Encouraging Words

One thing that has been on my heart lately is the power of the tongue. In the Bible we hear a lot about the power of the tongue and that it is necessary to master it. For the past few days I have been thinking about the power of the words we use. When we speak to people we have the power to bestow life or death on them. Too often I find myself biting my tongue because for a long time I've believed that it is better to speak truth than lie. Well, that has translated into sometimes saying the first thing that comes to mind and not rationally thinking about what comes out of my mouth. If I have hurt or offended you by that I'm sorry.

Jon and I are in the class at church called Marriage Matters. Right now we are doing a series on the Celebration of Sex. You might think this would be super awkward but the class has been wonderful!!! It is so amazing to hear about what other couples struggle with anonymously. It was interesting what we talked about this past Sunday since it had been on my mind. I thought this was a great example of how our words can affect people.

A couple did this little role play where the husband kisses the wife on the neck and she has the choice of how to respond.
A. "Is sex all you think about!?" (think very sarcastic/irritated tone)
or
B. "How about we finish this tonight?" (very sweet/seductive tone)

The way a husband would react to the different responses affects everything else that day. With the first response he would be defensive, frustrated, misunderstood and he would take that with him to work and all the people he interacts with that day. With the second response he would feel elated, loved and wanted and he would take those positive feelings with them throughout the day.

That is just an example of the ways that we can speak life or death into people. The way we react to people and situations is a way that Christ can be shown.

Here is another example:
Yesterday I had the pleasure of talking with a girl who is wanting to come to ACU for College. She really wants to do missions or youth ministry. While we were talking she said that another University she was looking at was discouraging her from her calling because they don't support women in ministry positions in the church. How sad that this poor girl wants to give her life in servitude of the LORD and someone would dare condemn her for it. They spoke death into that girl and into the Kingdom of God. I tried to speak as much life, as God gave me grace to, into this girl. I pray that she was uplifted in that, and I hope that harsh words of other Christians have not tarnished that amazing heart God gave her.

It is our purpose as the body of Christ to spur one another on in the Faith. By speaking life into people, we speak God's grace and goodness into their hearts. Because we have faith in God we have hope of the eternal and therefore we have joy! Be joyful in the grace God has given you, and the promise of a new life. The trials of today will soon be over because we look towards something greater. Let these feelings of hope and joy flow from your mouth and bless those around you. Speak life!!!

Many Blessings

Tight Tights

Today was the first time I have worn tights since about 4 years ago with a thing called pledging. You siggies know what I'm talking about! 3-4 layers of pantyhose in that suntan color...but at least they were warm on those cold nights outdoors. After that I swore to never wear panty hose or tights again. I caved this morning. With the 40 mph gusts of wind and nearly freezing air I really don't blame myself. It was a last minute decision, I stood at my back door contemplating if I should take the time to squeeze into them. With one final gust I was sold, tights it is! Most times you like putting on your new clothes and wearing them for the first time, but I think tights are the one piece of clothing where this isn't the case (and possibly new white tennis shoes, because they are almost neon white). It was difficult to even do the classic 'roll up' to put them on. I forget how much thicker tights are than pantyhose. I got a bit of a workout pulling and jumping to stretch them out for the first time. Once I successfully got them on I was sad to see that all the decorative lines on them were all over the place. Then I tried to swivel them around my leg despite their skin tightness. I finally gave up and left my other leg to be crooked. It wasn't worth it. Now having worn them for several hours they are growing on me. The keep away the tinge of cold in the air and are pretty slimming on my normally enormous calves. I think that tights and I may have rekindled a relationship. I shouldn't hold the bad experiences with pantyhose over them. I just hope I can go the whole day without getting a run.

Jon is a Mutant

"I am a mutant" exclaims Jon while limping out of the Chiropractors office. He went in for a check-up yesterday after several days of a stiff neck and pain. I had been waiting for his visit for well over 30 minutes so I knew something had to be wrong. After a few touches to the neck the doctor ordered an x-ray and his suspicion was confirmed. Jon has an extra vertebrae in his neck. If only Jon were a teenager and knew karate...then I could call him a Teenage Mutant Ninja. I don't think we could put turtle on the end of that and it be a reality. Because of this extra vertebrae his neck is actually longer than most other peoples. So I guess this makes our family the Brontosaurus' of the human race...minus the tail. Don't get excited just yet...there is some bad news to go along with this anomaly. Because his neck is longer than normal it is crooked and Jon has to have adjustments over the next several weeks and then once every 4-6 weeks...for forever I guess. We are scrambling to get another doctor to confirm b/c, of course, the first time we need to use the health insurance we've been paying into they don't cover it :D. As crazy as this whole thing is to think about, Jon is still in constant pain. Please pray for him and me as we try to figure this whole thing out and hope he doesn't need surgery or anything to straighten his spine. That's the latest for now...I'll keep you posted on any new developments.

Lately...

I know that I have not been the best at blogging lately. My intermittent posts have not been all that fantastic and are very random! Let's get back on track with the last few weeks!

So I just finished up being on the road for work! It was a crazy few weeks, but things went well and I even got to stay at home one of the nights I was down in Houston. We FINALLY had our big event down in Houston, it went very well and I was, for the most part, pleased! It has been hard to be in and out of town and away from Jon so much. When I've been home work has been so crazy and tiring and laundry is non stop. There is no household chore I dislike more than doing laundry! I'm really glad that I had the first year before getting married to get adjusted to traveling for work. One frustrating part of my travels was missing all of my favorite shows! All my recruiting events are in the evening right when my shows are coming on. Plus, my computer doesn't do well with episodes online. Maybe I should just invite all the students over to somebodies house and watch the shows instead...it could be a great way to get to know students!

All in all I'm very glad the past few weeks are over, and I hope it is a long time before I have to get a rental car and drive all over Texas. Those of you who think driving Abilene to Houston is tough...try driving it 8 times in 3 weeks :D. It's good to be home at last!