~Speech~ ----- Mariah L.A. Curtis Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. Proverbs 29: 20 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. Ecclesiasties 5:2 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 KIND, CALM SPEECH DURING HARD SITUATIONS ~ Speech! Oh, I have such a hard time with speaking kind and gentle words sometimes! I think alot of us have trouble speaking calmly and kindly to someone when they have upset us, hurt us, or frustrated us! Over the past few months especially, practicing kind words and having grace for other people has been challenging! With the death of my baby cousin three months ago, things were said by people who thought they were helping by saying it, but they weren't! Some words were hard to take, and made me feel little hurt. But, I have to learn forgive those people and remind myself that those people were thinking they were helping, and encouraging! I am trying to understand that they don't understand me and my grief, everyone is different! Maybe what they said, helped them during a time of grief for them, I had to control my tongue and smile. I took the time to sit down and write a thank you card to someone like that after my cousins passing. I thought about the good things that they did or said and I thanked them for that, and also for the other kind words that were spoken that did help and encourage! My Aunt was here for a month in November, making wreaths. It was so good to have her here! She came down a few days every week, and made as many wreaths as she could. During the time she was here, there were seven children were here (not including me). It was very hectic at times, and the children loved to play in my room upstairs! I don't know why, but I guess I must have very interesting things! One time, my whole side of the room (My sister and I share a room) was a wreck! My pictures torn off the wall, my tape player, my bed, my magazine basket, my shelf and everything was a mess! I was so frustrated! I told my Aunt and Mother what had happened, and they told me that they were sorry, and that they would ask the children not to play there. Well, telling the children not to play there, did not help, and the same thing happened again! This time, I remembered to keep my cool and I asked God to help me. I picked up some things and then told Mom what happened again, and she said that she would try to tell them that there was NO playing in our bedroom. I learned after a while to be calm about it, and put away things that I didn't want touched by little fingers. KIND SPEECH EVERYDAY~ Everyday, things happen that I have to put to practice being calm, speaking kindly and not using a frustrated voice when things bother me! My younger Sister can sometimes be very slow at what she does! I'll be in the kitchen during after supper, cleaning up, and I'll have to wait a half hour for her to clear the table so I can finish the dishes and put away the food! I have to practice to keep my mouth closed, ask the Lord to not let me be frustrated,and be patient with my dear sister, I love her! I can sacrifice some of my after- supper time for my sister as I wait! I also have observed my sister. She is a very kind person, and gentle and she also has grace for things I don't! KIND, CALM, GENTLE SPEECH ON THE PHONE ~ Not long ago, I had a disturbing telephone call from someone. The person hurt me with what they said. On the phone with them, I could have defended myself and said some very rude things back, but once again, I had to have grace and have kind calm speech. I didn't say much, I said little, and tried my best to have grace. This person didn't understand the situation that she was discussing with me, and she tried to help. After the phone call, I thanked the Lord for helping me, but I was angry! I had to ask God to help me to have grace and to forgive. If I have had to deal with hard phone calls, it can be very wearing on my emotions, and my body. I have to ask God to help me forgive, to have grace and to not be angry with that person. Forgiveness sometimes takes a long time, and I find myself on ups and downs with it; some days I can feel really upset about it, and other days, it will be okay. I just have to keep praying about it and trusting God, that He will help me forgive. KIND,CALM, AND GENTLE SPEECH IN CONCLUSION ~ Keep trusting in the Lord, and praying about it, if you deal with "speech problems" :) When I have "Speech problems" I read in God's word what He has to say about it. Even reading those same old verses that I've memorized like Proverbs 15:1 and Ephesians 4:32. Sometimes, those verses click in my head and are a blessing to me in a different way at different times. I have to continue to pray about my speech throughout the day. Things pop up throughout the day that test me and try me! I can be having a good day, so far everything's gone my way, and all of a sudden, something happens, and I talk a little rough to my brother! I've had so many of those days! Just keep trusting and praying, that's what I have learned so far, the Lord teaches us things all the time! If you are having "Speech problems" let me know, and I'll ask for prayer for you so that our fellow sisters in Christ can pray for you! You don't have to give details, just say that you would appreciate prayer! Keep praying!