Keep Your Mouth Shut

Greetings,

Just a few short minutes ago I was having a conversation with Jorge concerning one of our adult children. Bordering on exasperation, I concluded by saying, “Sometimes the wisest thing to do is keep your mouth shut.”

Can you think of a time when keeping your mouth shut spared you trouble? Spared you making things worse? I can, but I can also tell you it’s not easy.  That’s why God encourages us to “…pray about everything” (Philippians 4:6). 

Prayer is the one sure approach we can take in any and every situation.  Not talking, nagging, explaining, cajoling, begging, or imploring others.  Besides, He welcomes us every single time we want to talk with Him and does not put a time limit.  I can honestly say I do not have one relationship where I have this incredible freedom.  

PRAYER: Dear Lord, sometimes we want to be heard and let our opinions be known.  Sometimes we really want to make a point because it’s important to us.  And sometimes we really just want someone we love to listen because we have something wise to offer.  Thank You that You always hear us, our opinions matter to You, and You can influence those we love better than we can.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Divine Inspiration~

Greetings :)

Nehemiah 7:5 "So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families."

Nehemiah spoke those words above, and he credited God with inspiring him with finding a way to strengthen his beloved Jerusalem. He needed those on the outskirts to relocate to the holy city, and a census did the trick.

Our goals may be different from Nehemiah's, but isn't it great to know that God speaks to our hearts?

This is a life-changing truth. Maybe you can't get through to your child's or your husband's thick skull. And constantly trying will get you labeled a nag. But there's another way. We can ask God to do what He does best: Speak into the heart of those we love. When He does, great things happen!

I personally love the idea of getting some alone time with my Maker and asking Him to embrace my family--one by one--and speak beauty and wisdom and guidance into their hearts.

Let's pray!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for speaking into our hearts. We all give credit where credit is due, and we know that You are behind all Divine Inspiration. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Timing is Key~

Greetings:)

 

Proverbs 25:11 "A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray."

 

OK--Today I need to clarify because one of you lovely and precious children of God wrote back to me to say that you have tried repeatedly to "impress" God into the heart of your teenager, but all you have gotten are hostile stares, and one time, you swear you were almost physically attacked.

 

After a little more digging, you and I discovered that your timing might be off--just a tad. Maybe right when they wake up and are in a hurry to get to school on time and can't find matching socks is not the best moment to declare, "Jesus is your friend; don't disappoint Him!"

 

When I said yesterday that if I were to have waited until my children were receptive before speaking..., it was meant largely as a joke in order to make a point. The point being that there will be times when you have to speak up no matter what.

 

But in the grand scheme, we all instinctively know when our kids or husbands or friends or relatives are in the right frame of mind to hear what we have to say.

 

When Rayray was in 10th grade her very best friend in the whole wide world was diagnosed with a brain tumor. (Breathe a sigh of relief right now because it turned out to be benign, and she is perfectly healthy today).

 

It was a mega scary time for everyone, and Rayray camped out by her friend's side--at one point even sleeping on the waiting room floor--for two weeks until she was released from the hospital. She would not leave her friend's side, and I remember thinking at the time that Rayray is going to take good care of me when I am geriatric.

 

To say that Rayray was exhausted is an understatement. She was emotionally and physically spent, and I reigned in the Jesus talk.

 

"Mom is praying for you and your buddy"...is about all I said. And even when Rayray came to me one night and was crying her eyes out and wondering whether her friend would be OK, I did not, I repeat, I did not sermonize the moment and rant on and on about getting a grip--Jesus heals--He's in control...

 

In other words, sometimes we impress our kids and others the most when we just hug it out instead of talking it over.

 

A few weeks after everything happened, when Rayray was relieved and happy to have her buddy back, we went over everything that happened and concluded that God deserves the highest of praise, or as the young folk might say, the highest of props.

 

We thanked Him so very very much for the postivive outcome, and Rayray came away with a little treasure impressed on her heart that God hears the heartfelt, desperate prayers of two teenaged gal pals. Glory and Hallelujah!

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Give us wisdom. Help us to speak at the right moment. There is so much we want to say sometimes, but we must be wise not to overdo it. Help us to remember that saying the right thing is only valuable when said at the right time; it's a beautiful and lovely thing. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

It's OK to Nag~

I hope you are all sitting down for this because you will be shocked: My children complain about me!!!!

Their number one complaint? "Stop preaching!"

When Hormone got married he and Rayray had a brief meeting about how she would now bear the brunt of all my sermonizing by her lonesome.  Boo hoo!

You know what I say? "It's my job!"

More than once I have said that if someone has an issue with my "turning everything into a life lesson," then they should file a complaint with God Almighty.

Deuteronomy 6:5-8 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

Not only are we to keep God front and center in our own lives, but we have the awesome and amazing responsibility to "impress" God's ways on our kids.  I like to think of it as God's permission to nag.

If He is saying to talk about it at home, on the road, when you go to bed and when you get up...then it's a daily responsibility.

Why every day? Because all the other junk out there doesn't take a break, so we should not either.  

There is so much garbage out there competing for our kids' attention, and the majority of it will hurt their souls.  We fight that constant barrage with a barrage of our own.  Sometimes--OK--a lot of the times--our kids are going to get annoyed by it.  But notice how these verses do not say to only talk about God if the children are receptive.  Please! If I had to wait for my kids to be receptive I might have forgotten how to talk altogether.

Let us not shy away from engaging our kids in the types of conversations that matter.  No one else has a problem strutting their point of view.  

Back in 1992 I was taking a class, and someone I made friends with brought in a very popular book by a very popular singer that dealt with the topic of sex.

Everyone in the room gathered around her desk to look at the provocative pictures except me--the nerd.

Here I was a 27-year-old mother of two and all I could think about was a song my mother sang to me a million times, "Cuidadito tus ojitos lo que ven..."

"Be careful little eyes what you see..."

You never know when something you have taught your kids will pop up and have a positive impact.  It might not have been a big deal that I didn't look at the book except that, for whatever reason, it kind of made an impression on the girl who brought it in.  She and I became friends after that and were able to pray together a few times for some struggles in her marriage. Glory:)

Let us ask God for the strength and perseverance we need to engage our families every single day.

PRAYER: Dear Lord,  Sometimes we get tired.  Tired of all the bad stuff out there and tired of having to shield ourselves and our families from it.  Strengthen us today for the struggles of this day, and thank You that we are promised the blessings of peace and joy when we do the hard work of "nagging."  In Jesus' name, AMEN~