Before we get too deep into how to praise God in the storm and being thankful to God for what He has done in our lives despite challenges and suffering, I'd like us to first understand what God says about being thankful. God has a lot to say about being thankful. Here is a new one of my favorites: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." -Romans 1:21 This scripture makes me think about how we may know God, but if we don't worship Him and thank Him for what He has given us, we are likely to become more...
I don't know about you, but 2012 has been a very difficult year for me. The economy has taken a toll on my customers and my income from Art of Eloquence is a shaddow of its former self. My husband's bonuses (or lack thereof) have dropped his income by 12% in the past four years. The aging process has had a rather negative affect on my many chronic health issues. I think I've aged more in the last year than I have in all of my previous adult years combined. Additionally, we said goodbye to our daughter, once again, in August and have had to adjust to the fact that she will no longer be able to come home as...
One of the excuses I hear for why people choose not to study communication skills is that the Lord will give us the words we need when we need them. In other words, God will speak through all of us and, presumably, in every situation. There is some scriptural precedent for this. Here are a few instances where the Lord tells us that some people were given the words needed in a particular situation. “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.” Matthew 10:19 “Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said...
Today is my son's 13th birthday and I had planned to dispense with my usual discussion of communication to share a little bit about him with my readers. Here's part of what I had planned to share. This is a very fuzzy picture of him winning the Youth Cart Racing League over at K1 Racing. He holds the undefeated title of fastest lap ever at that location in all the years they have been open. This includes some professional race car drivers! I'd already shared about my daughter's recent college graduation so I thought I'd give equal time to my son. I had planned to share my son's incredible sense of humor and how he had inspired some of my latest...
We interrupt phone week for this commercial message from Word of the Week. And the word is self-talk! A while back, there was a popular book on the market called, What to Say When You Talk to Yourself. I never had that problem. I always knew what to say when I talk to myself. What I often had trouble with was what to say about WHY I talk to myself. Maybe I should write a bestselling book! Hmmm…. For me, it's a way to think things through, work things out in my head. Sometimes I work them out outside my head. Sometimes I talk to myself out loud to entertain myself as I figure things out. Sometimes I do it...
