“Like the Wind” is part of a collection of stories and poems reflecting on the everyday use of the spiritual weapons that the apostle Paul listed in Ephesians 6:10-20. This story describes using the Sword of the Spirit (Word of God). In Greek, the original language of the New Testament, two words are used for the Word of God: logos and rhema. Logos is the recorded, written Word of God that paints the big picture of mankind’s plight and tells the story of God’s plan of salvation. Rhema is God’s instant word speaking specifically and personally to us through the Holy Spirit in a particular situation. The rhema always aligns with the logos.
To locate other stories and poems in the blog series, enter “reflections on spiritual warfare” into the Search Bar.
On Sundays…Since Western art, music and literature are full of Bible themes, ideas and references, English speaking children need a basic knowledge of the Bible in order to be literate, whether or not their family is religious.
On Mondays…Shaming and humiliating our children in front of others seems, at first, to be a successful discipline tool for changing their behavior. Usually, it gets immediate results. But we need to be aware that while it seems effective, it destroys trust. We adults resent a boss who chews us out in front of other people instead of drawing us aside for private correction. Children’s dignity needs to be protected the same way if we want a loving relationship that lasts a lifetime.
On Tuesdays…We can encourage our children’s creativity by reading and telling stories about creative people.
On Wednesdays…It’s hard for those of us who like to please and/or get recognition, but our children’s well being demands that we learn to say no to other adults. We can’t be the parents our children need while pleasing our bosses, our church leaders, etc. by saying yes to everything they want us to do. If we feel guilty for saying no even when we have excellent reasons for saying it, we need to find out why.
On Thursdays… Since people tend to take the path of least resistance, it’s easier to train the family to put things away if we store stuff close to the place where they use it – the basketball in a box or cabinet by the door nearest to the basketball hoop, for example.
On Fridays…It’s important to teach children to say “Pardon me” in a humble tone when they bump into someone or realize they have interrupted or caused a disturbance. And of course, we as parents need to be good examples by using the same good manners with them.
On Saturdays… It can be discouraging when our children resist and argue with us when we try to teach them survival skills like cleaning up. We need to remind ourselves and then explain to them that part of our job as parents is teaching good work attitudes in addition to teaching good work methods and skills. Then remember to ward children for working with a pleasant attitude.
The wind blows.
I see it toss
the birds in flight,
And bend the branches
on the trees.
I hear rustling –
swishing –
whooshing,
and I sniff passing scents…
The fragrance of lilacs
brings delight
a factory stench
makes me turn away.
Once in the night,
Jesus spoke to Nicodemus
of the wind –
the wind
he could not see,
the wind
that blows where it will.
The Holy Spirit
likened to the wind?
A word,
a song,
a voice,
a memory
swirl into my mind
fill it with comfort
instruction …
sometimes rebuke.
Quietly it comes,
insistent as the wind,
or as a still
small
voice.
© 2002 Laura Eberhardt Cerling
Reprint with attribution only www.beckypowers.com
“Like the Wind” is part of a collection of stories and poems reflecting on the everyday use of the spiritual weapons that the apostle Paul listed in Ephesians 6:10-20. This story describes using the Sword of the Spirit (Word of God). In Greek, the original language of the New Testament, two words are used for the Word of God: logos and rhema. Logos is the recorded, written Word of God that paints the big picture of mankind’s plight and tells the story of God’s plan of salvation. Rhema is God’s instant word speaking specifically and personally to us through the Holy Spirit in a particular situation. The rhema always aligns with the logos.
To locate other stories and poems in the blog series, enter “reflections on spiritual warfare” into the Search Bar.