July Wrap-Up

I like to do a weekly wrap-up on Fridays but recently it's been difficult since I have not written. Any. Thing.

Oh, I've started a post on some morning musings but still thinking it over. Too soon to hit "publish."

So, instead I'll wrap-up the month and begin again in August.

JULY'S MAJOR NEWS:

The major blessing is Miss Aurora Sage joined our family on July 15th. She is a healthy 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long and has a head of hair! Her mama said all the heartburn she went through paid off! (Is that old wives' tale true? All my babies were bald, but I had more nausea then heartburn.)

Rory's arrival is the major news in the family; in the church family, the major news is our Search Committee finally found a candidate. Bro. Jack, his lovely wife Jessica and son Eli, was with us this weekend. The vote will be Wednesday, and I've had a lot of positive feedback so I'm speaking in faith he will be elected. Then my job on the committee will be done and I can then focus on the other forty-'leven things in my life! (One of which will definitely be writing.)

TEACHING NEWS:

Our little band of Wednesday night bible study teachers decreased, and so in July I had the honor of teaching twice. I felt led to start a study on what I call the Selah Psalms. Did you know the word 'selah" is in Psalms 71 times? 

I felt the Lord directed my attention to the word Selah - which I've heard described as "pause and calmly think of that," right about the time I saw this quote:

Practice the pause. When in doubt, pause. When angry, pause. When tired, pause. When stressed, pause. When you pause, pray.... Toby Mac

I chose first to teach on Psalm 46. We learned He is our refuge, our strength, our very present help in time of trouble. As confirmation, in my daily devotional reading, I found this:

Let us from this draw the inference, that come what may, God's people are safe. Let convulsions shake the solid earth, let the skies themselves be rent in twain, yet amid the wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest. If God cannot save His people under heaven, He will save them in heaven....Morning Verse

I would add a caveat:  where it says "If God cannot save" I would change to "If God decides not to save." Because we know He can do the impossible, but He sees the bigger picture and knows what is best.

My second Selah Psalm study was on Psalm 62 where we learn God is our rock and our defense because not only does He have all the power, He also has all the mercy!

In my Sunday School class, we are deep in the book of Acts. We just studied the first occurrences of healing by calling on the name of Jesus. 

I think it is a God-incidence our worship leader chose to have us learn the song, "What a Beautiful Name It Is," this month. This song has rocked my world, so I'm sharing a YouTube Video of it:




BLOG NEWS:

I guess it's not really true I have not written any thing lately: I managed to share my meal-planning struggles with my most viewed July post, "I'm Not Bored," and some patriotic thoughts in my "Portrait of an American Family."

JULY PONDERINGS:

Here are some links and quotes I've been mulling over this month, in the order I ran across them ...

Family serves as a mini congregation where we get to practice grace and reconciliation. - What Everyone Should Know About Family Life

Comfort: It's warm coffee, gut-honest friends, truth proclaimers, and worship warriors who never give up and always give in to Him.-Comfort is an Unclogged Toilet 

Scott Sauls' post on Eugene Peterson - A wonderful post on a very sensitive subject.

"...chase hospitality. To run hard after it. To actually trouble people about it!" - Jennifer Dukes Lee "An Old Farmer Teaches Us Hospitality"

Pascal, the great French philosopher and Christian, once said: "Nearly all the ills of life spring from this simple source: that we are not able to sit still in a room."

Call your people to sacrifice, to serve, to risk, to resist, to be foreigners and aliens and freaks of holiness and humility.… Ross Lester

I wanna be a freak of holiness and humility!

How about you? How did your July go?  Leave a comment and share - I'd love to know!

~~~

I'm linking this post to the communities at Mondays @ Soul Survival and #TellHisStory.