Watch Your Lips

One of the first counsels I received from a mentor was to be discreet. I was more than happy to take this counsel and apply it but had no idea what it meant. So, heading over to my favorite dictionary, Webster’s 1828 version, I learned that discreet means: prudent; wise in avoiding errors or evil, and in selecting the best means to accomplish a purpose; circumspect; cautious; wary; not rash.

Well, at the time of this counsel, none of these adjectives would be applied to me. But like the verse says, I needed to start being discreet so that I could maintain discretion. I did this by being slow to speak, seeking godly advice before making decisions, choosing what is right over what I want to do and looking for win-win solutions. Today, over a decade later, I am at the least still pursuing discretion and at times maintain it. How about you? Do you take the wise counsel of the writer of Proverbs and maintain discretion? 

Anger Management

It seems to me that the world is sooooo angry. Just recently in three different cities, two strangers have started arguing in a parking lot and in all three cases, while yelling at one another, someone pulls out a gun and shots the other one. And the person dies.  This is the ultimate of fully venting one’s anger. 

Anger in itself is not a sin…Jesus got angry and He was without sin. It becomes a sin when we do not hold that anger in check…when we vent it on those around us. True maturity is demonstrated when one, despite the justified situation, is meek rather than wrathful. 

Good Name

This was the cornerstone verse for Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A. He said in an interview with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, “I am always conscious of keeping my name in good order. Doing that, I believe, has been paying dividends for me even now, because in the restaurant business we have to do things right each and every time, not just sometimes.”

This is a challenging thought…doing the right thing every time. But we know it to be true…whether it is college football coaches or leaders in the church or ourselves…one indiscretion can ruin everything. You may still have the finances but family is torn apart, life purpose is destroyed and respect is lost. May we make the right choices today to keep a good name.

Someone is Watching

I take it that since the year 1984 came and went over 2 decades ago, George Orwell’s classic is no longer a required reading in high school. But the phrase “Big Brother is watching” is still a part of our culture. Big Brother was Orwell’s fictional leader in Oceania and was watching every citizen all the time for “their own good.” Of course, he was watching for Oceania’s good not the citizens.

However, we do have Someone watching us all the time in every place and He truly is looking out for our good. And since He is all knowing and Sovereign, we do not need to fear His watching but rather trust His watchful care over us.

Treasure Chest for You

If you knew there was a treasure chest full of silver, gold and jewels buried in your backyard, would you be quick to call the back-hoe rental place and start digging? Would you ignore sleepiness, bad weather or the season premiere of The Bachelor to get in the yard and start digging? Would you even be willing to dig with your shovels and picks if a back hoe was not available? Well, probably in your home is this type of chest and it is the Bible. In these 66 books, written over 1,000s of years ago by 35 scripts is a treasure trove of instruction, knowledge and wisdom that is better silver, gold and jewels. For many years, I was too pride to dig into it and at times now still too lazy to do it. But when I do…oh my!! I find gems and nuggets left and right. Praying that you take time this week to find yourself some nuggets.

Step #1: Fear the Lord

Leaders are lifelong learners. The easiest and most effective way to learn more is to read (or listen to) more books. In 2014, the Pew Institute found that over 25% of American adults had not read a single book in 2013. This was triple what the number was in 1978. Don’t be like the crowd.

Are you in business? Read business books. Are you a parent? Read parenting books. Are you a spouse? Read marriage books. Are you a leader? Read leadership books. Do you relax? Read novels. Why not challenge yourself to read a book a month (or a week)? It will be life changing.

Golden Words

A word spoken at the right time can change one’s life. How do I know? Because my life was changed. The word was choose. I was in a place in my life that because of my own choices and decisions, in a nutshell, was a disaster – emotionally, spiritually, financially, physically. But I was slowly crawling out of it through the Word of God, a great counselor and friends. However, it was HARD work.

Early one morning when the alarm went off and I didn’t want to get up to read my Bible let alone go to work, the song that played was I Choose Joy by Larnell Harris. (Check out this OLD music video of the song.) The word that jumped out to me was choose. It was empowering! I could choose to stay in bed and even skip work but what good would that do? All I had to do was look around me and know that my choosing the lazy way or the unhealthy things were leading me to places I never wanted to go back to. However, I could choose to flip the covers back, step onto that floor and start choosing the better way.

To this day, the power to choose right or wrong, good or better, better or best is still empowering me to move forward and not slide backwards. How about you? Do you have a word that was fitly spoken that is changing your life?

Slow to Speak

When I was living in Russia, learning the language was a slow go and I understood long before I could speak it. In that in between time, forming sentences in my head during conversations would take so much time that they would have moved on to something else. This taught me a great lesson: my opinion is not always necessary.

I am still being taught this and the Lord never fails to give me opportunities to practice. It is an old saying but true…we were given two ears and one mouth. We should listen twice as much as we speak. Let’s be wise and work on our listening skills this week. May the bunny ears be a good visual reminder.

Who are You Hurting?

I am blessed to serve women who struggle with food issues through First Place 4 Health. One of these women said to me, “I had an AHA moment…when I get mad at my husband I head to the pantry for pretzels!” My response, “Well, that really shows him.”

This is just a small example of how we can self-sabotage ourselves. Being cruel (mean, unkind) will not only hurt the person you are being mean to but will also hurt yourself. Are there attitudes you have or actions you are taking that are self-sabotaging to you? Identify them and then choose to change. Easy recipe but hard to do – do it anyways.

Grow in Wisdom Get Better Looking

What I am about to say needs to be written in very, light pencil with an eraser near by. My thinking on this proverb maybe more based on what I hope then what the Lord is saying here but…here it goes. I believe as we grow in the wisdom of God we will be better looking because wisdom is an outward ornament that is a crown of glory. It motivates me to stay in the Word for sure. Proverbs also says that grey hair is a crown of glory but I am heading to my stylist every six weeks to remove that crown. :)

Wounds from a Friend

At first glance, this proverb seems backwards….how can wounds show faithfulness? But it is so true. Only those who love you and have your best interest in mind will tell you “hard” things. I am so grateful that in my life I have several “scars” that were caused by friends. I probably bristled against them at first, but in the end it brought about transformation. May we have friends like this in our lives and may we be a faithful friend.

Seek Counsel

A friend called me last week and asked about confronting someone concerning slander this person was spreading. I was not the only one whom my friend called. He was seeking wisdom from others before “waging war.” There have been some Facebook posts, Instagram replies and emails that I have sent that I should have sought wise counsel before sending. In the end, it only brought (at best) a loss of emotional energy and (at worst) relational destruction. Let’s seek wise counsel in all that we do. We are better together!

Heed Instruction

Giving instruction means to come alongside someone and teach them. It answers the question, “How do I do this?” A rebuke is similar to an instruction, but it is a verbal correction. It answers the question, “What am I doing wrong?” Both require face to face engagement. Take some time this week and put the smart phone down and get face to face with someone.

Get up, sluggard!

Where are you being lazy? And when I ask this, I am not just meaning when you hit the snooze button a few extra times. You can be lazy when it comes to doing your job. Cutting corners instead of giving the extra effort. Scrolling through Facebook for the umpteenth time that day rather than picking up a book or calling a friend. Be mindful of your time. It is not recyclable.