But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times

 

Bavarian Church — from 500px by Stefan Thaler

A beautiful picture of a church in Bavaria -- with wheat in the foreground and the sun and a rainbow in the background

 

The birds have fled from the bird feeders...

From DSC:
Each day, I try to ensure that there’s enough bird seed in the bird feeders. You see, I’m a bird watcher and I especially enjoy the different kinds of birds in our area as well as appreciating the variety of colors and designs of the birds. But it often perplexes me when the birds fly away when they see motion in our kitchen. They become afraid and in a spirit of looking out for #1, they fly away.

Hmmm. I’m setting out food to help you survive, yet you fly away in fear when I come close.

I wonder if that’s how the LORD feels with me/us sometimes. He provides so richly, deeply, and generously (waaaaayyy more than I do). Yet I can’t help but wonder if He senses our fears, doubts, and our “flying away” from Him at times…? He provides. We fly.

The situation is getting better. And my trying to be faithful helps the birds overcome their anxieties. They are staying on the bird feeder more often, even when they see me approach. It appears that the trust levels are growing. 


Along the lines of bird watching, below is a very cool app I just recently saw. I can use all the help I can get in this area (not to mention a ton of other areas)!

Identify the birds that you see of hear with Merlin Bird ID

 

Investing in Glorify– from a16z.com (andreesen horowitz) by Connie Chan

Excerpt:

Faith is inherently social. For example, there are 2.5 billion Christians globally and many congregate at church, Sunday school, fellowships, discipleships, and more.

Why then, when we have best-in-class, venture-backed social and content platforms dedicated to everyone from gamers, to fashionistas, to sports card enthusiasts, are Christians not able to complement their in-person worship with an equally sophisticated and engaging online experience? Why does the Christian community rely on digital experiences built almost exclusively by non-profits?

This is the question Glorify cofounders Henry Costa and Ed Beccle asked themselves in 2019 when they set out to build the world’s leading online platform to help Christians practice their faith and connect online. As former founders, they knew that it was possible to build something that was delightful to use, with intuitive social features.

From DSC:
I had not heard of this app; sounds interesting.

 

Psalm 100:4-5  — from biblegateway.com

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

 

15 “Does it make you a king
    to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
    He did what was right and just,
    so all went well with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
    and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?”
    declares the Lord.

 
  • From DSC:
    This is what true strength and confidence look like. That is, the LORD doesn’t mind putting complaints, issues, pleas, anger, frustration, sadness, and similar emotions in His Word. I guess that’s part of relationships…part of communications. To me, that’s true strength.

 

 

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 

Isaiah 9:1-7 NIV — from biblegateway.com

[a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

 

Holt (1923 – 85) homeschooling and unschooling — from donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com by Donald Clark

Excerpt:

John Holt graduated from Yale in 1943 but signed up to be a submariner in WW2. On discharge, he eventually became a teacher, in various schools. This led to a disillusionment with the US education system so deep that he became an advocate for homeschooling and unschooling. This emerged from his belief that education was so deeply embedded, structurally and culturally, that it was unreformable. Neither did he believe that alternative schools were the answer. He retains his reputation as the founding father of homeschooling.

National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI)

Excerpt:

NHERI is the National Home Education Research Institute. NHERI conducts and collects research about homeschooling (home-based education, home schooling), and publishes the research journal called the Home School Researcher. The institute has hundreds of research works documented and catalogued on home schooling, many of which were done by NHERI. Simply put, NHERI specializes in homeschool research, facts, statistics, scholarly articles, and information.

For those interested in home-schooling -- NHERI

Homeschooling – home education or home-based education – has grown from nearly extinct in the United States in the 1970s to just over 2 million school-age students. NHERI focuses on homeschooling research, homeschool facts, homeschool fast facts, and in-depth scholarly articles.

The Home School Legal Defense Association

 

27 I [wisdom] was there when he set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
    so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30     Then I was constantly[a] at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
    and delighting in mankind.

 

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to you I entrust my life.

 

Psalm 115:1  — from biblegateway.com

Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 117:1-2 — from biblegateway.com

Praise the Lord, all you nations;
    extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.[a]

 

Jeremiah 9:23-24 New International Version — from biblegateway.com

23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

 

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Psalm 91:4 NIV —  from biblegateway.com

He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Under a canopy of love -- photo by Sunil out at 500pxUnder a canopy of love — photo by Sunil out at 500px

 
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