Bible Bank!!!

It is amazing to me the hunger that God has put inside of me to read His Word! I have an unsatiable desire to be in it all the time. I have been cleaning out my office at my house and after being gone for 9 months, trust me, it needed cleaning out. I have found so many things, you would not believe. Of course there were lots of things that needed to be filed and more trash than I even want to mention, but the one thing that has stuck out the most for me is the little pieces of paper that keeping poping up with references to the Bible or a quote that touches my heart or is exactly what I need to hear at that moment. These little pieces of paper are mostly things that I have written down, but some of them are things that people have given me.
One thing that I have come across in the last couple of days is a special little "recipe box".
When our friends, who lived in this house before us moved, I found this recipe box and thought, "Oh, I need to send that on to her right away", but as I opened it and began to peruse the "recipes", I found that it was not a recipe box, it was a Bible Bank. She has made it in college and somehow it was left behind in their move. I believe that God's hand was on it and it was left behind for me. I did ask her if I could keep it for a while and she was happy to let me do that. Well, I put it on a shelf as I did many other things. This was two years ago and I was in the middle of doing ministry, trying to get settled in our new home and just the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Well, this little box has gotten my attention in these days of cleaning. Sometimes I wonder if it is going to just open up and say something. In all the sorting and cleaning I have done, that little box seems to be right in front of me everytime I turn around. I have gleaned so much from this little bible bank that was made many years ago. I don't know how many lives that it has touched in the past, but I do know that it has made a difference in my life just in the last few days and I can't wait to use it more. Thank you Debbie S. for loaning me your bank.
I am continuing to study in James and this morning was all about controlling the Tongue! Well, that fits with the theme of my life right now. One passage that I will share with you really stood out to me this morning as I was reading, I will share that with you here, however I encourage you to go back and read all of James.
James 3:5-12
In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brother and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can't draw fresh water from a salty spring.

May you be blessed and may you bless someone along the way.