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Summer Newsletter, 2025—Psalms Edition
Greetings, Friends. It’s good to get in touch with you again. Summer is such a lovely time with long days of light and fluctuation between clear skies of blue and sunshine, rain, and clouds. I’m enjoying vegetables from my garden and the blooms in the flower bed near my house. The schedule eases a bit to allow more time to interact with the garden, prepare the nutritious fresh food, take walks after the evening meal, and to write. I’m happy to report that I’m making good progress on the manuscript for a new book. It’s on track to be completed this fall, and then I will take the proper steps to get it published. In the meantime, I don’t have much news to share about new releases and the publicity that goes with them, but I still want to keep in touch and share with you happenings from my life as well as other excerpts of my writing. This wish has required my newsletter to go through some changes, and today’s letter is the first with the new structure. The topics I want to share can quite naturally get clustered according to themes. That is why the heading above says this is the psalms edition. The thoughts I will share today are related to the book of psalms in the Bible. I also realized that my favorite magazine keeps me engrossed because it is divided into sections that are of real interest to me. So, I decided to do the same with my newsletter. I trust that my readers will find similar pleasure in learning more in these areas as I do. My newsletter has taken on the form of sort of a “mini-magazine.” I find that format will work well for sharing the content of my newsletters. Future editions of newsletters will cover the themes: pioneers (this is because a pioneer community will appear in my next book), tea, the farm, tulips, and music.
Favorite Things
My favorite magazine is Victoria magazine and has at the front a brief section titled Favorite Things. I like looking at the photos, and I marvel at how the items they claim as their favorites, I would also claim as mine. Victoria is published six times per year and comes out every other month. Each year, they feature a writer in residence who shares thoughts and happenings about their life.
In 2024, the writer in residence was Jennifer L. Scott, the author of the Madame Chic series. This year, the writer in residence is Lady Carnavon who, with her husband, lives and works at Highclere Castle in England. This is the castle used as the setting for Dowton Abbey. Other sections in the magazine include Touring, Cooking and Entertaining, On the Bookshelf, and Collectibles. I find I have quite a bit to say on those subjects, so they made an easy adaptation for my newsletter. I’m also going to add a couple of sections of my own to talk about holidays, history and research, and reflections on Scripture.
On the Bookshelf
This summer, I’m taking a seminary class on the psalms. The professor has recommended a variety of books for this course, so I’ve been reading chapters from them each week. Since they have been helpful for understanding Scripture at a deeper level, I thought I would share a couple of them here with you.
The Biblical Psalms in Christian Worship by John D. Witvliet This book is part of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies Series, and is published by Eerdmans located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The thirteen chapters encourage readers to consider topics like metaphor for God’s character, specific and general prayers, emotional engagement when we pray and sing, and the best ways to utilize the psalms in Christian worship.
The first chapter offers the writings of early church fathers on the psalms. In the following sections is a sampling of names for God in the psalms. The second half of the book features the benefits of praying the psalms in worship, with examples of how to weave these prayers into the order of the service. At the back of the book are appendixes that offer adaptations of the book’s material for classroom use, thoughts on worship renewal, and a helpful bibliography categorized according to history and practice. This book is useful for people who plan worship, or who teach the Bible. It has a lot of practical knowledge in it that deepens our understanding of the psalms while also offering creative applications.
Getting Involved with God by Ellen F. Davis This book is about reading the Old Testament as a source of good news and guidance for our life with God. The author believes the Old Testament is necessary for Christians and explores in this book what it has to say about the intimate qualities of our life with God. She says that if there is a secret to getting involved with God through the pages of Scripture, it is to turn the pages slowly.
This book draws upon lectures and sermons delivered over several years and has an emphasis on the psalms portion of the Old Testament. It’s divided into five sections that explore pain and praise, the cost of love, the art of living well, habits of the heart, and Torah of the Earth. It’s very easy to read and the chapters are short. This book is for anyone who is looking for a fresh approach to the familiar and the old writings found in the Old Testament.
The Songs of Jesus by Timothy Keller This book is one year of daily devotional readings from the psalms. It isn’t on the list of required reading for my seminary class, but it is on my list of favorites. Tim Keller says that “the psalms are the divinely inspired hymn book for the public worship of God in ancient Israel. They were sung instead of read, so they penetrated the minds and imaginations of the people like only music can do.
The psalms help us see God not as we wish or hope him to be but as he actually reveals himself and brings that reality into our prayer lives. When read in light of the entire bible, the psalms bring us to Jesus. They were his songbook. There is every reason to believe that Jesus sung the psalms throughout his life so that he knew them by heart. It is the book of the Bible that he quotes more than any other. But the psalms were not simply sung by Jesus, they were also about him.” This book is a smaller 5×7 size with one dated reading for each day of the year. The readings are one page in length, with a brief prayer at the end. The book goes in the order of the psalms with Psalm 1 on January 1 and Psalm 150 on December 31.
History and Research
Did you know that singing the psalms in worship has been practiced for five hundred years? Yes, that’s right! During the era of church history prior to the Reformation, the lyrics to the music were written in Latin, so few people understood the words or the meaning behind them. This was happening with the liturgy as well as the Scriptures being read and used in worship services. People like Martin Luther and John Calvin wanted to change that. John Calvin wrote much good theology as he led the Reformation from his location in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition to the systematic theology books and commentaries he published, he also worked with a team of poets and musicians to create the music that the people in these protestant congregations would sing. His focus was on the psalms in the Bible. The first step was to make them metered, which means that they fit into certain patterns of rhythm, and then he had them set to music. I talk about this in depth on my blog, so if you wish to learn more about the unique history of psalm singing in Calvinist Reformed churches, then you are welcome to follow this link to the article. I give a brief history and also provide links to places where you can go and listen to arrangements that help us understand what these earliest musical arrangements of the psalms sound like.
This summer I’ve been studying the psalms since my seminary class has offered so much good teaching on them. One of my favorites is Psalm 63. In this psalm, David is telling God how much he needs him, and how fondly he remembers worshiping in the temple. He also finds comfort in the protection God offers him. The longings David expresses in the course of this psalm are similar to ours today. I find Psalm 63 to be encouraging and calming whenever I feel afraid or in need of protection. If you are in one of those places, then I invite you to click on the link below to visit my website and read more.
Over the years I have accumulated a wide array of songbooks. I talk about them here because of my focus on the psalms today. Some of my books are hymnals. Some are old. Some are new. A couple of them I used for music lessons toward my music degree at Central College fifteen years ago. Others of them have been given to me. Three of my song books are psalters from various Christian Reformed churches in the area. I want to note that these collections aren’t necessarily the same tunes and lyrics as the originals in the Genevan Psalter I discussed earlier.
The psalters of our modern era have retained the message of the psalms but not necessarily the exact same lyrics. The tunes also vary. Many of the psalms have been changed or rewritten to new melodies that require different lyrics in order to fit the rhythms. I have enough Psalters from different eras of history that it is interesting to see down through time the alterations made, and the creativity invested by pious composers to keep the word of God fresh and alive for us.
Travel
This subject doesn’t have much to do with psalms, but it has everything to do with summer. Our family had the chance to gather for a few days together in Minnesota. We had a lovely time at a lake with a jet ski, kayaks, paddleboard, and doing some fishing. The sunsets were beautiful, and the temperatures were very comfortable. So much more bearable than the high heat and humidity of southern Iowa in late July.
Holiday
Arriving near the middle of the summer, the Fourth of July weekend is one of my favorite holidays. The weather is usually warm, so if the temperatures aren’t too high, my family and I usually spend the entire day outside. Along with a pair of white shorts or blue denim ones, I put on a bright red shirt. The Fourth of July is the perfect time to wear red, a color I love.
Sometimes we are on vacation during this time, so we experience the holiday near the ocean, or the Great Lakes. But most years we are at home. The day may include a fishing trip to the pond on the family farm, and always involves a cookout or a gathering of some kind.
This year, I had the chance to do so many fun things that I wrote about it on my blog. From patriotic music to walking in the parade, I go to practice all of my favorite ways to celebrate this year. If you would like to read more, then click on the link below to visit my website. There are even a couple of links to patriotic songs if you would like to listen.
A lovely, light, and yummy dessert I enjoy in the summer is lemon meringue pie. When I was a teenager, I learned from my grandmother how to make it because I love it so much. At the time, I thought everyone knew how to make it because it is so good and so pretty. But it turns out that I haven’t ever seen anyone make this dessert. The only places I have found it is pre-made at the grocery store or in restaurants. I like to purchase it from those places too, but nothing tastes as good as my own made at home.
If you like tasty and elegant desserts that feature lemon, then you will enjoy this recipe. It’s not difficult, it just takes some attention to detail to get it to turn out right.
Lemon Meringue Pie 1 crust baked and cooled Filling 1 ¼ cup sugar 1 ½ Tablespoon grated lemon zest ¼ cup cornstarch 1 large egg ¼ teaspoon salt 1 large egg white 1 ½ cup boiling water 2 teaspoons butter ½ cup lemon juice Meringue 3 large egg whites at room temperature ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar Pinch of salt ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla To make the filling: whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Gradually whisk in boiling water. Place the pan over medium heat and bring it to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring for one minute. Remove from the heat. Whisk together lemon juice, zest, egg, and egg white in a bowl. Whisk a small amount of the hot sauce into the egg mixture, then whisk this into the sauce. Return to a simmer over medium heat, stirring, then cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the butter until melted and pour into the pie shell. To make the meringue: Beat three egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and pinch of salt and beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add the sugar, beating constantly, until the mixture holds stiff, shiny peaks. Beat in the vanilla. Spread the meringue over the hot filling, sealing to the edge of the crust. Bake until the top is lightly browned in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack until room temperature, about two hours. And that, friends, is all I have for you today. I hope that your summer has been a time to make special memories, and to find ways to stay connected with God. I will leave you with the words to Psalm 121 as we close our exploration of the psalms.
