I love the Psalms. There is always something to speak to me. Today my Psalm is Psalm 40:
I waited, waited for the LORD; who bent down and heard my cry,
Drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp, Set my feet upon rock, steadied my steps,
And put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God.
[. . .]LORD, do not withhold your compassion from me; may your enduring kindness ever preserve me.
For all about me are evils beyond count; my sins so overcome me I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head; my courage fails me.
LORD, graciously rescue me! Come quickly to help me, LORD!
[. . .]But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who long for your help always say, “The LORD be glorified.”
When I am discouraged because all I can see is my own sinfulness and folly. When I am in despair because I have failed yet again to not yell at my children. When everything I do seems dust and ashes. Then the Psalmist gives voice to my anguish: ” my sins so overcome me I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head; my courage fails me.” But the beauty is that it speaks to me where I am and yet draws me out from that dark place. It doesn’t leave me there: “May those who long for your help always say, “The LORD be glorified.” Indeed, when I am in most need of his help, then I am most likely to forget to glorify his name. But that is exactly when I need prayers of praise more than petitions.
Always enjoy reading about your adventures alone with the kids – gives me some comfort as I go crazy at times with 2, can’t imagine 4! Happy birthday.
Happy (belated) birthday Melanie! I’m with you on not wanting a huge fuss for my birthday, but still wanting it to be somewhat special. Before children, I could make that happen for myself (just go and do whatever I wanted). Now it takes a little bit more assistance! Enjoy your new books!
Happy birthday!
Wow, my 16-month-old is still in size 3s!
Happy Birthday! Somehow I did not check announcements on FB today. What are the book titles you received?
Now don’t forget—it’s still the octave of your birthday. Milk that for all it’s worth.
Every happiness to you in the coming year, Melanie. I hope you have a very happy birthday-week (make the most of it
Love from NZ.
It sounds like a wonderful birthday Melanie! I love the idea of starting with Mass. I think I may do that myself.
So happy it was such a wonderful day! Many happy returns!
I love the idea of starting with Mass too. I’ll be cheating this year as my birthday lands on a Sunday this year, but I’ll have to remember for next year too!
Mass! Kind people greeting you and your children! A child going down easily for a nap! Indian food! Sounds like a lovely birthday. I’m glad. You deserved it.
God bless!
Thanks, everyone. It was a lovely day. All the better for all the warm wishes from friends near and far. God bless you all.
Happy birthday for yesterday, my friend. I’m so glad you had a lovely day. Thank-you for writing and for being yourself, you are a treasure
Happy birthday!!
Also,
I like Facebook because it tells everyone and thus relieves you of the burden of not wanting to mention it because then it looks like you’re fishing for birthday wishes but not wanting to ignore it either because that would be unnatural.
STORY OF MY LIFE. Also, people always manage to find out two or three days later and then yell at you for not telling them. What, did you expect me to start every conversation with, “Hi, it’s my birthday!”