Today will be a short entry. At least that is my plan! I'm reading the best book right now. In fact, I'm almost done with it and I know it's going to be life changing. It is title, "Change Your Words, Change Your Life." The author is Joyce Meyer. I could read her writing all day long. All of the books I have read by her have been outstanding. The book is all about the power of words. She says that words are like jars. We can either fill the jars with good words or bad. It's our choice. What we fill them with impacts ourselves and everybody around us.
Pretty much every single page is convicting and I have found myself praying my way through the book. Conviction is good though. Conviction is different than condemnation. Conviction is from God and condemnation not so much. I think when we are convicted in our spirits there is hope in it. With conviction, self evaluation, and the strength and wisdom of God we can be more. We can become a better human being. Condemnation just makes us feel downright rotten. Of course my definitions are not from Webster's Dictionary, but rather my own assessment.
As you know, there is so much negativity in the world. Everywhere we turn is a train wreck. I mean it's rather depressing if you watch, listen, or read the daily news. How 'bout we get a cable news channel that reports nothing but good?! I don't mean the false news of good for a certain parties political gain, but genuine good news. A few weeks back Herman Cain dedicated an entire Monday show to nothing but good news. Yep, I love Herman Cain! For example, I recently read that Braxton Miller is returning for his senior season of football at tOSU (raise the roof). Okay cool I thought then I scrolled down to the comment section of the article. I mean it was brutal. People were so mean. I get that some were "joking," but others were not. I also get that feelings run deep in the college football world, but come on people. For the record, I am not a fan of sarcasm because I think more times then not there is truth in what the person is saying. Luke 6:45 says, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." I am pointing the finger of conviction at myself here. I so need to get better at putting out positive words. I'm not necessarily a sarcastic person, but I tend to be much more critical than I need to be. I encourage you to grow in this area and I want to be challenged the same way.
So as I was reading today I got to thinking about all the nice things I think that never see the light of day. I have really, really been trying to share encouraging words with people when they pop into my head. Today, I felt a nudge to text my best buddy, Jessy. I felt like maybe she needed to read something encouraging. Now I immediately thought I shouldn't bother her or she's probably doing fine, but the Lord wouldn't leave me alone about it. So I sent that text. Jess, if you are reading this I hope you don't mind that I shared this. I think the biggest challenge is just getting outside our own heads. What? You aren't as self-minded as me? Well, I still think about myself far too much, but man am I making progress.
Proverbs 15:23 reads, "A person finds joy in giving an apt reply-- and how good is a timely word!"
How great are the Proverbs?! This verse is awesome. If you want to feel more joy just genuinely encourage someone. You never know what that person is dealing with either. Your encouragement may be just on time! We all know there are enough negative words flying around so how about seeing how many positive ones you can put out there. I'm challenged. Are you?
Do you think the treadmills at the gym are kept really clean? Tell the cleaning person they are doing a great job. How about the friendly bag boy at the grocery that pushed your full cart to your car? How about thanking him? Thank the person that held the door for you at the mall. Tell the receptionist at the doctor's office her hair looks pretty if you think it. When the weather got cold here a few months ago the woman that owns the barn where my horse lives asked if I had a blanket for Jessie. My initial thought was sarcasm. Cold? She thinks this is cold? I'm from the north and this is NOT cold I thought. I even thought about telling her Jessie didn't need a blanket...she is a Yankee horse! Then I thought for a second...how nice was it that she cares enough about MY horse to ask for a blanket? Again, I'm not pointing fingers at you and telling you to get better. I desire to improve in this area too. I know I can be a negative, but I truly want to grow to become more Christ-like with the words I use.
I hope you find this encouraging. Again, I challenge all of us to search for good, life-giving words we can share with people. There are so many broken people in the world and so much pain. You never know what someone is dealing with behind closed doors and maybe, just maybe, a kind word may make their day a little better.
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