A Conversation-Monopolizing Bore

Or, How to [not] Become a Fanatical Conversationalist

The Story of a Cowardly Conversationalist

I laugh at myself when I think about this subject topic.  I am not a good conversationalist, and I never have been.  I always like to say that my speaking ability lies in the power of my pen.  I used to think that I would rather write a letter to a friend or family member so that I could say exactly what I wanted to say, than to speak to them in person as I trip over words and barely cover a third of what I wanted to say in the first place.  It’s a terrible weakness really.  I ought to push myself and exceed the minimal limits that I have placed upon myself, but I don’t know if I am that brave yet (although reading Stonewall Jackson’s Book of Maxims is greatly encouraging me).  However, I can say that I have come a long way since I was thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and maybe even sixteen.  I feel a little bit more confident than I did then, but still not confident enough.  Self-confidence is just not my forte.

Between my fifteenth and sixteenth year I found out how much I exceedingly enjoyed to write (that is also when I really began to write poetry on a constant basis, and consequently I now have around 120 poems).  From some of my early years as a young girl I can still remember how much I loved to read, and even write short stories and poems, but it really kicked in as I grew older.  Although, there is one thing that I regret about my avid reading and writing: because I found a weak spot in my conversational skills, I retreated back into myself so that I would not have to face as much embarrassment.  Now I find out what a bad mistake that was.  Sometimes I think I’m going insane because I have all sorts of conversations—profound ones and trivial ones—with myself in my head because of my conversational cowardice.  I could give you an example to corroborate my story, but I don’t want my head psychoanalyzed.

I prefer the usage of majestic gargantuan words when I write.  You cannot conjecture the arduous quantity of time I exhaust exploring the reference publication listing of alphabetically arranged definitions for dexterous and zestful phrases and expressions to exhibit my cosmopolitan yearning of sophistication.   Okay, perhaps that last sentence was a bit ambiguous.  I definitely cannot do that in my regular everyday speech (my siblings would think I had lost it).  On the other hand, I think I tend to be more extreme when it comes to the words I use in writing because I would rather find the biggest and most delicious words in the dictionary to get my point across and not everybody know what I mean, than to use everyday proper language that I know people will understand.  I am not a big word type of person in my conversation though, no matter my aspirations to be one.  My writing is a different story, as you can see. 

So what exactly is a conversation-monopolizing bore?  Someone who dominates the tête-à-tête so that the other person can’t even get a word in edgewise?  I’d say that pretty much sums it up, including someone who is so lax in their conversation skills that the lagging conversation is downright b-o-r-i-n-g (guilty).  I know best what it is not, mostly because I am not the kind to greatly monopolize conversations...with strangers and friends anyway.  Then again, I, well, I’m afraid that I can be a wee bit overbearing with my siblings...oops.  But for the most part, I am apt to shy away into the background as a very backward, reserved, quiet little girl (I said for the most part).

I once heard the word cosmopolitan in a story a few years back and loved it.  Just say it aloud and you will know what I mean: cos-mo-pol-i-tan.  I love the sound of it!  Then I proceeded to look up its meaning because I had never heard the word before.  I found that it basically meant “from or knowing many parts of the world; sophisticated.”  Definitely me, in a wishful kind of sense.  Not that I am cultured or refined or traveled.  I used to hope that a dashing Christian millionaire would fall for me and we would travel the world (thus earning the cosmopolitan title), but now I think I was deceiving myself (Gal.6:3).  Besides, I don’t even know any dashing Christian millionaires, specifically who fit my ideal!  Okay, I’m getting a little off course here.

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren,
let every man be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
-James 1:19

Real meaningful conversation that doesn’t lag and isn’t boring consists of two parts: speaking and listening.  Awkward conversation is lopsided when one person does most of the talking, or when two people twiddle their thumbs not knowing what to say, but real conversation is what we want.  In real conversation (and when I say real I mean meaningful) there are two people communicating responsibly and maturely, both equally listening to what the other person has to say, and both equally participating in the talking aspect.

I am sure we all know that the most important person in conversation is the other person.  The way we can show this is by keeping eye contact, for as my dad says, this shows the other person that we are genuinely interested in what they have to say, and that we respect them enough to actually listen to them.  Most times we are too engrossed by what we want to say (our “wisdom,” or perhaps a favorite topic we are passionate about) that we often forget about the other person as we rattle off nonsense or even a legitimate subject matter.  What we don’t realize is that we damage relationships when we control conversation.  Plus, people then decide we are boring and don’t want to engage us in conversation again.   Look out—Rachel is coming—hide!

“Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD,
my strength and my redeemer.”
-Psalm 19:14

While being a good listener is absolutely vital, the words that we speak are also just as important, for they reflect upon our characteristics and nature in general.  If all we do is prattle off whatever comes to our brain, we will likely be proven a fool.  Then again, if we use the hip and trendy language of the modern youth that really doesn’t make any sense (yaknow, like using, yaknow, like, words that, like, make no sense whatever man), we will still look (and sound) a fool.  The only way to exercise proper verbal communication is to think about what we are going to say before we say it.  This also eliminates any hurtful words that might pop out.  We are accountable to the Lord for everything we do, including the words of our mouth (Matt.12:36).  The easiest way to make a fool of oneself is to insert-foot-into-mouth.  How ever we do it, I can’t even comprehend, but we do it nevertheless.  Even reserved people such as myself.  But I have found out that the more jovial, open, and talkative one is, the easier it is to insert foot.  No offense, jovial, open, and talkative people.

I have always envied those who always know what to say, whether it be something witty and humorous, or a philosophical intelligent reply.  I am never anything of the kind.  I’m more the type who will think of that certain witty or intelligent remark hours later while lying in bed unable to sleep.  I’ll jerk straight up as if a lightning bold hit me: “Aha! I know just what too say!”  But by then it is far too late.  I’m afraid my intelligence comes none too quick.  Bummer.

Fortunately for me I don’t tend to monopolize conversations.  No, I’m more inclined to be just plain reserved and boring.  How humdrum.  On the contrary, I can remember being eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen even and terrible indecisive on what to say to a friend.  I remember one specific friend with whom I would sit on the couch at my grandparents’ house and barely say five words to when I was eleven.  How she ever put up with backward little me, I’ll never know.  The good news is that I have changed a little bit—not so shy, not so backward, not such a non-conversationalist, not such a freak—but I still don’t monopolize conversations. 

Who knows, I may get there yet.  But I doubt it.

Just A Reminder: He Made Us

O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me.  

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.  

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether.  

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 

and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

~Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24

I love this reminder of God's sovereignty.  Here the Psalmist is telling us that God knows everything about us: when we sit down, when we rise up, our thoughts, and every word our tongue speaks—compassing every single tiny detail about us.  Then in verse 14 of the same chapter David continues:

"I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: 

marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

I love that.  I love how God fashioned us and created us—each with different personalities, looks, and characteristics—and loves us each as something terrifically exceptional and incomparable because He made us.  There is such power in those three words: He made us.  If He made us, and He is God Almighty, then nothing can be wrong, absolutely nothing.  And even more than that, He knows everything about us, even from our very number of hairs (Matt.10:30; Luke 12:7). That alone is astounding.amazing.powerful.awing.inspiring.extraordinary.bliss.

Doesn't that alone tell you how supremely excellent our God is?

I don't know about you, but I need to be reminded every day of just that, and I think that goes for all of us.  Too often we are burdened down by the cares of this world and forget of how wonderfully crafted we are and how much mercy God bestows on us each and every day.  We forget all of the extensive blessings that God has given us (i.e. breath, health, food, raiment) as we dwell on the negatives of life.  Even if we are not blessed with great material wealth, while we retain breath in our body we have been given a gift.  And an even greater gift we have been given is the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Even when we compare how much we don't have (material wealth) to how much we do have (eternal wealth), I'd say we have much more than we deserve. 

Like I said, I don't know about you, but I need to be reminded every day of just that.

Just What My Big Idea Is...

Just so that there isn't anyone confused about my big idea...

My topic will be dealing with the issue of brothers and sisters.  You know, why we can't get along, what the Bible has to say about sibling relationships, what the answers are to problems in the home, how we can actually like our siblings, all the trouble little brothers and sisters cause...

Oops.  Okay, all the trouble that oldests can cause too.

I know that there is already a tremendous book out there on the market, but because we can't have too much material on the subject (especially from different perspectives, and I have a good one with seven siblings)—and there isn't much to choose from anyway—I have been urged and propelled forward by my parents with a "go ahead" sign.  Or rather, "go ahead" words.  Anyway, there you have it.  My big idea.  Pretty big indeed.  So far things are looking good, but how can I say that when I know how critical I am of my own writings?  Well, okay, going good in the aspect that at least I'm finding things to write about.

On a serious note, I have determined to make this journey (let's call it a quest) one that will transform my relationships with my siblings.  I'm tired of the sub-par standard of just trying to get along.  It isn't enough any more, and it hasn't satisfied through the years.  As I grow older I see the damage I have caused in the lives of my siblings, and I don't want to live with the regret that I didn't fix the problem when I had a chance.  What are oldest sisters for (or brothers for that matter)?  So this book is a really a test of myself: do I have enough courage and fortitude to admit when I'm wrong, correct my mistakes, and press on toward making my siblings my best friends—truly?  For I genuinely want to be their best friend, and they to be mine.  But there are many bitter roots to weed out first.  Mostly from the deeds that I have done, because, after all, I am the oldest siblings who is the example (once I hated my mom constantly telling me that I was the example to the rest of my siblings, but just as it can be used for bad, it can definitely be used for good).

Pray for me as I write.  Pray for me as I attempt and resolve and conquer the obstacles before me.  I want to be able to persevere at the end of this book and say with all honestly, "My siblings are my best friends."  Of course, I may have many good outside friends, but I want my siblings to be my best friends.  Forever and ever.  Just like Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables.  They were inseparable.  They did everything together.  They shared secrets, passions, pursuits, hopes, dreams, ideals, expectations and thoughts for the future, fears, likes and dislikes, and spent all of their time together, from when they were little girls until they grew up.  Though they had other friends, they were the best of bosom friends.  That is how I want my siblings and I to be.

Just a summary so you don't leave my blog with a perplexed look.  Then again, you still might.  At least I tried.

Preacher's Kid

There is a lot of pressure on preacher’s kids.  (Face it—we're oddballs.)  We are supposed to act different, talk different, think different, watch different movies, listen to different music, wear different clothes, have different friends and families, read different books, and so on.  It all comes down to behavior.  Sometimes we may be referred to as weird.  On the other hand, if we don't live up to our expectations, we're scoffed at even more for not being a representative of Christ.  Suddenly, we're ironic.  Perhaps there isn't any truth to this Christian business after all.  Isn't that a truce broken in our Salt and Light mandate? (Matthew 5:13-16)

Being any kind of Christian in a humanistic world is hard.  I'm not talking about wishy-washy hypocritical Christians who proclaim good works in the streets and practice sin in their homes.  They may write a bestseller book with a big cheesy smile on the cover, but it doesn't mean they are right, honest, or Christ-like (Matthew 7:15, 21-23). Recognition by the secular world does not mean they accept Christianity.  In fact, Jesus said that we would be persecuted and reviled for His sake.  (Matthew 5:11; 10:22)  If the world didn't accept its Saviour when He came, why should it accept His disciples?

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."  ~Matthew 10:16

Yes, I'm a preacher's kid.  In addition, I am also a young woman living in a secular world.  I feel the pressure hitting me like a ton of bricks.  But I'm no different from y'all.  There's only one thing that makes me different from the world's young people.  Yep, you guessed it.  I'm a preacher's kid.

No, I'm not ashamed of my heritage.  My father is a pastor, my grandpa is a pastor, and one of my great-great-great-grandfathers was a pastor.  There are even more scattered throughout our ancestors.  The point is this: my life has been intertwined with God in the midst of it.  I'm a preacher's kid of a preacher's kid.  Where's the shame in that?  I'm proud of it.

The only thing I regret is my poor ability for handling certain situations.  I've stuck my foot in my mouth, I've stood back and followed the crowd, I've not been a leader, and I've spurted some pretty crazy ideas. (Just ask my mom.)  Right now I wish I had charged full ahead into my insecurities...but I didn't.  There have been many times I've wished to go back and redo my life.  Of course, we always wish for the impossible.

Although I may not be where I wish to be, I'd say I've come a long way in some areas.  Two years ago I never would have imagined this blog, my writing, our traipse through Georgia, the beginning of Covenant Baptist Church and Covenant Commission, the birth of Liberty (my baby sister), my 16th birthday (two years ago it seemed like forever), the crazy ups and downs of life...hey, even my photography!  Life is peculiar sometimes, isn't it? 

However, I could really better myself.  I may be swept up into the pressure of being a preacher's kid sometimes, but I don't have to be.  What I am can be a good thing.

Every aspect of this world has tribulation.  We may be hit with tragedy, trial, sorrow, or pain, but Christ foretold that these things would happen.

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  ~John 16:33

 Isn't that comforting?

"What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us?"  ~Romans 8:31

The world’s opinion should not matter to us.  Why should we care about the opinions of those who reject our Saviour and faith?

While we are to be God's witnesses for the gospel, the world just hardens their hearts against us.  From history, we can learn that tribulation worketh patience (Romans 5:3).  From the lives of the martyrs we see glory and fortitude and everlasting life.  They received their crown with the words "well done, thou good and faithful servant" for their service in the kingdom.  What is our persecution compared to theirs?  True, mental stress can be just as horrible as physical pain, but have we ever suffered starvation in a cold, damp dungeon, or felt the flames rise higher and higher around our legs?  Nor have we been tortured for Christ's sake in a country wholly hostile to Jesus.  Think again when all seems lost.  We live freely (for the most part anyway), breathe the clean air every day, walk wherever we please unconstrained, and worship God wherever we will.  How long our freedoms will last, God only knows.  For now we ought to be profoundly thankful that we live, and move, and have our being, for it is all through Jesus Christ. 
Anyway, Paul's words should give us comfort: 

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  ~Romans 8:18  

That is saying a lot, considering all that Paul went through - beatings, a stoning, being left for dead, thrown into prison, and eventually beheaded—all for Christ's sake.  Surely we can bear our burdens easier when we really give it some thought.

So, I may be a preacher's kid with all its peculiar pressures, but I've found out that life is much better when I have a positive outlook.   Who cares if I'm a little bizarre?  I'm a preacher's kid, what do you expect?

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place."  ~2Corinthians 2:14

There is nothing sweeter than Scripture for a troubled heart.  God really is good.  But He is also just.  He destroys the wicked and cannot tolerate sin, yet He is faithful to those who love Him.  His words to us are sweeter than honey. (Psalm 19:7-11)  I believe He would rather see a smile on our faces and joyfully praising Him than to have a "woe is me" mentality.

I'm sure preachers kids can relate.  It's awfully hard to live up to high expectations when our nature is sinful.  Sometimes we are given bad names because of what we are.  The bad names really come from preachers kids who don't fulfill their God-given duty.  I may fail many times, but I don't like being categorized in that lot.   Sometimes it seems like we have to endure more than we can handle.  However, Jesus said we will not be tempted with more than we are able.  Hallelujah! Through Christ, we will conquer over all!

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither heath, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate s from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  ~Romans 8:35

A Change in the Wind

Hello all my adoring fans and readers! (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

My blog posts have been pretty sporadic over the year that I've been blogging.  Apparently I can't stick to a specific schedule.  I've tried that several times.  I know that I'm not rhetoric, but what would you, my loyal fans, like to hear from me? (Please don't tell me you'd rather I shut my big mouth...unless you really mean it.)  What would you like to gain from this blog?  My purpose is threefold: to help fellow brothers and sisters (as well as myself!), show forth God's glory, and to convince y'all that there's a dork out there who makes plenty of mistakes...just like you and everybody else.  There's only one thing - we can conquer those things, whether petty or considerable in size.  I want to be effective in what I do, but I need some feedback.

My random (and sometimes sloppy) writing style is going through some major changes. (I have several articles on the horizon, but don't expect too much too soon.)  I'm going to write more often (something I love to do, so it shouldn't be a problem. However, considering the business of life...we'll see.), and more worthwhile.  What are your major concerns?  What do you struggle with most?  What are your dreams, hopes, thoughts, and expectations for the future?  What are your tastes, passions, pursuits?  As for mine, they're practically endless.  We'll not go into them just right now.

What do young women struggle with the most?  That's easy: acceptance.  Many different things fall under that category.  But what about young men?  For that I haven't an answer. (After all, we are different.)  We all struggle with many things, but since God created us male and female, there are hundreds of differences between us.  Surely you've noticed that if your household contains each gender.

What are your worries relating to America?  Do you now fully realize that she is sinking steadily?  Do you see the Constitution being torn apart into little pieces by the ones who have sworn to uphold it?  That's too much irony for me.  What would our founding fathers say?

Every life has a different story.  Is it beautiful or mournfully lonely?  Is it overflowing with happiness or perhaps full of trials?  Is it a victory that overcomes the world?  Just like a writer struggles with different styles for each character, so we live day to day with different characteristics in our lives.  What's your story?

I'd love to hear from you anytime at rachel@covenantdevotion.com with questions, comments, or perhaps a word of encouragement.  Hey, I'd even welcome criticism! (Give it a try.)  Feedback could also help me decide what to write about.  I'm not saying that I'll have all the answers (heaven forbid!), but with lots of study, and principle help from our Lord Jesus Christ, the major issues of life can be fought and won!  "I have not yet begun to fight!" said John Paul Jones.  Let our words be the same.

Lord, we give this day to You,

Bless it - come what may.

Guide us in what e'er we do,

Love us day by day.

Lord, we lift our hands to You in praise,

Bless us - come what may.

Grasp us as to You our hearts we raise,

Love us day by day.

Although many issues in our day and age are desperately serious, hope also remains.  Jesus Christ has promised that one day all the kingdoms of this world will be the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. (Revelation 11:15)  We don't know if America will be vanquished or not.  While hope remains, we are to fight and press on.  Christ will come out victorious in the end and all enemies will be His footstool.  Because we have something to live for, why not live?

Taste, Time, and Tea

Summer is close to ending.  Although I'll be glad to wave goodbye to the intense heat and welcome the glorious colors of autumn, I'll be sad that another year is over halfway gone...again.  I sometimes wonder if time is not our enemy.  Certain duties require a specific amount of time, and if not fulfilled, we need more time.  You know how our parents are always talking about how fast their youth came and went, how we'll know what it's like when we're their age, and how fast the years have gone by?  Just think, tomorrow we could be saying the same thing.  Life is a vapor, yet it can be glorious and beautiful.  Think of the birth of a baby.  Brought squealing and screaming into the world, the little bundle eventually grows faster and faster.  The years speed by until finally everything has vanished.  Old age creeps up and the end draws closer.  Life can be dismal if we look through a pessimistic lens.  However, if we see time as an opportunity to live life to the fullest extent, we experience much more fullness of joy.  Because God made us for who we are, since He was gracious enough to grant us life and breath, we ought to thank Him with every part of our being!  Life- though gloomy at times- is a miracle, no matter what evolutionists say.  We do have something to live for, and we were created in God's image (Genesis 1:26-28), so thankfully we don't have apes for ancestors.

Anyone who knows me well can tell you how avid a reader I am.  Give me a good book and I'm happier than a bee in honey.  Just recently Mama took Grace and me to our local library.  Honestly, though we've been here in Barnesville for over a year now, this was our first visit.  Though small, our library is everything I had hoped plus much more.  They may not have a big movie selection, but who cares after the sight of all those books!  Even the smell is intoxicating!  I felt like a giddy child as I perused the shelves.  I wanted to dance through the entire building, sing at the top of my lungs, and hug every book lovingly in my arms.  I was that starved for good literature.  I guess books have that kind of an impact upon me.  Unfortunately, a library has rules, and loud disturbances are prohibited.  I had to contain my exuberance.

Before I reached the end of two shelves I had already found James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, and Agatha Christi.  Imagine my joy then! (I don't have to search out Jane Austin anymore now that I've finally read all of her novels.)  I couldn't take home very book that I wanted because each was fat and thick. (Juicy, just like I like them!)  Fourteen was my limit.  My next visit will be looking for Elizabeth Gaskill and Robert Louis Stevenson, plus getting more Dickens and Dumas. (Remember, I couldn't take every book I wanted.)  Since I’ll have most of the books to look over next time, I could find many other great classics!  A library is truly a reader's haven.

What do you enjoy reading?

There isn't anything like Southern hospitality.  Unless one actually visits the Southland, they'll never know what they are missing.  During the cool months it's nice to take a walk underneath the coloring leaves.  Even amidst our hot weather it's grand to have an air-conditioned house (talk about thankfulness).  A rainy day is best for snuggling up on the bed with a good book.  Something about the rain makes me feel warm and secure.  Must be something about being enclosed in the hose while God's mighty and majestic wonder reigns all around us.  I actually sleep best during a pattering rain.

I believe creation is truly more vibrant in the beautiful South. Perhaps I'm prejudiced. (No offense to the other parts of the world.)  The sun seems brighter, the moon smiles sweeter, the stars twinkle and shine more splendidly, the flowers smell more fragrant, and the trees seem greener and taller.  Again, no offense.  Y'all could probably say the same thing.  Did I mention our well-known, Southern-made tea?

Isn't life wonderful?

Poor As Church Mice

Living in this economically, socially, ecclesiastical, and civilly failing nation, life is hard.  Food and gas prices rocketing more than this generation has seen, Barak Obama's presidential election, moral anarchy, the bouncing stock market, our enormous debt and the money being printed without any security, thousands of jobless Americans, and many other countless problems occurring in the U.S.  Why don't we give up?  After all, the way things keep reoccurring, we're going to end up being a third-world nation with a Muslim dictator who forces our every move.  Why don't we find someplace to hide - somewhere where we can burrow our heads in the sand and never be forced to move?  Sound like an idea?  Okay, let's go! Where to...Scotland or...

Wait a minute.  We certainly cannot hide from God's omnipresence.  Jonah already learned that lesson for us.  If we can't hide or run away, surely there is something else we can do.

I love America, my beautiful homeland country.  But (small as it may be) I am so tired of hearing about our problems.  Sometimes I can pretend nothing is really happening...and I live my normal crazy life.  However, every once in a while "what-ifs" jumble about in my head.  If you want to feel deeply melancholy, start delving into America's numerous problems.

I don't want to focus on pain or sorrow or tribulation.  Life is plenty full of that.  Imagining what America used to be is even worse.  After everything our Founding Fathers did for us, this is what we've done to repay them.  Some gratitude.

Terrible things could occur that I don't even want to think about; things that make me shudder with dread.   We're faced with the issue anyway.  But for once, let's look at the bright side of things.  Optimistically, I prefer joy and happiness over gloom and despair.  As Ecclesiastes says, there is a time and season for everything.

Although life can be gloomy, troublesome, and downright hard, let's attempt to smile at our gloom, laugh at despair, and love during the hard times.  What is worth more than love, and a sparkling smile on a rainy day?  We can be the comfort of those who have given up all hope.  Through our lives Christ can be shown.  That takes real courage.

I've never known what "being rich" is like.  We all can be poor economically.   But what do true riches entail?  Many times life seems to defeat us with problems, but we can still be rich in the factual sense.  Remember when Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19: 23-24)  Perhaps that is why the poor and needy are always (most of the time anyway) reliant upon God because they have not riches to worship.  There is a reason for everything.

Being rich in God's grace, mercy, and love is worth more than all the jewels the world can produce.  As Jesus said in Matthew 4:4,  "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  Here is proof that we need spiritual food.  Getting enough to eat everyday cannot sustain us.  We need the nectar of God's love.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."  ~Matthew 5:6

We as Christians in the Church are the Bride, the Beloved of Christ.  Therefore we should trust Him in every aspect of life for He holds tomorrow in His hand.  He gives and He takes away, yet blessed be His holy name!  While we are to do our part as salt and light in this world, God directs the hearts of men.  He is our sustainer, so, "cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."  ~Psalm 55:22

Although we might be "poor and needy; yet the LORD thinketh upon me; make no tarrying, O my God."  ~Psalm 40:17

David said in Psalm 37:25,  "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

God sees America's problems.  He sees our personal problems.  And He cares!  Although America has turned her back upon the God of her fathers, He still cares for His own people.  Astonished though we may be, He still loves us with a deep and profound love.  That alone should put a song in our hearts.

"O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me.  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thoughts afar off.  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether."  ~Psalm 139:1-4  If God is acquainted with all our ways, don't you think He could possibly have a plan?  I know He does, which is why I determine to trust Him.  This world isn't getting any better yet, nor are we getting any richer, but God holds tomorrow - though we may not know what it brings.

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience."  ~Romans 5:3

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"  ~Romans 8:35

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)  If we therefore know, live it joyfully in every way!  Laugh a little, dance a while, and determine to live faithfully according to God’s Word.  Scripture is clear: if we love God we will obey Him.  Then we will reap rewards and blessings. (such as peace from this troubled world?)  But if we disobey and continue to disobey (as America has done) God will rain curses down upon us that could flatten any nation.  Even this unsinkable America.

When we are weak, then Christ can work through our weakness to display His strength. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Therefore we can live life fully and steadfastly, abounding in His work, for our labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58) Don't we serve an amazing God?