Thoughtful Words

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." ~ Proverbs 12:25

I am one who is highly affected by words. Words can direct me down a lonely, frightening path OR they can lift me up to heights unimaginable. Sometimes the words aren't necessarily even spoken either. Sometimes words can make their way out of a person simply by their actions. Again, both in negative and positive ways.

Our pastor spoke at church yesterday about our tongues. Our tongues are small, yet they are so powerful. One slip of the tongue can lead to disaster that can take a forever length of time to mend. Just the same, one encouraging word goes a very long distance too. Do I encourage often enough? I want to. Do I single the important people in my life out and every now and then SAY something (notice how I didn't say DO something) that lifts them up to unimaginable places? I really want to.

Since I sometimes feel the victim in being the one who isn't lifted up, I desire to be the one who is always doing this for others. It's hard, I have to admit. Life is crazy fast. A lot of days I feel like I'm just on a merry-go-round that doesn't stop. It spins, and I spin with it. I want to take the time to hop off and take a break from the spinning. I need to focus in on people. People that I love dearly. People that I pass in hallways. People that need encouragement!

"Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say." ~ Ecclesiastes 10:20

Isn't it so easy for us to let our words turn sour? I know I catch myself complaining and even in that moment when I catch myself, I wonder, "Why?" Don't I know by now that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile? I think the same thing can be said about our hearts. It takes more emotion out of us to get caught in the negative than it does to bask in the positive. My words on the inside need to be thought out too. When words on the inside are thought out carefully, then they will come out of us in a much more pleasing way. Pleasing to those that hear us, but mostly pleasing to the Lord.

At this present time I feel like I'm a part of "Thoughtful Words Boot Camp". I am learning. I am learning to put others before me. I am learning that the will of God is something not to be fought with, but something to carefully and thoughtfully accept and live out. I need to focus more on living it out through my words. I need to use thoughtful words with others to lift them. I need to be careful about the words that I choose to allow inside of my own head and heart. Whether they come from someone else, or from myself... Do they belong? If not, then let them go.

"... A kind word cheers him up." I pray that I am always the giver of cheer.