Category Archives: Comedy

What Scares Me – Part 3

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Shoal Creek

Shoal Creek

Being cooped up.

I’m an outdoor girl.

Mothers Day or my birthday are usually a day of canoeing, hiking or horseback riding.

Studying for my big exam this spring I missed taking in the grape kool-aid (mountain laurel) air with honey suckle top notes.

The scent of flowers and birds singing all calm me.

My coursework of memorizing laws and regulations kept me from my daily visit to the creek to breathe in the fresh air-conditioner free air.

Stepping out for a few minutes this spring, a young gentlemen from the next building whistled out the mocking jay haunting melody making me laugh.

I must remind him of a much older Katniss Everdeen.

Getting out of the routine of being outside scares me. Spring seemed to rush by without me noticing.

Don’t be scared… go outside.

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A Quiet Place With God – Part 7

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I arrived home from a long day at work to find a strange, small, white dog staring at me in my foyer with a prison orange scarf tied around her neck.

I called my husband “The mobile groomers dropped the wrong dog at our home, it’s a Shitzu, but it’s not ours.”

It was 6pm, our groomers. closed.

All I could do was sit and think of our dog at someone else’s home.

The sun began to set into an array of pinks, lavender, and even orange.

Sighing in the dark the two big eyes stared up at me.

The prison escapee was ours!

What seemed like a disaster to me was great joy to her.

She ran around the house like batman on steroids, or a man freed from jail.

The groomers had completely shaved the hair on our dog, even the tail, face and whiskers were not spared the clippers. Pink skin was peeking out everywhere.  Our dogs hair was normally 6-8 inches over its whole body much like a miniature sheep dog.

Cutting things out of your life gives you instant space and freedom.

More Quiet.

Remove enough encumbrances, not just hair, and it changes who you are.

Throw back the prison doors you’ve closed on yourself.

Sit in Gods glory.

Soak  in His Word in the psalms praising Him.

Let Him transform you as you contemplate His wonders.

Thank Him for all He has done for you.

Space moved into your day allows time for God to cast his vision into your life.

His greater purpose for your day.

A Christmas Devotion

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My family was leaving a Chinese restaurant after lunch on Christmas Eve in 2006.  A little boy about 9 years old asked his Mom if he was Jewish?  She said “No!” and the boy shouted back “RATS!”
He then asked “What I am?”  Mom’s reply was too soft to hear.  It was a teachable moment as we backed our car out of the parking lot. I asked our daughter the same question — “Who are you?”
I knew even before she answered she would say “Child of God,” because over the years we have sought to share our Christian faith and heritage with her, so that she may know she is fearfully and wonderfully created by God.  The map to who we are, where we are and come from,  must be communicated to our children, our neighbors, and our coworkers, those in our spheres of relationships as well as others who are not.

The Christmas season the world offers is a Retail Christmas.  Though exchanging gifts brings great joy, without Christ at the center it will not lead us anywhere closer to the true essence of Christ and His message, but become a distraction at the very time of the year we set a day aside to celebrate Immanuel — God with us.  Bumbling along in a haphazard existence will give our children a life with no identity, no sense of who they are, and open them up to other’s values and beliefs, man’s way and not God’s way.  They will not have a map of life.

In Barbara Tompkins Mom’s Class last year we made Jesse Tree‘s ornaments.   Our family systematically read through the story of Christ and hung ornaments on a small pink feather tree as our Christmas decorations were all packed and ready for our move the Texas the next week.  It was a comical tree with a serious message in those Jesse Tree ornaments, the story of God found in the Bible, a message of

God’s love and provision of redemption found in Jesus Christ.   

We are all unpacked this Christmas, and instead of the pink feathered tree, we are back to our home-grown artificial tree as we again tell the story of who we are in Christ by telling the story of God and his redemptive plan of salvation.  Each ornament symbolizes an accompanying Bible story that, with the help of the book The Advent Jesse Tree, Devotions for Children and Adults Preparing for the Coming of Christ Child at Christmas (Nashville: Abington Press) directs us to a daily story from the Bible and provides songs of praise to sing as a family.

As Christmas arrives our anticipation is toward the greatest gift God has given the world — the birth of Jesus the Christ, God’s own Son, Immanuel — God with us.  The Scriptures read throughout the month show us The Way, providing a clear and concise map of who we are, the identity we have in our Lord Jesus, the hope of glory.

Resting in Him,

Trish

Being Too Busy Gives You Nightmares.

08 Tuesday Sep 2009

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Being too busy gives you nightmares.  Ecclesiates 5:3 TLB

Riding to church sunday morning I glanced in the vanity mirror and noticed I was sporting one gold and one pearl earring.  This occurred even with our Sunday morning devotion on “Becoming a Woman of Excellence” by Cynthia Heald.

Clearly I’m still in the becoming stage.

My nightmare is being in public with two different earrings on. 

 Time to slow down.

Trish

Sashimi “No Cooking Allowed”

01 Saturday Aug 2009

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The men of my family head out to sea most summers, deep seas actually about 50 miles out into the gulf stream where Yellow Fin, Big Eye tuna, Dolphin, and Swordfish abound for the  to enjoy not just at the beach, but for at least 6 months afterwards as we all head home to different parts of the U.S.  The wives and daughters meet the boats and ooh and aah and cheer on our brave men back from the deep over the catch as it’s laid out before us on the dock.

The men caught 139 lbs. in a nice variety of fish and the first taste is always fantastic as it’s cut fresh that evening and bagged for freezing and traveling via suitcase.  Our first taste of  the Yellow Fin tuna is  raw in soy…aka…sashimi.

Jeff, Camille, Todd, Brian and I are passsionate for sashimi.

Raw tuna allowed to set out will start to stink and become rancid when its unholy alliance the parasite arrives to make it stink.  The tuna and the parasite have an unhealthy relationship.

Our boundary for sashimi is non-negotiable.  Tuna is toxic if the limits of raw are pushed.  We cut it fresh and enjoy it together.  Hold the thought on the company of others and the ability to remove yourself from toxicity.

Certain relationships  occasionally cause soul horror.  Think of it as the gory movie lived out in real life slashing up your sanity and invading your thoughts.  This is the raw tuna bacteria lying in wait to attack and invade when you forget the necessary boundary of fresh and cold.

My husband batter dipped Mahi Mahi for breakfast in corn meal. Later my brother-in-law Tom, an accomplished chef, worked with our daughter to create a feast of tuna bites and tuna ~encrusted with sesame seeds served with mango salsa.  The key to the delish on all the dishes is the fresh factor.  The fish is moving briskly into the company of its fellow coated friends and not allowed to set out alone.

When I encounter the above I meditate in John 10.

Stay with friends (sheep) and our Shepard (Jesus) to protect yourself from the theif aka. the bad shepherd coming through your roof (mind) .

Remember when a toxic individual tries to corner you alone, step away and remove yourself from the situation.   Chill in the company of others quickly  or be smelly.  The freshest fish will take on the odor of the stinky fish.  A miserable inedible mess.  The miserable stinky fish makes the fresh fish take on its characteristics.

Dr. Henry Cloud refers to this as following the misery in your life and make a rule.

Look at the misery, and then make a personal rule that will keep it from happening.”

The One Life Solution, Dr. Henry Cloud,  page 154

You are frying in oil when you allow yourself to meet with them or be alone with them in any situation.

Enjoying the omega 3’s,

Trish

Recipe:

Pan~Seared Teryaki Tuna

Marinate in teriyaki (30 minutes minimum or 6 hours max on the triage marinade) pan- sear tuna ~encrusted with sesame seeds in evoo till a lovely tan surface (watch closely this happens in just a few minutes)  and serve with mango salsa —- chopped mangoes,  cilantro, lime juice, tomatoes, garlic powder, pepper.  In a hurry buy the fresh salsa or if desperate in jar, and lots of chopped mango and wha..laaa, such a crowd pleas-er.

Tuna Bites

Throw cubed tuna in freezer bag with 1/2 flour  & 1/2 cornmeal with a smidge of  Old Bay and fry in peanut oil or whatever oil is handy till a lovely golden crunchy surface appears.

Be the Squirrel

25 Monday May 2009

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My backyard in Texas is a wonderland for two particularly playful squirrels that cause us to laugh hysterically from time to time.  The male squirrel is all guy, and you can tell that spring is in full bloom where he is concerned as day after day he seeks to swoon his lady, putting on his best little Fred Astaire dance for Little Miss Lady, the Ginger Rodgers of the backyard ballroom.  Forget Dancing WithThe Stars, we have Dancing With The Squirrels, only their’s is a three dimensional dance floor that extends into the trees and from roof top to roof top.  Fred lays around all day on our oak tree as if depressed, his arms and legs dangle from the branches of his perch unless he gets hungry, at which point he gets off his wooden couch at goes foraging for something to eat  (You ladies know what I’m talking about).  Its funny, whenever his lady friend shows up its as if someone cued the lights and said “action!”  Then, wow, what a performance:  leaping and chirping loudly at our dog Daisy from his tree perch as if saying “beat it dog, my lady just arrived.”  On one particular day he stood up on two legs and began to shake his booty from side to side, tail flickering in the wind and swaying from side to side.  I could almost hear Luther Vandrose and Lou Rawls singing backup for the little guy.   It didn’t take a squirrel expert to help me realize that romance was in the air.   Our ill informed desert dog Daisy, who never saw a squirrel until our recent move, has no idea what to think, nor did she care, Fred and Ginger were about ready to start dancing…

I suppose I always thought squirrels were squirrels wherever you went, but not so.  Their sizes and shaped differ wherever you live.  And if my back yard Lothario is any indication, they have different dispositions.  In Arizona they had “ground squirrels”, small and cheerful little guys who like their name implies, live in the ground.  They lacked the size and bushy tails of their eastern cousins, and look more like Chip and Dale than any squirrel I’ve have ever laid eyes on. 

In Iowa where I grew up, the squirrels look pretty standard, except for their beautiful black fur, unique to that area.  Growing up I took it for granted that all, or most, squirrels were this color as it was all I knew.  I still love watching those beautiful black squirrels in the evenings with my Mom from her courtyard whenever I am home visiting.  We  often will sit into the early evening until the sun sets and it is too dark to see them, but giggling at their cheerful play together as the baby squirrels leap from branch to branch until then.  I find myself wondering if they’ll miss, but with skillful dexterity, they never do.

God has given us the ability to jump from unbelief to belief…we are called to faith and called to trust.  Like the branches of a tree God’s hand is there when we take leaps of faith into His perfect will.

 As I watch our dancing squirrels  jump from  my neighbor’s roof to a trellis, I am reminded of the woman warrior in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (if you have not seen the movie, envision the   jumping off the dunes at Kitty Hawk aka Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first flight.), stealthily moving from limb to limb as if defying gravity, and I find myself wondering if perhaps Texas has flying squirrels… They are wonderful examples of God’s delicate, and intricate design, beautiful, sleek, agile, playful, yet taken for granted as the little scavengers of the back yard.   

So here is my question for you today.  On May 15th Oswald Chambers wrote:

“God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly-”  He then cites Psalm 18:29 “By my God I can leap over a wall”  

Outrageous to think we metaphorically may look at challenges and literally jump off Jockey’s Ridge at Kitty Hawk with God offering Him praise and thanksgiving for the situation.

He asks that we believe.  Believing Him for the outlandish desires of our hearts.  Be the squirrel says HE. Be Orville or Wilbur. Jump

“The things that are impossible with men are possible with You.”  Luke 18:27 NKJV

Hope in Him and take a giant leap of Faith, not tomorrow, do it now.

Jumping and Resting in Him, Trish

P.S. If you are squirrel # 1 …be married

Juicy Couture Turkey

03 Friday Apr 2009

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Food on Fridays with Ann Kroeker or “Foodie Friday”  has me attempting to boil down time for everyone and serve turkey in signature “Trish’s Dishes” .

“Juicy Couture” is the brand of the lovely warm up suits all the nieces receive in bright, bold colors every Christmas from Aunt Kristi and Uncle Bri.  

Couture is the business of designing, making and selling highly fashionable clothing.  This turkey will be your business for the week, chic chef.  All custom made recipes sewn together with Christ’s love for you from me. My goal is to buy back time for you to be still with God’s gift to you, Himself the resurrected Messiah.

A 14 pounder was available @ the local HEB market.

Day 1   Cook turkey all day after rubbing with canola oil, sprinkling with salt, pepper and garlic powder  and gift wrapping with foil.  The meat is juicy and the drippings will season our dishes resplendently the rest of the week. Blanche collard greens as our side and serve with gravy bowl full of drippings.  (open the foil after the family arrives home and re-pop the bird in the oven for a few minutes to crisp crust the lovely skin… yum).

Day 2  Cook kale in a couple tablespoons of the drippings and drop in handfuls of turkey.  Add 2 cups of sour cream(fat free yogurt is a worthy substitute), 1 cup of  alfredo sauce ( Bertolli is very nice) stir all and place in bowls.  The aroma is very pleasant once the creams are added.  Force yourself past the pungent kale cooking to delight in a very simple, quick and eco-fashionable waste nothing, decadent turkey dish.

Day 3 Turkey BBQ.  Update the birds look by shredding several handfuls to serve on buns as barbecue.  My favorite sauce is made by shaking a 1/2 or 3/4 used Heinz ketchup, vinegar, a little salt, pepper, all spice and shake.  We enjoy kettle chips and coleslaw from the deli on the side.

Day 4 Todd’s Turkey Soup.  Leftover turkey, frozen peas, carrots, and whatever else you have in the freezer.  Cover with tomato sauce and water, plug in the crock pot and go.  He seasons with “Old Bay”, cuts the spiced with a bit of sugar, and others spices to taste, and uses salt and pepper and little garlic powder.  You may have your own preferred recipe.

Day 5 Turkey Pot Pie.  Strain out excess liquid from the soup and keep leftover in fridge.  Place turkey and veggie treasure inside  a pre-made “Pillsbury”crust, cover with a jar of store bought turkeygravy and bake till golden brown on top.  No food critic lives here, but seriously, this is scrumptious.

Day 6 Take the broth leftover from yesterday and spoon hot over cheese filled tortellinis. Whiff the scent of Italy, and finish with chopped tomatoes and a sprinkling of parmesan for a dreamy filling dinner.

Day 7 Fast…drink water and spend time with Jesus.  Easter is next week and your heart and soul will be where it can best be used for His purposes. Delight in His company, He is waiting for you. Your family can eat a frozen pizza.

Start Day 1 tomorrow and you’ll be fasting with millions around the world on Good Friday.  Explain the significance of fasting to them and perhaps the foundation of the discussion will spur your children on to fast one day. 

John Piper calls it “An occasion for God’s guidance”

 Scrambling to find solace from a frenzy or two that passes their way, they may remember Mom’s modeling and not because it was in the glossies.

Rest in Him, Trish

The Town Parade in Pink

30 Monday Mar 2009

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mit-moms-parade-march-28th-2009-001Saturday was our town’s Heritage Festival, complete with a local parade.  I participated, and had a great time marching in my first parade with my neighbor Rona, my new friend and prayer partner with MIT (Moms in Touch), who previously had  invited me to join her every Monday to pray with them. We marched as a group wearing pink one in all.  When invited, my first thought was “Oh my, I don’t own any pink… or do I.”  Most of you would assume my thoughts would be on prayer, but they weren’t.  

On any given day my wardrobe consists mostly of black, white , khaki, and a sprinkling of navy. My husband and daughter rarely see me in anything besides my black and white Nike warmup.   The ladies in the neighborhood probably think the only thing I own is that Nike outfit.  We see each other at the mail box and it is regularly washed, but frequently on.  La Encantada has a wonderful shop called “Lucy”  which sells workout clothing, and upon my move to Tucson 5 years ago, the getup was purchased and been my uniform since.  My dear friend and prayer partner Kim passed on several of her chic yoga sets, and I enjoy wearing them, but I must confess my Nike outfit is my fav. A year ago on my birthday I received several pink additions to my wardrobe:  a camisole from Kim’s daughter Mandy, an argyle sweater from another good friend, Heather,  and a twinset from my wonderful mother-in-law Marilyn.  How does one receive so many gifts of clothing, yet continue to wear the same sweat suit every day? Why do I do this after receiving wonderful gifts of clothing ? The pursuit of simplification is a constancy in my life, and clothing has been the easiest place to simplify.  My goal:  I attempt to keep 100 items in my wardrobe all the time, including shoes, socks, and yes, underwear.  Packing for trips has become a breeze, and whenever I receive something as a gift, or purchase something new, its a replacement, not an addition.  Something has to leave generally. 

Where is this blog going today?    Ann Kroeker’s Make Do Monday calls for making due with what you have.  My challenge from that is for you to whittle your closet to 100 items, and learn to “make do.”   Oh, I hear you’re screams and cries, but let me encourage you to make do, and see what happens.  Why simplify your clothing?  Well, the economy is tough and all your chic threads collecting dust in your closet could give your local Goodwill a serious cutting edge advantage to the mall.  Fashion philanthropy reduces fellow fashionista credit card balances by luring them to a $3.00 rack.  Reducing your inventory will free up your time. Don’t believe me?  Watch and see how much more time  you will free up from not having to decide what to wear.  Astounding!  (I must confess though, that the parade attire was a bit of a decision process given I had three pink sweaters to choose from).  How many outfits do you try on before leaving for work each morning?  Going to small group?  Attending Bible study?  I hesitate to drop the big C, but you know it’s true, and also for church?  All that extra time in the morning can be spent sitting at the foot of Jesus.  He will speak to you no matter what you have on.  He stands at the door knocking and waiting while you dither your time away on which shoes to wear.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?  Have they made themselves more beautiful in the eyes of God?  Deepened their walk with Christ?  All this time and money wasted on the excesses of fashion.  Does it really make that much of a difference in the eternal perspective of our lives?  Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers.  They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?  The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them”. 

 Matthew 6: 27-29 The Message.

One side note:  I highly recommend everyone finding and joining a  Moms in Touch group.  These are a wonderful, committed and purposeful group of women who don’t mess around.  You arrive at a given location, ours is at Methodist church near my neighborhood, and pray together in groups for the children and the teachers in our schools in target-ted prayer for an hour each week. 

 

Rest in Him, Trish

Rest in the Rabbitat

25 Wednesday Mar 2009

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Tom and Susan Bean built a rabbitat out of very simple materials and attracted cottontails to their Flagstaff home.

Tom stated in the February issue of Arizona Highways, ” I began throwing carrots into the burrow entrance, ”  In fact, I started to ring a little bell each time I went out with a carrot.  In a surprisingly short time,  the desired Pavlovian response occurred, and rabbits began to come out and await their carrot.”

The few followers I have on this blog may have picked up my focus is to rest in the Lord and what that entails in my daily living.  The “Unnatural Habitat” article has been stewing around in my brain since it arrived in the mail and the following are just some changes I made to help the wildlife in my habitat. aka husband and teen daughter.  Here are the carrots:

Step One

Forget the house for the morning and spend the entire morning studying God’s word.  I began in Chambers and he led me through a morning of contemplation on “Friendship with God”  (March 20th).  Everyday I visit and chat with my Father all day, but today He was my friend as I poured through Genesis 18 and then onto my WYAMDaily prayer calendar readings.  Writing in my journal, thinking and forcing myself to be still in His presence for the morning hours.  A big help withnoise reduction in our new home has been the elimination of the TV noise. Unhook  it if you have it in your house.  We are 2 1/2 months now without it and no one is complaining, our time with God has expanded exponentially.  My family occasionally views shows on the internet. The accompanying quiet is oh so….tranquil.  We all have library cards and check out movies just a quick walk away from our library.  We also occasionally rent, but you would be surprised at the selection.  Our library will order a popular request.

Step Two

Remove all clutter from most surfaces daily.  Clutter removal is visually restful to the eyes and moving has made this quite a challenge to me.   This week I moved 6 boxes out of the corner of the dining room into the garage.  Just physically lifting and relocating them was a challenge, last night during dinner I didn’t have to stare at them and think “where will I put everything in those boxes”   The “putting” just may be to the local Disabled American Veterans van if they pick up here in Texas.

Step Three

Food for the wildlife.  My travels this week included a very long trip to the grocery store where I purchased all the things my family loves to eat.  My husband loves salmon, and the special of the day was salmon so I bought 5 and stored 4 in the freezer.  My daughter likes snacks so I took her with me and she selected all her favorite snacks to fill the pantry.  Her delight in picking them, the expression on her face as I said yes each time she placed an item in the cart was worth it all.

Step Four

Treat myself to cleaning help.  I called a local house cleaner and asked if she would ever consider coming for one hour to help.  She had never been asked for one hour, but if that is what my budget afforded she would gladly accept.  Five hours later “Josey and the Cleaning Cats” (that’s really the name of their company) arrived and cleaned for exactly one hour and threw in an extra 1/2 hour for free once they figured out my husband was a Pastor.  I insisted they leave at one hour, but they insisted back it was important to them to give in a small way also.  I cleaned things all afternoon in preparation for their arrival knowing they would be able to come in and do a special forces attack on my habitat if they didn’t have distractions of bunnies everywhere.  MaggieBry3866.wordpress.com has a very funny blog on this.  Our teen daughter could not understand why we cleaned before the cleaning ladies arrived, but it became perfectly clear once she saw them decendon our home and attack it with great speed and intensity of purpose.

My family members are organized and efficient.  I have prepared painstakingly to have them arrive home to a lovely, clean, picked up place of solace.  My room in heaven is filled with books,and messy piles of stuff I adore.  My casa here is occupied by others so the work today will show them my tangible response to their desires.

We all stuggle from time to time with the question “Do they really know me?”  One look at my husband or daughters precisely cleaned and ordered closets will tell you they don’t waste time looking for things.  One area is in line.  The Rabbitat is ready.

Homemaking is important and today was my artful expression of love to my family.

“A whole generation of women exhausted themselves trying to have it all, when we should have encouraged them  to examine the choices and pick out the ones that suited them best”  Thomas P. Farley

A restful rabbitat suits me best.

Rest in Him, Trish

Gossip

16 Monday Mar 2009

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011Yesterday I was walking Daisy, and as dogs doo,  she did.   She is a very small dog, and chose a lush front yard to deposit her present.  With great hand motion, from my pocket a bag appeared with a flourish, so that all passing could see the quick removal of the stinky specimen.  What to my wondrous eyes did appear…but nothing….and I mean I could not see a thing.  Leaning  over and looking as close as  possible without sniffing the blades of grass, still no scoobala.  My family loves to refer to what Daisy deposits outside as scoobala, because its the ancient Greek word for, well, you know…  Lots of pastors will throw this in an occasional sermon just for laughs and giggles for the kids.  We laugh, we snicker.  Somehow it is always funny.  Leaving scoobala in my neighbors lawn is very uncouth.  I looked through my pockets to see if I had reading glasses.  No, of course not, who carries readers to walk the dog.  Who knew the need for peepers for peering @ poo? 

How can one practice what Leighton Ford calls “The Attentive Life,” discovering God’s Presence in things?  What will He speak to my heart as I face Him in lauds?  Leighton has Ranger …I have Daisy…

Today on make do monday, let us see what  can be learned about sin while walking the dog and spending time in Psalm 19. 

We all leave a wretched stench when we choose gossip and unnecessary words just to fill space.  Oh we may think we’ve left nothing behind, but we have.    Don’t do it.  Don’t say anything regardless if it’s true. “The fear of the Lord is pure enduring forever; the judgements of the L006ord are true and righteous altogether. ” Ps. 19v9

Gossip, and the ever popular, I suppose I could share this with you as a prayer request, but don’t tell a soul.  “Who can understand his errors?  Cleanse me from secret faults.”  Ps. 19v.12

 Well my friends that is a smelly. 

  Be sure and think through how the person sharing the scathing details could benefit from its publishing to you or to other people in your circle.   Acknowlege her information…hey its awful you feel this way.  Do not engage.  Remove yourself quickly …being faithful to friends includes being faithful in their absence.  Let nothing unclean deposit on your lawn.

“Keep back Your servant also from presumptous sins; Let them not have dominion over me.  Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression.”  Ps. 19v13

One of the most powerful sermons I have ever heard was by Tim Ayers.  He spoke of stealing.  We steal reputations. Remember the words “Thou shall not steal?”  Exodus 20v15

What do I do with the stuff left on my lawn?  How do I forget a person’s willingness to cast dispersions or broker information, and gain an edge in the gallows of “gossip girls” in church bathrooms?  Can’t I defend everyone’s honor and give them what my husband calls a “liguel smackdown?”

“I have often regretted my speech, never my silence.”  – Publius

 “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12 v.19

 Pulling in so close the only breath or words one hears is His.  He soaks our wounded hearts with love and caring passages of tenderness and protection.  Humans always fall back to the carnal and vengeance seems so exciting.  Why do we gossip? Positioning? Makes us feel like we are in the know?  Disparaging someones character?

 Our minds race…”oh but I thought she was a true friend, someone safe…how could she toss peoples stories so flippantly to another.” 

Put space between yourself  and  brokers of information. 

Live in James 3, practical teachings on gossip…photo copy the chapter and carry it in your pocket when devious mind wanderings erupt your brain. 

Clean fresh mown grass…no lingering smells…no brown smushes.

 The heaviest load any man carries on his back is a pack of grudges.   Unknown

 Give yourself permission to walk away… 

 The need for reading glasses will be gone.

Chambers was searing today ” Tolerating a wrong attitude toward another person causes you to follow the spirit of the devil, no matter how saintly you are. One carnal judgement of another person only serves the purposes of hell in you.”

Sometimes the stuff which cuts and stings the deepest at the time, God turns around and uses it for His Glory.

  “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation 119twitterof my heart, be acceptable in Your  sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Ps. 19v14

Rest in Him, Trish