When we were growing up, we always had family devotions, usually at the supper table. Of all the memories of those times together, this one sticks WAY out in my mind ...To hold our attention, he tried lots of things. Dad was a preacher, and he could preach at length when he got wound up, so my mom was always trying to get him to shorten the version so we 3 kids wouldn't glaze over or get bored.
When she did that, she always spoke in Norwegian to him... (she was born in Norway and they met as he preached over there many years earlier)... and when she spoke to him in Norwegian, our ears always perked up! (Usually, either one of us was in trouble, or they were talking about Christmas gifts we were not supposed to know about.)
One of those times he decided to play a game with the scripture he was reading. He read a portion of a verse, always in the King James in those days, and gave us the letter to a keyword and we would chime right in, hollering to outdo each other, with the correct word. For instance, "For God so "L" the world...
This day, the passage was in Matthew 3.
Verse 12 says...'Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.'
Dad headed right into the game without seeing what was ahead, and said with a pleased look...
"And He will thoroughly "P" his floor"...
At which point, the 3 us us shrieked with laughter and dad was busted!... He looked at my mom and they began to laugh till they were almost crying. And so did we.
Funny thing, I know how much wonderful scripture and words we got around that chrome and vinyl breakfast table through the years, but the Matthew verse is the one I have never forgotten.
I'm sitting here with a huge grin on my face. I've re-lived that moment 100 times and it never fails to make me laugh! The 3 of us still say it to each other after all these years.
I've always known that God both understood that scene, and was laughing right along with us.
(image courtesy of Google)
17 comments:
Sonja lovely. I love how creative your father was to keep all of your interest. Blessings.
That is when life becomes real. I love your stories.
They make me laugh too.
HAHA....Yes, I can see how you will never forget that. How blessed you were that your dad did those devotions with you. What a legacy he left behind. Enjoy your day! HUGS
Oh too funny..and yes the Lord has a sense of humor and He laughed also. My kids would sing the song, Jehovah Jireh in their understanding...Jump over Jireh...that is still how we sing the song today! We also remember the song.
How cute! My Dad was a preacher too and we had our devotionals at the breakfast table. Daddy always felt it was the best way to start the day. We were not always in favor of that because it took extra time and we'd rather sleep another 10 minutes. :o) But,I wouldn't trade those devotionals for anything today. They help mold and shape me into the person I am today. Blessings to you!
This is hilarious. So glad you shared it. It must have been wonderful to grow up with family devotions.
Such wonderful childhood memories! Thanks for sharing them with us Sonja
Andie
Sonja
I just love your stories of days gone by, I hope you keep them coming.
Your parents were so wise to have those daily devotionals together as a family. I love how you still can laugh and retain those memories and then share them with us.
Love you,
Debbie
I have often thought that humor is a huge evangelistic tool. No doubt your parents achieved the sort of success they did was because of their merry hearts. What a legacy!
Living among the memories of youth is often my favorite place to visit. I so enjoy your sharing.
I have a huge grin too, and I literally did laugh out loud when I got to the funny part.
Oh sweet innocent fun of days gone by, yes?
(I probably should have learned Norwegian. Sir Lotsa Hair's family devotions have gotten long winded a time or two. Shhhh. Don't tell him I said that.)
I love your dad's game, btw.
Sonja - What a fun memory! And I agree - God was laughing, too. After all, we got our sense of humor from Him.
Blessings to you - Marsha
Dearest Sonja,
I am also laughing and smiling KNOWING that there have been many moments in my Christian life with my husband where God had to be chuckling at our foibles!!!! God is GOOD and I am just thankful to have a soul.
Your visit made me smile and YES dearest, please come back to follow my virtual travels over Europe until our destination. I love Albert Camus's quote:
La vie n'est pas une destination.
La vie est un trajet et en tant que
tu continueras ce trajet, tu auras du sucèss.
LIFE IS NOT A DESTINATION. Life is a journey and as long as you stay on that journey, you will have success. Touché. So my post preceeding my Paris link party are a bit vague but that is my thought....we often have our focus on the destination that we forget the journey along the way. God gave us the tools to make the journey: faith and hope. The destination for me? ETERNAL LOVE.
Be well, laugh A LOT and THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISIT!!!!! Anita
I loved your story! Laughter is a gift from God and how special that you have that memory. I liked too that your mother spoke Norwegian when she didn't want you all to know what was being said.
God certainly has blessed you and your entire family. What deep joy must have filled your heart as you sat there in that auditorium. Watching the generations serving and loving the same God of the past generations...what could possibly be better!
I remember sitting at our breakfast table for early morning devotions, as a young teenager. My dad had each of us lead in a song after he read the Bible. It was my brother's turn, and he fell asleep in the middle of the song. We all laughed until we were crying that morning. I could relate to your story.
Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day!
Hahahaha!!! God bless you, Sonja. Today I NEEDED to laugh. I just needed it. This one will keep me smiling all day.
Have a blessed week!
now i have a big old sloppy smile. what
a fun story! our kids were home this
weekend (pre-wedding festivities) and
we all got so tickled telling old stories
that my stomach muscles hurt!
That's a keeper. Big smiles :)
thanks for your input at my place. I so appreciate your words of encouragement.
Blessings to you
and thanks for the smiles
patrina <")>><
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