Words

This is one of my favorite songs right now.

Words by Hawk Nelson


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anVweXDcxhA


(Nelson is also the name of our dog.  That's just bonus random info for you)

Words can build us up, words can tear us down.  Start a fire in our hearts or put it out. 

Let my words be life.  Let my words be truth. I don't wanna say a word unless it points the world back to you.

I wanna speak Your love not just another noise.

The song speaks some serious truth.  I'm not sure we truly realize the power we hold in our words.  I'm also not sure that Christians listen to themselves all that much.  I mean really listen to what we say in regular conversation on a daily basis.

It often reeks of selfishness, arrogance, pride, harshness and criticism.  

Let's stop doing that.  It makes us look like idiots.  

And if someone points that out to us, we are quick to defend our reasons why we are justified in it...aren't we?  Sometimes God whispers to me, do you hear yourself?  Stop it.

And sometimes I want to say to other people, do you hear yourself?  (but that generally does not go over well ;)

But in my head I'm asking it. 

The Bible is clear.  This is one of a ton of verses, the Bible is not silent on the tongue.

Proverbs 18:21

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,
    and those who love it will eat its fruit.

We have the power to speak life to those around us, our husbands, children, friends, family, neighbors, community and strangers.  And internet land.  

Or...we speak death.  Which is another way of saying we crush people with our words, or tone, or our blabbering on and on about whatever.

Those around us, they hear us.  Whether we want to be honest with ourselves or not is up to us.  If you are brave find someone who will be honest with you and ask them the tough questions so that you can hear what you sound like. (and then when they tell you the truth, accept it.)   

What consumes my conversations?  

Am I quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry?

Who does most of the talking in conversations?

What does my attitude generally portray about me?

Am I an encourager or do I leave people feeling drained after being around me?

Where are my sights and perspectives?  Focused on temporal or eternal?

Well, you get the idea.  Go ahead, do it.  I dare you.  When I did it the first time...it wasn't pretty.  But through God's grace the answers to those questions are changing.  

The weird thing that I didn't expect, is that some people don't want to see you change!  They view it as criticism against themselves...and/or other stuff I don't quite understand.   So I go back to this truth:  God called me from the way I was speaking, and to a way to control my tongue in order to bring life to those around me.  I didn't make it up, and I can't do it on my own.  In Him and through Him, because ultimately:  I want to walk in obedience to Christ.  Who gave His life for me.

That's it.

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Lucy Turns 3

Saturday we celebrated Lucy's third birthday.  Well, we actually had a party for her the week before (with her cousin), which means we've totally confused her.  She has another party on May 12th.  Poor girl thinks birthdays happen at least three days a year.  

I can't even explain how much pink she has brought into our lives.

And in case you were dieing to know...no, I did not make the cake.  

Ha.

Three short years.  From this:

To This:

She is so much fun.  Happy Birthday Baby Girl.  Now it's unofficially, officially time to start potty training.  For real.  Tomorrow...

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Oh I Laughed...

Last night the whole family was spread out on the couches watching our favorite Sunday night series, The Bible on the History channel.   It got to the part where Jesus is in the desert, having fasted for 40 days and Satan arrives, in the form of a snake.

And then he's in the form of a sort-of human in a black cape...and when we saw his face both Ben and I gasped and looked at each other, and as our eyes met we knew we were having the very same thought.

"Don't say it!"  I whispered at him.  I didn't want the boys to hear us and repeat it.

But sure enough, one of the boys said "Satan looks like Barack Obama!"

And they were right. Here's a link to the picture.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of the president, but I respect the office he holds...I also don't go around equating him with Satan...but I'm not gonna lie, I chuckled.  

A lot.

Today I found an article from the producers of the show, they claim he bears no resemblance.  Pffff.  Again, I chuckled.

These are the things that entertain me during the Winter That Never Ends where I live.

The End.

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Life in Random

Let's Random, shall we?

• It's March 11th and we have, yet again, another snow day.  It hurts.  Is it possible to overdose on Vitamin D supplements? In my head I keep chanting, spring is coming spring is coming spring is coming.  Because it has to.
• Lucy is going to be three next month.  Wow.  She loves Dora, Strawberry Shortcake and most recently:  Spiderman.  I love being home with her...even on the days that she makes me crazy.  
• I have a new baby niece named Ella.  She is the cutest.

• We have been watching The Bible on the History channel on Sunday nights.  The boys love it.  It's been a great opportunity for dialogue with them.  They get annoyed with us pausing it all the time to tell them background info or to explain that certain parts of the movie didn't really happen like that.  But it's the perfect opportunity to see the Bible come to life and fill in truth in their lives.  
• 
  

Spring is coming.  Right?

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Eleven Days

Eleven days since my last post, yet it feels like I've lived eleven months worth of stuff in that time.

(Actually, it's now 14 days since my last post.  I started this one three days ago and then something else *hit the fan* so to speak.)  So it's a little inaccurate now.  Whatever.

*Deep, deep sigh*

Today all the kids are finally back to school and the flu has hopefully left our house for good.  

We had an ice storm, and then last night we had a thunderstorm.  In January. Weird.  It's like the weather is matching all the other crazy stuff going on.

(No worries though, because we also had a snow storm and school was cancelled three days this week...that's just part of the update for you.  Confused yet?  I am.)

Our tiny little church was a part of two funerals in the past two weeks.  

And some things you think would never happen.  Happen.

And you pray.  And pray and pray and pray some more.

Because life sometimes...well, it's terribly messy.  And hard.  And sometimes walking with people through their hard stuff brings a unique kind of pain.  

And sometimes you just want to blame it on the terrible month of January, and let yourself believe that if you can just make it to February 1st, it will be better.

Because maybe it will.  

A few weeks ago, I came across this verse from our Bible Study and although I'd heard it before, I heard it that time in a new way.

John 16:33

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus sets the bar at trouble.  "You will have trouble"  Period.  It's like He said to me, expect it.  Don't be shocked, and certainly stop trying to live life in ways to avoid the trouble.  Life is trouble.  But Jesus has told me the things I need to know and hear, so that I can have peace.  And then He gives a big, fat, fresh dose of perspective by reminding me that these current troubles, are just itty bitty in the scheme of things.  

Big picture:  He has overcome the world.

The world, and all the crap that it has to offer and throw at me...I can deal with because of Jesus.  

He has won already.  

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Not Fun Stuff

Jake has the flu.  As in the doctor swabbed his nose and it's officially influenza b.  Bleh.  My heart hurts just looking at him...and I can't help thinking about the parents who have to watch their children suffer for much longer than the life of a flu virus.  Perspective.

Lucy and I, because we spent the most time around him, are on tamiflu in hopes of avoiding it.  We'll see if that works...

I was supposed to get my hair cut this morning.  I had actual tears when I called the salon to try to reschedule.  That's the bad thing about having such a great stylist...I'm on the cancellation list, but the soonest I could schedule an actual appointment is March 29th.  

This is what my hair will look like by March 29th:

Thank you Google Images for this lovely photo.

I'm pretty sure I won't be wearing spandex pants by then though.

Pretty sure.

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Keeping it Real

Let's be honest...

People are crazy.  All of us: Crazy.

There's this Pinterest quote I saw...

Love....or friendship, requires a mutual weirdness.  It's funny.  And true.  I'm pretty sure that I will spend my whole life still learning about people and relationships.  They're complicated, and wonderful and sometimes terribly frustrating.  

I'm convinced that God uses the frustrating relationships in my life to refine me, and change me.  I'm also convinced He uses them to help me value and appreciate those whose weirdness is compatible with mine.  

As I look at my inner-circle of people, I can't help but smile at their weirdness.  All unique.  All crazy.  And completely different.  

I read an article awhile back about relationships, and it said something to the affect that we become a lot like the combination of the five people we spend the most time with.  It went on to talk about Jesus, and His ministry to the masses as well as how he interacted with the few that were in His inner-circle.  And it got me thinking.  Who are my 5?  Who's 5 am I in?  And how are they affecting me and me affecting them?  

Do I leave those in the inner better than I found them?  Do I rub off on them positively or negatively?  How do my mannerisms, thoughts, words, beliefs, actions change them?  Are they better for having been in my presence?  

Or...

Do I leave them feeling discouraged?  Annoyed?  Frustrated?  Do I complain too much and listen too little?  Is our relationship about my agenda, my needs, my everything?  

Tough questions...but crucial.  Sometimes tough questions require tough answers, and tough answers mean even harder changes.  

Philippians 4:8

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I want my mouth and my life to match when it comes to this verse.  I want to think and speak on those things FAR more than I vent and complain about their opposites.  And that is hard.  

But I didn't make it up.  God did.  And it sounds lovely.

Source: etsy.com via Olivia on Pinterest

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