Psalm 150

Psalm 150

Reflections
Praise is not a compliment,    not a friendly recognition of a favor. It's an outpouring - a soul    wrenching expression of longing and loyal love. It isn't a sugar stick,    doesn't require a smile, though it can end with one. Psalm 150
Read More
Psalm 149

Psalm 149

Reflections
I'm suspicious of victory     or maybe superiority that comes from winning. Perhaps I     just can't stand to lose. No matter what, victory concerns me deeply.     The manic acts of celebration halt me. I question the logic.     Defeat is always lurking nearby. Psalm 149
Read More
Psalm 148

Psalm 148

Reflections
It's just a collection of vapor.     We call it rain - sometimes a storm. But it's just a gathering of steam, an unquestioning retreat of moisture. Each molecule has its part     to play in an unending dance. I wish I could be so light and be     unswervingly obedient. Psalm 148
Read More
Psalm 147

Psalm 147

Reflections
I saunter up to reception, pushing past the smaller guests. "One table, please." It's an order that I've framed as a request. It's absurd because I'm supposed to be taking orders and waiting tables today - not here acting like a customer. How did I get exclusive rights to God's favor? Is it my affiliations that got him to side so heavily with me? Do I have the lion's share of blessings, or do I have the Lion of Judah as my mediator and counsel? Do I hope in his benefits or benefit from his hope? Psalm 147
Read More
Psalm 146

Psalm 146

Reflections
The golden creek bed waves to me. I scale the asphalt runoff to find the water teeming with playful creatures and pebbles. I sense the opportunity to build a great pool for them. I dam up the stream just before the culvert. The upstream swells. Now fish are darting in the flood. Crayfish and salamanders dance. But I have no thoughts for those downstream - as I choke them dry. Psalm 146
Read More
Psalm 145

Psalm 145

Reflections
Slouching in front of the pantry,    staring at the tangled packages filled with nothing, replaced with hope    or negligence. This is the moment where God's compassion fills deeply.    But this is also the precipice. Foul feelings shimmer and lure me    to the edge of a thick resentment. The guardrails are missing. The sign-    post is a reminder of warning. But the breakers sound beautiful    in their peerless allure to console. How weak the heart. How brave the child    who snatches me from my betrayal and wraps me in complete trust. How    stupid I am to forget God's heart. Psalm 145
Read More
Psalm 144

Psalm 144

Reflections
If I feel planted     when so many are denied rooting, am I a Hebrew,     disenfranchised in the desert night or Egyptian born?     Am I hiding in caves or hunting? A Galilean,     or am I slaughtering innocents? God, rally the time     when neither will be true of any! Psalm 144
Read More
Psalm 143

Psalm 143

Reflections
There's a creeping haze when you're lost. It sets in softly at first. "Shouldn't there be a trail marker?" "I thought the landmark was here." Then panic is a wakened child. Frantic bees in your rib-cage signal to your infant terrors. The earth's beauty is lost too. In the swirling of land and leaf and sky, twilight is hostile - an enemy you battle with. The canopy will hide stars. For me, as the darkness crept in, my nerves steeled against the night. My self-trust was a lost compass. It was then that I saw lights. Psalm 143
Read More
Psalm 142

Psalm 142

Reflections
I've been underneath the soil - darkness so blinding my ears muffled in response. I was surrounded by friends. My dad, less than an arm's length, but presence was lost. The imagination wants to invent monsters and false images to fear. But at some point, a living person touches your hand, and you are not alone. Psalm 142
Read More
Psalm 141

Psalm 141

Reflections
Sometimes I sit in The Church of Nothingood and let the choir soak my spirit in terrible lies. It's a splendid mess of modern dissonant, voices - sent to tell me how to breathe and live out loud. But I have a friend with a firm hand, who wounds me when I won't leave and loves me more than the people on the program - still singing false. Psalm 141
Read More