“Breakfast Table Political Argument” by Norman Rockwell, on permanent display at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum. (The husband and wife appear to be arguing over the 1948 presidential race in which Harry Truman (right) defeated Thomas Dewey in an upset. My mother reports that 1948 was the first year her widowed motherContinue reading “Conflict Resolution. Numbers 32.”
Category Archives: Words
Voidable Contracts and Voidable Vows. Numbers 30.
Here’s a conversation I have every semester: “If my sixteen-year-old son goes to the Ford dealership and convinces them to sell him a Ford Mustang on a payment plan, there may be problems. What are some of those problems? “First of all, as a tenth grader, Marshall doesn’t have any money. But what ifContinue reading “Voidable Contracts and Voidable Vows. Numbers 30.”
Respect Your Elders. 2 Chronicles 10:7.
The Bible contains a few things so vulgar you may never hear them in a sermon. This is one of them. And yes, I have misgivings writing about it. After Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king, the people of Israel came to him complaining Solomon had worked them too hard. They had built the temple, theContinue reading “Respect Your Elders. 2 Chronicles 10:7.”
THE BIT AND BRIDLE. James 1:26.
Horses are huge, yet we expect to hop on and give orders. How? How can we control this force of nature? Most of us take it for granted, forgetting the power beneath us. When the majestic beast drags us under a low-hanging limb, or crow-hops to drop us, we get angry don’t we—as if bossingContinue reading “THE BIT AND BRIDLE. James 1:26.”
HUSH. James 1:19.
Do you talk too much? When you see your friends and family, are you more determined to talk or to listen? Do you feel compelled to get your story told, or can you be patient and listen? Would people describe you as a listener or a talker? There is wisdom in LISTENING. You learn soContinue reading “HUSH. James 1:19.”
How can you measure maturity in Christ? Consider speech. James 3:1-12.
James writes, “If anyone thinks he is ‘spiritual’ but does not control his tongue, then his spirituality is useless and he deceives himself.” James 1:26. Do the people you know choose their words carefully? Do they stop themselves from saying certain things? Do they take their time with their words? Or does everything they thinkContinue reading “How can you measure maturity in Christ? Consider speech. James 3:1-12.”
Your Mouth is Number One! Proverbs 18:24.
The reason we should eat healthy is because food is the number one way you interact with the environment. Forget air pollution or germs or sunburns or floods or poison. The biggest impact on your health is what you SWALLOW. In the same way, we must control our words, because our words are the numberContinue reading “Your Mouth is Number One! Proverbs 18:24.”
WORDS: Sticks and Stones. Matthew 12:36-37.
As children, we learned to chant things at each other. There were favorites I’ll never forget: “Takes one to know one.” Or “I’m rubber and you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks on you.” Or “I know you are, but what am I?” I remember girls singing the best ones back toContinue reading “WORDS: Sticks and Stones. Matthew 12:36-37.”
Curse Words or Bless Words?
Imagine that person you know who cusses the most. He or she can’t speak a sentence that would not be bleeped for television. Some people use so many four-letter words, you lose track of what they are trying to say, their sentences being so filled with meaningless interjections that the subject and verb are lostContinue reading “Curse Words or Bless Words?”
Words That Matter.
Words that matter are spoken, repeated, memorized, written down, stamped on signs, engraved on statues, monuments, and buildings, used as decoration—on tee shirts, bumper stickers, throw pillows, refrigerator magnets, hung in picture frames, and even stenciled on the walls of our homes. Bible words matter most. When I was a child, I saw decorative itemsContinue reading “Words That Matter.”
Household Words: 