... all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. ...

 I returned to church yesterday after a much-needed two week break. The last year has been a very hard one in many different ways. Exactly one year ago my wife had just been released from intensive care in a Hamilton hospital (although she would still spend another month in the hospital before being released on New Year's Eve.) When she first went into the hospital doctors told me with no hope at all that she wouldn't survive. I was left as someone facing the overwhelming prospect of being a single father to a then 4 year old girl.

 Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” ...