They say as you get older that your mouth has no filter. For me, I would say that is partially true. I talk to more people now that I don’t even know more than ever before. That could be because I have only lived here 20 months. My mouth definitely has a filter because it is controlled by something greater than me, but it doesn’t mean in my humanness that I don’t slip up occassionally.
Our words, written or verbal, text or any form of social media can have a lasting impact on others. It can be negative or positive. For instance, my daughter was testing to be placed in an accelerated math program for the next grade level. Everyone was encouraged in an excellent verbal manner to take the test whether or not they thought their math skills were sufficient to pass. I appreciated the way the faculty verbalized it to parents and students. What I didn’t like was the rejection letter that came with a capital “R.” I am so glad I caught the mail that day before she saw the letter from school addressed to her. I felt the wording on the letter was a little harsh in its review of her test scores It was definitely not a letter for an elementary school mind. What were they thinking?!! I shoved it into the bottomless pit of my purse as fast as I could. I would figure out later how to break the news to her. Feeling like Scarlett O’Hara, “I can’t think about this today, I’ll think about it tomorrow.”
For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. Proverbs 2:6-7
I didn’t have to think very long about it. News gets around fast at school. She asked me within 24 hours if I had found out whether she had passed. I tenderly told her “no” without much detail and she said that not many people received positive responses. I have no desire to check the validity of her response. I continue to encourage her with schoolwork, pouring LIFE and God’s Word into her. That’s all we have at the end of the day. Seems I’ve been saying that a lot lately.
I love to listen to teens’ conversations when I am in a public place. I guess that’s called eavesdropping, but I think it’s harmless. I was waiting in line at a bakery last week. Two high-school girls were discussing hair color. One teen had purple “tips” at the end of her naturally red locks. For those of you who are not familiar with this, “tips” are a trend in which the last two inches (or even less) are dyed a different color than the base color. It’s usually a color you can’t help but notice like orange, green, bright pink, purple. She was going on and on about what color she would experiment with next and all I could think was, “Her naturally red color is so beautiful–it was a very dark red–why would she mess with it AND what does her mother think about it?!!” So, here goes the “let me give her my 2 cents conversation.” I told her that I thought her natural hair color was absolutely beautiful. She really liked that. I could tell by the way she smiled and was surprised that a “mom” in the line would say something like that to her. Girls love to be complimented. I asked her how her mom felt about it and she said her mom was okay with it as long as it wasn’t permanent color. I went on to tell her again how I thought it was beautiful without the tips and how lucky she was to have such a dark, rich red hair color. It reminded me of a dear friend’s haircolor back home. That was all I said. I wanted to pour into her what God thinks of her and I should have. I should have spoken Psalm 139 to her. That she’s fearfully and wonderfully made, just the way God made her, verse 14.
Pour that into your children’s hearts. Those are the kinds of words we need to be filling them with. Yes, our world is full of rejection and that is a reality that we cannot sugarcoat. However, we can give them a future and a hope by filling them with the riches of His Kingdom. How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God. How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. Psalm 139:17-18
There is a lot of evil out there. So much of it is transpired today via text. Be vigilant in prayer for protection for your children. When you pray for protection you never know what type(s) of protection you are praying for. It’s just a blanket and it’s a big one, believe me. My family is living proof of God’s big security blanket that is full of love and protection.
God’s Word is not just efficient, it is SUFFICIENT.
Ephesians 5:19The Message (MSG)
18-20 Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 55:11The Message (MSG)
8-11 “I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.
Let’s complete our verbal assignments in their entirety by being in complete obedience to our Saving Lord who is full of ALL goodness, mercy and love. Thanks for reading!