you better get it right with yourself first!

i have been loving reading through psalm 119.

if you have never been a Bible-reading kind of person, and just don't know where to start?

just try psalms. it is so beautiful and refreshing!

i love how david talks about how much he loves God's law. i mean, over and over he says how much he trusts in God's commands, his laws, statutes!

while i do love psalms, if i was going to pick a favorite old testament book, i would have to say deuteronomy is by far my favorite.

it is amazing.

it is just filled to the brim with reminders of how we should live, and reminders of the kind of God we have.

he is loving. merciful. compassionate. just. kind.

it is so easy to find a boost in deuteronomy!

here is my encouragement for the day.

read deutereonomy.

chapter 4 verse 9 says this.

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them

here's the main part. watch yourself.

you. not your friend, not your husband, not your kids...y-o-u.

why? 

so that we don't forget what God has done! 

there is the trap. we get so busy in our every day lives that we actually and literally forget what God has done for us.

how dare we!

and this is where deutereonomy blasts this into our minds...

watch yourself. then you can worry about the teaching part.

but if you don't get it right in yourself, you are never going to be able to teach it to your kids.

so in case you haven't had your morning coffee yet, let me break it down for ya.

1. pick up your Bible.

2. read deuteronomy 4-6.

3. pick up a notebook and start writing down all the amazing things God has done for you.

(don't be lazy! i'm talking about your very breath, your clothes, your health, your ability to be writing in a notebook...you name it!)

4. remind yourself all day today of these things you have written down.

5. once you have been doing this all day...you start teaching it to your children...telling them to do the same thing. reminding them of all the things God has done for them! right down to their favorite stuffed animal. everything - a gift from God our creator.

don't fall into a trap of forgetting! 

when we start forgetting God, we start replacing God.

when we start replacing God, we are putting ourselves in a very dangerous position! 

the end of verse 9 of chapter 6 says in the king james version, 

lest they depart from your heart all the days of thy heart.

wow. can they depart from my heart forever?

imagine what my life would look like if i was not spending time remembering what God has done for me? imagine what my outlook on life would be if i was forgetting that every single thing i have comes from Him? 

if i let these things depart from me, how can i teach my boys?

i better get it right with myself first. and guess what?

you better get it right with yourself first too!

i have to go and read me some more deuteronomy.