It took me 6 tries to remember my password ... just checking in to see if I still can.  I miss the ol' xanga days.  Happy Holidays!

Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (New International Version)

"Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

As I'm trying to root out some "idols" in my life, a friend has challenged me to answer the question, "What does Renae's heart desire?"

So, now that this verse (with the emphasis mine) has been laid into my lap this morning, I'm going to use it to begin my assignment.

• Relationship. 
  

Jeremiah 22:16 (New International Version)

 ¹⁶ He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
       and so all went well.
       Is that not what it means to know me?"
       declares the LORD.

Exodus 33 (New International Version) -- Moses and the Glory of the LORD

 ¹⁴ The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

 ¹⁵ Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. ¹⁶ How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

 ¹⁷ And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

 ¹⁸ Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

 ¹⁹ And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ²⁰ But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."

 ²¹ Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. ²² When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

Exodus 34:5-14 (New International Version)

⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

 ⁸ Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. ⁹ "O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."

 ¹⁰ Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. ¹¹ Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ¹² Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. ¹³ Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. ¹⁴ Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Now, I won't pretend to know what all of this Exodus 33-34 stuff means--some of it sounds harsh--but it does say to me that God does not leave us out on our own.  Moses didn't go rip-roaring up the mountain ready to take on this huge leadership role over those restless, tired, forgetful Israelite desert-dwellers ... "Don't worry about me God, I'm ready to take this bull by the horns!"  He did *not* want to go, and made excuses ... "I stutter, for heaven's sake!"

Well doesn't *that* just sound familiar?

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (New International Version)

 ²³ This is what the LORD says:
       "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
       or the strong man boast of his strength
       or the rich man boast of his riches,

 ²⁴ but let him who boasts boast about this:
       that he understands and knows me,
       that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
       justice and righteousness on earth,
       for in these I delight,"
       declares the LORD.

Zephaniah 3:14-20 (New International Version)

 ¹⁴ Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
       shout aloud, O Israel!
       Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
       O Daughter of Jerusalem!

 ¹⁵ The LORD has taken away your punishment,
       he has turned back your enemy.
       The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
       never again will you fear any harm.

 ¹⁶ On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
       "Do not fear, O Zion;
       do not let your hands hang limp.

 ¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you,
       he is mighty to save.
       He will take great delight in you,
       he will quiet you with his love,
       he will rejoice over you with singing."

 ¹⁸ "The sorrows for the appointed feasts
       I will remove from you;
       they are a burden and a reproach to you.

 ¹⁹ At that time I will deal
       with all who oppressed you;
       I will rescue the lame
       and gather those who have been scattered.
       I will give them praise and honor
       in every land where they were put to shame.

 ²⁰ At that time I will gather you;
       at that time I will bring you home.
       I will give you honor and praise
       among all the peoples of the earth
       when I restore your fortunes
       before your very eyes,"
       says the LORD.

versus

LAND O LAKES® Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil

Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 tbsp. (14 g) Servings Per Container: Will depend on package size. Amount Per Serving Calories 100   Calories from Fat 100 % Daily Value* Total Fat 11 g 17%  Saturated Fat 4 g 20%  Trans Fat 0 g Cholesterol 15 mg 5%  Sodium 85 mg 4%  Total Carbohydrate 0 g 0%  Dietary Fiber 0 g 0%  Sugars 0 g Protein 0 g   Vitamin A 4 %  Calcium 0 %  Vitamin C 0 %  Iron 0 %  * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

LAND O LAKES® Light Butter with Canola Oil

Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 Tbsp. (14 g) Servings Per Container: 16 Amount Per Serving Calories 50   Calories from Fat 50 % Daily Value* Total Fat 5 g 8%  Saturated Fat 2 g 10%  Trans Fat 0 g Cholesterol 5 mg 2%  Sodium 90 mg 4%  Total Carbohydrate 0 g   Dietary Fiber 0 g   Sugars 0 g Protein 0 g   Vitamin A 8 %  Calcium 0 %  Vitamin C 0 %  Iron 0 %  * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

INGREDIENTS: Water*, Butter (Cream, Salt), Canola Oil*, Buttermilk*, Contains Less Than 2% Food Starch - Modified*, Tapioca Maltodextrin*, Salt, Distilled Monoglycerides*, Lactic Acid*, Potassium Sorbate* and Sodium Benzoate* (Preservatives), Natural Flavor*, Xanthan Gum*, PGRP*, Vitamin A Palmitate*, Beta Carotene* (Color). *Ingredients Not Found In Regular Butter. CONTAINS: MILK

(Really!?!)

 And I declared that the dead,
       who had already died,
       are happier than the living,
       who are still alive.

 But better than both
       is he who has not yet been,
       who has not seen the evil
       that is done under the sun."  (4:1-3)

 And after my skin has been destroyed,
       yet in my flesh I will see God;

 I myself will see him
       with my own eyes—I, and not another.
       How my heart yearns within me!"  (19:25-27)

These are the promises I am trying to hold on to in the midst of my despair:

"Do you not know?
       Have you not heard?
       The LORD is the everlasting God,
       the Creator of the ends of the earth.
       He will not grow tired or weary,
       and his understanding no one can fathom.

 He gives strength to the weary
       and increases the power of the weak.

 Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;

 but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint."  (Isaiah 40:28-31)

and, from Psalm 91:

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
       will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

 ² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
       my God, in whom I trust."

 ³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
       and from the deadly pestilence.

 ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
       and under his wings you will find refuge;
       his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

 ⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
       nor the arrow that flies by day,

 ⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
       nor the plague that destroys at midday.

 ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
       ten thousand at your right hand,
       but it will not come near you.

 ⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
       and see the punishment of the wicked.

 ⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
       even the LORD, who is my refuge-

 ¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
       no disaster will come near your tent.

 ¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
       to guard you in all your ways;

 ¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
       so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

 ¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
       you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

 ¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
       I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

 ¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
       I will be with him in trouble,
       I will deliver him and honor him.

 ¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
       and show him my salvation."

Thank you, Lord, for the strength and faith to endure.