Psalm 1 - an oldie and a goodie

Psalm 1:4, 6

1 - "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 - But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 - And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 - The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

6 - For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."


You may remember me sharing that I was struggling with contentment and being angry over being in the military. And how I am not able to surrender this alone, that my help must come from God's word. I talked about the verse in Job about how he counted God's Word more important than his daily food. This is an extension of that, and I know it's no accident. (grin!) Like I said, God kept bringing me back to it and back to it.

Verse 1: I do pretty well at being careful who I seek counsel from... I search the Bible, ask older and wiser Christians whose walk I've watched for years, etc, and pray pray pray, etc. But the next part got me for the first time, really. "nor standeth in the way of sinners" - If I'm standing, I've quit moving. Growing spiritually doesn't happen by accident; it must be done on purpose. But notice... not standing in what I know to be right... standing in the way of sinners, standing in sin again, the way we sinners all do. I'd stopped doing what I knew to be right, and fell immediately back into my old familiar habits: thinking of self first and only. And once I stopped to stand... I wound up sitting in the seat of the scornful - I'd parked my tuckus to scorn. Scorn means means "open dislike and disrespect or derision often mixed with indignation" - eeek!! That was completely my attitude!! Open dislike and disrespect for my husband's decision to enlist and (oh my...) was there indignation. "How can he do this to me?" But God says I'm blessed if I *don't* do those things. I was missing out on His blessings because I'd let myself "stand" and "sit" spiritually.

Verse 2: There it is again - the reminder that to change my attitude, to truly surrender it and mean it, I've got to meditate on His Word constantly - "day and night!" And I must delight in His Word, in His rules, in His leadership. Delight means "a high degree of gratification" - wow. I must find a high degree of gratification. What is gratification? "reward, satisfaction or pleasure"

Verse 3: I love God's word pictures. A tree by the river is always hooked up to the source of water. The water makes the tree come to life, thrive. There is no chance for the leaf to wither because it is never without that refreshing water. My attitude can't wither or wander if I'm constantly hooked up to The Source by meditating on His Word day and night!! If I do start to wither, it's because I pulled away from Him.

Verse 4: Chaff - "the seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed in threshing grain, something comparatively worthless" It's dry and brittle, mere fragments that are dead and crumbling. And that is what God says the ungodly are like. They aren't hooked into the Source. And just like the chaff, I quickly become dry spiritually when I am not hooked into Him. What a neat comparison - be lush and fruitful with God, or dry and crumbling without Him. We are totally dependent on Him!

Verse 6: And here is my reminder: Lily... "for the Lord knoweth the way," girl. Notice the comparison... "but the way of the ungodly shall perish." It isn't those who trust in Him who perish. He knows the way, and it isn't the way to my destruction. He isn't going to send me out to my doom. He's got His own map, and it's a whole lot more detailed than mine! But why do I tend to tuck my map in my back pocket and at the first sign of something that isn't kosher with me, I whip it out to say, "Hey, uh... that's not on my map!" I need to burn that map in my back pocket. And perhaps rip out my pockets. LOL

Oooh, I'm so excited

I've been questioning and searching the Bible regarding two specific questions I had, and wow, did the Lord answer me tonight! He answered both questions! I am so thankful and feel such a peace over this now. I have scripture that clearly shows me the answers, and it feels so good to KNOW. God is gracious. He not only gave me the answers, but I think I see how those answers fit into the big picture. Wow. What a wonderful plan God has, and He allowed me to get a glimpse tonight why He did things the way He did.

WAHOO! I'm joyful! God is indeed marvellous and am I SO thankful that His ways are not our ways. This is much more beautiful His way!

Pass the barf bowl

The sickness has run through Sweetheart, me, and now Sunshine. (Those who watch my "What's happening here" category on the side bar know that we have been sick.) And I think perhaps Shortcake got just the diarrhea end of it because she has had some n-a-s-t-y diapers lately. She also has been clingy and crying more, so I think she didn't feel good, either. So thankful she never threw up! It is so hard for the wee ones when they throw up; I hate the panicked look on their faces. So sad to watch.

Anyway, so I guess my plans for school today will be altered a bit. We'll go by how Sunshine feels. Or perhaps we'll just do school while snuggled on the couch. Those kinds of days are always sweet, even if she is sick.

The good news is, this bug doesn't last long. Two days is about it. And thankfully, we've all taken turns having it. It's so hard when everyone is sick at once, including Mommy.

Proud and funny moment

Today, Sunshine colored a picture for a friend who still lives back in our former neighborhood. And for the first time ever, she sounded out her own words to put on the picture. All I've ever asked her to do is sign her name, nothing more. But she put on the picture:

"Fum Sunshine"

LOL, I'm soooo proud. She is still in preschool, but sounding out words and writing them herself!

I didn't dare tell her how to correctly spell "from." I think it is precious the way it is.

One-on-One with Mom

I've been asking God to show me some things to teach my children to be like Him, to help their spiritual lives mature as they grow up. And over the past few days, He gave me an idea - to spend 1:1 time with them individually. Not to just run to the grocery store so they each get time with me by themselves. Oh, that idea is great and fine, and we do that when I can (Daddy being gone makes that hard), but no, I'm speaking of a more purposeful time alone together.

The goal of this time together would be to really get at their heart. To ask them, how is your heart doing? Are you struggling with any areas lately? What can I pray for? Are you afraid of anything? What is God telling you in your Bible time? (This last question will be when they are old enough to have their personal devotions. Mine aren't old enough yet.) This time will be to pray together, to talk of their dreams and hopes for their life in the future, to talk about anything bothering them, and so on. Also, this would be a good time for me to be open with them about my own failures and struggles, and to ask their forgiveness when I've made mistakes.

My hope for this is to let them see that I care personally how they are doing on the inside and out. I want this to deepen their trust of Mommy. I also hope this will open doors for me to intimately "disciple" my children as they know Christ as their Savior.

Churches disciple their new Christians - or they certainly should; many churches have discipleship programs. Do we as parents have a purposeful discipleship with our children? Do we have a time to address their individual needs?

But I hope this time won't be all seriousness. I don't want it to be stiff. I hope it's filled with lots of laughter and giggling, too. I don't want it to be like a report-card interview. I want it to be a sweet time. And so I need to start it now, while my daughter is five. She'll have no expectations of Mom coming into her room and sitting down to talk. We can start off these memories with lots of giggles over her made-up jokes and stories. I can tell her my own made-up stories (she loves these at bedtime) just for her. And we can talk about her fear of the dark, and Mommy's fears (not too much detail here for her little mind) letting her know I get afraid, too, and how I take my fears to God and so can she. We can pray together, read the Bible together, and just have fun being Mommy and Daughter.

I have high hopes for this idea God gave me. May He bless it richly!

Using our experiences as testimony to Him

Job 22: 23 - 27, 29 (I left out some phrases to show the parts that blessed me)
"If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up... Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee... When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person."

I love the comfort, the reassuring truth here!

Eliphaz (Job's friend) is telling Job that if he just will return to God (he mistakenly thinks that Job is being punished for straying from God), then this will be his testimony. While he is wrong about Job, he is right about what happens when you whole heartedly and humbly repent and turn to God.

1) You will be built up. v. 23
2) You will prosper. v. 24,25
3) God will be your defense. v. 25
4) You will have your delight in God. v. 26
5) He will hear your prayers. v. 27
6) You will be a testimony to His saving grace!! v. 29

My favorite part is #6, v. 29: "When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, 'There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.' " Isn't it so true? No matter what we go through, we may be an encouragement to others who will travel down the same path, whether that path be one of repentance or one of trials. We are able to not only feel their pain and know how to better pray for them, but we can also be a testimony to His grace, His forgiveness, His patience, His love, His provision, His leading, and His answers!!

Father, thank You so much for how you turn every single thing in our lives to Your ultimate glory!

Whooohooo! Shopping trip!

Oh yes, and I had FUN. My youngest sis and I went with the kids to a mall an hour away. (That's how far we have to go out here in the sticks.) We had a blast. We hit soooo many stores and the kids were so good and patient. I was very proud of my little chicks today.

I got some wonderful clothes for myself! I never buy for myself because I always feel guilty (what is up with that?), but today I did. And because of all the weight I've been losing, I'm now out of "woman" sizes and back into the normal size range. Yippee! So today instead of shopping at CJ Banks (my fave store), I got to shop at their normal store, Christopher and Banks. I just lo-o-o-ve their clothes. Very "me." And these fabulous clothes not only fit great and flattered my figure (gasp!), but I stepped out of my normal color choices and style, and I love what I chose! It feels good to do something different than what I typically do.

Stopped at Old Navy, and ladies with daughters: pay attention! I found winter tights for my girls for 47 CENTS! Yes! I went "tight crazy." I walked out with a very large bag of assorted socks and tights.

But perhaps the purchase I'm most thrilled with is the wonderful printer I got. An HP Photosmart C5100 All-in-One! God was sooo good. I've been praying for weeks (months?) that God would provide a good quality printer for our family that was under a certain price. I had checked online, and what we were needing for our family was a bit outta my price range when you considered the cartridges, the needed cables, etc., to get you started. Well, praise God! I walked outta there with every thing I wanted with wa-a-a-y less than the prices on the website! This baby is wonderful. I had not intended to get a printer with photo printing capability, but God included that, too, in my price range. The photo thing was on my wish list. Isn't He gracious?

All-in-all, a great Monday with lots of sales and a great sister-bonding day!