~During my first experience in Mexico, not only was I enthralled with the beauty of the Spanish language spoken incredibly fast by all the veracruzanos, but I was also fascinated by "Nahuatl," just one of the indigenous languages spoken throughout Mexico that I didn't even know existed. My friend Lalo taught me a few choice phrases as well as the saying "Tlentli towa myolotzi"- meaning "what says your heart." Little did he know that this is a sentiment that I need to remind myself of some times. My friends in Brazil would constantly talk about me as being "practical" and "pragmatic"... which is a good thing, but sometimes I also need to remember to lay aside all of my logical thinking and listen/think/act with my heart.
My Heart Says- Worship God!
Genesis 35:1-36:43
"There I will build an altar to God, who has helped me during my time of trouble. He has been with me everywhere I have gone." (Genesis 35:3)
I am still quite impressed at Jacob as he continues along his journey. He moves to the cities where God guides him and follows the Lord's instructions there. "Pick up your things and move." "Ok." "Make an altar." "Alright." Yet, I wonder if it is so different from my life. There are times that I feel I have actually been following God's direction for my life- crazy as it may seem... I can't really explain why or how I know... I've never heard a loud Godly voices calling out "Katie," but I can feel it in my heart... "I just need to go into BVS...I just need to go to Brazil now... I just need to visit the churches there." Lord, even when I haven't followed Your will for my life, I know that You have been with me everywhere. I cannot run from Your presence nor would I ever want to. Lord, help me to follow ever more closely the path You choose for my life.
My Heart Says- Help Others!
Proverbs 3:27-30
"Whenever you are able, do good to people who need help." (Proverbs 3:27)
If it weren't for sin, all committed Christians would be like super-people, I'm convinced... throughout the Bible we are constantly told to help those in need and work for justice, peace, all good things. While I constantly hope to live a life for others... doing whatever I can for them, I fall short of the perfection modeled by Jesus Christ. When I sometimes do manage to do something small for someone else, I find it equally important to make my reasons for this action evident. The world needs to know that I am motivated and inspired to live the kind of life I leave because of the abundant love and grace offered to me by my Lord and Savior. What more can I offer my Lord but all my life and all my love? And the Lord tells us to love one another, so my hearts... filled with love and joy... naturally spills out into my living.
My Heart Says- Good Things!
Matthew 12:22-50
"If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You snakes! You are evil people, so how can you say anything good? The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their heart, so they say good things." (Matthew 12:33-35)
Another common theme in the Bible, here we are instructed to keep our hearts on good things so that those are the things that we say, that is what we do and that is the fruit that we give. One example that I think portrays this would be children. So malleable and vulnerable... they are trying to quickly pick up on any social cues that they observe. So, when they watch tv or listen to music, those are the kinds of things that end up not only on their hearts but also on their tongues... partly why parenting is the ultimate responsibility. (And I'm so thankful that my parents took their job quite seriously.) But the same goes for each of us.... people who spend their time reading the Word, praying and in community with Christians will find those things upon their hearts. Thank You, Lord, for filling my life and my heart with Your presence.
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