the journal
Did my opinion bring them closer to Christ Jesus?
Am I alone in my struggle in guarding my tongue? When to speak and when to stay silent? Not just in politics or current events but general advice and opinions as well. It's not just about having the proper ingredients necessary to produce a sweet word but if we fail to measure our words properly they can fall flat.We can have differing opinions and be quite passionate about them. We can share them to bring awareness and knowledge to others, we can challenge opinions but if at the end of it we have not shown them Jesus or even worse been a poor representation of His grace and love, then we have lost much more than an argument.
As I type these words (of which I am guilty) the justification is already forming in my head...but they are wrong...but they were condescending to me...but they were unkind...but they need to know the truth...but they are in danger.
As I type these words (of which I am guilty) the justification is already forming in my head...but they are wrong...but they were condescending to me...but they were unkind...but they need to know the truth...but they are in danger.
Speaking out is necessary for instruction but there is no justification for omitting love. None of it matters if we have not shown them Jesus. Sharing an opinion in and of itself is not bad and in some cases needed to avoid harm but how we share it can be toxic. To them and to us. We must be extra diligent in these times to watch our tongues. I know the enemy is having a field day with mine.
“If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1Cor 13:2
(I am not claiming to have the gift of prophesy but quoting this verse in dispensing knowledge in general.)
Do you have this struggle as well? What verse comes to mind to help you think before you speak?
xo, Patty
I’ve added a couple of new coneflowers to the garden this year and I am really enjoying the bright pop of color they add to the early summer perennial bed.
The time of transition between spring and summer in the garden is hard for me because as plants die back and are pruned away there are inevitably blank spaces that I feel the need to fill in. I’m learning to truly enjoy each season and am getting used to editing flowers out to allow other plants the time and space to mature. Having a healthy, thriving garden depends on this process.
Serving Christ will cost us many things, as well. As Americans I think this is one of the hardest concepts in scripture to come to grips with, leaving everything to follow Him. Everything we “need” is right at our fingertips. We are so darn comfortable in our western lifestyle and American freedoms. It can be easy to take for granted what we have and assume things will always be this way. But what if they aren’t? What if it’s all taken away from us? I think we can all agree the last six months have brought change at lightning speed. What if we are forced to make choices that will cost us everything?
There is no neutral spiritual ground. Are we steeped so deeply in the Word of God that if our bibles were physically stripped away the verses we memorized would sustain us? What do I need to prune out of my life to make more room for time in the Word. How can I know and love Jesus so intimately that my desire to follow him would come without hesitation? These are questions I’ve been asking myself. Have you pondered them as well?
“There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God, you cannot do them.” Oswald Chambers
What if we are forced to make the decision to obey man to keep what we have on earth and turn away from God?
“There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then, come follow me.” Luke 18:22
The time of transition between spring and summer in the garden is hard for me because as plants die back and are pruned away there are inevitably blank spaces that I feel the need to fill in. I’m learning to truly enjoy each season and am getting used to editing flowers out to allow other plants the time and space to mature. Having a healthy, thriving garden depends on this process.
Serving Christ will cost us many things, as well. As Americans I think this is one of the hardest concepts in scripture to come to grips with, leaving everything to follow Him. Everything we “need” is right at our fingertips. We are so darn comfortable in our western lifestyle and American freedoms. It can be easy to take for granted what we have and assume things will always be this way. But what if they aren’t? What if it’s all taken away from us? I think we can all agree the last six months have brought change at lightning speed. What if we are forced to make choices that will cost us everything?
There is no neutral spiritual ground. Are we steeped so deeply in the Word of God that if our bibles were physically stripped away the verses we memorized would sustain us? What do I need to prune out of my life to make more room for time in the Word. How can I know and love Jesus so intimately that my desire to follow him would come without hesitation? These are questions I’ve been asking myself. Have you pondered them as well?
“There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God, you cannot do them.” Oswald Chambers
What if we are forced to make the decision to obey man to keep what we have on earth and turn away from God?
“There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then, come follow me.” Luke 18:22
Just something to think about...
xo, Patty
I often wonder what good it does for me to tend my home and garden when there are other more productive things I could be doing. The time I spend out in the garden weeding and tending flowers could be used to keep tidier cupboards and the time I spend making quilts and fluffing pillows might be a greater help to our budget if I worked outside the home.
But then I catch the sun light filtering through the trees and dancing on the water in the backyard fountain as it splashes into the cement bowl or I glance and see someone cuddled in well placed blankets and pillows on the sofa without a care in the world and I remember the value in creating beauty and sanctuary in a world that can be harsh and unwelcoming.
I love this quote from G.K.Chesterton's book Orthodoxy...
“And last, and strangest, there had come into my mind a vague and vast impression that in some way all good was a remnant to be stored and held sacred out of some primordial ruin. Man had saved his good as Crusoe saved his goods: he had saved them from a wreck.” G.K. Chesterton
We seek and hold on to beauty because the world reminds us what a wreck it is. We seek goodness and justice because life is hard and unfair. We tell a beautiful story because we innately know we were created by a loving storyteller. And we pluck fallen blooms in vessels of water to preserve their beauty as reminder of the world we are destined to.
Never feel the beauty you bring to your home through pretty things or to the garden by way of tending flowers or the joy you bring to a child’s face in the silly faces you make are unimportant or insignificant. These are beautiful remnants saved from the wreck and stored as treasures in our hearts.
What are some ways you bring good and beauty into this "wreck" of a world?
xo, Patty
But then I catch the sun light filtering through the trees and dancing on the water in the backyard fountain as it splashes into the cement bowl or I glance and see someone cuddled in well placed blankets and pillows on the sofa without a care in the world and I remember the value in creating beauty and sanctuary in a world that can be harsh and unwelcoming.
I love this quote from G.K.Chesterton's book Orthodoxy...
“And last, and strangest, there had come into my mind a vague and vast impression that in some way all good was a remnant to be stored and held sacred out of some primordial ruin. Man had saved his good as Crusoe saved his goods: he had saved them from a wreck.” G.K. Chesterton
We seek and hold on to beauty because the world reminds us what a wreck it is. We seek goodness and justice because life is hard and unfair. We tell a beautiful story because we innately know we were created by a loving storyteller. And we pluck fallen blooms in vessels of water to preserve their beauty as reminder of the world we are destined to.
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared....God himself...will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”...5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:1-5
Never feel the beauty you bring to your home through pretty things or to the garden by way of tending flowers or the joy you bring to a child’s face in the silly faces you make are unimportant or insignificant. These are beautiful remnants saved from the wreck and stored as treasures in our hearts.
What are some ways you bring good and beauty into this "wreck" of a world?
xo, Patty
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