VS 7 - Like the legs of the lame that hang limp is the Proverbs in the mouth of fools....
VS 9 - Like a thorn that goes into the hand of drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool...
These really struck me... as I try to raise my children to know the Lord, His word and His love, am I just a fool? Am I worthless because I am not living my life by these same proverbs? Am I just vaccinating my children against God's love because I am getting it all wrong?
Then VS 11 - As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly... Okay, I am this fool! I make the same mistake OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. When am I going to stop? When am I going to show self control? And putting that right up to a dog going back to his vomit? Ohhhhh, that is so gross! And I have seen dogs so this! It is disgusting! As I have watched I have commented on how stupid that dog was! Hello pot, you are black! God's word has pointed out that I AM THAT DOG!!!! A FOOL! Each time I do the same stupid thing!
And VS 23 - Fervent Lips with a wicked heart are like earthenware covered with silver dross... I feel like this right now. I can say all the right things, I can make things look really pretty on the outside but on the inside I am just struggling with the hypocrisy of my sins.
I am feeling a bit lost right now. I know that God is there right with me but I just can't seem to get it right. I start each morning with the intention to do things right, in a way that will honor God but sometimes i do not even make it out of bed before I fall back into the way i do not want to go.
I was on my face praying this morning (via Beth Moore) when the phrase "CHOOSE JOY" came to me. We have been focusing a lot on the Proverb 17:22 "A joyful heart is good medicine" lately and I have really been struggling with this. But then God just told this morning- Just choose it! When things are not going as you plan, when the children are acting out, you have two choices - get angry or get joyful... CHOOSE JOY. I need to stop, a hundred, no a thousand times a day and choose joy.
I m beginning to believe that most of MY issues come down to self-control. What am I choosing to do. Which leads me back to the proverb that I looked at today - I am a fool trying to teach my children about self-control when I myself cannot display it!
Praise God that He reveals Himself to us and then gives us what we need to move in His direction... and that God for His grace when we get stuck along the way!!!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
God is trying to talk to me but I have been too busy to listen. I spend my days chasing my little ones, trying to have phone conversations with friends, and thinking of quippy status updates for Facebook. There is never any quiet to hear what He has to say. Often times I hear Him when I am writing, He really speaks to me through the words my fingers punch out. But I am so busy chattering all the time that I never get a moment to listen.
I am walking away from Facebook for a week. We will see what happens with that. I am going to be quiet. I am going to listen. I love when He wants to talk to me because He always has something important to say!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
PROVERBS 19
VS 5 - A false witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies will not escape.... I was able to share this with Bowden who has been having a little bit of trouble with this the past couple of days, lying to get out of being in trouble. I have told him that it is always better to tell the truth than to lie and the punishments have shown that too
VS 11 - And his glory is to overlook a transgression... How many times am I so wuick to point out a flaw in another? How often do I overlook the log in my eye to point out the speck in another's?
VS 15 - Laziness casts one into a deep sleep... you know, I have noticed this, laziness begets laziness... the more I lay around and do nothing the more I want to lay around and do nothing.
VS 18 - Chasten your son while there is still hope... Another reminder to be on the ball with the discipline of my children
VS 22 What is desired of a man is kindness... a few years ago while doing a Beth Moore study God really pricked my heart about praying for kindness, He is pricking it again....
VS 11 - And his glory is to overlook a transgression... How many times am I so wuick to point out a flaw in another? How often do I overlook the log in my eye to point out the speck in another's?
VS 15 - Laziness casts one into a deep sleep... you know, I have noticed this, laziness begets laziness... the more I lay around and do nothing the more I want to lay around and do nothing.
VS 18 - Chasten your son while there is still hope... Another reminder to be on the ball with the discipline of my children
VS 22 What is desired of a man is kindness... a few years ago while doing a Beth Moore study God really pricked my heart about praying for kindness, He is pricking it again....
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Proverbs 18
VS 9 - He who is slothful in his works is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.... okay, being lazing and slothful never seems THAT bad to me, not that good but "brother to him who is a great destroyer"? That seems pretty bad. Again, I am drawn to the reality that God does not grade sins, one is just as bad as another.
VS 10 - The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.... How often do I take this for granted? I no longer take the Lord's name in vain as I did when I was younger, but I rarely think about the strength that is in the Lord's name, that calling upon the Lord, running to the Lord will protect me from evil.
VS 13 - He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him... I do this a lot. I interrupt and jump to conclusions. I do not let my children finish what they are saying when they are in trouble. Again, this all goes back to patience, pride and focusing on my own agenda instead of God's.
VS 21 - Death and life are the power of the tongue.... this plays out in every area of my life, my marriage, my parenting, my friendships...
VS 10 - The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.... How often do I take this for granted? I no longer take the Lord's name in vain as I did when I was younger, but I rarely think about the strength that is in the Lord's name, that calling upon the Lord, running to the Lord will protect me from evil.
VS 13 - He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him... I do this a lot. I interrupt and jump to conclusions. I do not let my children finish what they are saying when they are in trouble. Again, this all goes back to patience, pride and focusing on my own agenda instead of God's.
VS 21 - Death and life are the power of the tongue.... this plays out in every area of my life, my marriage, my parenting, my friendships...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Proverbs17 - yes I am still a day behind
VS 9 - He who covers a transgression seeks love but he who repeats a matter separates friends.... How many times have I shared a story that was embarrassing for someone else, or gossiped? How many times have I made fun of someone else trying to make myself feel better? Telling tales hurts EVERYONE
VS 14 - The beginning of strife is like the releasing of water... How true is this! There have been so many times that I have just opened the flood gates and then everything comes out... where if I would have just walked away there would have been no issue at all!
VS 17 - A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.... I LOVE this, especially when I think of my children and my desire and prayer that they would grow up to be best friends. But then when I think of my own sisters, I realize that my support of them has not been as strong. God is calling me to reach out to them and love them thru adversity.
VS 22 - I LOVE this verse, it is actually posted on our chalk board in the kitchen right now, only our version says a joyful heart is good medicine... Joy in all circumstance... still working on that goal...
VS 27 - He who has knowledge spares his words and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit... I LOVE this one too... first, I talk too much and I need to just shut up and listen. Second, I was just thinking this morning that if we really understood the enormity of heaven, the depths of hell, the awesomeness of His sacrifice for us, the well of His love for us... we would have a calm spirit because all of this here on earth would be put into perspective!
God is really calling me to this... to a deeper understanding of eternity and how this earth is so fleeting, that what seems to matter here really means nothing and to focus on Him and His purposes for my life. To put aside myself... I love how He weaves our lives together, knowing that I will be reading this verse today, knowing that Dena will speak a word to me, knowing that my thoughts will go down this road today and it will all come together... I LOVE HOW HE LOVES ME!
VS 14 - The beginning of strife is like the releasing of water... How true is this! There have been so many times that I have just opened the flood gates and then everything comes out... where if I would have just walked away there would have been no issue at all!
VS 17 - A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity.... I LOVE this, especially when I think of my children and my desire and prayer that they would grow up to be best friends. But then when I think of my own sisters, I realize that my support of them has not been as strong. God is calling me to reach out to them and love them thru adversity.
VS 22 - I LOVE this verse, it is actually posted on our chalk board in the kitchen right now, only our version says a joyful heart is good medicine... Joy in all circumstance... still working on that goal...
VS 27 - He who has knowledge spares his words and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit... I LOVE this one too... first, I talk too much and I need to just shut up and listen. Second, I was just thinking this morning that if we really understood the enormity of heaven, the depths of hell, the awesomeness of His sacrifice for us, the well of His love for us... we would have a calm spirit because all of this here on earth would be put into perspective!
God is really calling me to this... to a deeper understanding of eternity and how this earth is so fleeting, that what seems to matter here really means nothing and to focus on Him and His purposes for my life. To put aside myself... I love how He weaves our lives together, knowing that I will be reading this verse today, knowing that Dena will speak a word to me, knowing that my thoughts will go down this road today and it will all come together... I LOVE HOW HE LOVES ME!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Proverbs 16
VS 1 Preparations of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.... So many times we come up with what we want and what we desire & we prepare our heart for that but then whether or not these things come to fruition is from the Lord... I want to put this along side VS 3 Commit your ways to the Lord and your thoughts will be established... are we truly seeking to do God's will? If we are seeking His will than our heart will coincide with His plans for us. We will find that we are not disappointed because we are seeking His will and our thoughts have been established in His will.
VS 18 & 19 Pride GOES before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud..... How many times have I argued with my husband and just KNOWN that I was right. The argument digresses to ugliness and I refuse to let go because my pride has taken hold. Eventually Keith will admit that I am right but there is no satisfaction in it, it was all too ugly. The spoils of the victory are not what I expected. I would have been better off to just humbly step away and agree with him. The division caused by the argument is not worth the victory.
Vs 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.... I like how the word "bones" is used here, we are not talking surface level sweetness and health - this is DEEP healing. Often times when I see the word pleasant I thin of small talk and shallow interaction but here we see that it means so much more than that!
VS 25 There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death... God has given us His word for a reason, the way we are to go is clearly defined there and if we do not know His word, live in his word than we may think that doing certain things are fine. I have to immerse myself in God's word and then I will ALWAYS know the right way to go!
VS 18 & 19 Pride GOES before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud..... How many times have I argued with my husband and just KNOWN that I was right. The argument digresses to ugliness and I refuse to let go because my pride has taken hold. Eventually Keith will admit that I am right but there is no satisfaction in it, it was all too ugly. The spoils of the victory are not what I expected. I would have been better off to just humbly step away and agree with him. The division caused by the argument is not worth the victory.
Vs 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.... I like how the word "bones" is used here, we are not talking surface level sweetness and health - this is DEEP healing. Often times when I see the word pleasant I thin of small talk and shallow interaction but here we see that it means so much more than that!
VS 25 There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death... God has given us His word for a reason, the way we are to go is clearly defined there and if we do not know His word, live in his word than we may think that doing certain things are fine. I have to immerse myself in God's word and then I will ALWAYS know the right way to go!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Proverbs 15
A little behind... Saturday got away from me!
Vs 1 - A soft word turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger... clearly this is something that I NEED to learn. I see so easily this in my children, when they immediately go to histrionics to get something, I get angry but I never seem to be able to control this same reaction in myself. God is making it clear that I will get firther with my children if I speak softly!
VS 3 - The eyes of the Lord are everywhere... I like knowing He sees everything. I think sometimes I feel like I am doing ggod and I want SOMEONE, ANYONE to notice and I need to just sit back and rest in the knowledge that the only one that matters see all that I do - for good and bad!
VS 4 - The wholesome tongue is the tree of life ... The things I say can bring life to my marriage, to my children, to my friendships and even to people I do not know. I need to be MUCH more aware of the things I say and whether they bring life or death.
VS 5 & 10 - A fool despises his father's instruction but he who recieves correction is prudent; harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die..... It is important that we instruct & correct our children, pointing them towards God. I liked the word "harsh" here because sometimes I get caught up in not wanting to be too hard on my children but here it clearly states that discipline is not supposed to be easy. There is be some "hurt" in it... missing out on the movie, not getting to go play with friends, losing that favorite toy for several days.... it needs to hurt so that they will learn to obey!
Vs 13 & 15 both talk about having a merry heart.... I WANT to have a merry heart, I want to be filled with joy and have a cheerful countenance! God promises and continual feast to those with a merry heart! Please, Lord help me to get here on this!!!
I will try and get 16 & 17 tomorrow so I be caught up! God is good and I am so excited that my friend challenged me to this study! I am really seeing so many areas that I need to grow in. Several weeks ago I prayed that God would reveal hypocrisy in my heart to me, that we would open up areas of weakness to me and boy is this study doing just that! I love the growth!
Vs 1 - A soft word turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger... clearly this is something that I NEED to learn. I see so easily this in my children, when they immediately go to histrionics to get something, I get angry but I never seem to be able to control this same reaction in myself. God is making it clear that I will get firther with my children if I speak softly!
VS 3 - The eyes of the Lord are everywhere... I like knowing He sees everything. I think sometimes I feel like I am doing ggod and I want SOMEONE, ANYONE to notice and I need to just sit back and rest in the knowledge that the only one that matters see all that I do - for good and bad!
VS 4 - The wholesome tongue is the tree of life ... The things I say can bring life to my marriage, to my children, to my friendships and even to people I do not know. I need to be MUCH more aware of the things I say and whether they bring life or death.
VS 5 & 10 - A fool despises his father's instruction but he who recieves correction is prudent; harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die..... It is important that we instruct & correct our children, pointing them towards God. I liked the word "harsh" here because sometimes I get caught up in not wanting to be too hard on my children but here it clearly states that discipline is not supposed to be easy. There is be some "hurt" in it... missing out on the movie, not getting to go play with friends, losing that favorite toy for several days.... it needs to hurt so that they will learn to obey!
Vs 13 & 15 both talk about having a merry heart.... I WANT to have a merry heart, I want to be filled with joy and have a cheerful countenance! God promises and continual feast to those with a merry heart! Please, Lord help me to get here on this!!!
I will try and get 16 & 17 tomorrow so I be caught up! God is good and I am so excited that my friend challenged me to this study! I am really seeing so many areas that I need to grow in. Several weeks ago I prayed that God would reveal hypocrisy in my heart to me, that we would open up areas of weakness to me and boy is this study doing just that! I love the growth!
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