Words

Mary, from Visits With Mary, posted a thoughtful blog piece today concerning the power of words. I was inspired to visit my poetry archives and post something I penned 16 years ago. I still recall how intensely this poem came to me. It is a sobering reminder of how we must diligently manage our words.

W O R D S

By spoken words we shape our world,
Confessions – good or bad – unfurled;

With life and death in the power of the tongue,

By simple words, we’re sprung or hung.

God’s Word provides the “soul” solution

To cleanse and filter thought pollution;

For ultimately the words we speak

Are fashioned by the words we seek.

~Karen June Miller, October 1996

[Proverbs 18:21]

I am joining

Spiritual Sundays and Still Saturday

Blessings,

Vintage Thanksgiving

 

 

 

Karen

Way Back When-esday

My blog debut was in June of 2007. It was like claiming my own little piece of cyberspace! Even so, it was not new territory for me. It was more like an upgrade to something I already loved.

As teenagers, my girlfriends and I used to exchange homemade newsletters. I called mine Kare-Pages. My press room was a bedroom closet with sliding wood panels to quiet the world. I sat cross-legged in front of my makeshift desk: an old record player with a Smith Corona typewriter perched on the lid. I recall how muffled the typewriter keys sounded in clothed quarters.

I had ambiance, too! I burned strawberry oil in a miniature lamp, drank generously-sugared Lipton Orange Pekoe Tea, and my cassette player had Vic Damone crooning, "On the Street Where You Live." (I bet Vic never new I was in the closet.)

I cherish these memories and I still have the photocopied newsletters. It's amazing that we came up with such good material without Googling! 

Nowadays, I enjoy my real desk, my Mac, and the Internet. And my clothing no longer smells like burnt strawberries.

Thankfully,

Simple

Quaker Girl (1915) — Grace Cossington Smith

 SIMPLE GIFTS

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free',
Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.

~Lyrics by Elder Joseph of Alfred, Maine:

Tune by Joseph Brackett (1797–1882)

This song has been mistakenly identified as a hymn, often without attribution. In fact, it was intended to be a Quaker "Dancing Song" or "Quick Dance," with obvious dance instructions. Yet, the message is clear.

I love singing Simple Gifts and God has made it a theme for me. These last few years have been about paring down, learning to do more with less, and abiding "in the valley of love and delight." I sense that it has a great deal to do with what lies ahead.

Last year's Christmas was a borrowed one. Our own decorations were in storage. Truth be told, it became one of the most relaxed and appreciated celebrations I have experienced in my own home. I had a list of want-to's that I willingly surrendered to basics and a few personal touches.

My concept of "simple" is expressed in this acronym:

                          Scaling

                          Importance:

                          More

                          Peace,

                          Less

                          Encumbrance

A new development will be rewriting this Christmas as well. Again, I choose the simple path.

"A simple life in the Fear-of-God 

is better than a rich life

with a ton of headaches."

~Proverbs 15:16 (MSG)

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