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
Kathy, Danvers
Psalm 84:6 NIV
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
Margo, Littleton, CO
“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)
Stephanie, Irvine, CA
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” (1 Tim. 6:17-18, NIV)
Nona from Poplar Bluff, Mo.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Mark 18:24 (NIV)
Keri Lee Robbins, Las Vegas, Nevada
11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
James 3:11-14 NKJV
Lamentations 3:22 (NKJV)
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
Geri, Deer Park, TX
2 Cor. 1 ESV
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
Susan Bymaster, Ames, OK.
But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,
to find protection with the Sovereign Lord
and to proclaim all that he has done!
Psalms 73:28
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 12:12 ESV
Debbie Portland, OR
Linda, Little Rock, AR 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 you. Ps 32:9 NASB
Beverly Pearland,TX Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
Terry
Washington, IL
For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die. Psalm 48:14 NLT
Psalm 5:8 NLT
Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.
Susan B., Chapin, SC
Roxie, Jerseyville, Illinois. Isaiah 25:1 EVS
“O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You; I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”
Debbie, Olathe, KS
“For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”
Psalm 139:13 (NIV 84)
Diera- Austin, TX
“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV
Amy
Tyler, TX
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
Psalm 94:19 (NIV)
Dawn, Raleigh, NC, NLT, Ephesians 4:2 “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”
Kristi, Austin, TX
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”
Matthew 11:28 NIV
Sarah, Colorado Springs, CO
Genesis 16:7
BUT the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness on the road to Shur.
Genesis 16:7 (AMP)
Cyndy, Huntingdon, PA
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
Psalm 103:13 NIV
Verse 12
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
I am Yahweh your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Psalms 81:10 HCSB
Julie. Hanford, ca so humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 1 Peter 5:6
Isaiah 58:9 NIV
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall
cry, and He will say, “Here I am.”
Sandy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Psalm 121:1-4
1) I raise my eyes toward the mountains,where will my help come from?
2)My help comes from the Lord,the Maker of heaven and earth.
3)He will not allow your foot to slip, Your Protector will not slumber.
4)Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
(learning this Psalm for this summer’s Bible study – thank you Beth!)
Chrissy, Clemmons, NC
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Psalm 73:24,KJV
Carol
Albuquerque NM
Psalm 25:verse 21
21- May Integrity and up rightness protect me because my hope , Lord, is in you .
NIV
Julia, Flower Mound, TX
2 John 1:6
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
NIV
Susan, Houston, He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful. Ps. 111:4, ESV
Amber comeaux
katy, TX
Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. (Proverbs 31:11, 12 NLT)
Lindsey Buchanan, St. Augustine, FL
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
Lindsey, Jenks, OK
“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.” ~Colossians 3:10 NLT
Sacramento,CA
Trust in The Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 NIV
Tina from Ohio
In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.
Psalm 138:3 NKJV
Mel Ann Sullivan – Millry, AL For he who said “Do not commit adultery,” also said “do not murder.” Now if you do not commit murder and do commit adulturey you have become a violator of the law. Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. James 2:11-12 NIV
Lori D., Georgetown, TX
Finishing up Psalm 100: For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5 (NIV)
Michele, Pearland, TX
“…always be(ing) ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”
I Peter 3:15 NASB
sharon Meekins
Charlotte, NC
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:16 NIV
Rebecca, Chattanooga, TN
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” Psalm 2:1-3 ESV
Leigh, Montgomery: “Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.” Psalm 16:18 MSG
Val, Ann Arbor, MI
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. – Isiah 55:9 NIV
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13| NIV
Meredith from Columbus, OH: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” -Ephesians 6:11
*from the NIV
Valerie, Taylors,SC
The LORD gives His people strength, the LORD blesses them with peace. Psalm 29:11, NLT
Alison from Southport, NC. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 4:3. NKJV.
Kim-Hickory, N.C.
Psalm 125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be shaken but endures forever. NIV
Hannah, Perry, MI
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5, NIV
For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the one who waits for Him. (Isaiah 64:4 NKJV)
Johnnie, Hammond, LA
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 NIV