No Fear

God is our refuge and our strength, 

an ever-present help in distress.

Therefore we fear not,

though the earth be shaken

and mountains plunge into

the depths of the sea;

though its waters rage and foam

and the mountains quake at its surging.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

our stronghold is the God of  Jacob.

- Psalm 45:1-4          

O Most High, when I begin to fear,

in You will I trust.

In God, in Whose promise I glory,

in God I trust without fear;

what can flesh do against me?

- Psalm 55:4-5        

For God has not given us the spirit of fear,

but of power and of love and of prudence.

- 2 Timothy 1:7       

Let your manner of life be without avarice;

be content with what you have,

for He Himself  has said,

"I will not leave thee,

neither will I forsake thee."

So that we may confidently say,

"The Lord is my helper:

I will not fear what man shall do to me."

- Hebrews 13:5-6     

Peace I leave with you, 

My peace I give to you;

not as the world gives do I give to you.

Do not let your heart be troubled,

or be afraid.

- St. John 14:27      

It is the Lord Who marches before you;

He will be with you 

and will never fail you or forsake you.

So do not fear or be dismayed. 

- Deuteronomy 31:8 

Fear not, I am with you;

be not dismayed; I am your God.

I will strengthen you, and help you,

and uphold you

with My right hand of justice. 

- Isaiah 4:10   

Have no anxiety about anything,

but in everything by prayer

and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be known to God.

And the peace of God,

which passes all understanding,

will keep your hearts and minds

in Christ Jesus.

- Philippians 4:6-7    

Therefore I tell, 

do not worry about your life...

Can any of you by worrying 

add a single hour to your span of life?

- St. Matthew 6:25-27    

School with M this morning. Rainy day. It was hard to get motivated. I'd arrangements to walk with my coworker Sherri this morning, but put it off until about noon when the rain let up.

Stopped at the school and picked up M's lunch. It was the first day since lunches started being given out that he missed collecting it at the bus stop. Only 3 more days and his snack supply is going to shrink!

I also went through the library storage boxes and dug out some audiobooks on cds. There was a request from a mom, so I thought I'd fulfill it. Ended up giving her husband a bag full of about a dozen audiobooks! Hopefully we'll get a few of them back.

Met Sherri outside of her husband's office. The office is closing down at the end of July and he'll start working from home in August. I hope he manages to stay with the job as they've been talking of leaving next spring and it'd be nice if they stayed through another school year. I enjoy working with her! She is an asset to the school.

We walked over to the post office, where she mailed a letter. Then up the hill past BBEDC and the new Moravian building down the road at Snag Point. A sea wall was built probably 20 years ago (after my time at Snag Point) and we were able to walk right down to the bay. Nice visit. It was a bit drizzly, but we didn't really get wet.

Along the way we met a Yupik elder from McGrath who stopped us and started visiting. It turns out that we gave our old recliner to her son and daughter-in-law this past winter! We got a new recliner and were passing on our old one, and they wanted it for her. Small world! As Sherri and I had been planning to walk earlier and on the bike path, I know that our plans were changed so we would meet her.

She talked to us first about native plants. She mixes single cottonwood buds with olive oil, heats the mixture, and then uses it as a salve. She'd picked some wormwood for her cousin to use in a tea. And fiddleheads, which are good nutritionally. Also she said to pick blueberries before they're ripe, mix with the same amount of sugar, and it'd set up as a jam and taste very blueberry. Nice to hear about traditional ways to live off the land. God provides all we need.

She spoke about God. And His love for us. And the sun came out. Fear not. He has a plan for each of us to follow. If we will listen and pray. Her name is Grace. Beautiful.

Sherri and I finished our walk. We saw that he first nets are already set although the kings won't run for another week or so. The container vans were stacked high on the dock. We walked up past the old cemetery and back to her husband's office.

What was a 20 minute walk took over an hour, but it was wonderful. Simply wonderful. We are blessed to enjoy such encounters.

H & T saw this swallow near our house.

Hopefully it'll nest nearby!

Blue skies!

The sun came out in the late afternoon and we had a gorgeous evening. I went for a walk with C before dinner. T made curry, which was delicious. They're all watching the last episode of this season's "The Voice."