Speaking Life

A few years ago I attended a women's conference where I was introduced to the idea of "speaking life". Even though I was not yet a parent, the speaker's revelation about choosing to speak life instead of death in regards to her children had me intrigued. The idea that there is power in our words and we should be intentional about the words we speak because they themselves have authority in our lives.

Because we were at a church conference, I was especially intrigued because despite growing up in a Christian home, this was a new concept to me, one I hadn't heard before.

And so I searched the Bible, but came up with no direct ties. There are no verses (that I have found) that specifically use the words "speak life" or "speak death" or anything thereof.

What I did find was quite a few references to the concept:

"A fool's mouth is his destruction..."  -- Proverbs 18:7a

"Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee."  -- Proverbs 4:24

"There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health."  -- Proverbs 12:18

and the most direct reference:

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue:..." -- Proverbs 18:21a

There are more than that, but you get the idea.

And so, while I don't profess to be 100% successful at taming every word that leaves my mouth, I have made a conscious effort to only speak life with regards to my child.

Is she perfect? No, of course not. None of us are.
But do I choose to dwell on the good, on the positive, on what she can do, instead of what she can't, on what she excels at instead of what she struggles with? Absolutely.

It's not always easy, especially during some particularly frustrating, ahem, phases she's gone thru (you parents of small children know what I'm talking about), but I do it. I try. I work at it.

And yes, I absolutely believe that both she, and our family as a whole, will be better for it.

I strongly encourage everyone to focus on speaking life into, well... your life. Your loved ones, and yes, even yourself. I mean, it can't hurt, right?

As always, thanks for checking in!