Picket Fences

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia 6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Packed and ready to go to our friends beach house, we got in the car with plans to go down the Oregon coast side, and stop at a few other beaches on our way there. The rain came down in huge splatters on our windshield and the wipers were on high. Traffic was slowed down a bit. We had just come out of a week of snow and now we were back to our Pacific...

Proverbs 16:24 New King James Version (NKJV) 24  Pleasant words  are like  a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. When I sit down at my computer, my fingers are usually ready to start tapping on the keys, to form the words to share the things dancing around in my mind. I love having a fresh blank sheet in front of me, and I eagerly fill it up. Typically, my goal is to write something that will encourage another person. Or to share something that will make a person smile in the midst of their struggle.  Or just to include you in on my wild imagination and spin out a story. Words are very powerful, and a great responsibility comes with writing a lot of things. Words sink right into our minds and deep into our hearts. Funny thing, though, words of encouragement, compliments, and love are easier to brush away than words that hurt, embarrass, or ridicule. Mean words can eat at a person’s insides for days. Have you ever been th...