A Final Benediction -- Worshipping the ONE

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A Final Benediction -- Worshipping the ONE

Thank you, dear readers, for following along with us through these beautiful blessings and benedictions. We have only scratched the surface of the treasury of scripture blessings.

I would like to end our series with a benediction hymn that leaves me speechless… truly. I feel I must lay flat on my face before our Almighty, Glorious God. The hymn is Immortal, Invisible by William Chalmer Smith. We rarely sing this hymn these days. But we did sing it in our church just a few weeks ago. I was transported to “the Throne.”

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A Family Blessing -- Singing Together

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A Family Blessing -- Singing Together

The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord cause His face to shine on you, …
God loves families. He has placed each of us in our family at our birth. If we are adopted or marry, we gain another family. And so, we belong to each other.

God blesses families. Our human family is a picture of the family of God. In His family, we belong to each other, and we need each other.

This was especially true during the recent worldwide pandemic. During the quarantine, we were amazed how people across the miles connected with one another in many ways. We needed to “be together.”

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A Benediction at Sunset ... Remembering with Gratitude

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A Benediction at Sunset ... Remembering with Gratitude

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days ...

So goes the beautiful wedding song from the movie, Fiddler on the Roof. And so go our days, don’t they? One day follows another – sunrise, sunset.

And so has followed the days of our Gulf Shores family vacation — from early morning sunrises together to all of a sudden a final sunset.

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A Blessing for Aging ... Trusting and Flourishing

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A Blessing for Aging ... Trusting and Flourishing

Aging is hard. When we are young, aged people are often “invisible.” Life is so busy for parents of growing families, adults who are building careers, even middle aged people who are young enough to travel and serve. They all have “big, busy lives.”

As we get older, our lives can get smaller. Our capacity shrinks and much of our time, attention, and energies are absorbed by health issues. Life gets hard and can feel hopeless.

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A Mother's Blessing ... Speaking Truth Over Your Children

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A Mother's Blessing ... Speaking Truth Over Your Children

My husband John and I are currently on a long car trip. In the midst of it, we find ourselves heading to a beloved place — Tucson, Arizona. John is an Arizona “native son,” and Tucson is the home of our Alma Mater, the University of Arizona (Go! Wildcats!). Also back in the 1950’s, Tucson was my family home. So Tucson truly is special to us.

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