Straight Up!

Gracie – Park – August 2014

Do you ever just need straight-up prayer?!  I mean you be the one doing it!

As in…”I just can’t see the end result of what I want or need,
and I seriously need to lift up every ounce of breath I have to the Lord above”.

As in…”Well, since I’m burying my head in pure frustration I might as well also lift up my requests to Him,
and turn that buried head into a bowed head in reverence to Him.”

Or in a more “positive view”…
“Man, I should be thanking the Lord above for ALWAYS bailing me out
and being there for me whether I’ve been giving Him the credit or not.”

See, sometimes we just need to stop and pray…lifting up requests and thanksgiving BOTH.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says it best, “…pray continually…”.

Yep…all the time…about everything…every decision…every choice.
So, stop for a sec…say a prayer (and don’t close your eyes doing it if you’re driving;)).

Do You Have a Potty Mouth?

I’m not admitting this is me in a porta-potty…:D  Lol…when you’re fishing the accommodations are not all that great necessarily.  I’d rather be in the woods sometimes.  Dirt is cleaner than some of these:).

I think we all can be guilty of using language that does not flatter us or lift up those we speak to.
When angry, upset, and hurt we can use words that are, plainly and simply – mean.

Do you cuss when you get mad and rationalize that it’s ok because you feel “wronged”?
Are you passive-aggressive, so, you really never say a nice thing to someone who upsets you?
(You’re going to make them suffer the way you feel you have suffered.)

When you say thank you to someone are you being sincere or are you really thinking “I told you so” on the inside?
Do you look pretty on the outside, but get nasty and look ugly after you just spoke angrily to someone (someone close or a stranger)?

Do you always feel you have to be right, so, you stink of resentment, anger, and bitterness?

There is a really good fix to the above – it’s in the below verses:

Ephesians 4:26, 27, 29-32
“²⁶ “In your anger do not sin”^[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold.²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths

(don’t say the “F” word at someone, don’t push their buttons),

but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
(That kind of covers it – wouldn’t you say?)
³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
(If God can forgive us, then how dare we not forgive others.)

Now let’s flush the potty mouth and be a breath of fresh air to those we speak to today, tomorrow, and the next and the next.