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
Cara, highlands ranch: mark 5:25 – A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. (NLT)
Terri Frasure from South Lebanon, Ohio
“Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Proclaim His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations.
His wonderful works among the people.”
1 Chronicles 16:23-24 (HCSB)
Colossians 1:10 (NIV)
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
Lorene, Lafayette, LA
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)
Teresa, Walla Walla “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NLT
Lisa Brouwer – Sioux Falls, SD
The LORD looked at him and said,”Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”
~ Judges 6:14
Esme Brown –
Memphis, TN
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31 NKJV)
Melissa, Boston
“The Lord says, ‘I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you. 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: 8-9 NCV
“be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
Gods will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 niv
Marsha R. Lexington Park, MD
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
James 2:25 NIV
Gloria Johnson. -Chisholm MN.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18. “Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” NIV
Vanessa from Victoria, TX
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Paula, O’Fallon. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have become near in the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13 RcV
“Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful.”
Deuteronomy 8:18 NLT
Tiffany, Summerville, SC “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every kind of evil.” James 3:16 NIV
Heather
McDonough GA
“”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7, 8 ESV)
Johannah, Alexandria, LA
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NKJV
Nicole from Newton, IA
But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.
James 5:12 NLT
Jeannie – Charlotte, NC
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam. 3:22-23 (ESV)
Sally, Columbus, OH
“May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. God will bless us and all the ends of the earth will fear Him.”
Psalm 67:5-6
Betty Clark, Ann Arbor, MI “Make me want to obey you, rather than to be rich. Take away my foolish desires, and let me find life by walking with you.” Psalm 119:36-37 CEV
Kim; Poplar Bluff, MO. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)
Bonnie, Alexandria Micah 7:7 NLT
“As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me and my God will certainly hear me.”
April Jones, Springfield, IL.
The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Zephaniah 3:17 NASB
Barb, Urbandale, Iowa
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Romans 8:5 NASB
AND
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
Bethany, Evart,Michigan Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it. I Peter 3:11 NKJV
Kay, Sheridan
Delight yourself in the Lord ; and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NAS
Melissa-Black Creek, Ga
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 36:7 NIV)
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:14 NIV
Julie, Houston. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.” Ephesians 5:8-9(NIV)
Alice, Dallas TX:
The Lord your God is 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.
Zephaniah 3:20 NKJV
Richelle, Kingston. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2 (NIV)
Jana, Brenham, TX
Ruth 1:16-17, NIV
“But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Nelda Adkins, Houston, TX
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Kristy from Tallahassee, Fl
“… so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:17 (NIV)
Kari, Frisco, TX
“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:4
Janet Ronkonkoma, NY
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:8-9 NIV
Holly Burlington, ia God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)
Kay,Tucson (via Budapest,Hungary)
Psalm 23:2. KJV
“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside beside the still waters.”
Linda R. Springfield, MO
Don’t praise yourself; let others do it! Proverbs 27:2 Living Bible
Janice – Topeka,KS
The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Exodus 34:6 NIV
Bobbie – College Station
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
Melissa, Denham Springs, LA ” you are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7 NIV
Hannah, Albuquerque
For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
(Psalms 62:1 ESV)
Rosie, Tacoma WA
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
Psalm 143:8
Linda S
McCalla, Alabama
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Matthew 6:5-8 ESV
Karen, Redmond. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:3 NIV
Bethany, Frisco, TX.
Jeremiah 17:14 (NIV)
“Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”
Schel, Bayou Vista, TX, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord you God is with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9 ESV
Cindy Cannon, Otterville, IL
Now faith is the substance of thing hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)