Words have the power to encourage and inspire us. And they also have the power to hurt us and trample on our hope.
How do you use words?
To uplift and encourage? Or to tear down and harm?
I wish I could to tell you that 100% of the time my words solely lift others up. But sadly, I have my not-so-pretty-moments when I spout out ugly words. Oh, I wish I could erase those moments.
Words—both positive and negative–can linger long after they pour out from our lips. I know this from first-hand experience—both as the speaker and the recipient.
That’s why it’s so important to be prayerful and thoughtful about what we say.
I’d love to encourage you {and myself :0)} to use words to speak life and hope into others. And in those moments when we don’t, to humble ourselves before those we’ve hurt with our words and to say “I’m sorry.”
Today I read a short devotion at Revelations in Writing called “Wielding our Words” that truly inspired me. I hope it does the same for you.
And one last thing . . . I’ve included a video below with Toby Mac’s song “Speak Life.” I hope it encourages you to speak love, to speak hope, and to speak life to others! :0)
This so speaks to what I have been thinking about lately…I am reminded that “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45) … Thanks for sharing this today! Blessings to you
Heidi, thank you for sharing that Scripture from Luke. I am so grateful that we’ve connected through our blogs. Your blog posts have been such a blessing to me! :0)
These are powerful words about the power of words!
LOL!
LOL!! Thanks! :0)
So true. My husband and I are finding out how important our words are to eachother. A word spoken in stress or fatigue does linger, even if you know the other didn’t mean what they said. It’s so difficult to always make your words uplifting. But something to really strive for. Thanks for the reflection!
(Also, I’m not sure when you changed your header, but I love it!)
Sarah, I can definitely relate with you on words spoken to our husbands. It can be very challenging at times, especially when we’re tired or stressed. I know when I have those moments when I say hurtful or harsh words to my husband, I’ll feel defeated and wonder if I’ll ever move past these struggles. I’m reading a book right with a group of friends called Unglued by Lysa Teurkurst . It addresses some of these same issues. I love her perspective and how she shares biblical and practical ways to move past always coming unglued in stressful circumstances. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and thoughts on this issue!! :0) {And thanks so much for your sweet comment on the header. I just changed it this last week. As you know, it’s takes a good chunk of time to redesign websites, but it’s fun! :0}
I’d love to use words to educate people about causes that matter. Poets and writers have so much to offer. Right now, we’re doing a poetry contest for The A21 Campaign with the theme of human trafficking and the restoration of hope in order to raise awareness.
Thanks so much for the information about the poetry contest! I admire all that you are doing to bring awareness and take action on difficult and heartbreaking issues like human trafficking. You’re such an inspiration! :0)