This is a bit late for everyone, especially those who are reading it so faithfully. We left S Texas on Thursday and drove to Joshua to visit a couple of days with Chaplain/Pastor Roy and Paula Gee. The trip went well, beautiful cloudy driving weather. We made sure we wore gloves to pump gas, wore our masks, and used a lot of sanitizer. Only went through the drive through to grab a bit to eat. We were surprised at a few places in N Texas where masks were not required but we wore them anyway. Spent a few days just visiting with the Gees, not hardly going anywhere and enjoying each other's company. We did bring some things with us in a u-haul so that when we finally move we won't have so much to move and family from Arkansas won't have to drive over 800 miles to help. We unloaded quickly with hep from our daughters and relaxed for the rest of the day. Since we traveled on Sunday, we listened to Prairie Grove Christian Church live on my phone as we drove along. Now that was a new experience for us.It feels so natural for us to be here in The Natural State again for a bit. As we got closer to Arkansas, the mountains came into view and we both felt a sense of peace.
We did not do any distribution last week in the colonias. I was feeling guilty because we would not be there for 2 months, but because of Covid we have closed the distribution until September. There are a few places folks can go for food, but a lot of the earlier distribution points have also closed. My heart hurts for those people as I know their resources will be limited.
We spent the last few days getting adjusted to different surroundings, greeting folks we hadn't seen in awhile (at a social distance, of course), and taking care of the details we needed to.
Pastor Vance continued with the Book of James, this time in Chapter 3 - Taming the Tongue. I am sure he hit the mark with a lot of people, as we often speak before we think, or say something really hurtful to someone because we were also hurt. Comparing the tongue the bit in a horse's mouth or a rudder on a ship really allows us to see the power of the tongue. Such a small thing if not controlled can cause a lot of damage. Almost all of the beasts and creatures in this world have been tamed by men but man cannot tame the tongue. Gossip is a terrible way that the tongue can cause damage. Can you think of people you know who cannot wait to be first to tell a bit of gossip before even trying to find out if it is true or not? There are many people in this world like that - perhaps it gives them a sense of power or self worth or something. Remember the telephone game we played as children? You whispered something into someone's ear, they passed it on, and so forth. It never was the same as what was first said - sometimes entirely different. That is how gossip is. We often lash out if someone offends us or does something to anger us. Let us make it a point this week to stop and think before we blow off steam and hurt someone. Turn down the thermostat and count to 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment