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
Worcester, England, UK
1 Thessalonians 2:8 NIV
[8] so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
krystal ward
teague, tx
the Lord appeared to us in the past saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness”
jeremiah 31:3 NIV
Julene,Cowiche, WA
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; My God will hear me. Micah 7:7 NIV
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into His heavenly Kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever!” Amen.
2 Timothy 4:18 NIV
Lori S from College Station, TX (Elgin)
Psalm 95:6 (NIV)
“Come, let us bow down in worship,
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker”
Jen B., Gaithersburg, MD
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may decalre the praises of Him who called you out of darkenss into His wonderful light.” IPeter 2:9 NIV
Sarah Sykes, Arkadelphia, AR
Psalms 84:3 (ESV)
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
JamieB
Corbin,ky
James 1:3 ESV
For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Lindsay from Tampa:
the dice are thrown into the lap, but their every decision is from the LORD.
Proverbs 16:33
Scarlett, Round Rock, TX
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” (Psalm 143:10, NIV)
Megan D, Houston, TX
“You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.”
Deuteronomy 13:4 NASB
” The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing” Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.
Philippians 3:13 NLT
Tanya, Whitewater, KS
“It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].”
1 Corinthians 13:6-7, Amplified
Matia, Fort Worth
“Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up you everlasting doors!
And the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is this King of Glory?
The Lord of Hosts,
He IS the King of Glory.”
Psalm 24:9-10 NKJV
Joni, Port Neches. “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” James 2:22 NIV84
Mandy
Waco, TX
However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
Mary
Woodway, Texas
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 11:24 (NIV)
Ashley, Kingwood
“‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Acts 17:28 NIV
Sarah, McKinney, TX, NIV “So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:12
Tara from Bolingbrook,IL
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1, ESV
Hannah from Bolingbrook,IL
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105, ESV
Cathy, Jackman, ME : NLT “1 Cor. 13: 4-7 “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5) or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6) It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7) Love never gives up, never looses faith, is aways hopeful and endures through every circumstance.”
Kim, Littlestown PA. “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 (NKJ)
Stephanie, Lititz, PA “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation! The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hind’s feet and will make me walk [not stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! Habakkuk 3:18-19 AMP
July 1 – Romans 10:13-15 NIV
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Georgine East
Austin, TX
Sarah Cox from Jay, Ok
“Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.”
I Peter 2: 12 (HCSB)
Meredith, Blacksburg, VA.
“But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”
Psalm 5:11-12
Melissa J – Houston, TX
Romans 6:11 NIV
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Shannon Houston, TX
I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ. Philemon 1:6 NET
Carol Kirby Amarillo, TX Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help. Hebrews 4:16 NIV
Selina, Aberdeen. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 KJV
Stacy, Greenfield, Indiana “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24 NIV
Tina, Houston TX
Rejoice in hope; be patient to affliction; be persistent in prayer. Romans 12:12 (HCB)
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Sheri, Milwaukee, WI
“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
James 3:7,8 NIV
Pamm W. from Albuquerque, NM
Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your father will not forgive your sins.
Jennifer in Winston-Salem, NC
O Lord, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovreign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all.
I Chronicles 29:11 NET Bible
Sara, Plymouth, IN
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)
Mechanicsville, VA
‘Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.’
Jude 1:2 NIV
Emilie Eaton, IN
James 4:7 NIV
Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Beth, Roswell, GA
“A gentle word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 15:1 NASB
Sarah S., McKinney, TX,
1 Corinthians 14:12 NIV
“So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.”
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands.
Psalms 100:1 KJ
Kami, Dallas, TX: “Sustain me, my God, according to your promise and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. Uphold me, and I will be delivered.” Ps. 119:116-117 NIV
Lexington, KY
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. II Timothy 1:7
Johnine from Murfreesboro, TN
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers: such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. John 15:6
Natalie from Frisco, TX
“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” James 2:26 NIV
Rhonda, Anderson, In
When I was secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you showed Your favor You made me stand like a strong mountain; when You hid Your face, I was terrified.
Psalm 30:6,7 HCSB
Stephanie Knight
Waynesboro. MS
“Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 NIV