Pass It On!

Teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

2 Timothy 2:2b

We were just one plane with a minor mechanical delay. Our flight wasn't even full at about 2/3 capacity. What difference did it make if 100 people were inconvenienced by a minor difficulty? The problem is 4200 additional passengers were likely impacted over the course of an average travel day at Chicago's O'Hare International. One impact leads to dozens of others. 

Everyday I am faced with dozens of little decisions. 

Will I speak kindly to the person who messes up my drive thru order?

Will I notice the person who needs a smile?

Will I take the time to talk to a lonely senior?

Just as a flight delay can ripple out to impact thousands more than the original seats on the plane, my seemingly insignificant interactions can have far-reaching fingers. 

Wherever we go today, our lives will intersect with others. We will pass something on to them. Let's allow those we bump into to have an encounter with Jesus because we met them at the crossroad and left them with a heart deposit they can give others.

Finding His Favorites

But if you show favoritism, you sin.

James 2:9

"Jesus, I pray everyone in my family has a good day and no one is left out."

My littlest one graced these words over my morning. They were honey on the early hours of my day. Carynne's heart is for inclusion. She seeks out the lonely on the playground. She befriends the friendless. She is an example to us all.


I never liked cliques in high school and have rejected them every since but if I were 100% honest I'd admit my heart is still a tad clique-ish. 


It's easier to walk into a room and find a face I already know.


It's less threatening to sit in a meeting by someone who will readily talk to me.


It's fun to chat effortlessly with a good friend instead of making small talk with a stranger.


It's not that I seek to exclude anyone but my attempt to include myself does. But what if my heart prayed like Carynne? What if I lived intentionally to find the one who's lonely at my church, in my neighborhood and in my children's schools? 


In looking for that one, I would find the heart of the One who shows favoritism to us all.

The Fingernails are Flying

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

I'm not one to waste time. When I found myself waiting on Scott for thirty minutes this afternoon, I decided to clip Clara and Carynne's fingernails. 

One moment I'm feeling jazzed about my organizational skills and productivity.  The next second my eye is screaming.  A stray clipping flew through the air and weaseled its' way through my eyelids for a direct hit on my eyeball.

This morning I read Psalm 39.  David is practicing the art of holding his tongue.  Perhaps he remembered sitting on Great-Grandma Ruth's (see the book of Ruth) knee and hearing her say, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

This adage sounds like expert advice.  Practicing this bit of wisdom is giving David a case of serious heart burn.  "But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased.  My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned." (Verses 2-3). 

Notice David's anxiety was caused by not saying good things.  God's standards blow mine out of the water.  If I'd penned the Bible, I'd have awarded a crown to anyone who managed to hold their tongue when faced with an enemy.  God's bar is not to hold your tongue but to spew kindness in response to venom.

When the fingernail infiltrated my eye, nothing could keep me from removing it.  All I could think was...Get. It. Out.  Immediately!  What if my guttural response to unkind words hurled at me was words of blessing and peace?  What if God's speech pattern was so ingrained, it naturally came out of me as instinctively as I got the culprit out of my eye.

Hours later my eye still aches.  Isn't that what happens when I release careless words?  They land on the heart of others, fold themselves between the layers and cause hurt for hours or even days.

Jesus, I surrender my mouth to You.  Help me do more than hold my tongue.  May the words flying out of my mouth today bring healing and sweetness to the hearer. 

I Want to Know:  What's been flying out of your mouth lately?