One another...

I had the pleasure of having lunch with a valued friend today, as we spent some time talking she said something that was worth looking into...the idea of what God says about "one another". We all know how easy it is to be negative, to talk about others...it comes naturally and often our sense of justice is offended so we vent, well I vent. Got me thinking.... God says to love one another, be compassionate to one anther, to encourage one another....and there you have the idea of 'one another'.

This made me think, how often we were called to treat 'one another' in a specific way? That means it is off to my concordance and other study tools to try and find out... I found way more than I can put in this post..over 100 times the words 'one another' are used together...there may be more depending on the translation you are searching but whatever Bible translation you use, it is alot!!

Here are a few that I found:

Zechariah 7:9- 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
John 13:34-"A new command I give you: Love one another
Romans 12:10-Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Romans 14:13 -Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another
Romans 15:7-Accept one another
Galatians 5:13-... rather, serve one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2-Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:32-Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other
Ephesians 5:19-Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
Ephesians 5:21-Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:11-Therefore encourage one another and build each other up
Hebrews 3:13-But encourage one another daily
James 4:11-Brothers, do not slander one another.

This list is by no means extensive yet it certainly must give us cause to think about our daily interactions with others. It is so easy to behave this way with the people we love but what about all the people we have a hard time even liking...how can we do this with those people? I am not sure that I can but when I see how often God has reminded us, I realize I at least have to try a bit harder, pray about it a bit more and possibly, just possibly I can succeed in showing the love God has for me to those around me in a more tangible manner....

One another.....let's spend time this week thinking about how we are instructed to treat one another...

Time Management....

Still wondering if this is a good idea...what is on my mind? Nothing and everything. Life has been very busy the last month, between work, home, Gala planning and a speaking gig there has not been much time for reflection. That said I have still spent some time wondering (ok reflecting) about what life has to offer me...the kids don't need me like they used to so I have decided to keep myself busy. That my friends may have been a stupid idea.

In keeping myself busy I have missed out on spending some quality time with and family friends, my house looks like something straight out of hurricane season and I am tired....the worst of it is that it is my spiritual life that has suffered, I have neglected to spend quality time with God and that is NOT good. We (me) all have great excuses about how our days fill and there is little time left over for reading or our minds are too full for more than a quick prayer...that is a dangerous cycle and affects how well our lives work and how we feel about ourselves and others. That said I think it is time for a bit of renewal...in order to renew I need to have some discipline that keeps me focused on spending more quality time with the God who loves me and wants to make life full...time to stop being a hypocrite....time to put some of the good back into my life so it can be passed on to others.

Now in looking this over I need to clarify that what I have been busy with is all good stuff and I enjoy the variety of things I am involved with but time management is an issue. This week I will need to look at all of my commitments and reschedule them so that God once again comes first. It is something I know I can do and have done in the past but somehow overlooked over the last few months....stupid that we can so easily overlook this simple life strategy.

Over the next few months I intend to spend my morning coffee with God, then we will share a cup at midnight....together will see what a cup of coffee and some time can do to build relationships.

Starting a new hobby??

I have given much thought to whether or not I want to start blogging. This will be my attempt to see if I have anything worth saying and if I can keep it current.

Today I simply say hello to myself while I decide if this is a good plan or not.