Psalm Sunday Kickoff

Erica at Butterfly Kisses has started a new weekly study that I am VERY excited about!
Psalm Sunday. She did start out today with Psalm 1. Here's how she introduced it...
"If you would like to take part, after reading the Psalms, share in a post whatever you would like in regards to what you read. For example, what did you think of it? What does it mean to you? Do you have a story behind it? Can you teach us something about it? Do you relate to a portion of it? What verse from it spoke to you the most?"
I had a challenge, for some reason, cutting and pasting the gorgeous banner she created. Rats! It was cool, too!! But I would like to share a couple of thoughts about Psalm 1 and can't WAIT to see what the others have to say.

I started out reading the passage in my NIV Women's Devotional Bible 2. (You know, the pink one. I've always liked it just because it's pink :D How superficial is that? ) Then, just to show I'm not prejudiced, I read the same passage in an NIV study Bible, a New King James version and a New American Standard. Sometimes this approach helps me get a different take on the verses. But not this time.

I did get something from my NIV WDB 2 that was cool. I think it was a preface or introduction for the Book of Psalms, but it made me stop and think...and it made me think of the book in a different light.
"Psalms gives voice to human emotion. This is not a book of catechism or doctrine; it is, for the most part, a book of prayer and praise.
It speaks TO God in prayer and OF God in praise and professions of faith and trust.
Think of the Psalms as entries in a diary; reflecting people's most intimate dealings with God.
You will find comfort and strength here when you identify with the Old Testament Saints who wrote these prayers and songs."

I won't quote chapter one here again (If you'd like to read it, just hop over to Erica's place on the link above) so I'll just jump right in to what it said to me.

RESPONSIBLE COMMITMENT.

Yep, that's what. Verse one hit me right between the eyes by really laying it on the line about what happens when you don't set yourself apart as a child of The King. I remember so many times in high school and at different work places where I just wanted to "fit in"; be a part of the crowd and feel like I belonged...no matter what. If that meant swearing or smoking or drinking, was I willing to do that? To compromise my relationship with Christ to feel accepted here on earth? OUCH. The mantra of my teenage years was "I don't CARE what anyone else thinks!" But the truth was that I did. Very much so.
Now that I'm an adult (well, you know, externally at least) I've grown to realize that. I DO care what people think of me. But the key is to have the strength and the commitment to my God to stand for what I believe NO MATTER how rejected I feel, no matter how much it hurts to have others walk away from me, no matter if I end up sleeping alone. Verse 4 says that the wicked are like "Chaff"; no roots, no anchors and the first stiff wind will blow them away.
Then encouraging verses for me were number 3 and number 6! If I stand for Christ, study His Word, talk to Him in prayer and song - #3 says I will grow strong with deep roots like a tree planted by the water; flowering and bearing fruit...PROSPERING. Verse six promises that the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. Well, friends, I am in NO WAY righteous by any stretch of the imagination. But I want to be...and I strive for that. So maybe that counts a little. And I know...Yes, I KNOW, He watches out for me. He has proven that time after time after time.
The thing about trees (v. 3) is that they take a long time to grow. Some trees don't bear fruit for years! And God pointed that out to me, too, as I was studying this chapter. Just like high school or college, you have to work and be patient for that degree. Like my Gastric Bypass surgery - I didn't wake up with 200 lb.s gone. It's taken almost 2 years.
But I was SO blessed to get that high school diploma. And I am SO jazzed that that weight is gone. And I know that if I wait, pray, praise, listen and stand with a responsible commitment to my God, I will prosper. Says it in His Word.
Isn't that very cool?
I think so, too.

**Note - I want to thank Erica for starting this up. I was looking for a study as I had just finished the shape of my Faith, but never in my wildest dreams did I think of going through the Psalms. As I sat on my bed to pray "real quick" before I started studying the chapter, the Lord spoke to my heart and said "Real Quick' ain't gonna cut it. Let's talk!" Friends, I haven't prayed that long in a long time. Prayed blessing on every kid, MG, every member of my family, spent some time thanking Him for all His amazing blessings, asked for some direction in my life and just soaked for awhile. It was a special time that I probably wouldn't have had if I hadn't been joining this study. My kids played in their rooms while I prayed and THAT was a miracle in itself. :D
I can't wait to see where this leads!!