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Princess Consuela Banana Hammock…and Grace and Truth Link Up

April 9, 2021 by Lauren 22 Comments

Today is National Name Yourself Day!  Can you tell I’m paying a little too much attention to the weird and random holidays lately?  This one reminded me of an episode of the TV show Friends.  In it the principle character Phoebe decided to legally change her name to Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.  The problem?  She had no idea what a banana hammock actually was.  Hilarity ensued.

 

A few years ago, I learned that I sang the wrong words to the 2005 song “Move Along” by The All-American Rejects.  Apparently oblivious to the NAME of the song, I believed the lyrics to the chorus were, “And even when your hope is gone, mow the lawn, mow the lawn just to make it through.”  Changes the meaning a bit.  Just like Phoebe’s name of choice changed from whimsical to weird when she understood that Banana Hammock was more than just a funny word.

 

Following my realization, I threw up a post on Facebook asking others to share their best misheard lyrics.  I’ll share a couple that made me spit coffee out of my nose.  My Allie used to sing the praise song, “You are the everlasting God” as “You are forever asking God”.  Might be some truth there.  If pop music is more your thing, a friend’s grandson sang Maroon 5’s megahit “Moves Like Jagger” as “I’ve got to move like dragons, I’ve got to move like dragons.”  And Princess Consuela herself thought Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” went “Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza”.  I’m sure many Who’s the Boss fans relate.  But one of my favorites, Billy Joel’s “Keeping the Faith”, has a whole new meaning when interpreted as “Yeah, yeah, yeah, just a kick in the face!”

 

A couple of weeks ago, the 23rd Psalm, Verse 6 reminded me of a misheard lyric of my own.  I grew up singing the hymn based on this passage, “Surely Goodness and Mercy”.  Even as a child, I had the words right – I held the hymnal with them in my hand.  “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”  A cheery song that left me wondering what in the world surely goodness was.

 

I believe the word of God is without error, but a comma would have helped 2nd grade Lauren understand just what we sang about.  Read this with a pause where I placed the comma.  “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”  Surely.  A sure thing.  Without a doubt, goodness and mercy follow me wherever I go.  Because I belong to Jesus, goodness and mercy surround me.  Always.  In every way.  Wow.

 

May a pause between two words encourage you today.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Jennifer Ross touched me with her sweet tribute to her daughter and a miracle working God in The Gift of a Rose…  I have a baby girl (16 now) with the middle name Rose as well.  Praise God for His precious gifts.

 

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

 

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We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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Now Let’s Link Up!

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The Pursuit… and Grace and Truth Link Up

May 8, 2020 by Lauren 14 Comments

Surely goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.  Psalm 23:6 EHV

 

Photo by Darren DeLoach on Unsplash

If you currently attend or have ever attended a traditional Christian church, chances are you sang a hymn written from this particular verse.  But the song probably didn’t go exactly like this.

 

In the short testimony I recorded recently and shared here, I confessed to struggling to feel God’s kindness to me.  And during that time I came across the version of Psalm 23:6 written above.  Now the Evangelical Heritage Version of the Bible is not one I have on my shelf.   I had actually never heard of it before, but I needed this translation.  Having always heard before that “surely goodness and mercy will follow me”, the idea of God’s goodness pursuing me captured my imagination.  This wording helped me visualize God’s lovingkindness in a much more active role.  And I needed that reassurance.  I wrote the verse down in my journal and continue to rewrite it every week.  This reminder that God’s goodness and kindness were for me – and many others I found – helped to eventually restore me to joy.

 

Maybe the word “follow” is a better translation from the original language.   I say “maybe” because I don’t really know, but I can get behind this version for one simple reason.  The entire Bible is the story of God’s pursuit of us.  From His visit to the Garden to search for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:9) to sending His only Son to take the punishment for our wrongdoing (John 3:16) to His promise to come back for us and be with us forever (John 14:2-3).  AND everything in between.

 

In Luke 15:4, the Lord is portrayed as a shepherd (just as he is in the beginning of the 23rd Psalm) who would leave 99 sheep to search for one who was lost.  We must choose Him, but He doesn’t let us get away without a passionate pursuit.  And who doesn’t like to be pursued?  By the God of the universe, no less.  He created us, He loves us, and He wants us.  In this world that is still so full of uncertainty, I find great comfort in this.  In Him.

 

According to Psalms 23:6, God’s goodness, grace and love stay closer to me than my freckles for as long as I live, and then they escort me to rest in His heaven in the next.

 

I’ll close with the same verse I started with, from The Passion Translation.  I’ll be clutching these pearls close to my heart:

So why would I fear the future?
For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.
Then afterward, when my life is through,
I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you! 

 

And now for this week’s featured post!

 

Deborah Haddix drew me into her 13 Practical Ways We Can Honor Mom.  I sometimes get caught up in thinking I have to spend a lot of money or find just the right thoughtful present, but what moms really want (myself included) is relationship.  And you can check off this list whether you get to  physically see your mom right now or not.  You can gift these sweet things whether you have much or are financially strapped.  I can’t think of a better way to love mom!

Now for this week’s link-up! Let’s bless and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.

 

Grace & Truth : A Weekly Christian Link Up

 

Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement every week. If you’re a blogger, we hope you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader, we hope that you’ll encounter new bloggers that love Jesus as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.

Join us each Friday for the Grace and Truth Link-Up!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

 

Heather Hart & Valerie Riese

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Maree Dee

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Lauren Sparks

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Lisa Burgess

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
1.)  Following your hosts via their blog and social media channels is not mandatory, but appreciated!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. We will delete these links. We also reserve the right to remove articles that don’t align with the theme or are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community among us, so please don’t link and run!

4.) We sort all links randomly – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!

Featured Post Requirements

5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. It is not mandatory, but it is required to be featured.

6.) Each host will choose one link to emphasize and promote via their social media channels next week.

Grab a Badge and Link Back to this Post

 

 

And now, let’s link up!

 

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Click here to enter

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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