The Bible verse I chose for the beginning of “Christmas in Garland,” sequel to Christmas House, is Ephesians 4:29. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
The phrase “unwholesome talk” convicts me on occasion. The old sin nature can pop up at the most inopportune moments. That’s exactly what happened to me in mid-January. Later, after losing it and yelling at my dear husband, I realized that I hadn’t spent time with the Lord that morning. Oh, I had read the chapters in Illuminated Psalms, more focused on decorating the blank page than the words on the left page.
To top it off, we’d just had a sermon on Ephesians six and putting on the full armor of God. Ouch! Every day, sometimes more than once in a day, we need to arm our hearts and minds with God’s words in order to thwart the darts from the devil. His fallen angels still battle in a war that’s been won.
Awareness of these lessons to fight, armed by being in God’s Word, help in our Christian growth and maturity.
Words have always been a big deal to me. In some bios I mention that I could read at age four. In early blogs I wrote about country school and how I read every book shelved in that one room. We kids played hangman on the chalkboard. As a girl, I played multiple word games. Lists of words that sound the same but are spelled different. How many words can be formed from a long word. How many words I could list beginning with each letter of the alphabet. I still do word searches and sometimes crossword puzzles.
Since I work with words most of my waking hours, I looked around my study and wondered, How many words are in this room? Eight filled bookcases, multiple copies of books I’ve written, boxed manuscripts, scrapbooks, saved letters and cards, file folders filled with words on paper. Also on a shelf is a four-inch thick Unabridged Webster’s Dictionary. Who could guess how many words? Not me.
I’ll end this wordplay with a tidbit from my blog file with another reminder that the placement of letters matters:
No where = atheist
Now here = Christian.
The best words of all are found in the most precious book ever published. Wonderful words of life are in the sixty-six books of the Bible. I like to call it God’s Love Letter. Just for fun, a quick walk through the house led me to thirteen Bibles. From my fist KJV at age ten, from my parents, to my large print NASB that I carry to church.
Priceless, wonderful words from the God of creation, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The phrase “unwholesome talk” convicts me on occasion. The old sin nature can pop up at the most inopportune moments. That’s exactly what happened to me in mid-January. Later, after losing it and yelling at my dear husband, I realized that I hadn’t spent time with the Lord that morning. Oh, I had read the chapters in Illuminated Psalms, more focused on decorating the blank page than the words on the left page.
To top it off, we’d just had a sermon on Ephesians six and putting on the full armor of God. Ouch! Every day, sometimes more than once in a day, we need to arm our hearts and minds with God’s words in order to thwart the darts from the devil. His fallen angels still battle in a war that’s been won.
Awareness of these lessons to fight, armed by being in God’s Word, help in our Christian growth and maturity.
Words have always been a big deal to me. In some bios I mention that I could read at age four. In early blogs I wrote about country school and how I read every book shelved in that one room. We kids played hangman on the chalkboard. As a girl, I played multiple word games. Lists of words that sound the same but are spelled different. How many words can be formed from a long word. How many words I could list beginning with each letter of the alphabet. I still do word searches and sometimes crossword puzzles.
Since I work with words most of my waking hours, I looked around my study and wondered, How many words are in this room? Eight filled bookcases, multiple copies of books I’ve written, boxed manuscripts, scrapbooks, saved letters and cards, file folders filled with words on paper. Also on a shelf is a four-inch thick Unabridged Webster’s Dictionary. Who could guess how many words? Not me.
I’ll end this wordplay with a tidbit from my blog file with another reminder that the placement of letters matters:
No where = atheist
Now here = Christian.
The best words of all are found in the most precious book ever published. Wonderful words of life are in the sixty-six books of the Bible. I like to call it God’s Love Letter. Just for fun, a quick walk through the house led me to thirteen Bibles. From my fist KJV at age ten, from my parents, to my large print NASB that I carry to church.
Priceless, wonderful words from the God of creation, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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