life

Oops, I Did It Again!

by Danielle N. Hall

5/31/16

Living these on-the-go lives, we are often rushing and ignoring a few minor details that could actually make a major difference. A common gaffe happens in written communications: especially text messages. This is true for email communications as well. Oh, and let’s not even talk about the wolf in sheep’s clothing: otherwise known as Auto-Correct.

Recently, a question was posed on Facebook: “What is the difference between a queen and a quean?”

Phonetically, there is no difference. However, there IS a significant difference in the meaning of the two: one’s an honor and the other’s a dishonor. I jokingly responded to the question in this manner: “My now and my then…lol”.

Let me further illustrate…


VS.


The difference in these two homophones is distinct and is a prime example of why we ought to slow down and pay attention to details. I’m not sure how a lady would feel if she received a message that said: “You’re my quean and I’m gonna make sure I treat you like one.” I know that THIS lady would have her left eyebrow raised so high it’d reach her hairline.

NOTES TO SELF & YOU:

1) Slow down. Spellcheck. Send.

2) Pause. Proofread/Peruse. Proceed.

#ALLlettersmatter

Unfinished Business

by Danielle N. Hall

5/25/16

Have you ever been working really hard and making great progress, but then you wind up tripping up and experiencing a setback? It is quite possible that a minor detail with major impact was missed: a loose end. 

MacMillan Dictionary defines loose ends as “the final details or parts of something that you have not yet completed or dealt with”. Considering this definition, a loose end represents a lot. 

PAUSE AND PONDER

What minor detail in your life have you not completed or dealt with that can cause a significant setback? Here are some examples:

Unpaid parking tickets

Failing to adjust the clocks during time changes

Forgetting to pray before making a major decision

Forgetting to apply deodorant 😊

Not calling to make payment arrangements 

Not scheduling that annual physical

Not calling that relative who was placed on your heart

Closing, but not locking doors of the past

These are just some examples of small details that can have a significant impact. When you think of an untied shoestring, it doesn’t start out as a big problem, but after a while of walking on loose ends, you will notice that a bit of unraveling begins to take place and trying to relace an unraveled string can be a pain.

FINAL THOUGHT

Haste makes waste. It would be unfortunate to have gone full speed ahead and have invested much time in doing great things, but have a small bit of unfinished business that comes to the forefront and causes a setback. Let’s examine our lives and detect and tie up those loose ends so that our labor will not have been in vain.

Wait Well

One of the hardest things to do in life is wait…

“The common man prays, ‘I want a cookie right now!’ And God responds, ‘If you’d listen to what I say, tomorrow it will bring you 100 cookies.”–Criss Jami


Romans 8:25 (AMP) But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure. 

May God grant you the grace to wait well for your 100 cookies!

Out of the Woods

by Danielle N. Hall

5/14/2016

There are those nervy few who find it exhilarating to play with fire. If I can be honest, I felt that way at one point in life…living on the edge and being impulsive to the point of fault. If you dared me to do something, I’d oblige. Fortunately, as I grew older I also grew wiser. Most importantly, being a mother has heightened my need to protect and be protected.

My children are precious to me and the thought of the presence of any danger to them puts me on warrior mode. Yet, before God allowed me to birth them, I lived life a bit on the wild side. I had spontaneous thoughts and spontaneous actions to follow. Every time I reflect on my “then”, I thank God for grace! If we are honest with ourselves, we can say we’ve done some unwise things. This is where I’ll insert the praise break starter “BUT GOD…!!!” 

When you mature, you recognize that life is about more than fun. I’m certainly not suggesting that you can’t enjoy life…it’s a gift and who wants a gift they can’t enjoy??? What I am saying is when fun is your focal point, you can miss out on some of the greatest things life really has to offer and you can find yourself being caught up in unnecessary peril. I speak from a place of experience.

I vividly recall an incident from my adolescent years. I was at a bus stop and decided that I didn’t feel like catching a bus that day and I wanted a ride. One showed up and without reservation I hopped in the car. I then found myself in an abandoned apartment building with a man who had a briefcase with God knows what in it. We went upstairs to one of the units. There was a dresser and a bed in the unit. I checked out my surroundings and I spotted an ink pen on the dresser. I remember thinking the following: “If this man touches me, I’m gonna use this pen in his eye to defend myself.” Here I was, in an abandoned apartment, with a very strange stranger, and was contemplating how I was going to defend myself: how frightening! That was one time I can say that I truly feared for my life. Fortunately, I got away unharmed and untouched.

This account is a prime example of spontaneous thoughts followed by spontaneous actions that turned out to be unwise. Now before casting judgment, to understand one’s choices, you must consider his/her experiences. Refer to one of my previous posts entitled “Dirty Little Secrets and The Little White Lie.”  https://daniellenhall.com/2016/04/26/dirty-little-secrets-the-little-white-lie/

The beauty in this is that I’m out of the woods and I’m still here today to share the story with you so that you may think before you act. What may seem like it’s harmless, or is just fun, can be more detrimental than perceived. Again, I’m older and wiser and I’m a mother. With any position there is an accompanying level of responsibility. In my position as mother, I understand the importance of considering consequences before acting. I endeavor to stay out of the woods. The same is true with my position as a Christian. I’m not professing to be perfect…I do falter at times, but I try hard to practice what I teach/preach. I believe our examples are impactful messages. 

Here’s a final thought:

Proverbs 9:11-12 (VOICE)

Lady Wisdom: “Through me your days will be lengthened, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, wisdom is its own reward. If you mock what you don’t understand, you alone will suffer the consequences.”