Give me a word, Lord: SOUTHERN SAYINGS AND SIMPLE RULES FOR CHRISTIAN SOUTHERN GALS

I wrote this devotional for our Ladies’ Ministry Bible Study a little while back. We have some wonderful times together studying God’s word, and I think that God wants us to have fun when studying His word. I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off since 5:00 am making spinach quiches, finishing up a breakfast casserole, and making pigs in a blanket for our ladies ministry simulcast today so today I want to share this one with you Peeps. Hope you enjoy!

I truly enjoy small group Bible studies and spending time with my fellow sisters in Christ. Many times, we are very serious, as we should be because this Jesus thing ain’t no joke! But sometimes, it’s fun to take things down a notch, and just sit back and enjoy laughing with one another. I must confess that fun filled, laugh out loud Bible studies are my favorite kind. In Sunday School this week we talked about how a lot of times as Christians, we get hung up on all the rules we have to follow. We frequently forget that the gospel of Jesus Christ is truly about love: love the Lord and love others. It’s not a mere suggestion. It’s a command. Let’s take a break from that feeling of being overwhelmed by hard-nosed rules that we have to follow, and let’s look at some rules with a southern gal twist to them. As a Christian, I feel that I am never doing enough. I am never sharing enough. I am never good enough. If you feel that way too, take heart. We can never be GOOD ENOUGH to deserve God’s grace. But because He loves us so much, we should strive to live like Him as an act of love for Him.
1. Quit saying you’re FIXIN’ TO, and get started doing what the good Book says to do! (We all have a habit of saying I’m fixin’ to do this and I’m fixin’ to do that, but many times, we never get around to doing what we are called to do: telling others about Christ and His love for us.) “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22
2. Always ask “HOW’S YER MAMA & ‘EM?” (It’s always polite to ask about others showing that you really care.) “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the king.” I Peter 2:17
3. Don’t forget to SAY YER PRAYERS! (No meals are to begin before blessing the food, and no heads are to hit the pillow before prayers are said. Pray hard and pray often!) “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
4. Avoid being all CATTYWAMPUS! (Avoid getting all out of sorts. Just walk the straight path and follow the Lord.) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
5. Always MIND YER P’s & Q’s. (It’s important to have good manners. Fun fact: this saying originated in England pubs where they sold beer in pints and quarts.) “Let your conversation be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6
6. Keep on HANKERING for Christ! (Keep having a strong yearning for Christ and things of Christ.) “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2
7. You need to EITHER FISH OR CUT BAIT! (Get to work telling other’s about Christ or someone else will have to do your job!) “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not human masters.” Colossians 3:23
8. Be careful not to become too UPPITY! (Don’t let that old devil sneak in and fill you up with pride.) “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
9. Always try to MEND FENCES! (Try to settle differences and make amends whenever you have done something wrong or even when you haven’t, but someone thinks you have done something wrong.) “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Titus 3:2 10. Quit throwing CONNIPTION FITS! (Quit throwing fits and fussing when things don’t go your way. Try to get along with your sisters and brothers in Christ even when you don’t want to!) “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
11. Sometimes, you just gotta SHUT YER MOUTH! (There is a time to talk, and there is a time to listen. We’ve got to take time to just be quiet and listen!) “He says, Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
12. Please don’t BE THE BIGGEST GOSSIP IN TOWN! (If you don’t see it with your own eyes, hear it with your own ears, don’t repeat it with your big mouth! And even if you do see or hear it, it’s not nice to spread gossip so it’s best to just keep it to yourself!) “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.” Proverbs 21:23
13. Don’t be so DADGUM PERSNICKETY! (Don’t go thinking you are better than anyone else. There is not a person on earth that God doesn’t love. Hmmph! He even loves me and all my flaws!) “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.” I John 4:7-8
14. YOU BETTER QUIT YER BELLYACHING! (Stop complaining. Puuu-lease! There is always something to be thankful for, and there is something good in every day. Some days we just have to look a little harder than other days!) “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” Philippians 2:14
15. Please don’t get TOO BIG FOR YER OWN BRITCHES! (Don’t get so swollen up with conceit that your own pants don’t fit any longer.) “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” Isaiah 5:21
16. Don’t make God come JERK A KNOT IN YER TAIL! (If you keep being unruly and don’t straighten up, God is gonna get your attention. Trouble is a coming if you don’t act right.) “If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.” 2 Peter 2:9
17. DON’T GET YER FEATHERS ALL RUFFLED UP! (Don’t let words, people or even silly little things get you upset or annoyed.) “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up” Proverbs 12:25
18. Quit getting ALL BOWED UP! (Don’t be impatient and ill-humored and act like a snake getting ready to strike.) “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.:” James 1:2-4
19. Keep looking forward to going up YONDER! (Better make sure that you are prepared and that you know Jesus so that when the roll is called up yonder, you will be on the list! Be excited about heaven!) “If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
20. Now SKIDADDLE on out of here and tell everyone the good news! (Run and tell everyone about Jesus so that the lost will be found!) “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1