"The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.” Proverbs 18:8
There have been times in my life when I have walked all the way around the block in another direction to avoid talking to a person who I know is a gossip. That was a drastic measure I know, but like the plague I try to avoid people who gossip!
There was a time in my life as a young girl when I was a gossip, so I know what they do. I used to take people’s information and think I needed to be the first one to tell everyone else! Somebody needed to tell them so why not me? Well, that came back to bite me. I won’t tell the story, but it was devastating; I learned my lesson at a very young age. I say all of that to let you know that I’m aware of how gossip hurts people. Like the verse says, it goes down like a tasty morsel but once it’s inside your heart…it literally makes you sick.
How do you avoid gossip? The first thing is to not listen! If someone begins to talk about another person or situation, walk away; end the conversation quickly before you hear something you don’t need to know. When someone starts their conversation with, “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this…but…” tell them they’re right. They probably shouldn’t be telling you whatever it is. If that doesn’t shut them up, then walk away, click off the phone, end it now before you regret it.
If you have problems with being a gossip, telling things you shouldn’t, then stop! You will never gain the trust of anyone if you are a gossip. You will lose the respect people should have for you if you are a talebearer. Is that what you want to be known for? Is that what a child of God should be doing? Dig a little deeper inside yourself and see if all the things you’re telling people really need to be told. Do you feel comfortable telling them or is the Holy Spirit telling you to zip it?
God makes it clear in this passage that being a gossip is something that will end up hurting you. It will harden your heart against compassion because you’ll hurt people with your words. Watch your mouth today. Make sure your words are lovely, not laced with gossip. Be a tasty morsel of good to someone today. You’ll love the results and it will be good for your heart!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Proverbs Piece #7 – Are You Overwhelmed Or Are You An Overcomer?
“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Proverbs 24:10
I love the translation of this verse in The Message where it says, “If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.” How very descriptive that translation is!
So how do you hold up in a crisis situation? Are you the level-headed one who goes immediately into action and knows exactly what to do? Are you the one who runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming and yelling and making no sense? Or are you the one who faints dead away?
I remember one incident when I was about eight months pregnant with my youngest child. I was down in the basement doing laundry when my oldest boy (about eight years old) came into the house and yelled for me. I could tell by the tone in his voice that something was really wrong. I ran to the bottom of the stairs and there he was, holding his head and blood was running everywhere. The neighbor boy had thrown a rock at him and he was bleeding profusely.
After hefting my large growing belly up the stairs as fast as I could, I quickly cleaned off the wound and knew it needed stitches, probably more than a few. I gathered the other kids in the car and raced off to the doctor’s office. I didn’t realize until later when we were all home, the stitches in place, and things were calm how mechanical it all happened. I didn’t scream or get upset during the crisis; I kept a level head and did what needed to be done.
This verse doesn’t just talk about a physical crisis situation, but spiritual adversity and trials, too. Where is our strength when a trial comes? Who do we lean on to get us through those tough times when we really don’t know what to do? If our strength is in the Lord and the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10), we will stand through the trial. If we rely on our own strength, we will fall or faint. “He doesn’t have a root in himself…when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, straightway he stumbles,” (Matthew 13:21). You can be a strong, handle-the-crisis person and still need to rely on God’s strength in the hard times. There is nothing written in God’s Word that says a leader or a person who can handle stress doesn’t need God. He should always be the source of our strength!
Keep digging in His Word to get your roots deeply planted so when the storms of life come you won’t be overwhelmed—you will be an overcomer!
I love the translation of this verse in The Message where it says, “If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.” How very descriptive that translation is!
So how do you hold up in a crisis situation? Are you the level-headed one who goes immediately into action and knows exactly what to do? Are you the one who runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming and yelling and making no sense? Or are you the one who faints dead away?
I remember one incident when I was about eight months pregnant with my youngest child. I was down in the basement doing laundry when my oldest boy (about eight years old) came into the house and yelled for me. I could tell by the tone in his voice that something was really wrong. I ran to the bottom of the stairs and there he was, holding his head and blood was running everywhere. The neighbor boy had thrown a rock at him and he was bleeding profusely.
After hefting my large growing belly up the stairs as fast as I could, I quickly cleaned off the wound and knew it needed stitches, probably more than a few. I gathered the other kids in the car and raced off to the doctor’s office. I didn’t realize until later when we were all home, the stitches in place, and things were calm how mechanical it all happened. I didn’t scream or get upset during the crisis; I kept a level head and did what needed to be done.
This verse doesn’t just talk about a physical crisis situation, but spiritual adversity and trials, too. Where is our strength when a trial comes? Who do we lean on to get us through those tough times when we really don’t know what to do? If our strength is in the Lord and the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10), we will stand through the trial. If we rely on our own strength, we will fall or faint. “He doesn’t have a root in himself…when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, straightway he stumbles,” (Matthew 13:21). You can be a strong, handle-the-crisis person and still need to rely on God’s strength in the hard times. There is nothing written in God’s Word that says a leader or a person who can handle stress doesn’t need God. He should always be the source of our strength!
Keep digging in His Word to get your roots deeply planted so when the storms of life come you won’t be overwhelmed—you will be an overcomer!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Proverbs Piece #6 – Listen to Your Father
“Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” Proverbs 23:22
Little girls have a “thing” for their dads. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something special that involves a unique connection.
As a little girl, I remember looking up at my dad and thinking he was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He had dark black hair and a big smile. His eyes were brownish and always twinkled. I knew when he spoke to me it was out of concern and care, and his reprimands meant business. I loved him dearly and still do. My daughter experienced the same thing with her dad, my husband Tom.
Now that my Dad is very old and feeble, my respect for my father remains. I listen to him and still hear that same care and concern in his voice. I have that same respect for my mother, although she’s not the same person she used to be. She has dementia. When she makes a crass comment to me, I know it’s not because she means it, it’s because she’s very sick and this illness is taking her away from us at a rapid pace.
As our parents age, they often lose touch with reality. They don’t care to learn new things; they enjoy the old things they know and are familiar with. They reflect on what’s happened in their lives and sometimes retreat to that place in their minds to rest for a while. They become easily confused and disoriented with the onset of certain illnesses which can bring on agitation. As the caregivers, we need to realize that inside that crippled arthritic body lies years of experience, knowledge, and many adventures. Treating them with little respect is like saying they don’t matter anymore.
If the last thing I can do for my parents is be respectful, then I will be. If it means I take some verbal abuse from a dementia patient, then I will. God tells us to “not despise our mother when she is old”; even though it’s hard sometimes, I’m working at it daily. Do you know why? Because I know that I could be there some day and would like people to treat me with respect. I’d want them to think of me as a real person, not just some body that can’t participate in society anymore.
God’s command to listen and respect our parents should not be taken lightly. Remember, someday…that could be you!
Little girls have a “thing” for their dads. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something special that involves a unique connection.
As a little girl, I remember looking up at my dad and thinking he was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He had dark black hair and a big smile. His eyes were brownish and always twinkled. I knew when he spoke to me it was out of concern and care, and his reprimands meant business. I loved him dearly and still do. My daughter experienced the same thing with her dad, my husband Tom.
Now that my Dad is very old and feeble, my respect for my father remains. I listen to him and still hear that same care and concern in his voice. I have that same respect for my mother, although she’s not the same person she used to be. She has dementia. When she makes a crass comment to me, I know it’s not because she means it, it’s because she’s very sick and this illness is taking her away from us at a rapid pace.
As our parents age, they often lose touch with reality. They don’t care to learn new things; they enjoy the old things they know and are familiar with. They reflect on what’s happened in their lives and sometimes retreat to that place in their minds to rest for a while. They become easily confused and disoriented with the onset of certain illnesses which can bring on agitation. As the caregivers, we need to realize that inside that crippled arthritic body lies years of experience, knowledge, and many adventures. Treating them with little respect is like saying they don’t matter anymore.
If the last thing I can do for my parents is be respectful, then I will be. If it means I take some verbal abuse from a dementia patient, then I will. God tells us to “not despise our mother when she is old”; even though it’s hard sometimes, I’m working at it daily. Do you know why? Because I know that I could be there some day and would like people to treat me with respect. I’d want them to think of me as a real person, not just some body that can’t participate in society anymore.
God’s command to listen and respect our parents should not be taken lightly. Remember, someday…that could be you!
Proverbs Piece #5 - A Sharing Machine
“Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.”
Proverbs 21:13
I’ve known some pretty stingy people in my lifetime. You couldn’t wring a dollar bill out of them if you tried. They’re the kind of people that never pay when you go out to lunch together. They scrimp and save for heaven knows what all their lives and they wouldn’t buy a box of Girl Scout cookies if it meant somebody else would get something out of it. I call that a pretty selfish life.
Can you imagine what it would be like to get to the end of your life and realize that all you’ve done in accumulating wealth all those years…amounted to nothing? No purpose was accomplished; no good came from it at all except to benefit you. If you’re thinking, “Well, what’s so bad about that?” then I suggest you read on a little farther to see exactly why it’s so bad.
God did not make us to stay cocooned in our own worlds and accumulate things. He gave and gives to us so that we will show His love through becoming a sharing machine! We should not be giving just what’s left over to the poor, but what they need.
Think about this for a moment. When we donate to Goodwill, most of the time we give old stuff that we’ve used and are trying to discard. But what would happen if…just if…we called Goodwill and asked them what they needed most and then went to our closets and gave exactly what they needed? Whoa! That’s a new thought!
The above verse also says that the selfish person “will also cry himself and not be heard.” Someone who is selfish often finds herself alone at the end of her life with no one who really cares about her. She calls the grocery clerk or the bank teller her best friend when she barely knows them. It’s so sad to see someone this lonely. When she is old she cries out for help but no one is listening.
Let me suggest this one thing to you. While you’re able, with what you’re able…give not only stuff, but also give of yourself to others. Be a friend. Enjoy what God blessed you with while you are alive. If you see a need, meet it to the best of your ability. If you have a chance to share with a family poorer than you, find out what they need and go get it for them. People will be drawn to you like a magnet when they see your true heart of unselfishness as you answer the cries of the poor.
Proverbs 21:13
I’ve known some pretty stingy people in my lifetime. You couldn’t wring a dollar bill out of them if you tried. They’re the kind of people that never pay when you go out to lunch together. They scrimp and save for heaven knows what all their lives and they wouldn’t buy a box of Girl Scout cookies if it meant somebody else would get something out of it. I call that a pretty selfish life.
Can you imagine what it would be like to get to the end of your life and realize that all you’ve done in accumulating wealth all those years…amounted to nothing? No purpose was accomplished; no good came from it at all except to benefit you. If you’re thinking, “Well, what’s so bad about that?” then I suggest you read on a little farther to see exactly why it’s so bad.
God did not make us to stay cocooned in our own worlds and accumulate things. He gave and gives to us so that we will show His love through becoming a sharing machine! We should not be giving just what’s left over to the poor, but what they need.
Think about this for a moment. When we donate to Goodwill, most of the time we give old stuff that we’ve used and are trying to discard. But what would happen if…just if…we called Goodwill and asked them what they needed most and then went to our closets and gave exactly what they needed? Whoa! That’s a new thought!
The above verse also says that the selfish person “will also cry himself and not be heard.” Someone who is selfish often finds herself alone at the end of her life with no one who really cares about her. She calls the grocery clerk or the bank teller her best friend when she barely knows them. It’s so sad to see someone this lonely. When she is old she cries out for help but no one is listening.
Let me suggest this one thing to you. While you’re able, with what you’re able…give not only stuff, but also give of yourself to others. Be a friend. Enjoy what God blessed you with while you are alive. If you see a need, meet it to the best of your ability. If you have a chance to share with a family poorer than you, find out what they need and go get it for them. People will be drawn to you like a magnet when they see your true heart of unselfishness as you answer the cries of the poor.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Proverbs Piece Number 4 – The Rich, the Poor and Everyday Dishes
“The rich and the poor have this in common the LORD is the maker of them all.” Proverbs 22:2
When I think of rich people I think of the Donald Trumps of this world who have more money than they will ever need. There’s even a ranking for the richest people in the world, but you can rest assured that most of us are not on that list! Those people live a completely different lifestyle than the common man. This verse tells me the more important thing is that GOD sees all of us as a wonder of His creation. He made me just like He made them. I love the old saying, “They get up and put their pants on the same way I do every morning…one leg at a time.”
Isn’t it amazing to think that God doesn’t put us into categories of goodness in order to love us? He doesn’t look at our clothes, our hair, or our stack of possessions and love us any more or any less. He’s not impressed by the wealth of a person like we sometimes are.
I have a question: What different preparations would you make if you knew Prince William and his new bride were coming to dinner next week, as opposed to if your husband invited three street people he met in the mission house that day? Would having royalty in your home make you fix expensive specialty foods or buy a new tablecloth and dishes with fancy flowers in the center of the table? What would you buy new for the street people? Would you set their place setting just like you would for the prince or would they get the everyday dishes? God tells us they’re both the same value to Him.
Watch yourself! You may not think you put people in categories, but you do. Think twice before you raise one person above the other. As far as I can see in the Scriptures, we are all on the same playing field in God’s game of life. You might want to check that Pharisaical hat at the door before it becomes glued to your head!
When I think of rich people I think of the Donald Trumps of this world who have more money than they will ever need. There’s even a ranking for the richest people in the world, but you can rest assured that most of us are not on that list! Those people live a completely different lifestyle than the common man. This verse tells me the more important thing is that GOD sees all of us as a wonder of His creation. He made me just like He made them. I love the old saying, “They get up and put their pants on the same way I do every morning…one leg at a time.”
Isn’t it amazing to think that God doesn’t put us into categories of goodness in order to love us? He doesn’t look at our clothes, our hair, or our stack of possessions and love us any more or any less. He’s not impressed by the wealth of a person like we sometimes are.
I have a question: What different preparations would you make if you knew Prince William and his new bride were coming to dinner next week, as opposed to if your husband invited three street people he met in the mission house that day? Would having royalty in your home make you fix expensive specialty foods or buy a new tablecloth and dishes with fancy flowers in the center of the table? What would you buy new for the street people? Would you set their place setting just like you would for the prince or would they get the everyday dishes? God tells us they’re both the same value to Him.
Watch yourself! You may not think you put people in categories, but you do. Think twice before you raise one person above the other. As far as I can see in the Scriptures, we are all on the same playing field in God’s game of life. You might want to check that Pharisaical hat at the door before it becomes glued to your head!
Proverbs Piece Number 51 – The Wise and the Foolish Sons
“A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.” Proverbs 10:1
Remember when your kids were four or five years old and you could see their individual personalities developing? You had one child who was always the leader, the one without fear, and another child who did not take chances because he watched what his older sibling did and learned valuable lessons.
As your children grew, you began to think what they might be when they grow up to be adults. Would the leader child be fearless in business or a renegade in some other job? Would he use his strengths for good or bad? Moreover, the child who was the follower would he be a thinker who charted his course carefully with gained knowledge?
This verse in Proverbs talks about sons and the different characteristics that appear in their personalities. The wise son makes a father glad or happy. The father is proud of the son’s accomplishments and probably brags about him often. Maybe this son is a chip off the old block and is acquiring attributes like his father.
But what about the other son, the foolish one who brings grief to his mother? How can a parent be proud of this son’s accomplishments? Often, the parent is grieved instead of proud of that son. The son’s or daughter’s actions have caused pain and heartache beyond belief. So do the parents give up on him or her? Do they throw him to the wolves to live in disgrace?
As a believing parent, the option of giving up on a child is out of the question. Hours and hours of prayer, tears, and years of pleading with God is what a parent should do. Tell some trusted friends about the situation and ask them to pray, too. There is much, much power in the prayers of God’s children. I have seen the results. I know the power of words prayed in earnest before a loving, listening, forgiving God.
Never give up. Never, never, never give up! The results you have prayed for may not happen in your lifetime, but God’s timetable needs to be played out for that son or daughter who is living in sin. They need to experience what HE has prepared for them to go through. So remember, He hears your every word and knows your deepest heartache. He knows what you pray for that child and hasn’t God told us He will give us the desires of our hearts? Turn all your children over to God, keep praying and love them with all your heart, no matter what.
Remember when your kids were four or five years old and you could see their individual personalities developing? You had one child who was always the leader, the one without fear, and another child who did not take chances because he watched what his older sibling did and learned valuable lessons.
As your children grew, you began to think what they might be when they grow up to be adults. Would the leader child be fearless in business or a renegade in some other job? Would he use his strengths for good or bad? Moreover, the child who was the follower would he be a thinker who charted his course carefully with gained knowledge?
This verse in Proverbs talks about sons and the different characteristics that appear in their personalities. The wise son makes a father glad or happy. The father is proud of the son’s accomplishments and probably brags about him often. Maybe this son is a chip off the old block and is acquiring attributes like his father.
But what about the other son, the foolish one who brings grief to his mother? How can a parent be proud of this son’s accomplishments? Often, the parent is grieved instead of proud of that son. The son’s or daughter’s actions have caused pain and heartache beyond belief. So do the parents give up on him or her? Do they throw him to the wolves to live in disgrace?
As a believing parent, the option of giving up on a child is out of the question. Hours and hours of prayer, tears, and years of pleading with God is what a parent should do. Tell some trusted friends about the situation and ask them to pray, too. There is much, much power in the prayers of God’s children. I have seen the results. I know the power of words prayed in earnest before a loving, listening, forgiving God.
Never give up. Never, never, never give up! The results you have prayed for may not happen in your lifetime, but God’s timetable needs to be played out for that son or daughter who is living in sin. They need to experience what HE has prepared for them to go through. So remember, He hears your every word and knows your deepest heartache. He knows what you pray for that child and hasn’t God told us He will give us the desires of our hearts? Turn all your children over to God, keep praying and love them with all your heart, no matter what.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The Proverb Piece #2 – The Generous Eye, Proverbs 22:9
“He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.”
Have you been looking around lately? There are all kinds of ways out there to bless people’s socks off! But, I know, sometimes it’s easier to divert our eyes from what needs to be done. Especially if it means we have to open up our wallets and purses! Wow, God’s asking me to give money? Now wait a minute.
In Matthew West’s song My Own Little World, he uses these words: “What if there’s a bigger picture? What if I’m missing out? What if there’s a greater purpose that I could be living right now!”
What great questions to ask yourself. What is that bigger picture or purpose God might have for you right now? Could it be that you need to turn a generous eye toward someone you’ve been ignoring whether or not on purpose? That homeless person, that invitation to an event to raise money for a worthy cause or that office worker in need needs you to turn your eyes on them. You need to actually see the need with a direct look, not a passing glance. Dip into your pockets and begin to experience the blessings of giving.
This verse says God will bless that person who has a generous eye. Don’t you want to be blessed by God? Do you know what that means? It doesn’t just mean God will bless you a little. It means God has a whole bunch of blessings He’s just waiting to give to those who see a need and meet it!
And just what could those blessing be, you ask? Have you ever been on a mission’s trip or gone to help a needy family and had a small child reach up and give you the biggest hug ever as their way of saying thank you? It’s an amazing experience. It makes you want to get down on your knees and say, “Why don’t I do this every day?” It makes you want to drop all your money on the table along with your leather shoes and new spring jacket and say, “Take this! It’s yours! What else do you need?” Now, THAT’s a blessing!
So open up your eyes today and see if there’s a way you can bless someone’s socks off. You just might be surprised how much YOU are blessed in the process.
Have you been looking around lately? There are all kinds of ways out there to bless people’s socks off! But, I know, sometimes it’s easier to divert our eyes from what needs to be done. Especially if it means we have to open up our wallets and purses! Wow, God’s asking me to give money? Now wait a minute.
In Matthew West’s song My Own Little World, he uses these words: “What if there’s a bigger picture? What if I’m missing out? What if there’s a greater purpose that I could be living right now!”
What great questions to ask yourself. What is that bigger picture or purpose God might have for you right now? Could it be that you need to turn a generous eye toward someone you’ve been ignoring whether or not on purpose? That homeless person, that invitation to an event to raise money for a worthy cause or that office worker in need needs you to turn your eyes on them. You need to actually see the need with a direct look, not a passing glance. Dip into your pockets and begin to experience the blessings of giving.
This verse says God will bless that person who has a generous eye. Don’t you want to be blessed by God? Do you know what that means? It doesn’t just mean God will bless you a little. It means God has a whole bunch of blessings He’s just waiting to give to those who see a need and meet it!
And just what could those blessing be, you ask? Have you ever been on a mission’s trip or gone to help a needy family and had a small child reach up and give you the biggest hug ever as their way of saying thank you? It’s an amazing experience. It makes you want to get down on your knees and say, “Why don’t I do this every day?” It makes you want to drop all your money on the table along with your leather shoes and new spring jacket and say, “Take this! It’s yours! What else do you need?” Now, THAT’s a blessing!
So open up your eyes today and see if there’s a way you can bless someone’s socks off. You just might be surprised how much YOU are blessed in the process.
The Proverb Piece #1 – Commit Your Works, Proverbs 16:3
“Commit your works to the LORD and your thoughts will be established.”
Most times I think this verse is taken backward—we think about something and then do the works. But here the Lord is telling us to DO the works and then our thoughts will be guided or established afterward.
Let’s talk about this. If you had the choice to step out in faith, what would it actually take for you to lead out in that first step? Would you have to have all your proverbial ducks in order, the last jot and tittle marked, and the entire process planned step by step? I have to tell you that I am not this person.
When the LORD lays something on my heart to do, I will most likely step up and do it now, not later. It is through this process that I have learned how to place complete trust in God. Some have equated it to stepping out of an airplane door 50,000 feet up and knowing beyond a doubt that your parachute is going to open. That’s me. If I am sure God has placed the work in my head to begin with then why wouldn’t He help me accomplish it? Maybe that’s why people think of me as the oddball. I have no fear of failure!
As I look at my life in retrospect, I can see how this commitment has helped me focus more on God. I truly believe if we are as close as we can get to Him through reading His Word and through prayer that He will direct our thoughts to do His works. Don’t let that work of kindness, that telephone call you need to make, or that job you need to do for someone pass by as a fleeting thought. If you’re living your faith-life as you should, God might have placed that thought in your head for a reason. Step out, do it now…without fear! HE will provide the blessing and your thoughts will be established on Him!
Most times I think this verse is taken backward—we think about something and then do the works. But here the Lord is telling us to DO the works and then our thoughts will be guided or established afterward.
Let’s talk about this. If you had the choice to step out in faith, what would it actually take for you to lead out in that first step? Would you have to have all your proverbial ducks in order, the last jot and tittle marked, and the entire process planned step by step? I have to tell you that I am not this person.
When the LORD lays something on my heart to do, I will most likely step up and do it now, not later. It is through this process that I have learned how to place complete trust in God. Some have equated it to stepping out of an airplane door 50,000 feet up and knowing beyond a doubt that your parachute is going to open. That’s me. If I am sure God has placed the work in my head to begin with then why wouldn’t He help me accomplish it? Maybe that’s why people think of me as the oddball. I have no fear of failure!
As I look at my life in retrospect, I can see how this commitment has helped me focus more on God. I truly believe if we are as close as we can get to Him through reading His Word and through prayer that He will direct our thoughts to do His works. Don’t let that work of kindness, that telephone call you need to make, or that job you need to do for someone pass by as a fleeting thought. If you’re living your faith-life as you should, God might have placed that thought in your head for a reason. Step out, do it now…without fear! HE will provide the blessing and your thoughts will be established on Him!
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