided maybe he wanted to play ball, but......

He eventually took care of business.  (This was shortly afterwards, lol).  

The things we do for our pets! 

Cards

Hubby and me for the past several years haven't really exchanged gifts at Christmas (mainly because we pretty much get anything we want during the year and we don't really want too much extra clutter at this stage in our lives), but one thing we do is exchange cards.  Sometimes we'll buy candy or a little treat for each other and last year we each picked out a bottle of wine as a gift for the other.  The caveat was it had to be a wine we hadn't had before and we had to say why we chose that particular wine.  We drank one bottle for Christmas dinner and the other bottle for New Year's Eve dinner. 

But anyway, back to cards.  We've been together 42 Christmases and married for 41 Christmases and we have exchanged a card every year.  We don't keep the cards after the season.  We usually keep the cards to the next holiday or birthday.  So we'll keep Christmas cards now to Valentine's Day, get rid of them then, then Valentine's Day to Easter and so on.  

Tonight I stopped after work to get his card.  I waited a little too late in the season to have a big choice of cards, so there wasn't a lot of options to choose from.  However, I did find a nice one and purchased it, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking "I've given him this card before."  Of course I have no way of really knowing that for sure since we don't keep the cards and I doubt he'll remember.  Maybe I'll need to take a picture of the card in the future as a reference.  

Do you keep your cards you have exchanged?  Have you felt that you received or gave a card previously given?  

Merry Christmas from Winslow and me! May you all have a wonderful time however you are celebrating!!! 

They just make it too easy!

By they, I mean Amazon, especially Amazon Prime.  I know it is "eating alive" the mom and pop stores and it is making tons of money off all of us, but it is so incredibly easy to order off it and I have not (yet) gotten an order that was wrong.  And if I got something I wanted to return, returns are so very easy.  

I can listen to music, watch movies, shows, etc at work as long as of course I'm using head phones/ear buds, whatever.  Lately, I've been watching movies on Amazon Prime for free.  They aren't recent ones, some are their own movies made by Amazon, but they have been interesting for the most part and I've enjoyed all I have seen.  

I just found out that you can even get to read books  through Amazon Prime for free; some are recently released ones.  I downloaded a couple to read.  Haven't gotten into them yet, but will do so shortly.  I have been trying to read during my lunch break rather than scrolling through Facebook.  

By far the best thing about Amazon Prime is how convenient the shopping is.  A few weeks back at work they were doing a toy drive for the Salvation Army's Forgotten Angel (that's when someone takes a tag from an angel tree and doesn't bring back the tag/gift, so they have other toys there they can substitute so the child gets one).  My hubby and I usually do something for the "less fortunate" at Christmas and we hadn't thought of what to do this year before I saw the toy drive so we decided to participate in it.  They had suggested toys, breaking up kids into four age groups; baby to 2 years old, 3-5 years old, 6-8 years old, and 9-12 years old.  We decided to get a gift from each age group, so four toys.  We were going to go to Target or Wal-Mart to shop for them, but I said "let's look on Amazon."  Within 30 minutes, we had picked out four toys, ordered them, and because we spent over $35.00, we got same day delivery! We ordered them at 9 a.m. and by 4 p.m. that afternoon they arrived! I do know we have several distribution centers here in the Phoenix area.  It was funny because I got the notice that one of the packages had come (shipped in 2 different ones) right before my hubby was going to leave to go to play at church on the worship team for Saturday night service.  So he got that one for me.  After he left, Winslow and me went out to the backyard.  I sat down and started scrolling through my phone and saw that the other package had been delivered, like 2 minutes after the first one had come.  Amazing customer service I thought! 

You guys all know this about Amazon and Prime.  For me, it definitely has proven to be a worthwhile investment to get it.  Sure makes shopping easier, especially if one doesn't really care to shop (me).  

Are you an Amazon Prime user??? 

Catching up

Quick catchup post from things happening over these past 3 months.  

I'm still working the temp job processing/scanning termed employees records.  I've been there six months already and have taken on some new responsibilities relative to garnishments and processing some of the forms sent by the courts or social service agencies for parents required to provide medical insurance for their dependent children.  I enjoy the work, the commute is less than 20 minutes, the pay is good, and there may be potential to become a permanent employee, if not in that department, perhaps in another.  Several permanent employees have started out as temps, so who knows? 

Winslow is still as spunky and energetic as always.  He is mellowing just a bit as he will be 2 years old next month.  That is hard to imagine.  Updated pictures coming soon.

I got vaccinated.  I was late to the party of doing so and its a party I really didn't want to go to.  I am not an anti-vaxxer or a conspiracy theorist.  I wanted to be sure I knew what was going into my body, what the effects may or may not be, and the efficacy of it.  I reluctantly got it because it was mandated at my place of work.  If anyone was going to remain working in-house as opposed to remotely, they had to be vaccinated by a certain date.  I did a lot of thinking about it and praying about it and came to the conclusion that I wanted to remain employed there (for reasons above) and chances are if I went some place else to work, it could be mandated there as well to be vaccinated.  I wouldn't be considered for a booster shot anytime soon and the jury is still out whether I would get one or not. So far, the company has not required anything than the initial 1 Johnson and Johnson shot or the 2 shots from Pfizer or Moderna.  We lost a temp whose husband did not want her to get the vaccine and she had to quit her job the weekend before the mandate took effect.  I had to show proof of my vaccine to my supervisor to be eligible to keep entering the building. There is a huge sign on the door that says only vaccinated people may enter the building. We are still required to wear face masks while not sitting at our desks and walking around the building.  Ironically the temp who quit, her husband was required a month later to get the vaccine for his work and he got it.  She did find a job to do at home which worked out better for her with having still school age children.  My supervisor refuses to get the shot, but is able to work from home.  Because of it and because of them limiting the other permanent employees from coming into the office except for maybe once a week if they can work at home, that is why I have been given extra responsibilities there.  I'll take it as it helps me to learn more and be more marketable perhaps down the road and I've been working in office since May 2020, first at the unemployment office and now here, so working out and about does not bother me.  

Both son and DIL got Covid; son in September; DIL in October.  She didn't catch it from him (it was a good month after his case) and neither of the kids have gotten sick.  We saw both son and DIL a week before their respective outbreaks and we didn't get sick.  Son had a more "severe" case than DIL.  He had lots of chills and shakes, cough, congestion and body aches.  DIL had mainly body aches, cough, nose congestion.  Both temporarily lost the sense of taste and smell.  Both made complete recoveries and did the mandatory quarantining they had to do for their employers.  Several people where son worked got sick about the same time; they are not sure how they contacted the virus.  DIL thinks she got it from going out with friends at a loud, noisy bar with lots of young people.  

End of August, hubby went in for a routine checkup at the doctor's and found out that his blood pressure was literally through the roof.  First reading was close to 225/number he can't remember; 2nd reading was 198/100.  Why they didn't hospitalize him, I don't know (or at least send him to the emergency room).  Those were stroke numbers! In August our hospitals were not overwhelmed with Covid cases so I don't think that was the reason they didn't send him to the hospital. They recommended weight loss, a low salt diet (the DASH diet), and for him to monitor his blood pressure for 2 weeks and then let them know the numbers. I was livid at them for their almost cavalier approach to a really seriously high blood pressure.  But, we reduced sodium significantly in our diet almost down to less than 500 mg of sodium a day (recommended under 2300 mg daily).  His downfall was he liked Campbell soups for lunch (VERY HIGH SODIUM) and our downfall together was Lean Cuisine TV dinners (high sodium).  All those were cut out.  We basically reinvented what we ate.  The good result.  His blood pressure within a week went down to very acceptable numbers; even lower than average numbers.  The benefits.  I've lost 18 pounds so far; he's lost 25 pounds.  I'll gain a few pounds back over Christmas as I know I'll indulge a bit but we'll get back on track in January which is our reset month.  We have loosened a bit of how much sodium we will eat occasionally.  For instance, we went to San Diego over Thanksgiving and ate out for all the meals, not really choosing carefully the most healthiest item on the menu.  But upon our return, when checking his blood pressure, it was still in the normal range.  He just knows he can't go back to the high sodium foods eaten in the past on a consistent regular basis.  

I think that catches me up on all the major things that happened here in the Valley of the Sun over the past 3 months.    

A new year (almost) and a new blog (almost)

Within a few short weeks it will be 2022.  It is hard to believe it has been 22 years since Y2K.  Everyone alive remembers the hype about that.  For me, 2021 went by incredibly fast.  Probably one of the fastest years of my life.

I'm going to be blogging here on this blog from now on.  I have had this blog since 2012/2013.  It was originally called "A Bench's Notebook" and if anyone goes back and reads old entries, I wrote mainly about my faith, Jesus, God, scripture.  There were big gaps of time where I didn't write here, then other times where I wrote almost daily.  

A few months ago I changed the title to "Walking Humbly with My God" based on a favorite scripture of mine.  Micah 6:8 (NLT)  "No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."  That's how I want to live, but I'll admit, I'm a work in progress and I often struggle with doing what is right, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my Lord.  But, again, I'm a work in progress who will not be completed until I take my last breath here on this earth and my first breath in eternity and with Jesus! (What a day that will be!) I was pretty content with keeping the title "Walking Humbly with My God" but I was praying about returning to blogging lately and out of the blue I thought "Walking Humbly with My Dog." I wondered if it would be sacrilegious and asked hubby about it but he did say God seems to have a sense of humor, which He has proved to me so much over the years, and certainly with the current pup we have with Winslow.  So I think I'll keep the title "Walking Humbly with My Dog" as I try to truly walk humbly with my Lord :) And that way perhaps I can include a few (maybe more than a few) pictures of that pup of ours.   

I became burnout with blogging over the past year and a half since this whole Covid mess, then the contentious election, then the vaccine, the mandates, the masks, the this, the that, the mess our country is in and so much more.  I had to walk away from social media when I did so back in September.  Not only did I walk away from blogging but I deactivated my Facebook account for about 6 weeks.  I spent the time I used to spend blogging and scrolling Facebook reading my Bible and really taking time to study it as well as spending more time in prayer.  It was good for me to do so.  

But lately I've struggled with wanting to come back to blogging or not.  I've thought about it over the past month and wrote several posts about returning but didn't feel right yet doing so.  However, I'm just going to jump in and try this again and hopefully not get burnt out.  This time around I'm going to take a different approach from my recent previous blogging and write what I want to write, hopefully in a kind respectful way, regardless if it is not the popular opinion and regardless if people agree with me or not agree with me.  I'm going to write about my faith, scripture, politics, whatever I want to write about, whenever I want to write.  I'm also thinking of introducing new features down the road, but will do so gradually over the next few months.  

I'll be doing a catch up post within a few days with what has been happening here over the past 3 months.  Nothing earth shattering.  

One thing I know, God has been faithful during this time, as he is always faithful.  I have said it before and I know I will say it much more in the future.  He has never let me down and He never will let me down. 

I'm going to share my walk of faith here for anyone who happens to stumble upon this journal and these words of mine.  

Hopefully, I will be able to write my opinions in a respectful way, humbly and with love.  And perhaps also while walking humbly with a rambunctious corgi (hoping I don't trip in the process).  

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NLT  Be on guard.  Stand firm in the faith.  Be courageous.  Be strong.  And do everything with love.  

This is an action scripture on how to face your day.

Be on guard - in control, aware of your surroundings, watching for and fending off attacks from the enemy.  

Stand firm - do not cower. Do not be afraid.  Remember who you are in Christ's eyes - dearly loved.  Remember what Jesus did for you on the cross.

Be courageous - be bold - don't let fear dominate you.

Be strong - do not be weak in your faith.  You were bought at a terrific price - you matter a lot to God.

And do everything with love..... I admit.  This is a hard one for me.  Perhaps hardest of all the other commands given in this scripture.  I know it is mandated by God to love my neighbor as myself but it is a tall order at times, especially in this season of unrest and division.  

So, Lord, help me to love like You did, Jesus, sacrificially and unfailingly.  Help me to be courageous, not to be quiet, and to speak up with Your gospel to a world that desperately needs You and to hear it.  Help me to be firm in the faith, knowing You are who You say You are and You can be trusted.  And help me to be on guard against any and all attacks from the evil one.  In Your name, Jesus, I pray.  Amen.  

He is risen!!

Today is Easter Sunday.  What a difference a year makes.  The story is still the same; the grave is empty and remains empty over 2000 years later.  Jesus ROSE from the dead!! He is ALIVE! He conquered death and so much more.  

Last Easter we were just a few short weeks into "2 weeks to flatten the curve" that turned out to be false because my state ended up being closed for close to 2 months before it started slowly reopening.  As a matter of fact our governor lifted all restrictions and mask mandates just a few short weeks ago; just over a year since he had made all those executive orders.

Last Easter we watched online services for our church.  In fact because there was nothing else really to do and nowhere else to go, I watched three other Easter services from churches we had attended in the past.  We brought in take out food for our lunch from a local restaurant.  We made potato salad and took some over to son/family for them to enjoy for their Easter meal.  We stopped on the way to get donuts for the grand kids.  The wee one as I call him though he is now 5 years old and certainly not wee any more, wanted desperately to come and hug us and spend time with us but of course we were so scared then about catching something that we discouraged it.  Basically dropped the salad and donuts off and went on our way, being outside and no physical contact other than passing the box of donuts over and the bowl of potato salad. 

This year totally different.  Really almost back to normal; not even the new normal.  I learned a lot in this past year about things and while I know for sure Covid is a serious illness there are lots of mistruths about it and a lot of people living in fear.  I stopped living in fear in May of 2020 and we started seeing son/family again often and always hugged at the end of our visits.  All of us remain healthy and I continue to think we will continue to remain healthy.  I THANK God often for the shield of protection He has put around our family that we have been spared sickness or financial hardship during this pandemic.

We went to church.  In person service!  We had been doing that since last August, even changing churches when our previous one hadn't reopened yet.  The online experience was not working for us even though it was tastefully done and the sermons were good ones.  I need to be in a church with fellow believers.  I need to hear the sermon in person.  That is what I need and may not be what you need and I respect that.  Wonders of wonders in the 9 months since we started going back to in person services, first requiring a mask, then the mask mandate lifted, there has been no outbreak of Covid in the congregation and again we remain healthy.  

Our church was packed this morning.  Not overflowing packed but let's just say people were not able to socially distance because there were so many people there.  It was wonderful to see the baptisms at the end of the service, 15 people being baptized.  It was a great message called Hope Revived, a case study about Peter and his journey of faith and belief in Jesus.  

We went out for brunch and the restaurant was busy! Like I mentioned above the governor had lifted restrictions and occupancy limits a few weeks back.  It was nice to see people out celebrating and enjoying a delicious meal.

The only bad thing about today is our mayor, who closed the city parks last year for Easter weekend as she didn't want large groups gathering, decided to close the park parking lots this weekend to again avoid large group gatherings.  She even closed some city streets for parking around popular parks.  Even the parking lot at the dog park was closed.  All had barricades.  If there was street parking and it wasn't closed, you could park and go into the parks.  Otherwise, nope, not allowed here in Phoenix.  I think this was in retaliation of our governor lifting the mask mandates.  She was livid about that when it happened.  Most stores and other businesses still require masks and that is what the governor said could happen.  If they wanted to keep that requirement, fine, otherwise he was lifting the mandate.  Our governor and our mayor are of two different political parties.  I will let you figure out which ones they belong to.

Best thing about today is the best thing from yesterday and the day before and the day before that and the week before that and the month before that and the year before that and the decade before that and the century before that and you get the general idea.

Jesus is risen! 

Proverbs 28:14

Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.  Proverbs 28:14

I want to be that person who always fears the Lord (which doesn't necessarily mean being afraid of God but holding Him in the highest esteem, having reverence toward him, feeling awe about Him).  I do not want a hard heart.  I want a heart that is seeking God's heart and is willing to do His will for my life.  

Psalm 62:8

Trust in Him at all times, O people.  Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.

Just spend a few minutes thinking of these words.

Trust in God at all times.  ALL TIMES.  Good times, bad times, hard times, uncertain times, etc.  ALL THE TIME.

Pour out your hearts to Him; pray to him, sing to him, cry out to him.

And why should we do this?

Because our God is our refuge.  

And He will never abandon you nor forsake you.  He is ALWAYS there, 24/7, 365 days a year.  Never sleeps nor slumbers.

You can trust him ALWAYS! 

Psalm 101:2

I will be careful to live a blameless life, when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own house.  Psalm 101:2 NLT

blameless - innocent of wrong doing

integrity - the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles

I will be careful to live a life that is innocent of wrong doing.  I will seek God's help through the Holy Spirit as my comforter, counselor, and guide to do so.  I will live a life of being honest in all I say and do and try to live with strong moral principles.

Help me to do so Lord! 

Jeremiah 32:27

I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?  Jeremiah 32:27 NIV

There is nothing too hard for the Lord.  Nothing.  He is the Lord of all and He is more than capable of doing whatever He chooses to do.  Think of what He has done:

1. Parted the Red Sea.

2. Poured plagues down on Egypt and spared Goshen.

3. Rained fire down on Elijah's sacrifice.

4. Fed the Israelites in the desert with manna.

5. Provided water from rocks for the Israelites.

6. Killed Goliath with one sharp stone.

7. Raised Lazarus from the dead.

8. Fed the 5000, then the 4000 with leftovers both times.

9. Healed the sick, made the lame walk, brought sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf.

10. Calmed the storms and seas.

11. Raised Jesus from the dead.

And so much more.  There is NOTHING God cannot do if it is within His will.  I trust in that.

Psalm 33:4

 For the Word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything He does.  Psalm 33:4 NLT

God tells the truth all the time.  He does not lie.  His Word, the Bible, is all truth.  We can believe every word of it.  Every promise made that has not been fulfilled yet will be fulfilled in God's perfect timing.  

And because God is truthful we can trust everything He does.  It might not make sense to us at the time but His way, His purpose, His plan are always good and must always be for His glory and honor.  So I will trust in God's word and believe it and I will trust in everything He does.  Always in all ways.  

What matters

 Jesus:

You are God

You are eternal

You are everlasting

You are I AM

You are the Way

You are the Truth

You are the Life

You are the Only Way to the Father

ALL authority has been given to you.

Nothing catches you by surprise.

Truly these days evil is considered good; and good considered evil.

You told us it would be like this

BUT 

You also said "take heart, I have overcome the world."

So it really doesn't matter who is president.  You are still in control.  You still have a purpose and a plan.  Your kingdom will still advance.  You will come back one day.

What really matters is eternity.  We live so temporally, our lives are SO SHORT when compared with eternity.

So what truly matters is where one will spend eternity.

So getting the word out about Jesus, proclaiming HE IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER is what is important.

I trust my needs will always be met.

I trust Jesus knows what is best for me.

I trust Jesus knows exactly when my dash will end and how it will end.

I don't have any fear of any viruses or of persecution.

Jesus says multiple times DO NOT BE AFRAID.

So I won't be.  I'll take that to heart and try to live my life for the glory of God who is my audience of one.  What He thinks of me is the only think that matters. 

God is

 God is faithful.

God is for me not against me.

God is great.

God is loving

God is compassionate

God is forgiving.

God is provider.

God is protector.

God is trustworthy.

God is almighty.

God is a promise keeper.

God is restorer.

God is redeemer.

God is mighty.

God is powerful.

God is salvation.

God is strength.

God is wise.

God is knowledgeable.

God is understanding.

God is caring.

God is creation.

God is marvelous.

God is peacemaker.

God is God! 

God is Yahweh.

God is my only hope!

Psalm 13:6

 I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.  Psalm 13:6

I will sing praises to you Lord.

I will tell of your greatness.

I will proclaim your holy name.

For you have been good to me:

You have provided for me.

You have protected me.

You have guided me.

You have sustained me.

You died for me. 

Psalm 100:5

For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  Psalm 100:5 NLT

Unfailing - without error or fault; reliable or constant

God's love is unfailing.

It never gives up.

It never changes.

It is reliable.

It is constant.

It is not influenced by circumstances.

It is always there.

It is not whimsical.

It is dependent.

It is amazing.

It is perfect.

It truly is UNFAILING.  

1 Peter 3:12

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers.  But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.  1 Peter 3:12 NLT

Help me Lord to do what is right.  I want your eyes always on me to watch over me and your ears always open to hear my prayers.  

John 14:6

I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6

NO ONE comes to the Father (God) except through Jesus.  The Bible clearly states it.  We have eternal life only through Jesus and what He did on the cross with his death and then with his resurrection; taking on our sins and his Father's wrath for our sins.  

Choose for yourself what you will believe.  But I believe Jesus is the ONLY WAY to the Father and the ONLY WAY for eternal life after we pass from this life.

Psalm 104:34

May all my thoughts be pleasing to Him for I rejoice in the Lord.  Psalm 104:34 NLT.

I can (somewhat) control the words I speak to try to be kind or loving or not to be cruel and hateful.  But no one other than God knows what I think unless I share those thoughts.  Because God knows my thoughts, even before I think them, I want all of them to be pleasing to Him.  Hard order when there is so much in the world going on but that is the second part of the psalm.  If I rejoice in the Lord, my thoughts, actions and words should always bring Him glory, honor and praise.  Tall order, but I do want my thoughts to be pleasing to God and I want to find true joy in Him and Him alone.  Help me to do so Lord! 

Psalm 104:33

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live.  I will praise my God to my last breath.  Psalm 104:33 NLT

Nothing and no one will prevent me from singing to my God corporately or privately.  

John 14:27

John 14:27 NLT I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give you is a gift the world cannot give.  So don't be troubled or afraid.

Jesus did not leave us alone.  He gave us the Advocate (Holy Spirit).  He gave us a gift - a precious gift the world always wants but cannot give.  He gave us peace.  Peace of mind and heart.  Peace that transcends understanding. 

A gift the world cannot give because the world is not peaceful.  The world is filled of strife and conflict and unrest and so much more.

Jesus is filled with love and mercy and peace and so much more.

And he tells us not to be afraid or troubled.  

During these uncertain times I will unwrap the gift of Jesus and the peace only he can give.  I will not be troubled.  I will not be afraid.  I will trust in you Jesus!

Psalm 143:1

Hear my prayer, O Lord.  Listen to my pleas.  Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.  Psalm 143:1 NLT.  

David, writing this psalm, used three verbs "hear", "listen", and "answer" when he is talking/praying to God.  David knows God is not passive but alive.  He knows he is praying to a deity that is real - not manmade.  He knows God is hearing and listening and will answer his prayer in God's timing because he knew God was faithful and righteous.  He could trust God.  We too can trust God.  He listens when we pray.  He hears our pleas.  He will answer them the way He chooses to for His glory in His perfect timing and will.  Remember that and rest in that promise.  

Psalm 103:8

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love (Psalm 103:8 NLT)

Just think about that for a minute.  Say it out loud slowly.  Let the words soothe your soul.

                                          The Lord (God Almighty)

                                                       is

                                    compassionate and merciful (kind)

                            slow to get angry (patient, long suffering)

                                                 filled (full)

                                                    with

    unfailing love (it never fails, it never ends, it never gives up)

That is a true statement.  This is to be trusted and believed about the Lord our God.  Rest assured in that.