Book Worm

All three kids took a nap today. How did I manage this? It's a normal thing for Ezekiel and Ava Beth to nap/rest but even Josiah slept. I think God knew I needed this time with Him. So I took advantage. I prayed and read His word.

I told a friend this morning how I wanted to be a "book worm" when it came to my Bible. My head needs to be buried in it. When I was a little girl, I slept with my Bible. Much like Ava Beth sleeps with her baby doll, I slept with my Bible. My arms wrapped tightly around it. I lived in a constant state of fear so my Bible was my only source of hope. Today I feel the Holy Spirit calling me to carry His word close to my heart, just as I did when I was a child and just as my little girl carries her baby doll. Everywhere she goes, her baby doll goes.

Today I've had my head buried. My devotion for today's date came from Streams In The Desert. It's a book my Mom gave me the day Josiah was born and her Mother gave her the exact book the day I was born. This book means a lot to me. It has my Mother's notes, her highlighter and pen marks, her fingers have gone through each page I read. She's read every word I have read. Well today's devotion sent me to Psalm 37:5 "He worketh". Since all three kids took a nap, I had some time to really meditate on it and study what King David was trying to express. I love King David so much. He's so emotional, so full of passion and sometimes anguish. Often you feel he is full of both at the same time as you read Psalms. I relate to him. I feel like were are kindred spirits. This afternoon, I soaked up His words and rested in knowing how much God loves me and how active He is in preparing each road I travel. I've put the verses in bold that have ministered to me today and a few words of my own in blue. I pray God will speak to you in this passage like He has spoken to me. It was no accident He led me to this passage today.

Psalm 37 (New Living Translation)

Psalm 37
A psalm of David.
1 Don’t worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
2 For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

(My youth pastor gave me this scripture in the ninth grade. He was right. GOD has given me the desires of my heart.)

5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

(As a child, I longed for an advocate. Today I know GOD is my advocate!)

7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.

(Society does not teach us to be still. We are programmed to move, go, act! Yet, GOD says BE STILL! This is the #1 thing He is teaching me right now.)

8 Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.
9 For the wicked will be destroyed,
but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

10 Soon the wicked will disappear.
Though you look for them, they will be gone.
11 The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and prosperity.

12 The wicked plot against the godly;
they snarl at them in defiance.
13 But the Lord just laughs,
for he sees their day of judgment coming.

14 The wicked draw their swords
and string their bows
to kill the poor and the oppressed,
to slaughter those who do right.
15 But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

16 It is better to be godly and have little
than to be evil and rich.
17 For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
but the Lord takes care of the godly.

18 Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
19 They will not be disgraced in hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.

(GOD will not stand by and let me suffer. He is my ADVOCATE!)

20 But the wicked will die.
The Lord’s enemies are like flowers in a field—
they will disappear like smoke.

21 The wicked borrow and never repay,
but the godly are generous givers.
22 Those the Lord blesses will possess the land,
but those he curses will die.

23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.

(As I walk, I don't think about each step I take. I just walk. That is what He longs for me to do. Walk in Him and He will direct me. He delights in the details of ME!)

25 Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
26 The godly always give generous loans to others,
and their children are a blessing.

(He will never give up on me. Never. Friends, even Family are known to give up but never HIM!)

27 Turn from evil and do good,
and you will live in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
and he will never abandon the godly.

He will keep them safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will die.
29 The godly will possess the land
and will live there forever.

30 The godly offer good counsel;
they teach right from wrong.
31 They have made God’s law their own,
so they will never slip from his path.

32 The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,
looking for an excuse to kill them.
33 But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed
or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.

34 Put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path.
He will honor you by giving you the land.
You will see the wicked destroyed.

(Travel steadily! I LOVE THIS!)

35 I have seen wicked and ruthless people
flourishing like a tree in its native soil.
36 But when I looked again, they were gone!
Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

37 Look at those who are honest and good,
for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.
38 But the rebellious will be destroyed;
they have no future.

39 The Lord rescues the godly;
he is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them,
rescuing them from the wicked.
He saves them,
and they find shelter in him.