Gossip Mill

This is one of my favorite blouses - I love the colors and goes well those FAB shoes. The whole ensemble is JcPenneys - except the shoes I found at Kohls.

While this outfit makes me happy I write this post with a heavy heart. This month's theme for me has been the gossip mill. I haven't been the object of interest but people I care about have.

The first gossip attack was on my daughter where we both work, she is only 19 and my protective claws game out immediately. Once I got over the anger, I then made jokes about it but I defended her every chance I got. I believe it was started out of jealousy and it was a malicious rumor that was embarrassing to her. I was so proud of the way she handled it, she held her head up high and was extremely mature about it. I must admit I secretly wish ill-will on the women I think are responsible...I know.....I know.....I will continue to pray for a softened heart on that issue.

The second issue came to light last night, my pastor resigned because of nasty rumors about him and members of the congregation writing him letters telling him he was not worthy to be the pastor...blah blah blah. I loved him, he was the most humble and genuine pastor that I had ever met. He led our Bible study and I felt so welcome and nonjudged with him at the helm. I am unsure of what the future holds for the church and my relationship with them. I am unsure of what is the "right" thing. My friend Cindy advised me to pray on it and ask for guidance from God.

There is a lesson that I must learn about all of this. I don't pass gossip but I will listen if I hear of any. It's interesting that I don't really hear any gossip, either at church or work. People don't really talk to me about things like that, I like to think it's because I have surrounded myself with positive people and the conversations revolve around  God, clothes, recipes, pets, crafts, exercise, and a little work sprinkled in.

What are you thoughts on this? What do you think one can learn from it?

I hate seeing the attack of people that I care about and prompted me to just search for gossip mill and I found three interesting articles:

The Gossip Mill seems to be hot topic, I found three articles that I really enjoyed below.

http://www.womensmedia.com/lead/240-3-things-leaders-must-do-to-stop-the-gossip-mill.html

 http://family.go.com/parenting/article-mm-77473-eliminate-office-gossip--six-skills-to-kill-off-the-rumor----mill-at-work-t/

 http://www.crucialskills.com/2009/07/how-do-i-stop-office-gossip/