I Love Bibles!

I can't begin to count how many Bibles I have. What can I say? I love God's Word.

There is my pink "Women's Devotional Bible". Remember those? They came out about thirteen years ago for everybody under the SON...the "Men's Devotional Bible,"(in green) the "Couple's Devotional Bible"(in blue). I have all those and the reason I remember the pink one is because it was the Bible Wayne bought me about two months after we were engaged. I've got Bibles in every color you could imagine with my name engraved on them. Wayne also presented me with the first Bible with my new married name engraved on it. It was navy blue leather. I've got many - not all - translations...King James (the ONLY version according to my parents), the New KJ, the NLV, the Message, the NIV, the NLT, and XYZ.

But here is a pic of my favorite, greatest Bible of all time.

This Bible has been to every Beth Moore Bible study that ever existed. It has been -accidently - set in a puddle of water on the kitchen counter and soaked through to the beginning pages of Genesis. My old notes written in hot pink, green, and blue ink, now look like a colorful rainbow. It has gone with me to Women of Faith Conferences and was tucked away in my suitcase for who knows how many business trips and vacations. It holds so many precious mementos: both my Grandpa's obituaries, a newspaper clipping of my dad in 1979, a bookmark that Kate Russell made me when I use to babysit, another beaded bookmark from my best friend, Leigh, as well as a letter I wrote to my father-in-law a few years after he died. As you can tell, my favorite Bible has just about had it!

I remember a friend in one of my Sunday School classes making the comment that one of her most treasured possessions was her Grandmother's Bible. She said that her Grandmother's Bible meant so much to her because inside the Bible, her Grandmother had made notes in the margins, written dates of significance, and these handwritten notes were special because they represented her Grandmother's life. I remember that comment as if it was yesterday and that day, I vowed to start "writing" in my Bible. Now, I come from a family with parents that said "writing in your Bible is a no-no." Every now and then I can remember my mother underlining a verse in hers during a sermon, but for us kids, we just didn't do it. "Maybe" John 3:16 might be highlighted (Heaven forbid!) but other then that, we just didn't write in our Bibles. So, after that particular comment was made, I went to town and I started marking and highlighting and writing all in my Women's Study Bible. I've got every color highlighter, every color ink, Beth Moore quotes, Bill Dye quotes, John Doe quotes written all over the place. On some pages, the margins are completely filled up. And I've also made notes from my own study times and quiet times with Him. And you know what? That friend was right. My Bible has become my life. It is my world because it represents all the things that I have learned and discovered in this Journey about my God. It is personal. It is a part of me. And that is why I just can't seem to part with this particular one.

I asked Wayne one Sunday when we were pulling into our driveway after church if he had any duct tape. That day, the maroon binding had torn off and I was so sad about it. When he asked me why, I told him what my plan was - to tape my Bible back together - and he said, "Laura, that would be sacrilegious to do that. You've got so many Bibles. Just use another one."

About two years ago, Ruth gave Wayne his daddy's Bible - just like it was the day he died - with all the papers still stuck in it. Wayne wasn't home that day when she brought it by so I showed it to him when he got home that night. I noticed a while later that he disappeared to our bedroom with his dad's Bible and when he came back into the living room I could tell that he had been crying. On that day, he understood the importance of a Bible and I don't think all the duct tape in the world would have been enough to hold in the love and significance of holding that black book in his hands the way his daddy had.

There is just something to be said about God's written Word. It is everything that He says that it is. It does not return void. It cannot be added to or deleted from. It DOES endure.

Ms. L

Some husbands give their wives jewelry when they have a baby. For instance, a friend of mine got new diamond earrings from her man for having another baby. Some get a new slide for their slide bracelet or maybe a new necklace with the baby’s birthstone. Me? I got a maid! Yep, that’s right! A maid!

Now, don’t get me wrong. Ms. L is like a breath of fresh air to me. She’s like a little angel that sneaks in to our home when nobody is looking. She sprinkles a little pixy dust and works her magic every other week. I LOVE every other Thursday…knowing that I’ll be coming home to a nice, clean “orderly” home. Even Alise has begun to notice her bed being made and her toys are in their place on the Thursdays afternoons after Ms. L comes! The way I remember how long Ms. L has been cleaning our house is by the age of Alise. I absolutely love the fact, that I don’t have to worry about doing housework (cleaning) and so therefore, it allows me more time to spend with Baby Girl (I will do some “touch up” cleaning in between weeks).

But the Wednesdays before Ms. L comes the next day? Well, that’s a different story! All three Horton’s are running around picking up and straightening up so that at least everything is out of the way of the things that are to be cleaned. Alise has to pick up all her toys, I have to tidy the kitchen (Ms. L doesn’t do dishes), Wayne has to gather the trash and pick up after himself, I have to hang clothes that I’ve just thrown on the rocking chair in our bedroom…the list goes on and on! We’re running around cleaning for the maid!! And, of course, my husband just doesn’t understand it! He asks, “What are we paying her for?”

Last night I was thinking that I would have to do the same running around and straightening up today to get ready for Ms. L’s visit tomorrow. And then, something struck me: How often do people think that they’ve got to get their lives in order before they can come to Jesus? Just like I think that my house needs to be “picked up” before the maid can come, so many people think, “Well, I’ve got to quit smoking before I can get saved” or “I’ve got to quit hanging out at the bars before I can talk to God again” or “I’ve got to get married and have a family before I can start going to church?” And even as a daughter of Christ, I make the same mistakes in my own life. I don’t put God first nearly as much as I should. I think, “Oh, just let me write one more email” or “Let me fold just one more load of laundry before I open my Bible” and God gets the leftovers. By then, I’m drained and tired and my mind is not totally focused on what He might have to say to me. Jesus said to simply “Come.” “Come unto Me, all you who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest.”

No matter what you’re going through – or what you’ve done or currently doing – Jesus will give you the rest and peace you need. You simply have to take Him at His word and believe that He is Who He says He is! The Great I AM.

So….I’m back on my knees in the mornings (most of the time before Alise wakes up! This morning, I could hear Hannah Montana in the living room while I prayed. Imagine that! But I was able to block her out!) reading from Psalms and Proverbs. At night, I read my Bible and do a short devotional. It’s hard getting back into habits. But this is one habit that I know I will benefit the most from. I encourage you to get in God’s Word and let the Great I AM speak to you.

Philippians 2:13 - Continued

I can not believe the people and situations God has placed me in the last two days. Here goes:

Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend that I've been thinking about and praying for for several months. I invited her to our Bible Study in July. She and I had lunch together yesterday and I asked if she thought she might come to Bible Study. She told me that she thought she might. We're planning on watching the new Chonda Pierce video and I asked if she had ever heard of her. She said she had. She told me that she had actually attended a Women of Faith conference a few years ago. I was shocked. When I asked if she knew about Beth Moore, she told me she did. Shocker number two. I don't mean to be mean or sarcastic. I just mean it in a way....well, I can't really describe it. We all have moments when we're involved in things that we shouldn't be. Obviously, my friend comes from a Christian home. She talked about church, but I don't think she is living the life that is indicative of it right now. Enough said.

Today I had a little time to kill in between spot checking inventory at the hospital. One of our managers and I had a very interesting conversation about the book of Ruth. He and his wife attend a church in West Monroe and he said that they have been listening to Bill on the radio after they get home from their church. AS said that he really liked Bill and so did his wife, so I invited them to our church. AS said he really wanted to go but that his wife's family is really deep-rooted in the church they currently attend. He also told me that he came from a Catholic background and that he was not a member of that church. That statement spoke volumes. So we talked about the book of Ruth for a while; I don't think he got the concept of the whole "kindsman redeemer" idea. AS thought that the relationship between Naomi and Ruth was more important; he couldn't understand the love relationship between Ruth and Boaz. He called Boaz Ruth's "sugar daddy" and said that he even voiced this in his own S.S. class (their S.S. class was studying the book of Ruth the same time Bill was preaching on it at our church)! I laughed and said, "AS, I CANNOT believe you said the word 'sugar daddy' in a S.S. class!!" I tried to explain to him even if that WERE the case (which I don't believe it was...), that even God can take something so "bad" and turn it into good for His glory. I asked him if he heard Bill's part of the sermon that talked about Ruth being in the lineage of Christ. He hadn't. We finally had to go back to work. This whole conversation happened today after I even posted my entry last night! I can't help but wonder what is going to happen tomorrow.

Philippians 2:13 was just a verse that God gave me late Sunday night when I opened my Bible. I've decided to start memorizing scripture again and so this is my verse to memorize this week. Little did I know what was about to happen.

I'm not quite sure exactly what "God is working in me." I remember today when AS and I were having our conversation, in my mind I was asking, "God, what are you doing here? What am I suppose to say?" At this point, all I can do is hope and pray that I am doing "what pleases Him."

Philippians 2:13

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."

More to come.