Proverbs 20:28
| Love and faithfulness keep a king safe |
| through love his throne is made secure |
Somehow these words are very comforting to me personally - not that I’m a king or anything, but I think the words apply to each one of us. What keeps us ’safe’ - not physically - but on the inside where it counts - is love and faithfulness - our security is in love. Today these words really touch my heart, and encourage me, after what has been another tough week.
Good food for thought!
Proverbs 20:27
| The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man |
| it searches out his inmost being |
Ah, a real lesson here for me this morning. God doesn’t look at the outside - He’s not concerned about the facade I present to the world - He’s looking inside, at my heart - for that is where the truth lies. My job is to make my outside match my inside - always. I need to reflect my values to the world and not worry about how that will be taken by anyone. Good food for thought!
Proverbs 20:26
| A wise king winnows out the wicked |
| He drives the threshing wheel over them |
Well, that’s certainly decisive! Somehow I find it kinda refreshing to see a problem, and not dither around, committee it, talk it to death, but just deal with it. And eliminate the problem. Whew! Violent thoughts this morning!
Without the violence, I think it would be a good thing to cultivate decision-making and taking personal responsibility for them - a trait sadly lacking in today’s world…
Proverbs 20:25
| It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly |
| and only later to consider his vows |
This is SO relevant to today! I see this all around me - in small and large things, personal and political….all the promises made, rashly, impetuously - ah, yes, I’ll give you the world! Then…..when it comes crunch time….oops, maybe I was a little overboard in the promises there…..need to backtrack a little. Thinking we’re gonna see a LOT of this in the near future…..
Good warning to me to be very careful what I promise, and make my yes truly be yes!
- Why is it that this year, when I bought the ingredients to make my annual Chex Mix, are there no longer instructions for making it in the oven? Somehow it would lose a LOT to me to make it in the microwave!
- On the same note….the ‘traditional’ recipe - isn’t. I have been making this mix for more years than I care to admit to…..and there were NO bagel chips - the pretzels were always pretzel STIX - and it did include a LOT of butter - and it was the slow baking for a total of an hour that makes it so good. It wasn’t broke, so why did they ‘fix’ it?
- Why is summer so short, and winter so endless?
- why do things get so ‘busy’ that there is no time to relax and enjoy the moment?
On that last thought….here’s to today - and to enjoying every moment in it….!
Proverbs 20:20
| If a man curses his father or mother |
| his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness |
Strong words, these! How quickly this brought to mind images of children talking abusively to their parents - children killing their parents. Right on the heels of that come images of grown children talking abusively to their parents - grown children killing their parents. The world is so full of hatred, it seems. So hard to go against the flow of ‘I’ll have mine, no matter what it takes’ - and to instill in myself the words of God - which should dictate all of my behavior.
Food for thought, indeed…
Getting an early start today ! Thought it would add to the goodness of what God’s given me to count these first rather than last!
- We gifted ourselves with the ‘memory-foam’ topper for our mattress, and this has resulted in an amazing difference in the comfort - and the quality of our sleep. A real blessing for my hubby, who has sleep-apnea and painful knees.
- The word from the mission team in India is that they are busy doing God’s work, and of the 350 children of all ages they are ministering to this week, 250 of them have made a decision that they want Jesus Christ as their Savior - a huge blessing!
- I received in the mail a package from my granddaughters - a total surprise! Inside was a lovely bit of ‘fridge-art’ with “I LOVE YOU” blazoned across the top - this blesses me every time I look at it. They also sent me jewelry they had crafted themselves - one of my joys in life has taken root there - a very special blessing!
- I was blesses to be able to buy a crafting book I have wanted for a long time - and got it two days earlier than the shipping estimate! A blessing to buy it, and another blessing to get it early!
- After searching for well over two years, suddenly this week I discovered the exact thing I have been looking for - which will enable me to do a brand new craft that has been in my heart and head for all this time - waiting for the right ‘insides’ to apply it to. Huge blessing!
- Along with the above - the company I ordered from no longer takes orders, but the parent website’s webmaster contacted me and found another supplier for me, so that my order will be fulfilled - going the really big extra mile for me, the first-time customer. Such a pleasant surprise!
- Our interpretive dance team, which had seemed on the verge of collapse, has suddenly turned around - and they are all making huge strides, both in the new dance skills we are teaching them, but in the understanding of the scriptures they are trying to portray through it. A wonderful blessing for the two of us who teach them - who had been so tired and burned out with the teen-age ‘attitude’!
This has turned out to be quite a week -I am continually surprised at how much God’s hand is in my life, and how many blessings He pours out - week after week!
Proverbs 20:19
| A gossip betrays a confidence |
| so avoid a man who talks too much |
This verse made me smile - and then I decided there was great wisdom in those few words! A gossip just thrives on talking about others - we all know someone like this - not a reach to think this is not someone I would tell a secret to - or the whole world would know of it very soon! Then comes the solution - avoid it! The person who talks too much is probably talking about others, and not with the right motives. If I’m not near it, I won’t get caught up in it. Wise words.
Proverbs 20:18
| Make plans by seeking advice |
| If you wage war, obtain guidance |
Sometimes the words I read seem to be written just for me - and I do take them to heart. When I make plans, they just might be right off the wall, so most of the time (not all, to my regret) I do ask for advice - and sometimes I don’t like what I hear - and I might not follow it - but I try to ask. I think there is great value in getting counsel from others - just take care in choosing who the ‘others’ are. And I think the one place to always gain wisdom and guidance is in prayer - for there is One who wil not ever have an agenda other than to benefit me - and that is Jesus Christ!
Borrowing this one from my friend Birdie - where I saw it first this morning on her blog Scenes From The Crooked Maple and thought I would put it here too… from Ben Franklin, who said:
When the people find that they can vote themselves money,
that will herald the end of the republic.
He also said….
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
Food for thought…..
