Seasoned With Kindness

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Colossians 4:5,6

Isn’t it amazing how God’s Word can come alive in our everyday life? I love the reminder in this verse to speak with grace and kindness and not to give a rash answer. Practicing this biblical principal is a bit harder, but as I found out, well worth the investment!

We recently went back to school shopping and purchased a pair of shoes at a local mall. Being old fashioned and wary of the new and convenient ways of financing, I wrote a check to pay for my purchase, (of course with funds to cover it!). A letter arrived this week informing me that there was an issue with my check and they were requesting the original amount plus a handling fee and were considering this an overdue debt.

As I quickly picked up the phone, my thoughts were that this was THEIR mistake, they were threatening my credit and I was never going to shop this store again! Surely you have found out that sometimes a simple phone call to resolve an issue turns into many phone calls, department transfers and lots of wasted time!

Finally reaching someone who knew what was going on, she quickly acknowledged that this was their mistake due to a machine malfunction. She was helpful and I purposed to speak kindly as she assisted me. At the end of our call, she thanked me for being courteous and patient. That was a very different response than she usually receives in her line of work. As I wrote a check to mail in, I noticed the cross on the check that I had ordered, to be a symbol of us as a Christian family. If I had spoken unkindly and she received that check with the Christian symbol on it, what a tarnish it would have been to my faith and witness.

As we go along our way and in the daily contact we have, may this verse be ingrained in our hearts and flow out through our words!

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress. When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.

Joyfull Living

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