Restore My Soul Psalms

Restore My Soul Psalms: A Lenten Journey is a book of original psalm poems, most of which were written during Lent 2018. This was a deliberate time of prayer, reflection, and Bible study leading to remarkable refreshment. Several events in the news initiated writing these poems. On February 14th, usually a day of showing love to partners and others, a seventeen-fatality school shooting event occurred near our home in Palm Bay, Florida. That of course was tragic, as was the Orlando shooting previously. Secondly, I was reading once again passages from Revelation. I am currently writing a major study on the use of water in the Bible, writing psalms, essays, and discussion questions. I once more read John's words from Christ about churches that were lacking in passion and had lost their focus. The term "lukewarm" is used. I reflected upon my own Christian walk. This led to a renewed examination of my motives, my studies, my application of Biblical principles, and my prayer life. I posted each day's My Psalm on my two Facebook accounts and my website, and received comments from people in various parts of the world as a result. I chose the white waterlily picture as a metaphor. The purity of the lily is self-evident. It is how I long to be. It is surrounded by less than perfect water cabbage leaves, and the rippling water shows outside influences which affect our pure motives. We can never be totally pure, although Scripture tells us Christ's blood washes us white as snow, and that God's forgiveness is so great our iniquities are removed as far as the East is from the West. To God's Glory. Several themes emerged as I pursued this journey. God's sovereignty, His immense patience with us, His creative prowess, His moment by moment direction over the smallest details of my life, His overreaching mercy, His promises, His faithfulness, and His love for us, His children. The approach to Holy Week was significantly more poignant this year because of this discipline. The Friday night Tenebrae service at our church was emotionally charged as I once again partook of The Lord's Supper and reflected on the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our sermon series on prayer, based on Matthew, has called me to increased intercession, and the reality that God indeed answers prayer. I rarely go to see movies, but was positively influenced by "I Can Only Imagine" and "Paul the Apostle." I sang in the Palm Sunday service and enjoyed watching children process with palm fronds as we're told Jesus' followers added Hosannas to His approach to Jerusalem. I read accounts of a friend who recently visited the Holy Land, a trip I would love to have taken in this life. To add to the mix, attending two Memorial Services of saints who died during this period, and praying for three others with serious medical concerns caused me to again think about the eternal consequences of how I spend my time, and the legacy I leave behind. By no means do I limit the use of this book to Lent, and hope my work inspires, challenges, and intensifies the readers' determination to deal with spiritual concerns on a deeper level as I have done.