150 Days of Psalms - Day 1

I love trees!

But I'm not a tree hugger.

I guess I'm a member of the Audubon foundation because I bought some little trees from them last Spring and now I get newsletters from them. The "trees" looked more like 6" twigs with a few scraggly hairs hanging off of them. I planted them last Spring and the few that might have survived the heat of July and August had already been accidentally chopped down by the mower when the nearby grass was past their height and someone had helped me in the yard. "Someone stuck these stakes in the ground (that marked where the little seedlings were), so I pulled them up so we could mow." Uh... thanks?

I would rather have a yard full of leaves than a big spot to mow, so I bought several trees from Lowes last summer when they were 75% off. What a deal! The problem with buying and planting them when they are 75% off is that their roots aren't strong yet and it takes a lot of work for them to survive the heat and drought of July and August. I think I lost three of them to the heat.

When I lived on Bear Hollow the Bear Branch of Whites Creek was just ten feet from my back door. The trees there were old and quite large. I had maples, walnuts, dogwoods, sycamores, redbuds, tulip poplars and more (I had a pawpaw which means I could have zebra butterflies! a pawpaw and butterfly post. The young trees that came up freely every year would grow fast. I never had to water the trees on Bear Hollow. They thrived there by the beautiful creek and the walnuts were always loaded.

Psalm 1 is only six verses long, but they have a powerful message that is the perfect opening for the book of Psalms and the perfect verses to challenge us in how we will live our lives in this new year. They hold a great promise "and in whatever he does, he prospers."

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers ! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither ; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. NASB

So.... the choice is yours. You can be a tree that is struggling to survive the dry heat of August or you can thrive by the River of Life. A Psalm a Day for 150 days will be a good start.