Proverb of the Day: 6:2. Happy Song.

Proverb of the Day: 6:2

Scripture:

Observation:

The first part of Proverbs 6 is talking about co-signing and, according to Haley’s Bible Handbook, “questionable business obligations.”  I understand the verse in context of this. 

However, verse 2 is what really stood out to me. 

Oh God, how many times have I lay awake at night or 

spent the day troubled by the words of my mouth?

Feeling trapped or being ensnared by what I said? 

http://quotesgram.com/hurtful-words-can-hurt-quotes/#9Y5nT63zYe

Application

First of all, wow!  God is really saying, “Wow, Business Leaders!  Here’s some advice for you!” 

But, onto my personal application.

I’m sure we have all said something we instantly regret.  Then we allow it to haunt us……yup, we do. I usually know instantly when I’ve said something I regret.

Sometimes, at least in my experience, the recipient probably didn’t even notice or even remember what I said.  And I praise God for that!

But, many times they do – and I hurt them. 

Once my careless words fly out of my mouth and that realization hits, I have learned to immediately apologize and ask for forgiveness.  I’m now trying to deal with these issues as soon as possible.

Business leaders – if you’ve made an unwise business deal, God has advice for you as well!

³So so this, my son,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands

go – 
to the point of exhaustion-

and give your neighbor no rest!

⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes,

no slumber to your eyelids.

⁵Free yourself , l
ike a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

Proverbs 6:3-5

http://damselsusarise.blogspot.com/2012/09/if-you-dont-have-nothing-to-say.html

Then I can sleep better at night.  It also helps to apply this question before I speak:I still don’t always remember to follow this standard for my words, but I’m getting better!

Prayer

Thank you for today’s study!  I pray this blog is a blessing to someone out there!

Lord, raise up business leaders all over the world who will run their affairs according to your Word. Raise them up and give them favor that they may set the tone for what a Godly run business can achieve!

Help me to improve on the silence….or to know when to sit in companionable silence!

Amen.

http://unboxedwriters.com/too-many-fractured-realities/#.V1q5gLsrKpA

 Happy Song

Dear Friends, 
This is my truth.

Proverb of the Day. Happy Song.

 Proverb of the Day

Scripture

http://www.biblemanna.info/2016/02/Proverbs-5-1-2-wallpaper.html

Observation

Verses 1 and 2 are certainly an interesting way to introduce the chapter warning against adultery. 

Pay attention…..

my first question is to what should I pay attention?

to my wisdom…

whose wisdom? Who is “my”?  Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary tells us it’s Solomon – of course! 

You see, in my eyes, though Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, the Bible is inspired by God!  I read it as I’m reading God’s letter to me.  Therefore, though Solomon penned Proverbs, he was inspired by God’s Spirit.  Consequently, to me, it is God’s wisdom I am gleaning. 

God is asking us to

pay attention to His wisdom and to turn our ears to His insight.

Why?

That we may maintain discretion

and that our lips may preserve knowledge. 

The Amplified Bible gives great insight when studying a scripture 

My son, be attentive to my wisdom [Godly wisdom learned by costly experience],
Incline your ear to my understanding;

That you may exercise discrimination and discretion (good judgment),
And your lips may reserve knowledge and answer wisely [to temptation].

Proverbs 5:1-2

Paying attention to God’s wisdom and turning our ears to His words of insight will help us exercise good judgement, have knowledge and answer wisely to temptation. 

Application

Well worth studying God’s Word, wouldn’t you say?  Yup, I’m preaching to myself.  In my times of pain, I need to immerse myself more than ever in His Word.  Perhaps we all do….

Prayer is wonderful, as is inspirational, comforting music.  But I feel like God is telling me to be brave and open my heart to His Word and healing. To resist the temptation to avoid His Word - which I know understand delays my healing.

To show Him my raw emotional wounds.

To trust Him.

To be healed by Him. 

And you know what?  
I'm ready.
I'm ready to do the hard work.
I'm ready to trust Him.
I'm ready. 

http://notsalmon.com/2012/10/11/often-its-the-deepest-pain-which-empowers-you-to-grow-into-your-highest-self/

Prayer

Thank you my oh so precious Lord and Savior for bringing me to a place where I can see some light in my healing. 

It’s hard, Lord.

It’s tough.

But so are You.

And, through You, so am I.

Amen.

http://www.slideshare.net/MariaIdaYu/my-life-is-in-you-lord

Happy

Here’s another happy, light song that gets me smiling!

Dear Friends, this is my truth!

Coasters and Basket. Proverb of the Day. Happy Song.

Coasters and Basket.

Aren’t these coasters so pretty?  I love the fabric!  Sometimes I take a break from quilt making to whip up (yea, right, it took me all day to make these!) a fun, fast project.  Admittedly, I’m a slow sewist, but I have so much fun at each step.  Thank God we have access to  such wonderful bloggers who write wonderful tutorials!

I’m not sure where I got the idea for the self-binding coasters, but there are tons of tutorials out there!  These were fun to make with vintage fabric from my local Bernina Quilt Shop!  

And I used this tutorial for what was supposed to be the coaster holder.  For some reason, mine came out too big, so I now have beautiful napkin holder!  So light and summery!

Proverb of the Day:  Proverbs 4:12.

Scripture:

Observation:

So, this is what I see as the context of the verse, or taking the verse in context: 

As I write out my thoughts, I find my clarity as well as the ability to communicate what is in my heart, in my spirit……

As I said before, I hadn’t been spending a lot of time in God’s Word, though I had been seeking Him through prayer and song.  Just the same, it felt as if I was running from Him. 

Therefore, verse 12b:  when you run, you will not stumble made an impact on me. 

As we

1:  accept what God has to say,

2:  listen to His instruction in the way of wisdom and

3:  follow His leading on straight paths,

we will not stumble when we run.

Application:

As stated once before, I’m clarifying my thoughts as I write.  This seems to be the way I can find meaning and healing in God’s Word.

As I read Proverbs 4:12, I immediately thought of the last few weeks of running from God, of not being physically, emotionally or spiritually able to spend time in His Word.  
I sensed God knew exactly what I needed and He provided it with comfort from a few dear friends, family, music - both secular and worship - and His presence.  I didn’t feel like my steps were hampered, or as if I had stumbled because He held me up with His right hand.  He knew I needed time to heal in a different way.  And He gave it to me.  Because that is how He works with His hurting children – with love, wisdom, and patience. 

http://thedaugthersofzion.blogspot.com/2012/02/god-will-heal-all-broken-hearted.html

And, just maybe,

I wasn’t running from Him at all, but

running to Him,

running to Him to hear what He had to say,

running to Him to listen to His instruction in the way of wisdom and 
running to Him to follow His leading on straight paths. 

Yup.  I was running to Him.  Yup.

 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for your never ending patience with me.  Thank you for Your healing touch.  

Thank you for helping me to trust that Your hand has been there all my life - even as I suffered at the hands of others.  

Thank you for helping me to see I wasn’t running from You, but to you.  

Help me to continue to lean on You.  

Bring healing to my heart, my emotions, my spirit.  Help my heart to comprehend the why of these painful experiences.  Though my head understands, my heart struggles.  As I’m sure Yours did as well.  Help my readers to heal and understand as well.  In Jesus’ precious name I ask.  Amen.

Happy Songs

These last weeks have been heavy – really heavy.  I needed to keep from despair, so I made a playlist of my happy songs and played them! Most are worship songs, but this one is from England from the disco era.  

While listening, I make of fool of myself in front of the dogs as I sing along and dance.  My voice is so “wonderful” they can’t help but howl!  I play them full blast in my car and sing my heart out.  I even danced with my grandbabies and taught them a few disco moves!  It’s easy to be joyful listening to this song.  I first heard in on a Netflix series called River. 

Go ahead….sing along…dance!

Dear Friend, this is my truth!

Memories. Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 3:1

Memories

The last few weeks have been challenging, to say the least.  On top of the pain in my feet, I’ve been facing some personal challenges from my past:  memories.

I love these lyrics from Barbara Streisand’s song, The Way We Were.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/aa/3e/a9/aa3ea978b1119352c68d8baace05f1ea.jpg

What’s too painful to remember, we simply chose to forget………or we forget to survive………..

Funny thing about memories….they’re always there, just below the surface……..when they emerge, there can be

pain

denial

shock

confusion. 

I know. 

I’ve been there. 

And survived.

Maybe one day, by God’s grace, I can say I’ve thrived.

Maybe one day, you too will say you’ve thrived.

Or perhaps you already have. 

On this part of my journey,

I have spent much time talking with God…but minimal time in His Word. 

I have spent much time listening to Praise and Worship music, listening to Him speak to me.

The pain is deep. 

The healing is deeper.

I’m taking my time.

He knows my heart.

http://www.sharonkingdudley.com/articles/the-beautiful-thing-about-inner-wounds/

S.O.A.P.

Now I’m ready to spend time in His Word. 

I need a new start,

a new way to be with Him,

to reveal my raw, tender emotions

and receive His healing. 

I’m ready.

Enter S.O.A.P

This is a Bible study method to lather up and soak in God’s Word.  I’m going to try it – yup – you guessed it – for a month. 

As you can see, S.O.A.P., stand for Scripture, Oberservation, Application, and Prayer.  I agree with others - adding an “s” to make it S.O.A.P.S. – to share what I’m learning.  You can read more about it here.

 

I’m not sure if I’ll blog every day like I did with this challenge, but I do know my time with God will be changing, evolving.  He and I have some deep work to do. 

So, here goes!

Proverb of the Day: Proverbs 3:1

Scripture:

Observation:

I am focusing on verse one.  Many times, I look at the verbs in verses.  When I do this, God’s message to me for that day really pops.

My son, do not forget my teaching,

but keep my commands in your heart

Wow!  

Application:

As I was reeling from the shock of painful, emerging memories, I knew that I would not forget God’s teaching that He was faithful, loving and kind.  He was there – right there.  I remembered His teachings, especially this one:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.  

Proverbs 3:5-6

And keeping his greatest commands in mind – to love him with all that we are and then to love our neighbor – even the one who hurt us. 

Boy, I am sure not there – yet.

Prayer:

Lord, teach me how to love my neighbor – even the one who hurt me.  Help me to live up to Your command and to remember Your teachings…..

Wow.

Powerful.

I have a lot to think about.

I have a lot of growing to do.

I’m not perfect.

I’m learning.

It’s tough…..

Thank God for this song…..

Proverb of the Day.

Proverb of the Day

You know, so many lessons can be learned from observation.  I remember, as a child, my Dad would tell me, “Consider the source.”  This was in reference to gossip and people saying hurtful things to me.  

As an educator, I remember when my third grade students were faced with similar cruelties, I would ask them, “Is it true?”  They would pause, consider my question and, much to their surprise, say, "No."  Then I would tell them, “Ignore it and consider the source.” 

https://www.johndenugent.com/english/english-enemies-joomiloom/

I’m not sure why this Proverb led me to these experiences, I’m really not.  But, I’ll continue writing and see where it takes me. 

When my baby sister (she’s now in her 30’s, but, in my eyes, still my baby sister!) wanted to be like the other teens in her high school, my dad would tell her to stay focused, set goals and pursue them. 

He warned her that the partying set would sadly suffer the consequences of their actions.  She, on the other hand, would be successful in life.

Thankfully, she ended up listening to Dad, for the most part, and is an extremely accomplished social worker who has literally saved lives via her confidence in advocating for her clients. 

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/03/03/top-83-actions-take-stand-social-work/

And me?  I would like to think that I made an impact on my students’ lives, many of whom kept in touch with me well after they left my classroom. 

As for “considering the source”?  I appreciate my friends and I deeply value their friendship and love!  Their words of wisdom and support have been invaluable as I went through breast cancer and many other trials in life.  

My true Source of comfort, wisdom and hope is my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ!  My Father’s love letter to me, the Bible, definitely provides many instances where I can observe and learn lessons. 

I’m so glad I stuck with this strange, winding path of writing.  I, personally, am encouraged to cling more faithfully, to my Source, my LORD.  I hope you are encouraged as well.  

https://www.capturedmiracles.org/my-friend-can-i-ask-you/