Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
​a very present help in trouble;
therefore I will not fear,
though the earth give way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the earth tremble at its swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.
God will greet her when morning dawns.
The nations rage; the kingdoms totter;
He utters his voice; the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come behold the works of the LORD
How God has brought desolation upon the earth,
he makes wars to cease upon the earth,
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
​he burns the chariots with fire.
"Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted in the heavens;
I will be exalted in the earth!"
The LORD of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
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I pray Psalm 46 when I am afraid, insecure, plagued by doubt, when the shit hits the fan. It diffuses my isolation and humbles me, knowing so many throughout history in much worse circumstances have found shelter and calm in its Spirit.
Through it, God reassures me, affirms his identity as large and in charge. It's words permeate my being, the holy river within me, my blood, the city of Jerusalem with its underwater river that allowed it to withstand attack. 
I am that city, too. 
God greets me, helps me, is there at dawn. 
The Psalm asks me to merge with that loving, powerful, steady force within me and identify with it rather than with my fears. 

God ends wars by breaking the weapons of war.  That war might be a mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical situation.

God speaks, "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!" 
The LORD of all the host of angels and all the folks is with us, not against us, for us.
The LORD of the individual, of Jacob, is our fortress, our protector, our defense, our refuge. 
We are okay. If the veil were lifted, we would see be able to see that.

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Psalm 23
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Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want.
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
he leads me beside still waters.
he restores my soul.
he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
I will fear no evil for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Sometimes, I pray myself to calm by just saying Psalm 23 with different people's names:   family, friends, sponsees, people who are suffering, people causing suffering, people I struggle with... 
Psalm 23 reminds me that I am not God. It reminds me that life is eternal,  that "the valley of the shadow of death" is real but God is greater, that God is LORD, able to protect, endlessly loving and healing. 

The LORD is Diane's shepherd, she shall not want.

The LORD is Daniel, Jocelyn, and Amare's shepherd...
The LORD is Morgan and Brigid's shepherd...
The LORD is Maya and Bailey's shepherd...
​The LORD is Flor's shepherd...
The LORD is Mary, Tom, and Sam's shepherd...
The LORD is my mother's shepherd...
The LORD is Sara and Michael's shepherd...
The LORD is Maria, Mike, and Rosemary's shepherd...
The LORD is Jennifer, Alicia, and Elisha's shepherd...
The LORD is Momma Jenn and Momma Vera's shephard...
The LORD is Gaye and Randy's shepherd...
The LORD is Carlotta and Al's shepherd...
The LORD is Monica’s shepherd.
Chandra, Kyle, Alvin, Ernest, Karen, Davvida, Dallas, Dwayne, Diamond, Will, Ben, Alvin, Ernest, Eunice, Vera, Erin, Jessica, Bonnie, Shanti, Dian, Emily, Rosemary, Juli, Germaine, Adelle, Matt, Aaron, Darin, Glenn, Peter, Amanda, Cyntrell, Liz, Anona, Carley, Ryan, Jessica, John, Ken,…
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Everyone needs someone to pray for them!!!



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Psalm 91
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She who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place--
the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

“Because she holds fast to me in love,
I will deliver her; I will protect her,
because she knows my name.
When she calls to me,
I will answer her;
I will be with her in trouble;
I will rescue her and honor her.
With long life I will satisfy her
and show her my salvation.”

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To Pray Psalm 91 is to place a shield of divine protection around me and around those I love and am called to love. It is to affirm God's loving presence.
To me, a life of surrender, of "praying for knowledge of God's will and the power to carry it out" IS a life that has "made the LORD my dwelling place," IS a life "holding fast to God in love."

It is a life of praying, listening, and doing what comes to do or not do - saying yes or no,
of letting go into the seemingly known or the truly unknown,
- to feel comfortable or uncomfortable,
to be loved, unloved,
to tell the truth, to be silent, to go, to stay, be confused, uncertain,  sure-footed, intelligent,
to be creative, to share, to stay home and feel pain, to eat alone or with others, cook or take out, 
whatever is the next indicated right thing that I am nudged by the Spirit to do in a given day, moment, milli-second..
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​ Psalm 139

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O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
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Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
This Psalm!!!
The Akashic Record - the "Book" of the Creator.
All is ordained, designed, a construct of the Creative Intelligence. 

I am loved, crafted in love, known and loved. 

There is a fourth dimension.
The Realm of Spirit is real.
Our earthly matrix is not the ultimate truth. 

A Reflection on the WICKED

To me, the "wicked" is anything or anyone those that destroys my connection to myself, God, and others and anything or anyone who destroys those same connections in others human beings.

If an internal voice torments me with self-hate or extreme judgement of others, with crippling fear, acidic resentment, obsessive thinking… could that be "the wicked?"

Is that same internal voice in others, too?
What of people who are powerless not to act on their desire to relentlessly oppress others and deprive them of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Couldn't we call them "wicked?"

Ultimately, don't we want this element "slain," whether between our own ears or in societal positions that cause others or what we value, harm?