Day 169

Scripture: Ps 20, 21; Ps 110, 116, 117; 1 Kings 7:51—8:21; Acts 28:17-31; Mark 14:43-52


Scripture standout: 1 Kings 7: "¹⁰ When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. ¹¹ And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.

 ¹² Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; ¹³ I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”

Morning thoughts: There it is again! Another dark cloud reference about God's presence. I'm thinking about that this morning as all those people along the east coast flee Irene. Do good things come out of the dark clouds? Besides destruction or death, do dark clouds also yield things like...neighbors helping each other clean up or doctors stepping in to treat the injured? Deep thoughts from a half-awake mom and her coffee.

His Deed/The Day: I'm making headway on the "speaking people's name" more often challenge. The other day, I encouraged Marley to make sure she welcomed two new girls to school and spoke their name. I told her how much people like to hear their names. But by golly, it occurred to me how hard it is to do! I'm terrible at it! Right before I say someone's name, I get petrified that I'll mess it up. Or that I am thinking of the wrong person. Or that there's some funny accent I'm not recalling. So I don't say it most times. Maybe it comes from my experiences. People get my name wrong ALL. THE. TIME. I'm Suzanne to many. It's a great name, but I have another syllable in my moniker. Susan is another misnomer. Again, love the name — but it ain't mine. Sue is different. It's a nickname plain and simple. It is a deliberate shortening of my full name. Sue works. Suzanne — wrong.

Today at Dollar Tree I saw someone I knew and shouted their name clear across the store. They nearly dropped the no-name bottle of Dollar Store shampoo they were considering. Deed done.