CHOOSE THIS DAY....FOOD FOR THOUGHT FRIDAY!

How great it would be if all decisions made today would be as easy as choosing my morning cuppa!

All my tea options are good ones to me. I don't even have to choose caffeine free if it's only 7am. 

Other choices throughout the day are more difficult because of the ramifications. Such choices can be important or complex, nothing like deciding on loose leaf or tea bag for my morning cuppa.

How would my choice affect someone else. Physically?  Emotionally? Monetarily? Spiritually? (Romans 12:10)

• To encourage. (Ephesians 4:29) 
• To build up. (Romans 15:2) 
• To motivate to love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24)
• An encouraging word cheers a person up. (Proverbs 12:25)

Each day our choices count! 

That's real food for thought this Friday and everyday.

GOOD FAT AND BAD FAT

All physically fit folks know that there is good fat and bad fat. They ignore bad "fatty" foods.

Even dieters know about good fat but sometimes we tend to disregard it when we smell the aroma of fried foods.

Shutterstock

Here's some "fat" to chew on this Friday.

ENVY is a bad fat. Many women and men feed themselves with this sin. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

It seems to be deeply ingrained in human nature. 

ENVY eats nothing but its own heart. (German proverb)

FAT as used by Billy Graham's son, Nelson, at his father's funeral was "fat" of the good variety.

"My father was F-A-T. He was Faithful, he was Available and he was Teachable.....may we all be that way.

Consider the "fats" in your diet! 

I'm just sayin' or maybe I'm singin' to the food choir!

COOKING UP NEW WORDS

There are so many new words that even the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster add new words annually. Lately most of them are concerning our digital age or are words I have never even heard before. Of course, even we elderly know "fake news," selfie (a 2013 word), baby bump and brexit.

Here are a few new ones to me......

blamestorming---the word coinage might be new & very political but it sounds like the blame game siblings play in their early years of "not me."

"ping me"---Not sure of that---does that mean text or just any digital communication whose notification involves a "ping" sound?  I can't distinguish my phone pings from hubby's phone pings.

worstest---that just sounds like bad grammar to me

Friendsgiving---I like the sound of that if one includes inviting international friends or friends w/o family to their Thanksgiving table, but if the focus is more on alcohol with friends (OED) than giving thanks, then count me out.

fitspiration---I'm too old for that word to be in my vocabulary---it describes people or photos of fit folks that are inspiring. At my age, old people who are still sane and mobile inspire me.

word salad---sounds like the way I talk when I'm talking in circles and hubby and others don't have a clue to what I'm saying. 

But God introduced a "new word"  for our family this past week via Pastor Cole, who's really good at word creation! A fitting one as we "wait," with our daughter and her family, for adoption news.

Pop Pop's Hands

Hopetimist----I like the sound of it.
Not just an optimist, or an immature cock-eyed optimist---who thinks that thinking good thoughts alone, or working hard will make all things "perfect," because that's not always true.

HOPEtimist. (emphasis mine) One who is hopeful and on their knees trusting the outcomes to the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Be strong and take heart all  you who hope in the Lord. (Psalm 31:24)
That's Bible-speak for a hopetimist!

FEED YOUR SOUL

Where does one find a diet consistent for "soul" feeding?

After a discouraging start to my morning, I found my daily bread in Psalm 107. Though I've been considering the truths in this psalm for several weeks now, today I "tasted" a new version, NKJ.

4/ They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;

They found no city to dwell in.
5 5/ Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them.
6 

6/ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 7/ And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
8 8/ Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 9/For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness. (emphasis, mine)

Think of it as trying a different food brand. Cereal or tea come to mind.The nutrients are still there but sometimes the variety gives us a new flavor to nibble on though the ingredients are the same.

Reading of the wanderer in Psalm 107:4-9, it became so evident that my "mood" this morning was as one in a dry place looking for a dwelling place. Hungry and thirsty for peace in my soul.

But God, in His word, showed me the He is my dwelling place and He will satisfy me, and others for whom I am praying today, with His redeeming love.

Today, "taste and see" (Psalm 34:8) with me the goodness of the Lord.

Real soul food for a hungry heart.

consider--Consider--CONSIDERING

A morsel for musing.

I seem to be seeing the verb "consider" in degrees. Degrees of intensity.

Some consideration. (lower case) 

More consideration. (w/ capital C) 

MOST CONSIDERATION. (ALL CAPS)

A quick glance (consider) might capture a few words or one idea.


A more thorough "seeing" (Considering) as thought patterns evolve.....and sometimes even echo in my head as I ponder.

Most CONSIDERATION comes with understanding when paired with scripture which gives illumination--the true light.

Scriptural context takes CONSIDEIRNG TO THE nth degree!



*Original place holder that spawned the comments.
More later.

Considering a nap at the moment.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT FRIDAY

Today's entry has me continuing "Food for Thought Friday," which I thought would only be for the first month of 2018.

Just some tidbits.
Even a funny anagram. STRESSED becomes DESSERTS. It certainly happens to me! Even when I'm sick and on prednisone.

Morsels to chew on which have come up as I have read, studied and prepped to teach as well as listening to others or the news or watching Jeopardy. So.....citations are sketchy at best, but will confirm as I am able. 

➨A fool has no appetite for God's word/wisdom. (Proverbs 1:7)

• ➨You can never outrun the fork. (Commercial Appeal, ?) I guess that means it's more important to push back from the table than to tie on your running shoes.
• 
  
• ➨Peace is a result of giving someone a piece of your heart, not a piece of your mind. (Debbie Moore quoting Ann Voskamp)
• 
  
• ➨decision fatigue---(Emily P. Freeman)--it must be a communicable disease because the older I get, the more I "catch" it. (DAL)
• ➨Stupid is as stupid steps, so be careful of your steps. (Buddy Liles, Allen Bible Church)  'nuf said, even tho "stupid" is not a word I like, it gives a clear assessment of this truth.
• Ahab and Jezebel were a gruesome twosome. (DAL)---doing evil is a gruesome way to live!

• Fool's Errand---a device of Satan to distract us---to keep us in motion without meaning---living by our nerve endings, off course instead of in purposeful meaningful ways. B. Liles)
• To consider a matter, one must take time to think. (DAL)

Certainly some were healthier intake but all caught my attention and I "chewed" on them a bit.

Hope you can "digest" today's variety in my "thought" diet.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT TO STEEP THIS FRIDAY

Feeling punky on this Friday and heading to the doctor, I'm borrowing words of wisdom from my favorite preacher! Certainly words of wisdom for this hot tea aficionado and the preacher's mom.

DON'T BOB IT.....LET IT STEEP!

DON'T BOB IT...LET IT STEEP! My mom's hot tea wisdom warned me that much is missed by rushing tea before its time.  Steeping is the only way to a cup of tea you will savor! Bobbing may get you a fast cup of a hot beverage, but a flavor-rich cup of tea comes only with patience and proper steeping!  The aim in steeping is to infuse the boiled water with tea, transforming it into rich flavor notes that permeate the entire cup. What's true of British breakfast beverages is also true when it comes to following Jesus and our appetite and approach to His Word. This past Sunday in our message Fool Proof, we encountered Scriptural Warnings against the Ways and Walk of Fools.  When it comes to God's Word, a Fool LACKS APPETITE [Prov. 1:7 fools despise wisdom and instruction] and LACKS ACTION with what he hears.  Jesus in Matthew 7 warns, Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.  It's almost as if Jesus is saying a Fool only allows God's Word to BOB in and out, but he does NOT LET IT STEEP in his mind and step into action with it.  That foolish approach leaves us chasing down fool's errands and headed for catastrophic ruin. WITH GOD'S WORD...ARE YOU BOBBING OR LETTING IT STEEP IN YOU? How will you develop an appetite for God's Word and how will you move beyond Bobbing to His Word Steeping in you this year?  It won't happen quickly and it won't happen by accident. To help us set our course to walk wisely in 2018, we have put together a churchwide reading plan and several Steeping Opportunities below for you to steep in God's Word with others. May God grow us as a people with a growing distaste for bobbing & a growing taste for lingering in His Word and living it out everyday. Let Christ and His Word Steep in you, so the aroma of Christ will be fragrant in your life and so others may taste and see that the Lord is good! Steeping with you, Buddy Liles Lead Pastor

FOOD FOR THOUGHT FRIDAY

My first "morsel" of thought this morning came in the form of a memory.

Making "Snow Cream" with the kids. Scooping off just the pristine tops of the flakes...

and stirring them in our "melty" ice cream, because I rarely had cream or whole milk on hand.

SNOW DAYS! For both kids and teachers those 2 words are music to their ears.

Why? 

Maybe it's God's way of slowing us all down. 

Snow from Heaven. (Isaiah 55:10)

A way of hemming us in with his "silent" beauty....

away from busyness. (Ecclesiastes 3:11a & Psalm 46:10)

A time for family.

A time to look out the kitchen window.

A shelter of sorts.

A time to focus on Him and His hand in all of creation!(Genesis 8:22)

Yummy "food for thought Friday" as I sprinkle just a tad of snow on top of my Amaretto Cherry Cordial ice cream.