Seek God

I attended a funeral this past week for the husband of an old friend. Although I didn’t know him real well (they married after we moved), I knew he was a good man, treated my friend well, and most importantly loved God. I was truly amazed and touched during the funeral because of the life he lived and the many people he touched.

He worked as the recreation director of the prison in Muskegon. He also organized worship services there. He served as a deacon, an Adult Sunday School Teacher, and helped with the kids’ programs. Not only were there over 400 people present at the funeral, they had to hold two memorial services at the prison because the inmates requested it! He ran his race well in this life!

I was also amazed to see how well my friend, Lisa, was holding up. Although I knew she had a strong faith in Christ, I was able to see it in action. She wasn’t overcome with grief, but was praising God for the time she had with Kevin. After he was taken into emergency surgery, she led the family in prayer. When he passed away, she immediately started singing hymns by his bed side.

They both made me realize that I want to live a life like theirs. I want to touch people for Christ. I want to praise God in the bad times as well as the good. And what they made me realize is that if that is my desire for my life, then I need to be walking closer to Christ. I need to have an intimate relationship with Him. I need to hunger for Him. Kevin’s favorite verse was, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”—Matthew 6:33

I urge you today to seek God’s Kingdom first and everything else will fall into place. God desires so much more for us than we could ever desire for ourselves. It doesn’t matter what the world thinks. What matters is that we are living for God and doing His will in our lives. Seek God today. Seek Him in prayer. Seek Him in His Word. Seek Him in nature. Seek Him everywhere you look. Just seek Him today.

Fun at Papa & Nana Smith's

Dara spent this past week at her Papa and Nana Smith's house. I ended up going down to attend a funeral (see next post), so I was able to get some pictures. Nana found a cute exasaucer at the Condo yard sale last week and the girls love it.

Cora has been wanting to sit on the potty more and more lately. Here is a pic of her sitting, but not going.

Dara and Eva can be quite silly sometimes! We recently got a Bumbo seat for the girls. We got it used and it happened to be green. My brother had one loaned to them for their daughter and it is also green. Since Mom was babysitting Madalynn Thursday night, they had both Bumbos at their house. The girls decided to wear them on their heads and called themselves the "Green Headed Monsters!" They wore these all over the house. They even answered the door for the pizza guy with them on their heads! Unfortnately, the Marthanator and the Madalynnator overpowered them and took back their Bumbos!

Sleeping Beauties!

My dad can put any baby to sleep. Whenever my dad sits in a chair with one of my girls, they usually both end up falling asleep. I posted a picture of him and Jaina sleeping a couple of months ago. This picture was taken after I vacuumed the living room and around the chair! They both slept through the whole thing!

How well did you know me?

Well, I said I would post the answers to these questions after I heard back from a few people.

Where did we meet? Answers vary according to who I'm talking to!

Take a stab at my middle name?  Nicole Anita--that's right, I have two!

Do I smoke?  Absolutely NOT!

Color of my eyes?  Blue

Do I have any siblings?   Yes, 1 older brother-Jim

What's one of my favorite things to do?  read, write, scrapbook (take your pick of one!)

What's my favorite type of music?  Christian

Am I shy or outgoing?  I would say I am shy. If you thought I was outgoing, it might be because I work really hard at not being shy and I must have done a good job that day(s)!

Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules?   I would have absolutely said that I follow the rules, but after receiving many comments about how I am either a rebel or a combination of both, I had to think about the question more. I guess I can see why some people think I am a rebel. Although for the most part I follow rules, I also stand firm in my beliefs and will be a rebel if needed. I also don't like being told what to do so there are some cases where I am a rebel in that respect as well.

Any special talents?  I wouldn't say I have any special talents, but some things other said were: great mom and wife, scrapbooking, making beautiful babies, money management, cooking, writing, being a good friend, running a household with 7 kids

How many children do I have?   7--Dara, Eva, Allyn, Sabra, Cora, Martha,& Jaina

If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is one thing that I would bring?    My Bible!

Definitely a Theme!

Make sure you scroll down and read the previous two posts to this one to understand what I am talking about it being a theme!

Chad and I do our devotions in the morning. While he is eating his breakfast, I read the devotion and then we talk about it. Today's devotion was on Luke 6:45:

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

We need to make sure we are filling our hearts with what is good--what is Godly. It is the times when we are tested, frustrated, annoyed that our true "heart" comes out in our words.

I think God is going to test me in relationship to my words soon as three times today I have been "reminded" how to use my mouth. I pray I pass the test when it comes!

God Speaking to Me!

The use of our words must be a message I need to hear today. As I was waiting for the last post to process and be added, I checked my email. In my in-box was the following devotional. It is amazing that God directs me to where I need to be. May this devotional be a reminder to us all as it has been to me. I am definitely guilty of disguising gossip and it is something I have been convicted of and been working on for almost a year.

August 18, 2008

Godly Talk or Gossip?
by Melanie Chitwood

"Tell the older women to behave as those who love the Lord should. They must not gossip about others or be slaves of wine. They must teach what is proper." Titus 2:3 (CEV)

Devotion:

Have you ever said words such as: "I'm just telling you this so you will pray for her," or "I'm really not supposed to share this; just don't tell anyone else." Truthfully, I've been guilty of trying to hide gossip with words like this, but God has really been convicting me lately about my words. Specifically, God is challenging me to speak godly words. Now that this subject of godly words is on my heart, it seems that God is bringing verses and life-lessons about this topic wherever I turn.

As I drove home from Bible study, I realized that God had used my friend Debbie that night to deliver one of those life-lessons about godly words. Out of all the discussions that night, Debbie's words were the ones that stayed with me. Her words had pointed me to a deeper understanding of God, so much so that I wrote them in my journal and even shared them with another friend.

Over the ten years I've know her, I've learned many lessons about godly words from Debbie. First, I've never heard her gossip about another woman. The definition of gossip is "idle talk; rumor; talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature." In Titus 2:3 we women are instructed not to be "malicious gossips." God knew that we women might struggle with our words. Debbie has never even hinted at gossiping about another woman. That's an amazing track record.

The second lesson about godly words from Debbie has been the way she talks about her husband and her marriage. We've had many honest conversations about our marital challenges. Once again, Debbie has never gossiped about her husband. Even at times when she's been angry or frustrated with her husband, she doesn't berate him or share details that would embarrass him.

Finally, one of the keys to Debbie's godly words is in the amount she speaks. She is neither overly quiet nor overly talkative. The words she says are wise and point me to God. Her example in the amount she speaks teaches me to ask myself: Do I really need to say anything in this situation, or do I just want to hear myself talk?

I'm very much a work-in-progress in this area of godly talk. I've spent plenty of time lately confessing the sin of my ungodly talk, and I'm thankful for my heavenly Father who doesn't give up on me but calls me to His standards. I'll end with two things that are really helping me in this area. I have a friend who is also working on this and we hold each other accountable. And I have a question that I'm trying to use as a guideline for godly talk: Are my words going to lead to gossip or to God?

Dear Lord, You know what's in my heart and You know that godly talk is something that's challenging to me. Lord, I want to honor You with my words. I want to be a woman who can be trusted by others not to harm them, and I want to be trusted by You, Lord, to speak only what honors You. Make me aware of situations or people who might tempt me to gossip, and give me the strength to avoid these situations. Lord, if I sin with my words, convict me, cause me to repent, and to have a change of heart, a heart that wants what You want. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Related Resources:

30 Days to Taming Your Tongue by Deborah Smith Pegues; The Power of a Woman's Words by Sharon Jaynes; What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood

Do You Know Him?

Application Steps:

Read through Proverbs chapters 6,10, and 13. Write down any guidelines you learn for godly talk.

Ask a trusted friend to hold you accountable to speak in a godly way.

Ask God to make you more aware of your talking.

Reflections:

Do I listen more or talk more?

Are my words going to lead to gossip or to God?

Are there situations or other people who tempt me to gossip? Can I avoid them?

Power Verses:

Proverbs 6:16, 19, "There are six things which the Lord hates … a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers." (NAS)

Proverbs 13:3, "Careful words make for a careful life; careless talk may ruin everything." (Message)

© 2008 by Melanie Chitwood. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105

www.proverbs31. org

The Power of Words

I read the following poem in my morning devotional book that. I have read it before (maybe in an email or something), but it is always a good reminder. Although it is very hard to do, we must always be careful of the power our words have! This is something I struggle with daily.

The Power of Words

A careless word may kindle strife
A cruel word may wreck a life
A bitter word may hate instill
A brutal word may smite and kill

A gracious word may smooth the way
A joyous word may light the day
A timely word may lessen stress
A loving word may heal and bless

--Author unknown