Psalm 86: A Prayer of Protection

I love Psalm 86. I've been sharing the verses of this chapter on my twitter (@itsbrandirose) and my facebook page (A Traveler's Thoughts). Now, I would like to share with you what I've learned from this beautiful chapter.

"Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, For I call to you all day long." ~Psalm 86:1-3
We can tell God we need Him to hear us. We are poor and needy people because we are designed to need God! I love that! The Maker of everything loves us so much He just wants us to want Him! God is our Protector we don't have to be afraid! God wants us to talk to Him contently. It's okay to call on Him all day!
"Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy." ~Psalm 86:4-6
God is FORGIVING! God is GOOD! God is ABOUNDING IN LOVE! Just call on Him.
"When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me. Among the gods there is none like you, Lord, no deeds can compare with yours. All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name. For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God." ~Psalm 86:7-10
God answers, so when I'm troubled that's Who I need to turn to! Nothing can compare to God! God is GREAT! God does MARVELOUS DEEDS! HE ALONE IS GOD! WOW!
"Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." ~Psalm 86:11
This has to be my favorite verse in this whole chapter. Let's read it again, but this time slower.
Teach me YOUR way LORD. Ask and allow God to teach you. He will and it's amazing the blessings you feel and see.
That I may rely on YOUR FAITHFULNESS. This world is going to bring pain. But don't cling to a person or thing. rely on GOD's faithfulness. This will be enough!
Give me an UNDIVIDED HEART, that I may fear Your Name. This is the part of the verse I like best. I allow the world to pull me in many different directions. But every time I spend time with God my heart is so happy. This is the best part of the prayer and is what I pray for you and me. That we'll have an undivided heart!
"I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead. Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God; ruthless people are trying to kill me— they have no regard for you." ~Psalm 86:12-14
I may be repeating myself here, but praise God with all of your heart! He is amazing! People will try to bring you down, but...
"But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.Turn to me and have mercy on me; show your strength in behalf of your servant;save me, because I serve you just as my mother did. Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me." ~Psalm 86:15-17
God defeats the people after you. He protects you. He is compassionate. He is gracious. He is slow to anger. He is abounding in love. He is abounding in faithfulness. He has mercy on you. He shows you His strength. He gives you signs of His goodness (just look outside.) He helps you. He comforts you.
I don't know about you, but I'm so thankful I serve a God Who is all of this!

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It's been a year!

One year ago today I sat in the back of my college math class, after class was over, and wrote the first post for A Traveler's Thoughts. At the time I didn't know if I was going to keep the blog or not. It was something I was just trying to see if people wanted to read about what I had to say.
Here we are a year later, thanks to all of you who read my posts! This blog wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you! A big thanks goes to Victoria over at Miss Tadoodles Corner for helping me with the set up of this blog.
Of course this blog would be nothing if it wasn't for God and my relationship with Him. He's given me a desire to share about Him and He is with me all the way!
I want to apologize for not posting regularly these past few weeks. I've been sick and school has been crazy. But, I'm back on schedule and next week we will be talking about Operation Christmas Child.
Again, thank you to everyone who reads these posts and likes my Facebook page and follows me on Twitter and Instagram! I can't wait to see what the next year looks like!
"The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer, my God, my Stronghold in whom I take refuge, my Shield, the glory of my salvation, and my High Tower." ~Psalm 18:2

Thankful November

So I'm a little late on this, but I had an idea this morning. I am going to celebrate Thankful November (Yes, this is something I made up.) This is how I'm going to celebrate it. Everyday on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterset I am going to post something I am thankful for. This is just a way to be very thankful this Thanksgiving and to start a habit of be thankful everyday!
We should be thankful everyday. But unfortunately we are not. I learned in my ACA class (Study Skills) That    if you practice something for 32 days it becomes a habit. So let's see what happens in 30 days.

Day 1: I am thankful for my car because it gets me where I need to be safely

Day 2: I am thankful for doctors, police, firefighters, people who keep us safe

Day 3: I am thankful for paved roads cause it would be quite scary to drive on roads like in some countries

Day 4: I am thankful for spending time with family and having fun

Day 5: I am thankful for living in the country

Day 6: I am thankful for seasons such as summer, fall, winter, and spring

Day 7: I am thankful for technology I have so many writing tools at my fingertips (EX: this blog)

Day 8: I am thankful for heartbreak It shows us we have feelings, draws us closer to God, and shows us how to treat others

Day 9: I am thankful for my two best friends who have been there through everything. They are more than friends, they are my sisters (by heart.)

So... what are you thankful for?