Why I Write

A few minutes before church yesterday morning, I had an opportunity to speak with our pastor and the subject of my blogging came up and I confessed to him that I struggle with it somewhat because it is so different from teaching in the fact that in one-on-one communicating, you have the privilege of verbal tone, body language, and raised hands if there are questions. I had a dear friend once who told me she loved the balance in all my lessons which I thought was very important. Just in my previous blog, where I was explaining that even men cry, if I had been teaching I would have shown too, as Pastor's message did yesterday, that we want our men to be men. We don't want them falling apart every time a challenge arises. We admire their strength. God made men and women differently and the world wants to cloud the issue of their roles but the Bible is clear in defining them.

Blogging, to me, sometimes, hinders my ability to do that, to show the balance in what I am trying to get across to the reader. But Pastor Scott encouraged me to continue, trusting God to be the Master Communicator to hearts and lives and he also reminded me that the Word cuts sometimes. Yes, it comforts and encourages but at times, it is like a surgeon's knife that cuts deeply to remove the cancer and then the healing process begins. Thank you, Pastor, for the wise counsel and encouragement!

Let me give you a short background for why I was questioning myself, to begin with. I read from a dear lady whose husband is seriously ill with cancer, that a lady who she hasn't seen in quite some time, ran up on her the other day and quickly gave her a verse and the reason why they were going through this dark journey. "God told me to tell you." she said.  My immediate thought and prayer was "O, God, please don't ever let me come across as arrogant or insensitive, especially to your children who are persevering through trials right now that I have no clue of how they are feeling." Dear ones, I have no answer why some spouses get cancer and others do not; why some babies die in their cribs at night and others wake up cooing; why some parents get the dreaded knock on the door in the middle of the night and others' teens grow up , marry, and have them grandchildren; why one soldier comes home, walking off the plane and the other is carried off in a flag-draped coffin....... Now, our Sovereign Lord has these answers, but not me and not you.

I read the verse in Mark 9 recently- Jesus has taken Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and has been transfigured before them and Peter said  -vs 5 "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles ; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."  Verse 6 is what captured my attention -"For he wist not what to say...".    Sometimes, it's better to say nothing if you don't know what to say. I love this that I read long ago. "Some people just have to say something; others have something to say."  There's a vast difference.  One commentary said Peter thought he just needed to be talking. Our problem, huh?

Proverbs 18:21 says "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."  Great good or great harm can come from our words and maybe in days ahead, God willing, we will unpack some practical lessons from that thought. But, Christian friend, if that verse is true and we know it is , we should stop and think before we speak. The power of words to sway is undeniable.  I know words are very important and that is why I write.That is why, also, that I re-read and pray before I hit "publish post." I write to help you, if I can; I write to encourage you to spring forward in this new season of life that is upon us all. There may be days when I just simply update you on a good day I am having ...but probably rarely will I do that.This is not Facebook format that says "Going to lunch at Longhorn today" :) :) :) I don't want to waste your time- I write foremost to remind you of the good God we serve. I write to exhort you to read His Word, the Book that will lead you into a more intimate relationship with the Lover of your soul, the crucified Savior for your and my sins, the soon-coming King Who will, at last, rule His world in righteousness!

That's why I write- not to make you think I know all the answers but to point you in the direction of the One Who does!! I love Him and am humbled that He would even use this servant girl in His service.  That's why I write.

Looking up, Deborah