Musings From A Rolling Eyed Turtle

While words are very important in communication, sometimes it’s the non verbal communication that actually “speaks” volumes! Non verbal communication can include such things as gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, eye contact (or lack thereof); body language, posture, and other ways people can communicate without using language. Such non verbal communication can sometimes be quite clear and effective.  A hug, for example, can communicate love or support or concern.  A finger held upright to the lips can communicate the need to be quiet or to keep a secret.  Hands held up, palms out, can communicate surrender or I’m finished. The Lord used the Prophet Jeremiah to highlight some non verbal communication that people were using as they responded to God:  “ They turned their backs to me and not their faces…”  (Jer 32:3) The non verbal communication of turning our faces toward someone normally means that we are giving them our attention....

One of the expressions we use to describe progress is that we are “moving forward”.   Correspondingly, if we are “going backward”, we are likely regressing or retreating. Even the old expression “two steps forward and one step backward” follows suit.   While difficulties may inhibit our progress (one step backward), at least things are still moving forward (two steps forward). I recently read a verse in Jeremiah that offered clarity to this forward/backward thing: “But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.”   (Jer 7:24) There are some clear indicators here on what causes us to go backward.   When we are not listening as we should be, we are going backward.   When we are not paying attention as we should be, we are going backward.   When we follow the stubborn inclinations of our evil hearts when we shouldn’t be, we are going backward. ...

A TV commercial recently caught my attention.   The CEO of the company was the spokesman and he was quite proud of the product that his company makes.   As he described a bit of the manufacturing process, he claimed that the product was made with passion.   I recently read some Old Testament passages that made reference to craftsmen who used their skills to build the tabernacle.   For example: “And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains.   They were made of fine twined lined and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked”.   (Ex. 36:8) These craftsmen were entrusted with making items for the tabernacle that had very precise specifications.   While they may have made the items with passion, that was not the defining quality that set apart these workmen and their work.   It was their skill and craftsmanship. While passion is great, when it is expressed according to some of ...

I love irony and a good play on words.   I once saw the following notice: “The lost and found key is lost and needs to be found” I assume, from the notice, that the “lost and found” items were being stored in some type of locked storage area and the key to the lock had been lost.   Talk about delicious irony! A key is a small metal instrument specially cut to fit into a lock and move its bolt.   But a key could also be something that affords a means of access, such as the key to happiness.   It can also be something that secures or controls entrance to a place, such as Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean. So, to take this bit of irony and engage in a play on words…. “To be lost and then be found, a key is needed” A classic hymn contains this familiar line:   “I once was lost but now am found”. What was the key that the hymn writer was suggesting?   Was it a small metal instrument?   Not likely.   But there is ...

It wasn’t the basis for a law suit, but the disappointment was still there.   Every time I made one and took it out, it just didn’t look like the one that was pictured on the box.   It sure tasted good though, every time, but it just didn’t meet the look-like expectations. We’re talking waffles here.   You know the waffles with the deep indentions where the butter and syrup almost seem to disappear.   Every time I mixed up the batter, put the batter in the waffle maker and took it out when it was done, well, it just didn’t look like the waffle in the picture on the waffle maker box.   But it sure tasted good. Then one day I took the waffle out and, for some reason, flipped it over as I put it on my plate.   Wow!   What do you know!   The waffle looked just like the one pictured on the waffle maker box!   Funny thing about waffles and most waffle makers, a different pattern is created on each side of the waffle as the batter is being...

Fashion statements in the Bible?   Yes, sort of! The King James Version of the Bible, along with the New American Standard Version, both indicate there are special garments (clothes) that would be for glory and for beauty.   The New International Version uses different words – dignity and honor.   Regardless, these garments must have been very impressive! But the clothes were not for the average person.   These garments, according to Exodus 28:2 and 28:40 were to be specifically made for and worn by Aaron and his sons.   These weren’t just casual clothes or even business casual.   Aaron and his sons had been set apart to minister as priests to God.   These garments were to be worn when Moses anointed and ordained and consecrated them as priests to God according to the Old Testament priesthood (Exodus 28:41). “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of Him...

What do you think of in terms of leaving a legacy?   Leaving property or money?   That’s one way. The dictionary points to more possibilities:   “something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.”     Something transmitted could mean lots of things and it doesn’t always have to be something tangible. The book of Hebrews records a legacy that wonderfully fits that broader definition:   “And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”   In this case, God commended Abel for his faith and actions and both still speak to us today.   (Heb 11:4) Another one is found in the book of Mark:   “I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”   In this account, the woman took a jar of very expensive perfume and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head.   While others were criticizing the act as wasteful, Jesus ...