From the Same Mouth…

Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson has been a wonderful read and a bit of an uncomfortable read all rolled into one. Right off the bat, the gift of grace is tackled and sadly this is one of the areas that I really struggle most {personally} with in our family.

In chapter four, Sally talks about encouraging words and the power of words and our tongue:

“From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing.”

James 3:10

…we must be careful not to discourage {our children} through nagging, criticism, and reprimands. Even more important, we must balance our correction with words of encouragement and affirmation, words that our precious little ones will treasure in their hearts throughout their whole lives.”

p. 45 Ministry of Motherhood 

 

I may not literally curse our children, but more often than not the words that I use {or the tone of my voice, etc…} are not encouraging, uplifting or affirming to them. Definitely not something that they will treasure for years to come.

I’m just sayin’.

So today, I’m going to take more deep breaths. Think before I speak {or yell} and do all that I can to encourage the four little hearts put in front of me, remembering that I have been extended an immense amount of grace from my heavenly Father…and He will pour out through me when I rely on Him.