the quiet moments

this morning i got up a little early to peel yams and get them in the crockpot. my plan was to get it going and then head back to bed, but the quiet of the morning called to me and instead i sat down and went through some old entries in my writing blog and my bible study blog.

some of my favorites:
strangers in heaven - orangesque
the father lovs us - the orange bible
string of pearls - orangesque
my life is a dash - orangesque
beware - the orange bible

the sad truth is i haven't really written in a long while. i haven't taken the time to sit, think, ponder, and then lay it all out on a page. i love to use words as my palette with which i can paint an idea, a theme, or an entire landscape of thought.

i know there are seasons we live through and some are conducive to taking those quiet moments and creating, and some may not be. regardless, i need to take more quiet moments. i know that. but i usually choose to be lazy.

i miss the quiet moments. i need to remedy that.

show your work

in my dream last night i was in an algebra class and i got a test result back. i've always been good at math and my answers were 100%. but i got marked down because i didn't show my work. whut the heck?

i knew the answer. i didn't have to write it all out to figure out the answer. i just knew it. i did it fast and easy - i did what came naturally to me. and i was being penalized for not doing it the long way!

surely there has been some kind of research on people who don't need to write all the work down in order to arrive at an answer. in fact, showing my work always messed me up. i would get everything muddled in my head if i had to do it that way. so.. what does that way about me?

that is rhetorical. i'm pretty sure i don't really want to know the answer. ha ha.

btw - in my dream my regular teacher was out and my senior pastor was our substitute and he said he hates substituting in math classes because there really is no way to lecture on that stuff (another anti-show your work geek??) and so he gave us a 'free day'. and our tech intern sat right behind me in class.

far reaching

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

i am a walking talking story of grace and i cannot celebrate thanksgiving without giving heartfelt thanks for God for reaching down into the depths of the pits i seemed bent on living in and saving me. how it is that i, of all people more qualified and more dignified, get to participate in kingdom work is usually completely beyond me. until i realize, once again, that the point is to give God the glory. so if He chooses one who simply cannot do it on their own, then it will be all more obvious that it is God's provision and hand doing the work. amen to that!! and praise Him for that, because it gives me hope that He will use me.

i am thankful today for the life God has given me. i pledge it to Him wholeheartedly and pray that He will do with it what He chooses. it is all His anyway! i may as well simply recognize it and act accordingly.

to the Maker, the Lover of my soul, to the Lord God on High, i praise You this day with a song in my heart, i magnify You in an overflow of thanksgiving.

a month of proverbs

i've been enthralled with proverbs before but usually i cannot get past the first few chapters. not that i stopped, just that i kept reading chapters one and two over and over. they.. well,... enthrall me.

when the boy told me a few weeks ago that he was pledging to read proverbs in a month (actually he wanted to read it through twice in a month) i was excited for him and relayed how much i enjoyed it and even pointed to something there that i found so interested that led me to "the power of the spoken word".

yesterday i followed up with him and asked how that reading was coming along. and he confessed that he had not done it. he will readily admit that he is lazy. oh man, do i ever get that. i invented the true meaning of that word!!

well anyway my passion for proverbs has been renewed and now i have committed to reading it through in a month (if i can only get past those precious first few chapters!!!).

and to enhance my journey, my dear sweet husband replaced my orange grippery goodness bible. "replaced?" you ask. yes. my first one was stolen. STOLEN!! a bible! hulloh! well, i figured, they must need it more than i if they are resorting to stealing it to obtain one.

the replacement was my birthday present into which i immediately scribed my name and contact info so that it may be returned if anyone happens upon it. (thou shalt not make the same mistake twice)

and so theorangebible.blogspot.com resumes.

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wisdom
knowledge
understanding

i think i love these passages because it deals with matters i have held so dear throughout my life. i've always placed a (probably unhealthy?) value on intellect - madly desiring to be viewed as intelligent, rather than promoted for looks. i remember flinching when my dad used to tell people how 'cute' i was, while never once indicating that i was a smart girl. and so i spent a good part of my life thirsting - no, lusting - to be recognized for my intelligence.

well, God says, you want wisdom? you wanna be a smart girl? here it is - wisdom 101 bundled right inside My Word. proverbs.

and you know, not once in proverbs does it say the wise shall be promoted for their wisdom, the smart shall be recognized as so.

seek wisdom and you shall find it. seek recognition... !? well, you get the idea.

proverbs 1:7 says

the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction

i love this. i love it because the course my life has taken in the past few months has been challenging and painful. but in an incredibly good way and i would never ever take it back if i could. but through the hard stuff, i still wanted to press on and keep taking what God was doling out knowing it was for my good. and i desperately sought his instruction.

could it be, then, that after all i fouled up, i am not a fool? that i am just a girl who had her eyes on herself all the while truly desiring to have her eyes fully on God? and that the past few months have been the result of those eyes beginning to shift upward?

it was hard. but i still desired wisdom and instruction. oh, praise Him, there continues to be hope for me.

but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster

i know that whatever comes my way is for good, for instruction and training. i know that true disaster will never befall me (for the only true disaster is separation from my God for whom i yearn). i can lose limbs, lose family, lose my appetite but i shall never, no not ever, lose my Father in heaven. this buoys me.

in my quest for knowledge may i remain faithful to the teachings laid out for us. and may i praise Him all of my days for giving me life and love and all the Word i need for a life well lived according to Him in glory.

Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

i noticed this started out about wisdom and ended up in praise. isn't that the way it should be? isn't that the outpouring of what we are wise to? the more we learn of our Lord, the more we are heart-bent on praising Him.

go check this song out on iTunes.. it's one of my all-time favs: o praise Him

and here is the video from youtube: