Diplomacy

Diplomacy is to do and say

The nastiest thing in the nicest way.

Isaac Goldberg  1887- 1938

I'm not as diplomatic as I ought to be.  I've noticed that my children have inherited this trait, and they say what they mean, and they mean what they say.  Sometimes, the things they say are misconstrued by their hearers.  It is a strange art, the art of diplomacy, and it is wise to learn how to balance truth with grace.

Here are a few more quotes about diplomacy:

I'm always diplomatic when heavily outnumbered by armed strangers. ~S. M. STIRLING, The Sunrise Lands
All diplomacy is a continuation of war by other means. ~ZHOU ENLAI, Saturday Evening Post, Mar. 27, 1954
All war represents a failure of diplomacy.~ TONY BENN, speech, Feb. 28, 1991
An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country. ~SIR HENRY WOTTON, inscribed on the album of Christopher Fleckmore, 1604
There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy but to one there is no exception. When an official reports that talks were useful, it can safely be concluded that nothing was accomplished. ~JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH, "The American Ambassador," Foreign Service Journal, June 1969
The principle of give and take is the principle of diplomacy — give one and take ten. ~MARK TWAIN, Bite-Size Twain: Wit and Wisdom from the Literary Legend
Diplomacy is the art of saying, "Nice doggie!" until you can find a stick. ~VERNON K. MCLELLAN, Wise Words and Quotes
To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy. ~WILL DURANT, The Story of Civilization
A diplomat is a man who can juggle a hot potato long enough for it to become a cold issue. ~VERNON K. MCLELLAN, Wise Words and Quotes
Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. ~JOHN F. KENNEDY


Until points of gravest import yielded slowly one by one,

And by Love was consummated what Diplomacy begun.  ~Concepcion de Arguello   ~
 Francis Bret Harte

How do you know that I am a diplomat?
By the skilful way you hide your claws.
~Emund Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac

Some diplomat no doubt
Will launch a heedless word,
And lurking war leap out, ~ John Davidson, 1857 - 1909

 

31 Days - Day 3 - Food

I have celiac disease.  This does not define me, but it is something that I must not ignore.  At home, it's easy - we are well aware of our food allergies, which are many and varied, including wheat/gluten, soy, corn and dairy.

When we go out to eat, whether it's at church for potluck or at a restaurant with friends, we have to be ever vigilant, or we end up sick, weak, and ailing for days or even weeks.

Of course, my husband doesn't have any food allergies (at least none that he admits to), so eating out with him is a test of my patience.  He always lets me order first, then says pointedly, "Now for the easy order."

The way to my man's heart is definitely through his stomach.  In the book of Familiar Quotations, I found this quote:

Food

We may live without poetry, music and art;

We may live without conscience and live without heart;

We may live without friends; we may live without books;

But civilized man can not live without cooks.

He may live without books, - what is knowledge but grieving?

He may live without hope, - what is hope but deceiving?

He may live without love, - what is passion but pining?

But where is the man that can live without dining?

~ Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Earl of Lytton

That made me chuckle, because unlike my husband, I'd be lost without poetry, music, art, and books.  I think I'd rather miss a meal than miss a chat with a friend.  

We were fairly strict parents when we had a bunch of little kids at home, and one of the rules we enforced was "If a man will not work, neither will he eat."  In other words, if a chore was not completely properly and on time, the person who did not get his job done had to miss the next meal.  That actually included writing assignments, which brings me to this poem:

God have mercy on the sinner

Who must write with no dinner,

  No gravy and no grub,

  No pewter and no pub,

  No belly and no bowels,

  Only consonants and vowels.

  ~John Crowe Ransom, Survey of Literature

 How about you?  Would you rather eat dinner than spend time practicing an instrument or completing an art project?  Do you have a husband like mine who equates food with love?  Are you a mom that considers an occasional missed meal a valuable training tool in bringing up a child in the way he should go?

Even when we're boating, we have to stop for breakfast.

31 Days - Day 2

My Garden

"A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
   Rose plot,
   Fringed pool,
   Ferned grot -
   The veriest school
   Of Peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not -
Not God! in Gardens! when the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign:
'Tis very sure God walks in mine."
                     ~ Thomas Edward Brown

I'm a terrible gardener.  This year we started well, but my husband's dream that took over 40 years to come true ended up consuming most of our time.  We are now happy owners of an old boat.  We are not great gardeners.

But oh!  How I love to see the dahlias in all of their glory!  They are still blooming, bigger and brighter than the mums with their tiny orange and yellow flowers.  Our petunias are still bravely flowering, purple and white, ignoring the dying stems.  It's as if they think that the more they flower, the later the snows will fly.

Our cherry tomatoes produced bucketsfull of fruit.  We had a few squash, some kohlrabi, and cauliflower.  We dried some chocolate mint leaves, and look forward to sipping hot peppermint tea all winter.  My favourite herb, basil, grew well, in spite of terrible neglect.

"God Almighty first planted a garden.
And because the breath of flowers
   is far sweeter in the air (where it comes and goes, like the warbling of music)
                    than in the hand, 
therefore nothing is more fit for that delight
than to know what be
         the flowers and plants 
                  that do best perfume the air."
                     ~Francis Bacon

"How deeply seated in the human heart 
is the liking for gardens and gardening."  ~Alexander Smith

We're drawn to plants and flowers.  There's such a joy in growing your own vegetables!  I've picked romaine lettuce, little tomatoes, cucumbers and basil for a home-grown, delicious salad!  It tastes better when you grow it yourself!  You invest emotional energy in the plants, along with the sweat of your brow.

"If you have once planted a tree for other than commercial purposes, -and in that case it is usually done by your orders and by the hands of hirelings, - you have always in it a peculiar interest.  You care more for it than you care for all the forests of Norway or America.  You have planted it, and that is sufficient to make it peculiar amongst the trees of the world." ~Alexander Smith

How about you?
Do you love gardening?  Are you drawn to particular flowers or plants?  Are you able to grow enough vegetables to feed your family and put some in the freezer for winter?

The joy of gardening is like the joy of being a Christian.  His mercies are new every morning.  As far as the garden goes, there's always next year.

Pleasing Grief

With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit now is fill’d,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I kill’d!

John Newton's words are true, although they seem paradoxical to someone without a new heart.  The carnal man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God.  

The Christian lives IN CHRIST.  Christ lives in him.  

Set Your Mind on the Things of God

GET THEE BEHIND ME

Imagine those words - what a terrible shock.
Peter was just told that he was the rock
Upon which the Saviour would build His great church.
I think Peter's stomach must have leapt in a lurch.

"You are a hindrance to me," Jesus said.
"Do you see there's a problem inside your head?
You must set your mind on the things of God,
'Cause the things of man are most seriously flawed."

Oh, Satan's a sneaky one, that is for sure-
Using Peter to hinder God's purpose most pure.
Jesus set His mind to accomplish God's plan,
But Peter was tempted to think thoughts of man.

A battle is raging in everyone's mind-
God's thoughts are too high for mere mortal mankind,
Yet His Spirit indwells and we take up our cross.
God works in our sorrows - He purges the dross.

And we learn to think God's way, with wisdom & grace,
To put on our armour, to gaze on His face
As He shines like the sun, with clothes purest white
And transforms us, His children, for endless delight.

Brute King and Wretched Prophet

I wrote this poem in reaction to a couple of things.  First, I read online about something that is happening in some Reformed, Patriarchy, Dominionist types of families.  Husbands rule to the point that they believe they are correct in disciplining their wives with a spanking.  This is not love.  If a woman thinks that in order to be submissive, she must agree to being spanked by her husband, she needs to read the Scriptures and seek the Lord.  This is not love...it's wife abuse.

The second thing that bothered me deeply was learning about polygamists in Utah.  Warren Steed Jeffs is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In 2011, Jeffs was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault. My daughter told me of some young people who have fled the compound and are starting a new life.  There's a show about them on TLC called "Breaking the Faith."

Why write a poem about both of these things, lumping Christians in with a cult?  I believe it's a slippery slope.  People that are not living a balanced life with grace AND truth will slip into sin.  Christians that believe that the wife is the only one in the relationship that must submit to her spouse are clearly ignoring the Scriptures.  Go here to read what Matthew Henry wrote about the beauty of a godly marriage, where husband and wife submit to one another in the fear of the Lord.


It boggles the mind that a man thinks he's king-
The king of the home, the king of his queen-
So he must be obeyed in each little thing
Or she'll go to her room, no more to be seen.

Confusing it is that in this day and age
Young girls are betrothed to stinky old guys.
And their fathers, God help them, pretend to be sage...
As daughters beg freedom, tears run from their eyes.

The latter's the Mormons, a cult to be sure-
Thirty-two wives seem a bit of a stretch-
They're "Breaking the Faith", no more can endure
As they run from the prophet, the devil - the wretch.

What grieves me so deeply and cuts me in half
Is the twisting of Scripture by people of faith.
The world sees no difference and begins to laugh
When wife suffers thrashing and looks like a wraith.

The duties of marriage should picture the Lord
As the Husband who gave Himself up for His Bride.
Affectionate union, a three-fold firm cord,
Man and spouse walk as one with their God alongside.

Dwell according to knowledge and don't be a brute;
Respect and support her, for she is your wife!
Protect her, defend her, that small tender shoot
You are heirs together of the grace of life!

Words of Faith

We all have sorrows and circumstances beyond our control that knock us down from time to time.  Christians have every reason to hope that the trials of life will be redeemed, that God will use them for His glory and our good.  I've suffered, to be sure, but I haven't yet been blind or mute or paralyzed.  Matthew's gospel records words of faith from ordinary people who looked beyond their sorrows to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Salvation.  They expressed faith in Him.

Salvation's a gift, so we've been told

It lifts up our spirits and makes us bold.

The ruler, the woman, the mute and the blind

Let words of faith change their sorrowing mind.

"My daughter just died, but with You she'll live

Lay your hand on her, and new life You'll give."

"For a dozen years, I've been bleeding with pain,

If I just touch His garment, I'll be healthy again!"

When asked if they really believed in His power

Two blind men were seeing in that very hour

And a mute man, who said not a word to the crowd

For the first time expressed he was thankful, aloud.

"Only say the word, and my servant will rise

He's been suffering so, and he's paralyzed,

But I know Your command will restore him to health"-

The Centurion's faith was his greatest wealth.

God does not change, as we read in His book,

So the sorrows of life need a second look.

Are we bleeding or dying or suffering blind?

Look to Jesus for He is the God who is kind.

In His mercy, He watches us shoulder the load

Of our burdens and sorrows and pains on this road,

And He intercedes daily, and pours out His grace

And enables His children to speak words of faith.