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Posts Tagged ‘Friendship’

Changes – Again

February 23rd, 2011 Posted by 7 comments

How many of you are experiencing changes in your life right now? Did you discover that with new experiences your eyesight shifts and all of a sudden everyone you meet is facing the same thing?

Years ago, Mike and I bought a white minivan. All of a sudden, every third car on the road was a white minivan. Who would have thought there were so many white vans?

And when you’re pregnant – who do you see? Pregnant women!

Because of this similarity I feel secure assuming that if I’m dealing with big changes in my life right now, a good many of you are also. The interesting thing about change is it brings stress. Even good change. A change like a marriage or a new baby is a wonderful change, yet produces stress none the less.

Hard changes bring even more stress than good changes. It’s difficult enough when a tough situation develops, but when said hard times stretch out like a dog on a rug in front of the fire – settled down to stay – one of several responses will occur:

  1. what at first is acceptance, may turn to anger
  2. what at first is trust and peace, can morph into rebellion
  3. waiting for it to pass may impel us to seek a solution on our own

Does it help or hinder that since this trial began I have, at different points, chosen all three responses? Does it help or hinder that my stress hasn’t abated, the answer hasn’t materialized, and I’m still going through it?

Have I learned anything? Yes. I have learned that God is faithful. I am learning to rest and trust. I am still battling bewilderment, frustration, and the Why?s

Tell me what you’ve learned. Everyone who comments will be entered into a drawing to receive a free Sunday’s Promise. Name will be drawn on March 15th. (Read more on Read more…

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Tangled Speech

February 13th, 2010 Posted by 2 comments
I come from a family of avid readers.  Long ago, we discovered that we didn’t need to waste time looking up an unfamiliar word in a dictionary.  No siree.  We knew it could be figured out by the way it was used in a sentence.  Unfortunately, when we’d have occasion to speak this new word, we just assumed we knew its correct pronunciation.  Not always.  Like the time my brother announced at dinner that he didn’t like a particular acquaintance because his holier-than-thou attitude made him seem “pee-us.”  There was a moment of stunned silence before we all jumped in to explain that the word is pronounced, “‘Pie-us,’ David, ‘pie-us’.”
I was in college before I knew that a false appearance wasn’t a “fuh-kade” but a “fuh-sod.”  Sometimes I discovered that I preferred my own pronunciation to the correct one. For instance, it was disappointing to find the synonym for complete disorder — chaos — was pronounced “kay-oss” because I thought my version of “chay-ose” sounded more chaotic (if you know what I mean).
By now, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this.  I’m talking about tangled speech.  The Psalmist says “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word fitly spoken.”  Try as I may,  my speech inevitably resembles peach pits in tarnished brass.
My verbal offences, while sometimes humorous in retrospect, often give others an untrue impression of me.  While I’m quick to apologize when I’m aware of transgressing, I know I don’t catch them all.  Therefore, I’m qualified to state that most people do not intend to be insulting.  Comments you take as intrusive almost certainly are simply one person’s way of showing interest.  This year, give your church members a break and learn to laugh at what appear as roughly spoken, snoopy, or rude comments.  Being accepting of others foibles will reap you wholehearted love from those around you.  There’s nothing nicer for your people than knowing you’ll accept them graciously, and that they don’t need to measure and examine each word before it is uttered.

[Reprinted by Permission from Brynwood Publishing]

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