You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Baby Blue’ category.
JOSHUA 10: 12-14- “At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”
And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord obeyed the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.”
Just recently, my husband sat reading this amazing story to my children. Christiananswers.net summarizes it this way. “In Joshua 10, the Bible tells the story of the day when the sun–and time–stopped. The Israelites were fighting the Amorites in Canaan. During the battle, Joshua prayed for the sun and moon to stop, so he would have extra daylight to finish the task. Scripture records that this prayer was answered: The sun “delayed going down about a full day” (v. 13). The very objects in the sky that the Amorites worshipped fought against them!”
As I read the story, I could envision this brave warrior asking for the sun and moon to stop, and the colors of this colorway were born. Christian answers goes on to say,
“Several modern interpretations of the story have been suggested:
- Some say there was no actual miracle, but only the use of poetic language. The Israelites had fought so hard that it just seemed like two days of work in a row!
- Others propose that a cloud shaded the sun, keeping the day cool enough for the fighting to continue all through the afternoon. However, this relief from the heat would have benefited the enemy as much as Israel.
- Similarly, a solar eclipse has been suggested as causing reduced sunlight. But eclipses of the sun last for only a few minutes, not a whole day.
All of these explanations fall far short of the statement that there has never been another day like the one described (Joshua 10:14, cf. Habbakuk 3:11 – “…Sun and moon stood still in the heavens…”).
What really happened on that special day? As with all miracles, it is futile to speculate with scientific theories. The details are unclear, but we know that God could have refracted the light, or slowed the earth’s rotation, or stopped the entire universe–all with equal ease!
Time stopped for Joshua, and it ran backwards for Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:9-11).
God used this event as a special sign to show Hezekiah that he would regain his health. The sun’s shadow moved backwards by ten steps, probably five to six hours on the sundial. That is, the sun appeared to move eastward instead of westward. The conclusion is again the same, that such a miracle is beyond scientific explanation.
God may have temporarily reversed the earth’s rotation, including all its inhabitants, or the miracle in Hezekiah’s day could have been local instead of worldwide. The latter view is supported by 2 Chronicles 32:31, which describes envoys who traveled to the land where the miracle occurred.
Joshua and Hezekiah both made lofty requests of the Lord, that the very heavens might be altered. And God answered their prayers. The sun, moon, and stars obey the Creator who placed them in the sky by the power of his word.”
I also found an article that NASA may have found that “missing” day. It is an interesting and though provoking read. Regardless of the conclusions you may draw, I do know that God’s word says it is true, and I choose to believe it.
Psalm 119:160 – “All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.”
Matthew 26: 27,28– “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Ruth 4:13-14, 17-22 “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.”
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mark 10:13-16 “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. “
A guest blog spot by my friend, Stephanie of Three Boy Mama, who requested this colorway for her new precious baby.
“When Lamar offered to dye a colorway specifically for our coming babe, I was so touched! I jumped on the chance to have influence on the colors. The immediate thing that came to mind were the bookplates that I had seen growing up, in all of the classic bible storybooks. I remember one that I had that was huge; it was a big hard-backed book and had the most wonderful bible stories in it, descriptive and true to scripture. One of my favorite pictures in the book was a picture of Jesus surrounded by little children. The light around Him was just beautiful, and the children looked up adoringly at him, unafraid and trusting. I knew that I wanted the colorway for our new baby to be reminiscent of that picture.
Children are mentioned frequently in the bible; in Psalms, they are said to be a heritage from the Lord, a reward from Him (Psalm 127:3). In the book of Mark, Jesus mentions children frequently. In Mark 9:36-37, he takes a little child into his arms, saying, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me”…in other words, God Himself. But in Mark 10:14-15, verses I’ve read over and over before, I found something that struck a new chord in me. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,” Jesus says. “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Wow…these are such powerful words to me. It speaks of many things; it speaks of a child-like faith and trust in the Lord, in His mercy and love for us. It also speaks of relying on Jesus like a child relies on its parents; when we were children, we were totally dependent upon our mother and father. They fed us, clothed us, comforted us when we were scared, rejoiced with us when we were happy, wept with us when we were sad. Isn’t that how we should think of Jesus, too? He is our heavenly Father; we should depend upon him for comfort, for our daily needs! He is there for us when no one else may be. He is our Savior, our Redeemer…our Father.
Thank you again, Lamar; you are a true friend and sister in Christ. May you and your family continue to be blessed!!”
Matthew 1:1,6 “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham…Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.”
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Sometimes I really love to write these parts of my blog. Other times, well, I really don’t like the task. Not because of what I read in scripture, but rather to see the scripture as a measuring stick. And so often, I am measuring up short.
I’ve always loved the Fruits of the Spirit. Loved to read about them and ponder them. However, each time I really contemplate them, I always seem to fall short. And Patience is a virtue that I am not abounding with at the moment.
The dictionary defines patience as ” the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.” And that is a hard task as stated.
However, when you look at Biblical patience, it’s even more astounding. The John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible says of patience or longsuffering, ” which intends not so much a patient waiting for good things to come, for more grace, and for glory, through the Spirit; but a patient bearing and enduring of present evils with joyfulness, being strengthened by the Spirit with all might, according to his glorious power; being slow to anger, ready to forgive injuries, put up with affronts, and bear with, and forbear one another: and which is usually accompanied with gentleness, humanity, affability, courteousness, shown both in words, gestures, and actions; in imitation of the gentleness of Christ, and agreeably to that wisdom, that heavenly doctrine of the Gospel, which, among other things, is said to be gentle, and easy to be entreated.”
You see, I think of this in context to how I’ve responded to my children lately. And I’m ashamed. I preach to them about following Christ, yet my own life is not always a good example of how to follow. Recently, I’ve made an attempt to really spend more time in daily Bible reading and prayer. And I know that our Lord is faithful and just to give us the things that we ask that are according to His will. And I know from the scripture that He desires for us to have the gift of patience. As our family expands, I can see the need for my savior more and more. For in my own strength, I always fail miserably. Yet through His grace, may I come to succeed. This year, I am setting out on a journey to become more Christ like in all aspects of my life. Hopefully, a year from now, I’ll be able to look back and see how much my “fruit” has grown, especially concerning the area of patience.
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
“Peace” is the third in my “Fruit of the Spirit” series. The idea of peace reminds me of the idea of “peace like a river, ” which led me to think of one of my favorite hymns: “It Is Well”. You can listen to the song and read the story on Godtube.
“It Is Well”
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul
Refrain: It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come
Let this blessed assurance control
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood for my soul
My sin, 0 the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but in whole
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, 0 my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend
Even so, it is well with my soul
I’ve always loved this song. The words are so powerful. But they mean so much more when you know the story behind them. In the 1870s Horatio Spafford was a successful Chicago lawyer and a close friend of evangelist Dwight L. Moody. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords’ only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was wiped out by the great Chicago Fire. Spafford and his family desperately needed a rest so in 1873 he planned a trip to Europe with his wife and four daughters. While in Great Britain he also hoped to help Moody and Sankey with their evangelistic tour. Last minute business caused Spafford to delay his departure, but he sent his wife and four daughters on the S. S. Ville Du Havre as scheduled, promising to follow in a few days. On November 22 the ship was struck by the English ship Lochearn, and it sank in twelve minutes. Several days later the survivors landed at Cardiff, Wales, and Mrs. Spafford sent a telegram to her husband with the brief message, “Saved alone.” When Horatio Spafford made the ocean crossing to meet his grieving wife, he sailed near the place where his four daughters had sunk to the ocean depths. There, in the midst of his sorrow, he wrote these unforgettable words that have brought solace to so many in grief.
You can read a much more detailed version of Spafford’s store here. In writing about the same story of the same song, Jody McBrayer from the band Avalon ends with “It is my prayer that when you and I are faced with struggles, we respond as Mr. Spafford did. With the “blessed assurance” of knowing that God is bigger than our circumstances. He is greater than our speeding tickets. He is more powerful than divorce. He is mightier than cancer or disease. Our God took into consideration all of these situations, both joyful and difficult, long before time began. Then, He sent Jesus to take those burdens from us and to renew our lives.
In Isaiah 53 it says; “…He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
I wish you all peace, the kind of peace that Horatio Spafford had. The peace that only comes when we trust God with every fiber of our being. Knowing deep within us that, no matter where we are in this life, no matter what answers we don’t have, no matter how difficult the path ahead may be, we can sing and truly believe “It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Psalm 37:4-6 “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”
Created as a custom for a special customer. She’s such a neat gal, and I’m glad I’ve gotten to “know” her. She and her husband have been hoping to add another member to their family for quite a while. And recently, she found out she was expecting again. She was so excited. They were simply overjoyed. Yet, the elation didn’t have a chance to last long as she ended up miscarrying. It’s been a tough time for them. To want a baby so bad, to become pregnant and then to lose it, all within a matter of weeks. It can be a hard season, for sure. Yet she’s really relying on the Lord for strength. In fact, she had some verses that have really meant a lot to her in this time. I will copy some of what she shared with me.
” Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
These verses are a total encouragement to me, especially at the time of my miscarriage. They helped me to keep my focus on God’s will, rather than my own will. People are amazed at my “recovery” after my miscarriage; but I just tell them that God has replaced my grief with an unmistakable, unbelievable peace & happiness.
Psalm 37:4-6
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
And these verses remind me of God’s promise. If we commit our way to the Lord, our desires become His desires. And he will give these to us.”
God knew her desires. He still knows them. Though there are hard times, He can replace our sorrow with joy. And because He loves us and desires the best for us, when we delight in Him, He will give us our “heart’s desire.”
... a time to dye 