This week we celebrate the birthday of one of our 3 kids...Today I was in the store looking at cards, and they were pathetic! (No wonder we love your beautiful cards, Cindy!)
Things like...'may your day be bright and full of light'... or 'have a rich year with whatever you want the most'... or 'your birthday makes us think of you and we are glad you came our way'... like I said, pathetic!!
Then I started thinking about the way each of our kids (and now their kids!) open their cards... they snap off the envelope and shake out the money! It never is about the card. (I think I can write better card expressions than whoever 'they' are.) So we just send our usual love & hugs... and they proceed to shake the contents out.
You know how it is when your mind gets a picture of something, so I started thinking about 'shaking things out'...
I thought about shaking out the truths that are contained in my own Bible, which reminded me there cannot be any shaking of my Bible... the end pages are too full of notes, quotes and special things! If it is REALLY special to me... it finds it's way to either the front flap or the back flap of my Bible... to be enjoyed more fully, over and over again.
When we shake open something that was lovingly written especially for us, good things will fall out! Good things 'fall out' of God's word every day, every morning when I open it, out pops something I've never seen before, or an old truth reaffirmed, strength for today and hope for tomorrow.
My dad used to end every phone conversation by saying 'shake the love around'. There is nothing more profoundly life changing than shaking the truth right out of God's Word and into the pages of our hearts.
We have been given a book full of love, love from our Father straight to our heart. It is bursting with His promises, His love for me has been written on every page. It's FULL of all I want and all I need.
I am shaking harder, and the contents are falling into my life.
15 comments:
That is so true, I think that on every single page can be a even as little as a word, like one time God said in his word, " NOW Go!! Stop your mourning! I have provided!" He had and He did and He does.
I can never find a card like that. Have a lovely week with your kids birthdays. It is our families birthday week next week.:)
Yes, we have been given a Book Full of Love--
True and Everlasting Love! That's so sweet
how your dad ended the conversations. What
a memory to cherish.
I am a "card person" and have plastic boxes
under the bed with those I can't part with.
I agree that cards today are mostly pathetic.
I enjoyed this post, Sonja.
Blessings~
Shaking here...yes His words are so true and His book such a treasure. I love your Dad's words.
My Bible also holds treasures...markings, cards and even Benjamin's sonogram...and no I don't have a clue how it got there, but I am leaving it in the pages of His word.
Thanks for always being able to just get to the point and point us to the truth!
Shaking those truths out here as well.
We all have the tendency to listen to ourselves, well at least I do...his truth gets me back on course.
SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL!
Good morning dearest! Anita
What a wonderful picture! I wouldn't have thought about it, but that's exactly what we do when we seek out the treasures. When I think of shaking a book, it's usually because I'm just CERTAIN that something I need is hiding there between the pages.
On an only SLIGHTLY but at least literally related note: I had fifty dollars in my Bible for MONTHS. There's a long story as to while it was there, but it was. I saw it all of the time, week after week, and day after day. AND THEN, when I decided what to give it to, I couldn't find it. I turned page after page, but I can't find it. My binding is coming a bit loose so I'm afraid to shake it. Maybe I need to do it anyway.
There's just something about opening up the pages of our Bibles that breathes life into us like nothing else. I challenge my Bible study gals yesterday morning to do just that. Instead of reading the Scriptures as printed in the curriculum, I asked them to also open up the Word and receive the Word as printed in their Bibles. I don't know what it is, but it feels a whole lot like breathing to me!
Shaking the truth, everywhere I go...
~elaine
Sonja, this post means so much to me! Nothing rocks me more than hearing God's voice through His word. His words are life and my lifeline, and how I love it when He grabs me by the collar and says, "Here. See this. This is for you. Now go and share it with my love as I've shared with you." What a faithful God we serve!
Thanks for sharing your heart and for encouraging me to shake His truth!
Andrea
Lovely, Sonja. Such tremendous truth. I am amazed at the things that God brings to my heart anew when I do a little "shaking" of His Word! His Book is truly alive, and it speaks to me all the time.
GOD BLESS!
I used to stand in the aisle at the Hallmark store and laugh aloud at all the hysterically funny cards there. But when it came to deep, genuine sentiment, I found the pathetic as well.
I love the way you've connected these dots. Shaking & salt go hand-in-hand, so it stands to reason we need to be "shaking the love around." I've yet to see a case for "peppering" someone, but surely I've done that too :)
Hugs,
Kathleen
Sonja, a delight to read. Thank you for sharing. Blessings.
"shake it out, baby!" sorry.
i love your dad's sayings. i'm off for a walk
and then to the hospital to shake some love
around!
appreciate you so much.
First of all, I love Cindy's cards too. And my Bible is filled with lots of stuff, including letters and momentos I treasure. But I love what your dad said "shake the love around". And there is much truth to shake out of my Bible too.
Love you,
Debbie
Shake the love around! I like that!!!
You said it best here: "When we shake open something that was lovingly written especially for us, good things will fall out! Good things 'fall out' of God's word every day, every morning when I open it, out pops something I've never seen before, or an old truth reaffirmed, strength for today and hope for tomorrow."
Amen my friend!
I also pray that your child had a wonderful Birthday!!! Love you!
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