Baby Books (yours, mine and God's)

How many of you have kept Baby Books marking your baby's firsts? If you don't have children, you may have had one kept about you. Did you ever think about the books God keeps about His kids? Think about it. The Bible itself is a book of records and history along with the things God wants us to know will be happening on ahead yet. It is a book of books.

Psalm 139:16 says...
"Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them"

I wrote things like the first steps, foods, words and funny things. I also wrote what their names meant and what I believed for their character. You know maybe all of the stuff saved itself isn't that big of a deal (some is!!!). You can only save so many papers from school and so on. But I think knowing they belonged and were loved is what it shows. They are MY kids and have infinite value to me. I have to admit as time went on I wasn't as good at keeping the books for each of my babies. Remember I have had 8 lovely, perfect, precious to me ones. It was only due to  limited time though that I fell behind. I was so busy in the mix of everyday life I couldn't get to keeping the books up. Hopefully that is seen as "I was so busy loving them in all the day to day ways kids need loving".
God wrote about me and you and the days fashioned or designed for each of us. Wow, and there are so many of us! I bet, if I were a betting woman, that He never mixes up our names either. No confusion with God. What an amazing mind! Me? Well I can look straight at the child I am talking to and just plain call them the wrong name and keep calling the wrong name like I am making roll call on through a couple more names in the family until I land on the one name I should have called in the first place. Any way on with books and remembering...

He says in the book of Jeremiah 30:2b ... "Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you."

Then there is Malachi 3:16:
"Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another,
And the Lord listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the Lord
And who meditate on His name"

I didn't keep detailed accounts of my kids misdeeds either. Love covers a multitude of sins remember?The purpose of my keeping baby books was to remember and mark baby growth events. However not everything written about everyone in the Bible was the stellar deeds they all did. Did you ever notice that? How real God is. And how real the lives He tells us about were. I have to admit I am glad my deeds are not the ones written there for everyone through the ages to learn from. You know the way it says in the Timothy's book in the Bible about all scripture being God breathed and  profitable for instruction and reproof and cutting garbage out of our lives (my very loose paraphrase). 

Another book mentioned is in Revelation 21:27
"But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." 

Why is it the Lamb's Book? Because Jesus was the Lamb Who was slain for your sins and mine and raised on the 3rd day because death could not hold Him!  Everyone who believes this in their hearts and confesses Him will be saved and their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. It is a record of all those bought and paid for by the Lamb of God. How reassuring to know my name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And you can be sure too if you're not already!

June Cleavers Apron (or Aunt Bea take your pick)

                        


I learned all over again this morning WHY June Cleaver and Aunt Bea always wore aprons around the house. I mean I remember them always having an apron on unless they were going out or had guests in and were finally sitting down to eat. For those of you who are younger by many years than I am, these women were icons in the television world as seen on Leave It To Beaver and Andy of Mayberry and streamed regularly into our lives during what was then rather limited viewing hours. (remember the Star Spangled Banner coming on at midnight followed by static signaling night owls needed to get to bed? No? Ok, you are way younger than me)
Last night I was tackling dishes and the drain was a little sluggish. I grabbed my bleach bottle which was handily standing nearby from the last time major colds had hit the home and I felt a need to soak things in soapy bleach water.  I wanted to pour just a bit down the drain. Was I wearing my apron? NO I WAS NOT! Do I own any? Why YES, I do as a matter of fact. I just don't wear them all day long. They are there for when I cook Easter or any other holiday dinner and am still dressed up after church. I think I even have one or two that belonged to my grandma who was much better about using them being of the June Cleaver generation.
I was wearing a very favorite long black shirt and knew I was engaging in risky behavior laying my hand on that bleach bottle. Until this morning when I put said black shirt on again (umhmmm, I do rewear things the next day depending on how they were used the day before.. and of course jeans are reworn many times over before washing). I saw in the mirror what seemed to be a fleck of light colored lint on my shirt.
On closer inspection and repeated attempts to pick it off (my glasses were not on ok?) I discovered the dastardly truth. One teeny tiny splash of bleach had found a home on the f r o n t o f m y f a v o i t e b l a c k s h i r t ! Do you know how well bleach works when you don't want it to? It was an excellent example of the scripture "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow". I am so grateful that the blood Jesus shed for me does not leave a spot of sin behind in my life. That He made a way for me to be washed inside white as snow or now in this example white as bleach on a black shirt. Seems appropriate for this Easter season.
I have to tell you what I did though. I did not leave that spot on my favorite shirt to remind me of Jesus. I got out a black magic marker and colored it in...Hey creativity is from Him too..And it worked...