Truths in the Bible

should motivate us, make us question ourselves, and keep us engaged.  There are so many promises in the Bible.  The Bible is a word of TRUTH.  There is nothing wrong in the Bible.  It was written by inspired men - inspired from God.  We know that when we read The word, we are reading non-exaggerated truth.  The truth is, the Lord is returning one day.  As Bill put it this morning, "the end times have been happening since shortly after Christ's resurrection."  The end times are nothing new; they are not immediate, but are imminent.  What does that mean to you as a Christian?  It should mean that we are motivated by the arrival of the King.  It should encourage us that we are not going to be stuck in this sin filled, can not escape the pain world.  We have Heaven and we have Christ.  Remember, to die is to gain!  Amen to that one!  This should make us question ourselves about how we live our lives.  Are we living them for Him, or for ourselves?  Are we humble in spirit?  Is there integrity in the words that you speak?  Lastly, this truth should keep us engaged in His work.  We should be fervently trying to further His kingdom, using the spiritual gifts that He has blessed us with to help, serve, motivate, teach, encourage, and guide others to Christ.  I love the example of the farmer in James 5.  I actually love it so much it is now the blog's life verse.  The Bible speaks of farmers quite often, but I kind of found humor in this verse this morning.  It says, "Be patient, then brothers, until the Lord's coming.  See how the farmer waits for the land to yield it's valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and the spring rains." (James 5:7-9)  Here is what my commentary notes had to say: The farmer must wait patiently for his crops to grow; he cannot hurry the process.  But he does not take the summer off and hope that all goes well in the fields.  There is much work to do to ensure a good harvest.  When Bill was talking about this, he said, "Why is the farmer so patient?"  I leaned in and whispered to CR, "It's because of his patient wife!"  Ha- as you know, I am more than patient as the crops are growing, but when it comes to harvest time, I want it over fast.  Harvest is hard on this farmer wife, but I know it is necessary.  I mean, it is THE event of the year for farmers.  Those verses written by James, Jesus' own brother, encourage me.  As a farmer's wife to be patient, but even more so as a Christian.  Be patient, my friends.  Whatever season of life you are in, this too shall pass.  Whatever hiccups you have, those too will be washed away.  In Him, you have that promise.  In Him, we have the promise that He is returning some day to save us from this passing world.  In the meantime, He wants you to have heaven on earth.  He wants you to enjoy His blessings and His gifts.  Here are some of the latest pictures of our heaven on earth:

Kirby now likes to take her morning bottle in her chair.  I used to have CR give it to her as soon as she got up, but the doctor suggested we let her eat first and then give her the bottle so she would eat more.  I laugh and tell her this is her morning quiet time, because look at her view ...

She loves to watch the cows.  I think I could probably leave her right there for an hour or so and she would be completely content watching the cows.  She loves to moo at them, and CRACKS up when they moo "back" at her. 

She has figured out how to push and walk behind her tractor, but she is still a little wobbly.  CR is so cautious with her (1st born), so he walks behind her to make sure she doesn't fall too hard.  She really has not fallen yet, just gets a little tangled with her feet sometimes. 

She has not been brave enough to let go and walk anywhere yet.  She holds on to the couch, but sometimes she will go from couch to chair or table with one little step and no hands.  I am not rushing her at all.  We give her plenty of opportunities to explore, discover and try.  It will come when she is ready.  When people ask if she is walking yet and I say, "she is trying, but has not let go of things yet" they give me some odd looks and they ALWAYS have a story of how their child or their grandchild or their best friend's sisters' child walked when they were 9 months old.  Ok, thanks for your opinion, now I am going on with my day.  Ha!

She loves it when CR takes her around on her tractor.  Her legs are short like her momma's, so they do not touch the floor when she sits down.  CR pushes her along and she tries to reach with her toes, but she doesn't get much friction.  I tell her to enjoy the rides while she can, one day they run out and she will have to do all the work herself!

So she can not walk yet, but oh my oh my how she can talk.  She talks all the time.  We hear words, too.  It is crazy to me how much she knows at a year.  She loves ducks.  I found this old crocheted duck that someone had made CR a long time ago.  When I gave it to her, she said "uck" and started grinning.  I asked her, "Kirby, what does that duck say?"  She replied, "yack, yack, yack, yack" ... that is her quack.  Then yesterday ....

she not only "yacked", she started flapping her "wings".  She did it again when I gave her a rubber duck at Granny's.  Too funny ... such a character.

Kirby is such a good baby.  All of that glory goes to God. I also feel like it is because she is so well rested.  I will say over and over and over again how wonderful the book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child is.  My sister-in-law suggested it and so did a great friend of mine.  I told myself I would use it as a "guide" but not live by it.  Every step of Kirby's sleep changes were in that book and every time I have done what it suggests and we have overcome the obstacles.  I highly recommend it to any new or veteran mom! 
I hope each of you has a wonderful week and enjoys their Labor day holiday.  Does anyone else find it ironic that a day that is used to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers is a day off of work?