July 18, 2006

• I read this in an email I received from the site where I go to send a nice e-greeting, DaySpring cards.  It’s worth a look and this article is one that speaks volumes.
  

  In
  celebration of DaySpring.com’s new Christian Music Collection E-Cards,
  we have asked Dove award-winning singer/songwriter Nichole Nordeman to
  share some thoughts on the ministry of encouraging words…

  I doubt many people would argue about the power of the spoken word.

  We
  don’t need a master’s in psychology to know that our hearts leap at the
  sound of affirming words. It’s just how God wired us. Any co-worker
  with a new hairdo will agree. Any toddler who is potty training or
  husband who just closed the “big deal” will nod emphatically as well.
  We possess a tremendous ability to very simply “make someone’s day”
  with heartfelt praise or to even alter the course of a life with the
  power of our words.

  Oprah,
  Bill Gates, and Tiger Woods have all, at one point, attributed their
  early success to the empowering encouragement of someone else. Perhaps
  it was just a small phrase or statement, but one that was instrumental
  in building up or perhaps even just holding up hope and belief for a
  brief second. That can be all the time it takes to get someone to look
  at the mirror differently.

  Conversely,
  it doesn’t take that same graduate degree to know that the power of
  words can be unleashed as perhaps the most primitive of weapons. Most
  of us would agree that whoever penned that little ditty about “sticks
  and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was
  obviously never a fifth grader. Words can not only hurt, but they can
  leave shrapnel in the soul long after the explosion hits and the smoke
  clears. Next time you need a reminder about the power of the negative
  word, dust off the book of James. It’s been said that the tongue is the
  strongest muscle in the body. I think the spirit would agree.

  So…
  having taken a moment to consider the power and impact of both our
  life-giving, affirming words as well as the life-robbing, destructive
  power of the tongue… here’s one more thought to chew on, (pardon the
  pun). What about the power of words never spoken? For me, I
  can look back on my life and count too many times when I’d wished I’d
  listened to my gut (and the Holy Spirit) and just had the courage to
  open my mouth and let my heart spill out, regardless of the awkward
  moment. You’ve heard the rather overused challenge to live each day as
  it if were your last… but there is real wisdom there. Why wait to say
  “I love you?” Why wait one more day to forgive? Or to ask for
  forgiveness? There is a reason that Paul, in Ephesians 4, encourages us
  not to let the sun go down on our anger. Perhaps because he knew, as a
  hunted and persecuted man, that a sunrise the next morning was not
  something to be assumed. He understood, better than anyone, the
  importance of keeping his accounts short.

  Say
  it now. Go there. The tongue might be powerful, but so are clenched
  teeth and a firmly set jaw. And silence can speak volumes we never
  meant to say. Matthew 12:34 reminds us that what is in our hearts, will
  come spilling out of our mouths. If your heart is full today, or even
  broken, consider springing a leak and letting someone know. The relief
  and healing that may follow will make you a believer in the power of
  words, all over again.

  Nichole Nordeman
  Dove Award-Winning Singer/Songwriter

  Provided by DaySpring Cards at this site: http://store.dayspring-store.com/cdninowosp.html

  Incidentally, they have a wonderful assortment of  e-cards to use to brighten someone’s day.

  • 8:21 am
  • 3 Comments