judges and ruth

hi friends! happy sunday...i can't wait to blog about gideon, samson...ruth! i will probably not be able to post today, but will as soon as possible. just wanted to say hello, and i love you!....

(we are reading ruth today and will start first samuel tomorrow :)...)

joshua 9-24. God is faithful.

--old testament understanding--

i'm excited to blog this morning. the Lord is near (phil. 4:5b). so...starting with chapter 9, let's really listen for what God wants us to understand as we look at the rest of joshua. the kings who were "beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the coast of the Great Sea" (v 1)...heard of how God was giving the israelites favor. they heard about jericho and were afraid. so, the people of gibeon attempted to trick joshua (and succeeded). i think the key thing we can learn from this section of text is that they "did not ask for the counsel of the Lord" (v 14b). it was believable that these people were from a far country and seemed reasonable to promise peace/to make a covenant with them as they requested. even when things seem reasonable and good, we need to be on the alert (i pet. 5:8).

i love how God fought for them all along the way. i know i've read this before but did not remember that God actually threw large stones from heaven (hailstones)...on the five kings and their armies who had come against them (recorded in chap 10). here, also, is recorded that the sun "stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day." so...when you read this, did you think about this scientifically (astronomically:) )? of course, this was a figurative expression because we know the reason it looks like the sun rises and sets is a result of the earth's rotation/not the actual movement of the sun. so, the earth stopped rotating for a day? very cool. i imagine the hand of God just coming and His finger kind of resting on the north pole gently for several hours..."until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies" (v 13). soooo beautiful how it's just all in His hand...and in His control. (and...my faith just keeps being rocked and shaped and enlarged and confirmed and strengthened chapter after chapter). and...southern palestine...and...northern palestine were conquered under joshua's leadership (chap 10/11). chapter 12 lists kings that had been defeated by israel and 13 records how canaan was divided by tribes. caleb comes back on the scene in chapter 14 with a request for the territory that he desired for his family. to note about caleb...the affirmation in verse 9 "...i followed the Lord my God fully." and...i love how his strength and health had been sustained into old age (similar to moses').

i don't have a lot to really comment about the divisions of land recorded in chapters 15-20. each tribe was given space and territory...including the levites in chap 21. chap 20 records how the six cities of refuge had been set aside as well. i love 21:34, "not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of israel failed; all came to pass." in my margin beside chapter 22, i have written: it was relationship then too.... note verse 5: "only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (what does it look like for me...today...to hold fast to Him?) chapter 22 records a misunderstanding concerning an altar built near the jordan. remember that reuben and gad and the half-tribe of manasseh had settled on the other side of river. and...they built this altar as a reminder to generations after them that though the jordan divided them geologically, they were to follow after God as the rest of israelites.

chapter 23 records joshua's farewell thoughts to the people. "...you are to cling to the Lord your God..." (v 8). this stands out/shouts out to me this morning...he instructed/reminded them again to love the Lord (through verse 10). in chapter 24, joshua reviews israel's history...written record of the Lord's faithfulness again. the well-known proclamation in verse 15 is significant. "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve...." and they did verbally affirm that they would choose the Lord as joshua had...and...he warned them with urgency not to follow after other gods. joshua's death is, of course, recorded at the end of the book.

--personal thoughts--

i want to cling to the Lord/to hold fast to Him. for me...today...this means trekking through His Word and turning my heart toward Him in the quiet (and in the intermittent noisy of the reid home today). :)

faithful Father, let us cling to you....

intimacy

--old testament understanding--

well...though i've felt along this journey of reading this year that daily postings could benefit us the most, i am realizing that when i look over large portions of text and kind of see the big picture more...that there is value in this too. when we look at joshua and the victories of the israelites' conquests, the power of God and His moving them in battle testifies to His faithfulness and to His sovereignty. that He moves nations in battle/that He turns the course of nations and war is faith-stirring. of course, the Maker of it all can do anything...anything. and what strikes me this morning is that He was intimate with them and kept communicating love and an urgency for them to love Him. chapter 22:5b says, "...love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." chapter 23:8 says, "...you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day." (italics mine). chapter 23:11 says, "so take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God."

the old testament (as we've seen in the books of law and history so far)...communicates the beauty of intimacy with God....

to be continued....

joshua 1-8.

--old testament understanding--

copied from previous post:

so, joshua 1 introduced us to israel's new leader...who accepted the challenge with strength and courage. joshua was enabled to lead the israelites on the mission to bring them into the land. i love verse 13, "...'the Lord your God gives you rest (reminds me of david crowder* band's last cd :) ) and will give you this land.'" chapter 2 records rahab's part in the story of their conquest...here in jericho. her talk with the israelite spies clues us in to the respect for the israelites and their God that the people had...they had heard how God had moved/how the waters of the red sea had moved for them/how they had just defeated the two amorite cities.... she said when they heard about how they wiped out these cities that their "hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer."

picking up at chapter 3 following rahab's heroic acts in chapter 2:

so, when the "soles of the feet of the priests...rest in the waters of the jordan, the waters of the jordan will be cut off" (v 13). chapter 3 records the israelites' crossing of the jordan river. definitely steps of faith for these men of faith carrying the ark of the covenant. :) chapter 4 records their placement of memorial stones to remember this miracle when the waters stood still for them. chapter 5 records that the israelites were circumcised (these were of the generation who were born in the wilderness and had not been circumcised). i love verse 9 which states, "then the Lord said to joshua, 'today i have rolled away the reproach of egypt from you.'" this was a new start and a new beginning for the nation of israel.

as the conquest of jericho is recorded in chapter 6, looking back to the spies' conversation with rahab gives perspective. this city was fearful of the israelites and would fall easily. chapters 7 and 8 record israel's initial defeat and later conquest of ai. in chapter 7, achan was made an example before israel as he was stoned for his crimes.

--personal thoughts---

you are loved. :)

when You hear our cries...sing through the night

--personal thoughts--

i'm not completely sure my last post made a lot of sense. i just reread it and am moved again by how God was speaking to me, but i definitely want to communicate it well (better?) so that i'm not the only one benefitting from these thoughts. :) the song again...if you want to keep it open in another window (with lyrics accessible)...www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXOAA0dNjPk.

i just want to share my heart with you. i have been grieving for a couple years. because of life circumstances and loss...i've felt quite sorrowful...i guess actually more than a couple of years. and of course...it has been off and on. i am sooooo blessed and have soooooo much to be thankful for...but have seen a lot of heartache and have had my eyes opened to a lot of pain. and...there is a season for grief...which i think i'm coming out of now (it's time). but...the emotions that i've experienced have felt overwhelming at times. paralyzing at times. confusing. unbearable at times. i just want to share how the old testament has been healing to me.... during this season, i have felt tempted to let my sorrow make me feel distanced from God. i've had questions. though i never questioned the goodness of God, my heart just didn't understand a lot. this is the thing...the thing that i've learned...through christy's song and through this epic story of God's faithfulness to lead the israelites.... His heart aches for the pain in the world. when we ache...He does. and when we grieve, His heart grieves with us. and i think sometimes, He opens our eyes so that we will grieve with Him.

when christy introduced the song at passion in january, she said it started out as a lullaby...just as she would grieve in her heart...and she was just asking God to comfort. all the things our hands cannot touch/our arms/hugs cannot reach. wrap Your arms around the world tonight. look at the words for a second..."when You hear our cries...sing through the night so we can join in Your song and sing along...." when we were reading about sodom and gomorrah, the word outcry just stood out to me (genesis 19:13). wickedness and evil lead to pain. hurting people crying out for mercy.... so, through this song, christy is asking God to sing so we can hear it and sing along.

and i realized as i was reading about the conquests as they came into their promised land, that pain and devastation were being dealt with as in sodom and gomorrah. remember deuteronomy 12:31...they burned "their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods." when there was only evil all the time in noah's day, there was a flood. when the outcry of sodom and gomorrah became great, there was fire from heaven. and in response to the "abominable acts" which the nations that the israelites dispossessed engaged in, God sent in His people to conquer. to wipe them out. to end the grievousness and devastation. and this time, His people were seeing face to face and sword to sword the results of sin in these cultures. it must have been horrific. seeing the altars where children were sacrificed and being responsible to destroy them.

i can speculate concerning the israelites' grief for all of this. and i can relate. and...i can relate to their sharing with God...the grief that He had for the devastation of fallen/broken man. but there was also hope that in that culture, in that place, the pain would cease. idolatry that bred wickedness was being quenched as they conquered the land.

so...let's look at the hope in christy's song.

From the farthest corners of the earth

Still His mercy reaches
Even to the pain we cannot see
And even through the darkness
There's a promise that will keep us
There is One who came to set us free...

So let Your song rise
And fill up the earth
Let Your hope ring out
Let Your heart be heard

hope came to rescue fallen/broken man. Christ came...and sin and death and hell and the grave have been conquered. and there is a way out of the devastation and brokenness through Jesus.

so, as i run out of this season of grief...i know that He has cried with me. but/and...the song that He sings over me/over us...is not a ballad of sadness or heartache. but a song of hope. because Jesus is remedy to the broken. praise the Lord...praise God who hears the outcry and sings over us...hope.

great God...wrap Your arms around the world tonight

--personal thoughts--

hi, friends. i want to start this morning by saying thank you, again and again, for reading the bible with me and for reading these posts! you have no idea what this has meant to me.... i had an idea what it was going to look like in december when i decided to commit to this, but i see it a bit more clearly now and know what will work for me at this time in my life. my expectation and hope was to blog everyday as i read...and i don't want to let this go. i think this is the ideal, and i want to hope for this consistency. i just want to express to you an apology for not meeting the expectations that i kind of started with in january...i don't want to give up on this ideal and will keep trying. :) thank you so much for hangin in with me and encouraging my heart along the way.

today, what i want to do is write about the first 8 chapters of joshua this morning and come back this evening to continue through maybe 16.... then pick up tomorrow through 24 and begin judges. this weekend, i want to find myself reading and studying my old testament survey text and putting some thoughts on here to give perspective on these books that have just seemed to be such quick reads. so, for your expectation...and my goals for this weekend, this is my hope. :)

as we open our eyes and hearts to the israelites' move into their promised land...to the battles fought, set backs, victories...to this dramatic way to fulfill what God set before His people.... this is a stretch this morning, but i have to tell you that i awoke with a song that i just have to share with you as we study. here is the link as we quietly look at these passages this morning and through the weekend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXOAA0dNjPk

all throughout history, God has been interested and involved in the story that He created! there is sadness and heartache because of the introduction of sin/because of the fall of man in the garden (genesis 3) and because everyone is born into sin (romans 3:23)...but i believe He hears the outcry. i just want to emphasize again the idea that these nations were "dispossessed" because of their wickedness (as recorded in deut. 9:4-5/12:31). it has seemed to me as i've read that there can come a point in time/in a culture of pain (because of wickedness/sin) when God has had to say, "that's enough. it's over. this has to end." the flood. sodom and gomorrah. and these nations that israel came in to conquer....

i believe He hears the outcry! and i believe that when our hearts break because we hear it!... that we can run to Him...and cry with Him...and sing with Him.

--old testament understanding and continued overwhelming thoughts!--

this morning, i am seeing this in a new way. ahhhh***i've never ever heard the israelites' conquest of the promised land spoken of in this way...i'm still processing this, and i don't even really know how to write this and explain it the way that it's resounding in my head...but could it be? that yes, this all was a fulfillment of a promise to abraham and bringing His people into a new land after 400 years of slavery. but! could it also be that God was dealing with devastation of these cultures of child-sacrifice (deut. 12:31) and evil and that He was allowing His people to accomplish this mission with Him? oh man! this is why i awoke with that song so loud in my head!...

i have a lot...a lot of personal thoughts to share with you about this. how my heart and eyes have been opened during these last few years...and He's making so much make sense to me as i read His Word.

****this is just a start. i will come back when i have more time to write! below is my start on chapters 1-16 which i began before my brain started to hurt. :) **** to be continued, friends....

so, joshua 1 introduced us to israel's new leader...who accepted the challenge with strength and courage. joshua was enabled to lead the israelites on the mission to bring them into the land. i love verse 13, "...'the Lord your God gives you rest (reminds me of david crowder* band's last cd :) ) and will give you this land.'" chapter 2 records rahab's part in the story of their conquest...here in jericho. her talk with the israelite spies clues us in to the respect for the israelites and their God that the people had...they had heard how God had moved/how the waters of the red sea had moved for them/how they had just defeated the two amorite cities.... she said when they heard about how they wiped out these cities that their "hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer."

i'm so sorry...i have to get my kids ready for school...my brain is on overload though and i can't wait to get back to this a.s.a.p.! huge love to you....

brief joshua thoughts/introductory

--personal thoughts--

we are moving forward quickly into and through joshua. let's look of course at chapter 1, verse 9 as we begin studying this first book of history together.... (yes, we have completed the books of the law, the pentateuch...and have begun the books of history as we read through the old testament.) "be strong and courageous! [exclamation point!] do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." i would have needed these words if i'd been joshua at this time in history...and i need them now. trembling and dismay are temptations to me. i want to resist and be strong and be courageous. and i want to remember that my strength and courage are because God is with me.

amen. (right on!...as scott would say.)

i will be blogging again tomorrow about these first several chapters of joshua. rest well, friends (or good morning!)... much love to you....

deuteronomy/chapters 1-34

--personal thoughts first--
i reeeeaaally didn't mean to leave all of this for one long stephanie-commentary on this book. i feel apologetic often for being more sporadic than i really want to be...i'm so sorry! most importantly, i want to communicate that my enthusiasm is constant-present! i'm amazed and in awe and dependent on His Word! so...i will blog us through these 34 chapters tonight and tomorrow...:)...begin joshua tomorrow as well...and come back to some old testament survey/textbook study material info on leviticus, numbers and deuteronomy later in the week. so, here we go...;)

--old testament understanding--
our taste of chapter one is still on my mind and so significant...quick reminder from verses 30-31, "the Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place" (italics mine). soooo comforting and faith-inspiring. (thank You, Father...) i love chapter 2, verse 7 which speaks of His faithfulness in their wanderings (in His words)..."the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.'" and...the end of chap 2 and into chap 3-conquests of two cities which the Lord fought for on their behalf. (3:22: "do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.") the accounts of the defeat of these two cities, heshbon and bashan, were kind of examples to the israelites...that the Lord would continue to fight for them (see 3:21). my bible entitles chapter 4, "israel urged to obey God's law." this urge/urgency is great...the cost would be so great to disobey and the reward so great to follow....i posted several days ago on v 29...a verse that is chalk-inked onto one of the art windows in our home...if they sought Him with everything...He would be found. chapter 5 repeats the 10 commandments (read to the people by moses). verse 29 is significant here as well as the Lord speaks to moses..."oh, that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!" if we needed a text to illustrate that the commandments were for their good, here it is!!! that it may be well with them....

6:5 and following are epic. :) His instruction to love Him with everything and to teach His law and to display His law (on doorposts and gates) is important for us as well. chapters 7 and 8 include reminders of God's faithfulness. may i point out one short phrase that seems to shout out a theme throughout the law?...from 8:2 and then 8:18: you shall remember.... (and...we'll come back to look at 8:3 a little later.....)

i want to pause at chapter 9 to point out a faith-shaping concept here...a kind of truth that answers the questions of the heart. this one is about war and about God's activity in moving His chosen people to take out these "-ites." you know, the hittites, girgashites, amorites, canaanites, perizziites, hivites, and jebusites.... i have always wondered about this...kind of like when the united states was "peopled" by our ancestors...kind of moving native americans out of the way. (i've never known quite what to think about all of that.) so...i love this very clear answer to my questions about why it was okay for the israelites to drive people out of their occupied homes and cities. here it is in chapter 9...(and it is actually repeated twice, i assume for emphasis)...verses 4-5, "do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before you, 'because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you." i think of sodom and gomorrah...the outcry that the Lord was responding to...i wonder if there was an outcry heard from the "-ites'"exceeding wickedness. (--personal thoughts--> wickedness produces pain. wickedness yields an outcry...sin and death-choices yield harm to people whom God created and whom He loves. we see in scripture...sodom and gomorrah/the flood/and here-->war. all-to end extremes in wickedness.) please please note later in chapter 12 (verses 29-31)...this is so very grave and serious...they burned their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. it was extreme...and necessary to end these inconceivable practices.

chapter 10 records the account of the tablets with the 10 commandments rewritten. we have another reference in verse 13 affirming the idea that the law was for their good. (right on!) chapter 11:18-20 is an echo of 6:5-9/the epic passage. :) and...i am going to lump chapters 12 through 29 together for brevity's sake and with respect to your time tonight...these chapters include laws of the sanctuary, instructions to shun idolatry, laws about clean and unclean animals, instructions about the sabbatic year and about feasts, laws about the administration of justice in their culture, spiritism/witchcraft forbidden, instructions about cities of refuge...laws of warfare, expiation of a crime, domestic relations, and other laws...(from chapters 22-25).

chapter 26 records the admonition to give of the first fruits. chapter 27 records curses for those who disobey the law. chapter 28 records blessing for the israelites and their offspring...and consequences of disobedience. chapter 29 records a covenant given at moab...note verse 9, "...keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do." in chapter 30 we read the encouragement of the Lord as restoration is promised. i love verse 11, "for this commandment which i command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach...." verse 14, "the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it." beautiful.

chapter 31 records encouragement to "be strong and courageous..." (verses 6-7 and 23). and more encouragement...as it is forewarned that they would fall away...but would remember...as in the song that moses would write. 31 also records joshua's commissioning. chapter 32 records the song of moses....i love the imagery especially in verses 10-11. again, of the eagle. chapter 33 records the blessing of moses to the tribes of israel.

and...drumroll? heehee...chapter 34. there is actually something very cool and significant as moses is remembered and his death recorded. did you notice in verse 7, it says that "although moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated." watch this...could this have to do with his time spent in God's presence? look back at 8:3b..."man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." i'm just wondering if moses was just a picture of health and vibrancy and vigor...even at 120...because God's presence and His words breathed life into him physically. i just love this idea/this thought that moses spent so much time directly receiving words from God (see ex. 33:11)...and i wonder if it poured life and health into his physical body. so very cool to think about. (and this idea could definitely be sooooo motivating to be in His Word and in His presence).

have i praised the Lord for His faithfulness in this post? He is worthy...

thank You, Father, for Your great great faithfulness.

quickest of quick notes to you!

ahhhh*** friends! i've left you hangin too long! there is sooo soo much to write! just a quick note this afternoon to let you know i'm on it. :) deuteronomy has blown my mind and there's so much to blog! i actually have a mid-term today that i need to study for and complete online tonight, but i'm stoked about blogging the deuteronomy thoughts that have rocked my week! will get this to you very very soon, and we'll dive into joshua together! huge love to you...!!!

deuteronomy thoughts this morning: seek and find

--old testament/personal thoughts :)--

from deuteronomy 4:29..."but from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul."

as i've been reading deuteronomy, i am overwhelmed by God's continuous faithfulness (have i written that before? hmmmm. :) ) reminder after reminder of His faithfulness. i LOVE deuteronomy! and i love this verse from chapter 4...His promise to be found. there is so much to write this morning, but limited time. i will get back to this soon...just wanted to drop a quick note in here on this tuesday morning to encourage your heart to seek.

enormous love and prayers from my heart for those reading the bible with me....

if you are behind, please rest in knowing He will give blocks of time and alertness if you desire to catch up...seek and find with me if God is leading you in this...:)

deuteronomy chapter 1

--personal thoughts--

i have just a few minutes to write this morning, so i want to just blog a taste of deuteronomy, this last book of the law. :) today's reading actually brings us all the way to chapter 13. i will try to cover 2-13 later today possibly or catch it up this weekend.

--old testament understanding--

well, the title of chapter 1 in my bible is, "israel's history after the exodus." this summary of much of what we've read is helpful....the recap is a good overview. i'm going to do something a little different in this post and just quote portions of text that i underlined as i was reading...

v 3-"in the fortieth year...."

v 5-"...moses undertook to expound the law, saying...."

v 8-"see, i have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to abraham, to isaac, and to jacob, to them and their descendants after them."

v 11-"may the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you!"

v 21-"see, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. do not fear or be dismayed."

v 30-32-"the Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.' but for all this, you did not trust the Lord your God, who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go." (italics mine)

v 41-"...'we have sinned against the Lord; we will indeed go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.' and every man of you girded on his weapons of war, and regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country."

so much of the above is just a treasure of His faithfulness. He never left them. He sustained their way and remembered His promise...and even encouraged their hearts (note the end of v 21-"do not fear or be dismayed."). and...the text in my italics is precious and beautiful, once again. as you remember from exodus chapter 19, when we read about God's recount of His rescue..."on eagles' wings"...here again, is a picture of God carrying His people...and the time in the wilderness. the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son....

even as i type, *ahhh*...this is amazing. so awesome...when the Lord carried them on eagles' wings, it was rescue!!! here is the verse from exodus 19 (v 4...in the words of the Lord!)-"'you yourselves have seen what I did to the egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.'" and as we read in deuteronomy 1:31, they were carried in a different way. it wasn't so much the ethereal transportation from slavery and death (rescue from the armies of egypt) to safety and rescue. what we see in this passage is a man carrying his son. i picture my three-year-old on scott's shoulders at ikea. :) tired of walking. and here...the israelites were tired of the wilderness and of walking. and He carried them.

--personal thoughts--

this is sooooo personal today. to me. i'm only 37. there are some who may read this who are older (in years)...and some younger. but...i just have to tell you that i have felt tired (irregardless of my age, i guess). and i can relate to the israelites...as mad as they make me/i have conflictedness constantly as i read of their failings, because i feel my own fear and dismay. i don't think i would've questioned moses and aaron's leadership as like korah (whom the earth swallowed)...or some of the other extreme rebellious acts that we've read about...my heart is so full of reverence for God and hope in God and love for God...but i have wondered how God could overcome my timidity and questions and lead me...but here, i am reading and finding that He doesn't just do that...He carries me! and i think it's interesting that the analogy is not a son carrying his father even as we might imagine...in his elderly frailty...but a father carrying his son. i think of isaiah 40 (v 30)..."though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly." the computer screen is blurry. i'm not going to take the time to personally recount my story/our story and what all this means to my heart...but this truth that sometimes it is necessary...as it was necessary for the israelites...for a young person to feel tired/and need to be carried...is wrecking me right now (in a good way. :) )....

i love watching aiden journey ride on scott's shoulders (as i have the others when they were little).... *ahhh***another revelation this morning*...what i'm picturing isn't just a relief from walking because it's close to nap time or we've just been pushing those little legs to their limit! it is reward!..."wanna ride on daddy's shoulders?"....it's tall up their! it's adventure. it's being able to see everything/the big picture (when the view has been so limited....) He wants us to see what He has for us! and...it is holding on to daddy's head...wrapping legs and arms around His head and face/touching His face (often my kids have held on to scott's ears. lol...)...so intimate and close...and beautiful.

thank You, Father...for first rescuing us from death...and then...carrying us through life. i cannot express in words my gratitude and love. You are beautiful...both like an eagle and as our perfect Father. i love You....