Hey, Everybody!
I am writing to you on Sunday afternoon since this post needs to go up first thing Monday morning and I am typing away on my laptop from Jackson and Annabeth’s room in our home. It’s the room where Keith and I get the best internet hookup. I like it anyway because it is filled with expressions of the only two kids on the earth I love as much as the two that I birthed. From Annabeth’s twin bed where I’m sitting, I can see a pink and green doll house, a blue and yellow race track, a dark green, fairly-convincing rubber lizard, a kids’ brightly colored exercise bike, a cardboard playhouse and a cardboard castle. It’s full on here in this room and, boy, has it had a work out in the last week.
Keith and I are blessed out of our minds to do lots of life with our grandkids because they only live about 20 minutes from our front door. Delightfully, their voices often reverberate off of these walls and their sweet feet are slap-happy on these wooden floors on a regular basis. We get to have sleepovers on occasions through out the year but once every summer Keith and I have them for the better part of a week and let their darling parents get some time together all by themselves. This last week was that segment of time – Camp Bibby we call it – for the summer of 2013. We kissed them goodbye on Friday night after a good, solid 5-day dose of them. I hate to admit to a small lump in my throat when they drove off with Amanda and Curtis, although I needed a nap in the worst way. Grin. It may be of some encouragement to you mothers of young children that, on Day 1, I did not shower until 3:00 PM. Yes, I do indeed remember what it was like to be a busy young mom whose life is not her own and when I forget, my two sweeties help me remember. Good grief, I would not trade them for anything in this world.
We do not have the time or space here for all the new quotes that have been added to my repertoire in the last week. Jackson and Annabeth are each hilarious, even when they don’t mean to be, so I try to have a pen nearby at all times. Annabeth announced to me on Friday afternoon that, when she grows up, she most definitely does NOT want to have a baby. “Why not?” I asked. “Because you have to go to the hospital,” she replied. And I thought to myself, whoa baby, that’s not all you have to do. As my mama always said, you also have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Translation: you think you’re going to die but, ordinarily, you do not, although at times your husband could be in considerable harm’s way if he spouts another word. Of course, I kept these thoughts to myself.
Annabeth paused for just a moment then spoke back up. “I just want a chihuahua and a cat.”
And that was that.
Jackson asked me how old I was while he was here because I recently had a birthday. He’s asked me that kind of thing before and it always ends up following the trail of whether or not I will still be his Bibby when he is in college. Curtis’s grandmother died a couple of years ago and I think he’s got it in his seven year-old head that grandmothers are tenuous creatures, here today, gone tomorrow. So, I said to him, “You know, Jackson, both your grandmothers are actually pretty young to have a grandkid as old as you. Because we all started so early, I think you can probably assume we’ll be around a while and see you grow up.” He sat on that a few moments then said, “Bibby, that makes you a rookie grandma. Do you know what a rookie is, Bibby?” Ah, yes, I do, Mister. I was a rookie mom with your mommy and a rookie grandma with you and I cannot think of two people on the planet through whom I’d rather be cast into those auspicious, busy, and often humbling roles.
I guess you’re wondering what all of this has to do with our Scripture memory. Well, I am getting to that right now. We have a daily verse at Camp Bibby and Psalm 32:9 out of the New Century Bible was our verse for Day 3 and the immediate favorite and clear winner for the fastest memorization. I taught the whole verse to Annabeth and Jackson but we only memorized part of it. Perhaps you will see why Jackson all but claimed it as his life verse. Kids totally love this kind of thing:
“Don’t be like a…donkey.” Psalm 32:9a
It made them almost as happy as talking about bathroom sounds. If I heard this verse once out of their mouths since Wednesday, I heard it 50 times. They could tell you what it means, too. I’ll stick the phrase back in the wider Scripture segment so that you’ll know what it means, too:
8Â Â Â Â Â Â The LORD says, âI will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you.
9Â Â Â Â Â Â So donât be like a horse or donkey, that doesnât understand. They must be led with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.â
Jackson would tell you that it means that God doesn’t want to have to tie us all up, or sit on us, or be all hard on us to get us to come to Him and to walk in His gracious and good will for our lives. He doesn’t want to have to make us obey Him so He can bless us. His deep desire is that we’d want to go with Him because we know that He is always for us, always leading us to triumph, always trustworthy, always right, and forever wanting to crown us with love and compassion and lead us away from bondage and such unnecessary harm.
I know it’s basic. But my mind’s been on the basics this last week with a seven year-old and a four year-old either one foot from me or on my person. I guess the question I’m throwing out on the table this week is this: Why do we continue to fight God and lash about in His grasp like He’s a big Taker instead of a Giver? What is it we think He’s trying to rob us of? To whom have we compared Him so that we’ve assumed we cannot trust Him?
Don’t be so stubborn, the psalmist is saying. Cooperate and go with God some place beautiful. Some place almost magical.
Revel in the two preceding verses in the same psalm (32), this time from the NIV:
6Â Therefore let all the faithful pray to You
while You may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7Â You are my hiding place;
You will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Surround sound. Oh, if our spiritual ears could only be opened for a few glorious minutes, what a musical score we’d hear all around us. To go with Jesus is to go the way of deliverance. The way of music. The way of symphonies. The way of ascent amid mighty rising waters. So, I’m going with Jackson in my memory work this round:
Beth, Houston. So donât be like a horse or donkey, that doesnât understand. They must be led with bits and reins, or they will not come near you. Psalm 32:9 NCV
So, what’s yours?
You are loved around here, Sister. We are honored to serve you.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Cindy
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
ESV
Cali Kim, Central Coast California
God gave Solomon wisdom and very insight,
and the breadth of understanding as measureless as
the sand on the seashore. 1 Kings 4:29
đ Blessings to all on this 4th of July Week!!
Suzy, Wheelersburg, OH – So you also must be patient. Establish your hearts – strengthen and confirm them in the final certainty – for the coming of the Lord is very near.Amplified New Testament. James 5:8
Robin, Orange City, IA….
Psalm 40:12a
“For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me and I cannot see”
Ashley from Dexter, MI
“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8 NIV
Deidre
Hickory, NC
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
Hebrews 10:35-36
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 (HCSB)
Vickie, Louisville. Taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8 NIV
Trish
Paintsville Ky
I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.
Song of Solomom 6:3 KJV
Dimy from Griffin, Ga.:
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”~Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
Karen, Florence KY
…Reality, however, is found in Christ.
Col 2:17b NIV
Praying this partial verse this week for those who think I believe in fairy tales.
Lisa Diaz, Houston ” Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)
Janice Abbeville, AL
“Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)
“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”
Hebrews 10: 36
Kimberly in Madison, ME:
Zephaniah 3:17
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.â
Karoletha Longview TX
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials
James 1:2. NIV
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5 NRSV
Amy–Savannah, GA
Terri, Papua New Guinea. “‘This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,'” Matthew 6:9, NIV.
Amanda, Lexington, KY
“…yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Habakkuk 3:18 NIV
Pat C
S Burlington, VT
“Oh Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise.” Ps. 51:15 NIV
Carla Lee, Corryton,Tn.
NIV Lamentations 3:21-22
“Yet, this will I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”
“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV’84)
Kathy
St. Louis, MO
Robin Freeman~~ Garland TX
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:4 NIV
Emily Jordan
Virginia Beach, VA
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid, for the LORD God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.
Isaiah 12:2 (NAS)
Nina, Moore, OK
2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Ephesians 6:17-18 (The Message): “God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long.”
April, Greensboro, NC: “When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consultation brought me joy.
Psalm 94:18-19 NIV
Kathy
Madison, CT
Romans 1: 23-24 NIV
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
Kelly, Jackson
“You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.” Psalm 65:2
Leah Cullen – Ramona, California
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. – Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV)
Kristi B.
Houston, TX
Psalm 4:8 NET
“I will lie down and sleep peacefully,
for you, Lord, make me safe and secure.”
Kathy, Austin Ps. 32:7 NIV
You are my hiding place
You will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance
Kathleen from Chester, VA: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
Sallie Belle Howell Tupelo MS Prepare the way for The Lord, make straight paths for Him. Mark 1:3 NIV
From Sibley, LA
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2 KJV
Imogene Austin,TX 2 Thess. 3:3 NIV
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
Brenda – Hendersonville TN
Prov. 30:8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, âWho is the LORD?â
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
Lynn, Lake Villa, IL
Isaiah 43:2 NLT
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
Cheri, Savage, MN 2 Timothy 2:1 ESV
You then my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
isaiah 64:4 niv
since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, Who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him!
Dana. Ashland, KY “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.” Isaiah 61:7 NIV
Barbara, Birmingham, Al
The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord and his name the only name.
Zechariah 14:9 NIV
Dayna, Bedford, VA
Do not fear, for I am with you;do not be afraid, for I am your God.I will strengthen you; I will help you;I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 HCSB
Leanne from Eden Prairie, MN
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17 NLT)
Lakeisha Bing, Mays Landing, NJ
They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. – Psalm 112:7
Judy Sommerville
Fairmont, MN
You are my hiding place, You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverence.
Dayla, Springfield,MO
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psalm 32:7 NIV
You open your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor.
Psalm 145:16
Erin, League City, TX
“Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,”declares the Lord. Zechariah 2:10 NIV
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you; to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 NLT