Today I was inspired by a friend’s facebook status referring to Psalm 91. By accident, I read Psalm 90 and it really it home, especially verse 17.

¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.

² Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³ You turn men back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”

⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.

⁵ You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
they are like the new grass of the morning-

⁶ though in the morning it springs up new,
by evening it is dry and withered.

⁷ We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.

⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.

⁹ All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.

¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger?
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

¹² Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

¹³ Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.

¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.

¹⁶ May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.

¹⁷ May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

Also today, I went for a run/walk. This would be the first time I have gone running in a very long time and I did just under 2 miles (according to google). And I ran about 50% of the time and walked the rest. Embarrassing, I know, but it’s a start. Everyone has to start somewhere and I haven’t made it to the gym or the pool in weeks! So I was starting cold even in my out of shape state. Here was my route:

As I was running, a dog started barking ferociously at me. I looked up and it was just a medium sized beagle, but it was running full speed in my direction. I am not scared of dogs, but I am definitely not a dog person. The dog more or less stopped on a dime at the edge of the lawn and I figured that they had an invisible fence. This realization didn’t make me any less nervous as I rounded the corner, so did the beagle, again at full speed. He was stopped by the fence, and fortunately for me, dogs aren’t smart enough to realize that if they went past the fence, it would stop hurting just as backing away from the fence stops the shock as well. I feel like that dog sometimes. There are dreams that I am chasing, but I get stopped by something I cannot see and I turn back. But all I need to do is push through the pain and I will get past my invisible fence and be able to pursue my dreams again unhindered.

The thought going through my head while I was running (besides when I saw the dog) was just a single line of a song, “hail, hail, Lion of Judah, how wonderful You are.” What makes God so wonderful? How has be been wonderful to me? I lost count pretty quickly. How has he been wonderful to you?

My prayer is that God will establish the work of my hands.

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Day 1.