Hmm. New Mercies Again This Morning.

Whoever's been praying, it's working! Keep it up please.

A lot of things happened today which have boosted my morale rather considerably.

First, class went well. The kids were excited when the plan called for them to be excited and attentive when the plan called for them be attentive, and so on.

Second, our hosts and fellow guests for lunch today were much more fluent in English than I've become used to. It made a huge difference to me to be able to converse, rather than parse everything out word by word or wait for somebody to translate. Picked up some useful A

Third, I got a good, solid 2-hour nap this afternoon. If you've ever been as tired as I currently am, you'll know what a difference this can make.

Fourth, after my nap I didn't have to go to dinner anywhere. Just chilled in the place where the other teachers are staying and prepped for the lesson, sang some songs, ate some food- in a word, relaxed.

Fifth, I found a can of Mountain Dew, and drank it. I must remember to do this more often. It helped.

Insight of the day: Yesterday I was reading in Psalms, where I frequently go when I'm down or distressed in some way. I skimmed several Psalms which begin with bad moods, and I eventually landed on Psalm 27. It starts in a way that was a lot like I felt yesterday: "To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place."

It continues in this vein for a couple more verses, but then between the end of verse 5 and the beginning of verse 6, something drastic happens: "Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

Crucial point: What I don't see here is any indication that all of the psalmist's problems have been solved. Rather, he is so full of faith and trust that the simple act of laying his problems before God is a huge relief, enough to take him in a moment from a "cry for mercy" to "my heart leaps for joy." I aspire to this, and I hope that as you read, you'll take a moment to pray for me that I can trust God like that- so much that once I cast all my cares upon Him, I can let them go and get back to being joyful in the Lord.

Interestingly, as I look back over my previous post, basically everything in it still applies. And yet I'm better now. I can't come up with a natural explanation for this, can you?