It Only Takes a Spark...

Greetings in the name of our Lord! He is the One Who sustains us, loves us, protects us, guides us, and when we call upon His name, HE IS IN CONTROL! If you feel your situation is out of control, then stop right now and invite Him to take over! AMEN!

This past weekend I had a chance to visit with a beautiful, elderly lady who has been a spiritual mentor to me for most of my life.  She is an amazing woman of God and a true depiction of what the Bible says in Titus 2:3-5 “Older women are to teach what is right and good,  so that they may encourage young women to tenderly love their husbands and their children,  to be sensible, pure, makers of a home [where God is honored], and good-natured…”

During our conversation she said something powerful: “Yenise, I have never gotten into trouble for keeping my mouth shut. But I have suffered many consequences for those times I didn’t!” 

Wouldn’t you know that the Bible agrees?

James 3: 5-6 “A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!  It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”

I certainly wouldn’t want to bring destruction because of something I said, nor would I want to turn harmony into chaos, or much less, go up in smoke because of my speech. So I loudly “amened” my mentor’s wise words over and over and nodded my head heartily in agreement, and then last night I OPENED MY BIG MOUTH!!!

I will spare everyone the details of the vulgarity that I spewed at my husband in front of my kids and their lovely spouses. Even the dogs stopped for a moment, cocked their ears, and looked at me funny. But I can assure you that what I said right from the pit of hell. Ugh!

What is wrong with me? I wished I could have taken it back. But at least I had the good sense to apologize immediately, and Jorge quickly forgave me. 

Moving forward, I am asking the good Lord to remind me that I will never have any regrets if I KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Your Word gives good advice. If we follow Your wisdom we will avoid setting off forest fires with our words. Help us; it’s never worth it! In Jesus’ name, AMEN.  

Choose Faith~

I trust you all had a wonderful weekend:)

 

What kind of people are we? Allow me the pleasure of answering that question:

 

Hebrews 10:39 "But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved."

 

There are those out there who, when trouble comes their way, become fearful or refuse to acknowledge it. They hope that whatever is wrong will go away on its own. What is the result? Destruction.

 

But that's not our case. We have learned that no matter what we will pray. We have faith, and we are saved.

 

There are moments when we will have fear, but we will turn it around and go from being cowardly to courageous.

 

Why? Because destruction for someone we love or even for ourselves is not an option when the Most High God Creator of heaven and earth is on our side.

 

Case in point--my friend whom I'll call A.

 

Yesterday her daughter got married to an amazing young man! The wedding was beautiful and the reception a true celebration of love, family, and friends.

 

But A has had plenty of difficult moments in her life. Not only is she herself currently undergoing chemotherapy, her brother died of cancer six weeks ago. She, however, did not let that stop her. She did not give in or give up. Rather, she exercised her faith--sometimes every moment of every day--and plugged into God for His strength. I watched her glide around the party welcoming guests with such warmth. If I would have had a crown at that moment I would have gladly placed it on her head and declared her the Epitome of Grace.

 

At one point she made a bee line for me and we exchanged hugs. I choked up because I have such profound respect for her. She is one of my faith heroes, and I hope that her story will inspire each of you to engage. Use your faith! Never shrink back! No matter what it is, declare today that there will no destruction in your future--only salvation.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Every day we have a choice. We can either turn away and become despondent, or we can use our faith and have victory. We choose faith, and we choose You. Help us today. In Jesus' name, AMEN~