Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

B.B. and I were in our ‘green room’.

B.B. was working on my hair as usual, but she was distracted.  She even yanked my hair in frustration a few times.  She was posing in front of the mirror.  “Stinker?  Is my worrying harming my baby?”

I snickered, “What do you have to worry about, girlfriend?”

B.B. huffed, “Stinker, have you been kidnapped and replaced by an android?  You are talking to your best friend.  You characterize your best friend as neurotic, obsessive-compulsive, and other such endearing words.  Your husband suggested my codename, Bossy Boss.  It’s like I am yelling at everyone all the time, being bossy.  It is so nice that you have shortened it to B.B.  I run the Storm Chasing Channel as director and producer.  I have on camera time. And all those jobs are time sensitive.  And I have too much on my plate to NOT worry!”

I groaned, “Oh, yeah, my bad.  I thought for a moment that my best friend was this lovely woman who had everything she ever wanted and the good looks that makes men turn and follow her like puppy dogs.”

B.B. moaned, “The baby bump will chase those stalkers away.  Besides, having stalkers is another thing to worry about.  I thought you were my friend.  You just piled on more worries!”

I shrugged, “I thought if you had read today’s Bible verses, you would be less neurotic.  Instead, you are on a neurotic meltdown.  Hmmm.  And your husband is about to be ordained as a pastor next month.”

B.B. groaned, “More piling on.  Can you imagine me as a pastor’s wife?”

I turned around and smiled at her.  “You are going to be a great pastor’s wife, a great mother, and a great television producer.  You are already a great friend.  Okay, when you are not having a meltdown.”

B.B. giggled, “Okay, let’s get to class so you can explain why I should not worry.”

As we were leaving the restroom, there was a voice from the center stall.  It was Arabella, “Great!  You two are leaving.  You know I cannot go when someone is watching.”

B.B. and I said, in unison, “We are not watching you, Fireball!”

When we got to the classroom, Michael Rowe Casey asked, “Have you seen Arabella?  She missed our warm ups, and she has a descant.”

I announced, “She is in the restroom.  She can’t go when people are watching her.””

Michael made a face, “That’s sick!”

Arabella emerged from the restroom, “Hi, Michael.  Are you ready for class?”

Michael mumbled, “It’s about time.”

Arabella sighed, “I need my privacy at times.”

Joseph led us in prayer.

Emmett’s band was great, as usual.  The song was Be Still My Soul.  Emmett had arranged a special descant for his sister, and for that verse, they sang acapella.

Emmett added, “How was that, Aunt Jemima?”

I said, “I will let you know when my heart slows down a little.”

Emmett asked, “That bad?”

I sighed.  “No, Em, it was so good it took my breath away.”

Samuel said, “Aunt Jemima, what Attribute of God are we studying today?”

I laughed, “Samuel, we are looking at God as our provider.  Arabella, do we need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella asked, “Are you saying that quiet and me do not get along?”

Easy, my husband, a.k.a. Mr. Dictionary, said, “Not at all, Fireball.  God quiets our soul.  Silencing your mouth is a totally different subject.”

Arabella shrunk her head between her shoulders and giggled, “Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.”

Cassie (Zephaniah 3:17) “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Cassie said, “I looked at other translations.  Where the NIV says ‘in his love he will no longer rebuke you’, it says His love quiets us.”

I smiled, “Thank you, some of these translations might not openly say the words we are looking for.”

Boaz (Psalm 131:2) “But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.”

Boaz said, “I struggle with this some.  As a politician, I have to tell people that they can trust me as their mayor, but at times, I feel like the little child who needs support from others.  We all need that support.  We cannot do it alone, but it is God that we trust, not an elected official.  But this psalm is attributed to David.  He feels calm.  His heart is quieted because he knows that God is with him.  And I start my day with prayer, and I stop on occasion to pray.  I never want to make a decision alone.”  Cassie smiled and held his hand.

Menzie (Isaiah 30:15) “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”

Menzie looked a little confused, “This isn’t about God making us quiet and calm.  This is about us having to be quiet and calm to get God’s strength.  It seems like it’s a chicken and egg thing.  Do we get strength from God to get calm, or does God make us calm to get the strength?”

I smiled, “Do you pray before you sing at the Snazzy Taz?”

Menzie looked at me, “Yeah!  A lot?”

I smiled, “Does just knowing that you are praying to a strong God who loves you calm you down?”

Menzie nodded, “Yeah.”

I smiled, “Does it matter which comes first?  Us acknowledging that God is in control by praying to Him for calm before a nerve-wracking experience is telling God that we know that the strength comes from Him.  We are making ourselves open so that God can pour in the strength we need.  An arrogant person only has what is within him, and that can fade quickly.  They think their strength is enough.  The mayor prays throughout each day.  We all should do that, but then when it is a big performance, we pray even more.  And we pray with confidence because we know that God delivers.”

Samuel (Isaiah 66:1-2) “Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

Samuel said, “Aunt Jemima, you keep throwing curve balls at us this morning.  The first verse talks about how we cannot build God a temple because everything that exists is God’s already.  So, I guess someone thinking that he can impress God with anything is just using what God made, even if he does it better than anyone else.  But then God is looking for the humble person with the contrite heart.”

I said, “Do you remember what I said about the arrogant person?”

Samuel nodded, “You said that they think they do it on their own power.  The arrogant person is not going to be the one who prays for strength from God.  They think they already have it.”

I smiled, “Right.  So Boaz says that he prays for strength at the beginning of each day and then before every big meeting or decision.  What kind of a heart does that describe?”

Samuel asked, “Humble and contrite?”

I snickered, “Are you asking or saying?”

Samuel nodded, “Saying!”

Mercy Kildare (Psalm 46:10) “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”

Mercy smiled, “This talks about God being exalted and we had that a few weeks ago, but this starts with us being still.  I guess quiet also.  When we are ready to do all the talking, how can we hear God’s voice when most of the time it is a whisper?  God is going to be exalted whether we like it or not.  We might as well be still and quiet and watch it happen.”

I nodded, “I like that.”

Mike Kildare (Psalm 33:20-22) “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”

Mike said, “This builds on what Mercy read, but it says we should wait.  If we know God is our help and shield, it’s that arrogant guy that you mentioned who is going to charge ahead.  But we should wait until God shows us what to do.  Then, we better be ready because God will want us to do something.”

I smiled, “I think you are right, Mike.  Is Grannie Fannie behind me?”

Grannie Fannie snickered, “You know I am right behind you, Jemima”

I asked, “Grannie Fannie, can you lead us in our benediction?”

Grannie Fannie (Romans 15:13) “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Lauren ran up to Menzie and Samuel, “Mommie!  Daddy!  The buses!  The bus driver is here.  And Liam, Lympie, and Ellie Rain are with her.”  Then, she ran to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.

Brooke came over and got Stormie’s carrier.  “Hi, Stormie.  It’s Aunt Brooke.  Are you ready to go to church?”

Stormie laughed.

And B.B. whispered, “Thanks, bestie.  I think the baby is going to be just fine.”

I asked, “Which baby?  You or the one in your belly?”

B.B. looked cross-eyed and used a goofy voice, “Duh! I don’t know!”

Brooke said, “I’m going to have to sneak into one of your pre-class meetings.  You two are fun to be around.”

Credits

The nature of the blog from Sweet to the Soul Ministries gives only one verse.  I used various searches and cross references for the other verses.  I used just a few sources.

Here is Eclipse 6 singing Be Still My Soul.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.