Say again.

This morning I woke up to the sound of rain. I love that sound. I loved it even more when I lived in a little tin-roofed cabin back in the woods. I love that sound so much that it was all that I could do to drag myself out of bed. Who am I kidding? It wasn't my own will power that got my two feet on the floor. It was my 60-pound dog's Chihuahua-sized bladder. Within the first 5 minutes of being awake, I determined that this would be the day that Cash was reunited with doggie daycare. After all the meds that dog has been on for the past 2 weeks, Giardia will run and hide when it sees him coming. [I'm really going to miss that cup. It was the last reminder I had of the 2004 Gold Rush reception at the Alumni House and the 3 shots of beer we got in exchange for our annual $10 young alumni dues.]

After dropping Cash off, I went to church. [Gee HP, that's so good of you...I'm sure that Jesus himself put a star by your name this morning. In fact you got 2 stars because after all, it was raining.] I looked for every excuse in the book this morning not to go to church. The rain. It was pouring, I didn't have an umbrella and it is a long walk from the parking deck to the building. It's not like my hair can get any curlier so what was I so worried about? Nonetheless, I decided to stop by Publix on the way there to get an umbrella. Once inside, I couldn't find the umbrellas. After about 5 minutes I finally found the display in the deli because that makes perfect sense to put them there. The extra time in the store meant that I would be late and I hate being late to church. So I should probably just go home instead. Besides the sweater that I was wearing had that weird chemical smell from the dry cleaners and I didn't want to assault the olfactory receptors of those sharing a row with me. I mean seriously...I was grasping at straws. Yet I went. And I made it inside before the service began. And thanks to the rain and/or Spring Break, it was relatively empty so no one gave me funny looks for being the girl who used perc for perfume. Coincidence? I think not.

Of course the service was exactly what I needed. [Shocker, right? Why else would I be dragging my heels?] It's the 2nd in a series entitled Say. Words are so powerful. They can build someone up or knock someone down in a matter of moments. Most of the time we don't even realize how much of an impact our words have on other individuals. Yet we can remember clearly times that words have had powerful and significant meaning in our own lives. Many of the decisions that we make come as a result of words spoken to us by friends, family, co-workers, etc. So this morning I was really convicted about how I'm using my own words. What if each morning we were given a set amount of words that could be spoken and once they were used up, you could speak no more until the next morning? Would we think a little more before we speak?

For the past 3 days, it seems like every time I turn around I am yelling "NO! Drop It!" at my dog. (Have I mentioned that it's been a rough couple of days?)Sure, I was talking to a dog, but the constant negativity of my own words was making me a little grouchy. I'm sure this grouchiness was apparent in the words that I was speaking to others. Or at least my mama caught on if no one else did. And not only does grouchiness lead to unkind words, but it leads to frowning which leads to fine lines and wrinkles...it's really a vicious cycle.

Last spring I shared some thoughts about the power of words and for those of you suffering from insomnia you can check them out here if you're really bored. But you don't have to take my word for it. I would just stick with Paul's. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." - Ephesians 4:29.