Verse of the Week

Week of December 18, 2011

 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

My wish for you is that you will be able to spend some time this week reflecting on the PERFECT gift we were given that first Christmas...

• Wonderful Counselor 
• Mighty God
• Everlasting Father
• Prince of Peace

Everything we could ever need, wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger.

Don't miss the miracle of it all.

Merry Christmas!

Week of December 11, 2011

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

 

I admit it.  I am a worrier.  Especially when it comes to my family, in particular, my children. 

 
But if I follow Paul's instructions to the Philippians, which was no doubt inspired by God, then I need to work on trusting more and worrying less.

 

As I see it, those are basically my two choices.

 

Trust or Worry

 

I can either worry about my present circumstances, or circumstances that may or may not even happen.  Or I can trust God that He has things under control and that no amount of my worrying will change the outcome.

 

It's a lot easier for me to trust God when I'm in communication with him.  So, the first thing I am trying to do when I am prone to worry about something, is to pray.  And, as Paul suggests,  I start my prayer with thanks to Him for all that He is doing in my life and all that He is going to continue to do.  I'm finding that when I focus on all that I am thankful for, it takes the focus off of me and what I am worrying about.  It becomes easier to trust God when I remind myself of all of the blessings that He's already given me.  And they are countless!

 

It's also important to remember that word "everything".  Paul doesn't just say to go to God about some things. He says Everything!  How comforting that is...there's nothing too big or too small to take to God in prayer!

 

As my children are getting older, I am finding some pretty big things that I can choose to worry about.  I can either drive myself crazy worrying about things like driving, dating, relationships, grades, and college, just to name a few.  Or I can trust God that He has a plan, that He loves my daughters even more than I do and that He will take care of them even better than I can.  I have a feeling that I am going to be practicing putting this verse into action a lot in the next few years!  Hopefully practice makes perfect.

 

 

What about you?  What do you do when you are tempted to be anxious about life's circumstances?

 

 

 

 

Week of December 4, 2011

 

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
James 1:19

 

I am taking this verse on as my Personal Challenge.  Being the mom of a teen and a tween and a wife of 22 years, this verse hit me hard.  I can honestly say that I fail on all three of these pretty much on a daily basis.  I'm embarrassed to say that my failures occur almost always when I'm communicating with my family. I'm pretty good at being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry when it comes to my girlfriends, or even complete strangers.  But when it comes to those that I love the most, I fail.  Why is that?  Why do the people that we love the most get to see the ugliest sides of us?

 

 

When I first decided to take on this Challenge, I thought I better focus on these one at a time, because trying to do all three at once would just be too much for me to handle and I would be destined for failure.  You know the trueism, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.  However, the more I've reflected on this, and as I've been trying to put it into practice over the last few days, I am coming to realize that James just may have had a reason for putting these in the order that he did; and that they are are actually meant to be practiced together.

 

Here's what I've learned so far ...

• If I listen first (quick to listen), than I speak less.
• This allows me to really think about my words before I actually speak them (slow to speak). 
• If I think about my words before I speak them, then I am less likely to jump to conclusions and get angry (slow to anger).
• This gives the other person more of a chance to really explain what they are thinking and why they are thinking it and it gives me more of a chance to just listen and try to understand.
• What a wonderful way to build relationships rather than damaging them with my tongue! 

I have to admit that I have already failed at this several times since starting my Challenge (just ask my kids!).  But I am trying and I know that with God's help and His grace, I will get better at it.  I do want the righteous life that God desires for me and I believe James when he says that being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger will help me on my Journey to get there.

 

Do you struggle with being quick to listen, slow to speak or slow to anger?  Would you like to join me on my Personal Challenge?