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Bonnie MacDonald - BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY – AND SPEAK SOFTLY - word2day.com

 

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY – AND SPEAK SOFTLY

Bonnie MacDonald, SW Washington

 

Psalm 34:13

“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.”

 

Proverbs 15:1-2

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spout folly.”

 

    There is something nurturing and calming about someone who speaks very softly.  For most of my life, I assumed that this was a quality you either had or didn’t have – you were born with a soft voice or you weren’t.  And, to some degree, this may be true.  However, in recent years I’ve discovered that speaking softly is a quality you can develop.  If you do, I think you’ll agree that the rewards are tremendous and measurable.  These rewards will have a positive effect on the love in your family and in your home.

    When you speak too quickly and with a loud voice, the energy you send out into the world (or into your home) can be somewhat frantic or nervous.  Although your intentions may be different, it’s sometimes the case that the people around you will feel pressured or slightly agitated, which can, in turn, unconsciously encourage them to act even more hyper and irritated themselves.  If you send a message of impatience and agitation, you may be, without even realizing it, lessening the feelings of love, calmness, and respect in your home.

    Obviously, everyone has a different voice, an individual temperament, and a unique communication style.  I am not suggesting that you (or anyone else) completely transform the way you speak, or that you pretend that you are someone you are not.  What I am proposing is simply that you try to become a little more conscious about how your voice is being received by those around you.  And, that if you make a gentle effort to speak a little more softly you might discover some surprising, almost instant, changes in the feelings around your home.

    You, for example, will feel calmer and less stressed.  As you quiet down your voice, you will actually relax the rest of your body, as well as your mind.  Next, you will discover that as you quiet down, everyone around you will quickly follow suit.  When my children were small, instead of yelling at them, I would whisper.  The wonderful thing that happened was that they had to quiet down to hear what I was saying.

    You need to be careful about your thoughts because the Scripture tells us that “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.”  Which is saying, whatever you are thinking about will eventually come out of your mouth.  That can be good or bad, depending on what you have been thinking about.

    Take your thoughts captive – make your voice softer – and see what a difference it will make in your home and in your self.

 

REMEMBER:  You are in training to rule and reign with Jesus Christ in eternity.  If you learn to act like Him now, you will be just that much better then.

 

 

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