i want a buff soul
for lifting huge loads
mine, my neighbor’s
it’s a workout
sweat, pain and strain
my barbells:
storms, struggles, and problems
my food: the Word
i want a buff soul
gaining strength by drops
patience by flakes
slowly bulking up
no pain no gain
no cross no crown
Pride and Fear strut into the gym
(skinny-souled weaklings)
i want a buff soul
~Lisa
You can’t control what another person says. But if someone’s angry words ignite a conversation, you can stall an emotional explosion.
Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Harsh, angry words + gentle answers don’t seem to fit together.
But it’s God’s way.
The loud, angry person sounds tough. But the person that replies with a gentle answer is stronger.
Try it some time.
A surprisingly gentle answer can prevent an angry spark from detonating an outburst…or damaging a relationship.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”– Proverbs 15:1
~ Lisa
This is how we encourage writing with our kids:
1. My child has some event that seems worthy enough to tell mom about. It could be a happening with other kids, a sad movie he saw, or a dream, etc. I tell him to write it down, and I will type it out. We do this often. Sometimes, I re-write it as a news report, poem, or article. (Good writing practice for me.)
2. At the end of the school year, I collect these informal pieces, plus the reports and essays they have written for school. We deliver these to Office Max, where they assemble the papers into a spiral bound book. It’s cheap: $3 – $4, depending on the book thickness. The result:
My son’s recent tree adventure prompted this writing activity:
Marco’s version:
One day, I climbed a tree. The tree was tall. It had a lot of branches. I was getting a view of the house and the road. When I was getting down and my foot could not reach the branch, then I slipped. And I was hanging upside-down. I yelled for help.
Ava came first. She saw my leg, stuck in the tree. She held onto me, so I would not fall into the stinging nettles. Soon Gino came. He pushed me back up into the tree and I got my foot unstuck. I climbed out of the tree and put my shoes back on because they had fallen off. Then I said “thank you” to Gino and Ava and I walked back to the house. The End.
Mom’s version:
A nine-year old boy narrowly escaped impact yesterday when he hung upside down from a tree branch until rescued by siblings.
Marco regularly climbs the same tall basswood tree on his rural Midwest property.
“I like it because I can see the whole house and the highway when I’m way up there,” he says.
From an upright position, Marco doesn’t fear heights. But yesterday, when he fell head first and dangled by a caught foot, he was afraid no one would hear his cries for help.
“I started to climb down, but I slipped. I yelled for help, but no one came at first.”
Ava, his eleven-year-old sister, was the first to hear him. She ran over and held on to him, so he wouldn’t fall into a patch of stinging nettle plants. Gino, 16, followed, lifting Marco’s foot clear of the branch.
The relieved boy gathered his fallen shoes, thanked his siblings, and ran back to the house.
Shaking, Marco told his story to the rest of the family.
“I’m thankful I didn’t fall into the stinging nettles. God protected me.”
~ Lisa
Survive“>
Impressions aren’t necessarily truth.
According to the dictionary, an impression is:
I had a conversation with someone yesterday. My impression was:
I chewed on this impression as a cow chews its cud. Chew, swallow, bring up, repeat.
As the day wore on, this thought-food was getting sour.
So, after much chewing, I decided to focus on what I know for sure:
I can choose my food-for-thought. I can choose what I chew.
So —
— I won’t chew on the impression. I will dig down to find truth. I will give the benefit of the doubt.
Because impressions aren’t necessarily truth.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8. –written by the Apostle Paul, who was imprisoned at the time.
It feels liberating to say, “I’m the captain of my soul. Unmoored. Free.”
But feelings deceive us.
There is good reason for a ship to have a captain. There’s a good reason for a ship to have an anchor.
What happens when a pounding storm assaults your life?
The answer to that question will tell you if you have an anchor that will keep you from sinking.
Priscilla Owens wrote the Christian song, “We Have An Anchor.” It asks a series of thoughtful questions. God’s Word gives us answers.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” –2 Timothy 1:7
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” —I Cor. 15:55-57
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” — John 14:3
We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll;
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.
If you are anchored in Jesus Christ, you are anchored in the perfect place.
“…we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope…” — Hebrews 6:18,19
~ Lisa
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/unmoored/
Unmoored“>
Charles W. Colson was notorious during the Nixon presidency and Watergate scandal of the 1970’s.
“I would walk over my own grandmother to make sure Richard M. Nixon gets re-elected.” he said at one point during the campaign. He was a self-described “hatchet man”– cutting off and discrediting officials, politicians and activists that were a threat to the White House.
In the midst of this crisis, Mr. Colson underwent a profound religious transformation in August 1973. He was, as his book puts it: BORN AGAIN.
Against the advice of his lawyers, Mr. Colson pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.
He went to jail for seven months and was released on parole.
His incarceration introduced him to embittered, revengeful, escape-hungry prisoners.
Before prison, this ivy leaguer never would have encountered such folks within his own sheltered circles.
Charles Colson became a dedicated advocate for prison reform. He befriended prisoners and introduced them to a lasting faith in Christ. He publicly opposed the death penalty and called for alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, who make up a hefty portion of the prison population.
In 1993, he was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize, which is given each year to the person who has done the most to advance the cause of religion.
He passed away on April 12, 2012.
He climbed from Notorious to Prestigious — and he never looked back.
How did this it happen?
~ Lisa
Heritage — it’s a rich, sad word.
This word reminds me that people live and die. They pass on good and bad to their children.
Some of my favorite thoughts about heritage come from the Bible. It’s a book about heritage. It’s a book that contains historical facts and verifiable prophecies fulfilled.
It’s a book of underdogs, surprises, and irony.
Rahab was a prostitute. Her heritage was headed in one direction, until God interrupted her path and placed her in the prestigious line of Jesus’ birth.
There are many true accounts like this in the pages of scripture.
But– I confess– the one I think most about is me and my heritage.
I was headed in one direction, and one day, God interrupted that path. He changed me. He didn’t just tweak my life, or urge me to complete a self-help course. He raised me from my spirit-deadness and changed me like the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. In the cocoon, the caterpillar completely liquifies. It doesn’t emerge merely dressed up like a fancy version of the old creature.
It’s a totally new creation.
This is the heritage I want to pass on to my children:
It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today. A mother tells her sons and daughters about God’s faithfulness. –taken from Isaiah 38:19
The words that God commands me today shall be on my heart. I will teach them diligently to my sons and daughters. I will talk of them when I sit in my house, and when I walk, before I sleep and when I wake up. — taken from Deuteronomy 6:5-7
The heritage of ME will be imperfect. But by God’s grace, I will also pass on the heritage of faith. Each child will have the opportunity to grab hold of this inheritance.
It’s a legacy of faith in an eternal, loving God.
It’s an inheritance that will never fade away– even after I am gone.
“Is there any God like you? You forgive my sins. You pass over transgressions by the survivors who are your heritage. You are not angry forever, because You delight in gracious love.”
– taken from Micah 7:18
Photo: Mother’s Day 2017
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/heritage/
~ Lisa
QUALM: The word prompt of the day. My first thoughts:
Last night at the local Caribou Coffee shop. I look up with that “caribou in the headlights” stare that the baristas see all day. Glazing over the menu, I know I will choose the same-old-same-old anyway:
A large Americano with room for cream – boring, low calorie, coffee rich, and satisfying.
Caribou Coffee offers a “question of the day” in exchange for a whopping, debt-reducing dime off your order. For my standard Americano purchase, that is 3.5% off the total (if I answer correctly.)
They also offer a chalkboard question. Today’s query is intriguing. (I gleaned those italicized words from reading every one of the Nancy Drew books in my formative years.)
The chalkboard asks: What is your favorite unusual word?
I like this question.
I know right away what I will scrawl on the chalkboard: UBIQUITOUS.
I see “argent” and “preternatural.” Gotta look those up.
My daughter digs ERSATZ out of her brain and writes it far from UBIQUITOUS in yellow chalk.
I feel encouraged as a homeschooling mom.
Why do I take the time to scroll perfect pink chalk letters and then back away—looking — like I’m examining a work of art? It’s just a word on a chalkboard. No one is looking. Or are they? Are they impressed with my word? Are they planning to look it up? Are they inwardly nodding in agreement?
What is wrong with me?
It’s just a word.
After 20+ years of homeschooling mistakes and victories, I think have discovered which spelling program works best for us:
This collection of words becomes my spelling list for school. I choose ten words every week.
Benefits:
This is what our spelling looks like every week:
(We often skip a day’s activity. They still get lots of practice.)
Using this method, most of my students received an average of 90-100% every week on the final test. (Even though pretest scores may have been low, they always improve.)
This year, I collected a list of 270 words.
Please contact me for a free copy of this list. You’ll be ready with spelling for the upcoming school year!
Or…make your own list using the words that your family typically misspells. Add a few commonly misspelled words in the English language.
Do you have a spelling program? What works well for your family?
A few years ago, we went to hear a missionary speak about his work with orphans. He spotlighted this verse:
2 Corinthians 12:15 — “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls…”
He told about his schedule, being totally disposed to a large group of fatherless young boys. This man had NO time to himself, and didn’t have the conveniences of normal American living. He lived in a hot, Central American climate, in a rustic setting.
Yet, he was glad to expend (ekdapanao – to spend out, completely exhaust) himself for these guys. To him, these young men were souls to love…and win to Jesus. He looked past “dirty and needy” and saw “valuable.”
That’s true love. It’s the way God looks at us.
Romans 5:8 – “For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Our sinful selves are not lovable or desirable. Yet, with the covering of Jesus, we are gathered into God’s family – and He loves us.
Insert bridge here to the concept of motherhood…
I have eleven (biological) children to love, nurture and train. Some of them are adults now.
At times, I have felt “spent” as a mother.
(But…ahh… I have had hot showers, cups of coffee and a warm, cozy bed to enjoy — eventually.)
Although it’s tempting, I don’t want to coast on this marathon of motherhood. I don’t have toddlers anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to put things on autopilot.
Let my teens smile and roll their eyes good-naturedly when I ask them “What are you going to be when you grow up?”
Let them groan when I stumble my way into their technological world, or make a silly parent pun.
I will correct them, confront them, and praise them. I will surprise them with love whenever I can (even when they’re crabby, contrary or cheeky.)
I will press on in the high calling of motherhood, calling upon God’s grace to refresh me when I’m spent.
But, for now I must say farewell — my fans await me.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend.
I already have a lovely lavender plant, a piece of chocolate and a gift that couldn’t wait to be given sitting on my desk.
Ekdapanao has its rewards. And it’s not even Sunday yet.
My Word Soup 