2018's Wise Word Project

What's funny about my traditional new word for the new year is that it's not gonna be new this year - ha!  I am going to spend another year with last year's word:  Gentleness.  I am having to repeat this grade.  I think I flunked.  Maybe I give myself a D.  Either way, not good.  Didn't go great for me in 2017.  I didn't knuckle down and get it done well or consistently enough.  Reallife.  Work in progress over here ... and sometimes the progress is s - l - o - w.  Thankful for grace!

In the interest of rebooting Gentleness, I reread a book last month called Teaching from Rest.  It helped.  I am also reading a book called Mother & Son:  The Respect Effect because, if you must know, I feel most guilty about my lack of gentleness when it comes to Noah.  We are in a frustrating season with that kid ... in life stuff and in school stuff and I am not managing it ... gently!  I am also gonna get myself to a homeschool convention one way or another because this homeschool mom is in real need of some refreshment and fresh input.  And today, I ordered a book to give me fresh thoughts to chew on relating to this virtue.  It's called Courageous Gentleness.  I have no idea if it'll be any good, but I have high hopes because I need a good word to get through my thick skull.  Someone ask me how it's going in a couple months!

Reposting gentleness verses for quick reference again here...

• Colossians 3:12  - Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
• Philippians 4:5 - Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.
• Proverbs 16:24 - Gracious words are a honeycomb; sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
• James 3:17 - But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
• James 1:19-20 - My dearly loved brothers, understand this:  Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness God desires.
• Proverbs 15:4 - A gentle tongue is a tree of life;
• 1 Peter 3:4 - You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

I especially notice the one about a gentle tongue being a tree of life.  And the one about a gracious word being sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.  Amen. I think I need a tree of life tattoo to keep this fresh in mind for me.  Or a necklace maybe.  Keychain?  Screensaver!!  Something.

So there you go - Kimmie is gonna keep trucking with gentleness.  Help me, Lord!