Bite-sized Bible Nuggets

Instructions need to be broken down into simple bites we can easily digest. 

When my husband purchased a new sewing machine for me, the instruction manual was SO complicated, I couldn't use it.  I have been sewing for 40 years,  but the words were unintelligible.  I had to drive to the place of purchase with my machine and ask for help. 

I like little words in little sentences.  Like most moms, I don't get a lot of sleep and daily lose brain cells.  They seem to fall out of my brain like change out of a  pants pocket with a hole.

Complicated rules are not only hard to understand, they're hard to follow.

Through the years, my husband and I  have been blessed to study the Bible with a godly older man, John.  Scott began studying with him when he was an 18 year old college student, I joined later when we began hosting weekly Bible studies in our home with John taking us through Genesis, Ephesians, John, I John, I Corinthians, and many other books.

John has the ability to bring out the beautiful deep truths of the Scriptures, the typologies of Christ, but break them down into little bite-sized Bible nuggets  His wise, simple thoughts have stayed with me through the years.

Through conversations with him I gleaned these simple rules.  I can still hear his warm voice nurturing my bruised soul with

rule #1

"take it from the Lord."

See, I toldja' it was simple.

Whatever is going on in your life right now, take it from the Lord.  Understand and believe that all things are caused or allowed by Him,  this is not out of His control. 

He is not surprised by your struggles, nor does He rejoice to see your suffer.  He loves you.  He wants to uphold you with His victorious right arm.  He has plans that are not your plans, and ways that are not your ways.

Traumas happen, trials happen, life is hard. We can react wrongly to our circumstances, thinking if only God understood, if only He really knew, He wouldn't have allowed this to come to pass.  He might change His mind if He only understood yours.

Why did my husband lose his job?
Why am I so sick?
Why did I  lose a child?

These are very real  agonies and deserve sympathy, prayers and tears. But,  we cannot face these things with unbelief, we need to trust Him. 

We do not know what the future holds, and we do not know the fruit this trial may produce.  If God told you ahead of time souls would be saved if He could test you for a season, what would you say? 


The Lord causes and allows all things in our lives.

What happens to us is because God planned it for our good, or He allowed it for our testing, which is also for our good. When we accept this, we will stop swimming upstream and allow the healing waters to pull us downstream to a place of maturity.

"take it from the Lord."

It's the only place to start.




(We'll continue tomorrow with rule "leave it with the Lord.")

I'm linking this series with  Spiritual Sundays.  Click your way over for some spiritual encouragement from other faith bloggers.

The Lord's Plans for This Old Mommy

Rebekah has always been very observant of  people around her.  Since toddlerhood,  she would stare with childish frankness until caught. We quietly reminded her not to stare, or would turn her gaze away by gently turning her face.

One day, when she was three, she was enthralled with a beautiful toddler girl and an equally beautiful young mommy strolling by us in the grocery store.

 “Look Mommy, she’s with her big sister,” she said, staring and pointing to the little girl.

 “No, honey, that’s her mommy,” I replied.

 Rebekah looked quite confused and looked from the other mom’s face to my own several times before protesting again.

 “No, it’s her sister,” she insisted.

 I realized she was recognizing the fact that her older sister, Jana, 18, was closer to the age of  the young mom than I was. Rebekah had been taken on many exciting excursions with her older sister, but always came home to an older mommy. She couldn’t imagine that some children have young mommies.

(A week old Mommy with a week old baby Jana.)

I attempted to explain that I used to be a young mommy, and I looked young like that other mommy when Jana, Daniel and Bethany were little kids.

(A 15 year old Mommy with a newborn Rebekah.)

(Off the subject, but my labor secret is to put on waterproof mascara

 and put my hair in a bun when I go into labor.

When I'm done,

 I pull out the pins,

toss my hair like a movie-star

and am as ready as I'll ever be for pictures.)

I explained how 7 years went by between Jon's birth (baby #5) and her birth, so I was now an older Mommy. I thought I had done a great job of explaining this great mystery to Rebekah and turned to finish loading the rest of my groceries onto the conveyor belt.

 I hadn’t realized we had an audience until slight chuckles from the man ahead of me punctuated Rebekah’s final I'm-gunna-win-this-conversation statement.

"Mommy, I know it's her big sister."

*****(click on links to read the verses)*****

We all marry and begin our new lives with great plans and expectations.  They may be good plans, they may be spiritual plans, they may even be plans to serve the Lord.

But, Proverbs 16 teaches us to commit our plans to the Lord, and our plans will succeed.  In the spiritual realm, success is being in the Lord's will, physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.  We can trudge through life as a  falsely humble suffering martyr, or we can accept the Lord's plans with a sincerely thankful and worshipful heart.

I never planned to be carrying a diaper bag at 38.  We began our family young with great plans to be young when they moved out.  The Lord had different plans.  We learned that His plans are best.  We would never change our life now,  and the blessings of being older parents have been tremendous.  Tiring, yes, but amazing.

We don't plan miscarriages.  We don't plan children with health issues.  We don't plan to lose our children to any disease or accident.

We do plan how many we think we should have.  We do plan what we think they should look like and how they should act.  We do plan the spacing we want.  We plan the gender we want. 

Sometimes, our plans are the Lord's plans.  He was gracious enough to grant me the desire of my heart with the number of children I wanted.  Since I was about 11 or 12, six was emblazoned in my heart.

But when His thoughts are not our thoughts and His plans are not our plans, we need to trust in His love, His mercy, His grace and His compassion.  Even in our sorrow and grief, He is there, and His plans are still FOR US and not AGAINST US.

Jeremiah 29:11

 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,

says the LORD,

thoughts of peace and not of evil,

 to give you a future and a hope.

As far as the Lord's plan to allow me to go through cancer from the time Rebekah was 2, and never allow her to know a well Mommy?  This is for MY peace, MY future and MY hope.

What joy Rebekah Joy brought us all through times of darkness and sorrow.  She gave us all reason to continue on in laughter and peace, when we purposed to not taint her childhood with fear and lack of faith.

His plan to make me one of the oldest moms at my daughter Rebekah's graduation in 11 years?  It is for MY peace, MY future and MY hope.

What better future than to grow old with one child still at home?  I cherish the thought of her as my company in my old age.

Have you ever had parenting plans that didn't match up with the Lord's?  Have you surrendered your will and your heart?  Can you accept these plans for peace and hope in your life?

The prophet continues with precious words:

Jeremiah 29:12-13

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me,

and I will listen to you.

And you will seek Me and find Me,

when you search for Me with all your heart.

Sounds like a great plan,
and a great promise,
for this old Momma!