Day 20 :: A guard and filter for my mouth

Sitting on the couch on a brisk Saturday morning, trying to spend a few minutes reading my Bible before the children wake up.

I hear drawers slamming, children talking, and down come my two little girls.  They crawl on the couch next to me, happy and ready for a few snuggles.

I read about looking to the Lord, setting a guard over my mouth.

They start to quarrel.

 "Don't touch me."

"She's taking it from me."

"The books are touching."

And, in a brief ten minutes, I've corrected my children at least a dozen times.

Words.

And, it's not just the words, it's our tone, our motive, our interpretation of the words.

How do I teach these little ones about the power of our words?

How can I teach them about words when I fail so often to speak in the right way?

It begins with the heart.

If I want to encourage, build up, love, thank, then my heart must be filled with truths that will work as a guard and filter for my mouth.

So, I speak to them about pleasant words.

"Do you like to eat honey?" I ask.

"Yes, Mommy!"

"Did you know that the Bible says our words can be like honey?"

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

Proverbs 16:24

If my heart is setting a guard over my mouth, a filter to sift out the unpleasant, hurtful words, gossip, words spoken in a wrong tone of voice, then I can offer sweet honey to those around me.

Oh, that today I would allow my heart to be a guard and filter for my mouth so that the way I speak will be like honey to my children.

To see a list of all posts in this series go here.