The Word is "All"...

I am trying to memorize Psalm 34 with a verse a day during the first 3 weeks of January. I use to memorize so much out of necessity, not really because I loved to memorize. I had to memorize hundreds of verses when I was on a Bible quiz team as a teenager. Even though most of those verses were memorized for competition I am so thankful today that I have those verses stored in my memory and my heart. At the age of 45 I am finding it not so easy to just memorize… I don’t want to memorize just for the sake of saying I have done it… I want it to be something that sinks down into my soul… I want it to be a very personal, intimate time for soaking up Papa’s Words. It use to be very important for memorizing to be “word perfect”, but now I am finding that just doesn’t work for me. I have had to take this Psalm and make it personal to me… I have to envision these words being spoken by me to God… making it personal has so much more impact.

“I will bless the Lord at ALL times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from ALL my fears.
I looked to Him and was radiant, and my face was not ashamed.
This poor woman cried out, and the Lord heard me, and saved me out of ALL my troubles.”
Psalm 34:1-6
.
The word “ALL” really stood out to me in these verses… “all” – the whole amount or quantity is affected; the greatest possible; complete or total.

I have always been an “all or nothing” kind of person… I am sure a lot of that stems from perfectionism… if I couldn’t do something perfectly then I just would not do it at all. Over the last year I have learned to let the perfection thing go, or rather I am working hard on letting that perfection thing go… I’m a work in progress!!! I am learning that not giving my ALL to God is not the best way to live my life. So many times I would choose to hold back small parts of my trust or faith or even love from God… I would choose to put Him in a “box”… I didn’t let Him have ALL of me… I would keep Him limited in my life.  I do believe that God can do whatever He wants to do, but I also believe that He gave us freewill and He will not step into areas we are not willing to give to Him. When I have gotten to know Him more as my Heavenly Father and not a big, scary, untouchable judge… I can see who He is and that He gave It ALL for me…He has not held anything back. “He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?” Romans 8:32 … and ALL He asks is that I give my ALL for Him. It is not a condition of His love… He has already given me All of His love… it is out of my love and awe for Him that I want to give my ALL.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with ALL spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” Ephesians 1:3

Had to share this snowy scene from our few days spent up to Boyne Mountain... it was a great relaxing time with my hubby... refreshed for the new year!
 
with a grateFUL HEART, carin