A Bramble of Ramble

From my desk, I can see the sun shining brightly in the backyard. The wind gusts sporadically and it's a chilly 54 degrees. Caleb's outside, wearing his jacket and chasing butterflies. The heater just kicked on inside, because Spring is rather bashful this year and isn't quite sure she's ready to commit herself, even though it's nearly May and the daffadils and tulips are blooming.

And here I sit, scratching my head and wondering what on earth to blog about. For I must blog about something. Nearly two weeks have passed since my last post. I dare not let it go much longer. The cobwebs would get disasterouly large, and my house is already dirty enough without a blog to clean up, too.

So what have I been up to the last two weeks? Well, if you really want to know . . .

We've been fishing. Well, Jason has, anyway. The stars never seem to align just right for me to go, though I do have my license. Jason and his dad and brother went early last Saturday and caught some very handsome trout. I fried a couple up a few nights ago, and they were mmm mmm good. :) Gonna be on the look-out for trout recipes now; I have a feeling our freezer will be full before long!

I've also been scrap-booking lately. My goal is to scrap all our pictures from last summer before this summer begins. And would you believe it, I'm almost there! I have maybe eight more pages before the album is done, and I'm very pleased with how it's turning out. Perhaps I'll post a few pages for y'all to see . . .

Caleb's been a busy bee around here, too. He's becoming very independent these days, and we've finally entered that stage where "No!" is the standard answer for everything. Even for things he wants. I'm not sure he even knows how to say yes. He will say "Ok!" though, if he's in agreement. Such a funny little boy.

"Do you want to go the park, Caleb?"

"Ok!"

Or,

"Do you want cereal for breakfast, or toast?"

"Cereeow! Ok!"

Potty-training has been put back on hold. Sort of. We try to get him to sit on the toilet at least once a day, just so he's still familiar with the concept, but he simply doesn't want to. Period. And since he's not using his bedroom as a restroom anymore, I'm content to let it be. For now, anyway. This diaper thing can't last much longer; he's just getting too big.

In other news, I've been to the thrift store twice this week. I can't help myself; I love that place! I browsed through the book section on trip #2 (because I was sans Caleb and at total liberty to take as much time as I wanted ;). This was a bad idea, however, as I came home with seven new books for our library. Three for Caleb, which provided some much needed new material for our bedtime reading, and four, ah, for me. Because I don't have enough books to read already. Perhaps I should do a post on those books and the stories behind them. And why you can never have too many books. And how I have two books checked from the libaray already and three more on the way. And how I should really check myself into a 12 step program for serial bibliophiles. Because I obviously need help.

Ahem.

Moving on.

Between the fishing (or lack thereof on my part) and bargain hunting, I've also been trying to stay on top of homework for my Beth Moore bible study at church. Have I mentioned Beth Moore here before? This in only the second study of hers I've done, but I'm smitten. She's amazing. Uh-may-zee-ing. The way she unpacks God's word and makes it come alive. The way she takes the Bible and makes it applicable to my every day life. The way she draws out Truth and challenges me without preaching or shaking fingers.

The way she blusters and laughs and jokes as only a blonde Texan woman can. :) I love her. If you ever have the chance to take one of her studies, DO IT. You'll be blessed, I promise.

But her studies do come with homework, so on evenings when Jason raids and mornings while Caleb's at school, I chisel out time to meet with the Lord and study His word more deeply than I normally do. Right now, we are studying the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-135). These are the songs the Israelites would sing as they made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the three annual feasts: The Feast of Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles (found in Deut. 16).

We are learning so much through this study, I could write ten posts just on this topic alone. Perhaps I'll try to write one or two in the next few weeks and give y'all a taste. This morning, for example, we started work on the eleventh Psalm of Ascent, Psalm 130:

"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word,

I put my hope."

(v. 3-5)

Today we studied how the Hebrew writer used three different names for God in this psalm: Yahweh, Adonay (or Adonai), and Jah.

Yahweh describes God as Israel's Covenant-Maker and Covenant-Keeper;

Adonay emphasizes God as Master and Sovereign.

Jah is a shorter version of Jehova and simply means I Am.

In this psalm, Beth writes, the author is petitioning God to hear his cry and is very careful to acknowledge that only He can offer mercy and grace (as the Covenant-Maker and Keeper), to show respect and reverence (by calling him Master), and to affirm that He knows best (since He is Sovereign). Therefore, the Psalmist is willing to wait, no matter how long, for He is I Am.

Interesting, eh?

We then went on to study how this Yahweh, this Adonai, keeps no record of sin. None. No memory book, no heavenly storage house full of the records of our mistakes. For if He did, who could stand? She writes:

"Beloved, if you're like me, God is not the one keeping the record. You are. You keep playing that record over and over. You may think you're honoring God with misery over your past mistakes, but you're not. Just like I did, you're walking in unbelief - not trusting what He promised to do if you'd repent. Having my eyes opened to this reality several years ago changed my entire view on self-condemnation. It does not honor God."

To wrap up today's homework, she asked us to read Colossians 2:13-15 (emphasis mine):

"He forgave us all our sins,
having canceled the written code, with its regulations,

that was against us and that stood opposed to us;

he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities,

he made a public spectacle of them,

triumphing over them by the cross."

Amen?

Amen!

:)

By golly, I think I found a few things to blog about after all. Thanks for letting me ramble, friends. Y'all should get a prize for sticking with me this far. Assuming, of course, you're still reading this. :)

Hopefully it won't be two weeks till we meet again.

Later, y'all!