Words Hurt

James 3:5-6 "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

Wow. Such powerful verses, and soooo true. It is amazing how hurtful words can be. I find myself remembering over and over hurtful things people have said or written to me. But it's hard to remember the nice things! I truly believe the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is garbage. I've been really trying lately to make sure I don't let my words (written or spoken) hurt or offend others. And then I find myself today at the library talking to a friend and later wondering if I offended them because I didn't think about what I was saying. I pray that God will work with me and help me to tame my tongue. Hurtful words last a long time...

Went to Six Flags last week...soo fun! Deja Vu is definitely the scariest ride I've ever been on! It was a great day...lots of quality time with my family. (By the way, found out quality time is my primary love language....phys. touch and affirming words a close second!) Well I'm off to work out...later!

Know When to Call it a Day

I think I really overdid it yesterday. First of all, I went and helped my mom do yardwork. It was my first experience with a pushmower. I would DEFINITELY opt for a riding one. It was quite a workout! However, I had a great time. And it was good to help her out...I feel like I don't help others enough (I was feeling a bit guilty after reading "The Purpose Driven Life"!). Anyway, trying to improve in that area. :-) So, I was exhausted after all of that...mowing the lawn, trimming HUGE hedges, etc. Later on that day I went to the gym and had QUITE a workout! Ran on the treadmill, took a cross training class (by the way, not only is Renee a hardworking custodian, she's a killer instructor!!!! :-) ), and did some weights. So I was pretty pooped. I got home and it was still so pretty out that I decided to go run a few miles. Well about halfway through my run, I realized I'd probably made a mistake. I was dying! My legs felt like dead weight. Towards the end of my run...almost back to my apartment...I really did almost die. A motorcycle crashed on the road right beside me...I had to dodge debris and parts of the bike. Quite frightening..perhaps a "subtle" hint from a certain someone that I should have called it a day after the gym???? Anyway, thank goodness the driver was fine (and I did a good job of dodging)! And I can barely walk today due to my obsessive compulsive exercising yesterday! Oh well...

I'm off to ATL today-very excited! Going to visit my friend John and go to a Braves game. Should be lots of fun! By the way, if you haven't seen the movie Cinderella Man, go! It was awesome...went with Ben a few days ago. Very sad in parts though...to see the lives of people during the Great Depression. It made me realize how fortunate I am for all that God has blessed me with. Later.

A Child's View

Isn't our God awesome? He has blessed me with such a sweet and intelligent nephew, Hunter. It amazes me how close Hunter is to God at such a young age. We were in the car a few days ago, and the song "Holy is the Lord" came on. Hunter went on to say how he loved the song, and I agreed with him...one of my favorites. Then he said, "Isn't it neat how the earth is filled with God's glory? Even though we can't really see him, we can see his glory everywhere.". He went on to say how we could see God's glory in the animals, trees, flowers, and even people. Wow, I was stunned to say the least! A five-year old understands what it took me about 25 years to get! I almost began to cry. To get a child's view on God's glory was amazing...so simplistic yet so true. Since our conversation, I've really started taking notice of the little things that God has created. It's amazing what you can learn from a child.