Words to Remember

Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel.
Proverbs 11:17 TLB

Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Proverbs 16:24 NLT

Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest. Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
Proverbs 18:20-21 The Message

My son's friend lost his mother recently and today, he had his first birthday without her. She and I had many conversations about boys when ours were in high school. And as I remembered those times today, I wondered what he was remembering about her. 

It got me thinking about the legacy of words we leave behind. Are there words that have been spoken that need to be forgiven? Words that should be held rather than hurled in anger? Ways of speaking that we need to change?  Tones to be softened? If death and life are in the power of the tongue - are we murderers or lifesavers?

Prayer:

Father,

           We pray as David prayed, Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. According to Your Word, let everything we say be good and helpful, so that our words will be an encouragement to those who hear them, and minister Grace. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen