Tag: effort

Words

Jennifred Jones

Words are a platform.

A platform can be stood upon like a stage for a performance. A platform is made to hold materials and workmen while building a house. A platform can be the floor of a tent a camper or a chicken coop. A platform is what allows people to get off and on trains, busses and planes. The platform is a means of support.

It can be built quickly with not much to it or built to last a long time. It can be raised or lowered. It can be taken apart and rebuilt.

Some platforms are made of stone and last for decades.

How does this apply to my words?

Will my words, (what I say) support me and my family and friends? Will they help them stand, or will my words be weak and cause them to fall. Will my words be solid enough for them to hold onto during stormy life times? Will my words raise a platform of hope and encouragement?

We cannot see words after they’re said, however, they can still ring in people’s ears days, years, decades later. Many are still being heard centuries later – passed on by word of mouth or in writing.

Everybody is talking, saying something now-a-days. They want to be heard, noticed, listened to.

I want to examine my platform…my word platform. Do I have the right kind of materials to build it. Do I need to find some better type lumber? Will I use particle board or solid planks? Will I pick a beautiful board or will any old crooked, knotty board do? Will I use cheap nails that bend when driving them or use steel screws to hold my message together? Will I make the framework sturdy to hold the weight of truth and good, or will it be flimsy and anyone can rip it to shreds.

Will my words bring clarity, stability, comfort, and hope for another person?

We can do this folks. Yes, it will take some effort and maybe new learning, but there’re lots of lives that just need some place secure to stand while they put themselves back together.

Can they stand securely on your platform? Can I stand on mine?

Accepted By You

Jennifred Jones

Do you accept yourself? Are you accepted by you?

No large painting or detailed sewing project is completed in one day. It takes time and contemplation. It’s an ongoing process with much effort involved.

It’s the same with us. We won’t be where we want to be in one day. Don’t give up because the process takes time – that’s why it’s called a process. It takes time, effort and energy.

We’re not a drive-through delivery. We’re more the slow-cooker.

Be patient with yourself. Allow yourself time to learn new things, to grow and develop. Time will not speed up or slow down.

Think of all the things we like that take time to be the best: sauerkraut, sourdough bread, pickles, marinades, wines, curing time for concrete, paint finishes, molten glass and metals to cool, bird eggs to hatch, water to boil, green beans to can, clothes to dry, packages to arrive, oceans to cross, fish to catch, flowers to grow…

We humans are the most complex of God’s creation, and he said were his best work. Why do we think we are unacceptable and slow and clumsy. We are not living a futile life. It is a valuable life. Accept this about yourself. I am an unfinished person, on a journey, hoping to be the right kind of person for where I am. With God’s help I will achieve what is in store for me. I will be at peace with myself, not get upset with myself and in the meantime help others where I can.

Will you accept yourself today?

Loving People

Jennifred Jones

How do you love people? You don’t even know them.

It begins in your heart. You see them as an individual like you, who has weaknesses and frailties, doubts and insecurities, but also has strengths and courage and opportunities.

It is our responsibility to one-on -one spark the strengths and invigorate the courage in others.

How do you do that?

Most of the time you won’t have more than a second or two passing someone on the street, standing in line at the coffee shop, but a smile, a positive word, a positive look on your face towards them… That effort on your part will not go unnoticed on theirs. Even though they show no response, it can seep down into their soul and possibly be just the strength they need going through a difficult situation.

You can make the difference in someone else’s life.