Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Stop. Look. Listen!



For some reason it's been an insanely busy for several days...  I have been gardening, grocery shopping, cooking, changing nappies, getting my little 12 inch G4 Mac computer ready to give to the newlyweds, making controversial status updates on my Facebook page(!), preparing for our road trip in less than a week, and countless other tasks and projects.  

The point of this listing my activities is not because I think anybody cares to read about my busyness, but only to make the point that I try to remember to stop.  


And look out the window.

And listen to a world outside of me.

And read a little of my Bible....

This was read on Sunday at family home church.  From James 3.  It is pointed and true, and wonderful, and right.  I wanted so to share it here with you.

Controlling the Tongue -

Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church for we who teach will be judged more strictly.  Indeed, we all make many mistakes.  For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could control ourselves in every other way.

We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in it's mouth.  And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.  In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.  And the tongue is a flame of fire.  It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body.  It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the tongue.  It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.  Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.  And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth.  Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!  Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh and bitter water?  Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs?  No, you can't draw fresh water from a salty spring.

Shell xx

1 comment:

Thank you for your thoughts...