Speak Truth, Speak Life

This morning I read this: “Idle words are things we say carelessly, without concern for their impact on others.” (Blackaby, 156). It stirred up some thoughts and feelings inside of me. It led me to ask myself, “Am I being careless with my words? Am I aware of the things I am saying, rather promising? How diligent am I with the words I speak? Does it come from a place of truth?”

The phrase “power of words” continues to haunt me, follow me, rather I feel as though God has placed it on a cycle of forever reoccurrence to remind me constantly how much power words hold. We can speak them. We can think them. We can sing them. We non-verbally express them. Whatever the vehicle we choose to express our inner being, it holds power whether it is truth or not. How often do we really think about the words that are spoken from our mouths, texted with our thumbs, expressed telepathetically or spiritually? ANYONE!?!? Does anyone dissect the truth behind their words? IF words hold so much power why are we not more diligent with what we say?

I often find that when people’s words are being put to the test, words were more easily spoken rather than lived out. It is a constant reminder to me to mean what I say and do what I mean. Should I find myself falling short of my true intentions, I pray that it would be met with enough grace for me to amend those words. My conclusion to this thought provoking moment that is impacting my character right now is this: when you learn to speak truth, it is then you can speak life.

"Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” Matthew 15:17-20 NIV

Blackaby, Henry T., and Richard Blackaby. Experiencing God Day-by-Day: Devotional. Nashville, TN: B & H Pub. Group, 2006. Print.

Happy Mother's Day Mom

(I just realized it has been about 2 years since my last blog post! Yikes!)

You see, growing up as a Lao (Southeast Asian) – American child, I often grew up misunderstanding my mother’s intentions towards me. Mom would say silly things like, “If you let a guy touch your hand, you can get pregnant.” (I know, I know … I know! But it’s kinda true!) After middle school I finally learned about sex education and discovered that that is not how you get pregnant exactly. (I’m having an Adam Sandler “Waterboy” moment here LOL). Mom said the darnest things to instill fear in hopes of preventing us kids from making a very poor choice.

Every day, not just once a year, I’m reminded of the hard work, struggles, trials and triumphs my mother endured to see that I have an opportunity to succeed in life. Just about every parent’s hope is that their child/children will live a better life than they did. Mother’s day is a day to honor my mother’s resilience, hard work, struggles, victories, accomplishments, but most importantly my mother’s love for me. If her life was not about raising and protecting me, I would not be the mother I am today. I am the mother I am to my son today because I had a mother who cared for me beyond measure, who loved me in the midst of my stubbornness and rebellion, who cared about my future existence enough to go out of her way to stop me in my tracks of making the wrong decisions … (Oh yes she did, I’ll share over a cup of coffee should you want to know).

So today this daughter wants to say “sorry mom. I didn’t understand when I was a little girl, but now that I’m a woman and a mother, I understand now. I love you even more today for being an example of perseverance, resilience, boldness, courage, and a force to be reckoned with! I hope and pray that I will live a life that you can be proud of. If anything, I hope to be half the woman you are!" (Mom, I already know what your response is to this statement is: You need to be the woman I am and more because you need to be better! LOL … yes mom, I will be better!)

Happy Mother’s Day Mom! Thank you for teaching me that giving up is not an option for a mother. I love you!