Growing up, a lesson my parents taught me over and over again was “think before you speak.” Emotion-driven and selfishly seeking to be heard over others, there was a reason this was a constant point of discipline for me. ...
“I just need to see if you’re crazy.” A friend of mine said this to me one day as we were setting up a time to discuss what was going on in my life. ...
When I was young there was a popular commercial about razors on TV. It featured men and women going about their usual way of daily shaving, when all of a sudden— Gotcha! —the razor would cut them, and they would wince in visible, marked pain....
I enjoy cooking. I don’t particularly have exceptional knowledge or skills in this area, but I can get a meal on the table with the general good disposition that comes from having enjoyed the process. Often I’m surprised by how many things I cook that...
At the beginning of this past semester, I moved into an apartment with five girls. Approaching this season of living with new roommates and living in a location that would likely become a hub for many friends on a regular basis, I began to pray...
My husband and I were cast suddenly into a very difficult season of life four and a half years ago when not just one but both of his parents had major life-threatening health crises within a month of each other. It has taken a long...
Our words—they can bring life or death to another person, encouragement or discouragement. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue can bring life or death; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." ...
My nine-year-old son loves to talk. He can chatter endlessly. And he only knows one volume: loud. I constantly remind him to use his inside voice, but I am still seeking evidence that he even has one. His greatest challenge is that he speaks before...
We can all agree that spewing thoughtless, harmful words to others is damaging. But I have another idea to consider—what about the unspoken word, the silence we sit in, the words we withhold? What if we really took the time to listen to the voice...
Driving to lunch yesterday I saw a frightening thing. Another car had made a very wrong turn and was traveling the wrong way down an exit ramp of a major interstate, about to enter the wrong side of oncoming traffic! My first reaction was to...
“He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction” (Proverbs 13:3). The word of God speaks clearly about the power of the tongue to wound or heal. Throughout my life I have used the written word...
I find myself in somewhat of a unique place when it comes to the power of words and how I have seen their power of death take over not in what was said, but in what was not said. Words that are spoken have the...
Have you ever received an email or text that was so delicately worded, so saturated with cordial fluff, that you had to really filter through every sentence to find the main point? The book of James is the opposite of this. James is as straight-up...
I have found when I am wounded that my natural reaction is to become stronger. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? I don’t typically cower and cry like some might. In the world's terms, "I find my inner strength,” “I pull myself up by my bootstraps,” or...
Words. They are a necessity in life. From the time the alarm clock sounds in the morning, until it is set again in the evening, we use words. Our words help us navigate life, express our basic needs, and articulate our heart’s deepest desires. Whether...
My ears and heart have listened to many spoken words. Some words were needed and like food for my soul. Others would have been better unheard and undigested in my mind. Whether good or bad, words often have a sticky quality; they lodge themselves in...
I have to be honest. Social media these days is wearing me out. Instead of seeing pictures of friends and family, more often than not I find my news feeds filled with articles and long-winded posts about the latest culture craze. (We can stop for...
I’m seventeen years old, sitting in the passenger seat of a car next to my small group leader. We’re driving back from a youth retreat and I’m the only student in her car, which looking back, I think was purposeful. She’s got me cornered....
I love to write. I love the actual art of writing. I can spend hours carefully considering a paragraph or a sentence or even a word....