So I’ve been thinking a lot about personal conduct and self-awareness. I wonder how much I say or write that is not truly reflecting my own values. James says that tongue is a “a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). Yet it’s not just our tongue that channels this fire, but also what we write. It’s an easy temptation to give into saying harsh things online because we consider it less “personal.” Yet the truth is that we should be even more wary of what we write because it can be seen by a great multitude of people. People identify one another through their actions. Our voice and expressed thoughts shape what others think about us.

What values do we hold dear to us? Integrity, friendship, family, compassion for others? What are we doing to make sure those values are evident in our lives?

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.” - James 3:9. What is coming out of our mouths… or our finger tips? Are we actively keeping our ways of communication in check? I recently went through a period of assessing how much I complained. You might consider it to be a personal accountability program. I tell you the truth, my habitual complaining was outrageous. From small to large, I saw myself complaining about everything under the sun.

It made me wonder how much my “little complaints” affected my walk and other’s walks with the Lord. During my period of reflection I noticed that once I complained I, in turn, coaxed my fellow brother and sister to complain back. A great many times I complained about another’s conduct and in doing so set this person on a stage to be viewed in bad light by others.

I’ve been told that I don’t speak up enough, that I think too much, or that I’m just too quiet… but in all reality, I speak too much. I say things without looking at their long term consequences, or how they affect the ones around me. If I’m going to buy into this “love your neighbor” I need to learn to shut my mouth and to stop my typing.

“My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.” - James 3:12

So Chris came down for the weekend. It was nice to see him, haven’t seen him since fall break. We ended up playing Axis and Allies for like 9 hours… which was a lot of fun. I now want to get that game too.. lol :S I’m board game crazy. I kinda wish someone would make a low cost touchscreen game board that would let you download a multitude of games. There’s a lot of games that would be really fun to play with computer interaction… I also really like just having board games too.

Couple more weeks of school. I’m excited for summer.

There’s so much to figure out, so much to get sorted, and so much to get done.

May the Lord grant peace.