Tag Archives: Beth Moore

MLK and My Peaceful Demonstration

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Emma, Caden, and I wrapped up a geography unit last week.  We memorized the countries and topographic features of Africa, used National Geographic’s online interactive maps resource to study it’s climate, topography, and population, and read books about hippos, giraffe, gorillas, zebras, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Nile, Africa in general, and African Americans in the United States of America.  Needless to say, I’ve had this fascinating continent and it’s people on my mind.  I’m going to credit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the following stream of consciousness.

Franklin has been without his motorcycle for three weeks.  I’ve been chauffeuring him to and from work while waiting for a new tire.  Most mornings I’ve taken Franklin to the high school in my pajamas and Valentine’s Day fleece robe (a heart-covered gift from my children several years ago) praying that I’m not seen, but last Friday was All-State auditions and video editing crunch time for a 9:30 Every 15 Minutes wrap-up assembly.  Franklin had to be at the school early so we left the house at 5:50am.

Friday is also my early morning accountability group with several of my friends at James Elementary so I found myself in limbo.  I decided to take my Bible and Beth Moore Bible study workbook with me to Stripes.  I got a cup of coffee and sat down to work for 20 minutes on my morning study.  Side note – I had already showered and dressed for the day  I might be a homeschooling mama but I haven’t yet gone into a public place in my pjs.  I’m praying life doesn’t come to that for me!

Always a covert people watcher, I began to notice those who frequent Stripes in the early morning.  The employees were visiting at the counter as customers threw open the front doors and called out a greeting to the store employees.  They were obviously regulars who have a relationship with the morning shift, but when they got closer to the coffee bar, they saw me and my Bible.  Their demeanor changed.  They became quiet, as if in church, and if they caught my eye they respectfully nodded before taking care of their morning needs.

Now, I’m not suggesting that everyone in the general public would alter their behavior if they saw a 40 year old woman reading her Bible in public. In fact, Franklin and I spent a couple of hours Columbus Day in the McDonalds play area.  Why McDonald’s you might ask…  I was disappointed to find that my favorite haunt, The Do Drop Inn, was celebrating the Columbus Day holiday as well.  It was early-afternoon when we got there and the “playground” was empty, but as mid-afternoon approached I had to put my study up.  I couldn’t concentrate to read my Bible with several young children playing in the tubes.  That was poor planning on my part.  But I thought about my early morning experience in light of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to societal change.

I wonder what would happen…  What would happen if 100 women in our small community committed to completing their Bible study in a public area 1 time a week?  Would the demeanor of the general public change at all?  Would children ask their parents about the Bible-reading woman?  Would they wonder about the book she read and its content?  Would a youth or two pull up their pants?  Would a crotchety old man refrain from profanity?  Would a middle-aged woman be transported in her mind to her grandparents’ kitchen table and the Good Book her grandparents relied on for hope and wisdom?

I wonder what would happen…  What would happen if 100 women and 100 men in our small community committed to completing their Bible study in a public area 1 time a week?

What would happen if 100 women, 100 men, and 100 college students and youth in our small community committed to the same?  Would our community notice?  Would the general public, in witnessing that a group of Bible-loving, Bible-believing and Bible-reading peers does exist, listen with more interest when a conversation turned to a Truth from The Word?  Would a hurting man or woman recognize a Bible-reader as a colleague from their work or school “life” and be encouraged to ask a question or reach out?  What if we were “loud enough” in our “quiet stand” to draw attention?

I’m going to start this week and I hope that you’ll find 30 minutes a week to open The Good News in public, too.  Share the idea with your friends.  I pray God will be glorified in our peaceful demonstration and I pray that our study in public will clearly communicate, “I am a believer and The Truth in The Word is important to me.  I depend on The Word for wisdom and hope in my life.”  I pray that seekers will ask us about our relationship with Christ as a result of our boldness and that The Holy Spirit will stir the hearts of those who see us.

My Name is Marea and My Mouth can be a Problem

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Monday was a rough day.

Last Tuesday, after almost a week of unreturned phone calls and Emails to my contact at the printing company we’ve decided to use, I found that he’d transferred to another department and I’d been reassigned to a new “project manager”.  We’ll call him Tom.  From the first phone call, Tom was more helpful and excited about his role in my project than my first “project manager” had been and we nailed down several formalities Tuesday and Wednesday.  I felt encouraged!

I uploaded our first files Wednesday night and our first proofs came back Thursday morning, having sailed through the first wave of pre-press printing tests.  After literally 60 minor adjustments on my part (a text box nudged 1/16th of an inch her, an illustration nudged 1/16th of an inch there),  I uploaded the second round of files Thursday evening assuming Friday mornings report would again be favorable.

Friday morning I received my first Email and second round of proofs from our new-to-the-project design expert.  We’ll call him Bob.

Before I opened the proofs I read his short note.  Bob informed me that the left page page number is always on the left hand side of the page and to help me out, he’d moved all the left page page numbers for me and had tweaked my text up and to the right when necessary.

My immediate reaction was physical.  I’m sure the geyser of frustration (imagine a geyser that rivals Old Faithful) could have been seen bursting through my head and I felt the need to vomit.  I hate that about myself.  I’ve got no formal training in layout design, but my control-freak inner self began to wind up for a full blown Class A temper tantrum.  I hadn’t even looked at the proofs.

I remember thinking, “Get a grip Marea, maybe the proofs will look great!”  I wish with all my heart they had.  That would have given me solid evidence that my tendency to control is freakish and unnecessary.

I had very carefully considered the placement of the page numbers.  I had chosen to leave them all on the bottom right of the text, even though they are normally on the bottom left for left hand pages, because I want the text itself (which is much larger and more bold to be visually obvious) to be consistently placed on the page for the young reader.  When I had experimented with page number placement, I’d had to move my text boxes too far to the right, throwing the balance of the left and right page layout off.

When I opened the proofs I found the same problem.  Bob had moved the text boxes on the even left hand pages and the text on the left and right pages was no longer consistently placed.  Some had been decreased in size and two had the very bottom of text cut short to fit the page number in the frame.

I prayed.  That’s what I have to do.  I have learned to do that first before firing off an Email or responding with a hasty phone call.  In fact, for many years I sent Franklin any Email that could potentially be problematic to be proofed for offense.

I spent the day considering the page numbers, changed my Anthologies to reflect the fix I’d decided upon, and uploaded the files again with a message in the “Additional Comments” section:  “Bob,  Thank you for your attention to detail!  Ultimately, the text placement on each page is more important to me than having the page number on the left hand pages.  I’ve deleted the page numbers of concern and am happy with the visual consistency of the text on the left and right pages for my very young readers.  Please use the revisions I’ve made to my original files.  Kind Regards, Marea”

Monday I received our third set of proofs; again, an immediate physical response – Old Faithful from every orifice.  Bob thought his original of the first anthology would work but there were problems with the 2nd and 3rd and he was sure I was going to want to look at the text.  He had input page numbers on the bottom left of the left hand pages and “had to” move the text boxes again to make them fit.

“Heavenly Father…  Help!  I want to kill Bob.  Why does he think he can add page numbers again?  This is my baby!  I am the customer!  And what is he, like 17?  This has to be his 1st project!  Why did I get the new kid on the block? “

I called my “project manager” Tom.  “Tom.  This is Marea Smith.  I have a huge problem and I need to get some information to Bob but I should not talk to him.  You’re going to have to help me.”  I explained the Friday proofs and Bob’s movement of my page numbers and text.  I explained my consideration of the problem, my decision, my work on Friday, my upload and my explanation to Bob.  He assured me that he would be in contact.

Bob is new and Bob did not know that the “Additional Comments” section even existed.  He worked all day with me and was appropriately kind and gracious as we tweaked a new round of proofs.  We were able to send the files to press yesterday afternoon.

I know Bob learned something from our experience together, I was certainly reminded again of my vulnerability in the area of my tongue, and as He often does, God orchestrated my Bible study this week to speak to the matter at heart.

Through the inspired book of Proverbs alone, God has much to say to me about my tongue:

13:3 – Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

15:2 – The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.

15:4 – Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

18:21 – The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

21:23 – Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.

 

And from Beth Moore’s Daniel study, “If you’re like me, you have also allowed some of your weaknesses to engrave an invitation to the enemy.  Satan recognizes the treasures God has given us more than we do.  He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).  Satan may bide his time until the opportune moment, but make no mistake – he will RSVP with an acceptance.  We’ll be the ones left with regret.”

Satan tried to act like a friend and sympathize with me in my trouble, but his goal was really to betray me.  I am very aware that if I’d called Bob and said everything I’d been inclined to say that I would have betrayed the heart of this project and that this collection of readers would be in jeopardy today.

A good friend of mine shared that she prays the following over her business every morning, “Lord, I ask that you cover me and that your favor surround this business as a shield, for your glory.”  I’ve typed out the following to place right beside my computer in my office, “Lord, I ask that you cover my mouth and that your favor surround my words as a shield, for your glory, in the name of your most precious son, Jesus Christ.”  I hate that I might need this daily reminder as long as I live… but, thank God for his grace and mercy!