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Here it is - article time for the monthly newsletter, a
job I do
not do well,
nor do I like. Especially this time, for it has been:
A Tearful Week,
A Long Week, A Hard Week, A Painful Week, A Lonely Week, A
Revealing Week, A Prayerful Week, A Scriptural Week, A
Friendship Week, A Rededication Week, A Roller Coaster Week, A
Life Changing Week, A Week I Hope to Forget-But A Week I Know
I Never Will.
It has also come to my attention this week that many of
you don't have a clue who I am. After considerable
prayer and talks with the Lord (Yes, I do have conversations
with Him.) I have been compelled to write. My Family and
I have been through great struggles in our lives. I
learned early in life to expect trouble, and I am grateful to
have been given the tools to get through the trials of
life. The greatest of these tools is The Word of
God. Some of you may have a favorite verse or two.
The first place I turn to in hard times is the book of
James. I start with James 1:2-5. (Sometimes I wonder why
I have been given so much joy.) Then I go on to verse 12, "Blessed is the man who
perseveres under trial." I continue to read "The Golden
Rule" James 2:8 (The Royal Law: "Love your neighbor as
yourself.") Many of us stop there - I always continue
with the "BUT
- if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as
lawbreakers." (2:9) As I continue through James I note
all my highlighted words. (Yes, I write in my Bible. I can also tell
you who preached what verse on which date and how many times
it has been repeated - one of my quirks.) James 2:18, "I
will show you my faith by what I do." This is a very
difficult thing to do in today's world. This is one of
the times where the, "do as I say- not as I do," we tell our
children comes back to haunt us. James 3, the most
difficult, most highlighted in my bible.) This chapter is
about a very small part of the body - the tongue, which can be
very uplifting or cause severe spiritual damage. Usually
by its use, sometimes by its silence. Which brought me
to another realization this week: What we are told as
children, "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words
will never hurt you," is a LIE! It should be -
but words will
break our hearts. One of the ways we use to overpower someone is
by yelling. Fact, in the Solomon Islands villagers
felled a tree by yelling at it for 30 days. The tree
died. Great visual to keep in mind when voices begin to
rise. I have been told that I speak with too soft a
voice. (I'm wondering if that is a bad thing.) We were
told and we tell our children "think before you speak."
But do we listen? We use thoughtless and hurtful words;
sometimes on purpose and sometimes we don't realize the pain
we inflict. I was labeled divisive and divergent this
week. I have been accused by some of using "big
words." I even ran to my dictionary on this
one. It hurt and I was not sure why. I try to be
as congruous as the next person. Well, maybe not.
I do funny things to my hair quiet often. I
enjoy all
kinds of
music. I do think worship is participative and not a
passive experience. I guess to some of you I would be
divergent. I believe Jesus was very divisive in his
time. So maybe I shouldn't feel so bad. I added
some new highlights to my bible this week: Ezekiel 36:24-27,
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you," and
Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a
steadfast spirit within me." I was thinking Valentine's
Day - heart - Feb. Newsletter, which led to these
passages. (Lord knows I needed renewing.) Maybe what I
needed was a heart transplant to replace the one that was
broken. (I have been told I have a very weird way of
thinking.) A transplant done by a skilled physician,
unlike the
physician I had last year. A divine
transplant,
where healing begins and as promised, your new heart is
capable of perfect love. Your self-centeredness is now
Christ-centeredness. Now who of you could use
that? Where there is a balm for the bitterness.
You can face the world with a new freedom and future. A
changed heart, a changed life. With this new heart you
can love the unlovable, be kind to the unkind, and forgive the
unforgivable. (Even the divergent) All because you
have a new heart. You have God's heart! So in this month
of LOVE, Plant a tree, Hug someone, Join a circle, Send
flowers & CHOCOLATE, Practice lowering your voice, Raise
it in a Praise Song, Clap your hands, Apologize to those you
have hurt and get a Heart transplant!
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