King David longed to build a temple for God in Jerusalem. God said that since it was in David’s heart to build Him a house, God would build David a “house.” God was not promising a physical house with walls and a roof. The “house” God promised David was a family lineage that would endure forever (v. 12). . . .

Do you stare in wonder at sparkling snowcapped mountains, or the shimmering feathers of a hummingbird suspended in flight? Do you gasp at the shifting colors of the sunset or the delicate fragrance of a perfect rose? Or do you take for granted God’s miraculous wonders? . . .

My favorite part of raising children was the bedtime routine. I spent quiet, intimate time connecting with each of them. I would lay with them and pray with them. Stories and songs were often part of our quiet time together. One of the songs I often sang over them was, “As the Deer Pants for the Water.”

Every time I read Psalm 42, . . .

“Your children teach you patience,” my mother declared when I told I did not have the patience to raise children. She was right, of course.

I remember the day that my two-year-old knocked over her sister’s block tower . . . again. . . .