#132 -Clippings

Good morning! Well... Tyler Jr got his first hair cut last night! Bye bye curls! :-( It was so cute, but just getting too long. In a way, it was sad to see the cutie curls get snipped off. It was actually a perfect segway into today's devotion: CLIPPINGS. So.... let's get started.

1st Clip of Tyler Jr's hair. January 26th, 2011

Proverbs 27:1-2 - DO NOT boast of [yourself and] tomorrow, for you know not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.

Proverbs 27:21 - As the refining pot for silver and the furnace for gold [bring forth all the impurities of the metal], so let a man be in his trial of praise [ridding himself of all that is base or insincere; for a man is judged by what he praises and of what he boasts]

Proverbs 31:28 - Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her, [saying]....

Let me start of saying this...sometimes transparency stinks! Ha! Why?? Well.... here ya'll are out there and get to read about ALL the times I drop the ball!!! Isn't that great?! It's kind of no fun sometimes to reveal the "reprimands of Amy" or those times when I mess up... fall short... drop the ball. And... here we are again. Insert foot in mouth Amy!

Do you ever have those times when you just wish you could take the words back in? They go out, and you think, "Man... could we just rewind? Can I just get those words back?" Then, if it's actually in TEXT, in writing.... then you definitely can't hide from it. Sometimes words spoken fade a little bit, but if it's in writing, it can continue to be re-read and re-read. 

Well...here's the story... I was excited.... actually, excited wouldn't be the phrase that would accurately describe it... JACKED would be more like it! The beautifulness of social media. I received a direct message from a SUPER-HERO of mine & my husbands. Someone we respect extremely. An awesome person of God, mentor, someone who has the fruit on the tree.... someone in life where we want to be, where we will be. Basically the message was an invitation to a special meeting (that was sent to me but directed to Tyler). I showed Tyler and we were both JACKED! This person is typically out of reach for us, so it was such an honor, and really, the FAVOR of God working in our lives that they would invite us. Well... here goes Amy, like a little school girl. I was so jacked and thanked the person and also mentioned several bits of positive 'activity' that "I" have been doing lately. Isn't that lovely. Well.... I didn't think about it at the time. I was still to JACKED to give it a second thought! Until.... doesn't the Lord have great timing how He does things. I wake up this morning, get in the Word and BAM! Can't hide from the Word! Being corrected by the Word. Receiving a rebuke from the Word! But, PRAISE God! I can and will receive correction! Let's take a deeper look. 

Proverbs directly said, don't BOAST about yourself. Let ANOTHER man praise you, not your own lips! Why is that so important? Quietly working, quietly being diligent allows one to be lifted up by another. Let's look at what happened to the Proverbs 31 woman.... here she is, being DILIGENT in ALL of her work. The woman is UH-MAZING! She's buying up real-estate, helping the poor, being an entrepreneur - sewing items and SELLING them, planting vineyards, and the list goes on. She is diligently working, being productive. Her eyes are not on herself, and IF they are at any point, she is not verbalizing it, she is not praising herself or saying, "HEY! LOOK AT ME! LOOK WHAT I'M DOING!" And at the end of the day, look what happens! Her children rise up and call her blessed and her husband praises her! I can see her children, in front of their friends bragging on their mom. I can see the Proverbs 31 woman in town with her husband, on a date, walking arm in arm, and he sees some of the town counsel members (since he's known at the city gate and sits among the elders), he says, "Hey George, Bill, let me tell you what my wife did. Let me brag on my wife for a second...." Meanwhile, she sheepishly smiles, her cheeks turn a light rose color, and her husband brags on all that his wife has accomplished. All that she has continued to do in silence, quietly being diligent about her work, she is now being PRAISED in public. 

It also reminds me of what I read a few days ago. Could I not have taken a hint then? Proverbs 25:6-7 says, Be not forward (self-assertive and boastfully ambitious) in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men; For better it is that it should be said to you, Come up here, than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whose eyes have seen you. Basically, don't elevate yourself. In this verse, don't assert yourself to a high position that you feel you deserve, as then you may be DEMOTED IN PUBLIC. Instead, take a lower position, that you may be brought to an ELEVATED status in public, while others are watching. I've also heard it said, "Don't read your own press clippings." That's when you get in trouble because that place is the beginning of when pride can sneak it's way in.

Praise the Lord for the Word! I can receive correction. Forgive me Lord! A great lesson for me this morning. Diligently quiet. Diligently working. My new mantra! ;)

Have a blessed day!

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Enjoy the pictures of Tyler Junior's first HAIR CUT! Mama's DOLL BABY! :) 

"Bye bye curls." - Will mom be OK with it is the question!?

My doll baby!

Clip clip. Snip snip. TJ did pretty good with Ms Stacy!

No more curls.

Mom's NEW Little man! :) Off to "Save the World!" :)