Ecclesiastes 3:1,7, ESV, King Solomon speaking
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak…
Years ago, a dear friend, trusted mentor, and fellow editor introduced me to a word with which I simply cannot part ways: shut-up-sicle. Once I wrapped my mouth around that powerful little descriptor, I was on my way to any and all usage possible. It fits so many situations, doesn’t it?
“Why don’t you lick a shut-up-sicle already?”
“Oh, man, I might need to pass out the shut-up-sicles today. Everyone is talking at once.”
“Sure wish I had brought my shut-up-sicle with me. I said more than I had planned to.”
Yeah, such a beautiful word. I’ll admit some possible uses can be a bit unkind, so I’m not recommending them. [Smile.] Today, I’m really thinking more in terms of my own need to grab one and lick it at a slow pace. When we have nothing left to say and/or whatever swirls through the filter of thoughts is better left unexpressed, the most challenging approach to a perplexing situation or problem can be to simply
shut up.
Several times in different scenarios in my life I had reached a point where I did all I could do, and God was not telling me to move forward. He was calling me into a period of shutting my mouth. I know it was Him because He confirmed it with Scripture, sent godly counsel to affirm it, and gently put my mouth to sleep.
What I mean by that last part is that, Read the rest of this entry »
☕ Espressos of Faith ☕ 