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:
8Â Â Â Â Â Â The LORD says, âI will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you.
9Â Â Â Â Â Â So donât be like a horse or donkey, that doesnât understand. They must be led with bits and reins,
or they will not come near you.â
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 donât be like a horse or donkey, that doesnât 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
Gay
Round Rock, Tx
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
II Corinthians 4:16. NIV
Kim, Bloomington, IL
“What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?”
Luke 11:11 NET
Shiffra Vicksburg, MI
2 Sam. 2:10-11 NIV “And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. ââThe Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you”
Debra, San Antonio, TX. So don’t be like a horse or donkey, who doesn’t understand. They must be led with bits and reins, or they will not come to you. Psalm 32:9 NCV
Rachel Owasso, OK
II Timothy 1:6 NIV
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Connie from Carterville, IL
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
Amy Brown, New Palestine, IN
“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shielf for all who take refuge in him.” -2 Samuel 22:31 NIV
Stephanie Jo
Corvallis Oregon
O Lord You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glourious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth. You have domimon and exalt yourself as the ruler of all.
1Chronicles 29:11 NET
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all thr saints. Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
Marta, Anchorage. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Psalms 32:8-9 (NIV)
Michelle, Fort Worth
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 ESV
Michelle, Chesapeake, VA
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Proverbs 4:23 (GNT)
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 6:37 (NIV)
Tyler, TX
Lamentations 5:22-23 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (ESV)
Melissa, St. Mary’s County, MD “Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.” Psalm 32:9 KJV
N FORT MYERS, FL
EPHESIANS 6: 17-18; NKJV
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (18)praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supllication for all the saints –
Mary from Columbia, Pa
Psalm 119:10
New English Translation (NET)
With all my heart I seek you.
Do not allow me to stray from your commands!
Jill in Palm Coast
As soon as I pray, you answer me; You encourage me by giving me strength.
Psalm 138:3 NLT
Stacey Gaines
Corpus Christi, TX
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.â
(Exodus 14:14, NIV)
Allison from Scottsdale, AZ
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 New Living Translation
Lisa, West Des Moines “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.” 1 Corinthians 13:3 (NLT)
Susan, Greensburg, Indiana:
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Cheryl, Huntington, WV Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV
Nancilea, The Woodlands, TX
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV
“For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.” Psalm 33:4 KJV
MiChal in College Station, TX
“…God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.â
Genesis 41:52b (NIV)
Joy, Caldwell, ID “I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”(3 John 1:4 HCSB)
Pamela from Shelby Township MI
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NIV
Amy- Fort Polk, LA
The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep His covenant and obey His demands. Psalm 25:10 NLT
Sharon Allen, Redmond, WA
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
GAL 5:1 ESV
WendyC – Cheyenne, WY.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. Ecclesiastes 4:9 NIV
Colleen, Glen Ellyn, IL
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Matthew 7:15 ESV
Heather, from Frisco, TX
From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive.
Prov 16:23, NLT
Vanessa from Anderson, SC: “I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do.” John 13:15 (msg)
Anita; Purcellville, VA
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.
Isaiah 26:8 NIV84
Cher Goeder, Toledo, OH
Psalm 33:18
“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.”
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)
Jackie, Mobile, AL
” To do righteousness and justice is desired by the LORD more than sacrifice. ”
Proverbs 21:3 NASB
Kristen Keeling from Covington, Ga
“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 an reins, or they will not come near you.” Psalm 32:8-9 (NCV)
(I needed this one!)
Leverett, MA
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
Psalm 34:13 NASB
Rebecca Alburn
Salem, OR
Psalm 95:1 NIV
“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.”
“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, O LORD.” Psalm 89:15 NIV
Kay Martin
Tupelo,MS
Pat, Hot Springs, AR
O Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth forever. Psalm 118:1 KJV
Janet George, Tulsa
âI am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NIV
Mary, Atlanta – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Colossians 1:9-10 ESV
Nancy Engberg from Minneapolis
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12
NIV
Kathleen D.
Bernardsville, NJ
James 1:12 NIV
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised.”
Sandra, Rock Hill, SC
The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:7-8 NIV
Janet from Odessa, TX
Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,
Ephesians 4:26 HCSB