What to write this week? That was the question that kept pestering me as I did math and read about G.H.W. Bush and kept delaying my blog post. I had ideas enough but none of them felt quite right.

Something worth reading. Something worth repeating. Something that is is beautiful and true, something that brings joy and hope to you. Okay, enough of the cheesy peotry Josie, that’s definitely not working either. Already two days late on a blog post and with nothing very eloquent or interesting welling up in my heart. What’s a girl to do? Maybe for once I need to listen.

It’s been coming up all over lately. A wooden sign in the living room, a painting hanging on the bathroom wall, the song playing on my radio, the verse we read during the first in home Sunday service we had.

Two words. Be still.

And know that You Lord, are God. Be still and trust. Be still and listen. Be still and watch Him work out His perfect loving plan. Be still and look at the sunrise, feel the wind on your face and the grass beneath your feet. Be still and stop worrying. He has got this. He has got you and whatever your going through. Maybe today I should let Him do the talking. Because I am not wise, I love to learn but as I do I only see how much farther I still have to go. So I am giving the platform to the Lord who loves me and you anyways.

“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” ~Colossians 1:13-14

“But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.” – Ephesians 2:4-7.

“But as for me, I will wait expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy for though I fall I will rise; though I dwell in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” ~Micah 7:7-8

Praise the Lord for His goodness! Ah ha!! I just remembered something I wanted to tell you all. Its something that has brought me so much closer to God, enabled me to spend hours studying and meditating on His words, given me several of my best friends and helped me to hide so many truths in my heart. Friends, that thing is the National Bible Bee.

The National Bible Bee is a yearly Summer Study and Competition for kids from seven to eighteen (There is also a Beginners division for those under seven but they can’t compete. :)). It involves a Discovery Journal which will take you on an adventure studying a book of the Bible in the two month Summer Study. You can participate as a family, by yourself or join a host group in your area. Bible Bee also involves memory passages. I cannot tell you how memorizing God’s word has impacted my life. When I am in a rough situation, when I’m scared, when I can’t find the right words to pray or to comfort a friend with, the Holy Spirit will bring to my head a verse I memorized. Do I remember them all perfectly? Not even close. But is it just what I need? Yes. The Summer Study lasts from June to July every summer. At the end of the Summer Study there is an optional online test. The top contestants then move on to a National Competition (which is so amazing by the way!!). But you don’t have to compete, I would really encourage all of you out there who are able to, to try the Summer Study. I have been doing it since I was nine years old. It has been such a blessing in my life. You can read more about it at https://biblebee.org/. The Moto of Bible Bee is ‘To Know God’s Word and to make Him known’.

Also, amazingly the theme of this year’s study is Trust. The book we’ll be studying has not been revealed yet but I just know that God is going to use the Trust study in amazing ways this year.

Well friends, I tink that is all for tonight! As a way of finishing off I just want to remind you that our God is amazing. He is the Lord who formed the universe with a word and He is the Lord who loves us in our sinful, disobedient brokeness. We can trust Him. He is faithful a thousand times over.

For the Mending, Josie

P.S. here is the link to a song that I recently ‘discovered’ (my dad actually showed me). I really loved it and want to share it with you all. https://youtu.be/gYUJjsgd96k