During my morning time with the Lord, I have been reading the book, Simply Living, by Cecil Murphy. The subtitle reads - Modern Wisdom From The Ancient Book of Proverbs.
Today's reading came from Proverbs 18:21; The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. Rev. Murphy begins with the following story:
At least thirty years ago I read the story, printed inside an adult take-home Sunday school paper. It concerned a young woman who came to church and tried to break into the clique of single adults. She had a lower economic background but tried to join with the more affluent members of the Sunday school class she visited. The others didn't treat Martha May nicely, and they whispered about her behind her back. Whenever they saw her do anything that could be interpreted in a negative light, they made sure everyone heard. Eventually Martha May dropped out of the church.
Our Sunday morning Bible Study is working through the book, 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue, by Deborah Smith Pegues. Click here to read endorsements, find an interview with the author, and read an excerpt.
We all know about the cursing tongue, the gossiping tongue, the slandering tongue, and the lying tongue. But did you know that when our tongues are judgmental, rude, cynical, belittling, or meddling they are make a negative impact, and probably get us into some trouble, too.
James 3:8 says, No man can tame the tongue.
If you are like me, you have experienced more than one occasion where you have planted your foot in your mouth, and it doesn't taste very good!
I had a difficult time sleeping last night; so I spent time checking my email (not many people write in the middle of the night,) reading, and dozing in a chair. One of the books I grabbed was, Lists to Live By, The Third Edition.
Having been an elementary school teacher I am well aware of the tidbits of wit and wisdom that come from the mouths of those five to ten years old. I would imagine that is why the list of: Basic Rules - From Children quickly became my favorite. I simply had to share it with you right away ....
Share.
Don't hit. Don't burp in public.
Stay on the path.
Don't chew with your mouth open.
Be nice to old people. (Very important!) LOL
Wow, now that it is finally here I hardly know what to say.
This beautiful young lady is the talented artist that illustrated Sarah's Garden. I am so proud of her. Not to mention my thankfulness at her willingness to share her gift with others by working on this project. Each beautiful illustration comes from her imagination. I simply gave her the copy divided into page breaks. Rebecca then used her creative imagination to produce the perfect drawing to go along with the text.
If you would like to receive an autographed copy of Sarah's Garden you can contact me here at CMB.
It is also possible to order a copy through the publisher, Create Space, or at Amazon.
A quick synopsis of Sarah's Garden is: Each child is born with a unique personality, individual talents, and specific abilities. Wouldn't it be nice if they came with a personal manual, too? Sarah's Garden is a parable that tells of the struggle in each of us to flourish in our strengths, rather than persisting in to our weaknesses. Join Sarah as she deals with her own confusion and frustration while caring for her special garden. Find out who the King will send to help her after the ogre, the nasties, and the "trashy" villagers make it a mess. Finally, discover the thrill she experiences when she learns of her true identity and the fabulous future that awaits her.
I began reading this book this morning. Self Talk, Soul Talk, written by Jennifer Rothschild. She began speaking to me from the very first page.
The need to "take every thought captive," is one that I believe the Lord and I have been working on for many years. Although, I try to remind myself that, "I am who God says I am," (Beth Moore), I can belittle myself better than anyone.
One more illustration to pique your interest.
I am cross-eyed and hmmm, how do I delicately say that I am fatigued from siitting at my computer. LOL Anyway it has been a long week, but Sarah's Garden has been saved to a pdf. file and down to its last few changes.
What an adventure this has been! I am so thankful for the encouragement I have received from my friends and family. But I must tell you that as I worked this week with the fabulous illustrations - I am overwhelmed.
I am also quite confident that my mom, Sarah Eunice, would be tickled to see Rebecca's artwork in this story. Her love of art has filled my life as far back as I can remember. She also blessed many young women by encouraging their God given talents. I am living proof! I am no artist on paper, but she encouraged me in music, stitching, knitting, writing, cooking, parenting, etc....
Thanks Rebecca for being willing to take this adventure with me, and thanks mom for - well for everything!
Sorry, no time to chat today! I am working like a crazy woman trying to finish Sarah's Garden. So, I thought I would give you a sneak peek at the cover. Wait until you see all of the illustrations. Rebecca is an extremely talented twelve year old with extremely talented parents, and a talented little sis who is following close behind.
You can find out more about this wonderful family at One Dad's Life. They bless me on a regular basis. I am so very excited about the progress we are making, and it's a good thing too - Rebecca is back to school tomorrow. Thanks Rebecca for all of your hard work this Summer, and thanks to your Mom, for all of her help as well. And thanks to your entire family for putting up with all of my requests.
Proverb 17:17; A friend loves at all times ....
I hope that I didn't test that too much these last few weeks. Thanks to you all! Life is Good! Be Blessed!!
Last week my dh and I read, The Shack, by William P. Young. It has caused a great deal of conversation at our house, and I have discovered in the process of searching the www. it has been the source of strong opinions in general.
Like all writing that stretches us to look at things a little differently, the responses to this book have gone from one extreme to the other. The author takes an unorthodox look at the Trinity, the relationship within their union and our relationship to our Triune God. If that isn't complex enough, it challenges the reader to ponder God's attitudes about our earthly relationships.
I am not going to tell you our review of this work of fiction. I will say though, that if it gets us to prayerfully search the Scriptures and ask God to daily reveal the truth about Himself to the intimacy of our hearts; it has accomplished a godly purpose. It has me thinking about and longing for the heart of God, through my relationship to Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in a new and fresh way.
Truthfully, we should never read or listen to any teaching without testing it against the truth of Scripture.
1 John 4:1-3a says: My dear friends, don't believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world. Here's how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. (The Message)
I will make a promise to you about this book. It will make you think and it will give you several topics for discussion. My prayer however, is that it will take you to the Word of God, that you will carefully weigh and examine its thought provoking ideas, and that when you are finished with the process you will love your God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit like never before.
Click on this link to find out more about, The Shack
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