Are visions of sirens and lights flashing in your mind right now?
Do you feel that uneasiness that comes along with the moment you realize you were speeding?
The officer walks up to the car, asks for your license and registration while you sweat it out trying to figure out what you can say to this person so that they will let you go with just a warning.
Inhale.
Breathe.
Panic.
No, scratch that, breathe again.
At this point you are probably already praying like crazy too, right?
Yet each of us speed through our lives rushing from this to that to another that each and every day without taking any time to pull over and stop.
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“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.” Luke 11:9-10 NLT
This verse just keeps coming up this week. I love when you see Scripture in a new light. I have read this verse several times in various translations, but just this week new and exciting things started to pop out to me.
Two key words hit me square in the jaw, made me sit back scratch my head, and burst out in a great big Aha!
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My mother has given me some great advice over the years. But the one piece that I remember the most—and the piece that I put to use with the most frequency—is something that she probably doesn’t even remember saying at all. It was one of those times when she was trying to console an upset teenager (me!) and attempting to use that segment of time as a teachable moment.
“Sometimes, Staci, you just need to get in the car and go through a drive-thru for a Coke.”
I’m not sure how much stock I put in that nugget of information at the tender age of seventeen, but I do know how wise I’ve come to view those words as I raised my own children and maneuvered through a myriad of life’s complex twists and turns.
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My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19 NIV
A few days ago, I shared with you a few things about having a Big Mouth. If you haven’t had a chance to stop by and read it, you can click here to read it first.
I’m so glad you came back to finish talking about this. I know, I know; it’s a touchy subject, but if you are like me, then it is something that is a lifelong learning process.
The hard part is that I.am.a.
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Seasons change.
Life changes.
The past year has been one of many changes for my family. We’ve suffered two deaths, weathered the acceptance of Aspergers, tackled new job responsibilities, and continued with our plans to create our dream home in the piney woods of East Texas next year.
Life is changing, that much is for sure, and I’m working hard to accept each new change with the grace and dignity He would have me to. Change is like turning a page on a fresh book…and each new chapter is beckoning me, calling my name.
The thing is, change doesn’t always feel so great.
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He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.
Proverbs 21:23 NIV
It’s funny how something so small as the mouth, something so seemingly insignificant, can get so many people into trouble. I can’t tell you how many times I have done this, witnessed this, or experienced this to be true.
For example… you are the 3rd party in the middle of a conversation when all of the sudden one person says something that leaves everyone in the conversation stunned.
Almost in silence.
Did you know that this is not something that’s new to today? I cannot even begin to tell you how many variations of the word “mouth” there are in the Bible; I lost track somewhere over 300 times.
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This week I attended a woman’s Bible study at my church. It wasn’t my regular study group. I was surrounded by new faces. Each one took their turn sharing their prayer request and slowly they made their way to the young lady sitting beside me. She was an adorable mother of two, all smiles and sweetness. But, the moment she opened her mouth her voice cracked and her eyes misted over. “Could you please pray for my marriage?” She asked. “With our newest little one, I am finding no time for my husband. And quite frankly, I don’t want any time with him.
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“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
What gets you out of bed on a lazy, rainy morning to brave a day of errands? What keeps you going when nothing you’ve planned is working out? When your kids are defiant and your husband just doesn’t ‘get you’ and you’re friends, well, are only online?
If you’ve been reading my posts and following my writing journey, you know it’s been an up hill battle. I write and study and attend writer’s conferences and write some more and get rejections. Then I start the process all over again.
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