The Hardest Thing To Tame...

Sweetheart and I read James 3 each day during Bible a few weeks ago. The repetition was good as on the fourth day she asked what a certain word meant. It took that many days for her to wonder. And what made no sense to her on the first reading, she could explain to me by Friday.

Oh, but reading and doing are two different things.

I have heard her tone of voice, not necessarily her choice of words, over and over this past week. It has not been pleasant. Most of the words were directed at her 3 year old sister, who can be enormously exasperating. I understand, and yet...it's not OK with me. Her tone of voice has even been out of whack when speaking to me lately. That is VERY not OK with me.

She is only eight years old. She is already eight years old. It all depends on how you look at it. Either way, it is my job to teach her God's ways.

Oh, and to be an example for her. (swallowing hard) Come to think of it, I seem to remember hearing this tone of voice before in a much older person who should know better and knows what all the words in those verses mean. Sigh. Why can't they imitate me when I'm doing things right?

So we will keep reading and studying verses about our tongues--ALL of us. I want the members of this family to look godly, but sound godly too. Our girls are at an advantage in that they have not learned to express themselves through curse words. (Sweetheart did tell me she knew a bad word the other day--the "s" word. Which turned out to be...shut-up. Oh I love her.) So, I am thankful for that. But how you say something is as important as what you say.

Do others hear love in your tone of voice? Wait...I need to personalize this: Do others hear love in MY tone of voice? Am I saying encouraging, edifying things? Am I slow to speak? Have I tamed my tongue? God's word has a lot to say about how we sound.