May's WOW, Tasty Words!

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Thanks so much for joining me for a little coffee break today and more our WOW for May. Grab your coffee and come on in away from the demands upon your life and all the worldly noise, and don’t forget your Strand of Faith so we can tie some knots.
By the way, if I left you a bit hungry yesterday, I do apologize! :)
Let’s get to our tasty words – actually before I do that, let me give you sort of a historical backdrop so we may digest them with a whole new enjoyment!
Paul is writing his letter to the Colossian church from a prison cell in Rome and I can only imagine how helpless he must have been feeling as the stories of syncretism were coming to him. In other words, the Colossian church was combining principles and ideas from other philosophies and religions, such as heathenism, Judaism with a bit of Greek thought with an emphasis on special knowledge that denied Christ as the Savior.
Let’s stop right there for just a minute! Dang it; I thought I was going to get away with a light-hearted blog this time, and not be so serious – (I’ve been in the trenches with my trenchers for eight weeks now to help others OUT of their wounds, weaknesses and worries and could use a little laughter) -- but this demands a bit of attention, this syncretism, which is in some ways like mixing sugar and salt, tempting! The teacher’s heart in me won’t just skip it.
It encourages my soul to know that “New Age” philosophies aren’t so “new agey,” if you know what I mean! More and more we are hearing about this doctrine that comes from mixing this and a little of that. For example: esotericism, a religious perspective that is based on the acquisition of mystical knowledge and is a form of Gnosticism. Or what about the “angel” craze? Anyway, the Word of God warns us about this and tells us we are to have an answer for our faith, to defend why we believe what we believe, and this is the motivation behind Paul’s letter that he wrote to the Colossians from his prison cell.
In verse 5 he is encouraging the Colossians to walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, meaning toward the non-Christian, the false teacher, the atheist, the prostitute, the addict . . . the list goes on and on. And then once you are in front of them, Paul says: Let your speech always be with grace – let’s stop right there.
Well, I’m sorry to be negative Nellie, but “always,” really? Fail! But as much as is possible – and I am in no way changing Paul’s Spirit inspired letter to the Colossians and to us; I just know I fall short every day but I get back up and try again, and His grace gives me permission to do just that!
The kind of grace that is referred to requires a divine influence upon the heart and indicates favor on the part of the giver. In other words, as we make our way toward the unbelieving soul, we are not to be accusatory and/or critical in speech but our words are to be flavored with graciousness, i.e. a little sugar.
Join me tomorrow for the salt!

Evinda

May's WOW, Tasty Words!

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Tasty Words
Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! I can’t believe we are already close to summer! May’s halfway gone so I thought this would be a good time as any to get to our May’s WOW (Words of Wisdom & Weapons of Warfare)! Grab your coffee and your red Strand of Faith and follow me to the kitchen.
Since we’ve been talking about communication, I thought this verse was incredibly relevant for us and to us.
Have you ever made popcorn and then thrown in some chocolate chips, or some M&Ms? For some of you, that may be old news but it hasn’t been that long ago when someone told me to try that combination for the first time. I looked at them as though they were crazy. But when I actually tried it, oh, my goodness! It was like my taste buds burst with gladness over the combination of salty and sweet! But the balance has to be just right in order to achieve that taste-bud explosion that feels so good all the way down to the tummy.
I don’t know about you, but for me, texture is another important factor, though, so it’s not like I can just combine anything salty and anything sweet and experience that same ah-ha sensation. For instance, French fries and milkshakes doesn’t do it for me; in fact, I cringe when I think about that combination. Apple pie and cheese sort of makes my tummy queasy, though I can munch on a bite of apple and chase it with a piece of string cheese and enjoy it. It’s just not the same type of taste-bud explosion as the chocolate and popcorn combo!
As we get older, we are told to stay away from the salt – I can almost hear myself saying it in that ominous tone while holding my fingers in the shape of an X indicating the danger! But don’t you just love salt on cantaloupe, or honey dew melon. Again, the first time I tried that combination, I was shocked at the result: the salt made the fruit sweeter! And despite the warning about salt, I find the older I get, the more I crave both salt and sugar!
Well, the more I read the Scriptures, the more I crave, and the more I realize just how much He loves us, and how He gets us, every little thing about us: From our pet peeves, to and through our flaws, in our physical and emotional desires, and to our spiritual needs, He is there to meet us right where we are, and He even uses food to teach us!
The other day, I had opened a new jar of almond butter from Costco. Now, I replaced peanut butter with almond butter over a year ago and am still acquiring a taste for it, at least this brand. Well, in my half-asleep self, I had a brilliant idea: I bet it would be awesome if I added some salt to it! So, I grabbed my Morton’s Sea Salt, and let her rip … and a nice little heap came out.
My eyes got big, like I finally woke up, and I thought, I wonder if it’s too much? I must have sat there, stupefied for at least 30 seconds and then I moved into action. I grabbed the wooden spoon and began stirring … ever so slowly because if you have ever bought almond butter, you know that the worse thing about it is the oil does not cooperate! You have to stir it up and mix all that natural oil that stays at the top ever so slowly but firmly or else it oozes up and out everywhere. So I stirred and stirred… I considered that my arm workout for the day, and then satisfied I had mixed all the salt…. and oil, I cleaned up my mess, made my almond butter rice cake, grabbed my coffee and off to my Coffee Hour with God I went.
When I took my first bite, I wondered: Did I not stir it up right or is it just too salty? A thought fluttered across my mind, dancing like a star and I realized, we actually can be too salty in our speech, say too much and turn others away. So while salt is necessary for flavor, too much is not a good thing! It was a reminder for me in two different ministry situations that while salt is incredibly important to season my speech with grace, I need to go easy… and not dump a whole lot at once!
Join me tomorrow for some tasty words!

Evinda

Jenn's Journey from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Hi and welcome again to Monday's blog and coffee time! I am happy you are here and thanks for reading some of my thoughts.
This past weekend was Mother's Day, as we all know. It's a special time to recognize mothers and all they do! While some would argue we need to do that all year, and I tend to agree, it is nice to have a day set aside for an extra reminder. Same for Father's Day coming up in a few weeks!
This year I was reflecting on my own motherhood and the journey it has been. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to mother my sweet little daughter. She has brought so much into my life. She is extremely creative and imaginative, which has made me tap into that myself; it's helped me remember my own imaginative days. Why did I lose that? I think as I grew up, I let too many other things that take the place. My daughter wakes up happy most every day, which has been a total inspiration for me, the non-morning person! That influence has perhaps been one of the biggest life changers for me…seeing that sweet, happy little face first thing is so joyful. Her ability to communicate her feelings and bounce back from disappointments is amazing. I am blessed.
There was a time in my life when I did not think I would ever be a mother. The fact that I am is one of the biggest answers to prayer. The journey was not without pain though and that is what I want to share with you today. I was married for 10 years, five of which were spent hoping to get pregnant and have a baby. Infertility is a much talked about issue nowadays, and I have many friends who have faced it. The sadness and grief it causes is very complex. As women, we expect that it will just happen, and for many of us, we may have spent years of our life preventing it until the right time. Once you decide you want to have a baby, and month after month brings disappointment, it is a very difficult season to live through. To top it off, I did not have any emotional support at home so it was a very lonely time for me. The marriage was extremely lonely as it was and there were some days I had no idea how I would keep living that way.
I cried out to God a lot in those days. I went through the emotions of wondering what was wrong with me; why is this happening to me? After several years of trying, I had begun to accept that perhaps this was not my lot, and began to think of what else would fill my life. We had talked some about adoption but had never seriously pursued that option, and I had long ago decided pumping my body full of hormones and fertility drugs was not for me.
Though often I gave up hope, a verse I found once stayed in my mind as a small beacon of light: "He settles the barren woman in her home as the happy mother of children." (Psalm 113:9) I wondered many times how/if God would do this for me!
My life changed instantly one night in June of 2008 when a friend from Washington called me to tell me about a baby she knew was going to be up for adoption in just a few months. The more of the story she told me, I realized that I knew the people she was talking of; they were friends and neighbors of my sister here in CA!! I get chills when I think of how God orchestrated this situation. To make a long story short, we made contact with the parents, and because they knew us they immediately said that we could have the baby.
The following two months were spent going through all the proper channels to be able to bring her home and on August 7th, 2008 that beautiful girl was born. On August 9^th -- my birthday!!!! -- she was placed in my arms and I became a mom. I had no idea of the road that was before me but I knew that God had answered my prayer. He had indeed turned five years of barrenness into a unique and beautiful story.
God answers prayers. He has His own timing. Someday I will look back on the twists and turns of life as I do on those difficult five years, and know I would not have it any other way. Some days are hard, some weeks and years are too, but through it all, He listens and He walks through it with us. When His answers come, they are right on time!
Until next week, be blessed

Faith Filled Fridays From Croley’s Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34
Welcome to Coffee Hour and thanks for joining me today you know the routine so let’s get started.
I wanted to let you know I have a heart condition. Now don’t get to excited by this statement; it’s called grandchildren!! Yes, I’m crazy about my grandkids!! And truthfully speaking, can’t we all say we’ve had a heart condition at one time or another over someone(s) we’ve loved!! Further explanation is coming. Spiritual birth makes someone a child of God, and how great is the love of our Father to us as His children? When we except Christ; we have been adopted in to an eternal family: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13
I love when our grandchildren come to stay, whether it’s a short visit or for a couple days, my heart swells within me when I hear their voices squealing, calling our names and witnessing their faces lighting up. They actually race to see who can get to us first by running as fast as their feet can carry them, straight into our arms. Yes, you can say they have captured our hearts! And for me, to be able to wrap my arms around them and kiss the tops of their heads… well, there’s no other heart condition I’d rather have. Although on paper, two have been adopted, yet in our hearts there are no variances; our love for them is just as great as the other three…there are no differences!!!
Recently we‘ve been going through some of my belongings that they’ve admired for some time now and I’ve reminded them that it will be theirs one day, I explained it’s called an inheritance. Now that may sound a bit morbid but it’s the truth.
Just as in a human family, the Father provides a spiritual inheritance for His children. Proverbs 13:22. So it is in the family of God; as children of God, we inherit nothing less than the kingdom of God. In Ephesians 1:3, we are told that believers are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. These spiritual blessings are infinite, eternal, and reside in Christ, and by God’s grace we are given these blessings as His children.
As earthly children we eventually inherit what our parents leave behind for us after their death. But in God’s case, believers are already reaping the rewards of our inheritance by having peace with Him through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Ephesians 1:13–14: you and I are heirs of God through Christ! We’re joint heirs with Jesus! Romans 8:17.So His inheritance is our inheritance too! How exciting!!
We can never do anything to deserve it for it is His gift of love, mercy and grace to us. Liken as our grandchildren, it’s a gift of our love towards them; it’s a heart condition!! 1 Thessalonians 2:12 tells us that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
Being a part of the family of God is the greatest blessing given to us as believers. We must be reminded as “Sons and Daughter” of our Heavenly Father that He too, loves for us to run to Him, to meet Him with great expectancy knowing that He loves us just the way we are with all our imperfections. WHY? Because we are considered His children; that’s why!
God has a heart condition -- it’s a heart condition -- towards us! See you next week and remember, keep Him close to your heart
Love Deb

Seven Sacrifices to Joy

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thank you for sharing this Coffee Hour with me as I write from my heart to yours about this subject of communication that literally thousands of books have been written about! Grab your coffee and your red Strand of Faith and let’s go tie the final knots in this relevant subject.
Proverbs 15:2 says that the tongue of the wise uses knowledge, in other words, we step back emotionally and mentally before jumping forward with a reaction. This is the difference between responding vs. reacting. In fact, we are supposed to take this time to step back and sort of season our talk with some salt … salt ads flavor, the flavor of kindness, gentleness, peace, patience … and self-control! The ESV of the Bible translates Colossians 4:6 this way: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
Well, this tells us that each person, each situation, each disagreement needs a different response, but no matter what the response, we’ve got to step back before we jump forward. See this is the biggest challenge when someone has challenged us, right? How can we pour salt on our words so as to not inflict wounds or add to an already-existing wound? The first and only thing that comes to mind is to do a heart check! I remember an angry husband coming to me one time, sharing all kinds of ugly stuff about his wife. He demanded that I talk with the Pastor of our church and the Associate Pastor, and fill them both in on all her dirty laundry. He demanded a whole host of other things, but … anyway, after reading through his email twice, and some time in prayer, I responded with a question: What’s your motive? If your motive is for restoration, to help in the healing process, that’s great; but if your motive is to bring her harm, to hurt her because she’s hurt you, then you will have to take that up with God because I cannot participate in that. So check your heart, your motive.”
He didn’t respond!
In times of conflict, sometimes we must say nothing at all but let our actions speak for us. In 1^st Peter 3:1, Peter tells us that many can be won over not by our words but by our conduct. This isn’t for just the spouse married to an unbeliever, although it’s a great piece of wisdom for those in that situation. There’s no point in climbing the mountain of change, getting to the top or peak of a change and shouting, “I’ve changed; can’t you see I’ve changed?” We must allow our lives to be the voice.
Can you think of someone who has influenced you with their lives, not just their words? Paul is gifted in this area of communication and points out this truth: how would we even have faith without the knowledge imparted through good communication? We take that leap of faith because someone communicates to us in a way that grabs at our heart and squeezes it and causes us to recognize the necessity of the reality of Christ. Do you see what I mean?
Have you ever been listening to a message from a pastor, or someone on the radio, or even someone face to face and wondered, how in the world did they get such a clear picture of my dirty laundry? Do they have a camera or X-ray vision that goes straight to my mind and down to my heart?
So who or what communicated to you your need for a Savior?
That’s almost a wrap on this sacrifice! Next week, we will cover the final part in this sacrifice of communication, because without it, we would most certainly continuously fail in this area of communication and in this sacrificial journey!
Love,

Evinda

Seven Sacrifices to Joy

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, happy day to you and thanks so, so much for stopping by to have coffee with me! We are tying the final knots in this sacrifice of communication, and I’m hoping to be done with this sacrifice after our Coffee Hour tomorrow, and yet, if He leads me to communicate more to you from my heart to yours … so be it! Grab your coffee, and your red Strand of Faith (SOF), and let’s get back to some Biblical ingredients for good communication.
Oh, this next reminder is a good one! It sort of has a sharp edge of conviction to it, at least to me. Ephesians 4:29 reminds us to not let any corrupt communication come out of our mouths but use language that lifts up, not tears down for this blesses God in Heaven.
Now, the first thing I thought of is cussing, or a “slip of the tongue". When I think of the truth that one minute I can have a potty mouth and the next minute be praising Him, I am a bit convicted of talking out of two different sides of my mouth! See one slip of the tongue leads to another, and another, and another … before you know it, our tongue’s totally slipped and we’re falling all over ourselves! But does corrupt just mean, for example, cuss words, or foul language? I’m not sure. Something tells me there might be more to this word than meets the eye. Let’s go check in my handy-dandy Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
Wow, first of all, this double r word is in the Word over 50 times and it has about 12 translations between the Old and New Testament! Let’s go right to the context of Ephesians and see what we find: “Defiling speech,” which makes sense because defiling speech tears down and certainly doesn’t lift up. Let’s see what else it says: “it is said of a tree and its fruit”!
So you might not see the symbolism, but I actually got goose bumps. See, if we are abiding in Him, our Tree of Life, then our fruit will not be – as this translation goes on to say – “of poor quality, unfit for use, putrid”!
And one more definition under this context: “rotten, worthless or morally bad.” Oh, ouch; oh, ouch! What falls under this category of rotten, worthless or morally bad? Hmmm, a harsh tone is definitely a culprit, but so is gossip, so are lies, so are words spoken with an angry heart! Remember, out of the mouth comes what’s in the heart. I mean, it’s almost as if the words form the picture of all that’s in the heart, and if there’s a bunch of stuff you don’t want others to see … then maybe we should harness that tongue and do some heart-cleaning before we speak so we will not be found guilty of committing this offense of corrupt communication.
When we began this particular sacrifice, I was ministering to, or trying to, a new believer who had stepped outside of the nest and rather than clip her little wings, I truly wanted to hold her hands, join hearts and pray for restoration, for her good and God’s glory. I know in my heart that this blessed Him, for I wasn’t harsh, wasn’t trying to take her by the gruff of the neck and lead her to her stinky pooh, per say; I simply wanted to love her back into the nest so she could experience the restorative power that forgiveness brings, and break some more chains. Well, since speaking to her and asking to meet with her, she seems to have flown away, and all I can do is ask God to watch over her, to use the seeds that we planted in her life in a way that would bring her back to us … or to another nest that she would continue her process of undoing all that’s been done to her, to break cycles that have held her in bondage, seen and unseen bondage.
I know when someone has an issue with me, when they make a deposit first before taking a withdrawal, in other words, lift me up before knocking me down, I am more apt to not get knocked down but continue soaring on wings of eagles as I yearn to become more like Him who has loved me into change!
Join me tomorrow for a final Biblical principle for the Sacrifice of Communication,

Evinda

Seven Sacrifices to Joy

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Happy day to you and thanks so much for stopping by for our Coffee Hour! I don’t know about you but I’m learning that the more I give out, the more often I need to stop to refuel! This is a must for good communication! Grab your coffee and your red SOF (Strand of Faith) and let’s go tie what I hope to be the final knots in the Sacrifice of Communication!
Communication isn’t some new-fad, something that has evolved, per say. As a matter of fact, communication was/is one of the main building blocks to the early church. I mean, it’s not like the Bible was put together by a bunch of people spreading rumors! Think about it; God communicated through His Holy Spirit through every author of every book and thereafter it was translated. Without communication, how would the Bible have been translated as accurately as it has? How would we learn about the things of God, about His character, discover His promises without effective communication? Where would our relationship with our Keynote Speaker and Mediator be without this form of written, Holy-Spirit inspired, communication? Oops, I know; too many questions. Let me get back on track here. :)
So while it’s not a “new” thing, it seems the more technologically available we are, the less we use this gift/virtue; communication is fading into the backdrop of life! See, the faster we move through life, the less we stop to communicate. In many ways, the generations to follow will need to understand the value of communication even more than you or me because everything seems to be going automated and decreasing and demeaning the need for healthy communication; however, the value of good communication remains highly relevant.
I just thought of something that really hits this one home. My guy and I were out having dinner one night – although this has happened more than once – and he nudged me, indicating with his head which direction to look and there was a couple, both of them on their “smart” phones! Instead of taking the time to be with each other, they were available for others. Or maybe they were playing a game. Who knows? Any way you look at it, those smart phones interfere with communication. Or how about the single dad taking his kids to dinner; same thing, he’s on his phone and the kids are left to their own devices, i.e., running around the restaurant, picking a fight with the other sibling, or maybe they have phones too! Don’t get me wrong; I am on my phone just as much as the next person, if not more, but after a certain hour, my phone is off. When I go out with my guy, it’s at home or in the car. Smart phones cannot take the place of meaningful communication! That could be an entire week’s blog, but I’ll stay on track, here and get off my soap box! :)
I would be really missing the mark if I didn’t spend some time on some Biblical ingredients of good communication… and bad, because when we put all the ingredients that go into good, or bad, communication, our Keynote Speaker has definitely given us many ingredients as well as vivid how-to’s and explanatory don’t do’s. He used all kinds of personalities to make each example clear, people who succeeded as well as people who failed.
In other words, Jesus made a huge deal about communication!
In Proverbs 15:1 we read that a soft answer is a must in the recipe for good communication. Ouch! In other words, when someone bites our head off, do we bite back? Oh, how often I have been accused of having a “tone,” or speaking too loud, something that I am consistently working on, because let’s face it, our tone can truly be a camera into our hearts. You’ve heard it said before, “It is not what you say, but how you say it”? A soft answer decreases the fire. When someone says something to us that is hurtful, in other words, lights a match, do we throw water on the fire, or another log?
Oh, my goodness, I used to be such a yeller … and it would shut my guy down faster than pressing the off button on the television. To me, it was normal to yell; after all, I’d often wake from my sleep to screaming, yelling and fighting in the background. That was the way my biological family communicated … so hurtful. Now I know better. But just as speaking loudly can sound angry, I’ve also learned that being too intense is also detrimentally harmful to healthy communication.
I remember when our families first blended and I was trying desperately to have a relationship with my step-son and step-daughter. It wasn’t until I had been married for SEVEN years that I realized part of their problem with me was my problem with intensity! So I’ve learned to bring it down a notch – well several, actually! Oftentimes, our intensity is driven by a need to be heard and/or a need to be understood. So memorizing this verse in Proverbs, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh wound stirs up anger” is a must for it has a good ingredient and a what-not-to-do instruction!
Oh, to remember to speak sloooooowly, and softly … not matter how I’m spoken to!
Join me tomorrow for more on communication

Evinda