Rehearse the Truth

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Be careful not to forget, God says.

Do not forget... you are free.  I brought you out of slavery.  You are free!!  (Deuteronomy 6:12)

He tells His kids that He will give them comfy, warm houses with full cupboards.  He knows they will sit in quiet, green pastures. Good food.  Good drink.  Full bellies.  God gives and God also knows.

In that place... in a place of abundance... we must be super careful!  (Deuteronomy 6:10-12)

Be careful not to forget Me. 

How easily I forget.  He knows this of me.  In my comfy home, with my full belly... I can forget. How compassionate and full-knowing He is! He not only knows my forgetful heart; but, He offers a way to remedy the problem. He tells me how not to forget...

He helps our feeble, amnesia-prone hearts.  

Remember, He says.  

Recount.  Rehearse.  Remind.  

And He gives us lovely, practical suggestions as to how to remember!  Love me, He says and talk about Me all the time.  Know my Word and tell others all day, every day, about it. Write it down. Paste it on your walls.  Put it right there in front of your face.  (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)  Talk about it when you get up.  Talk about it when you sit down.  When you walk out and about, talk about Me. (Deuteronomy 11: 18-20)

He understands that we forget.  So...He says, as you go about your day--- your mundane, every day tasks like walking, sitting, eating--- while you go, talk about Me.  Speak the truth.  Tell yourself the truth. Tell yourself and tell others the love-filled, hope-arousing, peace-giving Truth!  

Today, I remember.  I remember what God has done in 2016.  I recount, with my family, what He has done in years past.   I remember His goodness, His salvation, His grace, His gifts of love and sacrifice.

I remember my freedom.  

We will recount.  We will rehearse and remind each other.  

Lord, I will be careful to not forget You!  My faithful, loving, kind Father... today, I remember!  

Comfort Food

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I am a hungry girl.

And, I love my comfort food.  Coffee.  Cakes.  Chips and Chocolate.  You?

I hunger for love and attention.  I hunger to be known.  I hunger for peace and quiet.  And, I hunger for rest.

The ways I have tried (and do try) to feed that hunger are wide ranging and numerous.  My "comfort foods" of choice vary in taste and color...  I attempt to use sleep and television.  I use people and reading good books.  I have also been known to plan and organize, to clean and order life.  I can use (and abuse) chocolate and peanut-butter.  Coffee.  Cakes and Chips.  What do you use?

The hunger in me to be at peace or to be known, heard and filled can be intense at times.  Like a craving that rises up from my gut.  It cries out and needs feeding.

Two days ago I opened God's word to Psalm 93 and read the first line.  "The Lord reigns" (Psalm 93:1).  Upon reading those words, in an instant, my hunger ceased.  In that moment, I sat with the words, trying to take them in.  Mulling, meditating, bathing in the truth of those words.

The Lord reigns. 

The Lord reigns.  

His Word---the Truth of who He is--- a meal for my hungry heart.

Yesterday, I opened the same Psalm.  I read the second line.  "...the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure." (Psalm 93:1)

Better than chocolate.  Better than coffee...  better than a good night's sleep or a well ordered cupboard---my heart felt rest.  Even better than the best of friends.

As I mulled and sat with those words---whispering them under my breath.

The Lord is robed in majesty. 

Robed.  Majestic. 

The Lord is armed with strength.

Strong.  

The world is firm and secure.  

Ah, the comfort.  Ah the quiet that Scripture brings my heart.  This all knowing, reigning, strong God knows, sees and fills me.

The comfort food of God's Word never ceases to amaze me.  This hungry girl comes---even for just one short moment---and she is fed.

"I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; 

with singing lips my mouth will praise you." (Psalm 63:5)