Be Generous With Your Words: Day 84; 100 Days to Brave (Rachel's Challenge)

Alright, Annie. So much good stuff here. 

"Brave people take God's Word and speak love into the lives of others. 

Brave people let God love them and know they are equipped 

for all the ways to use their words to speak love." 

It is sometimes really difficult to believe what God says over us- that we are loved and lovable. But when we do, when we start to believe it, it changes everything. Our demeanor. Our language. Our posture towards ourselves and one another. So we allow God to love us, and this equips us to love others well. 

"...We can be brave enough to step out into a negative, cynical world, 

where people want to hear gossip and negativity, 

and instead we can be generous with our words and 

use them to bring life."

And if our norm is being around others, watching, reading, and listening to the complaints, the gossip, and the slander, our tendency will be to adopt that way of behaving, thinking, and communicating. So we must act with intention. In my life, there are a few people I interact with, people I love, but people who are Negative-Nancys, none-the-less. And I need to give myself space from them. I don't cut myself off from them because I love them, but I understand and respect my own capabilities and I honor them.  

"When we put God's Word in, diligently and routinely, the lesser things fall away." 

And this is why it is important to know what God's Word says. My hippie Youth Pastor, Charlie, once told our class of about 10 teens, "I can lick this ice cream all day long and tell you how good it is. The thing is, until you lick it, you'll never know just how good."
His "ice cream" was the Bible and he was using this analogy in reference to Psalm 34:8

"Taste and see that the Lord is Good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him." 

"Friend, be brave. Be different in a world that uses words to hurt. 

Use your words to heal, and use them often. 

Give those words of life, the words found in Scripture, to as many people as you can." 

And this is why I write. Why I try to live my life to bring encouragement. We have all heard that phrase, "hurting people hurt people", and I think it's true. Likewise, "misery loves company", but the thing is, sometimes hurting people have the greatest advantage because of perspective. 

What if we all, even those of us who are hurting -especially those of us who are hurting- decided that kind words and encouragement loved company and we began a movement towards that? 

“PEOPLE WILL NEVER KNOW HOW FAR A LITTLE KINDNESS CAN GO.”

                                          Rachel Joy Scott(You can find out more about Rachel Joy Scott and Rachel's Challenge by clicking here.)So, go. Kiss the ones you love. If no on else should tell you today, allow me to do so. I love you. I appreciate you. Always,