Journaling My Way Through the Bible

Today was the passage in Matthew where Peter asks how many times he should forgive a brother. Boy, was there some discussion at the table over this one. I explained to the kids that what Jesus was saying was not to forgive exactly 77 times. The idea was to not keep a record of the times someone has wronged you. I gave them the example of a parent punishing a child for their sin and then loving on that child after the disciple has been administered. We do that over and over as a parent. We also do it as siblings. We have had a lot of bickering going on here at the Trautman house. I have been trying to deal with it and it just keeps getting worse. I was able to use the verse today because one of the big things that the kids do is bringing up the wrong things that the other siblings do. I want them to be able to truly forgive one another. I guess the danger as a mom is making a child ask forgiveness and the other one to say that they have forgiven without a real heart change. As long as t...

Reading through the Old Testament can get quite ...um...heavy. The description of the temple and its construction and the rules and the sacrifices can be tiresome. When I am reading these sections I always try to remember that this too is the inspired word of God. God never makes a mistake so these descriptions and explanations have purpose. I always ask God to reveal something new to me when I read these sections or at least remind of something I already learned. As I was reading tonight in Leviticus it struck me how much time I would have spent in the temple making sin offerings. Oh, my. I would have spent more time there than at my own home. Also, how many sacrifices were truly without blemish? Were there really that many animals that were perfect? That must have been a stinky, smelly time with all those animals and all that blood. I think that is the whole point of these passages. God wanted us to realize how much we cannot meet the requirements of the Old testament laws of sacrifi...

I have been reading Psalm and Matthew with the kids at breakfast time. I have really been enjoying it and so have the older ones. Daniel is getting there and Sam and Caleb are a work in progress. I need to remember that they are 5 and 3. Tirzah is quiet just as long as she has something to eat and a drink. This morning we were reading Psalm 34. For anyone paying attention, I am a day behind in February. I was reading along already impressed with the amount of praise in this chapter. I mean right in verse 1 we have David saying,"I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth." Wow! Can I say that? Is his praise CONTINUALLY on my lips? Honestly, no. Sometimes, yes but always, no. I do find myself when I am in a rotten mood that if I go and put on some God honoring praise music that my soul starts to praise him and my demeanor changes. There needs to be more times in my day where I am praising him. Like I said, I was reading along and right in t...

Psalm 33 1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. The Psalms are full of praises. Praises to an almighty God who saves and delivers. This Psalm is full of it. From the start of it to the end of it, there is praise. We are told to shout for joy, praise, give thanks, sing a new song, play instruments for him, and to trust in him. Alex often asks me why I love to sing so much. I tell him of passages like this one where it tells us to sing to The Lord. It does not matter if we are gifted with a singing voice that is pleasing to those around us. The command i...

Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! Psalm 31:19 Oh, Lord. I have seen this verse come true many times. I have taken refuge in you many times in the past few years. It has not been an easy path. I have trusted in you and at times I have faltered. You never left me or abandoned me. You continued to bless me despite the turmoil that was going on around me. In the refuge of Your arms I received peace and grace and mercy. You provided for me and surrounded me with protection. From the lowest point I could ever imagine, You lifted me up and rescued me. In the midst of the turmoil You blessed me with Sam, Caleb, and Tirzah. Your blessings abounded in the chaos. I am so thankful that You are faithful and that Your goodness is abundant for those who fear You.

Exodus 20:12 I woke up this morning and read the blogs that I normally check every morning. I read one called doorposts and ironically the topic today was the 5th commandment. The fifth commandment deals with honoring your mother and father. She had two lists on her blog post. One list was what honoring your parents look likes. The other list was what dishonoring your parents looks like. It was very convicting to me as most of the behaviors that my children exhibit were on the wrong list. Some of the ways that they say children dishonor their parents shocked me. I actually went and printed the lists so I could study them more. I am also going to go through the lists with the children so they can see truly what their behavior is, sin. It convicted me as a parent to teach my children better how to be a child of God. I truly desire for my children to walk in truth and I am willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish this goal. I know that the ultimate decision lies with them as to whet...

Matthew 12:43-45 It was funny today. Carl took the boys out to their breakfast bible study this morning. They came home and I guess were in a good mood. They sat down and started devotions and everyone was pretty much well behaved. It was the best devotion time yet. we read Matthew and began to discuss the section in Matthew where Jesus is talking about the demon leaving the man and then coming back to find the house empty and returning with more demons. The state of the man was worse than before. Before I could begin to discuss it William said, "Boy Mom, that sure sounds like the spiritual law of replacement." I just laughed. Can you tell that we have talked about this before? The key here is that when the demon left, the man did nothing to replace the bad things that the demon caused him to do. I told the kids that it is kind of like a person who listens to heavy metal secular music. He is convicted and stops listening to all music as a result. That will not work. He must ...

In Matthew 12:36 it says that at the day of judgement that we will all have to give an account for every careless word that we have ever said. Boy, how sobering is that. This morning I was trying to be in a hurry during devotions. I had already gotten mad at Daniel, Sam, and Caleb. I was short with them for messing up my plans. I was already feeling guilty because I had woken up late. Trust me. I said some careless words this morning and had to confess them as I was reading this passage to my children. Boy, what an awesome reminder to always be on guard with what comes out of my mouth.

Today is one of my favorite passages in the New Testament. In Acts17:10-15, after Paul and Silas leave Thessalonica they go to a town called Berea. The Bereans are known for not just listening to Paul but examine the scriptures to see if what they were saying was right. They did not have the Bible like we do today but they searched what they did have. I have always loved this passage. There are so many people today that just listen to a sermon and believe every word. They forget that men are all sinners and their pastor or teacher could be in error. That is why we have to be careful to read the Bible and know it. We need to be able to defend it and tell when someone is teaching wrong doctrine. We must not just read it but also check and double check what is being said. This is one of the reasons why I have always tried to read the Bible every year. This is also why I try to take notes when someone is speaking, I like to be able to go back and look up what they say. I like this passage ...

After five days off of reading, I am very glad to be back on track with reading everyday again. I am not sure if I like the five days of no reading at the end of the month. I will have to adjust and find something to read those days. I just read the corresponding Proverb but I think I need more. I found myself craving more to read. Tonight I read in Matthew 10. I love the part in verse 31 where it says that we should not fear because we are Gods's most valuable creation. He delights in us. That thought is something that I constantly need to be reminded of. I tend to throw pity parties a lot. The Lord has been bombarding me lately with the idea that I am special to him. There is a phrase in a song that I keep hearing that says the every gift that I receive God determined just for me. I take that phrase and sometimes change that one word, just. I like to change it to every gift that I receive God determined BEST for me. God does everything in my life to make me grow. He knows that ...