An action word for Five Minute Friday. Tell!
Go and TELL Pharoah, Let my people go.
Go TELL it on the Mountain…that Jesus Christ is Born.
Jesus said, And I TELL you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.
Jesus said, “Return home and TELL the story of what God has done for you.”
Most commonly the word tell is found in close association with other action words such as “go” and “come” That means that it isn’t just a sit in my house alone and “tell”…It’s a get out there in the world and tell.
- Tell of God’s power.
- Tell of God’s love.
- Tell the Good News of Jesus Christ.
- Tell, tell, tell….
In the writing world however; there is a phrase that comes up when we’re working on dialog and character descriptions. Show don’t tell.
It challenges me and it’s up to me to take “tell” to the next level. To turn it into a “get off my couch” and “out of my office” and put action in my “tell”.
Kind of like when we were young in school and it was “show and tell” day. We spent days looking through our treasures, evaluating them to see if they would truly represented us to our classmates. I remember one time my daughter wanted to take her brother for “show and tell”. All the kids were talking about their new toy they had gotten for Christmas, the Tickle Me Elmo. She didn’t have one, so her brother told her he would be her Tickle Me Elmo and every time she tickled him he would respond with the little “Tickle me Elmo” laughing sound….of course she also told everyone that he was Luke Skywalker…her brother. She wanted to show her friends her brother, not just tell them about him.
We are called to use our “tell” power for good not evil. Words can be hurtful and painful, and in today’s social media bashing era, bullying has taken on a whole new meaning especially with our young people. We need to be sure what we are telling is honoring to God and lifts people up…not tear them down. We need to put love behind our “tell”.
In 1866, a woman, Arabella Katherine Hankey wrote a poem that would later be used to write several beloved hymns. My favorite line is:
I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
He’s beckoning us not be silent. He has given us so much to tell, so much to share. Let’s go!
Amen! Thanks for the comment and your words of admonition.
Hi there,
I am your Five Minute Friday neighbor this week! Your piece was beautifully written! I love the hymn you referenced as well as the story of wanting to take her brother to show-and-tell. How precious! I especially love your encouragement to put more love behind our tell.
Blessings to you and yours,
Shirley
http://www.lightlovehope.com
Thank you Shirley for your comment. I appreciate your words of encouragement and neighborly love.
I love your blog posts so much. I feel like I’m really getting something out of them, learning something, every time I read them. It is so refreshing. I love the message behind this. It is something that all of us need to remember on a daily basis. You are fantastic!
Oh, and I love learning all these little stories about your daughter. 😉
Thanks so much. That’s pretty much the best thing you can say to a writer …that you get something out of them. We all just want to touch people with the words we so painstakingly put on paper.
Showing is even more challenging than telling isn’t it. The words have to truly be alive in us not just on our lips. This was a good reminder to me and I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts. Glad I found your blog through the 5 Minute Friday link up.
Thank you again, yes, I am so glad I stumbled across FMF as well. It has been so enriching to connect with so many wonderful women writers. Bless you!
Love how you used that little story to throw light on what you had written.
-Tanya
http://tanyaanurag.blogspot.com/
Thanks Tanya. I do love getting personal with my posts and sharing about my life and family. I appreciate your comment.
And Tanya…I just hopped over to your blogspot. Love it! We both have corners in which to share our stories. I’ll be watching for more from you. So glad you found a place to share.
Love the show and tell with the little brother 😉 Visiting from 5 min fri
Wendy…thanks for the visit and the comment. Blessings!