I have found a new passion! I love to glean from God’s word.
A great definition of the word glean is “to
gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit”. I have taken part in Bible studies and have been completely
overwhelmed at the Bible knowledge exhibited by the authors of those studies.
It amazed me that they had “connected the dots” since I seemed to struggle
every time I would sit down to read the Bible. It was hard to understand
everything I was reading even though I would try so hard to put it all together.
Whenever I would make the
effort, I would become frustrated to the point that it would ultimately lead to
me giving up daily Bible reading for a period of time only to try again and
find myself caught in a vicious cycle. Recently I have been in one of those
periods of not sitting down to read the Bible every day, and yet I am finding
solace because I don’t completely avoid the Bible. I am not saying it is a good
idea to avoid reading the Word of God. On the contrary, I have girlfriends who
send me Scriptures, friends who post Scriptures online, I pick up my Bible to
read a few verses when I have a minute or two and sometimes God brings verses
to my remembrance (usually upon waking in the morning). Amazingly, it seems
that God is speaking to me more, reminding me of how much He loves me and showing
me the way to live for Him. I am finding Sunday morning services more
fulfilling, and when I come across Scriptures during the day, they are more
life-giving to me.
This morning, I picked up my
Bible to read for a few minutes. I have been gleaning from Proverbs 10 and 11.
There are so many great verses in there that I am not going to reprint them. Here
is a link to read them on Bible Gateway. Some of the verses that jumped out
at me this morning are Proverbs 10:9, 12, 14, 20, 23-25, 27-28 and Proverbs
11:2, 3, 5, 13, 16-17, 27.
On Mother’s Day, we attended a
church that we had been to once before. The pastor preached a wonderful message
that reminded me of my role as a mother, but that was not the highlight of that
day. I have been completely frustrated by a situation in mothering my three
children, especially the two youngest children. I often joke about them butting
heads all the time, chalking it up to sibling rivalry, but sometimes it seems
to be much worse than that. They grumble, they complain, and they argue to the
point that it seems they are doing it just to get a rise out of each other or
out of my husband and me. I was fed up with the nonsense and was about at my wits
end.
That morning at church, they had
baby dedications, and they did something unique that I absolutely loved. Each
couple chose a verse that really spoke to their goal in raising their child(ren).
One couple chose the verse found in Philippians 2:14-16. Of course, as is usual
with me, I had to read a little further in that passage, and I felt God
prompting me to make the decision that we, meaning our family, will commit this
verse to memory this summer. The New Living Translation puts it this way:
14 Do everything without
complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live
clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world
full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then,
on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in
vain and that my work was not useless. 17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my
life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful
service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.
18 Yes, you
should rejoice, and I will share your joy.
This passage is speaking to all believers, including me, but I found it
applicable to my children because it is a great reminder to not argue and
complain and grumble. This morning as I was reading in Proverbs, I also noticed
a verse that is applicable to training my children that goes along with the
Philippians passage. Proverbs 12:1 says “To learn,
you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.” The
use of the word stupid in this verse is such a strong word! In our home, we do
not use the word stupid because it is such a strong word, and yet God is
telling us that when we hate correction to the point that we are not trainable,
it is stupid. I
want my children to enjoy life to the fullest, but more importantly I want them
to develop good character, the kind that others want, even long, to have. As I watch my children misbehave, talk ugly to one another, argue
over unimportant things and the like, I am utterly appalled, even embarrassed. I
want to change that behavior, but I realize that I cannot change their behavior
because they have to want to change. I can, however, influence and encourage
them to want to change their own behavior. It is my prayer that this verse will
speak life to my children so that every time they start to misbehave they will
remember this verse and desire to develop good character by heeding correction.Not only do my children have a responsibility in developing their character, I recognize that I have a responsibility as well, as indicated in Philippians 2:16b-18 (above). I want to be able to rejoice in their good character when they are grown, but I cannot do so unless I handle my responsibility with grace and purpose, truly offering my mothering to God. I want my actions to please my Father so I can rejoice together with my children in the joy that comes from all of us honoring Him. My prayer today is that I will be the kind of mother that pours life into my children daily, encouraging them with the Word of God. If you still have children at home, it is my prayer that you will do the same. If you no longer have children at home, it is my prayer that you will be an influence on those within your circle, whether grown children, grandchildren, friends, family. We all have the opportunity to live our lives to honor God while encouraging others to do the same. May you purpose in your heart, as I have, to do so today as well.
In His grace!
