Our song is sweetest when sung from within our boundaries.
adapted from the words of Psalm 16
I love Psalm 16--it's a tender one, one that has been a lesson for me to learn during the past year.
You have assigned me my portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Surely I have a delightful inheritance!
...and I love birds and nests too, so when I saw this tutorial over at Pretty Ditty I knew I wanted to make them. (You really want to click on the link and visit her blog. She makes lovely things!)
I finally got all the supplies gathered today and had some to craft now that my Greek final is done. (Pretty sure I aced it, except for one answer I had right and then went back and changed to something wrong. Grr.)
As I was working on this, taking her idea and adapting it to my style, it cried out the words of Psalm 16 to me. The place I want to build my nest, the place I find the freedom to sing a sweet song is within the boundaries God has drawn for me. Within his boundaries I find freedom and joy, rest and peace. When we surrender to what God has assigned, when we accept our portion and our cup, we are bound to be free.
WOW! I wish I had read this post before I went to Micheals today, because you took the birdcage ornament to a whole new level. So beautiful! Then there's the verse... all I can say is thank you for sharing it. My husband was touched and encouraged by it too =)
Merry Christmas!
~ Jamie
Pretty Ditty
Posted by: Jamie | December 15, 2010 at 07:49 PM
I love these verses Psalm 16:5-6. God has taken me to these verses again and again in my journey of motherhood as the seasons and the boundaries of my life change. I am always bumping up against them and needing to learn contentment. I have shared a few MOPS talks on these very verses. How sweet to picture the bird singing in their freedom and contentment of their boundaries. Thanks for sharing. Great job on acing the Greek test.
Posted by: Kathleen Jaeger | December 15, 2010 at 11:25 PM
Re: [The Simple Wife] Jamie submitted a comment to Birds and songs and boundaries
Dear Jamie,
Thank you for the inspiration! I came downstairs this morning and saw my trays filled with supplies and am excited to make more today. Something tells me I may go a little overboard...
Merry Christmas to you and yours too!
Joanne
Posted by: Joanne Heim | December 16, 2010 at 06:26 AM
Re: [The Simple Wife] Kathleen Jaeger submitted a comment to Birds and songs and boundaries
Kathleen,
I do love those special verses in our lives that pop up here and there with extra meaning. Always feels like a gift.
Joanne
Posted by: Joanne Heim | December 16, 2010 at 06:28 AM
Amazing the way God works! Just this morning looking for a passage of scripture to share with a friend who just settled in a small rental house and needing some peace. I thought I will look at Psalm 16[ since today was the 16th) and it fit perfectly for her. So I wrote it out this morning for her. Then to see your post after lunch and the wonderful craft! I would really love to make several of these after the busyness of the holidays. Thanks for sharing, especially today! -Caroline
Posted by: Caroline Perez | December 16, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Lovely! I have always struggled with this verse from time to time, but you are so right. It is about accepting the lines the Lord has drawn and singing from within them. Thank you so much for sharing what you are learning from Him! I love the birdies! You can make me some any time! :)
Posted by: Anuja | December 18, 2010 at 08:55 AM