He asked me, "Do you really think 45 minutes is going to wipe away all the hours of this past week?"

 Ahhh, Sunday morning, everyone rushes to put on a happy face and walk across the parking lot to greet friends and grab a welcoming hug.  Visitors look on wondering if this is really how it is...these people are actually glad to be here?  Encouraging words shared and pleasantries exchanged while friends quickly shove down the frowns that lined their faces moments prior.  We all put on a good face in front of others.  Christians, old and new, have mastered the art of presenting that all is great and church is the best place to be.  Is it really?

As we walked into Sunday school, a friend made a comment about hurrying to get to class which prompted Ted to ask me this question.  "Do you really think 45 minutes is going to wipe away all the hours of this past week?"  It made me stop because I wasn't sure what he was saying and if he was saying it to me or to someone else.  "What!?"  Again, he asked the question and added how silly we are to rush about like we are earning God's favor on Sunday morning when we have ignored God the entire week as we surfed through social media filling our minds with the influencers and junk of the day and got slammed with the filth of this world filling our hearts and minds. 

Ouch!  It stings a little when put in those terms, especially as we are on our way into the church building.  Seems a little harsh when those thoughts or pictures of what the Christian life is to look like are put into spoken words.  No one would ever say out loud, well, almost no one!  My husband has a way of saying things that stop me dead in my tracks.  I felt a little bristly at the timing of it all, but he is not wrong!

 We are nice and polite and proper to put on the mask of a good, respectable person while God calls us "whited sepulchers full of dead mens bones", but we all made it to church!  Why go through the motions?  Because people are watching the outward actions...but God sees our hearts.   Whoops, always seem to forget that part!  Why do you go to church?  To feel better?  To check the box?  

We walked into the class and settled in with our niceties and the Sunday school lesson started.  Then came the morning message, both the SS teacher and Pastor hit the same idea.  I marvel at how God works through all circumstances.  I've been meditating on the thoughts ever since.

Actually, we do feel better when we worship with God's people.  But it is so much more meaningful and helpful when we have spent time with God all week in our private times of Bible reading, meditation on what we are reading, and in prayer.  My relationship with God isn't just a Sunday checklist thing!  I need to seek His face every day.  I "Look to the Lord" for the needs I have in life.  The influencers of today come and go.  Their opinions and helpful tips change with the seasons.  My "Strength for the day comes from the Lord" when we seek His face and ask for His wisdom.  Am I seeking God all week long?  Or just on Sundays?  A 45 minute lesson and message are not enough to counteract the hours in the week that I spend doing everything else.

Needing to remember what is happening in our world right now!

March 2020

The month...the moment in history...that our nation is in turmoil.  Many states shutting down.  Our life has been turned upside down here in Michigan.

Ashlynn came home from college for a spring break weekend.  We picked her up March 12.

Governor Whitmer closed all the schools private and public in an 11 pm address March 12.

Our school announced we would be closed for two weeks after spring break March 13.

We enjoyed spring break as a family...and found out that Ashlynn would not go back to college till later...April 6.  We cancelled our trip to TN to take her back and take Alisa and Teddy for a college tour at Crown.

Our church services are now online indefinitely starting March 15.  We gather in the living room cuddled in blankets with naughty dogs.

Ted started working from home March 17 indefinitely.

The kiddos kept working at Dairy Twist...with a list of directives for how to return to our home...the safe zone!

March 23 we all began home schooling and working.  We got this...we have done it before!

Fear is swallowing our state...our country.

Shelter in place order handed down from our governor...anything non-essential is to be avoided.

Hundreds of thousands of people are now without jobs.  No evictions.

April 2, our governor closed all schools for the rest of the year.  

Alisa's senior year looks a lot different than we could ever imagine.  Ashlynn's first year of college looks different.  In all of this...I am blessed and thankful as I watch our family come together to deal with circumstances that are not our choosing.  We've had hard times before.  We have seen God take care of us.  We will continue to trust Him.

2018 It has been a year...almost...since I posted here.

It isn't for lack of learning!  It has been for a lack of choosing to take time to put all my thoughts in writing.  I have had to once again stand and watch and wait.  Then I have had to focus my time and energy to doing what I needed to do.  I have watched the mercy drops fall gently around me.  At first they started gently...but then...they became showers of blessings.  All I could do was stand and watch and say, "I don't know why, Lord.  It hurts every time, but I will trust You because I watched You protect and provide for me before.  Thank You, Lord, for teaching me again that You are in control and You have something for me to learn in every circumstance!"

As I ministered to the needs of one of our children, the thought came to me, "Why?  Why this?  Is it really necessary?  We can't do anything about this.  Why aren't You using people to fix this who can do something about this?"  And then I remembered...to be still and wait and watch...asking the Lord for wisdom to help someone weaker than I to be able to "handle or deal" with this type of situation...and I thought of the umbrella.

We are surrounded by people.  People have storms in their life, and often they aren't prepared for those storms.  Because we work, live, and go to school with people...we will inevitably stand near or under someone else's storm.  We may be affected by that storm.  We can have our protective rain-gear on...and still get splashed by their mess.

I stand under the protection of God's care for me as His child.  I willingly 

ask for His help each day in my life.  But trials come...the wind blows that umbrella inside out sometimes...but I still cling to the umbrella and fight to get it back in the right position!  Even under His protection...the attack can seem to come from out of nowhere...and there you stand wondering what just happened and why!

I beginning to understand why we have experienced some of the storms in our life...so we can help our children!

Saw this the other day...

sometimes I need to be reminded!

I've been wearing my running shoes...

and have left my slippers in the closet lately!  One thing I have learned...if I don't start out my day with time set aside for the Lord...it doesn't happen.  I trip.  I stumble.  I go the wrong way.  I fall...and usually it is not a graceful slow fall.  It is an all out ugly face plant.
After being home for several years, my world has been turned upside down working full time.  Our whole family has pitched in to make the adjustment...because there is no way I could keep up otherwise...since I am that weaker vessel!  The Lord did allow me to work into the idea a year ago as I began substitute teaching.  I knew I could handle it...with help!  I will not lie...I liked the freedom of not formally working, but I had too much free time!  I did not want to be idle.  I did not want my family to suffer.  God gave me a job that works with our family schedule.  I am truly grateful to be able to help take some of the financial pressure off Ted's shoulders.  As our children continue to grow up, there are added expenses that come and will keep coming.  I am thankful for God's provision in all areas of life...and in the changes of life situations.  I still hold to the truth that the hardest place to maintain a Godly response to life is in the home!  I must remember:  1.)  I have an audience with God.  2.)  I have an audience with my family. 
I am living with that reality right now...not in my slippers, but with running shoes on for most of the day.  It is easy to put a happy face on to help others and then totally lose it at home because you are tired and because...well...you can...because you are home.  NO!  The people who are loving and supporting me (by helping me with projects at work and aiding me in the running of our home) deserve my love and respect no matter how tired I am!  I am thankful for the strength that God gives toward the things He has called me to do right now...and the list of things that haven't been on His list for me...have been easy to decline.  I can't do everything all the time, and He has given me the wisdom to ask Him and allow Him to lead in those decisions.  I want this life race He has given me to be run well and consistently.  These have been the thoughts I've been entertaining since March...and today...I've finally been able to stop and catch my breath before the next lap starts!  Onward and upward!

4 Pictures...1 Thing in Common

 Our time together during family devotions has been full and sweet lately!  Last night, as we sat and talked, we once again shared the needs that are on each of our hearts.  There are specific areas that each of us has asked our family members to pray for.  Ted asked us to share the different situations that we are dealing with...allowing each one of us to draw out the actual requests that we can bring before the Lord.  So many cares are represented in each situation...so many opportunities to pray for each other...so many different ways to remember each other throughout the day.  Ted looked around the livingroom as asked, "What do at least four of us have in common in the requests that we have shared?"  I knew right away...I have been playing that "4 Pictures 1 Word" game off and on lately!  The answer..."People!"  Wherever we go, whatever we do, whoever we are...we deal with people.  It doesn't matter what age we are...we will struggle at different points throughout our day as we interact with people.  We all have sin natures!  We all look out for number one first!  Some of us have asked Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior...which brings a change of heart and direction in life...or at least it should!  Uncle Pastor has been preaching through some of his favorite Psalms on the last two Sunday mornings.  On Sunday nights, he has been preaching on prayer.  God has given us the challenge and encouragement we have needed as a family!  We are thankful for the growing opportunities to share with our children.

Psalm 27 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. 4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. 5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. 6 And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. 9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. 11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

My prayer is that I would be the right kind of encourager to those around me.  It struck me last night...I am not around people as much as my family is.  I have been searching for a part time job to help our family.  God has not answered that in a permanent sort of way.  He has been giving me substitute jobs here and there.  I am thankful and I enjoy those times.  I am beginning to understand why God isn't moving in that direction!  He wants my focus to be on our home...to make it a welcoming place as these four loves make their way home each night.  They need to find a peaceful and comfortable place after being "beat up" all day with the cares of this world and satan's relentless attacks.  It was as if I finally got it through my head!  God doesn't need me out working a job...that, yes, would provide income...but at what cost?!  I need to fulfill my role as wife and mother as God orchestrated...ministering to my family.  We only get one chance at this...and we need to get it right!  5 Pictures of us...Giving God the glory...in every day life...and it isn't a game!

Being Challenged with things that are necessary

We have started a new quarter for our SS small groups, Abiding In Christ.  The first week was a blessing.  The second week hit me in the heart.  This next week looks to be more of the same!  As we study throughout the week, God brings to mind many of the verses in my daily activities.  In addition to these studies, we, ADULTS, have been challenged to memorize Scripture and allow ourselves to be held accountable.  The last time I witnessed adults being challenged to memorize Scripture...which is a command of God...I found out exactly what they thought of the authority of God in their life...and it wasn't pretty...and probably still isn't.  It astounds me!  Adult Christians...Christ followers...arguing with God's Words and dragging others down the path of unbiblical thinking... seemingly without care or thought for their spiritual welfare.  After much reading and study...memorizing God's Word and hiding it in your heart is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.  I guess that is the recent argument for not doing (or doing) the things we do these days.  How many people are we being stumbling blocks to on our path of life?   
I imagine the Lord sitting on His throne just shaking His head.
I know the good that has come from memorizing and meditating on God's Word these last couple weeks again.  It takes discipline to sit down and work on committing these verses to memory.  We expect our children to do it.  We ought to expect the same of ourselves.  Age doesn't give you a free pass on responsibility and accountability!  We can remember dates and statistics of ball teams and players, dates in history, the name of the person and deeds that were done against us, the sale price on that item in the store...
It has to do with our priorities and our desires.  It has to do with where we are "abiding" during the week.   Where is your permanent place of dwelling? This isn't an invitation for just a visit.
John 15:1-4
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:  and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.  Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine;  no more can ye, except ye abide in me."
Just because I have reached adulthood, doesn't mean that I am done learning and growing.  I am to be abiding...planted, flourishing, bearing fruit that remains.  From what I read and study, God is going to expect more from me as I age...because I know more...and I influence more people.  There are some necessary things in this Christian life...memorizing Scripture is one of them!

We have had such challenging messages and lessons...

that I am still thinking on and re-reading notes and passages of Scripture.  My heart is full of thankfulness for God's Word meeting each and every area of need I have!  We have been focusing on these different passages in our home each week. Our pastor has been preaching through a series on "Respectable Sins".  So often, we excuse certain things in our life and refuse to call it what it is...sin!  This week's topic...Sins of the Tongue.  OUCH!  My tongue hurts...just as much as my heart has hurt.  How quickly we brush off the sting of words...when we are the one speaking them!  It is not so easy to rid your heart of the hurt of words.  It is a daily battle...and God commands us to wage war! 
Ephesians 4:29
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth..."  Any speech that tears someone down, either the one we are talking about or the one we are talking to.  Have you ever thought about the fact that you can be tearing down the person you are talking to?!  Pastor challenged us with this thought..."When others stand before Christ to give an account, will we have helped them in areas in which they struggled?"  It is easy to think of "those other people" who tear people down and it is no secret...but what about me!?  There are people in my past that just the mention of their name reminds me of the hurt their tongues brought.  By God's grace, love and forgiveness has covered the hurt, so I can move one and continue to invest my life in others.  I should not put others at an arm's length because I have refused to let go of hurt!  I need to weigh each thought and word I speak!  Tearing things apart is fun and easy...building takes work and investment of your life...heart and time.  Pastor put it this way..."If I use my tongue to sin, it is not an "Oops!".  It is a window to my heart!  If my tongue is sinning...my heart was already sinning!"  Proverbs 29:20, Matthew 12:34-37, James 3:8-10  The hurt we endure should cause in us a heart of compassion for those whose hearts are filled with darkness.
"...but that which is good to the use of edifying..."  We have an obligation to line people up with Scripture!  Philippians 2:3, Proverbs 10:18, 28, Proverbs 12:22
"...that it may minister grace unto the hearers."  We must guard the heart that guides the tongue!  Psalm 19:14, Colossians 4:6
As we drove to school this morning, we were reviewing this verse and talking about times that we might be tempted to react with corrupt communication.  I shared with our children that communication doesn't just mean our words...it includes our actions (rolling eyes, dropping our head, hands on our hips...) and expressions (facial and sounds).  It hits me very personally and I see the same struggles in our children as we enter the next parenting chapter...pre-teen/teen. 
I am thankful for the preaching and teaching we are hearing as a family...and a husband who is leading us to focus our attention throughout the week on God's Word!  It is not for everyone else...it is for me!

There are days...

that you may have to say to yourself...out loud...many times...and even in front of a witness or two...
"It's not about me!  It is not all about me.  It's not about me and what I want!"
I'm thankful for the example of this to me today!  It is ok to let others know that you are struggling!  We all need help...and prayer is one of the greatest tools we have to help one another!

Sometimes...you stand alone even in a crowd!

"To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible."             I Timothy 4:10-16 
"...because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.  These things command and teach.  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation (manner of life), in charity (love), in spirit, in faith, in purity.  Till I come, give attendance (attention) to reading (God's Word), to exhortation (preaching and teaching), to doctrine...Meditate upon these things..."
When God works in your heart through the reading, teaching, and preaching of His Words...you may find yourself in a very lonely place...even when you are surrounded by people.  When you choose to think right, speak right, and do right...you just may lose connection with some people...because they don't like how you think, speak, and act.  It is not that you do it intentionally...but I believe that God's Holy Spirit is working intentionally through you.  He uses His children to do His work...and sometimes we don't even realize how He is working.  We may feel the effects...and sometimes those effects are hurtful to us, as people ignore or shun us.  Remember..."It is not about me!"  There is more to God's plan for this world than just me and how I am treated or feel.  It can be very lonely in the crowd...but we are to "trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, spcially of those that believe."
God needs believers to be examples of those things that He has taught us...lights to a dark and discouraged world.  We have hope.  We have peace.  We know the end of the story.  We know that we are never alone...even in a crowd.  It is not about me...it is all about Him.  Someday...I will stand alone before Him...and will be glad I followed Him...and not the crowd!

Read these words this morning...truer words could never be spoken!

William Arthur Ward said, “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”
After sitting around...most often a table...the last couple days with people, I have been made more aware of the simple needs we have.  It is easy to see the physical needs of people...but they need you to see the emotional and spiritual needs too.  Just a word, a hug, a question, an understanding nod, a prayer, a moment of your time...makes all the difference in falling apart into a puddle or being able to tackle the next step.  In talking with my sis yesterday, we talked about the importance of "...putting yourself in the shoes of another...how would you feel?  How would you want to be treated?"  Most often, we don't give it a second thought...because it takes time and would slow us down...or it would mean opening up and giving something of ourselves.  I then read through Daily In the Word and saw this quote.  2 Timothy 1:16-17 and Ecclesiastes 4:10
People have been encouraging to me, us...our whole family...in many ways.  As we are settling in and getting to know our new area, job, school, and church, I want to take advantage of each opportunity the Lord gives to give encouragement (the courage to go on) to another.  It makes a difference!  I know firsthand!

Too often...our hearts and minds are hard as rocks!

My heart must be submitted to His way and His will, but I must be in His word to even know how to submit out of a heart of obedience.  God wants to speak to me on a daily basis and He wants me to speak with Him.  How much pain and grief would be spared, if we would just spend the time at Jesus' feet?  My sis picked up these rocks for me.  What a reminder of the way that God wants to mold us!  The rocks were made smooth by the constant action of the waves on Lake Superior.  A drastic difference from the rocks found along the side of the scenic road that were blasted by dynamite.  What a contrast!

"Ask, and God will do. Give Jesus Christ a chance, give Him elbow room, and no man will ever do this unless he is at his wits’ end. When a man is at his wits’ end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get into touch with Reality. Be yourself before God and present your problems, the things you know you have come to your wits’ end over. As long as you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.

It is not so true that "prayer changes things" as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man’s disposition." Oswald Chambers

Some days are harder than others!

I spent time in His Word.  I prayed.  I listened to good music.  I have been trusting the Lord and leaning on His everlasting arms.  I suppose you could say "things are good".

But it amazes me how fast I can fall apart with one call, text, email, or post.  All those "good, peaceful feelings" turn into a puddle of tears and questions.  I literally walked around the house looking for things to do to keep busy.  Since the kiddos were outside again...I restarted KNVBC right in the middle of the song "Rejoice In The Lord...He Makes No Mistakes..." and had to go find another kleenex, started supper three hours early, the dishes got done, the floors cleaned, and the laundry folded.  To stop the wandering around the house and in my mind, I finally sat down and paged through the hymnbook.

"Day By Day"

"Be Still, My Soul"

I heaved a huge, relieving sigh as my thoughts began to level off and started another load of wash...just enough time to start diving off into the swirling thoughts again.

I sat down with a book I had started to read earlier this summer by Cary Schmidt, Discover Your Destiny:  Making right choices in a world full of wrong.  He wrote this book with the 15 to 25 year old crowd in mind, but this almost 43 year old has needed the truth presented in this book!  When I picked the book up again yesterday to begin reading, I discovered I was about halfway through it...beginning the chapter on God's Wisdom and then followed by the chapter on Faith.  I read for a couple hours...just to keep my mind focused on the goodness of God in my life.  I cried through several passages...specifically on page 172...

"God is our loving, heavenly Father, and He has spent an eternity conceiving a master plan for our lives (destiny).  We are the children in the back seat of life with scarcely the ability to imagine what God might have in store.  God offers us a "surprise" (by faith) plan that He knows we're going to love, if we just trust Him.  The moment we fully understand His plan we're going to thank Him for all of eternity...God is offering us a perfect will that far exceeds and surpasses the selfish ways for which we fight."

I found myself in such a place...and then there was a "surprise" that just threw me for a loop.

Psalm 32:8

Psalm 16:11

I said out loud, "Ok, God, I'm not going to fight.  I haven't yet and I'm not going to start now!"

Psalm 23 

God's plan for His people has been shown down through the ages.  I can trust Him!

Jeremiah 24:5-7

"God never promises a perfect, problem-free path.  His will includes a vast array of life experiences that range from the pleasant to the painful and everywhere in between.  The difference between God's will and your own is this...Your will might provide temporary joy from time to time...His will provides fullness of joy.  Your will might lead through painful experiences that you must face alone...His will provides strength, provision, security, and love during painful experiences that He foreordains...and in His will...you will have the sustaining peace that He is there, in control, carrying you through, and weaving something good in your life."

All things I have heard before and experienced, but in the midst of a meltdown,

I had to be reminded to think biblically!  It happens! 

Some days...it takes more time to get those thoughts and emotions under control...

and it matters Who you go to for counsel! 

Saw this quote...

and it made me think about how many times I "just keep my mouth shut" because "what difference would it make anyway?".  There are so many times I have an instant reaction to words that are spoken or written to me or in front of me, and I am stunned...by the ignorance, by the disappointment, by the anger, by the fear...very seldom do I answer instantly...outside of our home.  Thought and prayer go into when I speak, what I speak, why I speak, and how I speak to things...and there are times the Holy Spirit won't allow the words...and I am so thankful!  I don't have to "weigh in" on every topic or give my opinion for the world to see on things that don't matter in eternity.
"Speak only when you feel your words are better than your silence."
I think more often than not, satan uses these times to throw darts when I am "unprepared" in my mind...when I least expect to be ready to give an answer.  Sometimes...I know the Holy Spirit is keeping my mouth shut.  But I know there are other times...when I should or need to speak up for what is right...and cringe knowing the reaction to what I say will not be the popular thing and I will get back-lash.  I have spoken before and all it got me was a blot...just like Proverbs states. Proverbs 8  I guess what is hard for me to understand, it usually happens from people you "think should know better" or "have been taught God's Word". Then I stop short...everyone has a choice. Proverbs addresses that too!  Proverbs 9 and 10.
So many people have so much to say about everything all the time, and usually it is just ignorance feeding ignorance.  Proverbs 11  I guess that I have been through some testings and trials that have made me "grow up" faster than others through my forty-two years.  I think differently...always have...for I have also been "bought with a price" and my goal in life isn't have the most friends and fancy pant titles.  My goal is to glorify the Lord in all I do and say...so I tend not to spout off without first weighing the consequences.  I've witnessed what happens when people do that.  I've been on the receiving end of many rants, and the damage is never undone...and satan uses it to paralyze and defeat me.  Both sides of the spectrum are wrong.  When I speak, I want my words to administer grace and hope to the receiver...and maybe...hopefully, help them out of the pit of ignorance that they fell into...and others are adding to the muck there.  Proverbs 12
Isn't that what friends who seek to follow God's Word are to do?  "Iron sharpening iron?"
I think sometimes we need to step back....and read/hear the words we write, type, or speak...and view them from a Biblical perspective.  Read or echo the words out loud and ask..."Does that sound foolish?  Does that sound like I am walking in wisdom?"  "Would Christ speak from that mentality?"  "How much am I allowing the world's system to impact my thinking?"
I guess Proverbs is really affecting my thought life...my Daddy and Uncle preachers told me it would!  I'm thinking...if more people would spend time in that book...there would be more wise silence instead of foolish babbling.

Whoops...I was thinking again...

especially after reading Proverbs 21:21, "He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour."  When I follow after righteousness and mercy, I will find God's blessings.  A result from this...I will want to see others have the same.  How do I express that desire to others?  I can pray for them.  I can show them in my actions.  I can tell them.  Do I even try to express those things to others?  Do I even care?  I can do certain things and then totally destroy with the words I speak...and vice versa...I can say certain things and then destroy with my actions. 
The damage of both is great!  
I started thinking about some of my conversations in the last few days...What am I saying to people? What are we talking about?  What do I say just in passing?  Am I discreet in my conversations or do I babble and blab in a manner so that everyone around me hears? 
Do I discourage those with whom I speak? 
I've been thinking about a few of the discouraging things that have been said to me or to those that I love.  The words have made an impact that have nothing to do with right, mercy, love, grace, and truth.   
When we get ready to spout off or interject something into a conversation, we really need to stop and think.  Will I be administering grace to those that hear me?  Colossians 4:6  Would Christ speak these words?  Would I be bold enough to say the same words to Him?  Is what I am going to say edifying? Profitable? Helpful? Kind?  Ephesians 4:32
We are surrounded by people who think differently and are at different stages of life.  Christ was amongst various people groups too...yet He always spoke the truth boldly and in love...without sin.  His motives were pure and served His Father's purpose.  I submit that the words that have brought discouragement to me were out of selfish motives and purposes.   I understand that we all have different perspectives, opinions, and experiences.  But I do know that we all have something more we can learn...older and younger.  If we "have been around for awhile" and are God's children...we have much to learn about speaking discouraging words to those younger and still growing spiritually.  We are all at various stages in our Christian walk. 
Titus 2:4   There are those who may have walked where we will walk and those who have many years to their name, yet are spiritually immature and should be challenged to think God's Word. 
I Timothy 4:12

Proverbs 8:5
Romans 16:18-19
No matter where we fall in our years and maturity...we are responsible and will be held accountable for the discouraging words we speak.  
"Just because" or "we don't do things like that" or "we have always done this" or "you may think that is a great man" or "well, that is your opinion" or "that is their philosophy, not ours" or "it hasn't worked in the past" or "I don't agree with that"or constant complaining and disagreement...ARE NOT  reasons to give those who are still learning and growing!   
How many people are being discouraged in the work of the Lord...because of our spiritual immaturity? unbiblical thinking? lazy excuses? stubborn hearts? undisciplined tongues?
It is more than you actually want to think...or admit to!  Next time you ask the question, "Where is everyone?  Why is nobody here?"  Honestly, with many of the words, actions, and attitudes why would anyone want what we supposedly say we have?
Consider your words, actions, and attitudes...it just might be our fault!

There is a big difference!

Can God?

God Can!

It is a matter of faith. 

"This is going to take me awhile!"

I started on Monday and only just now finished chapter 3 in the book Twelve Extraordinary Women.  This isn't looking so well for me..."sitting and staring at the computer all day"...to view it from the kiddos' perspective.  Oh well.  I'm still deciding if I'd rather have a book in my hand...more mobile and not so heavy.  Ted had obtained some software to help him in his Bible studies and loaded it into my computer too.  What a neat tool!  Just by moving my cursor, I have so many study helps as I read my Bible.  I am amazed how many books, commentaries, dictionaries, maps, and etc. are available through this.  Technology is a wonderful thing to be able to use.  Ted kept sharing different things from his studying and reading.  His latest read has been Twelve Ordinary Men.  He also came across several different books he thought might be helpful and that I might enjoy reading.  He was right and he was kind enough to share! 

So I finished another book I was reading and learned how to navigate his "computer library".

With the software came the ability to print out the workbook that accompanies this book...oh my!  I finally decided to just read the book first and go back and do the workbook because I am so intrigued with digging deeper into the lives of these women.  So far...Eve, Sarah, and Rahab.

I know about these women and their role in the Biblical record...but just focusing on some specifics about them has been a blessing.  Each of them is more than just a character in a Bible story!  So often that is where we stop in our understanding of the who, what, why, where, when, and how of God's recorded words.  He gave us His words so we could know Him.  These were real women who lived in real places with real problems.  God used them in real ways to accomplish His purpose in His plan for mankind!

My heart is being stirred as I look a little bit closer at these ordinary women...

and the "memorable, life-changing encounters they had with the God of this universe".

What can and what will He do with me?

Romans 8:28-29

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Thoughts to start our morning...from Proverbs 15

A soft answer turneth away wrath:  but grievous words stir up anger. 

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright:  but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge:  but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge:  but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

A wrathful man stirreth up strife:  but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.

A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth:  and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD:  but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

The heart of the righteous studieth to answer:  but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.

He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul:  but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

We spent time reading, talking, and asking the Lord help us to use soft answers today.  In order to do that...we have to slow down considering what we know to be right according to God's Word.  Most often...we don't even slow down long enough to know we need to stop...and study our answer!  We talked about how satan will attack us as we obey what we learn in God's Word. 

We were alert and ready to face the day...choosing to please God. 

And then...

10 minutes after our time spent in God's Word...words were pouring forth...and it wasn't pleasant or good.

Another time of admonition. 

Be FAT!

Most of us do our best not to be fat.  I saw this thought and have thought about it ever since.  It is not talking about a physical state.  It refers to a healthy, spiritual state!
Be Fat..
FAITHFUL
AVAILABLE
TEACHABLE

Proverbs 24:30-32

"I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;  And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.  Then I saw, and considered it well:  I looked upon it, and received instruction."

I am learning that God brings us to many places in our life that require us to stop, take a step back, and see what is happening.  Sometimes we don't like what we see because we see our faults and our failures, but God wants us to consider all of those things well...in the light of His Word.  We need to look upon these circumstances, humble ourselves, and receive instruction...so we will be better prepared as we continue to live for Him.  God has given me several real life examples to point out the blessing or struggle of choices.  God uses mistakes to teach us.  He recorded the lives of real people with real problems.  He gave us His plan...the Bible...to direct us...to protect us.  He desires that we should obey!  When we choose to disobey, we will suffer.  We will make bad choices, but we must learn from them.  Then we need to understand that satan will work harder to attack the weak areas of our life.  He'll start in the home...and he'll go from there...as a roaring lion.  He knows when God is being glorified.  He doesn't play fair and uses many different tactics to stop the growth in the lives of believers.

verse 5

"A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength."

verse 10

"If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small."

We don't have to be afraid!  We know how the story ends!  The rest of the chapter talks about the reward that can be mine as I seek to obey His words His way.

verse 19-20

"Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;  For there shall be no reward to the evil man;  the candle of the wicked shall be put out."

What a wealth of truth there is in this book of Proverbs!  The last several months through Proverbs has been such a help and blessing to me.  It has been neat to share this book with our children each morning.  God knows just what we need for each day...and each month...it has been something different!  I look forward to starting all over next week with the new month...

wondering what truth God will direct my attention to each day for me to "consider well".