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
Sheri, Morrisville, MO
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Romans 5:10 ESV
Melissa, Augusta, GA
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:56-58 NIV
Lisa, San Antonio
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8 NLT
Katie Brown
Greenfield, IN
Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.
Proverbs 2:18 NLT
Julie, Madison, GA
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it”. Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Erin, Detroit.
but they who wait for 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 ESV)
Beth C, Huntsville, AL
When I cried out for help, you answered me.You made me bold and energized me. Psalm 138:3. (NET)
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32 NIV
Sue ~ Hartland, MI
1Peter1:3 NASB
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who according to His great mercy has caused us to be
born again to a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead,
Megan from San Diego
“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?”
Lamentations 3:37-38 NIV
Jeanene -Newnan, GA
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7: 14 NIV
Kate from Cheney, WA
Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders.
Deuteronomy 33:12
Judy
Panama City, Fl
Isaiah 46:3-4 (NCV)
I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you, and will take care of you. I will carry you and save you.
Christa, Memphis TN
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29 NIV)
Psalm 103:13 (NKJV)
As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
Jan, aka Gran Jan 🙂
Hawkinsville, GA
Ellen, Albuquerque.
My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me. They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NET)
I accidentally left off the last sentence of verse 8:
It does not stop bearing fruit.
Deborah in Hartsville, SC; “Blessed be the Lord who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation.” -Psalm 68:19 NASB
Phyllis Amarillo, TX
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, The Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Philippians 3:20-21
Berni, Albuquerque.
“The LORD is my light and my salvation– so why should I
be afraid? The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from
danger, so why should I tremble?”
Selena – Cordele, GA
But as for me, God’s presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all you do.
Psalm 73:28, HCSB
Wanda
North Canton, Ohio
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, thought the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV
“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Proverbs 16:24 NRSV
Romans 8:28 (NASB)
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Leanne
Mississippi
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
Kitty
Fishers, IN
Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
As someone who will be “walking in the shadow of death” (aka – delivering her first baby) sometime in the next two weeks, your post entertained and (slightly terrified) me. But there’s no going back at this point, so instead I’ll be quoting all those God-will-give-you-strength verses, and you can pray that my husband stays out of harm’s way.
My verse for today is: …”But his DELIGHT is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he mediates day and night.” Psalm 1:2 NIV.
Delores O.
Lake Stevens, WA
Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning, for i am trusting You. Show me where to walk, for i give myself to You.
Psalm 143:8 NLT
Lezli. Oklahoma City, OK
In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
—Proverbs 16:9
“But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” Galatians 6:14 NAS
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 ESV
Judy, Littleton, NC
Oh Lord my God, I cried unto thee and you restored my health. Psalm 30:2 NLT
Ashley
Fort Worth TX
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 NIV
Katelyn Chalker
Highland, CA
Luke 1:45 ESV
Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished !
“The Lord your God is with you.
He is a hero who saves you.
He happily rejoices over you,
renews you with his love,
and celebrates over you with shouts of joy.”
Zephaniah 3:17 GWT
Elaine, Littleton, CO
I Corinthians 9:25 – 27 (NIV)
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do so to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Heather from McKinney TX
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Deanna, Maytown AL
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 NKJV
Rachel, Mt. Carmel, PA
Psalm 94:19, NIV – “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”
Loveland, CO.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
(Romans 8:1 NIV)
Mandee from Gilbert, AZ
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV84
Beth, Toronto: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
Ephesians 1:18-19a (NAS)
Emily Mechanicsville, VA NIV
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. James 4:17
Nikki L. Littleton, CO
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:1 ESV
Becky, Mansfield, Ohio
So don’t be like a horse or donkey, that don’t understand. They must be led by bits and reins or they will not come near you.
Psalm 32:9
Becky Mansfield, Ohio
Oops! I forgot NCV.
La Chiel from Portland, TN
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be frightened for I am your God. I strengthen you-yes, I help you-yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NET
Tanya, Raleigh,N.C.
“You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done!”
Psalm 92:4 NLT
Traci~ Vadnais Heights, MN
Psalm 71: 14-15
“i will always put my hope in you
I will praise you more and more!
I will tell of your goodness,
All day long I will speak of your salvation though it is more than I can understand!”
Laura, Southaven, MS
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8 ESV
Connie, Pickerington. “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work and walking-around life, and place it before God as an offering.” Romans 12:1a The Message
Pam~ Moss Bluff, LA
“You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7 (NKJV)