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
Angie M – Macon, MS
And do not give the devil a foothold.
Ephesians 4:27 – NIV
Ramona Gellick
Medina, Ohio
1 Peter 1:6 (NLT)
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.
Psalm 18:30. NIV
As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.
Tillie, Spring Branch, TX
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
1 John 5:14 (NIV)
Jessica from Rockvale, TN
Joshua 1:9 (NIV) “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Becky, Oklahoma City
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
Peggy, Bangor, ME
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV
Stephanie from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Colossians 2:3 NIV
(Christ)…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Ashley Edwards, Dallas, Ga
“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
John 1:26-27 (NIV)
Kelly, Denton, TX
“As He says in Hosea, I will call them my people, who are not my people; and I will call her my loved one, who is not my loved one. And in the very place it was said to them, you are not my people, there they will be called children of the Living God.”
Romans 9:25-26 (NIV)
(memory verse for July 1st and 15th)
Brandy from Jay, Oklahoma Ephesians 6:13 NIV. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
Misti, Kingwood, TX
In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.”
Isaiah 12:4 NIV
Springdale, AR
Sing the praises of the LORD, you His faithful people; praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:4-5
NIV
Melissa, Denver :
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to You
while You may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
You will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Psalm 32:6-7 NIV
Amherst, VA
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30 NIV
Leigh Ann
Gallatin, TN
“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
Psalms 122:1 KJV
Anita, Big River, Saskatchewan, Canada
“Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46: 10 ESV
Stephanie Winder, GA
2 Timothy 4:5 (ESV)
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Toma, Antelope, CA
“Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Luke 9:23 NIV
Redmond Or
“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!Amen.” Jude 24:25 NIV
Mary Beth, (Springfield, MO) NIV Luke 6:45: A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Sara
California
Isaiah 43:1b [NIV] Fear not for I redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
Kerre, Chattanooga, TN. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 2 Corinthians 3:5. ESV
Sherry from Jay, OK Isaiah 43:19 (VOICE)
Watch closely: I am preparing something new; it’s happening now, even as I speak, and you’re about to see it. I am preparing a way through the desert; Waters will flow where there had been none.
Crystal, NC, Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. Isaiah 59:1
Amy G- clovis Ca
And christ lives within you so even though your body will die because of sin, the spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.
Rom. 8:10- NLT
Kimberly,Watha. “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 heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV.
Got this June 30. Sorry to be just posting this.
Lori, Owasso,Ok
“She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure all her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night.” Proverbs 31: 17-18 NLT
Shelly, Rochester, MN
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8
Sharon, Florien La But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Phillippians 3:20 (NIV)
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8 NIV
Melanie, Arkansas
“I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.”
Psalm 22:22 NKJV
Carolyn, Orofino, Idaho
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NIV
Pamela Williams, Olive Branch, MS
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2
NIV
Kathleen, Tallahassee, FL:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!
Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 (NASB)
Lethbridge, AB
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Paula Stemple, Marlinton, WV
The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. (Psalms 121:7, 8 NLT)
Laurie from Oklahoma City, “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love.” (Ephesians 1:3, 4 NET)
Kelly Charlotte, NC
Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Jeremiah 23:29 ESV
Sara, Garden City, KS
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV)
Christene from Ontario, Canada
Yahweh your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will bring you quietness with His love. He will delight in you with shouts of joy.” Zeph 3:17 HCSB
Yvonne
Louisville
Romans 12:12 (NIV)
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Brenda Cousino, Frisco, Texas
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28 ESV)
Christy L., Royal Palm Beach, FL
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17 NLT
Candace
Colorado Springs
“The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:8
NLT
“Lord,” he said “I want to see!”
Nasb Luke 14:41b
Do to others as you would have then do to you.
Luke 6:31 (NIV)
Hernando Beach, FL
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. James 3:14 NIV
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
Jill, Lewisville, TX. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
—Micah 6:8 ESV