Laced With Grace

I thought we were having a cuddle. A sweet over coffee and while watching the TV news… cuddle. The sun wasn’t quite up. My coffee was hot, we were still in our jammies, that’s when the little guy said it.

“Mom, your bweaf stinks”

“What?” asked the jammie (ok ratty sweats tank clad ) mom.

“You know— what comes from your mouth, your bweaf, it stinks.” He clarified.

Translation: from 4 year old to English:

“Mom, you need a “tic-tac.” Or something like that.

The worst part? He was probably right. Oh sure….. lots of excuses, “it was early, I had too much coffee, hadn’t brushed yet….” But he was right, probably in a lot of ways.

Lately, a lot of what has been coming out of my mouth, “stinks”. I’ve short tempered and long winded. Not a good combination. I’m tired, I’m frustrated, a little overwhelmed, and well, I’ve been yelling.

That stinks. I wish I could say that I’ve been yelling praises, or yelling prayers. NOPE. Just good old yelling at people. Yelling to clean up, yelling to hurry up.

Oh.. I have excuses.. stress, traveling husband, issues, frustrations. Too much coffee, staying in my jammies til 2 and waiting to brush my teeth til I shower….

But in the end? Noah’s (My little guy) right. I have bad breath. Not exactly what God has in mind for His believers and followers.

2Cor 2:14-15

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. “

The aroma of Christ? Not lately, not at home, where it matters most.

What SHOULD be coming out of my mouth?

Ephesian 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.”

Orbit Gum has a ridiculous, and totally unscriptural commercial….it shows “Snoop Dawg” a “potty mouthed” rapper, being sucked to hell, where is is given “Orbit” to clean his mouth, and is promptly sent to “heaven”. The tag line for the commercial is “Fresh breath, No matter what”.

I think they make a point, ( just not the one they intended) we all need a mouth cleaning on occasion. And excuses aside, we want sweet truth and love to flow from our mouths. No-matter what.

My goal is- that what comes out of my breath would be fresh… no matter what. But,

like Snoop Dawg… I’m gonna need some help.

The thing is, it’s not gum that’s going to do it for us. It’s not us, either, Lord knows I’ve tried to tame this mouth.

It’s God. If I need something and don’t have it, it’s usually because I haven’t asked for it.

James 4:2

2You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

I need help with my mouth… how bout you? Do you need help? Me too… let’s ask.

Dear Jesus, I want the words of my mouth to always be building others up… to speak the truth in love, no matter what. God- I need your help, and I ask you to change my heart, so that what flow out of it, and through my mouth would bring you glory and honor and praise- I love you Lord- and am so thankful that you love me, bad bweaf and all…amen

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ~ 1 Kings 19:11-13 (NIV) ~ emphasis mine.

Since my Sweetheart and I are dog-owners/lovers, we started watching the show “The Dog Whisperer” on National Geographic. Cesar Millan trains dogs to listen to their master’s voice for over 20 years. Cesar’s technics are amazing to me. He uses one word to let the dogs know that he is in charge. The word is: “shssss”. Believe or not, but Cesar will train even the most unruly dogs to listen to their owners.

Sissy mentioned yesterday that we sometimes get so busy with life in general, that we drown out the voice of God. We don’t hear our Master’s “shssss”. We have kids to take care off, laundry to do, dishes to clean, dinner to prepare, work outside the home. Our list goes on and on. There seems to be no room to meet with our Lord. Our day is just way to busy…

It was easy for me to stay in His Word when I worked at a Lutheran church office over the past 6 years. When I went back into in the ‘real world’ to work, I needed to make adjustments. I had no longer my ‘support-group’ in morning devotions. No longer prayer partners that stood in agreement with me. In order to survive my busy days, I found other ways to stay close to the Source of my strength. I put a Bible and a devotional book in my top-desk-drawer. At lunch time I will take them out and spend at least 10 minutes with my Lord. Or I visit one of my on-line friends …

“But I don’t have a lunch-break” you might say. Find other ways, my dear beloved. Get the Bible on tape (or CD). Listen to it while driving your kids to school, to soccer or basketball practice (your kids will get some time with Him this way too). Get some teaching CD’s from your favorite Bible teacher. You can find many on the Internet in MP3 format. Find ways to be close to Him — even if it is just for a short time. It will refresh your mind, body and soul…

Lord of Heaven and Earth. You are our strength and our portion. Lord, we need the daily dose of refreshment in order to make it through our busy days. By the power of the Holy Spirit, help us to find ways to be close to You — to hear Your “shssss”. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen

“The seed that fell among the thorny weed is like those who hear God’s teaching, but they “ Luke 8:14 (NCV)

As many of you know, I have been on sabbatical. I felt that I was being drawn away from God’s purpose for my life. How did I know this? I am familiar with the signposts on the road that leads away from God. I was becoming edgy, dissatisfied, hurtful, and confused. I was making decisions based on emotions and not on the Word of God. I needed time with my Father. I needed comfort, I needed encouragement, I needed direction.

That is why I have spent the past two weeks dwelling in the quiet of God’s Word on my own front porch here on the Nature Coast of Florida. A much needed respite from the busyness that has become my life again. It happens so inconspicuously….yet, isn’t that just like Satan to create a busyness in our lives that will distract us from God’s purpose?

Yet, God has made our purpose so simple.

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees. Seeing that Jesus gave good answers to their questions, he asked Jesus, Which of the commands is most important?”

“Jesus answered, ‘The most important command is this: ‘Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second command is this: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” There are no commands more important than these. Mark 12;28-31 (NCV)

We are to love God in all that we do. When what we are doing does not reflect the glory of God and reflects our selfish motives, we are to stop. Plain and simple.

We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. When how we love people begins to have conditions placed on it and becomes less than how God loves us, we are to stop. Plain and simple.

My plans are to remain on sabbatical. When I am not distracted I am better able to discern the signposts along God’s path. I become more focused on God’s will and less on mine. I find my purpose in that.

Heavenly Father, I pray that those that read this post will find direction as they place their purpose deep within Your Word and Your Promises. My hope is that as Satan rises up to complicate our lives, Your Word will bring comfort and simplicity back. Guide us in keeping it simple Lord. To bring it back to the basics, to love you with all our heart, mind and strength. Take hold of our hearts Lord and direct us, as you command, to love our neighbors as ourselves. Thank you Lord for simplifying our lives. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

“And the seed that fell on the good ground is like those who hear God’s teaching with good, honest hearts and obey it and patiently produce good fruit.” Luke 8:15