In keeping with...
lists too long - words too many - songs too bright - stores too busy.
Here is my short list of all not red and green:
1) Two roast chickens just popped out of the oven. New recipe to encourage healthier eating. Will try a bite before I end this post and let you know. How many chicken recipes have you tried over the years?
2) Blue and brown in my mantelscape this year. I titled it, "Enchanted Forest."
3) My Chalkboard:
The bottom line says, "Who will dethrone the three year reigning champs Danae & Geoffrey in our family tournament?
The sign is ready for Christmas Day when we play our competitive family tournament. After the noon meal. After the Bible Box Christmas Reading. After the White Elephant Fun Family Gift Exchange. And... after all that we end with Find the Pickle game for the kids with a Christmas buffet & goodies. Whew!
4) Verdict on chicken: on scale of 1-10 I give it a 9. I would serve it to company. I probably wouldn't go back for seconds, but hey, it's only chicken, not mashed potatoes!
5) To all my friends in Blogland. The most important and significant greeting:
Christmas Blessings - I bring you good tidings of great joy...A Savior has been born! (Luke 2)
~ ~ ~
I'm thinking Red and Green are feeling left out. I'll end my post with their cheery greeting from my house to yours, Christmas 2010.
May your list be shorter, your words be well-chosen, your songs bring a quiet, and you get out of the stores!
margi
I woke up at 4:30 this morning with a long list. Just like your long list in the month of December!
So why with a full day ahead would I make my way this morning to my laptop to write? Simply, the Lord placed it on my heart.
Danae, my daughter, asked me Thursday, "So Mom, when's the next chirping coming out?" I told her when the Lord puts something in my heart to share. That is not said with any kind of spiritual superiority - just the opposite is true. In fact, if the Lord does not impress my heart with words, I've got nothin'.
And so, on this 14th post, sparrow does a blog check.
widgetize
monetize
adsense
SEOs
auto responder
plug-ins
boosting traffic
brand management
RSS Feeds
WordPress
Oy. Er, make that a weak and pathetic chirp. Another five minutes and I could take you beyond 22 mistakes I'm making (or not doing) with my blog. One of my readings in the land of blogdom and how to do it better suggested that daily postings were a must to be successful. (Oy, oy - whatever happened to saying more with fewer words?)
Back on track. Or voice. The Lord has given all of us one. Maybe your voice is carried onto the gym floor coaching and mentoring; or perhaps your voice carries a basket of food to a shut-in. Some voices are preparing a hot breakfast for little ones around their kitchen table this morning. Or your voice is shared with your friends in a public high school or perhaps you are a mom who is using her voice in the public school system to bring about change. Perhaps your voice teaches, or sings, or nurses, or cleans, or grandparents. There are more than a million voices. In fact, there are as many different voices as there are people.
Voices. Chirping. Words. Blog.
For years I have journaled. Here is a page of my written word from Psalm 16:5-6.
Today, my voice has found its way onto the web log (blog). I have learned so much about the technical aspect of blogging (there is a whole new world out there!). I have been pushed out of my comfort zone. My confidence as a blogger wobbles. I couldn't tell you if my last post had 4 readers, 40, 400 or 4,000. (Perhaps #23 mistake is not tracking stats?)
I write for One. Is the Lord pleased with my words?
And, more important than the words on my blog is my life behind the blog.
It is my prayer that sparrow's voice encourages your voice. In this month of December I can only imagine all the places our voices will carry us.
to a lonely soul looking for kindness
to a hospital floor with challenges beyond comprehension
to our guys/girls in uniform holding onto prayers from home
to the needy searching for Truth in the person of Jesus Christ
It's a tall order for such short sparrows. A big job to be good stewards of the voice God has given to us. But it is in the using of our voices that brings the greatest joys and delights!
Even if we make a few or 22 mistakes along the way!
Chirp on, in your own language!
margi
