I remember my Confirmation days so well because they were every Saturday for two years. Really? Give up our Saturdays? Yes, we did. The bonuses were we learned, we bonded, we studied, we survived. Our Luther League Youth Group was the BEST! During confirmation classes we were introduced to The Good News Bible. The premise was it was easier to understand than the King James Version of the Bible.

When I married and was raising my children I used, read and marked up The Living Bible. It read like a newspaper. It is rather dog-eared and well used but on my bedside table still. Now I have an app that allows me to compare many versions of the Bible. Sometimes I find The Message version quite succinct.

Psalm 139 is a favorite of mine. Specifically v 13-16 from The Message:

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God ¬you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration, ¬what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.”

Does my best friend of 40+ years really know me? Do my children know me? Does my spouse who I can be “me” around, really know me? Trust me, the answer is no.

God who formed you and knows you inside and out and made you bit by bit is the only one who really KNOWS you. Before you speak the words or form the thought, He knows. If this psalm explanation of your creation isn’t wonderful enough, just add the fact that He loves you unconditionally. We are created, molded, formed, born, guided, watched over, and loved. Wow! God is good. We are blessed. Thank Him for YOU!

Originally posted by Jill in August 2018