I have been a bit delayed with a few New Year habits that I normally have ready to go before the big silver ball drops in Times Square.
3 New Year routines that I tend to repeat!
1) A New Years Day, unstoppable urge to clean up my Christmas decorations and get them out of my sight!
2) A Verse of Scripture that God uses in my heart to kick off the year and give me an idea of where we are going together this year.
3)A list of New Years Resolutions and "SMART" Goals on the front page of a fresh new payer journal
Number one came as usual.
It took me 2 weeks to get my decorations up and one day to get them down!
I am like on Fast Forward all day on January 1st, ripping stuff down that I so delicately placed just weeks before.
You know who you are my crab loving friend!
The second and third things that I have come to expect, were not as timely as usual but have arrived none the less.
I love to start the year with a fresh Word of scripture that I KNOW will resonate in my heart all year long. That "Word" that I longed for came to me this past Sunday at church (go figure!)
The scripture that God gave me was this:
The Lord directs the steps of the Godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Psalm 37:23 NLT
I love this scripture. Until this past weekend, I am not sure that I have ever read this version.
If I have, it has not done before, what it has done to me this past week. I love that about God's Word.
His promises are living and breathing and ever stirring up new things inside us.
His promises are living and breathing and ever stirring up new things inside us.
When I received this Word on Sunday, I saw it in a whole new light and have been meditating on it and picking it apart for 4 days.
I have discovered that it is packed full of FRESH, SWEET MEAT!!
During my prayer time this morning I was reminded of my childhood training for eating Low Country Crab.
Yep...Crabs! That is the word picture God gave me this morning in my prayer chair.
Have you ever eaten crabs that have been boiled in a big giant pot while sitting close to squishy, salty marsh grass? It is UNBEATABLE! I grew up in Savannah, Ga. so crab boils were part of my upbringing and still one of my favorite experiences.
When you eat a good, fresh from the dock, boiled crab, you rip that steaming sucker apart to get to the big fat easy to reach pieces first. Your taste buds are instantly engaged and screaming for more.
Big white chunks of sweet flaky crab meat are the stuff dreams are made of!
YUM, Let's get this party started!!
However, that is when the real work begins.
I was strictly trained NOT to waste a single morsel of that treasured sweet crab meat. As a child, my Dad monitored our throw away pile. My sisters and I were not allowed to move on to the next easy stuff until every tiny sliver of crab meat left in the deepest places of that crab were shiny clean.
(Now that stuff will TEACH!!)
When the Lord brought this all to my mind this morning I was overwhelmed with the truths that He was showing me. It was a tender time of savoring the memories, the training and the character of my Dad who passed away 6 years ago this past Christmas.
Sometimes we teach our children more when we don't think about it than when we are TRYING to teach them.
God gave me a Personal Ministry Mission Statement a few years ago. It is:
Equipping Women with Eternal Truths for Everyday Life
The eternal truths that were stirred up in me, using an everyday life memory, were as bountiful as a pot full of boiled Blue Crabs!
The analogy is obvious. Eating God's Word can be like eating Crabs.
Sweet, Yummy and Worth the Work.
The third thing, from my list above, that I have been waiting for clarity on, has to do with Resolutions and Goals. However, since I have been sitting in my prayer chair WAYYYYY longer than I should today, I need to leave that "revelation" for another day.
I know, you are probably devestated as you have been hanging on my every word, right??
I know, you are probably devestated as you have been hanging on my every word, right??
So as not to leave you starving for more... here is just a taste :) of what I have been led to put on my "2009 Resolutions" list:
Check out "The Inspired Room" and her challenge of "Balanced Living" for a Beautiful Life---12 Months of Goals. God has added a little twist for me that I will share later.
Check out Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Challenge. Again, I have a twist to share.
For now, be blessed sisters and join me for some 2009 Crabbing!!
BTW---Those dear friends of mine who have multiple BLOGS and tell me how little time they spend on writing post are FULL OF......Crabmeat!!!
You know who you are my crab loving friend!
5 Comments:
Hey Mom,
It was great to have lunch with you and Dad today. AJ and I enjoyed it, Thanks!
Loved your post...though I did tear up a little about Papa...here I go again, hang on... do miss him.
I loved your scripture too. Psalm 37 has been my scripture for the year, I really wanted to memorize the whole thing before March.
Of course, you know how I feel about crabs! I think I'll go out this weekend and catch me some. (If that falls through, the Peace River Seafood Company always has some)
Love,
Tim
Pat,
This was meaty! I love crab, but never had it in fresh right on the bank. If I ever come your way, can we do this? It would be one of the high-lights of a trip to Georgia!
My Mom passed away 6 years ago this Christmas as well. So you touched a tender chord.
One more thing, I'm reading through the bible again this year, but I pulled out the NLT to do so. I'm marking all over that "thang". God is a true delight!
Lovingly,
Yolanda
I enjoyed reading this Pat. I felt as if I was taken back into your child life into places I've never explored especially being from New York.
While I've never eaten boiled crabs freshly caught and so forth I do LOVE CRABS and tear them apart in the restaurants (smile). I'm sure it's just not the same as what you've experienced.
I thought your analogies were very good!
We share the love of decorations in putting them up (although I do mine in a day) and the love of TEARING THEM down quickly. I take mine down usually on New Years Day.
I am not a 'new years resolution' type however I am one to reflect and to pray and set balanced healthy goals that can be put into action and maintained. I pray that what the Lord has given you for resolutions and goals, you will surrender to Him so that you can walk them out. I pray the same for all of us.
The Lord gave me two anchor Scriptues for 2009 while we were still in 2008. If you'd like you can visit: http://lisashawshares.blogspot.com/2009/01/your-anchor-in-word.html
Psalm 37:23 NLT that the Lord gave to you is a keeper of course!!
One of my favorite Psalms is 27:13-14 taught to me as a child by my Grandmother. Although I love reading it in many versions of the Word, KJV reads this verse best. I have prayed it, spoken it and declared it over my life and so many others throughout the years of my walk with the LORD and I have seen His goodness COUNTLESS times!
Thank you for sharing a bit of yourself with all of us.
Bless you.
Crabbing and scalloping are being added to my to-do list this year also. Although I do eat crabs on a regular basis, the actual act of luring them into the net and into the bucket/boat is the feeling I'm longing for! Missing Daddy, too!
Memorizing scripture has never been a strong point for me, but I do plan to spend more time in the word, reading the manual!
love you, Paula
I love your analogy here with the crab meat. Not missing any of it. I don't want to miss one tasty morsel of truth God has for me. "Seek and ye will find..."
It also amazed when I read your fresh WORD from God after just reading your "shoe" post. The Lord is promising to direct your steps - and then He fills your shoes with hope. I'm sure He did delight in that detail of your life!
And, for the record, I do have more than one blog - and it's time consuming! :o)
Love & blessings,
Joy
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