Watch that tongue!

 Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and in the life to come. –Henri J. M. Nouwen


The internet is simultaneously one of the greatest and one of the worst inventions of our time.

On the one hand, in the blink of an eye, we can access so much helpful information! It can help us find our way when we are lost, and locate a gas station when the tank is almost empty. We can find answers to important questions—and trivial ones, as well. Amazing!

But on the other hand, there’s social media. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram—and more. I have friends in corners of the world that I have never met—and I have had to unfriend people I have known for years, because the casual distance created by the internet seems to give some folks permission to be downright mean and nasty. Also amazing—but not in a good way!

I have made a deliberate choice to use Facebook as a means to do ministry. I try hard to be respectful and share the life-changing gospel of Christ. How about you? Are your words filled with grace and peace? (Even when you aren’t online?)


Monday As you begin your week, spend some time thinking about someone who really knows how to “push your buttons.” Pray for how you respond. Proverbs 1:20-27

Tuesday Is there someone with whom you’ve lost touch over some issue that now seems trivial? Reach out. Mend a fence. Proverbs 1:28-33

Wednesday Today, simply meditate on Henri Nouwen’s list. Did you? Pray. Psalm 19:1-6

Thursday Sit outside today if you are able. Listen to the sounds around you. Let your heart seek out the peace-filling tones of nature and rest. Psalm 19:7-14

Friday Where in your life are you in need of a fresh start? Sometimes the person we find hardest to forgive is ourselves. Do that today. Isaiah 50:4-9

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, look at Henri Nouwen’s list and review your week. Be honest and pray to do better next week James 3:1-2

Sunday The very best way to worship God is to serve God’s children. What will you seek to do in the week ahead to make your world a little nicer? Mark 8:27-30

 

The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power, but self-rejection. --Henri Nouwen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stepping back. . . .

Image
Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and with a calm spirit.  Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever,  even if your whole world seems upset.  –St. Francis de Sales This week, I invite you to simply sit in a quiet space with words of hope and promise, and to remember, as Julian of Norwich knew, that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well . It has been a long, difficult season. Advent and the coming of the Christ is just around the corner. Peace and comfort to your spirit. Monday   “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Matthew 11:28-30 Tuesday  “Is this not the kind of fast I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” Isaiah 58:6-9 Wednesday  “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
Read more

It's that time again. . . .

When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised changed, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness?  Whatever it is,  it’s welcome. –Kristin Armstrong No matter what part of the world you call home, this time of year brings big changes. While my friends Down Under are watching sings of new growth emerge from the earth as temperatures rise, here in Ohio, the leaves are turning from green to gold and orange, red and brown. The winds have taken on a chill; clouds hang heavy, like soggy cotton, reminding us that soon and very soon, we are going to see the snow . Always different, yet somehow, the same. We depend on God’s eternal ways, and trust that again this year, winter will follow autumn, just like it should. So why is it, as we anticipate and appreciate changes like these, when it comes to so many things in life we pull up short, wrinkle our noses and say No! No change! I like things just the way they are! It’s t
Read more

Starting again

“This, then, is how you should pray:" --Matthew 6:9a I have been really sensing lately that there is another blog inside me, one focused on prayer.  Oh, I know-- those elephants are all about prayer. Heck, they  are  prayer. And I will continue there, as well. But what I've been feeling is that people-- maybe you--  have always been told, "You should pray," or "Pray about that." But maybe you feel your prayers aren't "good enough," or that it's just too hard, too embarrassing, too [fill in the blank] to pray. Maybe it feels like no one really talks about how  to pray-- except, of course, for Jesus, in Matthew 6 and a couple parallel passages where we are given what's come to be known as The Lord's Prayer. And it is a great prayer. And there are other great prayers, and other ways to pray that do not involve rote. So "my plan" here is to share, hopefully on a weekly or semi-regular basis, a lot of
Read more