You gave eleven answers. I wanted to know how to live a life that you would fill with your presence and holiness. You told me these eleven things. 1. To make my foundation a consistent dedication to the way of the LORD with my whole life; not sinless perfection but consistent dedication. 2. To wear my heart on my sleeve. “To speak the truth in the heart is to be so integrated that inner thought and audible speech agree. (Gerald H. Wilson)” To be transparent in my words and deeds. 3. …so that distortions of truth would never leave my lips. 4. To do no knowing harm to those I know. 5. And not to judge unjustly or hastily those I don’t yet know. 6. To recognize wickedness as ugly. To hate what is hateful, and condemn what is damnable. 7. To recognize virtue as beautiful, and honor holiness and righteous living. 8. To keep the covenants I make. To recognize the sacredness of a promise. 9. To keep my promises, even when it hurts. To be self-sacrificial in my virtue and fully committed to my words. 10. To give plainly without strings attached or unspoken expectations. 11. To never be persuaded that injustice is justice because of financial pressures. These things will keep me grounded in the presence of God, infecting my whole life with worship. by S. Jewell S. McGhee 11-14-2014 Quotation taken from Ps. Vol. 1 page 299 by Gerald H. Wilson, as part of the NIV Application Commentary Series
1 Comment
Barb Stanford
1/16/2015 12:57:20 pm
These thoughts really help make this Psalm more accessible and positive...reminding me that God's instructions make life so much better!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
S. Jewell S. McGheeJewell is an artist who has come to be known also as an author. She often writes a reflection to go with her art pieces and has been paraphrasing the psalms for many years. Categories
All
Archives
June 2015
About the Artist
S. Jewell S. McGhee likes to call her art “painting with pencils.” She first started using colored pencils to help her mother write names on lunch bags for school. “My mom would pick matching themes for the names on our bags; all balloons, or sunrises, or sometimes just geometric shapes. She always made them so beautiful; a plain brown bag lunch was, all at once, a love note, a story, a hug, and simple colors to enlighten us for the rest of the day.” These bags also became a constant reminder that art was simple, attainable, and a necessary part of every day. “I always start with a story.” Every time you hear a story you have a physical (tears, a chuckle, or a smile) or mental (confusion, contentment) reaction which is unable to be explained in words alone. “I like to use abstract art as a medium to dive deeply into the complicated mess of a story and discover something more about it and about myself.” She follows the flow of a story and finds the shapes and colors that express its fundamental emotions and questions. Jewell uses her art to interpret the stories of Shakespeare, the newspaper, the Bible, and her own life. “As I grapple with Hamlet, I see lines-sharp and violent-cutting through relationships and into love. There is red: obviously for blood, but also for love (a riddle itself). A golden crown, a golden son; a golden sun breaking through ghosts, clouds, and lives to reveal blackness and blood.” How black is the blackness of hate? What texture is grace? What shape is confusion, or desperation, or promise? These are the questions these pieces ask. |
Copyright S. Jewell S. McGhee 2016, All rights reserved.2735 Ellendale Ave. St. Louis, MO 63143 |