How To Read The Bible

I recently read this example of how to read the bible by Max Lucado in his Life Lessons series. He says, "....But how do we use the bible? Countless copies sit unread on bookshelves and nightstands simply because people don't know how to read it. What can we do to make the bible real in our lives?

The closest answer is found in the words of Jesus. He promised: Ask and God will give to you. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will open for you. (Matt 7:7).

The first step in understanding the bible is asking God to help us. We should read prayerfully. If anyone understands God's word it is because of God and not the reader.

But the helper will teach you everything and will cause you to remember all that I have told you. The helper is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name. (John 14:26)

Before reading the bible, pray. Invite God to speak to you. Don't go to scripture looking for YOUR idea: go searching for HIS.

Not only should we read the bible prayerfully; we should read it carefully. Search and you will find is the pledge. The bible is not a newspaper to be skimmed but rather a mine to be quarried.

Search for it like silver, and hunt for it like hidden treasure. Then you will understand respect for the Lord, and you will find that you know God. (Prov. 2:4-5)

Any worthy find requires effort. The bible is no exception. To understand the bible you don't have to be brilliant, but you must be willing to roll up your sleeves and search.

Be a worker who is not ashamed and who uses the true teaching in the right way. (2 Tim.2:15)

Here's a practical point. Study the bible a bit at a time. Hunger is not satisfied by eating twenty-one meals in one sitting once a week. The body needs a steady diet to remain strong. So does the soul. When God sent food to his people in the wilderness, he didn't provide loaves already made. Instead, he sent them manna in the shape of thin flakes like frost...on the desert ground (Ex. 16:14)

God game manna in limited portions. God sends spiritual food the same way. He opens the heavens with just enough nutrients for today's hunger. He provides a command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there.

Don't be discouraged if your reading reaps a small harvest. Some days a lesser portion is all that is needed. What is important is to search every day for that day's message. A steady diet of God's word over a lifetime builds a healthy soul and mind.

A little girl returned from her first day at school. Her mom asked, "Did you learn anything?" "Apparently not enough, "the little girl responded. "I have to go back tomorrow and the next day and the next."

Such is the case with learning. And such is the case with bible study. Understanding comes little by little over a lifetime.

There is a third step in understanding the bible. After asking and seeking comes the knocking. After you ask and search, then knock. Knock and the door will open for you (Mat 7:7)

To knock is to stand at God's door and make yourself available, to climb the steps, cross the porch, stand at the doorway and volunteer. Knocking goes beyond the realm of thinking and into the realm of acting. To knock is to ask. What can I do? How can I obey? Where can I go?

It's one thing to know what to do and another to do it. But for those who do it, who choose to obey, a special reward awaits them.

The truly happy are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy. (James 1:25)

What a promise. Happiness comes to those who do what they read! It's the same with medicine. If you only read the label but ignore the pills, it won't help. It's the same with food. If you only read the recipe, but never cook, you won' t be fed. And it's the same with the bible. If you only read the words but never obey, you'll never know the joy God has promised. '

Ask, Search, Knock. Simple isn't it? Why don't you give it a try? If you do, you'll see why you are holding the most remarkable book in history."

Now doesn't that make you want to crack open your bible? It sure does motivate me. Happy Reading!

Sweet Sammy's 6th

Sorry so long since writing. Things have been busy as usual. Sam had his 6th birthday. We had a small family party planned for February 12th, but with the snow still hanging around no one would have a place to park on the side of the road if they even got here. Sooo we postponed it until the next weekend. Sam was sad, so we took him sledding and built a snowman with a mohawk. It was really cute. He opened his presents from us and we took him to dinner. He wanted to go to Cheesecake Factory so we did. Little did we know that it would take us an hour to get from home to the mall (which should have taken 15 minutes normally). The whole world was out and we just sat in traffic stuck. Once inside the mall parking lot it was still standstill, even with security guards trying to help direct the traffic. It was mayhem. Normally we would just avoid it and go somewhere else, but Sam wanted it and he had already been dissappointed with his party postponed. Besides that we couldn't get out of it all. It took so long we ran out of gas once in the parking lot of the restaurant. (We weren't the only ones. It happened to many people. It was so crazy the radio stations talked about it the next few days saying it was the worse traffic ever, even compared to black Friday or the holiday shopping. People had never seen anything like it before here.)

We ate dinner and it got dark, then Jason had to go walk to get gas. I took the kids to the mall and we walked around til Jason met back up with us. It was an INSANE, stressful evening. Ugh. Well, the saga wasn't quite over. The next Saturday we DID have Sam's party, but halfway through it he said he had a headache and didn't want a piece of his icecream cake he had wanted us to get him so badly. Then he asked if he could go to his room and lay down before he even opened his gifts. I took his temp. and it was 102. Poor little guy. He was fine that morning before. It hit fast....but it also left fast. By 5:00 that evening his temp. was gone and he ate fine the whole next day and has been fine since. Strange! It was like it came just for the party to sabotage him again, then left. The one good thing is that Sam didn't seem to be upset about it at all. He never said a word about his party being ruined. Sweet Sammy.

Sooo Snow Fun!

Here are some of the fun things we did during the two week snow fest we had. The kids have been out of school for 9 days counting tomorrow. We had fun growing crystals. Here are some blue, yellow and red crystals we grew on rocks. Cool!!!

Here is a blue geode that we are growing. Pretty.

These are some bouncy crystals. They are squishy and soft.

I watched Brook's boys for two days and she watched mine so that we could go to the office a couple of times---only for paperwork. No home visits for therapy. I don't travel in this stuff!

We did a science experiment where we separated salt from pepper. It was fun. You sprinkle salt and pepper on a plate then rub a balloon in your hair to generate static electricity. Then just hold it close to the plate and you can hear little soft pings as the salt lifts up onto the balloon. Yes I heard lots of whines for "projects" sooo, what's a mom to do? Try this one it is fun.

Crazy Maizie loved digging holes in the snow. It was hard to get her back inside each time she went out. She whined to go out and play more in it. Her new nickname is the Abominable Snow Dog!

More crystals. Here are the crystals grown on rocks again and a glow in the dark geode. And yes...It Works! We used a dark closet to see it glow.

Scientist Sam making crystals.

Max and Maizie playing in the snow. It only lasted about five minutes before Max and Sam got too cold. The sad thing about this looooong big snow was that it wasn't good to play in since the temperatures were too cold to be outside.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....Ok, enough snow. REALLY!

Hope your winter wonderland is fun and not making you stir crazy.

Yes we are still snowed in. Jason walked to the grocery store yesterday to pick up a few things we were out of, despite the fact that he went the night the snow started. Well, to our chagrin, it snowed more today. About 3 or 4 more inches. Ugh. We are never getting out of this house. But...we are making the most of it. We have played games, made more crystals with our crystal growing kit (red tourmaline crystals and a blue geode--they are still in the works and will take a few more weeks of sitting and the liquid evaporating to make the crystals grow, but they have already started to grow some!) We made snow ice-cream and almost made snow cones with snow and juice. I have cleaned the house, gone through the kids toys, movies and all their clothes (both seasons) to organize them and get rid of what doesn't fit and what they don't play with. I need to purge and make more room! I feel cooped up.

Maizie had fun digging and jumping in the snow. She is certainly a terrier and kept digging, putting her whole head and half her body into holes in the snow she made. It was hilarious to watch. The boys have loved staying in their pajamas all day.

One thing I need prayer for today is my brother, Trent and his wife, Holly. Holly is in the hospital in the ICU with severe asthma that has now gone into pneumonia also. Her anxiety is making the situation worse and aggravating her asthma more. A vicious cycle. The doctors haven't found anything to help so are going to put her out for two days and put her on a respirator in a chemical induced coma like state. I hope this helps. Besides that, Dallas has snow now and my brother's asthma has started to act up, compounded with his cold. He finally got his doctor to call in some extra medicine for him. He is worn out and feeling awful and worried. Sooo PRAY please.

Here are some more ideas of things to do in the snow that I got from my kid's after care program they sent home with the kids since it was supposed to snow Monday night (AND DID!):

1. Snow sculpting
2. sledding
3. eat icicles or have sword fight with them
4. Balance an icicle on your nose
5. measure the snow
6. And the usual ice skating, skiing, making a fort, snowball fight, make snow angels,etc.

Directions for snow ice cream:
When it starts to snow, place a large bowl outside to collect the snow. When full, stir in sugar and vanilla to taste. Then stir in just enough milk for desired consistency. Serve at once.
For one gallon of snow use 1 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 2 cups of milk.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....now stop snowing...please!

Be Healthy

Yes I wrote an earlier blog about temptation. It hit home with me because I have felt convicted that I am not taking care of the body that God gave me. I need to lose about 60 pounds. Yeah, thats a lot. I have struggled for a long time with it. So I have prayed and bit the bullet and started on the HCG diet (For the 2nd time). I lost 12 pounds in 30 days last time I did it, but I was so sick of the foods on it and of starving myself on the 500 calorie diet that I stopped and all the weight came right back. I am trying it again with more support and better quality medicine. Still the last 2 days on it have been tough. Especially since my kids are gorging on all kinds of goodies my husband stocked up on since we are snowed in. Ugh. Well, this is a good start to face it all head on. I will have to do this for a while to reach my goal---for 4-5 months. Don't know if I can do it, but have to try. I want to be healthy for my kids! Please pray for me. I really need it....Really! Esecially having to give up my coke zero---seriously! Anyway, enough of my grousing. But I thought my pastors sermon was a good kick in the pants for me. I also have some of my church doing the Daniel Diet right now so I am not quite alone in my suffering. Ha ha. Take care and stay healthy.

An A-Maizie-ing Snow!

Maizie had fun in the snow - please ignore the con/de-struction due to the recent sewer line replacement.