Queen of the Castle: Week 4

So I missed last week because of being unwell, but if you want to catch up, Colletta posted about it.
And the irony of it is that last week's chapter was about us women looking after our health!
Ho hum!


For this week's Chapter, which is about including Bible reading as a regular part of one's day, Colletta has posted a summary.
Just to be boring, I agree with everything that LBW says in this Chapter, and I also agree that the most bizarre conversations can lead to a quick 'Jesus-chat' (especially in the car!).

To look at a couple of excerpts from her text:

'Without God's Word I won't be equipped for my work.'
Too true! How many times have I had to step off the Carousel for a minute and say, 'Dear Lord, PLEASE HELP!' If I'd asked in the first place the Carousel might not have got so dizzy, crazy fast!!


The Lord wants for us 'a life flowing with blessings, delight and fruit.'
SURE He does!
But the fact that the 'blessings' come with an unstoppable 'I Wanna' recording, like those old talking dolls there used to be (without the removable batteries);
the 'delight' can be tempered with much anxiety and sorrow;
and the 'fruit' is very often bitter, as well as having a stone in the middle, isn't mentioned.

Paul, and the New Testament letter writers make it perfectly clear that a life walked with the Lord is NOT a life free of troubles, but isn't it other people who are meant to have the troubles? Not our families and friends...troubles and despair are for the nebulous 'they', aren't they?????


Trying to 'read the Bible in a Year is aiming too high.'
AAAAA-MEN Sister!!!
Twice have I begun, and already this year I am floundering. Its just that when there's so much to read in a day, I leave it until I'm too tired to start. LBW points out that it is the 'small steps', acts, decisions which 'are the important ones, rather than the grand gestures' and sure haven't we all learned that by experience?
Two minutes is better than none.
Reading over a Psalm won't get the whole Bible read, but isn't there always comfort and even a new or forgotten lesson to be had from the Psalms?
Prayers at bedtime are better than none, as is Grace at mealtimes which gets everyone in the habit of saying 'thank you'.
(Funny story about saying Grace at the end!)


'Use every opportunity to share God's Word.'
Opportunity knocks more frequently than the door-to-door sales people, so grab 'em...uh...the opportunities rather than the salespeople, but then again........???
Children LIKE to talk and they have opinions on everything (I KNOW), so use this,
especially in the car,
or waiting rooms,
or hanging around,
or MacDonald's
(horror! you don't feed your children at MacDonald's do you?! Me? Moi? Noooo...uh...sometimes....)

One Bible verse which I have leaned on continuously over the last twenty-one years of rearing delightfully blessed fruit-cases, is this: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22 v6)


Lastly, two verses which I thought were relevant:

Jeremiah 15:16
When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
LORD God Almighty.

(a bit odd of Jeremiah to eat a scroll, or us to chew on our Bibles, but the joy and heart's delight is right enough.)

Proverbs 12:15
The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.

(HA! HA! HA! Isn't this SO TRUE!! The fools bit anyway!!)


OK, three verses:

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Yes and yes and YES!!


And, as mentioned above, I'll leave you with my favourite 'Grace' story:

When Eldest was little she loved sitting at the table with us for mealtimes, balanced on a stack of cushions, with a tea towel tied round her neck. (We lived in the African bush, ok? No mod cons) And she knew that 'Grace' was always said before eating.
What she hadn't twigged was that 'Grace' was about thanking God, but this we didn't realise.

One day, after the Hub said 'Grace', she studied her food for a minute then asked, 'Say 'Grace' again, Dad.'

So he did.
She picked up her spoon, tried her food, put it down and asked, 'Say 'Grace' again, Dad.'

He did, but we were well puzzled by then!

It transpired, after some questioning, that Little Eldest thought that 'Grace' was said to let the food cool down enough to eat! How we laughed! (Still do!!)

Goes to show, you can teach them good habits, but understanding is also necessary!!!!