First day of spring my eye. How in the world was I supposed to work in my flower beds when the rake was frozen to the ground? Not that the rake was supposed to be outside in the first place, but that is not the point. It was supposed to warm up to nearly 50 today but that didn't happen until much later in the day so flower beds will be on hold until a warmer day.
One of the things I love so much about spring, summer and fall, is that it allows me to be outside, and often. I really don't know what it is about being outside for me, communing with nature and all that fluff-bag sounding stuff, but it's truly where I prefer to be. Whether it's working on a garden project, fixing a bike, mowing the lawn or just kicking back and enjoying the sound of birds chirping. I'm itching to grab my morning cup of coffee and camera (yes, it goes everywhere with me, I even take it to the fairy garden and put it on the bench while I'm mowing the lawn, in case a very cool hawk flies overhead. How obsessed can one person be, you ask? There are no ends to the depths of this...) and stroll out onto the deck, first thing in the morning. It's pretty amazing the bird and sunrise shots you can get from my deck. Not to mention the sound of early morning silence. Oh boy do I ever long for warmer weather!
One of the other reasons I love to be busy outside is that it affords me quality time to meditate on the things of God, while I work. I can think through issues and apply Biblical solutions - or I recall the last sermon my pastor preached and consider the message there. Sometimes I can sort of challenge myself to see if I can recall some of the Scripture memory verses we've gone through. It's just a good way to make time during the busy day, to dwell on His truths.
I received an email today from someone who shall remain nameless but who's first name starts with "M" and ends with "om", telling me I should reveal the source of the quote I posted the other day. I'm glad no one guessed it (and no one would have anyway) since I'd have to make good on my promise to eat my own keyboard and youtube it, if they did. Here's the quote again:
"Where it is true that you certainly cannot control what other men say about your character, what your character says about you speaks volumes over the voices of men."
The source? My overactive-sometimes-very-strange-imagination. No doubt it came from years and years of hearing my mom tell me not to put much stock into what other people say, since you can't control that anyway - and also from a dear friend who just recently made the comment that by His grace, a Godly man or woman's character can withstand whatever is thrown at them. It was interestingly enough when I was busy, and alone, and attempting to think through a difficult issue and apply a Biblical solution, when this just sort of popped into my head in that particular wording. It was so incredibly encouraging to me that I wrote it down the first opportunity that I had. See mom, I was too listening when I was a teenager! (Okay no I wasn't, but this is proof that your kids do hear you even when they aren't listening. This is something I remind myself of all the time. My own mom's advice comes back to me on a regular basis, and has for many many years).
Part of the reason it was so encouraging, is that in this life we are constantly bombarded with sinful things such a slander, or gossip. Sometimes we listen to such things (and shouldn't) and sometimes we even believe what we hear (and that's a shame).
I was having a conversation with my 16 year old tonight about this very topic and she shared with me some of things she deals with in her world, that pertain to this. One of the things she mentioned was that her immediate impulse is to want to clear her name by telling the truth when someone says something about her that isn't true. She's brand new to this aspect of "socializing", being homeschooled since the 3rd grade she's never really had any experience with such things until recently when she got involved a situation she's in, with a mixed group of saved and unsaved kids. She's learning how to to respond Biblically, and I assured her that while it's not always easy doing the right thing (and sometimes NOT responding to outrageous accusations or slander is the right thing), doing the right thing before the Lord, is the most important thing. It was a good talk and I'm glad we had it. It's the same talk I've had with her two older sisters, and Lord willing, the same talk I'll have with Jordan, Rachel, Samuel and Ruth. One of the beautiful things about truth, is that it's timeless and always relevant to the heart issues we all deal with.
When we strive to live to please the Lord first and foremost, people know that. They see it, and they know us for who we are. Of course that doesn't mean we don't all have weaknesses and struggles of our own, but the genuine servant of Christ is also honest about those and doesn't pretend they don't exist. We seek humility and accountability and we don't pretend we're already there. If you think about it for longer than 2 seconds, there are people you know that you thought of when you read that just now. That's what I mean when I say when we live this way, people know who we really are and what we're all about, no matter what other people may sometimes say.
Dealing with gossip isn't easy for many of us. Some of us even have a weak spot and like to entertain it and encourage it by listening to it. I wanted to be careful tonight when talking to my daughter and not say "well, that's how teenagers are" because that's how people of any age really are. I gave her a couple of real life, very recent examples of this that have happened to a couple of people she knows, that are well out of the teen years. I did that so that she would understand that this is a heart issue, and not an age issue. It's a sin issue that affects people no matter of age, social standing, or any other category. This is something we'll all have to deal with for the rest of our lives if we plan to be around other people for that long, so it's wise to learn to deal with it Biblically, and walk accordingly so that your Godly character defends your name, even when men may chose to defile it.
I was advising her, and at the same time advising myself. Funny how being a mom puts you in that situation, time and time again. Unlike me at 16, she really was listening and I'm quite pleased about that.
UPDATE:
In an almost uncanny coincidence (not that I believe in those anyway), this relatively unknown blogger here, put up a re-post today on this ever-relevant, ever-timely topic. I assure you there was no synchronizing of watches going on here, or even any discussion on posting about it, beforehand. I only wish I had that kind of influence on other bloggers. If I did, they'd all be nice all the time and only post great stuff that would bless our socks off every day.
Oh, and they'd all send me dark Belgian chocolate too. 
