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:
8      The LORD says, “I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you.
9      So don’t be like a horse or donkey, that doesn’t understand. They must be led with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.”
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 don’t be like a horse or donkey, that doesn’t 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, St. Louis, MO: Psalm 37:5 “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him and He will help you.” NLT
Julie from Bristol, Tennessee
Proverbs 3:7-8 NIV
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Jane, Milton, GA Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Col 3:15 NIV
Jennifer, Cypress, TX
Psalm 19:7 ESV, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3
But The Lord is faithful and will give you strength and protect you from the evil one.
Tara G.
Sherwood, AR
And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:16-21 (ESV)
Erin from Murfreesboro TN
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Philippians 1:16 NAS
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phyllis Baker Parma Heights, OH Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 NIV
Good News Translation says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.
Becki, Battle Creek, MI
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear — but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
1Peter 3:3-4
Carol, Hartley, Iowa
Proverbs 3:25-26
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared. NIV
Wendy, Harrodsburg Kentucky
For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
Psalm 103:8-18 NASB
Shannon, Columbia, SC
“You will do everything you have promised;
Lord, your love is eternal.
Complete the work that you have begun.”
Psalm 138:8 (Good News Translation)
Lamentations 3: 22-23 NIV
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Cheryl, Coffeyville, KS
“Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.” Jude 21 NIV84
Patrice, Elm Grove, WI
He surrounds me with lovingkindness and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things.
Psalm 103:4-5 TLB
Proverbs 17:17 NIV A friend loves at all times.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:
and He shall gather the lambs with His arm,
and carry them in His bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Isaiah 40:11 KJV
Corinne in Chehalis, Washington
Bridgette King, Rockwal, TX
Because God’s gift to us is the happiness we get from our food & drink and from the work we do. Ecc 3:13 CEVU
Stephanie King – Richardson, TX
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4 NIV
Courtney, Chicora, PA. So don’t be like a horse or donkey, that doesn’t understand. They must be led with bits and reins, or they will not come near you. Psalm 32:9 NCV
Jody B. in Huntsville, Al
NIV Psalm 119:105
” Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
Colette, Mesa, AZ.
“You are the God who performs Miracles;
you display your Power among the peoples!”
Psalm 77:14 NIV
Psalm 77:7 NIV
Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again?
‘And so we know & rely on the LOVE God has for us. God is LOVE. Whoever lives in LOVE lives in God, and God in them’
1 John 4:16 (NIV)
Vanessa, Rockport TX
He must become greater; I must become less John 3:30 NIV
Beth Love, Warminster
Romans 12:16-18 (ESV)
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Robbie
Michigan
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on you own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 NLT
Allison From Chicago,IL
Psalm 31:24
Amplified Bible (AMP)
24 Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!
Andi Crumrine, Rockwall, TX
For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.
Deuteronomy 2:7 NASB
Diana, East Peoria, IL
Because you are my helper;
I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
I will follow close to you;
your right hand holds on to me.
Psalm 63:7-8 HCSB
I love Job’s sarcasm in verses 1 to 3 – with the subtle reminder to seriously consider verse 4:
“How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble! What advice you have offered to one without wisdom! And what great insight you have displayed!”
“Who has helped you utter these words? And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?”
from Boston,
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14.30 NIV
For Nothing will be impossible with God.
Luke 1:37 NAS
Nancy, Versailles, Ky
Mine is one I wouldn’t choose in isolation, but when learning an entire psalm….
“May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.”
psalm 71:13 NIV
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV
Chyrll, Cordova, TN: Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 NASB
Diana from Broken Arrow, OK Proverbs 22:6 NKJV “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Jennifer
Lexington, KY
Proverbs 31:22 (CEV)
“She does her own sewing and everything she wears is beautiful.”
“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income, this too is meaningless.”
Ecc 5:10 (NIV)
Ginger – Mansfield, TX
Chris, Seattle,WA
Matthew 5:37 NIV
Simply let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Laura Hagedorn, Wausau, WI. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV
Psalm 130 NET, this week I am learning verses 5 and 6
I rely on the LORD
I rely on him with my whole being
I wait for his assuring word.
I yearn for the LORD, more the watchmen do for the morning.
dixie, santa monica, california
Barb fron Wetumpka, AL
Lift up your hands in the holy place, and praise the Lord!
Psalm 134:2
HCSB
Jamie, Moore, OK
So don’t be like a horse or donkey, that doesn’t understand. They must be led with bits and reins, or they will not come near you. Psalm 32:9 NCV
Thank you Beth! Oh, how I needed this verse today!
Dawn, Colleyville,TX
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26, NIV
Frances, Orange, TX
I lift up my eyes to the mountains-
where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2 NIV
I will be on a mission trip in Poland for the next post so I will post both today’s and July 15th now.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. John 15:7 NET
My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples. John 15:8 NET
Ginger
Wetumpka, AL
For our struggles is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 NIV
Cassia, Spring TX
Hate stirs up strife, but love covers all sin. Proverbs 10:12 NKJV