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It is early morning.

I haven’t been up this early in a long time–over a year.

As I quietly tap out my thoughts, I realize just how much I’ve missed the delight of rising early to meet [come face to face with] [encounter] each new day.

I’ve missed the serendipity of early morning walks with my husband.

The smell of dewy jasmine where the bush at 6th Avenue and 14th Street pours forth her sweet perfume;

The through-an-open-window-everyday-at-five-thirty a.m. sound  of someone pecking out their own story? on an old? manual typewriter;

The soft clinking of cups and silverware set before the couple who routinely sit poolside to start the day with breakfast and a smoke;

The myriad sounds of the old mockingbird that sits alone in a barren tree on thirteenth street singing everyone’s song but his own;

And I wonder who planted the seed that produces such savory sweetness….longing to exude my own sweet aroma and plant a few seeds myself.

And what enchanting story do the pages being methodically spun out on that typewriter tell….what parts of that story, good or bad, would touch the tender places in me.

And what are the plans and dreams and concerns of the sleepy-eyed couple who sit gazing out over the mist rising over the pool where warm dry air meets night’s cool moisture…can they see through the mist with clarity and purpose?  Can they see their way through to the One Who can?

And I want to tell the mockingbird that he really doesn’t have to warble everyone else’s song and am rather sad that he never finds his own…because I know the bondage of that borrowed cadence…and am, myself, still learning the victorious notes and rhythm of the joyous song that my Creator has composed just for me.

And I remember why I love the wisdom of lessons that can only be learned in the early morning dawn of new beginnings.

And I want to return.

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1000 gifts –a way to remember

After reading Ann’s book and being inspired by Emily’s creation here, I decided to make a few pieces of art to place around my home as a way to exhort my own heart towards gratefulness, rest, and trust.

What you’ll need for this exact look:

  • 1  11×14 frame with a 5 x 7 opening and a wide matte {from Target}
  • 1 piece of scrapbook paper {wallpaper of fabric would look nice too}

How to do it:

  1. Cut the scrapbook paper 1/2 inch larger than the matte opening and tape so it shows through.
  2. Find a pretty font in a size you like to print whatever word {s} you want to inspire you and others.
  3. Print the word on the label paper.
  4. Cut loosely around the word {s} and peel off sticky backing.
  5. Adhere to the matte or paper if you do not use a matte  {see pic below}.
  6. Put your frame back together and voila!

Here is another one I did without using a matte.  I placed the printed word directly on the scrapbook paper.

language lessons

“The way you see the world comes out with the words you choose.” –Melissa Sweet

The language spoken in a home by the children who live there belies where the parents’ roots lie. German speaking parents produce German speaking children. Japanese parents Japanese speaking children, and so on. Sometimes dual languages are learned, as in the case of parents representing different nationalities. It was no different in Nehemiah’s time.

Yet, what most of us would consider an incredible achievement for our children–the ability to speak diverse languages–Nehemiah found disgraceful.

About that time I realized that some of the men of Judah had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Even worse, half of their children spoke in the language of Ashdod or some other people and could not speak the language of Judah at all. So I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear before God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land. Nehemiah 13:23-25

Not only had the men of Judah sinned by taking foreign wives, but because of these unholy unions, their children were speaking a mixture of languages, which led to some forgetting their Fathers’ native tongue altogether. I am assuming this was because these foreign speaking woman, as caregivers, spent more time with the children than did the fathers.

Nehemiah took drastic measures to preserve the language of Judah by making sure all foreign language was eradicated. As twenty-first century Christian mothers and grandmothers, we must do the same; we must learn to exclusively speak the language of Judah, which is the Hebrew word for He shall be praised.

All language betraying any hint of a dialect of ungratefulness, discontent, complaining, criticizing, or unbelief must be replaced with this royal language of Judah, which emanates from a heart that is rooted in trust and rest.

According to J.B. Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names, the names Ashdod and Ammon mean I will spoil and peopleish [fleshly]. When we speak forth the foreign, fleshly language the spoiler presents to our heart as truth, our children will too. For the first chapter of the first book of the Word–Genesis 1:11-12–reveals to us this very principle. All living things reproduce after their own kind.

We will surely reap the language seeds we have sown before our children; Ephesians 6:7-8 tersely reminds us that he who sows to his flesh will reap corruption [spoil]. Herein lies Nehemiah’s genuine concern for the people of Judah:

He knew the battle they faced would, at times, be so intense that if they ever forgot or their children never learned the language of Praise they would all be certain to experience spiritual death and ultimately, spiritual extinction!

I cannot tell you that enrollment in this holy language course in not costly; the testing can be rigorous, and I have failed more often than I have passed. But let us consider this: Death and life are in the power of the tongue– Proverbs 18:21. For our children’s and grandchildren’s sake let us press on and master the lesson so we will have living seed to sow into their lives. At harvest time it will be worth it! ….he who sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Ephesians 6:7-8.

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