"Can you help me with my luggage?"

Hmm..It's been awhile..I will get right to it. I am such a people person and I ALWAYS, (much to the chagrin of EVERYONE who knows me well) wonder how folks came to be WHO they are. Why do they laugh like that? Where did they get that opinion from? What happened to them in the dawn of their lives to make them who they are! (I love saying that since my name is dawne!) I digress! It has been most interesting to ponder adults in this manner but quite recently I have come to ponder similar points in kids! To most of you who know me, I've been writing a book for the past 10 years! I come up with a new spin every year. I have good intentions, make some notes, do research and then LIFE happens...and, yes, my masterful book gets tabled..AGAIN! Ok, so my LATEST subject matter is.....well, closely related to how and where kids get what they got and how they need help getting RID of it! You know, we pick up a LOT of bad habits. Most start at a very young age. Most of our idiosyncracies start by 5 or 6. We like something and dislike something else. We unconsiously lean toward something or someone or maybe a strength or weakness. We are gathering our life long BAGGAGE! That's right! Sometimes kids, even more so than adults, realize something is not quite right, you know, there's a LOAD that is building that they don't quite know what to do with or who and how to tell someone, ANYONE about it! "Can you help me with my luggage?" (I can picture this on a movie marquee..you know this is way bigger than a book! Can you see it too?) Seems simple enough to say, right? Well, if adults aren't saying it, why do we expect a kid to? As I said on facebook earlier today, if you know someone who has WAY TOO MANY BAGS or carrying a LOAD they should have NEVER picked up, be helpful! What I really want to say is, help them unpack! We all have a really long road and we need to travel lighter. If we can help the kids lighten up their loads, we'd have a WHOLE lot of healthier adults! For real! Watch what you say and do that could scar(baggage)! Be careful how you discipline (big potential baggage here!) Practice building people up and not tearing them down. The lack of self esteem is a huge bag! Lack of nurture and support...more bags! And you know what? Lack of creativity and motivation in a parent is just more BAGGAGE to a kid! I've had a few folks help with my bags in my life and I can really see a healthier lighter me! Let's help someone unpack. hmmm.. And you know what else, LACK of SLEEP is a BAG I NEVER picked up..not even by mistake! I gets my rest! And with that, good nite all!

Wisdom with our Words

Proverbs 25:11

 “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." NKJV

"The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry." The Message

Sunday school was outstanding this past week.  (It’s actually outstanding most of the time!!)  This particular Sunday the lesson was from Proverbs.  If you have not read Proverbs at some point in your life…stop whatever you are doing…pick up your bible and turn to PROVERBS right now! ( After you read this, of course!)

Solomon, king of Israel, asked God to grant him an understanding heart that he may discern good and evil to rule the people. (1 Kings 3:9) God did indeed grant Solomon's request, as it came from a place of humility and a self-less desire to rule well. As a result of Solomon’s answered prayer, approx. 3000 Proverbs were written by one of the wisest men who ever lived! 

Not only was Solomon wise but he spoke and wrote with such poetic imagery.

Who would compare speaking a right word at the right time to apples of gold in pictures of silver?  Solomon would.   

Speaking with discernment and wisdom must have really been beautiful to Solomon.  Not just good advice, it also has to be given at the right time. They go hand and hand.  Although no one can really know the mind of a king, we can agree with Solomon that a right word at the right time is both rare and valuable still today.

I am privy to many conversations and when I hear an appropriate word appropriately spoken, I am encouraged and then quickly reminded that my words have power and just one word fitly spoken is still a beautiful thing.