By Elizabeth Prata
I don’t think we understand how bad gossip is.
Building and curating a home library does not have to cost a fortune. I have a small and limited income but I haunt library book sales, swaps, deals, have a Wish List, and over 15 years I’ve amassed a home library of 1200 books. If you are a homeschooling family or just a reading family, I know the struggle. See this post on Facebook of Charlotte Mason Poetry-
Dallas Holm on death, hope, and the Ascension. Why Stand Ye Gazing?
I’ve Heard It Said That Motherhood Is a Woman’s Highest Calling but our highest calling is to glorify God and enjoy God forever. Jen Oshman article.
Young student JI Packer discovered a donation of a load of Puritan books lumped in a basement, and the evangelical world has not been the same since. Packer’s Dusty Puritan Discovery Still Guides and Helps
Curious Questions: Why are there so few smiles in art? Indeed. Why?
Monopoly, the eternally long board game we all know and love, or hate. Who invented it? What iterations has it undergone since 1903? Here are some Facts about the Monopoly board game
the-end-time.org 
Hi Elizabeth, I was convicted by the article about gossip, but wondered if you could explain how warning about a person (ie. Beth Moore) is different than gossip. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good question. Today’s climate has become so sensitive that anything that is said negatively about another person is screamed to be GOSSIP! (or slander). If saying something negative about a false teacher like Beth Moore is gossip, then Paul gossiped when publicly called out in his letters Alexander, Philetus, Hymenaeus, Demas, Phygelus, and Hermogenes; or John against the Nicolaitans. The instructions in Matthew 18 for church discipline where two go to confront a person in their sin, or if they have to confront the person in front of the church as we are instructed in some cases, would also be gossip.
But thankfully that is not gossip. I found this definition online: Discernment is a conscious effort to consider the right and wrong of a situation, while gossip is the act of sharing unsubstantiated negative news about someone behind their back.
Gossip: “I heard that Susie is having an affair and her husband is considering a divorce!” (unsubstantiated negative news and unnecessary to repeat)
Gossip: “Susie told me she flunked the Bar Exam again!” (substantiated but unnecessary to repeat)
Not Gossip: “Pastor, Elder John confirmed to me he is having an affair and divorcing Susie, and he refused to repent when I and Jim confronted him about it”. (Substantiated and necessary to repeat to proper authority as per 1 Timothy 3:2.
Not Gossip: “Pastor I need to let you know that John, who has recently come to our church and applied for membership and to serve in Kids Club, has a record of child sexual mo lestation in another state according to that state’s online sex registry, and he is hiding this fact from you.” Obvious why this needs to be repeated to proper authority.
Mainly, we can test for gossip if the information is true, if the information be substantiated, and if it is necessary to repeat. Warning someone about a false teacher, if that has been substantiated, is necessary. It would be like saying the Sheriff came to your neighborhood homes to warn about an escaped convict in the area and gave you the details of his behavior and what he looks like, and you told him that saying so is gossip and refused to listen and slammed the door.
I thought this was a good link explaining the difference:
https://www.orbcfamily.org/blog/faith/uncomfortable-truths-vs-gossip/
Thanks!
LikeLike