Beware! Attack-Dog! Attack-People!

No sooner than opening the security gate to feed Vamanos, the longhorn, our mild-mannered, docile Havanese, Bentley, saw a woman walking her Doberman out on the roadway. He literally bounded out the gate to take out that dog. You would have thought that Bentley was a ferocious beast. The other dog was being held back by his owner, while Bentley, who appeared to be the alpha dog, was going in for the kill. He heard me hollering at him and, thank God, he halted his attack. The woman apologized for her dog who, she said “knows better than to react like that” and I did my best to apologize for our alpha, attack-dog! Oh me. The fact is, “Sweet Bentley has a rarely used, big bark and is the friendliest, gentlest dog around. I was thinking Bentley would lose his life to that Doberman, while Bentley was in “Attack Dog! Run-for-your-life-mode!”

I think I've seen some folks like that recently. I'm not name-calling but there’s a lesson here about “by their fruits you will know them". All this nasty name-calling, text and tweet bombing, he-said / she-said attacks. Oh my! I’m ashamed of our political leaders who are certainly not setting a good example for our children, and for that matter, for all of us. Why don’t we have civility instead of being in a disrespectful attack mode?

If we would take the wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs, apply it and make it part of our value and belief system, we could spare hurting others and ourselves with our words. About women, Proverbs 31:25, 26 says: "Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." More wisdom from Proverbs 21:23 says "Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble."

We've all been there with some fast-acting, split-second, hateful words that came out. We knew it was too late to take them back. The damage was done. We wished our brain had engaged before our mouths did. I remember a sweet, but powerful little Sunday School song "Be careful little mouth what you say...." How often do we let unnecessary words slip out and we think "What made me say that?"

Psalm 141:3 says "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!" I really do purposely pray for God to put a gate on my mouth. I pray "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord." Psalm 19:13.

Perhaps God wants to spare us, and others, from potential hurt and pain before unkind or unnecessary words slip out. Perhaps He wants to provide "damage control" angels at our Mouth Gates. Perhaps, He would like us to pray for our public leaders and politicians to better portray themselves as wisdom-filled, kind, tolerant examples for us all. Perhaps it's time we sing that little Sunday School song (and mean it) as a prayer "Be careful little mouth what you say."

Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say

Day 219 of Photo Inspirations -- Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say
Yesterday, I was so inspired by a FB post that I knew it would be my post for today.  Here's the story:
A middle school teacher handed out different products and asked the students to squeeze out all of the contents. Once everything was out of each containers, the teacher asked the students to put the contents back into the containers. As hard as the students tried, they just couldn't do it. The teacher said "In the moment, you were so consumed with what you were doing that you didn't realize the mess you were making. Then, after it was so quickly and easily poured out, you realized it was impossible to put it all back in. Remember this for the rest of your lives when it comes to words that come out of your mouth."

We've all been there....some fast-acting, split-second, STUPID words came out of our mouths.....and we knew it was too late to take them back.  The damage was done.  Oh how we wished our brain had engaged before our mouths did.  I remember a sweet, but powerful little Sunday School Song "Be careful little mouth what you say...."  How often do we let unnecessary words slip out and we think "What made me say that?"

I wasn't always "the talker" that I am today.  My husband was "the talker". He could "fire-hose" his audience, whether the audience was one or one thousand.  He was so knowledgeable.....and he could give that knowledge out in boatloads.  But, I think he left his talking "mantle" to me -- with a double portion.  I, apologetically, tell friends "Bear with me. My daily allotment of 250,000 words is not all used for today, so I'm unloading on you."  LOL!   So with all that talking that I'm capable of, I have to be on HIGH ALERT for the potential to say something unnecessary.

Proverbs 21:23 says "Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble."  And, Psalm 141:3 says "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!"  I really do purposely pray for God to put a gate on my mouth.  I pray "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord."  Psalm 19:13.  

Perhaps this Middle School teacher's story was meant for those kids AND for  us today.  Perhaps God wants to spare us, and others, from potential hurt and pain before unkind or unnecessary words slip out.  Perhaps He wants to provide "damage control" angels at our Mouth Gates.  Perhaps it's time we sing that little Sunday School song as a prayer "Be careful little mouth what you say."

YOU Talk Too Much!!

Have you ever “let the cat out of the bag” or “put your foot in your mouth” or, quite frankly, just talked too much? I have. I’ve slipped up trying to put on a surprise party or in keeping some other kind of secret. I pray this often: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” Psalm 141:3

I’ll never forget what an avid conversationalist my husband was. He spoke with great fervor in giving his best motivational pitch to someone needing counsel or encouragement. And when he spoke, people listened because his words were filled with such great wisdom. In the latter part of his days on this earth, however, his words were few, but still when he spoke – it was always with words that mattered. For example, the day when our daughter, Staci, his nurse and I were in the room with him, and he said, “I love you so much my precious darling”. I said, “Who are you talking to, Staci or me?” He said, “Both of you”! His nurse said, “He’s still got it!” Nothing earth shaking or world changing, but being on purpose with what he said,.

Then there was the morning that I saw his eyes closed, then he'd open them, and have a big smile on his face. That morning, I thought it was time for a “heart-to-heart” talk – just to see what he might be thinking. I asked him, “Is God saying something to you?" No reply. Then I asked, “Do you want to quit all this, and just go see your mansion in heaven? I will be okay with whatever you want. Or if you want to keep fighting, and if God wants us to travel around the world giving witness to our faith and how God healed you, then I’m ready to fight on with you! So what’s God telling you, my Love?” He opened his eyes, without giving a second thought, and with his convincing authority said, “YOU TALK TOO MUCH!!”

I laughed at his remark then, and I smile today as I type this because it renews the importance of letting my two ears do more listening, while my one mouth does less speaking. Another important verse is Proverbs 21:23 “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself out of trouble. I sure do want to stay out of trouble, and I sure do want my words to be few, and when I speak, I sure do want my words to count – words of encouragement, hope and joy! How about you?