By Wisdom a House Is Built

A friend has a collection of her father's handmade birdhouses throughout her yard.  He hated seeing wood go to waste and found a way to save it and build these beautiful creations.

Love Rocks

"Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart..."  --Proverbs 27:9

My new favorite scent from Victoria Secret!

My Friend Mya

“A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel.”  --Proverbs 12:10

Have you ever noticed that look of love and trust in the eyes of a horse or a dog when its owner approaches?  You’ll usually also see it nuzzle its owner as it tries to get as close as possible to him or her.

I was pondering the second half of Proverbs 12:10, “... but even the compassion of the wicked is cruel”.  How can that be?  How can compassion or tender mercies be cruel?  They are cruel when they are inconsistent and mixed with indifference and callousness, because the recipient doesn’t know what to expect.  Instead of love, trust, and nuzzles, you’ll find apprehension and distance.  I'd rather have nuzzles, wouldn't you?

Keep the Fire Burning?

“...if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?”  --Ecclesiastes 4:11

As I was preparing to build a fire in the fireplace on this chilly morning, I thought about what it takes to start and make a good fire, and how a fire burns more efficiently when two or more pieces burn together.  I don’t understand all the physics behind it, but they seem to ‘reflect’ the heat toward each other and help to sustain the fire hotter and longer.

Well, if you know me, although I tend to think concretely and wish I could think more abstractly on the spur of the moment, I also tend to ponder things and form analogies from the things I observe and experience.  Fire seeks to consume, and because it is a form of energy and is fluid, it moves.  I do know that much about physics.  The same is true with strong emotions moving within and between people, because emotions can be quite fluid... and consuming.

Anger consumes and destroys.  Proverbs 26:21 says, “As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife”.  One angry, bitter person can create a firestorm if others join him in his cause, and then they all end up getting burned.  Proverbs 22:24 says, “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go.”  Be careful to keep your distance from someone given to anger, lest you become fuel and begin to reflect it also.

While anger consumes and destroys, love provides life and healing.  1 John 3:16 says, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren,” and Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good like a medicine”.  For love to spread, it must touch the lives of others, just as a fire needs fuel to continuously generate warmth and light.

What’s the difference between a fire providing warmth and comfort versus the raging, consuming firestorm resulting in destruction?  Caution and control.  If we recognize the flames for what they are and how they are used, we will recognize the danger when the flames move and spread, and we will prevent it from burning and destroying that which it was never intended to touch.

The Etymology of Hypocrite

"An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered."  --Proverbs 11:9 KJV

While reading Proverbs 11 yesterday, as I came across verse 9, it struck me how apropos it was.  Just a few days ago,  President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress concerning the health care issue.  When he stated the plan would not insure illegal immigrants, one of the representatives shouted out, "You lie".  Then yesterday morning, I learned that commentators like Glenn Beck were revealing several lies being told by the present administration regarding the president's plan.  Another one is no government funding for abortion.  Interestingly, I understand that some government funds are already being used in both cases.  Many people in our country and even others are making the observation that this present administration is attempting to transform the U.S. into a socialist nation.  Thank God for people like Glenn Beck and media outlets like Fox News who are researching and sharing knowledge of the truth.

As I read verse 9 again this morning, having been a homeschool mom and one who enjoys the study of language, I noticed the prefix hypo- in hypocrite.  Hypo- means "under".  "Under what?" I wondered, so I researched the etymology of hypocrite.  I knew the Greeks used it as a word for actors, but I wanted to know what crites means.  It comes from the Greek krinein , which means "to separate, sift, decide, or judge".  The sense is like an actor, who knows what s(he) is going to say beforehand , but must wait to say it in response to and after sifting or judging what his/her fellow actor or the audience has said.  I find it interesting and a bit scary to consider a double meaning... that hypocrites are 'under judgment'.  Hasn't there been a bit of pretense in all of us at one time or another?