It
was a strange sight; an open Bible on the kitchen table,
surrounded by a half dozen cell phones, smart phones, and other
hand held communicators. But silver-haired Hope Tappin, a.k.a. “Gram”
knew the best way to shut out lots of distractions was to have each
of the teen girls turn off their gadgets and place them on the table.
She rather liked the arrangement. God's Word surrounded by
communication tools of today's generation. It was like the gadgets
were all putting scripture center stage. Now that's a great way to
start any gathering or adventure.
To
make today's adventure the best, Hope led the six young ladies in
prayer. After the amen Gram made good eye contact with each fidgeting
girl in the group. This discipler with knuckles that knew arthritis
first hand, so to speak, silently begged God to lead her actions and
words in these precious moments; to make an eternal difference in
these hearts around her.
Gram
began with, “Girls, I want to teach you about Baby Tweets.”
Before any of the girls could raise the question, Gram gave a smile
and repeated, “yes. I said Baby Tweets. Let me explain before you
all think I've lost my mind. I've been learning from you girls that
sending short messages to each other is called 'Tweeting'. And as I
heard Tamara and Candy begin describing it all to me, a while back, I
could see some great resemblance to some verses in my precious
Bible.” Hope's fingers again slid across the open Bible's pages
slowly, like caressing the cheek of a dear friend.
She
continued with her unusual Baby Tweets lesson for the girls. “God's
Word; our Bible is jam-packed with promises. And tons of them are for
you and I, right now; right where we live and learn. One of them I
really love. Turning a couple pages she had one of the girls read,
2nd Timothy 3:16. “The Bible says all of it is perfect
for rules, testing, correcting, and learning. And the next verse I
think is super. The next verse includes the phrase 'unto all good
work'. Girls. This Bible; God's Word is the perfect 'how-to manual'
for all the things we do, that honor God.
We'll learn more about that
as we get together more.” “So
because you all love to tweet, the Bible tells us what to tweet and
how. Now in the Bible, tweets are called 'proverbs'. Now these
proverbs or tweets are packed with powerful lessons for life; here
and now, and throughout our future; full of families and all. We need
to read them each day to strengthen ourselves but also share them
with schoolmates and others. If we don't, evil thoughts and evil
attitudes will take root and grow in us.”
Gram
was on a roll with, “now let's take this tweeting to another level.
In God's Word there is something wonderful that happened between two
soon-to-be mothers, who were cousins. Elizabeth's baby would be
called, 'John The Baptist'. The other mother would soon give birth to
Jesus our Lord. Well, in Luke 1:41, the Bible tells us that
Elizabeth's baby leaped inside her when Mary came in near Elizabeth.
Now, girls, the point here is that unborn babies hear the outside
words that their mother speak and hear. So then, when we read these
Bible Tweets; these Bible Proverbs out loud, the unborn babies are
actually hearing and learning God's unsurpassed directions for their
lives, even before they cry their first cry.”
“So,
strange as it sounds, you and I can, and should teach others,
especially mothers, how crucial Baby Tweeting is. Because it truly
pleases God, and sets a new life off on the right foot.
