Psalm 61-63

My sweet Granny passed into eternity this week. We buried her yesterday... and I am so grateful for every moment we spent together while she was alive. I appreciate everything about her.

She loved me beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Thank you, God, for letting me love my Granny, and thank you for taking her home.

Psalm 63:7 reads, "You have helped me, and I sing happy songs in the shadow of your wings."

© Leia Jobe, Psalm 63:3

Psalm, continued

I continue to read through Psalm this week as my grandmother prepares to meet her Maker.

Psalm 55:6 reads "I wish I had wings like a dove, so I could fly far away and be at peace."

My grandmother, in the last few weeks, has often talked about her guardian angel. "She's in the room with me," she says. "She's very tall, and she wraps her wings around me so I won't fall down."

Psalm 37-50

"The sacrifice that honors me is a thankful heart." (Psalm 50:23)

(my sweet granny and I, together)

Psalm 1-36

Psalm 4:6

Psalm 8:1

Psalm 8:3

Psalm 11:1

Psalm 13:3

Psalm 16:3

Psalm 17:8

Psalm 36:9

God is good.

Ahh, so many amazing things to see in this world.

Thank you, God, for the incredible views you've created for us. I love you!!!

Pagosa Springs © Leia Jobe, 2012.

I've taken a lot of pictures in the past couple weeks, and will soon post my photo/blog/thoughts on my favorite verses from this (and last) week's Bible reading. Stay tuned! ;)

Next Two Sundays

For the next two Sundays, I'll be on the road with very little Internet access... So please read along with me through the next couple books of the Bible. I will be reading through Psalm (and possibly Proverbs) as I travel through New Mexico and Colorado taking photographs of the amazing western landscapes God has gifted us with.

A photo for you as I say goodbye (for now), taken of this morning's sunrise:

Job

There is currently a thunderstorm outside my window.

I feel like I am related to Job.

My name is Jobe.

I feel his pain. I love this story. I am this story. I am going to write a book about this story.

But for now, I am going to learn to keep my mouth shut about things that I don't understand, and give you, instead, this picture I took a few hours ago in my front yard, which I just happened to take when I happened to witness a hornet-like-creature snatching a cicada out of mid-air. The hornet then proceeded to eat him. Personally, I have never felt sorry for cicadas before. Today, maybe. Perhaps there are some things that I am not wise enough to understand.

If I were brave enough to ask, I'd ask about grasshoppers. But then again, maybe I wouldn't... because my encounters with grasshoppers have given me stories to tell. Funny stories. Stories that comfort other people in times of trouble... which, maybe, just maybe, is the meaning of many things.

But God is incredible, and his wisdom is infinite. Thank you, God.

And thanks, Job, for being in this story.

p.s. (If I ever have a daughter, I'm naming her Jemimah.)

Job 39:20

I should also add that as I was reading, I noticed a single pencil mark notation I had made in my Bible a long, long time ago. It was just a single pink arrow pointing to this verse: "I myself made her foolish and without common sense." (Job 39:17).

The Book of Job / Jobe

The day has come. It is Job day.

I'll be posting photographs later today as I finish the one book of the Bible I have always felt most connected to... the book of Job.

Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Chapter 9 of the book of Ezra was so good that I had to stop, smile, and reread everything I'd just read. Many times.

I attended a funeral yesterday for a lovely woman who was amazingly alive, and who ministered to the children at church with such happiness that no one could ever be the same.

Ezra 9:5-9 are so incredibly fitting, for not only her funeral, but also for this season of my life. Please, please seek out these verses for yourself and read them, over and over, until you hold them as dearly in your heart as I do.

Ezra 9:9

Next week I tackle Job. Since my last name is Jobe, and for a myriad of other reasons.... I cannot wait.

2 Chronicles 32:34 - Ezra 1:1-4

Dear God: Thanks for bringing my brother home safe from war. We love him very much. We love You very much, too.

2 Chronicles 34:26-27

2 Chronicles 35:18

Ezra 1:1

2 Chronicles 23:8 to 2 Chronicles 32:33

This passage struck a chord with me:  "About this same time, Hezekiah got sick and was almost dead. He prayed, and the Lord gave him a sign that he would recover. But Hezekiah was so proud that he refused to thank the Lord for everything he had done for him. This made the Lord angry, and he punished Hezekiah and the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Hezekiah and the people later felt sorry and asked the Lord to forgive them. So the Lord did not punish them as long as Hezekiah was king." (2 Chronicles 32:24-26)

If you know nothing else about me, know that I am a fibromyalgia and CFS survivor. About ten years ago, I became very sick, and "was almost dead." During those hard years, I remember praying a lot to God, asking Him to heal me. And then, He did. And then, I stopped praying so much.

And so, starting right now, I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank my Lord God for everything He has done for me. He's done absolutely incredible things for me, and I am ever grateful.

I am sorry, Lord, for sometimes forgetting all You've done for me, and for only turning to You when I need help. Thank You, God, for doing all these wonderful things... and thank you for BEING wonderful. I should praise You every day, all the time. You deserve no less.

2 Chronicles 25:8

2 Chronicles 23:1-7

2 Chronicles 23:1

2 Chronicles 10-22

Early this morning I sat in a little blue rocking chair in an empty children's Sunday School classroom (as I usually do on Sunday mornings) gazing out the window. Suddenly, I was overcome with the need to pray for a specific, new thing... something that I have never prayed before... You see, usually it's "Lord, please help me, or Lord, please give me something, or Lord, I want, or Lord, forgive me for something or protect me from something...", etc. etc.

You see, I tend to (like the Israelites in 2 Chronicles 15:3-4) forget about God in the good times and only fully turn to Him in the bad times.

But today, it was a new prayer. Something in me said that there would be a change in my life, and soon.

And for some reason, I sat there in that chair praying to God that no matter what future wealth or happiness or success or man might come into my life that I would not, in any circumstance, forget the One who made me, or forget to praise Him, or forget that everything comes from Him and that next to Him, money means absolutely NOTHING.

And so, imagine my surprise, when my reading for today included the following passages: "The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, he remained completely faithful to the Lord..." (2 Chron. 17:5-6)

Amazing.

Love.

How can it be....

2 Chronicles 1-9

The description of Solomon's temple in these chapters is pretty amazing... and to be honest, I am so inspired to go create something that it is hard to continue reading!!! But persist, I must.  I especially love this verse: 2 Chronicles 4:13... "Fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and embroidered with designs of winged creatures..."

Again I am remembering a verse from last week's reading, which reminds me that every good and beautiful thing in this entire world comes from God: every good and perfect and amazing and beautiful and inextricable thing, including the gold that Solomon used to make the temple. And since everything came from God in the beginning, we are wise to give a little of it back to Him, and thank Him for it, too.

All the art for today is spur-of-the-moment graphic design that I was inspired to create after reading these verses (Thanks, God!):

2 Chronicles 2:5

2 Chronicles 3:11

2 Chronicles 3:14

2 Chronicles 4:5

2 Chronicles 5:14

1 Chronicles

I read straight through all 29 chapters of 1 Chronicles today, and found myself really LOVING what King David had to say in 1 Chronicles 29:14-19.  It begins like this: "But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you, and we have only given back what is already yours. We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while..."

1 Chronicles 4:10

1 Chronicles 4:14

1 Chronicles 14:15

1 Chronicles 19:13

1 Chronicles 28:10

2 Kings 6:2 - 2 Kings 25:30

2 Kings 16:17

2 Kings 17:13

2 Kings 17:39

2 Kings 19:15

2 Kings 19:25

2 Kings 20:1

2 Kings 20:5

2 Kings 22:19

Mother's Day / 2 Kings 6:1

After an extraordinarily long day (full of caring for chaotically wonderful children that do not belong to me), I said to my own AMAZING mom that I was determined to make some sort of forward progress with my reading through the Bible. And so, before going to bed, absolutely exhausted, I would read only one verse and post it very quickly. I would also quickly scan in an old picture of the two of us from her photo albums, which she kept diligently.

Well, as ALWAYS, God has an awesome way of getting to me.

I decided to use this picture, and then opened my Bible to read my one singular verse, not knowing if it would have any relevance AT ALL to the chosen picture.

And, of course, 2 Kings 6:1 reads: "'The place where we meet with you is too small.'" So fitting.

Family vacation photo, taken by my Dad.

That's me, the tiny person at the forefront, with my sister and mom behind me. Yes, my mom had style. And yes, I remember this vacation fondly. And yes, that is a gigantic, drop-dead gorgeous mountain-range. And yes, I believe Heaven is going to be even larger and more amazing.

And yes, now I am more hungry than ever to continue my reading in this incredibly important thing we call the Bible. It always fits my current state, no matter where I am.

2 Kings 1-5

Sometimes things are just so SIMPLE. And the crazy part is that the simplicity sometimes baffles us... Like Naaman in 2 Kings 5, we might just stand there saying, well, it can't be that easy. It can't be true that such a simple thing can change my life.

Oh, but it can. We just have to believe.

2 Kings 2:3, 2:5

2 Kings 2:11-12

2 Kings 4:7

2 Kings 4:13

2 Kings 4:26

2 Kings 4:27

1 Kings

Love this reading today. In addition to Solomon's "don't cut the baby in half" decision and other memorable Sunday School lessons, I discovered one of the funniest verses thus far: 1 Kings 18:27, which, in my translation (the Contemporary English Version) reads: "At noon, Elijah began making fun of them. 'Pray louder,' he said. 'Baal must be a god. Maybe he's day-dreaming or using the toilet or traveling somewhere. Or maybe he's asleep, and you have to wake him up.'"

Just totally random, and makes me appreciate the fact that my God is ALWAYS awake, and ALWAYS listening. And He is ALWAYS in control, both in good times and in bad (1 Kings 20:28).

If you have a moment, look up 1 Kings 19 and read chapters 9 through 13. I find this passage to be incredibly beautiful. One of my favorites so far...

1 Kings 3:8

1 Kings 6:30

1 Kings 8:36

1 Kings 9:3

1 Kings 17:13

Oh, and the graphic design today is inspired by a fantastic sermon I heard today at church, which included an allegory about the yellow brick road and a certain pair of ruby red sparkly shoes. *Thanks, Dean.* It's awesome to hear a sermon that references both zombies and the Wizard of Oz... and also inspires you to live your life for God. You can hear more at www.cleburnebible.org.