Land Of The Living

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4 NIV

Is it bad to memorize this by song? I have the Enter the Worship Circle Song "Land of the Living" stuck in my head.

quiet

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing
-Zephaniah 3:17

I have learned what it means to quiet with love.  4 teeth in 6 weeks has taught me what it means to quiet with love.  I have held a screaming baby close to my chest and whispered sweet words of comfort.  I have kissed the top of a head full of pain.  I have gently patted a rigid back.  I have softly sung words to calm hurting cries.  I have kissed cheeks wet with tears.  My eyes have been full of tears as screams ring out from a little boy who doesn't understand.  My heart has been desperate to take away the pain from this baby.  I have longed to take his place.  I have quieted with love.

This verse has always been a loud verse.  And it is.  It is a verse of joy and protection.  It is a verse of praise for a God who loves and redeems.  But it is also a verse of quiet.  It is a verse that speaks of a Father who would give anything to take my place.  A Father who wipes away tears.  A Father who sings loudly but also a Father who sings softly.  A Father, who wishes like my mama heart, that growing came without pain.

And so I am thankful that he rejoices and sings over me.  But it is the quieting that I am most in need of.  When I am overwhelmed, tired, angry....I need him to quiet me.  When I am hurting and broken....I need him to quiet me.  Abba Father, quiet me.

February 1

Here's my verse for the first half of February in honor of Valentine's Day coming up. 

A heart at peace gives life to the body.” Proverbs 14:30
NIV

I forgot to post my verse from Jan. 15th.  

The Lord rules over the floodwaters.

The Lord reigns as king forever. 

Psalm 29:10 NLT

memory

I didn't do so well with memory monday.  Since it's a new year, I'm going to try something new.  Beth Moore has a Siesta Scripture Memory Team and I'm going to join.  We memorize two verses a month, which seems a lot more manageable.  I will be posting a comment on her blog and here on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Here's the first verse I'm going to memorize:

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.  Psalm 65:11 NLT

I'm hoping that this verse will set the tone for 2011.  I want to recognize God's blessings, even in the hard times.

halfway

 
I memorized half of verse three last week.  I hung the verse up by the bathroom mirror and over the changing table.  I covered up most of the verse and once I had a part learned, I uncovered more of the verse.  This week the goal is to memorize the rest.

The Spirit of the Soverign Lord is upon me
because he has annointed me to preach good news to the poor
He sent me to bind up the broken hearted
Proclaim freedom for the captives
And release from darkness for the prisoners

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor
And the day of vengeance of our God.
To comfort those who morn
And provide for those who morn in Zion.
To bestow on them a crown of beauty
Instead of ashes
The oil of gladness
Instead of mourning

and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the LORD               
    for the display of his splendor
-Isaiah 61:3

Isaiah 61:3

This week's verse is a long one.  It may take me more than one week to memorize it (especially since I was supposed to memorize it two weeks ago).

and provide for those who grieve in Zion
    to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
    the oil of gladness
    instead of mourning,
    and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the LORD                
    for the display of his splendor
-Isaiah 61:3

I will definitely be breaking this up into chunks.  I'm also going to print it out on a card and hang it in a couple of places as recommended in this post by The Simple Wife.

memory

I've decided to participate in Memory Monday. Last week I memorized Isaiah 61:1-2. I started reading Beth Moore's Breaking Free and those are the verses she says to start with. So here it goes from memory... The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, And release from darkness for the prisoners. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort those who morn... I'll be adding verse 3 this week.