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Word of the Week – Puny

by Roseanna White | Jan 28, 2019 | Word of the Week

My kids’ vocabulary books have this section at the end of each lesson called “Fun and Fascinating Facts” about the words or roots in that week’s list. This one comes courtesy of Rowyn’s book–and is something I really did find fun and fascinating!

So, puny. I know it as “small, weak.” And that meaning has been around since the 1590s. But before that, puny meant “inferior in rank.” And before that, it was used of underclassman in school situations. Why? Great question. 😉

Puny comes from the Latin phrase puis ne–literally, “born after.” This phrase was applied, in Roman days, to children after the firstborn, who would inherit the estate of his parents. So a second, third, etc. son was puis ne and therefore inferior in rank and considered less powerful in society’s eyes.

Who knew?!

Thoughtful About . . . The Difference We Can Make

by Roseanna White | Jan 24, 2019 | Thoughtful Thursdays

When God created the earth, what did He say? That it was good. What do we yearn for at the end of our lives? That He’ll say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Not only in the Bible, but in pretty much every piece of literature, ancient and modern, we can find this familiar theme. This yearning. This basic condition of humanity.

We yearn for approval. For praise. For confirmation.

This is not a matter of wanting to think we’re better. Just a matter of needing–yes, NEEDING–that basic encouragement. That we are good. That we’ve done well. That our efforts are noticed and appreciated.

Given how basic this is, I’m sometimes surprised by how easily we seem to forget that others have this need as surely as we do. But all too often, this is something we neglect to give those around us–our spouses, our kids, our coworkers, our underlings, our superiors, our pastors, our teachers, our students, our…fill in the blank. And yet, it’s been proven, time and again, that people respond better to encouragement than to chastisement. Sometimes we have to correct, yes. But if we don’t also add those positive words, people aren’t inspired to actually improve.

This baffles me. Kind words, encouraging words, edifying words are no more difficult than harsh ones. They don’t cost us anything. So why are we stingy with them?

When I was in college, I worked in the admissions office of my school, and I would make it a point to give my coworkers compliments. It didn’t start as pointedly. It just started as an honest exclamation. Something like, “Oh, I love those shoes!” But this coworker seemed a bit startled at the compliment. And very much pleased. So I started looking for things to compliment her on as the weeks and months and years rolled by. At one point, she mentioned how she appreciated my attitude, and I replied with a laugh, “Hey, compliments are free! Why not spread them around?”

This holds true with all encouragement. It costs us nothing to praise our family when they do something well…even if they’ve also done something else not well. And you know what? When we receive praise for the thing we’ve done right, we want more of it. So we’re going to do a better job on that other part too. We’re going to try harder. Over and again this has been proven as a better tool for motivating than just correction.

And I think that, as believers, this is even more important. We’re called upon to speak nothing that will tear each other down, but rather only that which will build each other up (Ephesians 4:29). Are we doing that in our churches? In our Bible studies? In our classes? In our committees?

As a writer, I’m keenly aware of the power of words. And as a reader, I will steer clear of authors whose stories don’t offer me hope, edification, and encouragement through their characters’ lives. But this is something I need to remember in all aspects of my life.

Our words make a difference to those around us. So are they making a difference for good…or for ill?

I’ll leave you with this wonderful quote from a Quaker missionary. Something to keep in mind–that we need to seize each moment’s opportunity to share those good words, because now is the only time we know we’ll be able to.

“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I
can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now.
Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

~ ETIENNE DE GRELLET, Quaker Missionary

Word of the Week – Aroma

by Roseanna White | Jan 21, 2019 | Word of the Week

This time of year, I do a fair amount of baking–love a little added warmth in the kitchen! And I have to say, one of my favorite things to bake is bread. I love the process of making it–kneading the dough, finding that perfect texture and moisture level, then letting it rise…there’s just something lovely about it. And if there’s anything better than the smell of baking bread, I’ve never discovered it!

But I’d never paused to wonder about the word I use for that–aroma. High time I looked it up!

Aroma entered the English language in the 1200s, and while it did mean something “sweet-smelling,” it also applied specifically to spices. This is because, though the Latin word just means “a pleasant smell,” the Latin is actually borrowed straight from the Greek–in which, it didn’t just mean a fragrance. It did actually mean, specifically, “seasoning; a spice or sweet herb.”

So while today we might use the word for anything that smells–pleasant or not–it has a very particular root! Not just a smell, not just a pleasant smell, but one that comes from spices or seasoning.

What are some of your favorite aromas?

Thoughtful About . . . Not Just a Laborer

by Roseanna White | Jan 17, 2019 | Thoughtful Thursdays

This past week in our church Bible study, we were on the well-known parable of the workers in the vineyard. You know the one–where the landowner hired people at the start of the day for an agreed-upon amount. Then throughout the day, he goes back to the marketplace and hires more people. At the end of the day, he pays everyone, starting with the new arrivals. When he gives them the same amount he’d promised the earliest hires, those who had been working all day expect more–and get a bit irritated when they’re only given a denarius as well.

The landowner’s response is, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?”

The parables are often taught all on their own; and in this one, I’ve pretty much always read it as, “Those who repent in the last hour will receive salvation as surely as those who’ve been serving the Lord for a long time.” And I don’t think that view of it is wrong.

But last weekend, as I looked back over the conversation this parable was a part of, something new struck me.

What came before? Well, first you have the rich young ruler asking what he needs to do to gain eternal life. Jesus tells him, “Obey the commandments.”

To which he says, “Yep, I’ve done that. Am I missing anything?”

And Jesus says, “Well, if you want to be perfect, then sell all you have and follow me. If you do that, you’ll have treasures in heaven.”

We all know that story really well too, right? And we probably recall that Peter, after the young man has gone away, says, “Hey, we’ve given everything up to follow you! So what will we have?” (One has to assume he’s asking “what treasures in heaven.”)

And Jesus answers that they will have quite the positions of power and authority in heaven. That anyone who makes a sacrifice for His sake will receive a hundredfold, AND inherit eternal life. THEN he launches into the laborer-and-vineyard parable.

So here’s what struck me: the denarius is salvation, yes. Given to all who follow him into that vineyard. No matter when they joined Him. (Note, however, that this landowner did NOT go back to the marketplace at the end of the day and give out coins to everyone still waiting. You have to follow him in.) This is that “AND” part–they receive eternal life.

But Jesus repeatedly speaks of a hierarchy in heaven. Of those who lay up treasures there. Of those who will receive greater or lesser reward.

And it occurs to me that in the vineyard parable, this might be about what happens the next day. Do those first laborers go off in a huff, grumbling because the lord wasn’t fair, according to their own definition? Do they figure, “Hey, I’ll just wait around until 5:00 tomorrow evening and then come in and get that denarius anyway”?

Are they content to get just enough? Get that salvation by the skin of their teeth and put in no more work toward the vineyard, the kingdom, than necessary?

Or do they see the mercy of their lord and think, “Wow. If this guy has such a loving heart that he’ll grant the full wage to this dude…what will lie in store for me if I serve him faithfully for weeks and months and years?”

This, my friends, represents a key difference in the thought of us, His workers. Do we view what we do for Him as mere labor for a wage? Do we count the hours we put in and the reward we see at the end of the day and grumble and complain? Is it enough to simply have been given that salvation? Is it enough to know we’ll get into heaven? To get that final paycheck?

Or do we view it instead as heirs to that vineyard? In ancient society, the most faithful of servants were quite often given an inheritance along with the sons. This is what Jesus speaks of us receiving too, and which Paul expounds on even more. We are co-heirs with Christ. That means we’re not just laboring in that vineyard for a day’s wage. We are laboring because we want it to thrive. Because we want it to grow. Because we know that our futures are linked to it. We serve because we love our Lord, our Father, and want Him to look at our work and pronounce it good.

We do not earn salvation, other than by joining Him in His vineyard, by accepting and believing in the gift He offers–but there’s more to eternity than simply being there. There’s that hundredfold. There’s listening for and hearing His call, and then obeying it. There’s sacrifice. There’s giving up what the world says we should want in favor of what He says we need in order to attain perfection. There’s going into that vineyard every day, going above and beyond, not because we think we need to earn that denarius–but because we are invested in the vineyard and in the landowner.

I don’t want to be just a laborer. I don’t want to view this life that way–that I’m just toiling every day for a wage.

I want to work for Him because of all He’s done for me.

I want to sacrifice for Him because of how He has already sacrificed for me.

I want Him to look at me and not see someone who will do the bare minimum to get salvation. I want Him to see someone He knows will come running when He has a task that needs attention.

I want to be one of His trusted servants, faithful…an heir.

Word of the Week – Companion

by Roseanna White | Jan 14, 2019 | Word of the Week

So we all know what a companion is…but if you’re anything like me, you’ve never paused to examine where the word came from.

Com is Latin for “with.” Okay…making sense so far. A companion is someone you’re with.

But I’d never stopped to realize that the panion part is from panis–the Latin word for “bread.” So a companion is literally “someone with whom you eat bread.”

Just goes to show that as far back as you care to look, when you live or travel or spend time with someone, food is going to be involved. ? Sharing a meal has always been one of the most important aspects of our social bonding. Cool to see that it’s the root even of the words for it!