Tag Archive - Respect

The When Of Class And Style

February 4, 2013 in Soul Food with 2 Comments

Topped off with class, style and a smile :-)

Topped off with class, style and a smile :-)

When Jesus gave us mercy and grace He gave us an over the top example of how to do something with class and style. He didn’t have to do it this way… but he did. Time and again he showed us turn the other cheek…

I don’t know about you but the class and style of mercy and grace doesn’t always come naturally easy to me. There comes a time and place when it’s important to say enough is enough when faced with adversity. There’s usually also a time to handle matters with class and style. The when? That’s often the challenge… effectively handling the situation to bring closure, and doing so in a way that models Jesus as the example. Jesus’ way is going to be better than my way every day. (Click To Tweet)

Continue Reading…

The Best Advice For Finding True Wisdom: Reverence For God

October 17, 2011 in Soul Food with 2 Comments

wisdom... all of the answers are out there...

Wisdom … knowledge… insight…

wisdom is something that will give me understanding, a sense of direction, or guide me to taking a specific (and positive :) ) action.

I’ve prayed many times for God to lead me in making decisions, asking Him to give me knowledge… basically, for wisdom. He will always answer prayers, although sometimes not exactly in the way and time that we desire. On one occasion I prayed long and hard to God for answers… and He delivered in a powerful way… here’s some of what He gave me:

“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds victory in store for the upright,
He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for He guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair – every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.” Proverbs 2:1-11 (NIV)

This verse is loaded with knowledge and understanding… it all goes together… you may selectively take and use just part of it… however, the verse is tied together with LOTS of “ands” so I would encourage you to think of it completely, and in its full meaning.

I prayed for wisdom and He delivered… He gave me more… much much more… it started with this powerful verse, Proverbs Chapter 2.

I trusted in Him, and gave Him Reverence (my love and respect)… and He delivered… in His perfect time and way.

I don’t know where you are with your spiritual journey but I do know this portion of Proverbs Chapter 2 can be applied to just about any situation… with faith… trusting and honoring God.

The Best Advice For Finding True Wisdom: Reverence For God brings true wisdom.

Do you have a favorite Bible verse about Wisdom?

working the right angle

July 11, 2011 in Soul Food with 2 Comments

Jesus had a way of working the right angle.

The story of Jesus’ life is literally weaved together with seemingly endless challenges.

He inspires me because He always…

provided the right answer…

responded with the appropriate approach…

offered a kind word or healing touch.

Sometimes we hear what we want to hear because we’re not really listening. We’re too caught up in working our own angle… instead of the right angle.

If you read Jesus’ story in the Bible you find he often spoke in parables. These parables can be very difficult to understand. In Matthew Chapter 13 Jesus explains why He spoke the way He did…

“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. whoever does not have even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:

Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused, they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”

or…

The seed has to fall on fertile ground in order to grow.

1 John 3:18 says… “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Overcoming our own issues is sometimes the greatest hurdle to living the greatest commandment…

laying down the stones…

working the right angle…

and to passing the greatest test.

I am excited about continuing to learn from Him.

How is He working in your life now to help you work the right angle?

Opposite Sex Friendships In A Changing World

May 27, 2011 in Breathing Deep with 2 Comments

Our world today is changing… at a very rapid speed.

Some of these changes are good and exciting… the age of Social Media and it’s use in advertising, branding and marketing is evolving so rapidly it’s difficult to measure some of the results and see who the experts really are.

Other changes are scary… I heard last night on the news that single parent households have now surpassed those of married couples. Ouch!!

You may be aware that I attend what is considered a fairly progressive church in Jacksonville, Florida… Access Church. We’re a daughter church of Andy Stanley’s North Point Ministeries out of Alpharetta, Georgia. If you don’t know Andy, you may have heard of his father, Charles Stanley… and if you attend church you no doubt have seen some influences of what is considered the evangelical church movement in the world today… these changes my be apparent in your church too. One really cool thing about North Point is how incredibly open they are… they actually WANT to help other churches advance the kingdom of God (that would be “A Win!”). Moreover, for a progressive church, ours is firmly based on Biblical truths and foundation. I especially like that!

As a church on the move (literally, we’re a portable church), we have a lot of volunteers. With that heightened level of activity comes lots of interaction… and the need to establish safe boundaries. I firmly believe marriage is a sacred vow, and one that we should cherish and protect… and while I’m not married at the moment, if you are it’s very important to me to helping preserve the integrity of your marriage.

From a few conversations with leaders at Access (and some thinkin’), I pieced together the following list of guidelines to managing opposite sex friendships:

  • Avoiding being alone with a woman other than my daughters, my mom, and my first wife’s mom (Grammy Ann, who is one of my closest friends). Since I’m currently single and not in a committed relationship, I would add to that list likewise single women.
  • Carefully choosing to associate with like-minded people (particularly those within my closest circle of friends) as these people have the potential not only to influence my decisions… but also to put me in compromising situations.
  • Guarding my interactions on the phone, e-mail, facebook and other social media so that I’m extending the intent of my interactions beyond those involving direct, personal contact.

In doing this I’m consciously not putting myself in situations where I could be tempted to do the wrong thing, and showing the utmost respect for others.

Obviously there may be some work-related situations where this would have to be modified slightly… while at the same time this could be achieved with the same level of respect.

While our world is changing rapidly, these seem to be fairly straightforward and grounded standards to follow.

What would you add to this list?

What’s Destroying Your Marriage?

July 29, 2010 in Soul Food with 0 Comments

Communication, lust, finances, lack of trust or respect, pornography, resentment, unforgiveness, friends or family that aren’t for your marriage, temptations, parenting, selfishness, baggage, cowardice, idolatry, affairs, lack of intimacy, abuse, dishonesty, anger, pride…

Wow, that’s quite a list, and there are many more! And if you don’t have any of them in your marriage… Hallelujah!!

I wanted to share with you one of the blogs that I started following recently, called Refine Us. I stumbled across it while trying to keep up with the Lindsey Nobles’ blog, and since I found Refine Us I’m a regular visitor there.

Justin and Trisha Davis write this blog together, and their story is one that is truly amazing. Their prayer is that they can not only help people recover from marriage problems, but actually use their story to help prevent people from experiencing the problems they have experienced. The blog and their ministry is very useful and relevant to our world today.

I really admire Justin and Trisha for their leadership and courage to openly discuss their past and current issues. Thank you both for an inspiring effort!

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