How do we communicate with each other?

  I have been thinking a lot lately about social media. It has changed in many ways over the years.  I remember when it started out we all actually were creative in our postings. We actually had to think about what we were going to post. We had to put our thoughts into words. I don't know about you, but I kind of miss that about social media. Let's think about this.
  Have we lost our communicating skills or perhaps we have become lazy. Can we look at someone and have an actual conversation with real words? Or do we meet up with someone, keep our heads down, looking at our phone, and either say LOL or text it to that very person standing next to us?
  Sadly enough, I do see this quite often.  How does that make one feel? I know for me I prefer to see the other person's eyes, and I prefer to actually speak to the other person using real words, like hello, how are you my friend. Where have our creativity and social skills gone?
  Let's look at this in perspective to our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray to Jesus, do we use all abbreviations and symbols? Or are we actually talking with Him? Are we taking our time and listening back to Him? Or are we just tossing our list of needs to Him and then ending the conversation abruptly? Does that edify Jesus or even our own spirits? I don't think so. To put it bluntly, I'd say that really offends Jesus. Just like we are offended if a friend isn't paying attention to us while we are having a conversation.
  As mentioned above, are we listening? My husband often says "God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth, therefore He must intend for us to listen more than speaking." Part of communicating is listening.
Whether we are talking with a friend, or talking with Jesus, we need to listen to what the other has to say.
  My friends, I am determined to be a better communicator with face to face conversations, or actual creative posts on facebook, and being a better listener. Will you join me? Can we get back to real life conversations, person to person?

Does fear grip you?

I have been pondering all week what I was going to blog about.  Nothing was standing out to me. I had been struggling with a recent illness, but that wasn't on my heart to share.  I was leaning toward victories. Then it happened!
Yesterday, Friday, it was morning, about 8:30-9 AM, our loving Golden Retriever, Taylor, was barking up a storm.  Not something he does inside the house much. The bark was different, a forceful, purposeful bark. But I thought no more about it.  I went downstairs, walked into the kitchen, and there was a man at the door trying to enter. He saw me through the window and ran off.  So, me, being rather bold, opened the door and asked him what he was doing.  He didn't answer, tried to hide his face. I yelled again, asked what he thought he was doing and told him to stay off of our property.
He continued to run across the street.  And me, being alert, took many photos of him with my phone.  I say this jokingly, I would not normally think of that. I observed this man for a bit then went on with my day.
My brother called me, then my husband, both saying I should call the police. It was that moment I realized I did not feel fear at any point. But I felt boldness and confidence. I was quite happy with myself.  There was a time in my life when I was afraid to stay alone at night, or fearful if someone strange was near by.  So what changed?
The Spirit of God changed me.  2 Timothy 1:7 tells us: For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement.
I know without a doubt that my boldness and confidence come from God.  He will enable you to react appropriately in circumstances that come upon us un-expectantly.
Does this give us a freedom to be careless. Of course not. I had to make the right judgement of when to open that door. I needed to make sure I was acting with safety in mind. God will enable us with sound judgement, but we still have our common sense so we do not act carelessly.
How do you get this sound judgement from God? Read His Word! Have that relationship with Him that reassures you He is by your side. Talk to Him, tell Him your fears. And then sit back and let God have His way in you.
To finish up, I did call the police. And my husband shared on facebook the incident and photo.  So many people responded and reached out to us, I am so grateful. And one nice person put a name on that face.
No matter what you are facing, what your fears may be, God can comfort you. He can give you the boldness and confidence you need for the moment. Whether it is safety, your health, your finances, or anything else that wants to grip you with fear, God is bigger, and able. But you have to let Him in.