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A Word Fitly Spoken Is Like Apples of Gold

What Did You Say?

Mary Southerland

Today’s Truth
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).


Friend to Friend

Fruit is one of my favorite foods. When I go grocery shopping, it always takes me longer to get through the fruit section than any other area of the store. I spend what some might consider a ridiculously long time picking out what I hope will be the juiciest apples, the plumpest grapes and sweetest bananas. Experience has taught me to quickly discard any piece of fruit that is bruised, mushy or discolored. I shake cantaloupe and thump watermelons. Ripe strawberries have a unique sweet scent and only the reddest cherries will do. Plums and tomatoes must be firm to the touch, bright in color and wrinkle-free while the more wrinkles the better when it comes to choosing passion fruit.


On a recent trip to the grocery store, I was carefully making my fruit selections when the thought occurred to me that I spend more time choosing fruit than I spend choosing my words.


Words are power tools that can build and encourage. Words can also destroy and cause confusion. We have all been hurt and even defeated by words spoken in anger or words rising out of a wounded and bitter heart. I have been guilty of speaking damaging words with the ulterior motive of flaunting power or demonstrating control. It is so easy for my mouth to be in motion before my mind is in gear, and the result is rarely good or godly.


The words we speak can clarify or complicate a situation. I have watched my husband diffuse an emotional bomb and avoid a potentially explosive situation with a few carefully chosen and quietly spoken words of wisdom. I have also observed him in the art of confrontation – and with Dan, it really is an art. In fact, one person told me that he was halfway home before he realized that Dan had just confronted and corrected him.


Solomon offers great wisdom concerning the use of words, “Whoever controls his mouth protects his own life. Whoever has a big mouth comes to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3 GWT). If we do not learn to use and control our tongue, it will use and control us. While it is true that we need to choose our words carefully, it is just as true that the tongue is a spiritual thermometer that reflects the condition of the heart.


I am not a good patient and tend to think that most medical rules apply to everyone else in my life – but not to me. After all, I am a woman and I am a Southerland.  According to my husband, it doesn’t get much tougher than that. Several years ago, I was slammed with a high fever and blinding headache that sent me to bed for days, something highly unusual for me. I called my doctor. When he heard my symptoms, he told me to come in immediately and even though his waiting room was full, he would make room for me in his already crowded schedule. His urgency was not encouraging.


The minute I walked in his office, the receptionist waved me back to the patient area where a nurse promptly escorted me to an examination room, hurriedly recorded my symptoms, took my temperature, glanced briefly at my throat and quickly left the room. Minutes later, the doctor and a nurse walked in and stood on the opposite side of the room, almost smiling at me. At this point, I realized that whatever I had was evidently highly contagious and probably fatal. I felt so awful that the latter was definitely appealing.


“Mary, I am almost certain you have viral meningitis,” the doctor said. Seeing the blank look on my face, he explained, “Your abnormally high fever of 104 and severe headache are classic symptoms of meningitis, but we need to run some tests to verify my suspicions. Oh, and by the way, how long have you had the solid white coating on your tongue?” I was stunned! What coating? Why is the color of my tongue even important in determining my illness? The doctor continued, “The health of the tongue is a very strong indicator of the health of the entire body.” 


The same is true when it comes to the words we speak. “The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their hearts, and so they say good things. But evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35, NCV). If my words are boastful, my heart is insecure. If my words are filthy, my heart is impure and if my words are critical, my heart is filled with pride and anger. In other words, the problem is not really my mouth, it’s my heart. The words I speak reflect the true condition of my heart.


Careless words can cause such grief. Unless strained through discipline and holiness, words can convey false perspectives and untruths. However, the right word, spoken at the right time and in the right way can bring order in the midst of confusion and light on a very dark path. I believe God gives us spiritual “radar” so we can assess a situation and speak the right word for that circumstance. We just need to check the “radar screen” before we speak. 


Let’s Pray
Father, I can be so careless with the words I speak. Forgive me. Please help me learn how to control my tongue. Create in me a clean heart, God, so that I can speak words filled with grace and love.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen. 


Now It’s Your Turn
Read Colossians 4:6. “Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.”
How would you describe words that are “gracious?”
How can our words be “effective” in the lives of others?
What do you think Paul means when he says that we can have the “right answer for everyone?”


More from the Girlfriends
The subject of taming the tongue is a hard one. Since communication is a gift from God, He has a plan for the right way to use it. My problem is that I tend to think my plan is better. I know. I can be arrogant … and stubborn. Someone recently sent me this prayer: “Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.” Amen!


Stressed out? Mary’s book, Escaping the Stress Trapis based on Psalm 23 and will help you learn how to control the stress in your life instead of allowing stress to control you. Check it out!


Need a good laugh? Mary’s MP3, Laugh More – Live Better, is a refreshing message filled with humor and Biblical principles that will help you learn how to celebrate life. (Also available as CD)


Need something for your pain? Enroll in Mary’s weekly online Bible Study, How to Handle Hurtand learn how to face and deal with the pain in your life.


Need a friend?Connect with Mary on Facebook or through email. 

Robert Morris - Words - An Encouraging Story

\

Words Life or Death: Amazing Facts 

 Full sermon go here .

Brownstone Revival

AD: Brownstone Revival

To craft a family home from a dilapidated brownstone, a Manhattan couple 

turns to Peter Pennoyer and Jeffrey Bilhuber.

AD: Let There Be More Light

An 1840s Brooklyn Heights Brownstone is Unblocked and Reinvigorated

AD: English Airs In Greenwich Village

Classic Mews Houses Inspire a Renovation for Fred and Marcie Imberman 

of Kentshire Galleries.

AD: Revamped Manhattan Brownstone

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Unrighteous Acts

Unrighteous Acts

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman

04-27-2012

..."Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?" - Nehemiah 5:9


Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in Babylon. Jerusalem's walls had been destroyed and word had come to Nehemiah that the remnant of his people left in Jerusalem were distressed over the plight of the wall.


Nehemiah was grieved over this situation. He appealed to his king for permission to rebuild the wall. When he got to the city, he found many problems among his own people due to an economic crisis in the region. Among the classes affected by the economic crisis were (1) the landless, who were short of food; (2) the landowners, who were compelled to mortgage their properties; (3) those forced to borrow money at exorbitant rates and sell their children into slavery. It was unlawful for Hebrews to charge interest to other Hebrews.


"Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others" (Nehemiah 5:5).


Nehemiah stepped forward to admonish his people for this wrongful action on the basis that not only was it wrong, but God would respond to such action by making them susceptible to His judgment through the Gentile enemies.


Nehemiah was modeling to each of us a spiritual principle regarding sin. Whenever we sin, we give God permission to unleash the enemy into our souls to deal with that sin. Nehemiah understood this principle and warned the people of what this action would encourage from God. The people repented and returned the money gained through usury.


As Christian workplace believers we must make sure that our practices are righteous in God's sight. If not, we can expect the enemy to be released to judge that sin. Ask the Lord today if there is any unrighteousness in your business practices that makes you vulnerable to judgment.


Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.

Heather Williams - Always Been Faithful

Add To The Beauty

CAN WE REALLY TRUST GOD? 

Mary Southerland

Today’s Truth

Romans 8:28 (NIV) “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Friend to Friend

A daughter was telling her mother how everything was going wrong. “I am failing Algebra. My boyfriend just broke up with me, and my best friend is moving away,” she wailed. Her mom listened patiently and then asked, “I made a cake for dinner. Would you like a snack?” The girl grinned and said, “Sure, Mom. I love your cake.” The mom smiled and asked, “How about some cooking oil?” The daughter looked surprised at the offer and responded with a loud “Yuk!” The mom tried again, “How about a couple of raw eggs?” With a look of confusion, the daughter said, “Gross, Mom!” With a smile, the mother offered, “Would you like some flour or maybe a cup of baking soda?” The daughter responded, “Mom, all of those things are gross!” The mother cut a piece of cake and placed it on a plate with a fork. As she handed the delicious snack to her daughter, she explained, “Honey, all of those things seem bad when you think about eating them alone, but when they are put together in the right way, they make a delicious cake.”

God often works the same way. We sometimes wonder why He allows us to go through such difficult times, but when God puts everything in the right order, they work out for our good. We just have to trust Him to do so. I will never forget the day I learned how God really can turn tragedy into triumph. I was sitting at my desk, working on an assignment from the counselor I had been seeing. For months, I had been wrestling with my past - slowly, methodically working through painful issues and buried memories that seemed to be feeding the clinical depression I was battling. As page after page filled with harsh realities, a memory slammed into my heart and mind.

The pain was overwhelming as a vile scene from my childhood slowly took shape. I could hardly breathe as I frantically tried to escape the certainty I had been molested. The perpetrator had been our family doctor and a trusted friend. He had even provided free medical treatment when we couldn’t pay for it. I trusted him, counted on him. As a nurse, my mother worked beside this man every day and often babysat his children to earn extra money.

Anger unlike any I had ever known fueled violent thoughts of revenge and retaliation. I was angry with this man – and angry with God. How could He have let this happen? Where was the light in this dark place?

For months, I worked through painful memories and raging emotions until I saw the first glimmer of light. It was wrapped in chosen forgiveness. I began to see that had I never been wounded so badly, I would never have been able to forgive so freely – and in doing so, discover a depth of healing and freedom only the greatest pain can produce. Today, I can honestly thank God for all He has accomplished in me through the sin of that man.

There are no accidents with God, nor is He surprised by anything or anyone in the life of His child. God uses even the most horrendous circumstances for our good. Every circumstance comes to us for a purpose, bound by God’s love and plan and faithfully delivered with His permission. While we cannot go back and change our past, we can change the way we respond to our past and determine how much power it has in our lives today.

Only God can take the broken pieces of your life and make something beautiful out of each one. He is waiting for you to let go of your pain and trust Him. And you really can. No one loves you like He does. You may not always understand or even like His process, but you can always trust His heart of love for you.

Let’s Pray

Father, I choose to believe You are faithful and will do what You promise to do in Your Word. I believe that when I lay the pain and hurt of my past at Your feet, You can and will transform it all into something beautiful. I choose to believe You will turn the broken places of my life into living illustrations of Your sufficiency and healing power.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

Read the following verses about the good God can bring out of the storms in life.

Isaiah 45:3 (NLT) “And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness – secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.”

Hebrews 12:1 (NIV) “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

Psalm 103:12 (NLT) “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

What one new truth has God given you in each verse? Record those truths in your journal.

Girlfriends in God

P.O. Box 725

Matthews, NC 28106

info@girlfriendsingod.com

www.girlfriendsingod.com

Winning an Offended Brother

Answers With Bayless Conley

Proverbs 18:19 tells us,A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.When this verse refers to a "strong city," it means a fortified or a guarded city.  You cannot just waltz up to the gate of a fortified city and say "give up."  It takes strategic planning to take such a city.  You have to think things through and have a plan.


It also means there is going to be strenuous effort involved.  And, more than likely, you will be in a vulnerable position.  In fact, you don't take a strong city without taking risks, without becoming vulnerable.
The same things come into play when a brother is offended.  It takes thoughtful planning, it takes effort, and sometimes you have to become vulnerable when you do not want to be.


Perhaps you are struggling with a damaged relationship today, and you haven't pursued healing this relationship because you don't know how to do it.  It always starts with prayer.  You talk to God about them and about yourself, and then you need to go and talk to them.


When you do, I want you to listen carefully, it should not be with a view to prove that you are right.  Being right is not the goal.  Peace is.  Most of the time it is more important to be kind than it is to be right.
If you try to work something out, but only with the intention of having them understand your point of view so that you can prove you are right, you may win the argument, but you will never make peace.


So when you are endeavoring to win an offended brother, listen carefully to them, and endeavor to understand where they are coming from.  Seek to hear and not just be heard.  Though it may be difficult, you can win peace and see a broken relationship restored. 

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God 

Add To The Beauty- Sara Groves

 

I Look To You - Selah

 

"I was moved to tears upon hearing this song for the first time. The melody is gorgeous, and the lyrics perfectly describe feelings that we all have experienced -- loss, regret, exhaustion, pain. But in the beautiful chorus, the lyrics also point us to the source of our hope in troubled times : "... after all my strength is gone, in You I can be strong...... when melodies are gone, in You I hear a song....". I hope you can hear and sense God's comfort in this beautiful song." -- Allan

Hanging By A Thread: Sew Crafty

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I Have To Say: Making A Quilt With Your Child Tutorial

Bandana quilt (with tutorial) perfect to keep in the car for 

that impromptu summer picnic! 

Sew 4 Home: Quick Patchwork Trim Tea Towels Tutorial

Martha Stewart: Fruity Button Embroidery Napkins

It takes only a few oddball buttons and embroidery floss to transform 

plain napkins into a harvest of whimsical linens.

 Handmade by Alice Apple

Handmade by Alice Apple: Large Dog Vintage Fabrics

Hanging By A Thread:


 International Quilt Festival

Want to know just what you can expect to see, do, and buy at an International Quilt Festival? Watch our "Tour of Festival" video to get a glimpse into the show and a look at all of the great shopping opportunities, gorgeous quilts, and exciting classes and events that Festival has to offer!

Getting Ready For Summer

Style at Home: Interior Vibrant Contemporary Condo

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Designer and blogger Tim Lam embraces a constant evolution of colour and home decor accessories in his downtown Toronto condo.

POTTERY BARN


Hosting a Seaside Dinner Party

 


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GRILLED SCALLOPS ON A SALT BLOCK, ROSEMARY GINGER-SALTED LAMB CHOPS,  SPICY STRAWBERRY MARGARITA and SALTY DOG WITH MURRAY RIVER PINK FLAKE SALT

Just a Cup of Coffee, Please!

"Just a Cup of Coffee, Please!"

From the Heart of Dr. Rexella Van Impe

The news media often calls attention to the large number of homeless and hungry people in our nation's big cities. The scenes of people sleeping on benches, huddling in cardboard boxes, or looking through garbage cans for food are pitiful and troubling. While many of these individuals have ended up on the street through misfortunes beyond their control, even sadder are the cases that are there largely by choice.


As I prayed and thought about this problem, it occurred to me that while not homeless and destitute, most of us, in a spiritual sense, have gotten by with just a cup of coffee and a morsel of bread when we could have been feasting on God's plentiful banquet of spiritual manna. As the Apostle James observes, Ye have not, because ye ask not (James 4:2).


My husband, Jack, and I have a favorite little "home cookin'" cafe we often visit when it's just the two of us. It's not fancy at all, but it's a cozy, comfortable place where we can relax-and the food is good. We go there often enough that we know most of the waitresses and many of the regular customers.


For weeks we noticed that a certain man was almost always in the cafe, sitting at the counter. He looked as if he might be homeless, usually dressed in worn, slightly shabby clothes which probably hadn't been laundered in weeks. He was always alone-never did we see him with a friend or ever having a conversation with others at the counter. His countenance was drawn and sad, and one could sense that he had known much sorrow in his lifetime. The waitresses told us he ate only once a day-the rest of the time he just drank coffee..."buy one cup and the refills are free."


Jack and I felt terribly sorry for this man. One night as we were having a light dinner, we looked over at him sitting alone at the counter, nursing his coffee cup, and it made us sad. My hubby called a waitress over and said, "Give that man the best dinner in the house and bring me the bill. Let him pick out anything on the menu and tell him a friend has picked up the tab."


"No, Dr. Van Impe, you don't need to do that," said the waitress.


"But I want to," he answered. "He looks like he needs a good meal and I'd just like to help him a little."
"You don't understand," she said. "That is Mr. _____" (and she named a very well-known and wealthy local family). "His father owned much of the land that is now the City of Troy-he's the heir to millions!"
"But he looks so underprivileged!" I exclaimed.


"Yes, I know," said the waitress, "but he's really a multimillionaire. He lives like a pauper by choice."


I haven't seen that poor, sad man lately, but recently I've been thinking about his situation. Could it be that many Christians are living like spiritual paupers when they could be enjoying God's manifest blessings every day of their lives? Are they settling for just a cup of coffee when they could be feasting at the Lord's banquet table?


As we face the future, are we anxious about what lies ahead? Will it be a time of happiness and blessing-or endless loneliness and deprivation?

Change your wardrobe

The old man in the cafe was dressed in worn, shabby clothes. Yet he could have been wearing the finest suit from the best tailor in town.


What are you wearing? The Prophet Isaiah said, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:10).


Clothe yourself in the wardrobe God has provided for you. Get dressed in His righteousness and see what a change His garments will make in your whole outlook on life. You'll discover a new awareness of God as your Sustainer and Protector. You'll stand taller and walk in trust and confidence.


So resolve to stop dressing like the world and get clothed in His righteousness.

Put sadness aside

The old man in the cafe looked so sad, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Yes, from a worldly perspective, he had everything. He was from a prominent family, with every possible financial advantage at his disposal. If money could buy happiness, he could have had it all.


Christianity is the most joyful of all the world's religions. Yet we often manage to make it appear the most sad and mournful by our actions and our countenance. Mark Twain once had his famous character, Huck Finn, wondering if the mule in the barn had "got religion" because of its long face!


The psalmist exults, Thou hast put gladness in my heart. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness (Psalm 4:7; 107:9).


I think we sometimes develop a bad habit of letting our faces reflect the care and confusion of the world around us instead of the joy and peace of the Lord welling up within us.


If we have full access to God's goodness, gladness, and blessedness, shouldn't our faces show it?


As Christians, our future is as bright as the promises of God. And the Word of God is filled with wonderful promises. Some of my favorites include Christ's promise: Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28:20) and also God's assurance that as thy days, so shall thy strength be (Deuteronomy 33:25).


If we believe God, we have something to smile about.

Be a friend

In all the times we observed the old man in the café, Jack and I never saw him with a friend...or ever being friendly with those around him. While others had pleasant conversations and shared personal things with each other, the old man sat alone, without a friend. How sad.


But while true friendship is measured by more than "hellos" and conversations, some people have no friends because they will let no one get close to them.


As the writer of Proverbs observes, A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).


One must be a friend to others to have friends who will share fellowship and companionship in return. And this is an important part of life. But even if earthly friends do fail in times of trouble, we can be secure in knowing that we can have a friend who will stick closer than a brother, in good times and bad.


We know we can count on Him because He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).


When we have such a Friend, why don't we rely on Him more? In the words of the grand old gospel song, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus,"

Oh, what peace we often forfeit.
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Eat heartily

I don't think I'll ever forget the old man in the cafe, scrimping by on one meal a day, when he could have had anything on the menu, anytime he wanted it. Yet he'd order "Just a cup of coffee, please" and ask for free refills. How tragic to see a multimillionaire going hungry.


But how much more tragic to have the riches of heaven at our disposal and go through life starving ourselves spiritually! Do you have a Bible? Of course, you do. Are you feasting daily on the abundant nourishment found there-or do you hurriedly pull out a single scripture card and glance at it before you dash out into the day?


Compare your biblical diet with Jeremiah's. He said, Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts (Jeremiah 15:16).


Don't settle for just a cup of coffee-eat heartily-even as the Apostle Peter admonished us to do in 1 Peter 2:2, stating: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. The psalmist concurs, saying, O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him (Psalm 34:8).


I heard the story of a man whose dream was to go to America. For years he saved his money to buy passage on a ship. Finally he had just enough, with only a small amount left over.


He took part of the little money he had left and bought some bread and cheese he could take on board. By careful rationing, he thought there would be just enough to last through the voyage.


So he set sail, glad to finally be going to the "promised land." Other passengers were festive and happy, going into the ship's dining room to eat wonderful meals, and strolling about the decks, laughing and having refreshments together.


The man would go to his little cabin at mealtime and eat stale bread and hard cheese.


But he had miscalculated the length of the voyage, and a few days before the ship was to arrive in New York harbor, he ran out of food. He drank water and did without for a day or so. Then he got so hungry he didn't think he could last. So he scraped together all the money he had left-several coins-and went to a steward in the dining room.


"Excuse me, please," he said. "Is this enough money to buy just a little bit to eat? I've run out of food and I'm very hungry."


The steward said, "Sir, you do not need to pay extra to eat in the dining room. Your meals were paid for in the price of your ticket."


I urge you to begin living up to your privileges in God. Jesus Christ paid for them in the price of your passage to heaven!


Blessing, gladness, satisfaction, goodness, and all other spiritual pleasures are yours. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God (Psalm 146:5).


Jack Van Impe Ministries
Box 7004
Troy MI 48007

Robert Morris - Words - Are you Blessing your life or cursing your life?

.

Pastor Robert Morris - Words Life or Death - Ten Deadly Sins

Full sermon  here  


or go here:

 http://gatewaypeople.com/sermons/143722

or www.gatewaypeople.com/sermons

Creating A Modern Family Farmhouse

A Modern Family Farmhouse

SHEKNOWS HOME AND GARDEN

SheKnows got a sneak peek inside the 2012 HGTV Green Home and spoke to the designers about the decorating process for creating the modern family farmhouse. 

HGTV GREEN HOME 2012 

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