A careless word may kindle strife,
A cruel word may wreck a life,
A bitter word may hate instil,
A brutal word may smite and kill.
A gracious word may light a day,
A kindly word may keep loneliness away,
A timely word may lessen stress,
A loving word may heal and bless.
(Author Unknown)
Words are power.
I love the challenge of word collecting for today’s What’s on Your Mind.
Problem? My collection fell flat! Nothing exciting, revealing or interesting.
Lovely, Ousted, Tumultuous… that would be it!
I do hope many of you had better luck than I and I look forward to your links!
Words are power.
I felt the power of words recently. Three separate messages sent by three unconnected friends came through my inbox. What I found was humbling, comforting and encouraging.
I enjoy your honesty and letting people “see into you”
What a wonderful testimony of Christ’s intense love for you and all of His children
We all have so many struggles to overcome and you are an inspiration
Thank you Linda!
Thank you Sue!
Thank you Wendy!
In my life I have had some good mentors in leadership. When it comes to words, a couple stand out to me today: my mom and Mary Kay. (yes, Mary Kay, as in the make-up mogul!)
The two ladies separately instructed me in the power of written words. No matter what occasion, my mom always made sure I sent an appropriate thank you card. (I know she is appalled that I have skipped the traditional Christmas card for the last several years.) Her obsession in correspondence still drives me today.
Mary Kay instructed all leaders under her wing to write at least 2 notes a day. The note could be used to encourage, to teach, to thank, to keep in touch. No matter the purpose, Mary Kay was sold on the power of words.
This summer I hope to add a link of their legacy as I teach my children about writing. We began our 30 minutes of quiet reading time already, but I also plan on adding a writing workshop (of sorts) at least once a week to keep my ladies writing.
[As a side note - I spoke for a mother/daughter event not to long ago. Each mom/daughter couple received a journal at the event. They were encouraged to use the journal to write back and forth to each other. Isn't that a great idea? What a wonderful keepsake to treasure!]
For today friends I pray that you see the power of your words – whether in print or in speech. And I do hope to read your vibrant word collections today!
How true those words are Shane…how true they are. I too am honored to be a ‘fly on the wall of your life’ so to speak lol…I too try to be as honest as possible in all of my posts and that speaks volumes to some people but if you’re like me…all you’re trying to do is just be yourself and everything else just takes care of itself. I’m not out to win followers or contests or whatever…I’m just being me….and I get the same feeling about you.
What an interesting idea from Mary Kay – writing two notes a day … would email count? :)
I totally love words, and this week’s post was fun to write – once I understood what I was supposed to do! My bad for not reading ALL the directions!
Here’s my post:
http://jerralea.blogspot.com/2009/06/whats-on-your-mind-09.html
Thanks for hosting, Shane, and may I say that I enjoy your assignments — they stretch me!
Shane, as someone who has written every morning for the last 35 years (often after your Monday AM workouts) I am amazed at the orginality and depth of your writing. Christ must love you greatly. I kinow I do. But I want you to feel better.
Wow, today in the Beth Moore Summer Bible Study we’re studying words we keep in our thought closets. I was shocked to see what words I continue to carry inside my heart, words and labels given to me as a child that I lever let go. I’m cleaning these bad words from my closet and giving myself a new wardrobe clothed with the words of God. Amen to that!