O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and on earth: Put away from us all hurtful things, and give us those things that are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Kyleakin, Isle of Skye #Scotland 03/07/23 @angie_weather @StormHour @VisitScotland @ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/dgaWqkcIZ5
— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) July 3, 2023
Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or show forth all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
–Psalm 106:1-3
"In the Garden"#AlmostHeaven #WestVirginia #Highlands #grasswithers #flowersfade #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/qe66EoXUCS
— Thomas R Fletcher (@ThomasRFletcher) July 3, 2023
O God, the author and fountain of hope, enable us to rely with confident expectation on thy promises, knowing that the trials and hindrances of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed, and having our faces steadfastly set towards the light that shineth more and more to the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
–J.H. Oldham ed., A Devotional Diary (London: SCM Press, 1925)
In case you missed it, sunrise this morning from Myrtle Beach was simply spectacular. Fantastic capture Travis Huffstetler! pic.twitter.com/Tngc0LmCCJ
— Ed Piotrowski (@EdPiotrowski) July 2, 2023
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!
Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
–Psalm 118:1-6
Good morning from the Lowcountry.. it was a calm and steamy morning over the harbor this morning.. always so beautiful.. let me know what you think!..@chswx @weatherchannel @RobStormTeam2 @joshmarthers @Justin_Zepperi #Sunrise #Photography pic.twitter.com/fTVN7uPAQK
— Wendy Mogul Charleston Photographer (@WendyMogulPhoto) July 2, 2023
Have not many of us, in the weary way of life, felt, in some hours, how far easier it were to die than to live?
The martyr, when faced even by a death of bodily anguish and horror, finds in the very terror of his doom a strong stimulant and tonic. There is a vivid excitement, a thrill and fervor, which may carry through any crisis of suffering that is the birth-hour of eternal glory and rest.
But to live,–to wear on, day after day, of mean, bitter, low, harassing servitude, every nerve dampened and depressed, every power of feeling gradually smothered,–this long and wasting heart-martyrdom, this slow, daily bleeding away of the inward life, drop by drop, hour after hour,–this is the true searching test of what there may be in man or woman.
When Tom stood face to face with his persecutor, and heard his threats, and thought in his very soul that his hour was come, his heart swelled bravely in him, and he thought he could bear torture and fire, bear anything, with the vision of Jesus and heaven but just a step beyond; but, when he was gone, and the present excitement passed off, came back the pain of his bruised and weary limbs,–came back the sense of his utterly degraded, hopeless, forlorn estate; and the day passed wearily enough.
Long before his wounds were healed, Legree insisted that he should be put to the regular field-work; and then came day after day of pain and weariness, aggravated by every kind of injustice and indignity that the ill-will of a mean and malicious mind could devise. Whoever, in our circumstances, has made trial of pain, even with all the alleviations which, for us, usually attend it, must know the irritation that comes with it. Tom no longer wondered at the habitual surliness of his associates; nay, he found the placid, sunny temper, which had been the habitude of his life, broken in on, and sorely strained, by the inroads of the same thing. He had flattered himself on leisure to read his Bible; but there was no such thing as leisure there. In the height of the season, Legree did not hesitate to press all his hands through, Sundays and week-days alike. Why shouldn’t he?””he made more cotton by it, and gained his wager; and if it wore out a few more hands, he could buy better ones. At first, Tom used to read a verse or two of his Bible, by the flicker of the fire, after he had returned from his daily toil; but, after the cruel treatment he received, he used to come home so exhausted, that his head swam and his eyes failed when he tried to read; and he was fain to stretch himself down, with the others, in utter exhaustion.
Is it strange that the religious peace and trust, which had upborne him hitherto, should give way to tossings of soul and despondent darkness? The gloomiest problem of this mysterious life was constantly before his eyes, souls crushed and ruined, evil triumphant, and God silent. It was weeks and months that Tom wrestled, in his own soul, in darkness and sorrow. He thought of Miss Ophelia’s letter to his Kentucky friends, and would pray earnestly that God would send him deliverance. And then he would watch, day after day, in the vague hope of seeing somebody sent to redeem him; and, when nobody came, he would crush back to his soul bitter thoughts,that it was vain to serve God, that God had forgotten him. He sometimes saw Cassy; and sometimes, when summoned to the house, caught a glimpse of the dejected form of Emmeline, but held very little communion with either; in fact, there was no time for him to commune with anybody.
–Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe schrieb u. a. „Onkel Toms Hütte“ 1852 und war zudem eine vehemente Verfechterin der Abschaffung der Sklaverei.
14. Juni 1811 – 1. Juli 1896 pic.twitter.com/1lLhcDlFqu— H.P. (@Peine01) July 1, 2023
Gracious God, we offer thanks for the witness of Harriett Beecher Stowe, whose fiction inspired thousands with compassion for the shame and sufferings of enslaved peoples, and who enriched her writings with the cadences of The Book of Common Prayer. Help us, like her, to strive for thy justice, that our eyes may see the glory of thy Son, Jesus Christ, when he comes to reign with thee and the Holy Spirit in reconciliation and peace, one God, now and always. Amen.
"If I am to write, I must have a room to myself, which shall be my room." Harriet Beecher Stowe, born on this day in 1811 pic.twitter.com/fRvUQmRy9a
— Ray Boomhower (@RayBoomhower) June 14, 2022
Into Thy hands, O Lord, we commend ourselves this day. Let Thy presence be with us to its close. Strengthen us to remember that in whatsoever good work we do we are serving Thee. Give us a diligent and watchful spirit, that we may seek in all things to know Thy will, and knowing it, gladly to perform it; to the honour of Thy Name.
–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)
Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of Philistines; for I have seen the affliction of my people, because their cry has come to me.” When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people.” Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. As for your asses that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
–1 Samuel 9:15-21
Raise the flag of freedom – Folly Beach, SC #july4th #charlestondaily #charlestonsc pic.twitter.com/F13ax1yW2W
— Charleston Daily (@ChuckTownDaily) July 1, 2023