PSALM 8

"Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with Your majesty! Because of Your adversaries You have established a stronghold, from the mouths of children and nursing infants, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I observe Your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place, what is man that you remember him? You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him lord over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of seas. Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!


I really love this chapter 8! It's so easy, especially around the Holidays, to get caught up in myself and my own plans. Christmas break is ending and I'm trying to squeeze in time to do all the stuff I want to do before I go back to school and start class and homework again. I don't take enough time to humble myself and remember God's glory. I don't see everything that I am privileged with. When I have taken the time to just look around me at His creation, I see that glory. Who am I really? Who am I that God would love me as much as he does and bless me with the people and things I am blessed with? I am no one. I don't deserve any of it. Through Christ I have all of these things, and I do not thank Him enough. God has laid so much before us. Things for us to take and things for us to be responsible with, and more often than not we don't fulfill the tasks He gives us. Especially in this New Year, I want to start off right. I'm so excited to go to Passion in a few days and just spend time indulged in His Word and really studying it with THOUSANDS of other college kids!! God has given me so much , and it's my goal to try and use what I've been given for His glory, so that other will be lead to Him!

PSALM 7 "Prayer for Justice"

"Lord, my God, I seek refuge in You; save me from all my pursuers and rescue me, or they will tear me like a lion, ripping me apart, with no one to rescue me. Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice on my hands, if I have done harm to one at peace with me, or have plundered my adversary without cause, may an enemy, pursue and overtake me, may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust. Rise up, Lord, in Your anger; life Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries; awake for me; You have ordained a judgement. Let the assembly of peoples gather around You; take Your seat on high over it. The Lord judges the peoples; vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity. Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous. The One who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God, who saves the upright heart. God is a righteous judge, and a God who executes justice every day. If anyone does not repent, God will sharpen His sword;  He has strung His bow and made it ready. He has prepared His deadly weapons; He tips His arrows with fire. See, he is pregnant with evil, conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit. He dug a pit and hollowed i tout,, but fell into the hole he had made. His trouble comes back on his own head, and his violence falls on the name Lord, Most High.

PSALM 6

"Lord do not rebuke me in your anger, do not discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking; my whole being in shaking with terror. And You Lord, how long? Turn Lord, Rescue me; save me because of your faithful love. For there is no remembrance of You in death, for who can thank you in Sheol? I am weary from my groaning; with my tears I dampen my pillow and drench my bed every night. My eyes are swollen from grief, they grow old because of all my enemies. Depart from me, all evildoers, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my plea for help, the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror; they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced."

I've said this before, but I've never had to deal with having enemies that cause me this much grief, so I don't know if I can relate that aspect of what is going on in these verses. While they are kind of sad and show desperation I love to read them because I think it shows how vulnerable we can be with God. We don't have to hide anything. I know that most of the time with friends or family if I am feeling upset or have anything I am dealing with I don't really share it. I can be kind of guarded. But because of the relationship I have with Christ, I don't have to be that way. I can feel and share anything and he takes care of it, he listens. The most beautiful thing to me is that he listens and RESPONDS. We don't have to sit and wait wondering if he hears us or if he will take care of us. We can live with no doubt in Him. He will always be there and always respond. This is a powerful chapter of Psalms to remind me that I can never hide anything from Him and nothing is too big to reveal to Him.

PSALM 5

"Listen to my words Lord; consider my sighing. Pay attention to the sounds of my cry, my King and my God, for I pray to You. At daybreak, Lord, You hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my cause to You watch expectantly. For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot lodge with You. The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all evildoers. You destroy those who tell lies; the Lord abhors a man of bloodshed an treachery. But I enter Your house by the abundance of Your faithful love; I bow down toward Your holy temple in reverential awe of You. Lord, lead me in Your righteousness, because of my adversaries; make Your way straight before me. For there is nothing reliable in what they say; destruction is within them; their throat is an open grave; the flatter with their tongues. Punish them, God; let them fall by their own schemes. Drive them out because of their many crimes, for they rebel against You. But let all who take refuge in Your rejoice; let them shout for joy forever, May You shelter them, and may those who love Your name boast about You. For You, Lord, bless the righteous one; You surround them with favor like a shield


This reminds me of my words. I'm naturally a very sarcastic person, and I joke around a lot with my friends. I think that especially with them I forget how much power words have, and sometimes even if they aren't serious words can really hurt. Also, my words as a representation of Christ. As children of God, we never know who is watching us or listening to us and the things we say come across as a huge witness.  I know that I need to mainly remember the power of words and use that power to share His love to other people. To be a good mirror of Christ and use them to lead others to Him.

PSALM 4

: A Night Prayer

PSALM 4

Answer me when I call, God, who vindicates me. You freed me from affliction; be gracious to me and hear my prayer, How long, exalted me, will my honor be insulted? How long will you love what is worthless and pursue a lie? Know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect your heart and be still. Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust the Lord. Many are saying, "Who can show us anything good?" Look on us with favor Lord. You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Lord, make me live in safety.


God always hears and always answers. I definitely don't spend enough time telling Him the things I should tell Him, or even time just in simple conversation with Him, You know, I know God sees and knows every last detail about who we are, what we do, and how we feel, but I can't help but believe that He thoroughly enjoys for us to speak about it to Him anyone. He loves us beyond measure and desires for us to confide EVERYTHING in Him. And He hears every bit of it and has an answer to every question. Sometimes I know that it isn't the answer we are looking for and He usually doesn't give it to us when we want Him to, but the answers are there. We just have to accept His timing and remember that He's ways a best.
I have been considering getting a tattoo for a while, on my left wrist of a fish with the word Joy inside of it. I had a dream about the symbol once and fell in love with it and found all sorts of meanings for it. For me, the main reason is Joy IN Christ. He is my source of JOY. Not happiness, but pure Joy that you cannot get from anything else in or out of this world. This Psalmist obviously has experienced that Joy that nothing else can bring. At night I challenge myself and anyone else who may read, to do what Psalm 4 says...
Lay at night, still, and reflect on your heart. Reveal things to God. Let go of things to Him. Let Him have complete control. He keeps us safe and out of harms way and will continue to do so for the rest of our days! I  don't deserve that kind of love and protection! I definitely learned about being more consistent and more intimate in my prayers to God.

PSALM 3

Excited about Psalm 3 :) Let's get to readin'!!

PSALM 3

"Lord how my foes increase. There are many who attack me! Many say about me, "The is no help for him in God." But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts up my head. I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from His holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me. I am not afraid of the thousands of people who have taken their stand against me on every side. Rise up, Lord! Save me, my God! You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; may Your blessing be on Your people."

This is appropriate for a quiet time :)
I guess I personally don't feel like I have individuals who are attacking me and putting me down, but there are definitely situations in life where I feel put down. Moments when I feel hopeless and like there is nothing I can do to rise above what I'm facing.
This is so encouraging to me. God is my protector. He will fight for me if I ask and will always be there to guard and protect me to defeat those moments of hopelessness!!! I have to remember that he is the reason behind every little move I make. Even something simple like lying down to sleep is because the Lord allows me too. The reason why I wake is because He sustains me. I can face a new day with new battles because the Lord is my strength. And He knows I need it. I am so grateful to have a relationship with my Lord and Savior that I literally can count on for everything little thing in my life. I would truly be lost without Him.

PSALM 2 { Merry Christmas :) }

Want to say Merry Christmas to everyone!! :)

Today I'm reading from PSALM 2, It's a tad longer then yesterday, but I'm gunna go for it!!
Let's see...


PSALM 2
" Why do the nations rebel and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and His Anointed One: "Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints." The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath: "I have consecrated My King on Zion, My holy mountain," I will declare this is the Lord's decree: He said to Me, "You are My Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of Me, and I will make nations You inheritance and the ends of the earth Your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; You will shatter them like pottery." So now kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with reverential awe, and rejoice with trembling. Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry, and you will perish in your rebellion, for His anger may ignite at any moment. All those who take refuge in Him are happy."


I feel like these are some pretty heavy verses. I can definitely see how someone who has not learned enough about God, or someone who hasn't read enough of the Bible could read this chapter and say that God is just an angry God punishing the people he created.
But He Loves us. He sees what we have made of His creation and it upsets Him because he wants SO much better for us. When I do things that are against His will for my life and for my own flesh and desires I can see why that makes Him angry, and it's righteous anger! If I were to paint a huge painting, and it was my best work, I put all I had into it, and gave it as much thought possible and it was PERFECT, and FLAWLESS, then someone were to come along and completely ruin it, cut it, slice it, smear dirt on it, etc etc right before my eyes.......I would be angry. I'm pretty sure anyone would be angry. That is the picture that comes to my mind when reading this. Unfortunately, being the sinners that we are we have destroyed the perfect world that God has created. We make unwise decision. We decide off of what WE want not what GOD wants and that's where the ruin comes in.
But thankfully He sent His Son. Jesus Christ. to die for us and erase ALL of the ruin....ALL of it!!!!!
HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT!?
That is what we're celebrating at this time of year, what we should actually celebrate every day of the year. God came down to earth as a child and grew up among us, living a perfect life, and paid the ultimate price just so we could be with him forever.
So in knowing all that, I cannot see God as an angry God in heaven punishing us. I can only know that He loves me more than I will or can ever truly understand and He wants me. He wants to be with me, and when I  let things get in the way of that and reject that Love....He has a reason to be angry. But everyday I will try to "take refuge in Him" and abide in His Word and Psalm 2 tells me that if I do that I will be happy :)

A Psalm A Day

I wanted to start out simple, so I figured I'd start with a Psalm each day.
Psalm is a favorite of mine and many others. It is powerful no matter what situation!

One Sentence Summary of Psalm: God, the true and glorious King, is worthy of all praise and prayer, thanksgiving, and confidence-whatever the occasion in personal or community life.

So, let's get the party started and look at Psalm 1!

PSALM 1:1-6
"How happy is the man who does not follow advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. The wicked are not like this; instead, that are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgement, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin."


-Oh, how I have experienced both of these ways. One thing about my life that I share is that God has blessed me with the greatest group of friends that I could ever ask for. Seriously. I don't know what I would do without them. Going to college I have made more, but the core of my friendships lie with my friends from high school. Those four girls have helped me so much and I consider myself lucky to have been given the opportunity to get to know them. They are some of the Godliest girls I know, and it has been so awesome to watch each of us grow over time, especially in our individual relationships with God. I have never had to worry about getting bad advice from them because I've always known that I can go to any one of my friends and God speaks through them!
One problem I have come across is sometimes, instead of going directly to Christ, I will go directly to my friends with my concerns, worries, questions, feelings, thoughts, news, etc etc. While I know that that is healthy to do, I have realized that God does not seek to be second in my life. He should be first. My friends should come second.
My delight should come from the words of my God, not primarily from the words of my friends.
That is one reason why I really wanted to start this blog because it says right there in verse 2, delight comes from the Lord's instruction...meditate on it day and night. That is my goal.
I love the picture Psalm 1 paints about the tree beside the stream, being replenished and fed. That is exactly how I want my life to look.
Too many times have I let myself be like chaff blowing away in the wind, dry and unrooted. I want to take root in His Word and like a stream constantly flows and filters, God will constantly filter my life and my thoughts and I know that being consistent will bring me closer to Him than I ever have before. My joy for life will only become greater. My love for Him will only become greater. My love for others will only become greater.

In the Beginning...

Here we go...

Hi! I'm Becca!
I wanted to start a blog to go along with my quiet times I have each day. I love spending time in the Word, but often I find I either tell myself I am too busy or I simply just go to bed without even thinking about it.I wanted to improve in that area and so I thought "Hey! What the heck? Start a blog and keep yourself accountable!"
So here I am.
What I want to do is each night spend the time going through a chapter or a few verses and publish them on here. Then just write down some thoughts or prayers that I have while reading. I wanted to have a reason to have my quiet time and I felt like this would be a cool way to grow closer with God AND share it with others!
I feel like this will be a great experience and I'm very excited about it!!
I think it helps to write out thoughts and questions because I, personally, feel like I gain much more out of what I read.
Hopefully it will do the same for you!! Whoever you are. :)
So here goes nothing...