Powerful Words

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. "

Proverbs 18:21a

What a great message by Pastor John this morning! He preached on the power of our words - good or bad.

“ The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season." Isaiah 50:4 During one of the darkest seasons in my life, God blessed me with so many family members and friends that spoke words of love, encouragement, and hope when I needed it most. They were truly speaking life to me. I've been on the receiving end of the life-giving power of words, but have I done my share of delivering them? I know I could do more. I've been gifted with those who uplift me and just make me smile more when I've been around them. They fill me up. Do I do the same for them? And, how awesome is it that I have a new principal who delivered these same thoughts at our first faculty meeting of the year. Thank you, Lord, for a leader who is following You!

"For we all stumble in many things." James 3:2 Just like the rest of you, I've been on the receiving end of those who are speaking anything BUT life over us. The past years at work I've encountered a whole new level of this. I know there are many people who probably don't like me, but this person HATES me. Trust me, this is not an exaggeration. It started with this person making fun of me for the way I live, and just got worse. Being the "people-pleaser" that I am, this has been hard for me. When nothing I did made the situation any better, I just gave up and became hardened to this person. Today's message is one that I will be praying about and working on implementing for just this exact situation. Just because she is speaking "death", it doesn't justify me doing it in return. To clarify, I can fool myself all I want, but "venting" to my confidant, is just another form of gossip. Pastor John told us today that "we are what we say". In other words, we will reap what we sow. The words I speak have a big impact on my spiritual life and can undo the testimony of my life. No more excuses, I need to choose my words more wisely. Especially in this area. I need to examine what's in my heart, making sure I'm not holding a record of wrong against this person. After all, we've all stumbled.

The focus of my prayer time has been set for the week! The Lord and I have some work to do!