Monday’s Blog: Speak Blessings
A dear friend of mine recently reminded me of the importance of guarding our tongues. I was putting myself down a bit to my friend when he replied, “Speak blessings over yourself and others or else remain quiet.â€
He’s right. Every time we open our mouths we sow good seeds or bad seeds. If we can’t sow good seeds into our lives and the lives of others, then we need to remain silent.
If we kept note of everything we spoke to ourselves and others throughout our day we would quickly see which seeds we’re sowing. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.â€
We reap what we sow. If we sow negative seeds they will produce bad fruit in our lives. If we sow positive seeds they will produce good fruit in our lives.
What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.
—Matthew 15:11
I decided to go on a fast this month from junk food. I chose to fast from junk food to remind me to cleanse my mind from “junk†thoughts, and cleanse my mouth from “junk†speaking. I wanted to fill my body with healthy foods to remind me to fill my mind with healthy thoughts and fill my mouth with healthy words.
This isn’t easy of course. I’ve already failed a few times and I’m not even halfway through the month. But I know it’s something I need to continue to do if I want to see God produce a fruitful harvest in my life and use me to bless others.
…Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love….
—Hosea 10:12
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
—Colossians 4:6
I found this message written by Kat Heil (www.katheil.com), author of “Say What You Mean: Because You’ll Have What You Say (Kat’s Recipes For Life).â€
She wrote, “Take control of your life by thinking about and talking about what you want to happen. Don’t just sit back and see what comes.â€
Her book description says:
Words are your life’s story and it matters greatly what you say.  What you say is Vital to your wellbeing.  Not only do the people around you hear what you say, but YOU HEAR what you say as well. Your words are the direction for your life. Be it physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social or financial.
Your ears take in every word you speak. And every word you speak goes out to accomplish its intended purpose. YOU were made that way.
Your words, thoughts, beliefs, behavior, and visualizations are interconnected. You can’t put your FOCUS in one direction and live your life in a completely different direction.
Achieving your dreams and goals can be entirely possible for YOU if you will align your words, thoughts, and beliefs in the same direction. Your behavior is a direct result of what you believe and perceive. Your mind will visualize the image you give it. You have control over what you say, what you believe and what you expect in life. If you expect success, your mind can picture it. Ask any Gold Medal athlete.
You can change the way you’ve been talking, but first you have to know what you have been saying. If you’ve been speaking defeat and failure over your life for the past twenty years, it will take some time and practice before that will turn itself around, but the good news is that wrong words and thoughts can be turned into right words and thoughts.â€
Note: Thanks, Kat, for kindly allowing me to share your quotes.
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**Prayer for the week**
Heavenly Father,
We praise You for reminding us of the importance of guarding our tongues. We ask that You continue to fill our hearts with love so that our mouths would speak blessings, not curses. Help us to hold our tongues when we’re tempted to sow negative seeds. Help us to cast down negative thoughts and keep our minds focused on You.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen!
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*If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, please click on the “SALVATION†tab at the top of the website. Don’t wait another day!
*Come back next Monday as I share more of God’s Truths and the reasons behind the Truths.
*All Bible verses are taken from the NIV, unless otherwise noted.
Posted in Book Reviews, Guest Bloggers, Monday's Blogs by Amanda Beth with
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Monday’s Blog: “Envy” by Warren Baldwin + BOOK GIVEAWAY!!
I am giving away Warren Baldwin’s book titled “Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks and Other Gems from Proverbs.â€
I will be giving away TWO copies!
TO ENTER, pick any verse from Proverbs and post it in the comment section below by Sunday (8/21). Or post the Proverb on my Facebook page. I will be announcing the winner in next Monday’s blog.
*SORRY, I AM ONLY ABLE TO SHIP WITHIN THE U.S.*
*Here is a sample chapter from his book on Proverbs 14:30:
 ENVY
A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones.
 —Proverbs 14:30
 The first part of this verse is calming and soothing. A heart or mind that is happy and contented, filled with good thoughts and intentions, rooted in God and home is a mind that is at peace. This man can lay his head comfortably on his pillow at night, knowing his priorities are in order, his emotions and behaviors under control, and his life healthy and happy. He is at peace.
Not so the envious man. The envious man is diseased, stricken with a condition that “rots” his bones. He is afflicted with attitudes that attack his spirit. His peace of mind is upset. His emotions are raging and his behavior malicious. His life is in disorder. He is corrupting and dying from within.
What is envy? Envy is the desire for what another person has. It may be the desire for another’s good looks, car, bank account, position in life, or family. Envy is what we feel when we look at who we are and what we have, compare it with another person’s, and become very dissatisfied with our lot. “Why can’t I have his or her good looks? Why can’t I drive a car like that? Why can’t I have their money? Why can’t my family be happy like their family is?”
This comparison displays a lack of gratitude for how God has blessed us. A lack of gratitude makes us hungry for more. When we see that someone has more, we want what they have. That is envy. Envy left unchecked can develop into an angry and vicious disposition.
Envy starts out as an attitude but then works itself out in despicable, unholy behaviors. One girl threw acid in the face of a prettier girl. That is envy. A skater hired hit men to injure another skater and bump her from the Olympic team. That is envy. A teenager ran a key down the side of a classmate s new car. That is envy. Envy is even associated with the crime of arson. The arsonist reasons, “Why should you have a nicer house than I do?†He watches the hard work, possessions, and dreams of a family go up in smoke, and he smiles inside.
Envy can become so intense that it will be satisfied with nothing short of the death of the one envied. Why do you think Cain killed Abel? Envy not only says, “I want what you have!†It also says, “If I can’t have what you have, I’ll see to it that you don’t have it either! I’ll destroy what you have and who you are!†Hence the scarring of a pretty girl’s face, the skater’s damaged knee, the scratch on the car, the torched house, and the lifeless body of a brother.
Envy can be more subtle than these violent behaviors. Envy can manifest itself in violent speech. Think about what motivates gossip. Who benefits from it? It is not the one being gossiped about. The only one who can possibly benefit from gossip is the one doing the talking. The gossiper tries to undermine a coworker so he has a better chance for the promotion. Or he may simply want to tear down the reputation of the one being reviled. Gossip is a subtler form of killing the one we envy.
“There is no gratification for envy, nothing it can ever enjoy. Its appetite never ceases, yet its only satisfaction is endless self-torment†(Henry Fairlie, quoted in Successful Investing in an Age of Envy [Ft. Worth: Steadman Press, 1981], by Gary North, p. 6). You can see why “envy rots the bones.â€
Envy cannot be satisfied, but thankfully, envy does not have to be left untreated. If envy is a lack of gratitude, then envy can be countered with gratitude. One of our greatest weapons in the spiritual arsenal God has given us is the ability to say, “God thank you for everything you have blessed me with! Please keep me grateful!†That is an important step in overcoming envy.
Bio on Warren:
I live in Ulysses, KS. My wife and I have ministered with a church here for ten years. Prior to moving to Ulysses we lived in Cody, Wyoming for 9 ½ years and Marianna, FL for 8 ½ years.
Cheryl and I have three children: Wes, a graduate of Freed-Hardeman University and currently a youth minister in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Jenny, a senior at Harding University in Searcy, AR majoring in elementary education; Kristin, a junior in high school who loves playing golf, basketball and softball.
I attended Freed-Hardeman University, Harding Graduate School of Religion and Abilene Christian University. In addition to preaching I teach as an adjunct professor for Seward County Community College in Liberal, KS and Harding University in Searcy, AR. I teach religion, history and philosophy courses.
About the Book:
For over two thousand years the book of Proverbs has provided wise counsel and spiritual direction for God’s people. The piercing truths of Proverbs penetrate the readers’ hearts, challenging them to align their lives with the wisdom the proverbs proclaim.
Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks and other Gems from Proverbs bring these ancient sayings into contemporary focus by applying their insights to modern situations. Marriage, parenting, friendship, work, money and other topics are brought under the scrutiny of this ancient wisdom. Each chapter in this thought-provoking book is a short essay on a specific proverb that makes God’s Word come alive with fresh relevance. You’ll be amazed what a roaring lion or cracking rock can mean for your life today.
Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks and Other Gems from Proverbs is a collection of essays based on 118 proverbs. Many people like reading the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament because it is so rich with advice and direction for life. But Proverbs is more than a book loaded with advice. Proverbs is a book about wisdom. Wisdom in Proverbs is not about getting A’s on school work or knowing how to answer all the questions on a tv game show. Wisdom in Proverbs is about knowing how to navigate life.
Topics dealt with in the book include marriage, parenting, responsibility, relationships and more. Some specific titles are:
– A Good Wife
– A Wife from the Lord
– Honesty and a Kiss
– Parenting Heritage
– What A Father Does
– Rod of Correction
– Pampering Children
– Challenge to Character
– Stingrays
– Self-control
– Debt Slavery and Freedom
– Straying from Home
– Integrity
– Rebuke
– Roaring Lions
– Gossip
– Pride
– Sexual Ethics
– Craftiness
– Envy
– Bitterness
– One Easily Angered and many more.
Roaring Lions, Cracking Rocks is 201 pages long. The chapters are short, about 600 words, so they can be read in about 5 minutes. Some of the essays are devotional in nature, some tell a story, some teach, and many of them are reflections upon the proverb and how it intersects, conflicts or impresses itself upon life, often times my own. I try to ‘engage’ the proverb, which is what I believe the author intended for us to do.
You can contact Warren at:
blog: http://warrenbaldwin.blogspot.com/
website: http://www.warrentbaldwin.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=506792469
*DON’T FORGET To leave your favorite verse from Proverbs in the comment section below or on my blog’s Facebook page by Sunday (8/21)!!
My favorite proverb is Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Posted in Book Reviews, Guest Bloggers by Amanda Beth with
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