Week 48 - Day 5

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Ephesians 4-6

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Ephesians 4-6 YouVersion(NIV)

Sometimes I have those kinds of days where I just get easily frustrated and angry with the people around me, and I need to remember some of the verses from these chapters in Ephesians.  Such as Ephesians 4:2 … a couple years ago our son was chosen to say this Bible verse at his preschool graduation so he practiced all the time.  We’d hear these words over and over again: “Be gentle, be patient, loving one another.”  Some days I need to be saying these words to myself over and over.

Then there is Ephesians 4:26, which comes from Psalm 4:4  - “In your anger do not sin … search your hearts and be silent.”  Paul goes on to say in verse 29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  Instead of flying off the handle, I need to take a moment to be silent and consider if what I’m going to say is helpful to build others up according to their needs. 

And finally, this one: Ephesians 5:20 – “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything.”  There is so much I take for granted.  I want to do a better job of appreciating every moment, every day, whether it is a good day or not.  Always giving thanks for everything. 

As a mom of three young children, they are the ones I’m with for the majority of my day.  And so many times they are the ones whom my frustration and anger gets directed toward, and I forget to be thankful for every precious moment I have with them.  There is a video I saw at church that was a good reminder for me.  Reggie Joiner, who is the founder of the reThink Group which trains church leaders in the area of influencing the next generation, uses jars of marbles to visually show how many weeks you have with your kids until they turn 18 and how fast those weeks go by.  We’re losing our marbles … I don’t want to waste another one; I don’t want another one to go by without giving thanks and treasuring every moment. 

Here is a link to the video; it is only 2 ½ minutes long: Vimeo: Playing for Keeps-Losing Your Marbles