Healing or Hurt

James 3:1-12 can be a tough passage but such a good reminder for me. 

Verse one is a warning to those who are teachers. ("Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.") Teachers are those with influence. Many times unless your vocation is as teacher you might think this verse is talking to someone else. But each of us has influence, with family, friends, co-workers and people we encounter each day as we go through life. So in some ways we are all teachers and need to heed the warning. 

Our words or as James talks about, our tongues have so much influence. They can be life and death to people. Yet so many times we, I can be careless with my words. I forget the power they have. 

The word pictures that James uses, the bit, the rudder and a match, just common things, but oh the power they have. I used to live in Southern California and I have seen the destruction that a single match can have. In the fall the danger of fires is always high and I remember one year the fire near Santa Barbara, I believe, was devastating. So many homes lost, so many acres of forest just scorched and it was started by a boy playing with matches and it got out of control. 

That can happen with us. We say one little thing and then someone else says something, then another and another and pretty soon our tongue has started a forest fire and the damage is just as devastating. 

But here's the flip side. That same tongue that can start a forest fire of damage can also bring the cool waters of encouragement. There have been days that I have been discouraged or frustrated or just sad and then I receive a text or a phone call and everything changes. Maybe it was just to let me know they were thinking about me or they sent a verse that just spoke to my soul. Just as a match can start a campfire or a forest fire our tongue can bring healing or hurt; blessing or cursing; life or death. 

I want my words I use brings healing, blessings and life.

It's a family, not a business!

This past weekend I visited another church. Hunting for a new church home is a daunting experience. The message was centered around Ephesians 2 starting at verse 11 the idea that we are one in Christ. Since we are all one in Christ the Church as a whole is a family but then the individual churches make up different family units. I am feeling a bit lost in this transition, as it has been a long time since I have had to look for a new church family and missing my SCC family quite a bit.

Two points that were made this past Sunday was the difference between a family and a business and the difference between being a family member and a consumer.

A business gives you what you want.
A family gives you what you need!

That is a huge difference. So many times I hear people complaining because they didn't get from a particular church what they wanted. Maybe they don't serve coffee or the right coffee; maybe they only sing hymns or they don't sing any hymns or any number of other things. I understand preferences but church splits or really church divorces over these kinds of things is silly. As a kid, I remember my mom setting limits with me over music. (Can you believe we didn't have the same tastes in music!) I couldn't listen whenever I wanted to and I couldn't play the music as loud as I always wanted too. We talked, made compromises. She knew listening to loud music while I was doing homework would not work for me. ( I hate to admit, it still doesn't work for me.) But when my homework was done I could listen all I wanted and from time to time I could even turn it up loud! That's part of giving me what I needed not what I wanted. You might have other examples too!

As a consumer you are trying to get as much as you can for as little as you can.
As a family member you give all that you have for nothing in return.

I loved this! That consumer attitude just doesn't work in a family, not our earthly families and not in the church. If we come in with the attitude, what can the church give to me, we can end up being very disappointed. Can you imagine being at a church were everyone just wants to know what they can get and never gives back? When you think about it, that attitude is opposite of Christ's attitude. He came to serve and He gave us everything and received nothing in return. That's the kind of family I want to be a part of.

Lord, help me to live like you and be a family member that lives out Philippians 2, always looking to the interests of others and not just my own!

Let the Journey Begin

Wow, the last few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind!

My last day at SCC was May 3; very bitter sweet! Love that church and the ministries I have had the honor of serving in. To all my Dwelling Place girls: I love you all and miss you so much! Thanks for all that you have done for me.Your love and encouragement over the years have helped me to grow and to step out in faith into what God is calling me to! You will forever be in my heart!!

After that last day of work, I headed to the Doctor. He started to treat me for pneumonia. Great! Not really what I needed with so many things to do. (By the way, I am feeling much better, just a bad cough.) Getting the truck and loading it was quite the experience but God was there in the middle of it all and we got it all done. Then Sunday afternoon headed out of town for our two and a half day journey. Everyone made it without a hitch and in fact on one leg off our trip my little 13 year old Honda got 50 mpg. Thank you, Lord!

So I have settled in at my good friend Angela's house and we will be working with her parents to get their daylight basement cleaned up and ready for me to move in over there. It is probably going to take close to a month to get it all done but I am excited to get started on all that. Love being here with Angela and her three boys (AKA my nephews, I just love being called Auntie!!)

Starting this new adventure with Youth Missions International is pretty exciting and terrifying all at the same time. It is a walk of faith and trust unlike any I have ever taken before. So often I find myself bouncing from a peace and calm to stress and panic. The peace comes from Jesus in a way I find difficult to describe. Situations that normally would send me into a panic and spinning in circles looking for an escape, Jesus just soothes my soul and truly becomes my Prince of Peace. It's like I can hear Him saying, "I got this!" Thank you!! But those times when I give into the panic, I have to remember that there is an enemy out there who would like nothing better than to keep me distracted from living the life God has planned for me. So pray is becoming an even bigger part of my life. Prayer is an offensive weapon that so many times is not used in our battles with the enemy and I am in this battle I want to live a life of action not reaction. Prayer has to be the first weapon we pullout not a last resort!

Support raising is a challenge but it is another way to learn to trust the Lord. I am now at about 25% of the monthly total I need to raise and have quite a ways to go for the mission trip to Brazil this summer. My heart overflowing with thankfulness and love for all the support I am receiving in so many different ways, not just financially but your love, prayers and encouragement have made a huge difference in the transition to Washington and a new job. Be sure to let me know how I can be praying for you also! This is a partnership and it is an honor for me to be praying for you also. You can email me at  shelleysmith023@gmail.com!

Serving Shoulder to Shoulder with You!!!

Shelley
Zephaniah 3:9
"For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them m call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder."