Psalm 15

This is one of my favorite passages of scripture.

Verse 1: Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?
In other words, "God, how do I get close to YOU?" And then He answers.

Verse 2: [S]he whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, and speaks the truth from [her] heart.
Read other parts of My love letter to you and see what types of behaviors are right in My eyes. Don't sugar coat things, but remember that "righteous" thing when you speak, too.

Verse 3: and has no slander on [her] tongue and who does [her] neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on [her] fellow[wo]man,
Don't gossip. Treat people fairly.

Verse 4: who despises a vile [wo]man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps [her] oath even when it hurts,
Stay away from wicked, shameful women and surround yourself with like-minded women who also love the LORD. Find yourself a Titus woman. And when you say you're going to do something, do it.

Verse 5a: who lends [her] money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Do not charge ridiculous interest rates if someone needs money. Exodus 23:8 says "Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous." If you get involved in bribes, then your righteousness will be called into question. The reward for righteousness is so precious, that you don't want to mess it up by being attracted by the love of materialism. Deuteronomy 16:19 says almost the same thing, except it says "a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise".

Verse 5b: [S]he who does these things will never be shaken.
Now I think that promise deserves a couple exclamation marks!! Notice it does NOT say "will never have pain" or "will never have trouble". It says that you won't be shaken. You will stand firm. Even if a storm rages, you who are righteous, truthful, trustworthy, edifying, honoring, faithful, and generous, will be held in the grip of God Himself.

Do those adjectives sound impossible? How in the world can I be all those things? Well, I can't. At least not on my own. But the One who holds me and you firm also gives us the strength to be all those things. He wouldn't call us to be something that He wouldn't equip us for.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 13:9.

Are you shaking today? Ask Him for His sufficient grace and His perfect strength. Call on our El Shaddai, the God Almighty, the God All-Sufficient. Turn this psalm into a prayer. Pray with me.

Lord, I want to dwell in your sanctuary. I want to live on your holy hill. Make my walk blameless. Help me to do what is righteous and to speak the truth from my heart. Remove slander and slurs from my tongue and help me to treat my neighbors fairly, especially with my words. Convict me regarding vile influences and show me other women who honor God to surround myself with. Teach me to limit my promises to those You want me to keep and give me the strength to keep those promises even when it hurts. Teach me to be generous to others and to close my ears to the bribes of man because I want to have wise eyes and to have righteous words fall from my lips. Hold me firm, Lord Jesus, that I might not be shaken.
In your precious Name,
Amen.

Cardboard

Please take 8 minutes, I PROMISE it will be worth it, to watch this video.



Mine says:
Front - striving for perfection in my own power in order to be liked and accepted
Back - still learning that I am loved and accepted by a perfect God despite my imperfections

What is your cardboard testimony?

Puddles and Bubbles

My boys were getting ready for the bath last night. Elijah, 5, went potty and then Ethan, 2.5 (not potty trained), saunters up to his brother and says "I go potty, too!" He stands in front of the toilet, widens his stance (genetic?), and attempts to aim. Now, the top of the toilet comes up to his belly-button, so he is essentially aiming at the floor. Which is not all that uncommon for the newly-potty-trained boy variety. Nor is it all that uncommon for veteran 30-something potty-ers of the male persuasion. I love Clorox wipes. So Ethan stands there, gives it a little shake, and, assuming this pee thing happens on demand, looks up at me and says, "It's no working. It's broken."

Today we're in the pool and Elijah squats down to push off of the step and passes gas. He says, like his mommy taught him, "Excuse me", followed by (not taught his mommy), "Did you see bubbles coming out of my bum, honey?"

Then we're getting out of the pool and Elijah is absolutely dancing with full bladder syndrome. I don't want him running through the house wet, so I tell him to go potty over in some dirt by our back slider. He hustles over there butt-naked and proceeds to do his business. When he's done, he looks over his shoulder at me and says "Did you see how big my puddle of pee is? I peed all the way to the wall, honey!"

What is it with boys/men and their bodily emissions?