...a word from Kathy

Cross posted from FortyFaithful.blogspot.com T he call to peacemaking from Matthew 5:9 befuddles me.  Perhaps this is a verse that only applies to those who have the personality or giftedness of peacemaking.  Surely this is one verse that I can discount as "does not apply."  But then I began to think and remember: Those long days of work and picking up my two elementary age children who were arguing and needing peacemaking well before we found our driveway!  I remember those same two living life as teenagers and the peacemaking that occurred in our house!  Then my memory took me back even further to my parents and our household.  By the time I was in junior high school I was the remaining child in my parents home.  There were disagreements in those days too.  I found peacemaking was easier than "walking on egg shells."  So perhaps I have some experience in this field after all... But I'm pondering as to whether this call to peacemaking ...

B eing a southern girl, the term, "Lord have mercy" has been in my vocabulary since the day I was born.  Every time I hear it there is a southern drawl attached and quite possible the slow shake of one's head.  It seems to be a grandma's favorite expression.  And perhaps it's akin to "Bless his heart". Both of these expressions come from deep wells of emotion where exact words seem incomplete.   Lord have mercy ..... Bless his heart.  And so I begin ponder Jesus' words in Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." I've struggled with this word, mercy, for a week.  Reading and reading and trying to get my mind around it.  Jesus is instructing us to be merciful, to show mercy and that I understand, sort of.  But my dilemma is the how.  How do I live a life offering mercy.  Webster helped a bit, mercy is defined as: lenient or compassionate treatment; compassion shown especially to an offender.  This ...

Cross post from forty faithful.blogspot.com I n the final semester before my graduation from college, I can vividly remember creating a resume and preparing for job interviews.  Two questions stand out in my mind: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?  It was those two answers that would determine my job opportunities or so I thought.  Then a few years later, in my second career move, my employer provided a staff opportunity to learn about our personalities.  The Myers-Briggs was administered and we each 'found' ourselves and our strengths and weaknesses.  Suddenly, I was able to explain my quirks and personality style (or at least some of my quirks!). Over the years, Matthew 5 has often been that type of reading for me - a personality checklist.  I would read the verses to find myself.  And to further honesty, I'll admit to skipping verses that didn't apply to me because they were simply "not my personalit...