Talking birds

Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. Ecclesiastes 10:20

The first time I read this verse, I thought, “Oh, this is where the saying “A little birdie told me” came from. What exactly is Solomon saying? Use discretion; be careful of what you say and don’t be talking about others.

Time and time again, people have been “hung by their own words” when someone repeated what they said. Oh, when will we learn?

How many “kiss and tell” stories are on the market? Too many to name, unfortunately people love to carry tales, whether true or something they heard repeated.

Description of the wrong way to use words:

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. Proverbs 18:8 

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. Colossians 2:4 

For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak. Psalms 59:12 

Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. Psalms 52:4 

Description of the right way to use words:

He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Proverbs 17:27 

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24 

Description of God’s words:

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Psalms 12:6 

How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalms 119:103 

The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. Psalms 119:130 

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. Mark 13:31 

Let’s watch our speech and the words we say, then we will not hear, “a little birdie told me”.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Advice to live by

Chapter ten is a mini version of the book of Proverbs full of advice, counsel and warnings. Let’s look at what Solomon is teaching:

Ecclesiastes 10:1  Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.

When flies die and are in a perfume the perfume will stink, if you have a reputation of being wise and honourable you will ruin it with foolishness. Solomon is saying think before you do something, you do not want to ruin your “good name” with a foolish mistake.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1 

* * * * * * * * 

Ecclesiastes 10:2-3  A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. 3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.

Wise and foolish go in opposite directions. One can tell the difference between the wise and foolish by the way they act and speak.

The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Ecclesiastes 9:17

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Proverbs 17:28 

* * * * * * * *  

Ecclesiastes 10:4  If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.

Take control of your anger, if someone over  you (i.e. ruler, boss) is angry don’t leave or quit but assess the situation and humble yourself. You need to respect the position of the one over you.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: … Hebrews 13:17 

It is not easy to do the right thing, but meditating on the word of God daily will help us to know the right way to go.

Have a blessed day,
Donna

Thanksgiving memories

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: … Proverbs 17:22

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I know, I have said it a million times. I love to be with extended family. We always have a good time “catching up”. This year we had 25 at my sister-in-law’s home. I am thankful that she so willingly opens her home each year. Everyone “chips” in with cooking and baking to supplement the meal.

Three tables were set to accommodate everyone, the “old folks” table, of which I am a part of, the “kids” table, age 10 and under and the “other kid” table, the parents of the under 10 group. The “other kid” table was happy they were promoted to a table of their own this year.

My sister-in-law’s 82 year old mother-in-law makes all the pies. She is an awesome baker we all look forward to her pastries. This year my granddaughters and I made pilgrim hat cookies, which were a big hit with the under 10 group.

After the meal and desserts we all sat around talking. Amazing as it seems there were four different generations laughing and joking and just having a good time. As the evening ended, we all hugged and kissed then traveled to our homes. I thank God for another year of Thanksgiving memories.

One of those days

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Yesterday was just one of “those days”, you know the type I mean. Everything is planned and nothing goes smoothly.

My granddaughter started her sailing classes yesterday and I was going to be there early to watch her. I got up, did my morning walk, ate breakfast, showered, you get the picture. I was already to leave at 7:15 am the class started at 7:45. I went out to the car and the key would not go into the ignition. I tried a number of times, finally I took the key out, thinking maybe I was trying the wrong key. The key was bent.

Looking around, unsuccessfully for another key, I called my husband and told him my dilemma. He said he would come home and bring his key. He works about 40 minutes away. I went back into the house, put on a load of laundry and did some other work while I waited.

He arrived and straightened the key. The whole job took about 5 minutes. Finally, I was on my way. I arrived at the sailing lessons, which also happens to be where I work, at 8:45 am. I dropped my bag off in the office and proceeded to the sailing class. She noticed me right away, waving to beat the band and proudly telling the instructor, “There’s Mimi.”

The instructor who is a sweet college girl replied, “Mimi and I are BFF*.” My granddaughter thought that was “pretty cool.”

I started to think about friends and friendship. Looking through my notebooks I found a few things I jotted down years ago.

The North American Indians did not have an alphabet before they met the white man. Their words for friend were, “one-who-carries-my-sorrows-on-his-back.” Proverbs 17:17 says, A friend loveth at all times.. This means in good times and bad times, whenever you need them. A true friend will be there no matter what.

The more I thought of friends, the more I thought of Jesus. He is the best friend we can ever have. He is there through thick and thin. While I was walking in the morning, He was there. When I could not get the crooked key in the ignition, He was there. As I was driving to work, He was with me.

He is my best friend. Is He yours? Ask Him today.

A -ADMIT that YOU are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God tells us that no sin can enter heaven. Something must be done to get rid of your sin.

B -BELIEVE that Jesus died on the cross for YOU. Jesus shed his blood to save YOU from your sins. He took YOUR place on the cross and suffered punishment for YOUR sin.
I Peter 2:24 -- Who His own self (Jesus) bore our sins in His own body on the tree (cross) that we, being dead with sins, should live unto righteousness.
Colossians 1:14 -- In Whom we have redemption (salvation) through His (Jesus') blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
Acts 16:31 -- Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

C -CONFESS your sinfulness to God, turn from your sins, believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Savior from sin. This may be a simple but sincere cry from your heart, or it may be expressed out loud.
Luke 18:13 -- God be merciful to me a sinner.
Romans 10:13 -- Whosoever shall call upon the ,name of the Lord shall be saved. When you do this (and mean it) you are "saved". You, along with all the others who believe in Jesus, will spend eternity in heaven with Him.

If you prayed that prayer, share it with me! I would love to pray for you, too!

Have a blessed day,
Donna

* texting code for best friends forever