June 1, 2010
Taming Your Tongue
2:42 PM | 
Posted by
Stephanie
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue" -Proverbs 18:21
The idea for this post came to me several days ago, but I've been having trouble controlling my own sharp tongue, which has had me struggling with writing this post.
Can I be totally straightforward with you for a moment? I'm not a perfect mom. Nor am I a perfect Christian. Thankfully I recently read a quote from Joyce Meyer saying that if we were perfect, we wouldn't need Jesus. The Lord knows that I DO need Him - very much!
My good friend often reminds me that as Moms, we're in the trenches together. How true is that? So when I write these Practical Parenting posts, it is not from a position of superiority. No, oftentimes the posts I write are not only meant to teach other Moms, but it is a lesson that I am learning at the same time.
That being said, I've prayed on this and still feel that the Lord is telling me to write on this subject. So let's learn together, shall we?
I did a search on Bible Gateway as I was writing this post, and it is amazing how many references there are to the tongue in the Bible. Here are a few scriptures that I found:
"They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows." -Psalm 64:3
"They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers is on their lips." -Psalm 140:3
One last one that really resonates with me comes from Proverbs 15:14:
"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."
As we look at how we speak to our children, to our spouses, to our friends and neighbors, are we a tree of life?
When I look at myself, I can tell you that I have not been a tree of life lately. I've gotten aggravated, I've been irritable, and I've let that show. I have not carefully guarded the words that pass through my lips.
Looking back on Proverbs 15:14, it hurts my heart to think that anything that comes out of my mouth could crush a person's spirit. If you're struggling with this too, I encourage you to pray with me:
Lord, please place a guard over my mouth. Help me to speak only words that build up my children and those around me, and not words that will tear them down. Please make me a blessing to all who encounter me today so that Your love may shine through. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
In closing, I want to remind you that you can speak death or life over yourself as well. It's very easy to speak negatively about ourselves - we're not good enough, smart enough, we don't do enough. ENOUGH is right. No more! We are all children of God, and the Lord did not make a mistake when He made us. Speak life over yourself and your family, and see the difference it makes.
Until next week,
My website: The Helping Mommy
Find me on Twitter: @sdakin105
The idea for this post came to me several days ago, but I've been having trouble controlling my own sharp tongue, which has had me struggling with writing this post.
Can I be totally straightforward with you for a moment? I'm not a perfect mom. Nor am I a perfect Christian. Thankfully I recently read a quote from Joyce Meyer saying that if we were perfect, we wouldn't need Jesus. The Lord knows that I DO need Him - very much!
My good friend often reminds me that as Moms, we're in the trenches together. How true is that? So when I write these Practical Parenting posts, it is not from a position of superiority. No, oftentimes the posts I write are not only meant to teach other Moms, but it is a lesson that I am learning at the same time.
That being said, I've prayed on this and still feel that the Lord is telling me to write on this subject. So let's learn together, shall we?
I did a search on Bible Gateway as I was writing this post, and it is amazing how many references there are to the tongue in the Bible. Here are a few scriptures that I found:
"They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows." -Psalm 64:3
"They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers is on their lips." -Psalm 140:3
One last one that really resonates with me comes from Proverbs 15:14:
"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."
As we look at how we speak to our children, to our spouses, to our friends and neighbors, are we a tree of life?
When I look at myself, I can tell you that I have not been a tree of life lately. I've gotten aggravated, I've been irritable, and I've let that show. I have not carefully guarded the words that pass through my lips.
Looking back on Proverbs 15:14, it hurts my heart to think that anything that comes out of my mouth could crush a person's spirit. If you're struggling with this too, I encourage you to pray with me:
Lord, please place a guard over my mouth. Help me to speak only words that build up my children and those around me, and not words that will tear them down. Please make me a blessing to all who encounter me today so that Your love may shine through. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
In closing, I want to remind you that you can speak death or life over yourself as well. It's very easy to speak negatively about ourselves - we're not good enough, smart enough, we don't do enough. ENOUGH is right. No more! We are all children of God, and the Lord did not make a mistake when He made us. Speak life over yourself and your family, and see the difference it makes.
Until next week,
My website: The Helping Mommy
Find me on Twitter: @sdakin105
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2 comments:
So true!! Our tongues can be so hurtful, yet so helpful!! Allowing the Lord to use our speech enables our tongue to be glorifying to Him and edifying to others!
So great!! I love knowing I'm not alone in the trenches...God is so good to be right there with us, but then He goes that step further that He is so great about doing and brings us fellow moms to build up and encourage! What a gift!
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