Today was a rare occasion where I got to do SOAP (scripture, observation, application & prayer) with all three girls at once (yay!). The overall application from the girls was that when we start to feel angry, we should pause and take some deep breaths so we don’t act like fools.
I’d like to dedicate today’s Proverb to my dear in-laws. I am blown away daily by their strong work ethic and the big and small ways they help our family. They are part of our “village,” and our family is so grateful. Thank you MIL and Daddy! (Is this how you stay so young?)
Usually our oldest sleeps in, but one morning she was up early, and we talked about how this verse is going to guide her well through the junior high years (!) Personally, I’ve had to relearn this verse over and over again.
Gossip is an easy trap to fall into and once you fall, it’s easier to slide further and further. And the serious harm that it can do to others or even yourself is not worth it. Don’t know about you, but I always feel slimy and miserable after a “juicy” gossip session and get convicted every time. A good daily prayer that Mary Whelchel, founder of The Christian Working Woman ministries, advises is to pray Psalm 141:6 daily: Keep a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Today’s Proverb is dedicated to a mentor in my life who pushes and challenges me to be better – especially when it comes to my new entrepreneurial role. He believes in me, challenges me to always focus on the clear goal and grows me in ways that I never expected.
Proverbs 25 is rich with wisdom about choosing your words carefully. This fall, Robert and I will be celebrating 15 years of marriage. I wish I had applied this verse more during the early years of our marriage. I think it would have made some challenging days a little more bearable and not as quarrelsome.
Every time I re-read this verse, I always get convicted … do my words drive my husband away so much that he would want to live on the corner of a roof? I think Robert would be the first to admit that he would never want to climb any roofs (!) but I’m pretty sure that there were days he wanted to. Ouch. I intentionally picked this picture because this house has a pretty steep roof and for a wife to drive her husband away to it, would take some pretty persistent nagging. Thank you, God, for a point well made.
To all of my friends who have given me an honest answer when I needed one, I thank you! This is the Good News Translation but I think the NIV has a beautiful translation as well: “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” In Biblical times, a kiss was a sign of true friendship, and my Bible commentary has this to add: “Those who genuinely love others will be honest with them; their lips will speak truth for their benefit and enrichment.”
