Second to none… Well, okay… maybe I’m 3rd or 4th or even further down the line!

I am amazed at my spirit of competition sometimes. As a young singer, I learned that the best way to get over my feelings of jealousy when other singers got a part I wanted, was to become their friend, and then I loved them & didn’t care so much if they got something I wanted. I learned to see that for certain parts & roles, they were just better suited than I was! And now I find that old Rascal Jealousy coming back, in a simple online game called Design Home. If one of my designs falls short of the mark, it still upsets me – sometimes more than others. Why? Is it an assault on my ability, or my value as a human? Sometimes, I have to accept still, other people’s work is just better than mine! Maybe they spent more money on it (or any money, as I play for free), or more time, or just simply had better taste than I did in that situation :-). Learning to accept a secondary role or place in life can be hard for some of us. And learning that just because we took second place (or 3rd or 4th) doesn’t mean that we aren’t valuable, or our opinions and viewpoints aren’t valuable… This is another lesson I am still needing to learn. So silly, how these things keep popping up throughout our lives. “Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free, tis a gift to come down where we ought to be.” A wonderful old song, a wonderful old truth!

Words… Such a great blessing!

Words. What we have to say is important! And sometimes it takes courage to speak what we must speak even if some people will choose to reject us for it, and move on to other people, less…”wordy,” perhaps? God gives us words to lift up, not to tear down. And speaking them may make the difference between our being happy, thankful, and contented when we leave this life, or even in the midst of it, or our being unhappy, unthankful, and left “empty.” I have to be careful sometimes, because my words may tumble out so rapidly, often without a second inner glance as to their appropriateness, that they may not always lift up and not tear down. But the temptation to go silent, to keep my thoughts to myself and not express anything dangerous, or even loving…that would be more deadly to me, and even to others, than I might think. Again…balance. But as many times as we beat ourselves up for saying the wrong thing, or for maybe being a bit too impulsive with our words, I am reminded this morning, in a very sweet and gentle way, that my words matter! Words are such a gift! May my words and your words be blessings today! In any language; spoken in person or on the page; in any place or at any time across the globe…words…may we ourselves be blessed and not shrink back from using the treasure we have been given for the good of others. #thankfulforwords

Not an “Indian giver” ;-)

“…for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29 NASB