Matthew 12 is meaty; so much to chew on like the verses about mercy over sacrifice, or a tree being known by it’s fruit (something we’ve already considered in Matthew), or having to give an account for every idle word (EVERY?!), or the story of the unclean spirit leaving a man and coming back with seven more (EEKKK!).  So which one stood out to you in your Bible journaling today?

POWERful Bible Journaling: Matthew 12

This chapter begins with Jesus and his disciples walking through a field on the Sabbath. His disciples are hungry so they began to “pluck ears of grain and to eat.” The Pharisees didn’t like it and set about to call Jesus out and correct His disciples. Here’s what Cornelius a Lapide says in his commentary…

Tropologically: Bede says, “Those walk with the Lord, through the corn fields, who delight to meditate on the sacred oracles. They hunger, when they desire to find therein the bread of life; and that on the Sabbath, when they are glad to rest with a mind free from disturbing thoughts. They rub the ears, and purify them from the husks that they may reach the grain, when they take up the testimonies of Scripture, and dwell upon them until they find in them, as it were the marrow of love. But this refreshment of the mind is displeasing to fools, and is approved by the Lord.”

Don’t you love that! St. Bede explains tropologically (the use of figurative language in speech or writing) this is about us, as we read and meditate on the Scriptures until we find “the marrow of love.” He also states this POWERful  practice is displeasing to fools. The world is filled with a bunch of fools right now.

And just as I typed that, I was quickly reminded of another verse in this chapter, verse 36, “I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter.” I just called a bunch of people in the world fools…and they call me a fool…and we each will have to answer for that.

P —I look back over my day Lord and I think, what fruit did I bear for Your Kingdom.  This question of being a fruit bearer keeps coming up so I want to pay close attention to it.

O –The disciples of Jesus dealt with the same problems the disciples of Jesus deal with today: judgment and people wanting to see some sort of sign from this God we believe in.

W —vs 37…for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

E –The mouth…years ago when I sat down with my Bible, I started in the book of Proverbs underlining all the verses I came to about my words…and my mind.  They work in unison, harmony…whatever you want to call it…they work together.  So if I want my words to be true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy, I need to think on those things. (Philippians 4:8)  And to think on those things, I need to consume those things.  I need to be careful what I watch, listen to and read; they will influence my words.  (One of my favorite books of all time is titled, The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy Filled Life.  I purchased it back in 2011 and read it at least twice every year.)

R –I am so thankful for Your Word Lord.  I am thankful for Your holy men and women who have been enlightened by Your Spirit to shed light on the Scriptures.  I want to be a joy thinker and a joy talker.  I don’t want to hear a long laundry list of idle and useless words I said being read at my judgement.  I want You to praise my words with a “well done.”

Share your POWERful reflections in the comments.

A lovely Catholic blogger, Colleen Duggan, wrote a beautiful and timely post, “How to Manage Family Life and Writing…Or Not.”  Today would fall under the “Or Not” category for me.  On days like this I am reminded of our Lord’s words to St. Peter, “Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.”  (John 21:18)

From the moment most mothers wake up, our hands start stretching…to pick up a baby, make a bowl of cereal, braid hair, tie shoes, write a check, sign a permission slip, pack a lunch, pat a back, make a to go cup of coffee for our man, feed a dog, throw in a load of clothing, hold a steering wheel…  Our days are filled with others grabbing our apron strings, the hem of our skirts, our belt or our hair.  And all of those people holding on is a good thing, it’s called our vocation.  And all of those places we are taken are good places, we are to be the feet of Christ.  But just because something or somewhere is good does not mean we want to go there all the time.

Some days we just want to sit and do anything–something–nothing.  Some days we want to reflect and write about Matthew 11 before eight o’clock at night.

Blogging/photography are important to me, but damn the baby has a poopy diaper and Patrick is out of clean underwear and I don’t know what we’re having for dinner and have you ever had to deal with seven hangry people?  Not fun…guess that post will have to wait…

This careful balance of working when I can and spending the remaining time caring for my children (which, let’s face it, is MOST of my time) is not unproductive.

Rather, the constant invitation to serve others over doing what I want is planting seeds for something even greater.
Colleen Duggan

And momma nailed it! So here I am, eight o’clock at night…still planting after a long day, only in a different field…until the other fields need my care and attention.

POWERfule Bible Journaling: Matthew 11

P –You are so good.  Even in the ordinary, everyday.  I don’t want to miss you in the day in–day out.  Please help me practice being in Your presence always.

O –Jesus gave Himself freely, but that does not mean our freedom is free, as the saying goes.  He really gives what for to the unrepentant cities!  I do not want to be like an unrepentant city.

W —vs 29…Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

E –You know what Lord?  I cannot imagine one of the characteristics of a gentle and humble hearted person following You is eye rolling and sighing…ahem.  When I come grab Your yoke with a prideful “can do” attitude, it’s not so easy and light and there definitely is no rest.

R –Philippians 4:13 does not state, “I can do all things by myself or because I am a Christian.”  It states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  I need You to be the filter I go through before and in order to get anything accomplished; living out my vocation, all for Your glory.

Please share your POWERful reflections in the comments.

Week two of our Bible journaling in the month of August.  I appreciate all who have commented publicly and contacted me privately.  I pray this has been as fruitful for you all as it has been for me.  How has the reading been?  Too little?  Too much?  A Goldilocks, “Just right?”  What about the POWERful Bible journaling method, helpful or cumbersome?  I’m ready to pray through Matthew 10 so let’s go.

POWERful Bible Journaling: Matthew 10

P –The things on my heart right now Lord, my confessor of almost three years is leaving, I’m making plans to start back to school in two weeks, I want to mother teens well, I want to mother a toddler well, I want to mother elementary age and middle school age children well, I want to be a great wife, I want to be a good friend, I need community but am worn out from the community living under my roof some days.

O –Jesus chose His disciples and then told them what and how to do.  It was pretty clear and to the point and contained some warnings that are necessary now as well.  Although He gave them the power to heal, He did not give them the power to know immediately what type of people they were dealing with or what type of home they were entering.  They had to discern those things.  So do I.

W —vs 12…And when you come into the house, salute it, saying: Peace be to this house.

E –How often do I come into the door after running errands with children and we are all a big, cranky mess?!  How many times do I walk in the door after running errands by myself and start complaining about the messes I see?  Too many times to both questions!  I want my home to be a peaceful refuge from this messy world.

R–Lord, I’m going to work on keeping a neater house, but not at the expense of being a grumpy momma.  When I come in the house, I will greet my children in peace, not condemnation.

I thought this was interesting…

“The reason why Christ chose exactly twelve Apostles, neither more nor less, was that they should correspond to the twelve Patriarchs, sons of Jacob. For as these were of the Jews, so were the Apostles the parents of all Christians. So SS. Jerome, Austin, and all the Fathers. Rabanus speaks of other mysteries in this number, and following him, S. Thomas (in Catena) says: This number twelve is made by multiplying three into four, and signifies that they should preach belief in the Trinity in the four quarters of the world. They were typified by the twelve sons of Jacob, by the twelve princes of the children of Israel, by the twelve wells of Elim, by the twelve stones of the breast-plate, the twelve loaves of the shew-bread, the twelve spies, the twelve stones taken out of Jordan, the twelve oxen that supported the brazen sea, the twelve stars in the crown of the bridegroom in the Apocalypse, the twelve foundations of the city, the twelve gates.”
—The Great Commentary of Cornelius A’ Lapide

Please leave your POWERful reflections in the comments.

P –Lord, forgive my sloth. I want to be a saint, I want to raise saints. But it’s hard and tiring work. I pray for fortitude and courage to carry on.

O –The Christian life is not passive. The paralytic’s friends carried him to Jesus. After healing the paralytic, Jesus tells him to get up and carry his bed and go home. Jesus called Matthew while he was working. Jesus is recored as going about preaching and healing.

W —vs 24…he said, “Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.

E –…”and they laughed at him.” Jesus ignored those who laughed at Him.  He went about His business. Anyone trying to follow You will be laughed at. I need to ignore it and go about my business. I need to look to You and stop listening to the voices of the world laughing at my vocation: Christian, Catholic, wife, mother, homeschooler, friend.

R –I want to live for you without hearing the world. I want to raise children who are strong enough to be salt and light in a darkened world. I want to laugh because “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

For more information on the POWER Bible study method, please see this post, Bible Journaling: A POWERful New Method

Please leave your POWERful reflections in the comments.

As I started reading Matthew 8 this morning I remembered this is one of my favorite chapters because it stumps me.  It also encourages me and in doing some additional reading today, it also reminded me how I ought to pray, but really don’t want to.  I had spent a little bit of time Bible journaling in Matthew 8 a while ago and a different verse had stood out to me.  It’s amazing how God illuminates the right word for us at the right time.

POWERful Bible Journaling: Matthew 8

P –Lord, just show me what You need me to see.

O –In this chapter Jesus goes from being astonished at the faith of the Centurion to chastizing the men in the boat for not having enough faith.

W —vs 2…And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

E –I want to be able to say to Jesus as the leper, “If thou wilt.”  That’s a scary thought.

R –Lord I believe, help my unbelief.

I love the reading The Great Commentary of Cornelius à Lapide. Of course, there are some parts that are way over my head but they give me something very meaty to chew on. And there are parts that are so simple when I read them the light bulbs start going off. Today something so simple stood out to me after reading his commentary that I wondered why I never realized it before.

When the leper came to Jesus he began his petition for healing by saying “…if you will…”

“…the words, if Thou wilt, denote the desire of being healed, mingled with resignation. For he resigns himself to the will of Christ, that if He wishes it, he may be cured; if He be unwilling, he may remain unhealed.”
The Great Commentary of Cornelius à Lapide

For he resigns himself to the will of Christ.

You know what I thought after reading that?  I’m kind of a prayer bully with Christ.  Very rarely do I include anything about it being His will…except when I saw the Lord’s Prayer and get to the part, “…Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…”  And then I just gloss over not really asking God if this is His will.

No, when I pray I have a laundry list of please and thank you’s, not if you will.  That’s too hard of a prayer and frankly I just don’t want to leave things up to chance–I mean Jesus.  If my friend is sick, I want my friend healed.  Period.  And do you think God laughs at my presumptive and limited prayers?  He may, but He also enlightens as any good Father, like he did with me today.

Because the image just came to me, offering up those types of bully prayers is like looking through an old keyhole.  Remember those.  At my grandparents house, the bedroom doors are old and have honest to goodness key holes.  When I was little I would try to look through them to see what I could see–of course opening the door would have been more effective, but not as much fun.

Thinking about my grandparents house now as an adult, if I were to look through the keyhole I’m thinking of, I would see maybe part of a window and an old canned food box with some quilting material piled in it.  A pretty limited view huh?

If I were to open the door, I would see two windows that overlook a couple of acres.  I would see beautiful quilting material in any and all colors imaginable.  I would see an expensive sewing machine and pieces of, if not full quilts handmade by my grandparents.

In my prayers, when I leave out the part of asking God for His will, I’m looking through a small keyhole.  I have a very limited view that I’m basing my prayers on.  If God were to answer those prayers as is, my limited view prayers would result in limited view answers to prayer.

Wow. This was a fruitful morning of POWERful reflection for me. That’s why I write here because sometimes, lots of time, I need to see my words to flesh out the ideas. I’m reading this fantastic book right now, Pray, Write, Grow: Cultivating Prayer and Writing Together. Here is a beaautiful quote from the book, “…the practice of writing requires observation and processing that enables writers to see the truth with greater clarity.” So true! While writing out my Bible journaling reflection the whole “keyhole” image came to my mind. I was able to clarify in my thoughts and words why this verse containing the words, “…if Thou wilt…” jumped off the page at me this morning.

Has using the POWERful Bible journaling method been helpful to you so far? Have you had any “keyhole” moments during your Bible study time?

Please share your POWERful reflections in the comments.