Words You Say to Yourself

Our women's Sunday School class has recently begun studying the book, SELF TALK, SOUL TALK, by Jennifer Rothschild. A very key scripture of this study is the verse:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14.

As you have considered this familiar verse have you ever thought about it including the words you say to yourself? What a total slap in the face of the God who created us when we call ourselves names like "Idiot," "Stupid," "Dumb," "Not Good Enough," etc. Anything less than speaking the truth of who we are in Him is language enough to bring us to our knees, breaking our hearts as we consider the wounds we have inflicted upon His.

It is amazing to me how often I awake with the voices from the past who have called me some of those names, speaking over and over again. The voices become my voice. I find myself crying out to God for forgiveness, and courage to seek and know and most of all believe THE TRUTH.

The verse above along with another treasured scripture have been my focus. Ephesians 2:10 tells us,

"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

He created us and he has work for us. We have a purpose, and we are not dumb, stupid, or not good enough. He's expecting big things. Will we speak these words of truth to our spirits, and believe that He is sufficient in us to bring life through us?!

You might find some wonderful food for thought on the subject of the words we speak to ourselves at Jennifer's Self Talk, Soul Talk blog.

Keep Your Life Simple

Cleaning out some of my vast collection of emails, I came across these words this morning. As we head into the incredibly jam packed weeks ahead, I believe these speak volumes to how we each determine the most important priorities for ourselves and our families. Very well written, and I only wish I could give credit to the one who penned them -- alas, that person remains anonymous to me at this time. Should I learn of the source I will certainly share with you. Perhaps there lies more precious wisdom from this same individual.

Insulate yourself from the killing pace of change. Granted, we have to keep up when it comes to business, but do we really need to strive to have the latest and greatest in all aspects of our lives? My answer is no. We don’t have to be trendy in every aspect of our lives to keep up. On the contrary, you’ll find it easier to run at the front of the pack if you keep your life simple, and if you keep in touch with who you are and where you’ve come, rather than what you own.

Train yourself to look at time as a precious resource rather than a merciless taskmaster. I am a firm believer in time management — managing to enjoy my life while conducting business, rather than filling in every gap with a meeting or project that will get me further ahead.

Hang out with people with whom you have fun. Seek out and make friends with people who accept and affirm your worth as a person.

Accept your human nature. You’ll never have the perfect answer to every question. Don’t lead yourself or others to believe you do. Make a habit of searching for challenging new concepts and opinions contrary to your own to help you develop a better understanding of your world and how to live well in it.

Develop your own list of things that make you feel good. Keep that list handy and apply at least one item to your life on a daily basis in order to keep the negative effects of stress at bay

.