Friday, January 16, 2009

A Few Loose Ends

First of all, I want to truly thank those of you who have been praying for me this week as I have battled with my attitude lessons for anyone who popped in and read my blog. I am merely doing what I feel God has compelled me to do and I am beginning to see that changing doesn't happen over night, but when I change, so does the world around me. Well, if it doesn't than by my changing, I am able to see that world in a brighter light.

I was reading through the bible yesterday during my lunch break and it is something I frequently do and it is always enlightening, I just open up and start reading, but yesterday I was looking for food for my soul and went straight to Titus 2 to see what was being said about women and attitudes. I just feel it is really important for me to understand what I am reading especially if I want to make comparisons between Titus and Proverbs women.

What Titus 2 offers is just great advice for women, but I look at this more like advice for a mentor or older Christian. As an older Christian woman, I am supposed to be reverent in the way I live, not to slander or hurt anyone, not to be a drunk or a drug addict, but to be kind and take younger women under my wings and show them how to love their children and spouses especially now, during the tough times!

A few days ago, we had a young lady in our home, a missionary from our church. I wanted to get to know her better because she has so much going on in her life with setting up a non-profit mission school for blind children in Sierra Leone, completing paperwork for her soon to be husband to come over to the United States so they can be married, working in the church office, gathering money for the school, etc.

It was informal, I showed her around my home, we sat and talked and had pizza and visited about her future and where God see's her and has her going. I asked her difficult questions about her impending marriage, about the country she is going to, etc. She was honest and up front with everything.

She stated she knew her first year of marriage would be tough with everything else that is going to be going on such as raising money and awareness of the school.

Now, working on attitude lately, I could have given her some bad advice, I could have told her she should do this and that first before getting married, I could have told her horror stories, but I was kind and patient and told her I knew God would carry her through the way He has carried me during tough times and to always remember to be kind to each other.

Yesterday, my confirmation on my attitude, didn't come from Titus, it came from James 1: 19 where we are told: We should be quick to listen and slow to speak. One more time what? Quick to Listen and Slow To Speak. Yes, I was now sure I didn't just stumble across James, God wanted me here. I am always quick to speak, so this fits right into my attitude changes.

James further tells us that anger against each other does not bring about the desires that God wants for us. God wants us to get rid of all the evil or bad things in our lives that James say is so prevalent and accept the word that is planted within us.

This has been the confirmation I have been waiting to hear from God before moving onto the other letter lessons I want to present on my blog. So, I will continue to work on my attitude, but the lesson at this time is complete because it is now time to move onto Beauty and that lesson I am still working on.

2 comments:

Sherry said...

What a great lesson for all of us! It's so easy to be quick to say something, but to just listen is really a hard thing to do.

Good for you Jean!
Have a great day!
Sherry

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the lesson! I have attitude problems too.....Some days I wake up just totally mad about my whole situation and then somedays I remember that God has blessed me by giving me this little grandchild to raise. Somedays I just stay mad.
xoxo
Diane