Psalm 23 🐑 and Contemplative Decision Making 🤔

    Buckle up; it's going to get theological.

 

    I recite the 23rd Psalm in my head at night to help my brain know it's time to go to sleep. I had a severe bout of insomnia fifteen years ago and read that mentally saying a poem would help train your brain for sleep. I still do it, so  I am deeply familiar with the 23rd Psalm. The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host by David Gibson piqued my interest because I had wondered about the transitions from third-person to first-person during the Psalm and where the setting is: a field, a stream, a path, a valley, a dining room, heaven? The subtitle laid out the Psalm in a new (to me) coherent way. I was curious what else David Gibson had to say. The book is based on the sermon series he preached. He drew surprising parallels between Psalm 23 and the Exodus, which were intriguing. I'm planning on rereading this book, which is a rarity for me.

  Psalm 23

         The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  
                He makes me lie down in green pastures.

 He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

🍇🍞🌄🐏

 

    How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away by Emily P. Freeman kept coming available on my holds list, and I would delay it because I wasn't in the headspace for deep thinking and contemplation. Most of my books are consumed by audible books, so I can multitask; however, this book needed me to sit down and read it with my journal and pen. Freeman asks excellent questions evaluating understanding of leaving or staying in a room. Rooms are interpreted broadly to mean any space you occupy, like a school, a relationship, a church, a house, etc. I occasionally listen to Freeman's podcast; she comes across as kind and thoughtful. Her book also reflects those qualities. Reading the book felt like talking with a wise, compassionate friend about a difficult situation. 

Link to podcast: https://emilypfreeman.com/podcast/

🤔💡⛪️