My Tongue?!

Over the last few weeks, I've realized that I am becoming more settled in my new job. One nice thing about a new job and a change is that I can also use the transition to reflect and determine what changes I need to make in myself. One thing that has always bothered me in nursing is the politics, the gossip, talking about others, etc. It's a very common issue in life that we all encounter. When we find ourselves in a conversation that has taken a turn in the direction of gossip, how do we deal with it?

Our tongues are a weapon, dangerous. Our tongues spill careless words that cut to the heart. If I carried a sword with me, I know I would always be aware of where the sword was, who was near it. I would be oh, so careful so that no one would be hurt or injured because of my carelessness. And yet, with my tongue I am thoughtless and unaware of the trail of blood I leave in my wake. I do not want my tongue to be characterized by the following:

1. Destruction & Deceit: "Your tongue devises destruction,Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully." Psalm 52:2

2. Lying: "Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death." Proverbs 21:6

3. Evil: "He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, And he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil." Proverbs 17:20

4. Poison: "But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:8

5. Foolishness: "But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. " Psalm 15:2b

So, what should my tongue be characterized by? What are the descriptions of a "good" tongue?

1. Wise & Just: "The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,And his tongue talks of justice. " Psalm 37:30

2. Tree of Life: "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit." Proverbs 15:4

3. Promotes Health: "But the tongue of the wise promotes health." Proverbs 12:18b

4. Guarded/Kept from Trouble: "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." Proverbs 21:23

Wow! I want a tongue that can be described in these terms. What words should be coming forth in order to live according to that characterization?

1. Praise & Righteousness: "And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness, And of Your praise all the day long." Psalm 35:28

2. Kindness: "She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness." Proverbs 31:26

3. God's WORD & Commandments: "My tongue shall speak of Your word,For all Your commandments are righteousness." Psalm 119:172

4. Confessing Jesus Christ: "..and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil 2:11

I want to be characterized on my unit and in my life as someone who does not participate in gossip or other destructive conversations. It's a daily, hourly, minute by minute struggle to use my tongue wisely and to not participate in conversations that are destructive. And, these verses that I've shared have challenged my heart to strive for a tongue that promotes life and health, and shares the kindness of the Lord Jesus to all those around me and ultimately glorifies His name.

Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 24:12-14

Rock Chalk Jayhawk, GO KU!

Last nights game was so exciting! Half the fun was meeting new people today as I waited in line for the better part of an hour for T-shirts. By the time I got to the front of the line, options on sizes and look were minimal. I got the locker room version for my dad and my friend, Kathy:



Then, since classes were canceled due to the big win, I headed down to KU Med Center bookstore to see what they had. Once again options were minimal...as in, one color and thankfully my size! So, here's what I got to commemorate the big win!!

"JAYHAWK BASKETBALL
History repeats itSELF: 1952 1988 2008"

And, this is me, just enjoying the fact that those guys brought off a big win on the court last night and how much fun it was to watch (well, at least fun some of the time...the other times I was doing some yelling and pacing and nail biting and stuff!!)

Abundantly Satisified

Recently, a friend of mine sent me a copy of the following devotional:

'This is the day the Lord has made.' Psalm 118:24

Three of the biggest mistakes you can make are:
(1) Longing for yesterday. Learn from the past, but don't put a halo on it. The Bible says: (a) "Do not say, ' Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise." (Ecc. 7:10) (b) "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Is. 43:18-19)

(2) Longing for the right somebody. God knows what you need better than you do, and "No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Ps. 84:11). Instead of finding the right person, strive to become the right person.

(3) Longing for some future destination. It's a mistake to believe that when you arrive at a certain point you'll be happy. No, your happiest moments are along the way, not at the end of the trip. When it comes to living, you can't improve on the Scripture "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

These thoughts encouraged and challenged my heart to stop longing for the things which I do not have and to be "abundantly satisfied" with all that the Lord has blessed me. He has given me my salvation, a wonderful family, a beautiful niece and handsome nephew, a job to provide my daily needs. His mercy, faithfulness, and His lovingkindnesses shown to me are boundless and without measure. And, as the Psalmist wrote, I want my heart to be "abundantly satisfied with the fullness of His house..." and to rejoice that this is the day that He has made for me to rejoice in!

Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Psalm 36: 5-9

**A special thanks to Andrew Nelson for my recent blog sprucing. My pictures are ones that were taken while I was hiking in Aspen, Colorado at Maroon Bells. Andrew incorporated them nicely along with other ideas in order to come up with my new look! Thanks for all your help, Andrew!

Wear your hardhats!!

Be patient as my blog is now a work zone! All the details should be together soon and then I'll post a little something on why this new name was chosen! Thanks to all of you who had some input on the new title!!

Tired...

Tonight, I'm feeling tired. I'm tired of the snow. I'm tired of the cold. I'm tired of the winter that brings the cold and the flu bugs and the pneumonia bugs... But, I'm mostly just tired! I'm too tired to even get up to go get dinner. My stomach is growling, actually it's rumbling! And yet, here I sit, too tired to get up. I can almost smell the chili that is waiting for me (even though it's still thoroughly frozen in the freezer)! It's been a long two days at work and the only thing I can think about is the fact that I have to get up and do it all over again tomorrow!

Not only that, but in the midst of my tired state, I want to ward off any grumpy, mean, irritable attitude that can often accompany my exhaustion! I want my attitude tomorrow to glorify the Lord just as much as if it were my first day at work! I don't want to allow my "weak" state to falter my guard that is up against gossip, complaining, anxiety, or any other things that are so easy to succumb to on a "good" day, let alone a day where I feel like I'm already starting behind.

So tonight, I'm saturating myself in this:

"Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy--meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."

So now, I am going to go shower off all those germy bugs, defrost my chili and then snuggle down for a winters night and pray that the peace of God will be with me tomorrow, no matter what it holds, and that my attitude will reflect the things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtue and praise! I pray that your tomorrow will reflect these things too!

A reminder to all those with cabin fever:
There really is warm sunshine out there
somewhere...let's just hope it visits us all soon! :-)

Taking a Vote

This being an election year and all, I thought it might be appropriate to set up a vote! I'm working on re-vamping my site and was thinking of changing the name in the process and I would like your input! So, here are the options I've come up with:

Option 1: For those who don't like change!

In Everything Give Thanks

I Thess 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Option 2: Something new!

Abundantly Satisfied

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house." PS 36:7-8

Option 3: Another something new!

Waiting for Him Alone

"My soul wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him." Psalm 62:5

Option 4: Get Creative!

Here's where you get to throw in your creative side and give me a name if you've thought of one on your own!

Let me know what you think and then stay tuned for the new look, coming soon!

Blog Help!

Does anyone have any tips on blog sprucing? I'm really sick of how mine looks and am not excited about any of the templates I can find online! Sadly, I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to doing it myself without some detailed instructions! Can you recommend any helpful books or even someone who I can pay a nominal fee to spruce it FOR me!? (All the ones I've found so far are not accepting new customers!)

Please help!!