Monday October 12, 2009

Psalm 20

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
   May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May He send you help from the sanctuary
   and give you support from Zion!
May He remember all your offerings
   and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices!
                         Selah

May He grant you your heart’s desire
   and fulfill all your plans!
May we shout for joy over your salvation,
   and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
   He will answer him from His holy heaven
   with the saving might of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and fall,
   but we rise and stand upright.

O LORD, save the king!
   May He answer us when we call.

Saturday October 10, 2009

When it comes to honoring our parents as adults, a lot of times people shrug it off thinking “I’m too old for that stuff nowYou know, obeying and honoring my folks.” I’m “of age” or married or whatever. Therefore, I don’t need that commandment anymore.
But, umm, excuse me, yes you do. The commandment does not go away. No matter how old you are. Or how old your parents are. It simply looks a little different than it used to. Maybe honoring your parents no longer means piping out “yes ma’am” when she asks you to take out the garbage — or maybe it does! Maybe it doesn’t mean that you still have a curfew — or maybe it should. Perhaps it no longer implies that you have to call every time you arrive at a destination — or perhaps it would be truly honoring your mother if you continued to do that. Maybe it means calling them, loving them, worshiping with them, eating meals together frequently, having them live in your home, mowing their grass every week, doing the housecleaning, driving them to appointments, bringing them to Bible study — I don’t know. Each family is different. And of course familial honor will look a little different from family to family. It’s in your conversation, in your actions, and in your heart.
The point is honoring your parents according to God’s revealed wisdom for you and your family. Yes, it does change with your age, their age, living situations, marriage status… of course it must.
But still honor your parents.
It is a biblical command.
And it is beautiful.

So for those with especially aging parents, Mrs. Wilson has an excellent new post — please check it out and consider how you may “first learn piety at home” and honor your parents of the older age. What a wonderful reminder!

Saturday October 10, 2009

October’s Opal
by Robert Savino

October is here, once again,
barely transcending the threshold of autumn.
The maple is turning yellow to orange, to red,
soon to be bared by winter.

Ah winter, when blankets of bliss
cover spoon-fit bodies,
flickering sparks to flames. . .
until love of spring gardens
becomes the rapture of summer bloom.

And looking from outside-in,
beyond recognizable beauty,
the ruby of jewels glows bright,
pumping currents of rivers red,
deep into the wells of every extremity.
Our chest fills with laughter.

When apart, even so brief,
this season stays with you,
whether I am or not
and your voice with me,
through wind’s immutable breath.