Words

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but WORDS can never hurt me.”

What a total lie!  Whoever made up this childhood rhyme, was running from the truth.

Each year, as I teach middle schoolers, I spend dedicated time trying to replace this old saying with the truth.  It is a harsh time of life, when they have little control over what goes on in their world, but the words they speak can be powerful tools.  Sadly, most of what I hear in passing through the halls of the school is negativity and sometimes bullying.  Teenagers subconsciously learn the art of manipulation, as their words are carelessly thrown around in effort to steer their way.

Just as your words can manipulate and hurt, they can also be used to sooth or calm someone using the right choice, in the proper time.

You know when someone gives you that compliment that you never expected?   It can carry you for a week!  On the other hand, someone says something harsh about you, and you are swallowed by sadness, defense or anger.  Feelings well up inside when we reflect on the words spoken about our appearance, abilities, or character.

To borrow a phrase from Joyce Meyer, “Words are containers of power.”

Proverbs 18:21 says that “the power of life and death is in the tongue,” and that you will eat the fruit of your words.

The Message translates this verse to say, “Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—you choose.”

I don’t know about you, but I when I eat, I like it to be “tasty”!  I am rarely craving something bitter, rotten or stinky.  But, that’s exactly what we find on our plate when we dish out harsh words.

Rather, we should let our words be a gift to others.  Follow the old saying, “if you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything at all.”  Very hard to do when we are certain that our opinion must be voiced.

We often speak whatever comes to mind, not weighing the potential power we are about to release.  After all, if it comes out of our mouth, it MUST be true.  Right?

What a great reason NOT to speak poorly of oneself…

“I can’t do that,” or “I’m not smart enough.”  How about, “I wish I weren’t so ___________.”  (fill in the blank).  We not only use words that can be hurtful to others, but most often, defeat ourselves before we have had a chance to succeed. 

We need to speak positively about ourselves.   OUT LOUD!  You heard me, say it out loud.  Words contain power; life and death kind of power.

Don’t quiet believe me?  Why then, when God created the earth, is it recorded in Genesis that God “spoke” the world into being.  Each of the 7 days of creation, it is recorded that God said, for example, “Let there be light”.

Think about it, He is so powerful that He could have just “thought” about the light and it would exist.  No one else was even around to hear Him, but still He said it out loud.  He clearly gave power to the spoken word by using it for creation.

Before you release the power of the spoken word, think, reflect, and weigh the value of what you have to say.  Will it bring life or death?  Will you build, or destroy?

And remember, you’re going to get a hot, heaping helping of it to chow down on!  Make it good!!

Lost

We had a storm the other day.

When we awoke Wednesday morning, the skies were still dark.  I could hear the rain beating against the windows, the wind rattling the panes.  Still, we got ready for, and headed to school.

As we pulled into the school parking lot, my daughter said that she got a text from a friend stating that there was a late start to school.  As a teacher’s kid, she knows that even if that were true, she would be at school on time, every day.

The day progressed without incident, until…

We got home.  My daughter went to the back door to let in our dog, whom she had fed in the early morning; a routine that bonds them.  I was back in my bedroom, when she ran in and told me that there was a piece of fence down and she couldn’t find Penny, our 3 year old dachshund.

When I went out back, sure enough, the rough winds had taken down an 8 foot section of fence and post.  The world had expanded today for our dog.

It’s been 3 days and we have not found her.  We have contacted all the right people and organizations, driven the neighborhood and made the flyers.  Still no Penny.

As I struggled to help my 12 year old cope with this mystery, I was reminded of Luke 15, when Jesus told the story of the lost sheep.

It seems that of a flock of 100, one sheep strayed from the group; simply wandered off.  The Shepherd leaves the 99 and goes after the one.  He does not give up until he finds it.  And, when He has found it, he carries the ewe home on His shoulders, and rejoices.  When He comes home, He calls his friends and shares His joy!

We don’t see many flocks in our life today, nor shepherds who care for them.  But we do have our fenced in yards, which herd our pets and keep them from danger.  We do spend day in and day out knowing them, loving them; just as a shepherd spends time with his sheep, day in and day out.

When our sweet puppy wandered off, she was simply exploring her freedom.  There was a world she had never experienced; scents that sent her on an exploration.  We are in the search for her.  And, when we find her, be certain that, just as the shepherd did, we will carry her home.  We will tell our friends of our joy and post on our Facebook that she has returned home.

Jesus tells us that He feels the same pain when one of His children wanders off.  It may be simply our exploration of freedom.  It may seem like a harmless adventure or a simple choice.  We don’t intend to get lost and don’t plan on being gone long.  We simply wander in an unprotected world and often find that we don’t know how to get back to our yard; our place of protection.  God has given us limits and like in Penny’s back yard was fenced with means to protect her, He wants to keep us safe and close to Him.  He wants to care for us each day, but we need to stay within His limits.  It is only for our best.

No, I’m not comparing anyone to a dog, sheep or any animal.  Just simply stating that all of us are created by God for a purpose.  He has a plan for our lives and watches over us.  He is gives us guidelines on how to live our life in His perfect guidebook, the Bible.  It is our fence, our boundary, our protection from wandering too far.   It is not meant to be a list of do's and don'ts.  But rather, a guide to show us how to live the abundant life He died to give us.

He loves us enough to protect us, but he also gives us free will to wander off and ignore the boundaries of the yard.  He will seek after us when we are lost.  He will rejoice when we return.  He will carry us when we are weary on the journey.  He will share this joy with all of heaven, His Facebook.

Let Him find you.  Let him carry you when you are lost.  Trust Him to bring you back.  And, if you are not lost, have a heart for those who are.  If you have ever felt the void like that of my daughter’s heart, when her sweet puppy is gone from safety, you know the heart of God.  Help lead the lost, who wander this world around you, back to the safety of God’s beautiful back yard.