God Loves Adverbs

Sunday, November 8, 2009

It’s the middle of summer and no one cares about a grammar lesson. But this all started when I heard a young woman describe the biggest lesson she had learned through her job the previous year: “I’ve decided that how I do things is just as important as what I do,” she said. “I think God must really love adverbs!” She had majored in music and was a gifted vocalist. But she had been working as a baker in the kitchen of a mountain resort. She was turning out excellent breads, pies, and cakes, but resented what she was doing. Her attitude spoiled what could have been an act of loving service for the Lord.

 

That’s what started her thinking about how she was going about her work. You remember adverbs–especially all those words ending in “ly” that describe the hurriedly, clumsily, vociferously. The Bible is loaded with words that reveal the attitudes behind our actions.

 

In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome, he stressed the importance of their mind-set as they exercised their God-given gifts: “give generously…govern diligently…show mercy cheerfully.” The opposite approach doesn’t help anyone. We all know what it’s like to receive a gift given grudgingly, to serve under a lazy leader, or to be forgiven reluctantly. As we seek to please God, our attitude determines the value of our actions. Paul continued his letter by urging the Romans to hope joyfully, endure affliction patiently, pray faithfully (Romans 12:12).

 

Attitude and action are like the right and left wings on an airplane–both have to be there to make it fly. And both working together help break the pull of gravity and allow it to soar. What are you doing these days? How are you doing it? The “ly” words throughout the Bible are just as important as the action words they describe. My friend the singer who learned how to bake bread humbly and joyfully for the Lord must be right. God really does love adverbs.

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READ ROMANS 12:3-8

I realize God has treated me with undeserved grace, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another. God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

Romans 12:3-8

Random Thoughts

Friday, November 6, 2009

ONE.  Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE.  Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, ‘I love you ,’ mean it.

FIVE.  When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN..  Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT.  Never laugh at anyone’s dream. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.  

ELEVEN. Don’t judge people by their relatives.  

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.  

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson!

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship..

NINETEEN.  When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY.  Smile when picking up the phone… The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE.  Spend some time alone.

Our Thoughts Are Tested by the Lord

A dry crust of bread eaten in peace and quiet is better than a feast eaten where everyone argues. A hard-working slave will be placed in charge of a no-good child, and that slave will be given the same inheritance that each child receives. Silver and gold are tested by flames of fire; our thoughts are tested by the Lord. Troublemakers listen to troublemakers, and liars listen to liars. By insulting the poor, you insult your Creator. You will be punished if you make fun of someone in trouble. Grandparents are proud of their grandchildren, and children should be proud of their parents.

It sounds strange for a fool to talk sensibly, but it’s even worse for a ruler to tell lies. A bribe works miracles like a magic charm that brings good luck. You will keep your friends if you forgive them, but you will lose your friends if you keep talking about what they did wrong. A sensible person accepts correction, but you can’t beat sense into a fool.

Cruel people want to rebel, and so vicious attackers will be sent against them. A bear robbed of her cubs is far less dangerous than a stubborn fool. You will always have trouble if you are mean to those who are good to you. The start of an argument is like a water leak — so stop it before real trouble breaks out. The Lord doesn’t like those who defend the guilty or condemn the innocent. Why should fools have money for an education when they refuse to learn?

A friend is always a friend, and relatives are born to share our troubles. It’s stupid to guarantee someone else’s loan. The wicked and the proud love trouble and keep begging to be hurt. Dishonesty does you no good, and telling lies will get you in trouble. It’s never pleasant to be the parent of a fool and have nothing but pain. If you are cheerful, you feel good; if you are sad, you hurt all over.

Crooks accept secret bribes to keep justice from being done. Anyone with wisdom knows what makes good sense, but fools can never make up their minds. Foolish children bring sorrow to their father and pain to their mother. It isn’t fair to punish the innocent and those who do right. It makes a lot of sense to be a person of few words and to stay calm. Even fools seem smart when they are quiet.

Proverbs 17

Reminiscing Purpose-Driven Life Days

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Ever heard of Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life? I was in the early months of 2nd year high school then when my mom brought a book from her work. The cover is much uninteresting and so the title is. The Purpose Driven Life- and the cover stated that it has a certain 40 day campaign. Campaign for what, I resented. I didn’t browse the book until the early days of my 4th year high school.

It was Friday then. It was the last day of the week for us students. My friends were having discussion at that time and I joined them. They are planning to go to the nearest mall from our school and we can have dinner there. I decided to go with them since they are closest to me anyway. Our last subject is Trigonometry and on that day, we didn’t do anything much. So we just talked about our so-called dinner date. I am suspecting something at that moment but I just neglect it.

Well, let the uncertainty solve itself.

Our classes done! Yipee. We felt so surreal when our  adviser called it a day! We were six then, including me. 3 boys and 3 girls. We rode the jeepney going to the mall. But it changed it’s route. I was wondering why that happened.

When one of them revealed the secret.. You know what guys, we’regoing to our house, one of the girls murmured. I was not told about this, I complained. We can’t do anything then but still, I believed that something will make my night an unforgettable one.

Their home is actually great. They have a big garden that has several members of kingdom Plantae and 3 vehicles. That was lot I think. Her mom is inside browsing her laptop. They are a Methodist Christian family.

As we enter the house, a good and a pleasant ambiance is welcoming me. As we introduced ourselves to her mom, I am feeling a kind-spirited woman. She’s awesome. I admire her by the time I known her. Tita Lyn made us envision about the comforts in life.

I made a decision in my life that I’ll follow Him all the days of my life. Pretty cool. No joke! I will definitely trust in Him no matter what. I’ll keep on holding to Him. I’ll never let Him go. Never ever.

And that Friday sessions continued ’til the schoolyear end. If there is “Tuesdays with Morrie”, we have “Fridays with Tita Lyn”. Our tool is none other than the PDL by Rick Warren— the book that I never tried to open or take glance any single page on it. It’s 40 day campaign that I don’t understand beforehand helped my character and attitude to be a better servant of the Good Lord.

I constantly thank God for giving me the favorable time in meeting Tita Lyn for she help me to open up myself with greater possiblities with Him. I will never forget the day that I made an important decision, September 12, 2005– the day I understand clearly what I wanted in life.

I have read a line from a site and it touched me. I know it’s not too late to change for God is always there to lift us up during depression time. Ü

Decisions. Look to God.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009