Gossip: How To Believe a Lie

The "Confederate Flag", a rectangular
 variant of the Battle Flag. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Remember back during the Charleston tragedy, the Confederate flag was taken down from the court house. In a knee-jerk reaction, Walmart and Amazon decided to no longer offer it for sale.

My nephew, a man I trust, a man I know to have integrity, posted a fact on facebook stating that Amazon, while not selling the Confederate flag, still offered Isis's.

Of course this would appall anyone. I had no reason to doubt, and so I told my friends. I stridently preached it as gospel. Then one day I thought I better check.

No Isis flag on Amazon.

Truth lies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A quick look at snope.com confirmed this was an urban legend. I unwittingly believed a lie mistakenly told to me by a principled man.

Flash forward to today. Our church, like so many, is having a conflict. My husband came home and told me that the deacons had given two ladies a letter telling them to resign from positions they held. Neil, I know for a fact, is honorable and trustworthy.

On Sunday, our pastor took time to bring to light all that was going on. In his message he stated that the women in question resigned on their own. No one asked them to step down.

I looked at Neil. He never lied. I looked at the pastor and questioned his veracity.

At home, I asked Neil where he'd gotten the information. A man who worked with him in the same ministry had told him. The fact of these ladies being forced from their position drove this gossiping man to leave the body.

It makes me think. My disparaging Amazon did nothing to hurt the chain. My trust in my husband caused me to question our pastor. However, knowing I had no first-hand knowledge of the situation caused me to keep my mouth shut and not perpetrate the rumor. (Even a fool is considered wise when she holds her peace! Pr. 17:28).

Thus I think of Ecclesiastes 10: 12- 14a: 

12 Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; 13 the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. 14 Yet the fool multiplies words. 

How do we stop gossip and lies?

1. Go to the source. In the case of the flag, websites like snopes put to rest urban legends. In the case of my husband, ask the deacons and withhold judgment until the truth is verified.
2. Do not spread it. Even if true, if no good comes from sharing information unless harm comes from not sharing.
3. Do not listen to it. Believe me, I LOVE a juicy tidbit. Yet, a fire goes out without fuel. Perhaps your silence will shame the slander.
4. Speak the truth in love.
5. Ask yourself if listening to the tale is beneficial and how it will help remedy the situation. If it does nothing but make yourself feel better, put the big ol' kibash to it.

Do you have tips on stopping gossip?

How To Be Happy: Sew Simple

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot" (Ecc. 5:18).

I used to love to sew. That is after I pinned the pattern and before I had to rip out seams. Picking the pattern, the material and seeing the dress form under my hands delighted me.

Oh, I could also do without the finishing.

Then one day it hit me. Why did I like sewing? Half of it I despised. I made the decision--to find joy in the minutiae of it. I strove to

lay it out perfectly. I sang as I ripped stitches and strove to make my finish work as fine as the broad strokes. Thus today's Scripture.

To enjoy life, we must:

1. Find joy in the little things. Is it too cold? Look at the glittering frost, note it's beauty.
2. Love our job. Some of us do "traditionally" great things--teach, nurse, police, protect. Others pull a lever, drive a truck, cash out customers. What's good in our job? It pays the rent or we get to work on the road away from the idiots in the office or we can chat with a wide variety of weirdos. Each job brings us joy.
3. Enjoy our sustenance. We have homes. Maybe not million dollar ones with hardwood floors. But they keep us warmer than the elements. We have food. Steak may be too pricey, but who doesn't love pasta?
4. Be grateful. We live. We feel the warmth of carpet on our toes, the embrace of a child, the fellowship of believers, the taste of olives, the kiss of a spouse, the sight of a sunrise, the touch of a breeze. We have electric, heat, water from a tap, vehicles, shelter.
5. Fellowship is our Maker. Even those of us who know Him, fear our death. But in the end, eternity will wipe away all our tears--and if we truly know God, our moments here on earth are finer.

For what are you grateful?

Life Is a Farmers' Market

Jeremy and his watermelons

I roamed our local farmers' market and discovered my friend April had wonderful blueberries. I bought a quart, ate them all week and came back for more. Then one day, April had no blueberries and only one stand carried any. They were a little overripe, a tad mushy. Obviously, the last of the season.

Then Jeremy brought in his watermelons--the best the North Country had to offer. None ever tasted so fresh, crisp and sweet. Until this last one. Obviously, the last of the season.

I'm now onto Honey Crisp apples. And as I watch one fruit or vegetable I love fade and another take its place, I can't help but think about Ecclesiastes 3:1. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven(.)"

While we work our lives, sometimes the seasons are too dry or too wet or too short. Sometimes we produce much, other times we lie fallow. However, if we live our lives honoring God, we are like the fruit of the farmers' market. We'll grow and flourish in our season, and then lie fallow for a bit. Don't despair--the preacher of Ecclesiastes has also said we need to enjoy the fruit of our labor while we can.

The prophet of our ages said--what goes around comes around...I choose to believe, if I live righteously, I'll reap joy.

PS I LOVE the benefits of our farmers' market--but that's another blog

The Border Conundrum: Bootlegging in Malone

     Wending my way to Ellenburg, I run into an old friend, Sgt. Martin (or whatever you call the border guys). He sports Elvis-styled sideburns and a gun. Yikes. You know I stop, not because I'm an Elvis fan. We meet on a regular basis--either on Rt. 11 of 190.
    Fortunately, Sgt. Elvis isn't interested in me or what I'm toting in my suitcase. He's looking for drugs or aliens (of the earthling persuasion),
and he knows this old granny doesn't fit the profile of a drug runner.
     And speaking of profiles, Sgt. Elvis fits that of North Country law enforcement fighting the opportunism of a rural border which allows good to happen--like the runaway slaves and the Underground Railroad--as well as bad.
     But my tale deals with Prohibition which became law on November 18, 1918, and according to Del Forkey in the Sesqui-centennial of Malone: 1802-1952, "...a complete history of this region's part in the 'dry era' would contain some rather stirring, blood-flecked pages, including everything in the rum-toting category from bootlegging and high-jacking to running gun fights through the streets of peaceful villages" (87).
     Ouch. And Sgt. Elvis thinks we have it bad.
      The bootleggers means of hiding booze aren't different from drug hiding today--in the woman's bloomers (which is why they grope us in airports), baby diapers, false doors in their cars. And they loved BIG cars (carried more Mountain Dew aka hootch). Some bootleggers became such good drivers they could spin the car around and then aim for the law officers. Or they'd use decoy cars--autos that would speed off in an opposite direction allowing the one loaded with white lightening to flee.
      I love this stunt the best. A bootlegger would get through the road blocks and then be hijacked by another bootlegger who now didn't have to face the 1920's Sgt. Elvis.
     These booze runners were depraved. One even went so far as to dodge rabbits skittering across the roads, but he'd aim his car at law enforcement officials.
     Forkey claimed most of the villains were outsiders like the infamous Mobster Dutch Shultz and Legs Diamond. I'm not so sure. Many arrested for drug dealing aren't native, but many are. And we must remember:
    

     What has been will be again,
   what has been done will be done again;
   there is nothing new under the sun. Eccl. 1:9