moment.
Our flight attendant offered to take our coats and hang them up. He then offered us orange juice, which was served in glass tumblers. Amy and I clinked the rims of our glasses in a toast, and Amy said, “Oh, taste and see that the L ORD is good.”
It seemed an odd choice for an orange juice toast. As soon as I got the pulp out of my teeth, I asked, “Did you just make that one up?”
“That one what?”
“That toast about tasting to see that the Lord is good.”
“No, it’s a verse. In Psalms.”
“I thought it sounded familiar.”
Amy leaned closer. “I’ve been working on a sort of secret project.”
“You have? Something other than this trip?”
She nodded. “I’m collecting verses that have to do with adjusting my eating habits. I’ve memorized some of them, and I’m thinking of having them printed up on little cards or maybe made into posters. Shirleene said I should have them made into refrigerator magnets. She said some of them would act like a stop sign whenever a person went after something in the fridge she shouldn’t be eating.”
I’d never noticed verses that had to do with eating habits in the Bible. But then, I’d never looked for them.
“What are they?”
“Do you mean what are the verses?”
“Yeah, I want to hear some of them. You’ve got my curiosity going.”
Amy looked as if she was blushing a little. “Okay, first you have to keep in mind that they’re supposed to be for encouragement, and they’re not all supposed to be taken literally.”
“That’s okay. Go ahead, tell me some of them. I want to hear.”
“Okay. Well, there’s Isaiah 55:2, ‘Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good.’ ”
“That’s a good one,” I said. “Especially the ‘eat what is good’ part.”
“Right. Okay. And then Proverbs 16:24, ‘Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.’ ”
“Very nice.”
“Then there’s Shirleene’s favorite. Actually, she’s the one who got me started in looking up these verses, because she told me that Leviticus 3:16 was her life verse.”
“Her life verse? From Leviticus 3:16? Are you sure she didn’t mean John 3:16?”
“No, it’s Leviticus 3:16. I’m sure.”
“So what is it?”
Amy hesitated, as if she had to explain to me that Shirleene said or did things out of the ordinary.
“Come on, Amy. I know Shirleene. I can take it.”
Amy grinned. “Okay, here it is. ‘All the fat is the L ORD’S .’ ”
I covered my face with my hand and kept my chuckle inside. I could just hear Shirleene delivering her line in aerobics class, rallying the others the same way she did with her, “Shake what yo’ mama gave you!” line.
“I looked it up,” Amy said, defending Shirleene’s choice. “The chapter is about sacrifices. I told Shirleene that, and she said we’re supposed to be living sacrifices. So when we get burned up ounce by ounce, it means that all the fat can very well belong to the Lord. It’s our own little praise offering to Him.”
I grinned at Amy, letting her know she didn’t have to worry about offending me. Her explanation was honest and delivered without any disrespect for the great God in heaven whom I knew she honored.
With a tip of my orange juice tumbler in her direction, I leaned back into the cushiness of first class. “I’m not my mother, Amy. You can quote any verse you want to me at any time, and I will be happy to hear it.”
Amy lowered her chin. “Then I guess I should tell you my personal favorite.”
“I’m all ears.”
“It’s Revelation 3:2.”
“Ah, an end-times verse!” I said, knowing that as the last book in the Bible, Revelation carried all kinds of passages that were subject to a variety of interpretations onhow the world was going to end. Perhaps Amy’s verse also was open to an assortment of interpretations.
“Actually, it’s more of a midlife verse that applies to a woman like me who started to lose weight and
Our flight attendant offered to take our coats and hang them up. He then offered us orange juice, which was served in glass tumblers. Amy and I clinked the rims of our glasses in a toast, and Amy said, “Oh, taste and see that the L ORD is good.”
It seemed an odd choice for an orange juice toast. As soon as I got the pulp out of my teeth, I asked, “Did you just make that one up?”
“That one what?”
“That toast about tasting to see that the Lord is good.”
“No, it’s a verse. In Psalms.”
“I thought it sounded familiar.”
Amy leaned closer. “I’ve been working on a sort of secret project.”
“You have? Something other than this trip?”
She nodded. “I’m collecting verses that have to do with adjusting my eating habits. I’ve memorized some of them, and I’m thinking of having them printed up on little cards or maybe made into posters. Shirleene said I should have them made into refrigerator magnets. She said some of them would act like a stop sign whenever a person went after something in the fridge she shouldn’t be eating.”
I’d never noticed verses that had to do with eating habits in the Bible. But then, I’d never looked for them.
“What are they?”
“Do you mean what are the verses?”
“Yeah, I want to hear some of them. You’ve got my curiosity going.”
Amy looked as if she was blushing a little. “Okay, first you have to keep in mind that they’re supposed to be for encouragement, and they’re not all supposed to be taken literally.”
“That’s okay. Go ahead, tell me some of them. I want to hear.”
“Okay. Well, there’s Isaiah 55:2, ‘Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good.’ ”
“That’s a good one,” I said. “Especially the ‘eat what is good’ part.”
“Right. Okay. And then Proverbs 16:24, ‘Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.’ ”
“Very nice.”
“Then there’s Shirleene’s favorite. Actually, she’s the one who got me started in looking up these verses, because she told me that Leviticus 3:16 was her life verse.”
“Her life verse? From Leviticus 3:16? Are you sure she didn’t mean John 3:16?”
“No, it’s Leviticus 3:16. I’m sure.”
“So what is it?”
Amy hesitated, as if she had to explain to me that Shirleene said or did things out of the ordinary.
“Come on, Amy. I know Shirleene. I can take it.”
Amy grinned. “Okay, here it is. ‘All the fat is the L ORD’S .’ ”
I covered my face with my hand and kept my chuckle inside. I could just hear Shirleene delivering her line in aerobics class, rallying the others the same way she did with her, “Shake what yo’ mama gave you!” line.
“I looked it up,” Amy said, defending Shirleene’s choice. “The chapter is about sacrifices. I told Shirleene that, and she said we’re supposed to be living sacrifices. So when we get burned up ounce by ounce, it means that all the fat can very well belong to the Lord. It’s our own little praise offering to Him.”
I grinned at Amy, letting her know she didn’t have to worry about offending me. Her explanation was honest and delivered without any disrespect for the great God in heaven whom I knew she honored.
With a tip of my orange juice tumbler in her direction, I leaned back into the cushiness of first class. “I’m not my mother, Amy. You can quote any verse you want to me at any time, and I will be happy to hear it.”
Amy lowered her chin. “Then I guess I should tell you my personal favorite.”
“I’m all ears.”
“It’s Revelation 3:2.”
“Ah, an end-times verse!” I said, knowing that as the last book in the Bible, Revelation carried all kinds of passages that were subject to a variety of interpretations onhow the world was going to end. Perhaps Amy’s verse also was open to an assortment of interpretations.
“Actually, it’s more of a midlife verse that applies to a woman like me who started to lose weight and
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