Happy birthday, Nicky!

Ah, Nick's birthday party. Great. What happened exactly? Well, they kidnapped him from church. Can't get you the exact details, no proper source yet. Best one so far is Nicky's blog. It's incomplete, though. It failed halfway though. But the party was great... And some people still don't know that Tracy can play the guitar. Ouch.

OK, let's chuck the party aside. It has been a tiring week, lack of sleep + load of work = tiredness. The "torment" ended Friday night. Basically, lost about 3-6 hours of sleep, then was helping with preparations for Nick's birthday, and also trying to stay awake in class. Wednesday just HAD to be the day that all of my teachers would come in to teach, and I HAD to be sleepy and unfocused. Agh.

Just got Hillsong's new album, "This is Our God" from my cousin. Will be posting up the review soon. So far, all I'll say, it's great.

Let's sum everything up. It's Sunday, and I'm still tired. But, But, tomorrow is a holiday! What big fat coincidence (read as usual: God's will).

Okay, let's look at some inspirational lyrics today, since I got 2 psalms for devotion.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley,^[a] I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 23:4 Or the dark valley of death.

Psalm 24

A psalm of David.

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.
2 For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.

3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.
5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.
6 Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.
Interlude

7 Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.
8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle.
9 Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.
10 Who is the King of glory? The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—he is the King of glory.
Interlude

Psalms 23 is such a popular, "common" psalm. But, time and time again, we must always re-read whatever we read. I don't really have any revelations through this one, although it is comforting for it to come at such an opportune moment of tiredness.

Psalm 24, on the other hand, reflects slightly one of the lessons ingrained in my head.

"When a psalmist repeats a line over and over, he's trying to put emphasis. Just like how we, nowadays, bold the important details, or underline them."

The key line repeated here, is verse 7 & 9, the key phrase repeated here is the title given to our God, the "King of Glory". It seems, that this portion of the psalm was written in celebration of the Ark of the Covenant returning to the temple in Jerusalem. This means, to me, yet another call to open up our hearts to God and let Him enter. For He is our portion, and He is the difference within us and the world.

The second portion of Psalm 24, strikes me the most. For it calls us to have pure hands and hearts, not to worship idols and tell lies. I don't think I need to say much about this.

The first portion, though, is a reminder that God owns all the cookies. And everything else.

-end-