Treasuring God's Word

The past four days I have been going through Psalm 119 piece by piece. Two days ago I read verses 9-16 and have just sat and meditated on what it means. It's taken two days to post because I wasn't sure exactly what to say about it. It's a pretty heavy piece of Scripture if you ask me!

"How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping Your word.

I have sought You with all my heart;

don't let me wander from Your commands.

I have treasured Your word in my heart

so that I may not sin against You.

Lord, may You be praised;

teach me Your statutes,

With my lips I proclaim

all the judgments from Your mouth.

I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees

as much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts 

and think about Your ways,

I will delight in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word." 

Bare with me as I try convincing you of how GOOD this is.

After reading this over and over, I asked a few people how to stay pure. Of course two people answered right away saying "Psalm 119:9." Know-it-alls!! :) I got a few other answers back such as keeping yourself unstained from the world (James 1:27), we are holy because God is holy so we are made pure by the blood of Jesus, or fixing your eyes on Him daily and allowing the Holy Spirit to change you. All really good answers, right?! I was just curious what other people thought. Anyway, really just look at verse 9. You keep your way pure by keeping His word. Sounds simple right? NO. Man do I wish it were that easy!  

This passage seemed to resonate with me very much, but I wasn't sure exactly why yet. So, what better thing to do than....GOOGLE!? I googled commentaries on Psalm 119:9-16 and I looked over a few, but this one just really caught my eye. John Piper. Now, if you know me, you know that his sermons fly over my head quicker than...anything quick. He's one of Josh's main men on theological "stuff." Josh could listen to him speak or read his books all day every day...I however...couldn't. He is a GREAT man. He's just too deep of a thinker for this local college gal. 

Piper says this: 

The Ultimate Goal of Life

There are two ways to state the ultimate goal of life, one positively and one

negatively. Positively we could say: the ultimate goal of life is to glorify God by

enjoying him forever. Or negatively, we could say: the ultimate goal of life is not to

sin. They both mean the same thing because sinning is falling short of glorifying

God by embracing other things as more enjoyable.

So if we could learn how to glorify God by enjoying him, we would know how not to

sin. And if we could learn how not to sin, we would know how to glorify God by

enjoying him.

Verse 11 tells us one of the keys to not sinning. It says, speaking to God, "Thy

word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee." The way not to

sin is to treasure the word of God in your heart. Which means that the way to

succeed in the ultimate goal of life -- to live for the glory of God by enjoying him

forever -- is to treasure the word of God in your heart.

Two Things that Keep us from Sinning

It's not just one thing, but two things that keep us from sinning and move us to

glorify and enjoy God. It is not just having the word stored. Nor is it is just valuing

the word. It is both. Both are crucial. We value the word and therefore we have it

stored in our hearts. And the two together give us the power to stand against the

temptations to sin. It is a (1) superior treasure, (2) present and active, that

conquers sin.

So I believe that the Bible teaches us to memorize scripture the way an ant

gathers food in summer: because it is so valuable and will be needed in the winter

months. "[The ant] prepares her food in the summer, and gathers her provision in

the harvest" (Proverbs 6:8). Memorizing scripture is not a discipline for its own

sake. It is because the scriptures are a treasure and will be needed before the day

is done to help you escape a sinful attitude and live a life that glorifies God.

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My thoughts: Read Psalm 119:9-16 at least three times. Take your time. Verse 11 is what is so

convicting to me. "I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You." 

I can't truthfully say I treasure the word ENOUGH. I'm a sinner--I am a BAD steward of my time. 

I am NOT disciplined enough. I do NOT seek Him enough. I tell you what I (or WE) CAN do though.

We can read this passage and take pure delight in IT. The psalmist says exactly what to do: 

keep His word (vs. 9)

seek Him (vs. 10)

treasure the word (vs 11.)

ask for Him to teach you (vs. 12)

proclaim (vs. 13)

rejoice (vs 14)

meditate and think (vs. 15)

delight and not forget (vs 16).

My prayer is for you (and especially me) to read this passage with full intentions of knowing Him better.

May you be open to receive His word with humility and set aside your life for a moment and 

seek Him, asking Him to teach you His statutes. Keep His word. Treasure His word. Proclaim His name.

Rejoice in Him. Meditate and think about Him. Delight and not forget His word. May we daily enter

in His word with full regards to know Him. 

Love! 

Piper's notes: http://www.soundofgrace.com/piper97/1-5-97.htm

Last week of pregnancy!

Happy Sunday!!

I haven't posted in three weeks...so you'd think I'd have lots to say! Actually I do, but I my brain doesn't know how to put all of my thoughts together into one cohesive thought. So, I'll let you in on a few unrelated things happening over here with the Pool's! 

First of all...my due date is one week from tomorrow! Holy smokes! 7 days! Although, she could come late. BOOOO!!! As we sit here waiting for sweet Abigail to make her grand appearance, we can't help but think of the blessing she already is to us. 

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth."
Psalm 139:13-15

How sweet it is to know we have a God who cares so much about His children, that He forms us with delight...with such sweet consideration. We are made in HIS image. How beautiful! 

Ya'll I am tired. My legs are lifeless. My eyes are baggy. My wallet is lighter than a feather because of how much food I need. Yeah....I said it, "need." My back is aching. My wedding rings don't fit. Oh the joys of motherhood!! Aside from all this complaining, I really do LOVE being pregnant! I haven't had it too bad. My first trimester was like one of those nightmares you wake up to and hope it wasn't real life. Just kidding. Not that bad. :) Just the typical "morning sickness." Or what I like to call three-months-of-throwing-up-twice-a-day-sickness. Anyway, we've heard nothing but great news during the past ten (lonnnnnnnnng!) months. Now, we just await her arrival! 

I swear I've done everything in the book to help induce labor. Primrose Oil pills, raspberry red leaf tea, walking uphill, tropical fruits (pineapple and kiwi), squats, bouncing on a yoga ball, going up and down stairs....I could keep going. I'll stop BORING you with my foolish acts of motherhood though. I do have to say, going through it with my best friend has been one of the coolest experiences ever. It's so funny how different our pregnancies have been. It just goes to show you how elaborate and complex God is. With our due dates just two days apart, we have been able to communicate in detail (sometimes TMI...) about what's going on in our bodies. Before you go assuming though, I'd like to reassure you us getting pregnant was not a "planned thing." First of all, that's just weird. Secondly, just....no. Weird. 

It's been so neat to be able to pray for each other's family--for Mike and Casy to be good stewards of their time and raise Aria by the Word. For Mike and Casy to go through parenthood joyfully. For them to experience the love of Christ through and through. For them to teach (but more importantly show) Aria how to genuinely love their Father in Heaven. For them to be parents who speak life into Aria. For the fruits of the Spirit to be so evident in their life--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control. For Aria to know Jesus as her Redeemer and Friend. For her to see His goodness in every aspect of life.

There's a million things I could pray for them as they enter parenthood and it's just so sweet to be side by side through it all...even though we're 1,500 miles apart. :( What a blessing it is though to know them and go through this together! If you're reading this, Josh & I love you guys very, VERY much and are so excited for you!! This pregnancy has brought us closer than ever and I treasure it so very, VERY much. 

So...as the last week ahead of us, what will we be doing? Seriously praying she comes THIS WEEK. My body can't handle it anymore! Don't worry, not complaining anymore...I just am physically out of it. And I won't spend another penny on maternity clothes. Mainly because the day after I purchase it, it's most likely to not fit. :) Typical. Maybe it's my fault though. I really love coke floats. Ask Josh....

We're thankful to have such loving friends and especially family to support us through this whole time! I can't say that I'm NOT nervous about going into labor. I'm actually a slight bit terrified. Needles...blood...doctors...blood...blood...ew....not my thing ya know what I'm sayin? It's sad that my 9 year old sister had to distract me while I got blood drawn at an appointment. We'll see how it goes though, right?! I'm going in with no expectations. I've heard enough HORROR stories of friends' deliveries. Please...save them for AFTER I deliver. Then I'm all ears :). The doctor did ask me if I have any questions or concerns (as she does at every appointment). One thing I begged of her: five epidurals. She laughed as if I was kidding....silly, silly Doc. 

My next appointment is on Friday and we'll check again to see if my body is preparing the way it should! It's exciting...but I don't want to be too thrilled about it. Last appointment was a bit of a let down. Mom always knows how to make me feel better though. She sent me a text that said: "Well, Abbie loves you. She just wants to stay as close to you for as long as she can." So sweet of mom. But, I'd like Abbie on the outside of me now. It's time to play!! :)

Tomorrow: 39 weeks. Holy Cow. Bittersweet.

So excited to meet her! I hope she has every ounce of Josh in her. I hope she has his eye lashes, eyes, smile, you name it. She'll be one pretty little thing.