Rejoice and Be Glad Kick-off to a New Week

The passage below can't help but kindle holy hope and joy in our hearts! Ps.130:1-5Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!O Lord, hear my voice;let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities,then who, O Lord, could stand?But with You there is forgiveness,so that You may be feared.I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait,and in His word I put my hope. ***This month's Sunday School Versefor grades 1-6 is pretty awesome too!(Picturing this scene is rather beyond thought's comprehension, isn't it?!!)Every living thing shouting God's praise! Rev.5:13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lambbe praise and honor and glory and power,for ever and ever!” The above verse, and Saturday night's sunset... ...and a lot of unexpected beauty and joy in the middle of love's/duty's muddle... helped to inspire this poem💝🙏 This is the day the Lord has madeLet joy and gladness brimAs we pick up our tools of tradeTo humbly honor HimBecause no matter what we doHowever great or smallIt is enough when offered toOur gracious Lord of all Today unfurls love’s living roomsLet’s make them fit for kingsWhere each season profusely bloomsWith joy in simple thingsAnd life’s secret to happinessIs not for favored fewBut for each heart when thankfulnessRuns every corner through Behold, goodness and mercy’s fountIts measure, who can trace?Where none could stand if God would countOur sins without His graceBut He forgives all who repentHis pardon never failsThus, joy and gladness cease lamentAs thankfulness prevails This is the day the Lord has madeBy His sovereign commandMajesty's grandeur is displayedOn sky and sea and landAnd only a fool dares to boastIn what God grants to weWho are at best, need’s uttermostSubjects of love’s decree Then, in light of God’s faithful loveThat, through good times and badReplenishes Reason EnoughTo rejoice and be gladSurely hope’s undeterred replyIs to fill all our daysNot with the bitterness of ‘why’But with joy’s thankful praise © Janet Martin today's tools of trade at my house includeempty jars and apples,paring knife, peeler, bowls and pots etc.! The goal?!Canned apple pie-filling😋😊Our apple tree receives no extra TLC besideswhat the Good Lord grants in sun and rain. So whatever I preserve with apples are usually apples I have purchased.This year (due to lots of rain?) our tree has a bumper crop of mostly un-wormy,what I have dubbed 'play-apples'.Last week I dried some ...(google how to oven-dry apples) ...and also did my first ever batch of pie-filling!It is delicious! I hope to share the recipe on a future post!