Effective Communication

                                                 

Communication is one thing that makes life beautiful. When done beautifully it facilitates  reconciliation and restores sweet peace and love..

The warm closeness and fellowship that follows reconciliation is really a beautiful thing. So how do we enjoy this?

• Calm down, calm down, calm down
• When you have a misunderstanding or problem with someone, fairly assess and determine the extent of your responsibility in the problem.
• Assess their part in the problem as well
• Ask yourself, "Is it worth bringing up or should I just ignore it?" Some little trivial issues need not cause turmoil, and need not be talked about. For example if it is the 73rd time you are picking up your husband's dirty clothes from the floor, you need not talk about it because you probably already have. The only solution to such issues is employing tact. But do not sweep real issues under the carpet! They will only eat your relationship up. Till it is no more.
• When you have decided to communicate, first choose the right time and place then bring the topic up using respectful and loving words. Be sure to have a sieve of truth, love, grace and meekness on your mouth so no word out of this category will come out.
• Then talk about it, casually and honestly. 
• If feelings have been hurt, ask for forgiveness, do not give excuses and defenses. And also forgive them. If u need to, agree. If not, agree to disagree. Come to a mutual understanding and resume your relationship in sweet fellowship.

May God help us to be thankful for our problems for out of them, beautiful things come.

Romans 12:18 "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

Col 4:6 "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

Finding Our Strength In The LORD

Our Strength surely is to be found in God. There are trials that drain, that strip, that break, that empty, that madden, trials that weaken us-to the core sometimes.

It is at such times that we wonder how on earth we will handle the daily mundane tasks for which we are responsible, how we will handle relating, at least fairly well, with those around us or how we will even smile or in the least bit be at peace...

All these times call for a few things; 

Focusing our eyes on God, presenting our requests to Him and leaving them at His feet. Trusting that He is in control, relying on the grace He gives us moment by moment. 

Spending some time in quietness, just to process the events in your life or the turmoil in your mind. Time goes a long way in allowing us to calm down, bring ourselves to forgive and consider wisely what we ought to do next.

Do not forget to ask for help when you need it, friends, there is always someone there for you (even when you think you are alone). God is always with you, He never leaves you nor forsakes you (even if it may feel so sometimes) and many at times He shows you His love and support through people, even those you least expect.

When you feel weak, remember that weakness is a beautiful thing because it causes us to remember on Whom we actually rely. And it makes the strength of the LORD  shine out bright in stark contrast to our weaknesses, for His glory. 

Friends, may we learn to rely on the LORD for our comfort and strength.

Isaiah 40:29-31

 He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

In Honor Of Elisabeth Elliot

This wonderful woman loved the LORD and poured out her life for Him. When she past away over a month ago, millions who had been blessed by her celebrated her life around the world. She left a beautiful legacy that encourages us to first and foremost love the LORD and secondly love Him more. All her amazing work will outlive her by far, to God's glory. Here are a few quotes from the wealth of her resources;

“We are women, and my plea is Let me be a woman, holy through and through, asking for nothing but what God wants to give me, receiving with both hands and with all my heart whatever that is.”

“Maturity starts with the willingness to give oneself.”

“I realized that the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done.”

“I have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.”

“Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.

“This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.”

“Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.”

“I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one’s thoughts. Its easy to talk oneself into a decision that has no permanence – easier sometimes than to wait patiently.”

“If we hold tightly to anything given to us unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used we stunt the growth of the soul. What God gives us is not necessarily "ours" but only ours to offer back to him, ours to relinquish, ours to lose, ours to let go of, if we want to be our true selves. Many deaths must go into reaching our maturity in Christ, many letting goes.” 

“Leave it all in the Hands that were wounded for you”.

“One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.

For more, please check out her resources online.

God bless you

What Would Peace Do?

Peace would know first and foremost that its biggest instrument is it's tongue. It would train its tongue to be slow for starters, slow to speak. Slow enough to say out well thought out responses. It would know that nothing good ever came out of blurting out words!

It would purpose to sieve it's words through a net of love and a net of grace, so that the words coming from it would be loving and gracious so that they would not be found to be disrespectful by the hearers.

It would know that it's state of heart and mind is very important. That out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks and thus would do all it could to keep it's mind and heart in order. By dwelling on thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. And in doing so, would dissolve the all the wrong attitudes that spill over through it's words. 

Peace would accept the fact that disagreements and strife keep surfacing in all our relationships, and even if it dreaded these moments, it would seek to use these platforms to build it's relationships into stronger and more loving ones. It understands that sweet fellowship and warm closeness follow reconciliation, and it knows that the key to that is; using words that build and not words that tear down during confrontation.

It would strive to live in harmony with everyone, to the best of it's ability, not because it seeks to impress these people but because it seeks to please God.

Peace forgives everyone for everything because it knows that forgiveness frees the heart from all sorts of poison; Judgment, blame, hurt, bitterness, anger.. etc It knows that there is no true inner peace while harboring these emotions. It just lets go. Not because the offences meant nothing, but because it no longer wants to carry these unnecessary burdens. It lays them at the feet of the LORD.

Peace knows one thing for sure, it is not in ultimate control of it's life, God is. Not to say it does not take responsibility for its actions, it does. But it knows that the future is in God's hands so there is no need to worry about it. It knows it is sinful to worry and be anxious because God commands us not to. Does it plan? yes. Prepare? yes. Pray? yes. Be anxious about it? no. And since the past already happened, it does not dwell on it. It lives in the moment, enjoying it as it is.

It has a close cousin called Contentment. They walk hand in hand. Peace knows it needs contentment. Being grateful for what it has. Working hard and diligently? yes. Willing to progress and grow? yes. But all the same, being satisfied and grateful for what it receives.

Peace knows that it comes from God, it is the kind that nothing in this world can give(not even great wealth or absence of trouble) and nothing in this world can take it away. And it knows that the secret to keeping it is in enjoying communion with the LORD as often as possible. Studying the Bible, praying to Him and leaving all its burdens at His feet. It knows that in that sweet surrender lies its freedom.

May God help me, help us to keep this pleasantly peaceful heart.

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Col 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful"