Tuesday, August 21, 2018
The Horse and the Cart
If I could only have taught my kids and grandkids ONE thing in their entire lives, I think it would be this...
Jeremiah 9:23-24
"This is what the LORD says: 'Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to KNOW ME...’”
What if the grade we will receive from God is based:
NOT on our church attendance
NOT on how passionately and uprightly and excellently we did what we've been created to do
NOT on how many mission trips we went on or our service in the church
NOT on how friendly we are to all people
NOT on how much money we give to the church or others
NOT on all the kind things we did for others
NOT on how morally we lived
NOT on how well we knew the Bible
NOT on how much we did to serve and better our community
NOT on what kind of spouse or parent we are
NOT on the number of ways we reached out to the less fortunate
NOT on how well respected we are
But on this:
The importance we placed on KNOWING Him...Intimately!
Contrary to popular opinion, He didn't die to make us nice people.
He didn't die to get Himself some servants. He's pretty self sufficient!
HE DIED TO MAKE YOU HIS!
And as His, there's nothing that you will ever do that will please Him more than having an intimate, one on one, sweet love relationship with Him.
Closer than with any other on earth.
And there's nothing that would break His heart more than for you to do all the rest but have little to no desire to invest your life in knowing Him.
Did you know that He loves YOU more than ALL the stuff you do? He just wants YOU! He wants your heart. He wants you to become more and more responsive to the way He loves you. That thrills Him just like it thrills your heart for your children to do the same!
All that other stuff will happen...but it will happen as naturally as breathing when we deeply know Him!
ALWAYS remember this:
The horse pulls the cart...NEVER the cart before the horse!
Get this ONE thing right and see if everything else in your life doesn’t fall right into place! Cross my heart! ✝️❤️
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
THAT’S HOME
Twenty nine years ago, my man and I gave a notebook full of pictures and pages of ideas to an architect to design our dream home.
We built high atop a hill surrounded by mountains and a breathtaking view on every side. We planted little willow oaks to line the long, winding driveway, and a barn to house the horses that I loved so much.
We raised our three children in this home, along with several orphaned boys.
And somewhere in the process...
Life happened....
Everything grew and aged.
The trees became a tunnel up the drive, the landscape matured, and the wall inside my kitchen pantry kept careful records year after year as some very loved little lives grew into mature adults.
These walls stored up so many memories, welcomed so many friends, hosted so many events, “heard” so many prayers and so much laughter. They felt the slap of so many dirty hands as young teenage boys competed for the #1 high jump position.
I suppose that there’s hardly a square inch of the woods and hills surrounding our home that didn’t feel the footprints of a teenager, or the hoof prints of a horse, or the tires of a dirt bike or four wheeler.
Five boys and one blessed little girl, together with dogs and chickens and rabbits, and who knows how many other species of God’s creatures experienced life in all its glory...
Right here...
And the years flew.
The walls hear mostly silence these days; or the sounds of the hymns that a mother loves best, and the soft conversations of the aging parents who are left here.
But imbedded within every wall, and deep beneath every inch of soil lie the roots which have weaved their way into every fiber of our being; roots that will never die because they are and have always found their source in living water; roots that gave life and grew branches that took wings.
Yesterday, the question, “What makes you feel like you are truly home?” was posted in a very beautiful lady’s blog, along with the song, “North,” by the group, "Laughing Out Loud."
The lyrics of the last verse got a choke hold on my heart.
“Smaller than dust on this map
Lies the greatest thing we have:
The dirt in which our roots have grown
And the right to call it home.”
Yes, I suppose if one is asked what makes us feel truly home, we need only find our roots. And when we do....
THAT’S HOME....
That’s how you’ll know you are truly home.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Are You Listening?
Bibby’s Blessings
August 10, 2018
ARE YOU LISTENING?
“From his temple he heard my voice ; my cry came before him, into his ears.” Psalm 18:6
“But they did not listen to me....” Jeremiah 7:26
How sad is that?
Hearing....
But not being heard.
I suppose it happens to God all day long every day!
Listening.....
It’s so seriously God-like! He’s so good at it! It’s a virtue that people who best reflect God are also good at!
As I meditated on these verses today, I asked myself some questions to assess why I or God or anyone else desires to be heard, and to assess my own listening skills. For how can we truly listen to a God, whom we cannot see, if we’re poor at listening to people whose voices we hear every day?
I thought I’d share these with you in case you’d like to ponder them with me:
1. How important is it to you to feel that when you speak, the person(s) you are speaking to are really hearing you? If they are not, what does this imply?
2. When others speak to you, do they feel that you are really hearing them? If not, what do you think they feel?
3. When others speak to you, do you too quickly answer back with your own ideas, your own answers, your own experiences, removing the focus from their heart to yours? Do you suppose we do that to God when He’s trying to reveal His heart to us?
4. Are you willing to genuinely take a look at yourself in this area, without assessing anyone else but yourself?
I cannot even begin to express how important it is as you raise your children to truly know God that you teach them this Godly virtue by example!
They may learn to listen to God by following the example of how you listen to God AND to others.
I plan to ask a few people, “How well do you feel that I listen when you speak?”
Then... I’m going to LISTEN to their answer...
Because...
“Being heard is so close to being loved that they are almost indistinguishable.” David Augsburger
August 10, 2018
ARE YOU LISTENING?
“From his temple he heard my voice ; my cry came before him, into his ears.” Psalm 18:6
“But they did not listen to me....” Jeremiah 7:26
How sad is that?
Hearing....
But not being heard.
I suppose it happens to God all day long every day!
Listening.....
It’s so seriously God-like! He’s so good at it! It’s a virtue that people who best reflect God are also good at!
As I meditated on these verses today, I asked myself some questions to assess why I or God or anyone else desires to be heard, and to assess my own listening skills. For how can we truly listen to a God, whom we cannot see, if we’re poor at listening to people whose voices we hear every day?
I thought I’d share these with you in case you’d like to ponder them with me:
1. How important is it to you to feel that when you speak, the person(s) you are speaking to are really hearing you? If they are not, what does this imply?
2. When others speak to you, do they feel that you are really hearing them? If not, what do you think they feel?
3. When others speak to you, do you too quickly answer back with your own ideas, your own answers, your own experiences, removing the focus from their heart to yours? Do you suppose we do that to God when He’s trying to reveal His heart to us?
4. Are you willing to genuinely take a look at yourself in this area, without assessing anyone else but yourself?
I cannot even begin to express how important it is as you raise your children to truly know God that you teach them this Godly virtue by example!
They may learn to listen to God by following the example of how you listen to God AND to others.
I plan to ask a few people, “How well do you feel that I listen when you speak?”
Then... I’m going to LISTEN to their answer...
Because...
“Being heard is so close to being loved that they are almost indistinguishable.” David Augsburger
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
The Search is Over
Bibby's Blessings
Sept. 3, 2017
Jesus told the woman at the well,
"... whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
My beloved ones! Today I have been reminded of the truth of this in a way that has nearly exploded my heart with humble, almost earth shattering praise!
I listened to a sermon by a young man who is a living, breathing testament of this truth; someone you knew before his search led him to Jesus, the "Living Water", and someone you know now, whose life has been FOREVER changed!
I began to weep from the innermost parts of my soul when he prayed, "Your Word is truth."
I wept because it wasn't so long ago when this man was so parched with thirst for truth! And his search was real and it was determined and it seemed to be almost all he could think of!
I wept for this reason:
HE HAS FOUND IT!
And I wept because I knew....
HIS SEARCH IS OVER!!!!
I wept because I know....
HE WILL NEVER THIRST AGAIN!!!!
I know because our source of "water" comes from the same fountain and every soul that drinks from it is satisfied, never to thirst again! They will be satisfied by Jesus for the rest of their lives and for eternity!
....Every time!!!
Do y'all remember Marty? I met him in 5th grade and by that time, my whole heart belonged to Jesus.
Many years later, when David Rainey died, Marty called me to tell me that David was gone. I don't remember our conversation much but I must have said something about the Lord because I do remember what Marty said to me in his deep, gentleman's southern drawl: "You neva change. I believe that if I call you in fiftae yeeas, you will still be the same Bonneh."
And Marty was right! He was right because I have drunk deeply from a fountain that has become in me a spring of ETERNAL LIFE! My feet were and are firmly and eternally planted on a Rock that will not be moved. HE will "neva change!"
My search ended as a little girl in the corner of a bedroom where Jesus met me.
Others search all their lives, and though they have heard of this fountain, it is too risky to drink of it.
This is the "water" that the whole world is searching for, though they may not know it.
Be still and quiet and drink deeply and often of Him, my children!
The search is over...
And we will never thirst again!
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:38
Sept. 3, 2017
Jesus told the woman at the well,
"... whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
My beloved ones! Today I have been reminded of the truth of this in a way that has nearly exploded my heart with humble, almost earth shattering praise!
I listened to a sermon by a young man who is a living, breathing testament of this truth; someone you knew before his search led him to Jesus, the "Living Water", and someone you know now, whose life has been FOREVER changed!
I began to weep from the innermost parts of my soul when he prayed, "Your Word is truth."
I wept because it wasn't so long ago when this man was so parched with thirst for truth! And his search was real and it was determined and it seemed to be almost all he could think of!
I wept for this reason:
HE HAS FOUND IT!
And I wept because I knew....
HIS SEARCH IS OVER!!!!
I wept because I know....
HE WILL NEVER THIRST AGAIN!!!!
I know because our source of "water" comes from the same fountain and every soul that drinks from it is satisfied, never to thirst again! They will be satisfied by Jesus for the rest of their lives and for eternity!
....Every time!!!
Do y'all remember Marty? I met him in 5th grade and by that time, my whole heart belonged to Jesus.
Many years later, when David Rainey died, Marty called me to tell me that David was gone. I don't remember our conversation much but I must have said something about the Lord because I do remember what Marty said to me in his deep, gentleman's southern drawl: "You neva change. I believe that if I call you in fiftae yeeas, you will still be the same Bonneh."
And Marty was right! He was right because I have drunk deeply from a fountain that has become in me a spring of ETERNAL LIFE! My feet were and are firmly and eternally planted on a Rock that will not be moved. HE will "neva change!"
My search ended as a little girl in the corner of a bedroom where Jesus met me.
Others search all their lives, and though they have heard of this fountain, it is too risky to drink of it.
This is the "water" that the whole world is searching for, though they may not know it.
Be still and quiet and drink deeply and often of Him, my children!
The search is over...
And we will never thirst again!
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:38
Somebody’s Looking for You
Bibby’s Blessings
"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Phil. 4:9
Today, as I've been pouring my heart out to the Lord for you and my babies, I asked that God would place extraordinary people in your paths; people who are older, deeper, wiser, more knowledgeable, passionate, zealous, balanced, sensible, God fearing, outstanding Christians; people who have walked a long, hard, narrow road with Him; people who know Him well and hear Him accurately; people who have died to self and LIVE for Him because their hearts have been completely captured by Him.
It dawns on me that there are precious few of those kind in this world; people who are just clearly "other" than most; who are able with intestinal fortitude to stand alone with humility, yet confidently; who do not follow a moral code, but follow a living LORD who is clearly dictating their lives.
So, my beloved ones, if you find yourselves at a loss for spotting people who are these things 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻, in a world full of middle of the road, lukewarm, "not sure if he is or isn't" a distinctly "one thing matters" Jesus follower...
BE ONE!!
Somebody's out there looking for YOU!
Somebody out there may never know what a sold out Christ follower looks like unless they spot it in YOU!!
"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." Phil. 4:9
Today, as I've been pouring my heart out to the Lord for you and my babies, I asked that God would place extraordinary people in your paths; people who are older, deeper, wiser, more knowledgeable, passionate, zealous, balanced, sensible, God fearing, outstanding Christians; people who have walked a long, hard, narrow road with Him; people who know Him well and hear Him accurately; people who have died to self and LIVE for Him because their hearts have been completely captured by Him.
It dawns on me that there are precious few of those kind in this world; people who are just clearly "other" than most; who are able with intestinal fortitude to stand alone with humility, yet confidently; who do not follow a moral code, but follow a living LORD who is clearly dictating their lives.
So, my beloved ones, if you find yourselves at a loss for spotting people who are these things 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻, in a world full of middle of the road, lukewarm, "not sure if he is or isn't" a distinctly "one thing matters" Jesus follower...
BE ONE!!
Somebody's out there looking for YOU!
Somebody out there may never know what a sold out Christ follower looks like unless they spot it in YOU!!
A Marked Man
Bibby's Blessings: June 15, 2017
Solomon found himself in a frightening position! His father, David had died and suddenly the responsibility for governing God's people fell squarely on his shoulders. Bless him!
So he prayed a desperate prayer...
"Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong." 1 Kings 3:9
The world's always had this crazy way of desiring to create our own right and wrong on the fly...
Yea....we're like toddlers who like to "do it my way";
...to create a standard that complies with MY desires and then if we just call it God's, all is well...
We will call good evil and evil, we will call good if it gets things done "my way."
But God has given His people something that astounds me, really;
A discerning heart;
The ability to discern HIS standard. It might not be what we want it to be, but it's spot on!
It isn't iffy.
It does not pick and choose.
It's straight up, universally the same for all people, for all time.
Now...
Fast forward a lot of years....
In the book of Ezekiel, we find an enormously sobering command given by God:
"Go through the midst of the city...and put a mark on the forehead of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations being committed."
Apparently some were grieved and others didn't give a rip what was happening to their society...
"To each his own" was their motto.
And then....
The command was to strike down all who did not have the mark; the ones who lived by that motto; ☝🏻
The ones whose hearts were not grieved with God.
"...But....
do not touch any man on whom is the mark."
Now get this....
"......And start in my sanctuary." (Ez. 9: 4-6)
Whoa!
There were those in that day and there are those in this day whose claim is to belong to the household of God....
But not everyone who makes the claim truly is....
Oh how this should give us pause!
May we not merely claim to belong in the household of God, but may we be "marked" as those who share His heart;
who rejoice in what thrills Him and who grieve over what grieves Him.
I give you my heart, oh God, that I may lose it for Yours.
If the command were given today, would you be a "marked" man?
Solomon found himself in a frightening position! His father, David had died and suddenly the responsibility for governing God's people fell squarely on his shoulders. Bless him!
So he prayed a desperate prayer...
"Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong." 1 Kings 3:9
The world's always had this crazy way of desiring to create our own right and wrong on the fly...
Yea....we're like toddlers who like to "do it my way";
...to create a standard that complies with MY desires and then if we just call it God's, all is well...
We will call good evil and evil, we will call good if it gets things done "my way."
But God has given His people something that astounds me, really;
A discerning heart;
The ability to discern HIS standard. It might not be what we want it to be, but it's spot on!
It isn't iffy.
It does not pick and choose.
It's straight up, universally the same for all people, for all time.
Now...
Fast forward a lot of years....
In the book of Ezekiel, we find an enormously sobering command given by God:
"Go through the midst of the city...and put a mark on the forehead of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations being committed."
Apparently some were grieved and others didn't give a rip what was happening to their society...
"To each his own" was their motto.
And then....
The command was to strike down all who did not have the mark; the ones who lived by that motto; ☝🏻
The ones whose hearts were not grieved with God.
"...But....
do not touch any man on whom is the mark."
Now get this....
"......And start in my sanctuary." (Ez. 9: 4-6)
Whoa!
There were those in that day and there are those in this day whose claim is to belong to the household of God....
But not everyone who makes the claim truly is....
Oh how this should give us pause!
May we not merely claim to belong in the household of God, but may we be "marked" as those who share His heart;
who rejoice in what thrills Him and who grieve over what grieves Him.
I give you my heart, oh God, that I may lose it for Yours.
If the command were given today, would you be a "marked" man?
Do You Really See?
Bibby’s Blessings
My precious children, I can't tell you when in forever I have been as blessed as I have been today! Being with Gaga and Papa inspired me to my core.
It is nothing short of remarkable to see them interact with people. Every. Single. Person. While in waiting rooms, they take an interest in other patients. "I bet you were in a war" to an elderly gentleman whose face was scarred. By the time we left, that man held his head a little higher. Because somebody really saw him and really valued him and told him so.
I'm willing to bet that we knew the receptionist possibly better than some of her own family, because Gaga and Papa learned so much about her just by extending some friendly conversation. And her day was made happier and brighter because someone really cared about her.
To every nurse and doctor, Papa said, "I appreciate your kindness and your expertise" before they left the room. And while they were with them, in one way or another, he gave them a little piece of the love in his heart.
And when all the people except Merle and I were gone, they held each other and wept for joy that they didn't have an immediate reason to be worried for the other.
And it just struck me soooo deeply in my heart...
That every thought and action that flows from their lives is so outside of themselves.
They SEE people. They have spent their lives looking outwardly together.
THIS is your heritage.
And here's the baton...
Run well, my beloved!
My precious children, I can't tell you when in forever I have been as blessed as I have been today! Being with Gaga and Papa inspired me to my core.
It is nothing short of remarkable to see them interact with people. Every. Single. Person. While in waiting rooms, they take an interest in other patients. "I bet you were in a war" to an elderly gentleman whose face was scarred. By the time we left, that man held his head a little higher. Because somebody really saw him and really valued him and told him so.
I'm willing to bet that we knew the receptionist possibly better than some of her own family, because Gaga and Papa learned so much about her just by extending some friendly conversation. And her day was made happier and brighter because someone really cared about her.
To every nurse and doctor, Papa said, "I appreciate your kindness and your expertise" before they left the room. And while they were with them, in one way or another, he gave them a little piece of the love in his heart.
And when all the people except Merle and I were gone, they held each other and wept for joy that they didn't have an immediate reason to be worried for the other.
And it just struck me soooo deeply in my heart...
That every thought and action that flows from their lives is so outside of themselves.
They SEE people. They have spent their lives looking outwardly together.
THIS is your heritage.
And here's the baton...
Run well, my beloved!
Accountability 101
"Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." Gal. 6:1
If you see a brother or sister in sin, do you go to them and talk to them with kindness and love, or do you just stop liking them and talk to others about them?
I would so much prefer, as you probably would, that someone just talk to me! I'm an open book!
If our "hearts are set on pilgrimage" we WANT the whole body to be healthy and get it right! We care far more for the kingdom than for our stupid egos!
Let's help one another in a spirit of gentleness and humility to be the best hands and feet and mouthpiece of the Gospel as we can possibly be!
I can't speak for how others feel but if you are a part of the same body that I am, I AM YOUR BUSINESS and I invite you to keep me straight!
This requires enormous humility on BOTH sides, but sistren and brethren, the kingdom of God is at hand and we ain't got time for no petty games!
Addendum's:
1. We Never rebuke someone for our assumptions about how they "feel" or for what we think they think, or because of something someone told us ("assuming" that we got all there is to the story), or for what we assume their motives or reasons are!
WE DON'T KNOW THAT! (1 Cor. 4:1-4)
There may be a WHOLE LOT that we don't know.....
2. Get your facts straight. If it bothers you, ASK!
3. Our FIRST order of business is always keeping the log out of our own eyes! (Matt. 7:5)
Let's love every member of the body enough to communicate!
For HIS Honor!
If you see a brother or sister in sin, do you go to them and talk to them with kindness and love, or do you just stop liking them and talk to others about them?
I would so much prefer, as you probably would, that someone just talk to me! I'm an open book!
If our "hearts are set on pilgrimage" we WANT the whole body to be healthy and get it right! We care far more for the kingdom than for our stupid egos!
Let's help one another in a spirit of gentleness and humility to be the best hands and feet and mouthpiece of the Gospel as we can possibly be!
I can't speak for how others feel but if you are a part of the same body that I am, I AM YOUR BUSINESS and I invite you to keep me straight!
This requires enormous humility on BOTH sides, but sistren and brethren, the kingdom of God is at hand and we ain't got time for no petty games!
Addendum's:
1. We Never rebuke someone for our assumptions about how they "feel" or for what we think they think, or because of something someone told us ("assuming" that we got all there is to the story), or for what we assume their motives or reasons are!
WE DON'T KNOW THAT! (1 Cor. 4:1-4)
There may be a WHOLE LOT that we don't know.....
2. Get your facts straight. If it bothers you, ASK!
3. Our FIRST order of business is always keeping the log out of our own eyes! (Matt. 7:5)
Let's love every member of the body enough to communicate!
For HIS Honor!
He Loves Me Because...
Bibby's Blessings: Oct. 3, 2016
You've heard it all your life:
God
Loves
You.
You've heard it so much that it may be old news and it might have lost its punch.
But let me just tell you something very, very profound; something that, as long as I live, I'll never get over.
Let me tell you WHY He loves you....
I mean, when we love somebody, isn't there usually some attraction to them that draws that love out of us?
Somebody out there might tell you that He loves you because you have unique, special abilities and gifts that He needs and wants to use.
Nope! He doesn't need ANY of your abilities or gifts. He's got quite enough of His own, thank you. (Acts 17:24,25)
Or maybe you've thought that He loves you because you try hard to do your dead level best in everything you do. I'm GLAD you do that but...
Nope! I'm sorry to burst your bubble but your best compared to His best is so minuscule! All the best things that you could do are less than a drop in a bucket to Him, and not that He doesn't appreciate your best but it's kinda funny for us to flex our muscles in front of HIM!
Maybe it's because you're a strong person?
Nope! The strongest ant on the ant hill is laughable to the man who has the power with one swipe of his foot to remove all it's power.
Ohhhh! It's because you've got smarts!
Sorry again! I mean, to ME you're smart! But...."where were you when the earth's foundations were laid?" That kinda changes things!
So why does He love you?
Are you ready?
.
.
.
.
.
.
He loves you because...
.
.
.
.
Because
.
.
.
.
.
Because.....................HE WANTS TO.
That's all.
And when you can fully grasp that....
That He loves you, though you have absolutely NOTHING to offer Him...
That's when you'll start loving Him back.
Not BECAUSE of all the things He's done for you or for what you expect Him to do for you...
But just because you want to.
Just because you have at last found a heart where you can be at home.
"Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." Eph. 3:17
You've heard it all your life:
God
Loves
You.
You've heard it so much that it may be old news and it might have lost its punch.
But let me just tell you something very, very profound; something that, as long as I live, I'll never get over.
Let me tell you WHY He loves you....
I mean, when we love somebody, isn't there usually some attraction to them that draws that love out of us?
Somebody out there might tell you that He loves you because you have unique, special abilities and gifts that He needs and wants to use.
Nope! He doesn't need ANY of your abilities or gifts. He's got quite enough of His own, thank you. (Acts 17:24,25)
Or maybe you've thought that He loves you because you try hard to do your dead level best in everything you do. I'm GLAD you do that but...
Nope! I'm sorry to burst your bubble but your best compared to His best is so minuscule! All the best things that you could do are less than a drop in a bucket to Him, and not that He doesn't appreciate your best but it's kinda funny for us to flex our muscles in front of HIM!
Maybe it's because you're a strong person?
Nope! The strongest ant on the ant hill is laughable to the man who has the power with one swipe of his foot to remove all it's power.
Ohhhh! It's because you've got smarts!
Sorry again! I mean, to ME you're smart! But...."where were you when the earth's foundations were laid?" That kinda changes things!
So why does He love you?
Are you ready?
.
.
.
.
.
.
He loves you because...
.
.
.
.
Because
.
.
.
.
.
Because.....................HE WANTS TO.
That's all.
And when you can fully grasp that....
That He loves you, though you have absolutely NOTHING to offer Him...
That's when you'll start loving Him back.
Not BECAUSE of all the things He's done for you or for what you expect Him to do for you...
But just because you want to.
Just because you have at last found a heart where you can be at home.
"Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." Eph. 3:17
Thanks for That
I often told my children that no one can even look at you without God's permission! He's THAT Sovereign! Nor can they speak an ill word to you or hurt or harm you without His say so. And if He says so, it is because He intends to turn it around and use it for your good! So the next time you are offended or hurt...look at that person and say quietly in your heart, “thank you for that! God is going to turn that into something really good for me." Or as Joseph said, " You meant it for evil but God meant it for good!"
"The Sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace." Spurgeon
"The Sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace." Spurgeon
Addicted to Prayer
Bibby’s Blessings
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything...." Phil. 4:6
I have lived a lot of years and I can tell you with absolute certainty that life is never without troubles. Never. Situations try our very souls, circumstances become so different than we'd dreamed of, people hurt us, evil threatens us. Things break, hearts break, we lose things and people, and life hurts. We can choose to gather every aspect of life into our own bosom and suckle it, frantically seeking to fight it out from within....OR...we can choose to immediately bring it to Jesus, lay it down, and admit our own inadequacy to control how life happens. We can make up our minds to say "Yes" to Jesus' answer, no matter what it is, knowing that He is "too wise to be mistaken, and too good to be unkind." We can determine never to cling tightly to anything but rather to keep all He places in our hands in an opened palm; Bring every single thing to the foot of the cross where powerful blood flows down over it and causes even death to begin working backwards.
That, my children is where joy and peace and true and deep contentment is found. I pray that all of us throughout the generations will simply be addicted to PRAYER!
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything...." Phil. 4:6
I have lived a lot of years and I can tell you with absolute certainty that life is never without troubles. Never. Situations try our very souls, circumstances become so different than we'd dreamed of, people hurt us, evil threatens us. Things break, hearts break, we lose things and people, and life hurts. We can choose to gather every aspect of life into our own bosom and suckle it, frantically seeking to fight it out from within....OR...we can choose to immediately bring it to Jesus, lay it down, and admit our own inadequacy to control how life happens. We can make up our minds to say "Yes" to Jesus' answer, no matter what it is, knowing that He is "too wise to be mistaken, and too good to be unkind." We can determine never to cling tightly to anything but rather to keep all He places in our hands in an opened palm; Bring every single thing to the foot of the cross where powerful blood flows down over it and causes even death to begin working backwards.
That, my children is where joy and peace and true and deep contentment is found. I pray that all of us throughout the generations will simply be addicted to PRAYER!
She Knows
With the birth of each of my grandchildren, along with the indescribable joy, I have also been keenly aware of the hole left in my heart by my precious Mama's leaving this earth. I have ached to share my joy with her; for her to be here to experience this JOY with me! Oh how happy and proud she would be!
Yesterday, with tears, as I was preparing to go to visit my little Isaac, I was aching for Mama and I asked the Lord out loud, "Jesus, does Mama really know about these babies? Does she really have anything to do with their coming here? Has she been there watching and praying as you formed them in the womb?"
Literally, Within one minute of that prayer, Ivey sent me a video of Hallie pretending to play the piano at the table. When Ivey asked her, "Who does that? Who plays the piano?", Hallie answered, "Nana."
Mama never got to meet Hallie here on this earth. I have shown her videos of Mama playing the piano and I have told her, "That's Nana and she loves Hallie."
This might have happened at any other time...but one minute after I asked Jesus that question...
"Yes, my child. She knows. She's watching. She's been all over the whole process, praying and rejoicing and offering her own creative ideas", I felt was His answer.
Sometimes these little things just happen and they remind me that "Somewhere out there, someone's saying a prayer"....
Face to face!
My God IS God!
Yesterday, with tears, as I was preparing to go to visit my little Isaac, I was aching for Mama and I asked the Lord out loud, "Jesus, does Mama really know about these babies? Does she really have anything to do with their coming here? Has she been there watching and praying as you formed them in the womb?"
Literally, Within one minute of that prayer, Ivey sent me a video of Hallie pretending to play the piano at the table. When Ivey asked her, "Who does that? Who plays the piano?", Hallie answered, "Nana."
Mama never got to meet Hallie here on this earth. I have shown her videos of Mama playing the piano and I have told her, "That's Nana and she loves Hallie."
This might have happened at any other time...but one minute after I asked Jesus that question...
"Yes, my child. She knows. She's watching. She's been all over the whole process, praying and rejoicing and offering her own creative ideas", I felt was His answer.
Sometimes these little things just happen and they remind me that "Somewhere out there, someone's saying a prayer"....
Face to face!
My God IS God!
Love of our Homeland
Bibby's Blessing: March 14,2016
"For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." Philippians 3:18-21
There is nothing in this world more important to me than knowing that you are citizens of another country!
May nothing on this earth ever become more important to you than instilling in your babies a love for your homeland and it's King!
"For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control." Philippians 3:18-21
There is nothing in this world more important to me than knowing that you are citizens of another country!
May nothing on this earth ever become more important to you than instilling in your babies a love for your homeland and it's King!
Silent Wednesday
In Holy Week, it's "Silent Wednesday."
On this day, JESUS did nothing recorded in Scripture.
My heart is aching for Him this morning.
His time had come and He withdrew to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' house for solitude to prepare Himself for the coming days.
He was about to walk the only road to our salvation.
His coming alone; GOD, leaving the glory and bliss of heaven, leaving the constant worship of angels...
to become small, helpless, dependent...
That alone shuts my mouth in silent awe.
But today....He is preparing to walk a road that is incomprehensible...
He knows what's coming. I am silent before Him now...wondering why.
Why, Lord Jesus, did you think me worth this?
I would argue with Him...but it's too late.
In eternity past....there was a cross....
and a covenant between Himself and The Father and The Spirit;
a covenant agreement of which He would drink every last drop...
because my face and your face was engraved eternally on His heart ...
because to Him, we were worth it.
Yes...it's Silent Wednesday...and I am weeping at the thought of the road He is about to travel...
For my sake.
I love you, Lord Jesus!
"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
On this day, JESUS did nothing recorded in Scripture.
My heart is aching for Him this morning.
His time had come and He withdrew to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' house for solitude to prepare Himself for the coming days.
He was about to walk the only road to our salvation.
His coming alone; GOD, leaving the glory and bliss of heaven, leaving the constant worship of angels...
to become small, helpless, dependent...
That alone shuts my mouth in silent awe.
But today....He is preparing to walk a road that is incomprehensible...
He knows what's coming. I am silent before Him now...wondering why.
Why, Lord Jesus, did you think me worth this?
I would argue with Him...but it's too late.
In eternity past....there was a cross....
and a covenant between Himself and The Father and The Spirit;
a covenant agreement of which He would drink every last drop...
because my face and your face was engraved eternally on His heart ...
because to Him, we were worth it.
Yes...it's Silent Wednesday...and I am weeping at the thought of the road He is about to travel...
For my sake.
I love you, Lord Jesus!
"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
Love the Lord Your God
Bibby's Blessings:
April 13, 2016
My beloved ones! My heart is so incredibly full knowing that EACH of you now knows what it is to love a child of your own! That I have lived to see this day is one of the greatest blessings God will ever give me!
("May you live to see your children's children.") Ps.128:6
As I sit here praying for you as you all have entered this journey, I want to tell you one very, very simple truth yet one of the most profound words of wisdom you may ever hear!
Someone asked me a few days ago when dad and I were going to write a book explaining to others how to raise such great kids.
Speaking for myself, I can tell you this: The assignment He gave me was beyond me. I knew that I was being asked to do something that I could never accomplish, something that absorbed all my energy and wore out my patience.
This, in a nutshell would be my most accurate answer to that person:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength." Mark 12:30
It sounds too simple but I am convinced that it's true.
As we bring to Him our love, He in turn brings to us His power....
The greatest success will be determined by how much we truly love God.
Pretty profound, huh?
April 13, 2016
My beloved ones! My heart is so incredibly full knowing that EACH of you now knows what it is to love a child of your own! That I have lived to see this day is one of the greatest blessings God will ever give me!
("May you live to see your children's children.") Ps.128:6
As I sit here praying for you as you all have entered this journey, I want to tell you one very, very simple truth yet one of the most profound words of wisdom you may ever hear!
Someone asked me a few days ago when dad and I were going to write a book explaining to others how to raise such great kids.
Speaking for myself, I can tell you this: The assignment He gave me was beyond me. I knew that I was being asked to do something that I could never accomplish, something that absorbed all my energy and wore out my patience.
This, in a nutshell would be my most accurate answer to that person:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength." Mark 12:30
It sounds too simple but I am convinced that it's true.
As we bring to Him our love, He in turn brings to us His power....
The greatest success will be determined by how much we truly love God.
Pretty profound, huh?
Open Hands
Bibby's Blessings
April 15, 2016
"For you, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high." Ps.3:3
There are few verses, as your mother, that I have found more comforting than this; that there is an invisible shield around you, my beloved ones.
As I prayed for all of you this morning by name, I took each of you in my hand, held my opened hands up to my Father and asked that He be a shield around you.
I offered you to Him with my hands opened, confessing that I dare not cling to you tightly, for you belong, not to me, but to Him; that you were on loan to me from Him for a brief time but that I have never truly had the control of how life happens for you. That is His call.
My simple prayer for years has been this: "I pray that You will protect and shield my children in all ways. May nothing ever touch their lives except that which You deem necessary to fulfill Your purposes for them. Whatever Your wisdom and love decrees, I will say 'Yes' to because I trust You That much!"
Because I believe He hears and honors such prayer, I have and will continue to live without fear of your futures!
I pray that you will learn early to always hold your babes in an open hand up to the God who loves them even more than you do!
God blesses that kind of trust!
April 15, 2016
"For you, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high." Ps.3:3
There are few verses, as your mother, that I have found more comforting than this; that there is an invisible shield around you, my beloved ones.
As I prayed for all of you this morning by name, I took each of you in my hand, held my opened hands up to my Father and asked that He be a shield around you.
I offered you to Him with my hands opened, confessing that I dare not cling to you tightly, for you belong, not to me, but to Him; that you were on loan to me from Him for a brief time but that I have never truly had the control of how life happens for you. That is His call.
My simple prayer for years has been this: "I pray that You will protect and shield my children in all ways. May nothing ever touch their lives except that which You deem necessary to fulfill Your purposes for them. Whatever Your wisdom and love decrees, I will say 'Yes' to because I trust You That much!"
Because I believe He hears and honors such prayer, I have and will continue to live without fear of your futures!
I pray that you will learn early to always hold your babes in an open hand up to the God who loves them even more than you do!
God blesses that kind of trust!
Supernatural Glue
On Feb. 6, 1982, we entered into a covenant with God and one another, vowing to love one another just as Christ has loved us, giving Himself up for us; to live, no longer to find happiness merely for ourselves, but to seek it, most importantly, for the other.
He entrusted to me his name and I gave him my supreme devotion to promote his name and his character.
"And they lived happily ever after"?
Not quite. There have been mountains so steep to climb that we'd have given up; except.....The One whom we seek to emulate never gave up on US.
We've failed one another and we've broken each other's hearts. We've both learned to say with utter sincerity, "I was wrong!! Please, please forgive me!" Those words rip your heart out to say them. But there may be no other words in the human language that can endear you to another as much as an honest to God confession (and often a tearful one) that I need mercy here!
We've learned to tap into a love that is not human. It is a love that is patient with the other, it's kind, and not so proud that it can't admit that "I may need to change."
It values the other more than self; it is not easily angered and does not drop eggshells all over the floor!
It forgives and moves on. It protects the other, it has high hopes, and it always perseveres.
This man is the greatest friend I have on this earth. He's always on my side and you better know that I'm on his! If you don't like him, then you don't like me. It's that simple, and visa versa.
He makes me laugh every single day and the older we get, the more I know that I don't ever, ever, ever want to live without him! I want to grow old with him and I want us to die on the same day!
He's been a Rock of safety for me and for our children.
I'm so glad the Lord glued us together with SUPERnatural glue! I love him, folks!
He's my man and I’m his girl!
He entrusted to me his name and I gave him my supreme devotion to promote his name and his character.
"And they lived happily ever after"?
Not quite. There have been mountains so steep to climb that we'd have given up; except.....The One whom we seek to emulate never gave up on US.
We've failed one another and we've broken each other's hearts. We've both learned to say with utter sincerity, "I was wrong!! Please, please forgive me!" Those words rip your heart out to say them. But there may be no other words in the human language that can endear you to another as much as an honest to God confession (and often a tearful one) that I need mercy here!
We've learned to tap into a love that is not human. It is a love that is patient with the other, it's kind, and not so proud that it can't admit that "I may need to change."
It values the other more than self; it is not easily angered and does not drop eggshells all over the floor!
It forgives and moves on. It protects the other, it has high hopes, and it always perseveres.
This man is the greatest friend I have on this earth. He's always on my side and you better know that I'm on his! If you don't like him, then you don't like me. It's that simple, and visa versa.
He makes me laugh every single day and the older we get, the more I know that I don't ever, ever, ever want to live without him! I want to grow old with him and I want us to die on the same day!
He's been a Rock of safety for me and for our children.
I'm so glad the Lord glued us together with SUPERnatural glue! I love him, folks!
He's my man and I’m his girl!
He who Loses His Life will Find it
By 1988, the Lord had given us 3 children. We gave them back to Him. (I don't mean that like it sounds....unless maybe I do a little bit... 😉)
It was at about this stage that I released them from the clinched fist in which I held them, opened my hands, raised them toward heaven, and gave them over completely to His Sovereignty. Hardest thing a momma ever does...and perhaps the wisest!
While giving mothering every single ounce of my life, I sooo often felt like a failure. I had thought I would be good at mothering, and at this point, I was doubtful. I had begun keeping a journal of prayers during those days because Blake was rarely ever home, my best friend moved away, and I needed desperately to pour out my heart to someone who knew it all and saw it all.
I knew, as Gloria Gather put it, "We have this moment to hold in our hand, and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand. Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come....
But we have this moment today."
I treasured every "today." I could only keep them forever as memories.
And so, I wrote.
Someday, I desperately want to share that journal with young mothers who are now living what I lived. As an older woman, I now have SO much encouragement to offer them!
It was during these days in which I lost myself...
That I truly found myself!
These were the sweetest days of my life...
It was at about this stage that I released them from the clinched fist in which I held them, opened my hands, raised them toward heaven, and gave them over completely to His Sovereignty. Hardest thing a momma ever does...and perhaps the wisest!
While giving mothering every single ounce of my life, I sooo often felt like a failure. I had thought I would be good at mothering, and at this point, I was doubtful. I had begun keeping a journal of prayers during those days because Blake was rarely ever home, my best friend moved away, and I needed desperately to pour out my heart to someone who knew it all and saw it all.
I knew, as Gloria Gather put it, "We have this moment to hold in our hand, and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand. Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come....
But we have this moment today."
I treasured every "today." I could only keep them forever as memories.
And so, I wrote.
Someday, I desperately want to share that journal with young mothers who are now living what I lived. As an older woman, I now have SO much encouragement to offer them!
It was during these days in which I lost myself...
That I truly found myself!
These were the sweetest days of my life...
Batter Up!
...." You shall be called a repairer of the breech." Is.58:12
There just comes a time in one's life when you know it's "Batter Up"!!! "You're On!" You were born for such a time as this. If you're ever gonna make a difference in this world for eternity, now is your moment. It's time to walk in a power that is not your own; to speak forth words that are true and living and powerful and piercing...right down to the souls of men! It's time to clothe yourself with kindness and truth and zeal as your cloak!!! It's time to put away lame and worldly visions. This world and all it contains is passing away and will soon be gone. There is another kingdom that will soon overtake us. We best be about the business of campaigning for it! Onward, Christian soldiers! You're up to bat! Make it count......
There just comes a time in one's life when you know it's "Batter Up"!!! "You're On!" You were born for such a time as this. If you're ever gonna make a difference in this world for eternity, now is your moment. It's time to walk in a power that is not your own; to speak forth words that are true and living and powerful and piercing...right down to the souls of men! It's time to clothe yourself with kindness and truth and zeal as your cloak!!! It's time to put away lame and worldly visions. This world and all it contains is passing away and will soon be gone. There is another kingdom that will soon overtake us. We best be about the business of campaigning for it! Onward, Christian soldiers! You're up to bat! Make it count......
Love Grows in Obsurity
June 9,2016
This morning I read the story of Mary and the alabaster box of costly perfume she poured out on the feet of Jesus, washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. This lady was clearly desperate for Him! I get the feeling that there would have been nothing too costly for her,
nothing too humiliating, nothing that could have restrained her complete and total abandonment to Him.
But I can't help but notice all the obscurity in the story...
-Who was Simon, the leper? It would appear from a synopsis of the gospels that he might have been family to Mary...perhaps her brother or her father?
But it was he who said in his heart condemning words of her. "If Jesus knew what sort of woman she is...."
Don't think for a minute that it would be impossible for a family member to be so unforgiving!
Simon, "the leper", a Pharisee, whose home this story is set in, had clearly been healed of leprosy or else he would not have lived in the city nor would there have been a public gathering at his home. If he was the father or brother of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary and had seen Lazarus raised from the dead and had been healed of leprosy himself, you'd have thought that HE would have certainly been right beside Mary pouring out costly perfume at Jesus' feet.
There's really a lot about this story that leaves me scratching my head...
But I strongly suspect this...that there's something far more behind the scenes than we are completely aware of...
Which I think is significant and maybe intentional, for learning to love Jesus happens in obscurity.
Is there not always something more behind the scenes in the life of a person who is just clearly uninhibited in their love for Jesus;
who pour out all they are and have at his feet;
whose emotions spill out like streams of water;
Who use every part of THEMSELVES to minister love to Him?
Had she experienced more rejection than we could ever comprehend?
Had past immorality seized her as a direct consequence of her great, great emotional need?
Had she lived her entire life searching in vain for one who would value her and give her dignity?
How deeply had she hurt?
And how completely had Jesus healed her wounds?
We only know that something bigger than we're told had seized her heart and caused her to love Jesus with utter abandonment; that "we don't know (Oh, we really don't know!) the cost of the oil in her alabaster box."
I don't know what she'd been through, but there's no doubt that life had broken her and that Jesus had put her back together!
We don't know how very, very much that was worth to her because we don't know her whole story.
Someday I want to hear her whole story!
Someday I want to hear YOURS...
Because I think there's way more to it than meets the eye...
"And I've come to pour
My praise on Him
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair
You weren't there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When he wrapped his love all around me and
You don't know the cost of the oil
In my alabaster box."
This morning I read the story of Mary and the alabaster box of costly perfume she poured out on the feet of Jesus, washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. This lady was clearly desperate for Him! I get the feeling that there would have been nothing too costly for her,
nothing too humiliating, nothing that could have restrained her complete and total abandonment to Him.
But I can't help but notice all the obscurity in the story...
-Who was Simon, the leper? It would appear from a synopsis of the gospels that he might have been family to Mary...perhaps her brother or her father?
But it was he who said in his heart condemning words of her. "If Jesus knew what sort of woman she is...."
Don't think for a minute that it would be impossible for a family member to be so unforgiving!
Simon, "the leper", a Pharisee, whose home this story is set in, had clearly been healed of leprosy or else he would not have lived in the city nor would there have been a public gathering at his home. If he was the father or brother of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary and had seen Lazarus raised from the dead and had been healed of leprosy himself, you'd have thought that HE would have certainly been right beside Mary pouring out costly perfume at Jesus' feet.
There's really a lot about this story that leaves me scratching my head...
But I strongly suspect this...that there's something far more behind the scenes than we are completely aware of...
Which I think is significant and maybe intentional, for learning to love Jesus happens in obscurity.
Is there not always something more behind the scenes in the life of a person who is just clearly uninhibited in their love for Jesus;
who pour out all they are and have at his feet;
whose emotions spill out like streams of water;
Who use every part of THEMSELVES to minister love to Him?
Had she experienced more rejection than we could ever comprehend?
Had past immorality seized her as a direct consequence of her great, great emotional need?
Had she lived her entire life searching in vain for one who would value her and give her dignity?
How deeply had she hurt?
And how completely had Jesus healed her wounds?
We only know that something bigger than we're told had seized her heart and caused her to love Jesus with utter abandonment; that "we don't know (Oh, we really don't know!) the cost of the oil in her alabaster box."
I don't know what she'd been through, but there's no doubt that life had broken her and that Jesus had put her back together!
We don't know how very, very much that was worth to her because we don't know her whole story.
Someday I want to hear her whole story!
Someday I want to hear YOURS...
Because I think there's way more to it than meets the eye...
"And I've come to pour
My praise on Him
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair
You weren't there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When he wrapped his love all around me and
You don't know the cost of the oil
In my alabaster box."
My Last Moments with Mama
Four years ago late last night, I would receive a very unexpected call, "Your mother got sick... she is not responding."
I discovered in those days surrounding my Precious Mother's leaving us just exactly where our souls are located in our bodies because mine had a sword through it; a literal physical hurt right in my gut!
This could not be happening. She was SO well just a few days ago.
But this is not a dream...This is real...
The doctor says the bleed is so bad that even if she survived, she would never be the same. I would need to tell him whether or not to remove the ventilator the next morning.
I rejoice that I did not have to make that decision.
The next morning, Mama was already on her way home. I went in and sang to her a song I had written for her 50th birthday; Every word of it.
In her final moments, I laid my head on her chest and her last heart beats beat the words, "I love you, my little girl...." I sensed it with all my heart!
"I know, Mama! I love you, my mommy," I told her!
Her children gathered round her...And she left....
How odd is it that the moment she left, I was filled with great, great JOY!!
The Angels at that moment were escorting my Mother to the place where her faith would become sight! I'm certain that there is no greater legacy that one can leave than the absolute assurance that we truly LOVE Jesus Christ more than anything or anyone on this earth! She did! And she was SEEING her faithful Lord and I was ecstatic for her!
My heart was crying, "Run, Mama! Run! There He is!!!!"
Oh dear Father! How I miss her!!
But let me just tell you....NEVER in my life have I experienced such a supernatural take over of my heart! I could only rejoice because I had just watched our worst enemy, death, be SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY!!!! Death, where is your victory? Where is your sting???
Even and especially now....We are more than conquerors because of Easter Sunday so many years ago!
My Mama taught me how to live well and how to die well and a million things in between!
I miss you so terribly, my mommy! I'll miss you until it's my turn to come to where you are!
In the meantime...keep on helping Jesus make me some more grand babies!! Y'all are doing great so far!!!!! 👧🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👍🏻👍🏻😉🙌💝❤️
I discovered in those days surrounding my Precious Mother's leaving us just exactly where our souls are located in our bodies because mine had a sword through it; a literal physical hurt right in my gut!
This could not be happening. She was SO well just a few days ago.
But this is not a dream...This is real...
The doctor says the bleed is so bad that even if she survived, she would never be the same. I would need to tell him whether or not to remove the ventilator the next morning.
I rejoice that I did not have to make that decision.
The next morning, Mama was already on her way home. I went in and sang to her a song I had written for her 50th birthday; Every word of it.
In her final moments, I laid my head on her chest and her last heart beats beat the words, "I love you, my little girl...." I sensed it with all my heart!
"I know, Mama! I love you, my mommy," I told her!
Her children gathered round her...And she left....
How odd is it that the moment she left, I was filled with great, great JOY!!
The Angels at that moment were escorting my Mother to the place where her faith would become sight! I'm certain that there is no greater legacy that one can leave than the absolute assurance that we truly LOVE Jesus Christ more than anything or anyone on this earth! She did! And she was SEEING her faithful Lord and I was ecstatic for her!
My heart was crying, "Run, Mama! Run! There He is!!!!"
Oh dear Father! How I miss her!!
But let me just tell you....NEVER in my life have I experienced such a supernatural take over of my heart! I could only rejoice because I had just watched our worst enemy, death, be SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY!!!! Death, where is your victory? Where is your sting???
Even and especially now....We are more than conquerors because of Easter Sunday so many years ago!
My Mama taught me how to live well and how to die well and a million things in between!
I miss you so terribly, my mommy! I'll miss you until it's my turn to come to where you are!
In the meantime...keep on helping Jesus make me some more grand babies!! Y'all are doing great so far!!!!! 👧🏼👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼👍🏻👍🏻😉🙌💝❤️
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