Sometimes you just don’t know what to say. You don’t know how to express the hurt you are feeling without making the people or person who hurt you out to be bad. Sometimes you say too much and you already have made that person look bad. Silence is often talked about in the bible referred too as bridling the tongue because no one can control the tongue. Its referred to as wicked. The tongue is a powerful tool. It can often tear down relationships, it tears people apart. When you’ve said something and as soon as it leaves your mouth you realize those words were destructive. So As Jenny Wren I have been silent. I didn’t know what to write, how to say it and how to season my words with grace. But let the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart be seasoned with grace. So as I meditate on grace in my heart I ask God to season my words with grace. As I speak up about my journey, my trails, my personal life, I want all the words I write to be seasoned with grace.
Often words are what destroy a relationship. But words can bring joy, grace, peace and love. Words can be what makes someone succeed or makes them come crashing down. The teacher who was overly critical in grade school can damage that child for life. The mom who is constantly critical and has a hard time finding the good in her children makes those children feel that pain for the rest of their lives. God is the transformer. So when I am overly critical of my children I go to God to ask him to teach me how to be a mom seasoned with Grace and love. To speak with respect and grace to my husband. But on the other hand, there are many teachers who make those children into thriving adults because their words were seasoned with love and grace. There are plenty of mothers (mine included) who launch their children into the world as confident adults because their words were seasoned with love and grace.
Recently I started selling cinnamon rolls. last night I was thinking and hoping the last batch I made didn’t have salt instead of sugar (It doesn’t I tried some of my end pieces). It would be a huge mistake especially since I sell them. At least i am not making them for a competition. Watching the Great British Baking show, one of the guys coated the pans for some cakes with salt instead of sugar. Paul Hollywood didn’t have words SEASONED with grace for that guy HAHA. If you are constantly putting salt onto someone who needs a little sugar to grow it will be “rubbish” As Paul Hollywood puts it. No one wants to be putting rubbish onto their family.
This is a lesson I am slowly learning. I pray for my words to be seasoned with sugar instead of salt and that they would be words of grace and not anger and nonacceptance. Pray for me with this and I will pray for you. Words are what forms you.
We can go to Gods word for words of acceptance. If you are the child who has now grown into an adult that feels unacceptable because someone spoke rubbish to you, there is hope. Hope in the Words of the Bible. He speaks truth and grace to the hurting
As moms we often rely on other people to be our barometer of how we are measuring up. But if we are talking negative self talk to ourselves how can we pour positive talk into our families. I believe our self talk is what comes out to others. what we put in comes out. Like my mom always made me do when I had very poor self esteem, look in the mirror and tell yourself ten things you like about yourself. In my preteen, hormonal sobs, I yelled I look like a rat. Now I don’t believe that, but I don’t like gloating over myself in the mirror. So maybe I need to practice that again. 5 things each morning I like about myself and then tell my kids 5 things I like about them. Between Gods word and positive self talk can you imagine how that might transform us? So there is the challenge guys. Tell yourself 5 things you like about yourself each day and then do the same for your family and lets see where it will take us. I hope that my words will start transforming and changing my kids and myself into confident people who are filled with love and peace because of Jesus but also because of words in our family being seasoned with Grace.
Lets add a little extra seasoning this week to our families and see where we will go!
Jenny Wren