I read the words slowly.
They seem impossible.
An actual love that is love… not some glorious mess of feelings that have gone askew.
A love full of sacrifice and goodness.
A love that can make something out of my tattered, wounded, always falling self.
It’s that love that I want so desperately to shine through me.
That gracious LOVE.
That compassionate LOVE.
That s-l-o-w t-o a-n-g-e-r LOVE.
That gentle, kind, selfless LOVE.
So, with little ones resting, I drag the ironing board and the iron upstairs (because amidst the teetering boxes and clutter and stashes of tools and piles of clothes and mismatched socks in the laundry room- there’s just not room to melt crayons… and I’m not sure if I can focus on the richness of His love amidst the accumulation of rubbish).
And once I have a good thick layer of newspaper covering the ironing board, I place a long piece of wax paper down. I sprinkle out the many little shavings of crayon my girls got from broken and well-worn crayons and a sturdy pencil sharpener. And I breathe in and breathe out those twenty-seven words in Psalm 145.
I add another piece of wax paper over the top, and then another thick layer of newspaper before ironing. And I sit right there in a mixture of God’s graciousness, compassion, and loving-kindness.
With the heat of the iron, the wax of the crayon melts and beautifully mixes together.
And I think of how God is using all of my broken pieces-along with the searing heat- to make something beautiful.
To teach me to love.
Not in the striving harder, running myself ragged, trying to force love way.
But by knowing Him more, resting in the richness of His love, and allowing Him to shine through!
And my kids add a shining heart to their collection of props to remind them of the precious verses in Psalm 145. I never would have imagined how a simple crown, a rolled up piece of paper/horn, ribbons of praise, and now a heart- attached with the Word of God- would begin to transform their little hearts… and mine.
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.”
-Psalm 145:8-9
Here is my sweet six year-old, Kayla, saying this week’s Bible verses… :)
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Would others say that you are rich in love?
His love is the only richness that will remain forever.
Kayla, I love hearing your verses….it is wonderful that you are learning God’s World while you are young. It is so much harder to learn it when you are older. My favorite part is when you say “God is SLOW……to Anger…..isn’t that the greatest thing to know? Sometimes, I’m pretty fast to anger although I do better at that as I get older. See I can’t memorize as well now that I’m older, but I’m more patient. I love seeing your family. Your blog is one of my favorite places to visit. I have had some sickness over the past few years, so I like to go and see what families are doing to learn about Jesus. Someday I will send you a picture of my little grandson who lives with us. His name is Derek and he is 2 and 1/2 and he is very cute and very smart. His mommy and daddy got a divorce because his daddy was not a good man to his momma. We pray that his daddy will accept Jesus some day. Anyway, I will check back again to see how you are doing on your verses. I should try to learn part of with you…..do you think I can do it even if I’m older? I’ll pray that Jesus would help me….maybe you could pray for me too. My name is Miss Jane. Hugs to all of your family. <3
Oh Jane, Your words were such a blessing to Kayla and to me! Thank you! What sweet encouragement, and now you have some sweet kiddos praying for you and your family! And Kayla and I agree that you CAN memorize with us! :)
Sending love, Jessica (& Kayla too)
Goodness – she’s adorable!!!! And she did a super great job saying the verses!! Great job, Kayla! Keep up the good work. God loves it when we treasure His word in our hearts!
Love the hearts – they turned out really good! We made them a few years ago and I loved them so much that I left them up for several months!
Thanks, Corina. Your words are always encouraging. We’ve done crosses and pumpkins in the past, but this was our first time making the hearts- so fun! :)
I think ours will be up for a while too.
Have a blessed weekend, Jessica
Kayla~ you are doing a FABULOUS job memorizing Psalm 145! You have gotten so far! I love your smile when you say God is rich in love. And I love your Momma’s thoughts about God’s love today. It is the only love that does not disappoint. It is the most satisfying love I have ever felt or known! Thank you all for sharing your lives in Christ with us.
Jenny, Thank you so much for your sweet words to Kayla! She was so excited to read it! :) And I love when she says that God is rich in love too. She says it the same time every time I hear her practicing, and it just melts my heart!
I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
Jessica
Kayla, you did a wonderful job saying these verses. I can tell that you have really been practicing them and working to understand what those words mean. I especially like how you used your props and changed your voice at different parts. I can’t wait to hear you when we get to the end of the Psalm. Way to go!
Kristie, thanks so much for taking the time to encourage my Kayla! She was so excited to read them! Thank you for blessing her, and me in the process!
Have a great weekend!
Jessica
What an adorable toothless grin!! Great job Kayla! I love the props! =) Continue to hide God’s Word in your heart!
Thanks Tiffany! Kayla was so excited to read your words of encouragement- you should have seen her cute toothless grin then! :)
Have a wonderful day!
Jessica
Hi Jessica, Kayla is doing such a wonderful job! She is so sweet :)
So, I was wondering if you are doing this verses with the kids in place of the verses from Heart of Dakota? I am finding it hard to study the verses with the other two – three books I am currently studying and also teaching them to my six year old along with his school verses. Do you have any suggestions? I love the projects you are incorporating with the learning. I thought that maybe I could do these verses over summer when I don’t have a set curriculum? What are your thoughts?
How are things on the job front? Still praying for you all! Love and blessings, Leslie
Thanks, Leslie! Kayla will be so excited to hear your kind words!
We’re actually doing Psalm 145 and the Heart of Dakota verses. But, I think it would work great to go through Psalm 145 during the summer or whenever would work well for your family! :) We pretty much only do the HOD verses during our school time, and somehow they get those memorized during that short amount of time each week. (And I don’t stress if they don’t have them down perfectly… we just move onto the next verse(s) the next week.) Honestly memorizing Psalm 145 is mostly for me (is that selfish?). At the beginning, I told them that I wanted to memorize Psalm 145 and asked if they wanted to join me, and to my amazement- they did. I printed off the memory cards for the oldest three girls- and they seem to learn the verses all on their own each week. And, for the littler ones, I’ll often say the verses with them and play little repeating games. I’m always amazed at how quickly they catch on! :)
But, certainly no pressure to have to memorize Psalm 145 right now! Any ways and times that you’re hiding God’s Word in your heart are precious to His ears (whether it be Psalm 145, verses from school, or another study)!
No news on the job front- really we’re still at a stand-still, but know that God has us here for a purpose, and are trusting Him! Thanks for asking and praying!
Have a blessed week!
Jessica