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
Kim, Pearland, TX
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23 NIV
Betsy, Lincoln Park
“nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.” Psalm 91:6
Claudia, Raeford, NC If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NIV)
Heather, Mt Pleasant.
What is impossible with men is possible with God.
Luke 18:27 NIV
I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. Psalms 62:5-6 (NLT)
Psalm 62:1 ESV
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
Karen from Mandeville, LA
“If you love Me, keep my commands.” John 14:15 NIV
In honor of Teopista
Talia Cincinnati Ohio
Regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic all purpose garment. Never be without it.
Colossians 3:14 (The Message)
Leah, Kansas City, MO
Make me know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.
Psalm 24:4-5 (NASB)
Romans 6:22
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God,you have your fruit to holiness and the end , everlasting life.
April, Lake Charles, LA
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ~ Gal. 5:13 (NIV)
Terri, from Plano, TX
Psalm 18:28 NIV
“The Lord my God will give light to my darkness”
Susan, Greenville sc. James 3:5 NIV. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
Denise Wilkin
The Woodlands, Texas
Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the faint; and to him who has no might, he increases strength.
HNV
Tiffany, Nampa, ID
Psalm 139:13 (NLT)
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Glo in Houston says
So be done with every trace of wickedness and all deceit and insincerity and grudges and slander and evil speaking of every kind.
1 Peter 2:1
Sandy, Ft. Gibson, OK
You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 NIV
Rachel, Ft. Smith, AR
“O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.” Psalm 84:12 (NIV)
Jennifer, Tyler Tex
My troubles turned out all for the best—
they forced me to learn from your textbook.
Psalm 119:71 (MSG)
Lora
Mooresburg
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5&6 NKJV
Ti-Leigh
Orlando, FL
On my bed by night
I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him, but found him not.
Song of Solomon 3:4. ESV
Kaitlyn, Fort Walton Beach, FL
O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.
Psalm 65:2 (ESV)
Julia Stevens Hill — Anniston, Alabama
Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and
Saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Donna Marina, Ca
Oh, give thanks to The Lord, for he is good! For His mercy endures forever.
NKJV
Laura, Clay Center, KS
Matthew 5:15 (ESV)
Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Aubree, San Antonio, TX.
Don’t be proud at all. Be completely gentle. Be patient. Put up with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2 NIRV
Erin in Euless, TX
Hosea 2:19-20 (MSG)
“And then I’ll marry you for good—forever! I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness. Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go. You’ll know me, God, for who I really am.”
Amy Storms
Joplin, MO
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.
Proverbs 8:34-35
Yvonne, Riverside, CA
Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. ~Isaiah 41:10 (NASB)~
Jamie, Mason,OH
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work with in us,
Ephesians 3:20 NIV
Vicki
Longview, WA
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Romans 8:17 NLT
Jeannie, Nashville, Tn.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Prov. 14:34. NASV
Jeannie, Nashville, Tn.
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Prov. 14:34.
Katie Swaney (McDonough, GA)
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.
Psalm 119:37 NIV
Laura from Nokia, Finland: You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7 NIV)
Shawna
Longmont, CO
Your word , O Lord is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
Psalm 119:89 (NIV)
Linda from Stanley, WI
Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the might waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Ps. 32:6-7
Kerri, Lakeland Fl
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22 NIV)
Leah, Houston
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Kim, Yorktown,VA
He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior- from violent men you save me.” 2 Samuel 22:2-3 NIV
Angie
Anniston, Alabama
“You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:20
NIV
Julie in Carlsbad, CA (happily via TN this week!)
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
Darl, Bakersfield, CA
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;”
Colossians 3:12
NASB
Kathi Johnson Spartanburg SC
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
Psalm 73:25
Sandy from Vienna, VA
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of The Lord, our God.
Psalm 20:7 (NIV)
Evansville, IN
“My soul melts from heaviness, Strengthen me according to Your Word.” Psalm 119:28 (NKJ)
Leslie Crawley, Flagstaff, AZ, June 15, 2013
“I wil instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”
Psalm 32:8
Leslie Crawley, Flagstaff, AZ, July 1, 2013
“Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.”
Psalm 32:9
Diane – Roswell, GA
“When I cried out for help, you answered me. You made me bold and energized me.” Psalm 138:3 (NET)
Melissa, Walla Walla Wa,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget none of His benefits.”
Psalm 103:1-2