Sydney’s Favorites for Summer 2023
This summer, from June through August, I will be offering a new devotional series. As last summer, it will focus on some of the subjects the main protagonist in my novel might write about. She has a writer’s heart and is creative in many ways. She paints, plays piano, and sings. She appreciates the beauty in God’s great creation and she responds through her music and art. To her, any creative activity is an opportunity to worship her Creator and honor Him.
I hope that through this summer devotional, you will recognize how much you are loved and also take the time to observe the beauty all around you, and Come Away.
Summer 2023 ~ Weekly Devotional
Week 1 ~ Song of Solomon 2:10 (ESV)
My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away,
~ Song of Solomon 2:10 (ESV)
The love between a groom and his bride is beautiful to see. We all love a good wedding. We celebrate the joining together of two people that have decided they do not want to live life without the other. They commit to sharing exclusive intimacy, a depth of commitment and faithfulness not meant for any other relationship here on earth.
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Week 2 ~ Song of Solomon 1
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine; your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you.
~ Song of Solomon 1:2-3
So now that we’ve established the idea that we are called to Come Away, let’s visit the beginning of Song of Solomon. This book is called The Song of Songs in the first verse, indicating it is the greatest song of all, reminiscent of the greatest of these: love (1 Corinthians 13:13). And so the greatest song is about the greatest thing ~ Love. And what is God? Well… Love (1 John 4:7-8).
The next lines of the song walk us through the five senses. “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth (touch)! For your love is better than wine (taste); your anointing oils are fragrant (scent); your name is oil poured out (sound); therefore, virgins love you (sight). I may be taking liberties but I’m assuming he caught these virgins (also interpreted as maidens) notice visually, and the rest of Song of Solomon goes into great detail about what these two lovers see in each other.
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Week 3 ~ Song of Solomon 1
Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
Song of Solomon 1:4
We use our senses to perceive our world, it is how we take it in and interpret all that is around us and within us. These senses are gifts given by our Creator to participate in the great wonderful world around us. With that, we learn what we like, love, appreciate, and want. Draw me after you; let us run. The NIV says Take me away with you – let us hurry! There’s no time to waste, I’ve figured out what I want, and now is the time to make it happen.
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Week 4 ~ Song of Solomon 1
I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar; like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because
the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
Song of Solomon 1:5,6
How often do we feel less than, not quite enough, somehow marred? We are drawn to someone, become closer to them, and suddenly the self-consciousness rears its ugly head. What if he finds out I’m not perfect? What if he notices my cackling laugh and it irritates him? What if I’m not beautiful enough to keep his attention? Or worse, what if who I am just simply isn’t enough? I wonder if this may have colored the words of this portion of the Song of Solomon. The Shulamite becomes aware of her vulnerability. Who she is, is becoming exposed as they draw close.
She is not like the other women in her community. She is dark. She works in the fields, it is obvious by the color of her skin. Will this deter her beloved? When her brothers made her keep their vineyards it meant hers didn’t receive her attention. Some commentary parallels this with her body. She wasn’t watching out as much for herself as those around her due to the pressure they put on her. Does this sound familiar to you?
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Week 5 ~ Song of Solomon 1
Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon: for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, follow in the tracks of the flock, and pasture your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents.
Song of Solomon 1:7,8
Even after we receive so great a salvation, there are times we can feel lost. I know I have. The clouds roll in and the fog drops over the landscape of life until I can’t see where I am going. It may be due to the hustle and bustle of life, or unexpected distractions or events. I’ve been blindsided on multiple occasions, walloped by a sneaker wave, tumbling and fumbling not knowing which way is up. I have also simply gotten lazy and not paid attention to where I was going. Much like the Shulimite in the passage here, I cry out, “Where are you, God? I can’t find my way.”
This reminds me of a time I took my kids grocery store. A typical occurrence back in the day. I had three little ones under the age of five. Grocery shopping was always an adventure. My youngest sat in the cart, while the other two were instructed to hold onto the cart and stay by Mommy. On one of those trips, I was hunting for the next item on my list when my son, who was around two or three years old at the time decided to wander off. I grabbed a cereal box, turned to put it in the cart, and found my son nowhere to be found.
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Week 6 ~ Song of Solomon 1
How beautiful you are, my love;
how your eyes shine with love!
How handsome you are, my dearest; how you delight me!
The green grass will be our bed;
the cedars will be the beams of our house, and the cypress trees the ceiling.
Song of Solomon 1:15-17 (GNT)
The Song of Solomon has much controversy and many commentaries conflict with each other over the meaning and purpose of the song. I’m not a scholar, but I do have a bit of an artistic personality so this week (as most weeks) I wanted to look at the portion of scripture with an artistic eye and poetic heart. One thing all agree on is this book of the Bible is a poetic song.
I’m going to ask you to put on your best artistic persona and reread verses 9-17 as if you were a poet.
Poetry and song is one of the ways we humans attempt to define the world around us. Often it describes our world in a way that is not literal but figurative, it defines a feeling, a mystic vision that words in and of themselves can’t express. Music does the same. Something in a melody can evoke deep longing, or joy, or somehow express an ancient language our hearts know but our minds can’t interpret. We settle into it and just let it linger and be, without definition, but somehow we know what is being expressed.
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Week 7 ~ Song of Solomon 2
I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women. As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love.
Song of Solomon 2:1-5 (ESV)
My husband and I have a joke between us. We laugh because I am a person who “yearns and aches” for things. To be who I’m meant to be, to pursue what I’ve been put here on the planet for, to love deep and well, etc. Sometimes I feel so driven by what’s stirring in my heart I almost feel sick… really, literally sick it is such a deep longing.
Have you felt this? I’m comforted by the verses in Song of Solomon and Psalm that acknowledge this deep-seated craving in our souls. There is a lovesickness, a desire, and a longing for more.
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Week 8 ~ Song of Solomon 2
My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one and come away.
Song of Solomon 2:9-12 (ESV)
This week we are looking at the rest of Song of Solomon chapter 2. The complete reference for today is Song of Solomon 2:8-17. It is so full of meaning, with twists and turns. We could spend the rest of summer in this one portion of scripture, but I want to get through the whole book (we’ll see how that goes).
Listen! I hear my lover’s voice. I know it’s him coming to me-leaping with joy over mountains, skipping in love over the hills that separate us,to come to me. (Song of Solomon 2:8 tPt)
Being separated from the one you love can be miserable. When the time comes to reunite it is an exuberant time of celebration and relief. We can relate when we remember times of reunifying with loved ones. Or when we finally recognize we are truly in love with our special someone. The season changes, and life is transformed. Spring is in the air, the flowers are blooming and we’re in love, we’re in love, we’re in love! And we don’t care who knows it!
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Psalm 8 Weekly Devotionals
I can’t read this verse, this chapter in Psalm without hearing the tune by Keith Green in my head. When I was growing up in the 70s and 80s Christian music was elevated to higher heights with the likes of Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Reba Rambo, and Keith Green, to name a few. My own relationship with Jesus was incredibly influenced by the music that was being created at the time. The doors of my heart opened even wider through the melodies, words, and stories being shared by these creatives. I remember times my heart would soar just listening and singing along. Now I recognize it as the Holy Spirit ministering to my heart.
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Week 2 ~ Psalm 8:2
What is required to sing? Breath, vocal cords, melody. As I contemplated this verse, I began to see it in a whole new light.
Breath ~ then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. (Genesis 2:7 ESV).
Vocal cords create sound as the breath strums over the folds which send vibrations of sound through the air. We breathe in the breath that God gives then exhale releasing the sound. Our breath itself praises Him. It declares He is the creator of heaven and earth and every created thing. He is the creator of you and me. And with our first breath, the first expression of the praise of God was released into the atmosphere.
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Week 3 ~ Psalm 8:3-5
When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. ~ Psalm 8:3-5
These verses are so rich with images I love: The moon, the stars, the heavenlies. My family can vouch for this… if the moon is out and we are out… I’m going to point it out. “Look,” I say and point to the heavens where the moon is in its place. Ever present, ever consistent, and ever amazing.
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Week 4 ~ Psalm 8:6
What a responsibility… He has put all things under our feet, given us control of this amazing creation He has made. After God created the heavens and the earth, He made man and woman in His image (Genesis 1:27). Genesis 1:28 says God told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Genesis 2:8 tells us that God planted a garden, and in this garden, He placed man. If you read through the creation account, it doesn’t take long to imagine what a beautiful place the garden of Eden must have been. What truly is awe-inspiring is that God also entrusted Adam and Eve to care for His creation.
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Week 5 ~ Psalm 8:6-8
How amazing that we have been set in a place of dominion over creation, mammals, birds, sea creatures, and whatever passes along the paths of the sea. How cool is that? I wonder though if this played into God’s master plan. He knew He would have to create a path to redeem creation. Our rulership was given in hope that we would choose rightly, but also in the knowledge of the ability of man to choose wrongly. God knew it would take a man’s son to restore man’s sons and daughters. It would take God coming to earth in the flesh, to redeem the whole of creation from the curse (Genesis 3:14-19 & 1 Corinthians 15:21,22).
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Week 6 ~ Psalm 8:9
I am amazed that despite the fall of man, and the curse that entered our world because of it, there is still so much beauty that surrounds us. I have an artist friend, Sheila Atchley (give credit where credit is due) who has a saying: “Beauty defies despair”, and I believe it is true.
I think there is a reason God made a beautiful world. He wanted to bless us, and He knew we would need it. Did you know smelling a rose can increase memory and learning? Or that flowers can stimulate the “happy” chemicals in our brain. It recognizes that seeing or receiving flowers is good and a reward.
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Psalm 139 Weekly Devotionals
Week 1 ~ Psalm 139:1
O Lord, You have searched me
and known me!
~ Psalm 139:1
As we have completed (for now) the study of Psalm 8, we are transitioning to another of Sydney’s favorite Psalms. If you know me at all you may sense that the things that speak to Sydney, speak to me. Yes, Psalm 139 is one of my favorite Psalms, as it is for many. And it has inspired a multitude of creative ventures that I’m hoping to share with you if I can get my act together. But first, let me tell you a little story and some background into how this Psalm has impacted me.
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Week 2 ~ Psalm 139:1-4
Watercolor and gel pen ~ by Tessa Burns
O Lord, You have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
~ Psalm 139:1-4
God knows when I sit or lie down. He knows when I rise in the morning. He knows my every thought. I imagine he understands my thoughts more than I do. I confuse myself frequently. Lol. He has set forth a plan and path for me and knows me altogether. He knows me better than I know myself.
Why? Why would He be interested in me? Of the almost 8 billion people in this world, why would He choose to know me so intimately? I’m sure there are others more interesting, smart, talented… ___________ (insert just about anything) than me.
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Week 3 ~ Psalm 139:5-6
You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
~ Psalm 139:5-6
Hemmed in. When I was little, I took sewing classes and learned how to hem clothing so they were the right length for my small stature. To make the hem you turn the material over and create a space that is bordered on every side. When something is hemmed in it is restricted by this border. Or you could say, protected. Historically, the hem of a garment was considered reflective of the value of the person, a symbol of the person, representing their respect. In the Bible, the hem or tassel of a garment among other things was to serve as a reminder for the people of God’s commandments and to be holy. In ancient Babylon, a father sewed the bride price into the hem of his daughter’s clothing representing the marriage agreement.
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Week 4 ~ Psalm 139:
Where shall I go from Your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there!
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
~ Psalm 139:7-10
To the ends of the earth and beyond…
It is such a comfort to know I am never alone. Never. Even if I tried to hide from God’s presence… I couldn’t. It is impossible. God is everywhere. He is in places I don’t even know exist due to my limited mind and experience.
He is the Great I Am, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega (Revelations 22:13). And He knows me. Everything about me. Including when I want to run away and hide. Why do I try to hide?
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Week 5 ~ Psalm 139:11-12
| If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night.”Even the darkness is not dark to you;the night is bright as the day,for darkness is as light with you.~Psalm 139:11-12 |
| I have personal experience with being in dark places. I’m sure you have too. For this week’s devotional, I’m sharing an excerpt from my current book that I’m hoping to have published. This portion of the story is one of the reasons I have called these emails Sydney’s Devotionals. My character Sydney has experience with God showing up for her… even saving her life. Maybe you have too. I know I have. From: My First, My Only (working title) by Tessa Burns |
Week 6 ~ Psalm 139:13-15
~ by Tessa Burns; Watercolor and metallic gel pen.
For you formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
~ Psalm 139:13-15
I’m going to get a little science geek on you this week. When I was in high school my favorite all-time class was anatomy. Science and the way the organic world works fascinate me. And yeah, I’m that weird kid that loved to dissect animals. In my junior year of high school we dissected minks, it lit a fire inside of me. How living things are so intricately put together to live and breath and move… how can it not be by design? I went to a public school and my anatomy teacher, also my all-time favorite teacher… shout out to Mrs. D… said the same thing in class. But that was all she said. I still to this day know nothing about her personal beliefs but I was grateful for the comment. And she might just be a contributing factor to my becoming a nurse.
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