29 June, 2009

Birthday

[So much to blog about, so little time. I may get around to it before I leave for Zambia, but probably not. Sorry, Future Self! I hope the memories stick around without the aid of this blog.]

So, my birthday was on Saturday. A friend posted 1 Timothy 4:12 on my Facebook wall, and it was really encouraging. Usually around my birthday I meditate on my own frailty, mortality, and fallenness, but this verse made me meditate on how Paul exhorted Timothy to live. "...set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." Why did Paul write those things in that order? Considering that this was Paul, and it's scripture, that order was not haphazard. I'm thinking it reflects a person's character, working from what is immediately noticeable toward one's heart.

Five parts to a young leader's moral foundation...

  1. Speech
  2. Conduct
  3. Love
  4. Faith
  5. Purity
Number 1 caught my attention. My speech habits have not been exemplary of late. I am not a perfect example in any of these five areas, but I certainly ignore my speech. Not only is it the first item on this list, it's one of the first things people notice about me. So many verses in the Bible convict me of habits that used to prick my conscience but no longer damage my calm. I pray God would give me the grace to be a loudspeaker for him, to produce only the sounds he wills me to speak.

Thanks, David, for the verse!

6 comments:

samurai said...

First ~ Happy Birthday! And Second ~ i am very happy to hear that you will be going on the missions trip! I will pray for you... please take notes! 8)

Lisa said...

Go figure... the linguistics major needs to work on her speech. :-)

Lisa said...

P.S. Happy Birthday!

Brooklyn Elizabeth said...

happy birthday!!!!!

i've missed you all so much! youth camp was so fabulous this year! i'm so glad i was on your team!!!

Madison said...

OMG, I didn't know it was your birthday! Happy Birthday my dear. Hope it was blessed and wonderful. ~_~ Have fun in Zambia and stay safe...

Jason said...

I know I'm late, but...

Happy Birthday!

And have a great trip to Zambia.