[1] It has been a beautiful week here. Spring doesn’t officially start for another month, but Orange County is on top of the game I guess. This tree outside our condo is full of blossoms. This week in my prayer time I have been asking the Lord for help getting up in the morning. When Tyler goes to sleep at night I tend to think, “Now I can get some things done!” The problem though is that then I stay up too late, so I’ve been working at trying to get to sleep sooner and really the wonderful weather makes it easier to wake up and rejoice in this day the Lord has made![2]

Another thing that makes it easy to get up in the morning is Tyler. He has started singing. It’s so sweet and he does it when he wakes up. Maybe it’s because he’s been sleeping better. Our neighbors have a dog who has been barking a lot recently. I bought a baby “sound sleeper” which is a little machine that plays continuous sounds like “ocean,” “rain,” or “brook.” With that on at night it drowns out the dog barking, sirens and if we have friends over we don’t have to whisper or have the TV volume as low. He wakes up so happy that I can tell its helping him sleep better.

This week I was so encouraged by our women’s Bible study. We are going through the book of James, so that has been a convicting study that has really sharpened my use of words. We have a teaching time and then break up in to smaller groups for more personal accountability. Each week involves six or so pages of homework and it’s been so beneficial studying and praying through James together. This week we looked at James 3:1-12 about how the tongue is untamable. James illustrates the power of the tongue by showing that big objects are controlled by one small part–ie: a horse and bit, ship and rudder, a forest set ablaze with on spark of fire. The tongue, one small 2-ounce part of flesh is extremely dangerous and deadly.

I was especially challenged when Stephanie (she was our teacher) pointed out this passage’s connection with Luke 6:45 which says

“A good man out of the good treasure in his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure in his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Double-talk, both praise and cursing, should not be true of the Christian. I was really convicted to invest in storing “good” in my heart rather than the prideful, self serving junk that seems to fester there naturally. Our words come from what we think about, listen to, watch, desire, give our time to, believe…I know that I’m not alone in this battle of words because James says in chapter 3 verse 2, “If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man…” We will not achieve perfection, but we must strive for it.

Stephanie also read Proverbs 18:21,

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

This verse is very sobering mainly because I have seen the “death” effect in my words before. Making a personal joke about someone, being critical or negative, gossip…I am so thankful that the Lord gave me conviction in this message that I have been encouraged and motivated many times by what Paul Tripp writes in his book War of Words–

When we speak, it must be with the realization that God has given our words significance. He has ordained them to be important. Words were significant at Creation and at the Fall. They are significant to redemption. God has given words value…He has a specific design for our communication, a specific plan and purpose for the talk in the body of Christ.

This has helped to remind me of the hope I have in Christ to redeem my words and use them for His glory!