Open mouth... insert foot

I am notorious for opening my mouth when it should just stay closed. It gets me in trouble a lot! Sometimes I say things that somehow in my brain seemed like the right thing to say, yet somehow when it came out, it was just downright hurtful. Other times, I think it was never really in my brain at all. Because a person who used their brain would never say that.

Then there are just good old fashioned blonde moments. Take last night for example. We went to see our niece's swim meet. I was amazed at the stamina of these girls. Lap after lap they continued to push themselves to a new limit with each stroke. Truly I was impressed with these girls. So you would think I could've just said "Wow, they're really good", and that would've made my point. But noooooo, I had to utter a phrase that I will not live down for the rest of my life, or at least as long as my brother-in-law lives to tell about it. I intended to say "I couldn't even doggie paddle that long" BUT here's what came out of my mouth "I couldn't even doggie-style that long". Needless to say, I wanted to crawl in a hole. No, I wanted to vanish into thin air, never to be seen by the people at that swim meet again. I don't know who's face was more red, mine or J.C.'s, but either way, it was a moment I will never forget and it ranks up there as one of my most embarassing.

So this got me to thinking about the mouth and the tongue. Did you know that James mentions it in every chapter of his book in the Bible? I think it must be something that God knows can get us into a lot of trouble. It can also be a mighty tool, if we choose to use it the right way. Nothing is more telling of the heart than the tongue. Whew... now there's some perspective!

Today, I am going to make a conscious effort to encourage someone with my words, to stop and find something nice to say about the people around me. I'm going to pray that God will help me use my tongue as a tool, not a weapon.

And I think I'll stay away from swim meets for a while.