TATTLING ON MYSELF

"As a little girl, when my dad told me to hoe the garden, I was profoundly insulted that he would ask such a thing. I was mad too. So I cried as I hoed. Then I took a handful of dirt and rubbed it all over my face. I wanted to prove how hard I'd worked, how much I'd perspired, and how dirty I'd become by labor. Surely his pity would rescue me from further hoeing. It didn't."

Linda Anderson
The Too-Busy Book
Waterbrook Press  2004
p. 180


The truth doesn't always hurt; sometimes it makes me laugh.

 Mom and I used to share books. She didn't mind that I underlined in them--in fact, she rather liked my markings. However . . . it dawned on me, one day, that those underlines might tell more about me and my life than I wanted her to know. I suspect my note cards could do the same.

 So, when I pulled this anecdote from my collection, I smiled. That's telling, I thought. I could definitely see myself in that little girl. I could also see that I'd changed. To God be the glory.   

Hmmm . . . Take a look at your bookshelf. What does your collection tell about you?
EverGrowing With His Help,
Lonnie

HEART-FELT THANKS

"I've come to believe that only broken people truly worship. Unbroken people--happy folks who enjoy their blessings more than the Blesser--say thanks to God the way a shopper thanks a clerk."

Larry Crabb
Shattered Dreams
Waterbrook Press  2001
p. 57


Ouch! I'm not sure if I don't completely agree, or if I don't want to agree. I can tell you this: I long for a far closer relationship with God than I have with any store clerk. And to be honest, Crabb causes me to wonder how many of my thank-yous are courtesy (not a bad thing), yet how many are heart-felt and genuine.

If you were offer heart-felt thanks to someone in your household or workplace, today, who would it be?

Still Growing,
Lonnie