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.  

Perfect Harmony~

Good morning! Finally--some sunshiny weather:)

 

One of you dear and precious souls wrote to me asking why I am such a fan of marriage. First, thank you for noticing, and second, it's because there is no other institution on earth that will contribute to our personal growth, maturity, and happiness like having a spouse and/or children will.

 

Maybe some of us don't think personal growth, maturity, and happiness are important, but let's face it--do any of us really want our kids hanging around the house until they are 40? Sleeping in until 1PM? Yelling at us and making demands?

 

Sure, they could live with someone without being married, but do a simple Google search and ask, "Does living together lead to marriage or long-term relationships," and article after article will confirm that no, no way, nope, sorry, ain't gonna happen...

 

Colossians 3:12-14 says, "Put on then, as God's holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other...and above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

 

I love that we are God's beloved. And I love that we have a choice as to what we will wear. But what I love the most is that choosing how we will dress will directly impact the quality of our lives. Putting on love leads to perfect harmony, or as another version of the Bible states, "Above all, be loving. This ties everything together perfectly."

 

Love ties everything together perfectly--how perfectly wonderful! And while this verse if for everyone--marrieds and singles alike--those of us who are married, know that the day-in day-out of living in a committed relationship will push our buttons like nothing else on the planet. It brings out the best and worst in us, which makes it the ideal setting for us to practice all the virtues in the verse above.

 

Why bother? You may be asking. Because again, the promise in the verse is that when done right it leads to perfect harmony. I want this for myself and my kids. And I want it for you too.

 

Are you kidding me? I can't wait for my kids to have kids themselves so they can then come running to me with teary eyes and apologize for the stuff they did, like sneak out of school in the trunk of a friend's car every day for a semester or set fire to the terrace, and then profusely thank me for keeping my cool when they deserved for me to throw shoes at them. ( I may have done this once or twice.) But honestly, over the years I learned (I am still learning) to keep my judgments to myself for the greater goal of living in peace.

 

It's the circle of life, and we should embrace it. Start asking God now to send your child or to send to you a suitable companion. One who will embrace the truth contained in today's verse. One who will purposely be compassionate, kind, humble, patient, forgiving, and above all else, loving. Sorry, folks, but anything else other than that is being mean, angry, unforgiving, proud, and hateful. And that, as I am fond of saying, is highly unacceptable.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Perfect harmony sounds great, and if You are saying it's possible, then we are on board. Help us to "dress" this way so that we attract someone who clearly understands that if we practice what we preach, then they better as well. In Jesus' name, AMEN~