This image of the flourishing tree describes a person who thinks and lives according to God’s Word. I’ve been thinking about this tree.

When plants, trees, and other growing things (like children, for instance) thrive, they change.

A friend gave me a cutting from a beautiful houseplant she has nurtured and cared for, and which has been split over time into at least three thriving plants. I love this plant from my friend for one, because it reminds me of her friendship, but also because it reminds me that with a little diligent care and the right environment, living things grow.

And that means they must change.  In the case of houseplants, they need repotting. It’s just a normal part of life.

Sigh.

It’s bittersweet. A good thing - and yet, I’ll miss my old pot. It’s a good thing I took lots of pictures. And you have my email address. Don’t forget to write.

And please don’t be mad at me for calling you a pot.

But then I discovered this verse:

James 5:16b … the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The word “availeth” is ischuo. Sometimes translated prevail, ischuo means to be strong, to have power as shown by extraordinary deeds, and to be a force.

That does not sound like wishing on a star to me. So why didn’t I see consistent results when I prayed? Well, probably because I really was only wishing and hoping, not believing. I didn’t yet know this verse:

Mark 11:24  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Find a promise of God in the Bible and you know you have the right to pray for it. Believe when you pray, and you’ll receive it. These days, I get prayers answered. I’m not even surprised anymore - although I remain jazzed and thankful - when I see my believing prayers come to pass. The younger, skeptical me would protest, chalking it all up to coincidence. The wiser me of today would have to respond by wondering why I seem to have so many more coincidences in my life now than I did back then.

Casting all your care up on him; for he careth for you. 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)

Casting means to throw upon or place upon. Care is the Greek word merimna. It’s not a good word. (Well, I suppose the word is just fine, but the anxious, distracting care it describes sucks pretty much.)

Jesus used the word merimna in reference to the “cares of this world.” (Mark 4:19 is one such instance.) Merimna comes from merizo, which means to divide, to separate into parts or to cut into pieces. Wow. Who hasn’t felt like that a time or two? Deadlines grappling with each other for top spot, the things you want to do clambering up to the front now and then, and your other responsibilities fighting over who gets to ride shotgun – it can get to be too much for one person to handle!

So that’s when we can throw it all upon God; all that anxious thought needs somewhere to go, and who better to hear about than One who cares for you? That second word “care” is melo. (Ha ha. prayer can help you get mellow, that’s for sure.) It means, simply, to care about, and it’s in the present tense, active voice, indicative mood. So He cares about you now. He is the one doing the action of caring. And it’s really true (indicative mood).

That’s pretty good.

Throw your cares – the distracting anxious thought that divides your mind – onto the supreme being who actively, deliberately and really cares about you.

Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. – Proverbs 31:30 (KJV)

And the Amplified Version:

Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

The Strong’s definition of vain is “vapour, breath.” And one of the definitions for praised is “to shine.” (The word halal can also have a negative connotation, as in boasting, but that clearly is not the implication here.)

Beauty is fleeting. It’s wonderful, but not lasting. There is a much higher standard by which we women can judge ourselves (and speaking as a mother of two wonderful, grown stepsons, a standard by which young men can judge prospective spouses). A woman who reverences the Lord shines with a beauty that does not dim.

Sweet! Because I’m getting a little gray. 

It isn’t always possible to predict their impact, of course, and I know I don’t always succeed in perfectly expressing my meaning, but it is important to me to try. In fact, I decided on ’Choose Your Words Wisely’ as a slogan not only because words are so important to my clients, but because they are important to me personally.

But personally my choice of words doesn’t rely so much on what is good for marketing results or business success,  although I’m not averse to success. ”Conventional wisdom” isn’t the standard by which I judge how I speak or what I write. The verses below describe that pure and peaceable wisdom from above that I strive to attain both in writing and in life: 

Psalms 19:14  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Proverbs 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

Psalms 49:3  My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

Whether I’m writing an advertorial about gravel aggregates or a humorous essay about motherhood, I try to keep my words edifying and productive. That doesn’t mean I have to throw Bible verses into everything. It does mean I have to keep them in my heart. Wisdom can be serious, funny, or at times even conventional. But it can’t be stupid.

So I try not to be.