Announcing FREE 5 Days to Sweet & Salty Speech
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Welcome to those of you who made your way here after reading my Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion today entitled The $285 Cinnamon Roll. {If you haven’t read this tale of how a $3.29 pastry ended up costing my 16-year-old a whoppin’ $285— and the lesson it teaches us—ย click here to so.}
Got words? Oh yeah, you do! The average women speaks over 20,000 a dayโnot to mention the ones she types online. Iโbeing a woman whose words have often landed her in a heap of troubleโ share from experience the howโs (and how-not-toโs) of dealing with the tongue in my new bookย Keep It Shutย . Using biblical examples, as well as my own personal (and sometimes painful!) stories,ย Keep It Shutย will equip you to know what to say, how best to say it, and when youโd better just keep your lips zipped!
This book will teach you:
- The difference between gossip and properly processing with a trusted friend
- A helpful grid for using our digital tongues as we talk online or on social media
- How to pause before you pounce, attacking the problem but not the person
- How to avoid saying something permanently painful just because you are temporarily ticked off
- What the Bible teaches about making our speech laced with grace, as sweet as honey, and yet seasoned with salt
If you are interested in a free resource based on the topic of this book, I am offering a five day e-mail devotional called 5 Days to Sweet & Salty Speech: 5 People in the Bible. 5 Lessons for our Lips.ย I figured right before the holiday season was a good time for all of us to have a little encouragement on watching our words!
Each day for five days, starting with the day you sign up, you will receive a short devotional based on a person in the Bible who either use their words properly and we should emulate them, or they used their words poorly and we should avoid such behavior. Well-known characters such as David. But also some who aren’t as readily recognized like Abigail, Boaz, and a man named Mordecai. The final day looks at the words of Nicodemus and Jesus. Each day also has a “Lesson for our Lips” challenge of something to do {or not to do!} with our words.
I’ve been pondering how we subtly change the rules to fit our situation, and this devotion hit right in the middle of that pondering, I don’t know why I can so easily see and obey some commands in the Bible, but completely gloss over others. I think it’s because the culture around me makes it so common to commit certain sins that it feels odd to follow the Biblical commands about those sins – like “take every thought captive” and “think on whatever is pure, lovely…”
Thank you so much for the devotion on changing God’s word (rules) to fit our needs or circumstances. I so do this. I have been many times where your son was, and yes it was a learning lesson and yes i gleaned from it, but it would have been so much tastier if I would have followed God’s will in it all. I am such a control freak. I try all the time to tell or show God I think I know best. Thanks for the reminder this morning that I’m no in control and I need to just follow His rules. It truly is for the best, and to His glory. :)
You know Karen, my mouth gets me in trouble more than I want to admit. There is rarely a time that after I have a conversation that I don’t rethink how I should have handled it differently or maybe said more. It’s kind of hard to find Godly balance in this area. I really appreciate your perspective! You are a blessing!
I read your your post via the Proverbs 31 daily email and it lead me here. I’m now signed up for yours! Your books look amazing and I’m anxious to read more of your blogs and the books as well. Thank you for sharing and teaching all of us as we look to grow in Christ.
That was a great devotion to share with my family, thank you. I so need to learn to “Let it Go” on something’s & I need to learn when best to keep my mouth shut, your teachings are right with my life very often. Any resources from you are always appreciated. May God bless you in all you do!
This is so just for me right now! Thank you Lord!!!
It is a continual challenge for me having ten year old twin boys to control my anger and my mouth. I want to be able to better control my words and be the example God wants me to be for them as their mom.
Our small groups are going to be doing this study beginning in January. What a blessing it would be to receive a free packet. Times are so hard for so many ladies. It would be amazing to have a freebie.
I am praying about hosting a Bible Study in January. I read your devotion on Prov. 31 today and read about your new book. It sounds like great material for a ladies Bible Study.
Karen, I have been waiting for your new book since you first mentioned it! It will be a must read for me and I will say no more…lol! Thanks for the opportunity to enjoy Let It Go! Happy Weekend! God bless!
Awesome resources! I have struggled for years with my tongue. It’s been a process and I feel like I am in the nitty gritty of it now…funny how the bigger things seem so easy now (watching the content aka four letter words, yelling, the ‘obvious’), but the smaller things – the internal chatter, the critical words, the comparisons and gossip and self righteousness…ouch!! As the saying goes, I am not where I need to be, but THANK GOD I am not where I was!
I came to your site after reading a devotional linked through facebook…came to your page to read more blog entries and find content for our newly formed women’s ministry. I am happy to say, I have found a lot of good stuff and look forward to completing a study with our group!
How powerful are the following two words: “Sin snowballs”. So many of us are living proof of this statement, myself included. I am so thankful for the grace of God in leaving the past behind. Sin WILL snowball…always… Remembering that something small can throw us right back into the blizzard of a sinful path is so powerful. Thank you for the reminder!
Yep – I could definitely use this. Thanks!
I work daily on letting it go & also on keeping quiet !!
Oh yeah – In the past I have had “diarrhea mouth” as my daughter says… I just keep babbling on and getting myself into trouble. I have gotten better, thinking before speaking, oftentimes biting my tongue. thanks for the chance to win.
3 weeks ago I was told I had to have a triple by pass. 3 weeks ago yesterday I had that triple by pass. So, God has me in complete control aImost now. I have a problem with letting this go even though there’s not much I can do but sit and read or play games. When I am around people it’s so easy to create more to the story than was there. This book sounds like it would help me so much. Thank you for a chance at it!
Can’t wait to read this. I so need it! Thank you.
Oh boy, has God been teaching me how to keep it shut. I have a very quick tongue and I used to tend to lash out and my husband, my kids, or anyone who dared irritate me, it has gotten better and I litterally tighten my lips when I want to speak or lash out out of place. I still need a lot of work for I also tend to want to give advice for everything or “fix” everything. Good news is that over the last year, I have been able to learn how to catch myself and stop myself from opening my mouth, most of the time. Now, I’m really liking forward to your devotionals, so I can go deeper still and learn to keep it shut along with the women’s group I have been entrusted to. To God be glory!
Thank you for your post. I would love to read Let.It.Go. Because that is what I need to do on my life, but I have a hard time doing it. I have been on a journey of healing, and God showed me somewhere in the last year or so that my past has made me feel like I need to control everything. Because some hard things have happened, I have a hard time trusting God that He will take care of it . And, unfortunately, I have been manipulative with some of my relationships out of fear and the consequences have been costly. So, I would love to read it and learn from it and feature what lessons I learn on the blog I just started.
Hi Carol!
God in His awesome, gentle way recently revealed some soul wounds of mine that needed healing. I was blown away at how early on these soul wounds can appear and how it can affect your relationship with others and with God. Trust God that He will heal your pain and help you overcome whatever it is.
My big thing was to truly know that even though I am imperfect and flawed- that God still loves and adores me, and chooses to use me.
Taming the tongue is a constant battle:((. Looking forward to the devotionals. Thank you!!
Karen,
This speaks to me in more than one way. I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth so many time. Sometimes I a friend what I think they want to but then it will backfire and come back to haunt me. Other times my words come out a lot rougher than I mean them to, and most of the time a lot louder than I’d intended.
So now I’ve gone to the other extreme. I just keep my mouth shut. That way I don’t say something I shouldn’t.
I’d like this study so I can donate it to our women’s Bible study at church after I finished doing it myself.
Your devotional about the cinnamon rolls was really good. It is so easy to not see or ignore the potential consequences of sin.
Looking forward to the 5 day devotional e-mails & your new book. I did your Let. It. Go. online Bible study & enjoyed it so much! I would love to win this package to possibly lead a women’s Bible study at my church!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your heart and what you (and your kids) have learned from life’s lessons. We are so greatly encouraged by our sistahs in the LORD sharing how God is working. As far as the Let.It.Go I am a first born, somewhat bossy, and really have to work hard at NOT trying to control everything. I want to let it go, but I keep taking it back. I’m the ladies Bible study leader at our church and would love to share your study with my girls.
What a great reminder, Karen, how a small compromise can lead to big consequences. This is true with our actions and also our words. We casually make a comment and fail to see the damage it inflicts … Oh, how we need God’s help to navigate through life.