Sunday, April 6, 2025

Enlarging My Vocabulary

 

There is one
whose rash words are
like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise
        brings healing.

             Proverbs 12. 18

(What is the intent
        of my words,
  and what is the effect?
The wise choose carefully,
because they know.
words are final sale
      and not returnable.
What am I bringing
     to this conversation?
Bring healing to it.
Kind words
      are never forgotten.)

O LORD,
Enlarge our vocabulary
     and our hearts
to turn conversations around
    in unexpected situations,
    among unlikely people,
and bring Your
steadfast love, grace
and goodness
     that changes lives.
And surprise everyone.




Saturday, April 5, 2025

Our Comings and Goings

 

Now as they went on their way,
Jesus entered a village.
And a woman named Martha
welcomed Him into her house.
 
                 Luke 10. 38


(Martha had no idea how
this simple invitation
and kindness
would literally change
  the course of her days
and even her brother's life
     would hinge on it.
When we invite Jesus
into whatever is before us,
or what we struggle with,
or even our everydayness,
   He changes everything
   in our comings and goings.
Jesus grants us awareness
    of the needs around us.
And He bestows
      strength and courage
to be a faithful witness
even in unusual places.)

O LORD,
Help us to live out
the love You have given us
by loving others,
those we know
and those we don't know yet.
Help us to realize
that You have placed them
on our path,
along our ways,
on our front porch,
or the next cubicle
            at work.
May we extend warmth
    and kindness
with Your name on it.
Divine appointments,
sacred encounters,


  

Friday, April 4, 2025

Face Lift

 

Thursday, April 3, 2025

Saying No Means Saying Yes

 

But as for you,
the LORD your God
has not allowed you
            to do this.

      Deuteronomy 18. 14

(Don't go there.
When God says no,
   He means exactly that.
There are profound
      and intensely personal
      reasons for it.
God knows what enslaves us.
God knows what trips us up
       and rips us apart.
But as for you.....
         Not for me.
Choosing to be faithful to God,
  by saying no to something,
means having the opportunity,
    awareness, strength and heart
                       to say yes
  to something eternally better.
We can justify just about anything
   or choose to follow God in this.
And what we opt to do
  directly influences generations
  after us.
 Faithfulness sticks.)

O LORD,
Grant us the strength and courage
to turn away from anything
that pulls us away from You.
Help us not to play with fire,
  wade into the rip-tide,
  or gaze at the greenness
     on the other side of the fence.
But empower us to be energized
   by faithfulness to You.
And be greatly aware and amazed
   by what You urge us to pursue.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Don't Calculate Without Him

 

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

But What If We Don't?

 

Monday, March 31, 2025

In All We Undertake