Devotions

 " Don't ever miss out on a woman with a guarded heart . She's usually protecting the deepest most caring soul you'll ever know"  -Sylvester McNutt I don't know who Sylvester McNutt is, nor do I think this particular quote says anything radical or life-changing. I posted it because when I Googled "guard your heart," there were a slew of random quotes and bad (like, really bad) stock images to choose from, and it made me wonder what the phrase even means .  Does it mean to be guarded, like as a person? Private? Skeptical? Shy?  Does it mean to save yourself for your future husband / wife? Does it mean to protect your heart and all your fragile feelings? Let's get down to it.  The passage I read today is Proverbs 4... specifically verse 23, but we'll get into that later. Proverbs 4 is, like most passages in the book of Proverbs, about wisdom and what it means to "get wisdom" and "be wise." This specific Proverb is titled ...

 Well, in my "Phonics and Literacy" course yesterday, we focused completely on spelling and writing, and why kids stop loving to write... how we write, hold our pencils, etc. I saw it as a little nudge from my Father, yet again, for me to keep on writing... so here I sit.  I've been reflecting on a few posts ago... about be being a "try-hard" and how I wish I weren't "so much" all the time. A book I was reading yesterday said that amazingly, most women feel they are both "too much" and "not enough" at the same time, which is hard to conceptualize I'm sure for men. But I'd venture to say that most women get it. Because with every "too much," there's a corresponding "not enough." It's like a double-whammy.  I wish I weren't so talkative. I'm not quiet enough. I wish I weren't so hyperactive. I'm not peaceful enough.  I wish I weren't so judgmental. I'm not gracious enough...

Warning: this post is not going inspire you. I'll be lucky if it even makes sense. But there's something inside me telling me to write again... you can call it a calling, if you want.  I feel that my Father wants to connect with me and this is oftentimes how I think is best for me to do that-- which, when you think about it, is INSANE.  The God of the universe wants to connect to ME. He sees ME and sees how I best communicate Him, and since He wants intimacy with me, He's been slowly and quietly nudging me to get back into the blogging game. So, here I sit.  I'm going to force myself to write something - even if it's a short prayer of apology for not making enough time to write something profound - every day this week. I even took off work this morning... not to write, specifically, but to have a little time of rest before a busy week.  I woke up with a big headache after crying last night- something that doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I'm wreck...

Okay, friends. You want to hear something really confusing? (Or really wonderful, if you love words?) The Bible was not originally written in English, but a few different languages that have been translated into English. So, there's a bit left up for interpretation (literally) and depending on who translates the word and from what language, there can be a few different meanings.  If you're a "glass half full" kind of person, you may find it fascinating. Each translation is a new opportunity to gain a better, fuller understanding of God's Word! Learning more about what the original translation said and the author's intended meaning can bring a certain richness to the scriptures, I think.  But what about when you're trying to understand what God is saying to you about a verse that's been on your mind lately... one that you feel He's trying to speak to you through? What if, hypothetically, you looked it up just now via Google, and clicked on BibleHu...