One of the passions that my husband and I share is a love for books and reading. Additionally, we take great joy in sharing this love with those around us. My husband is constantly loaning out or simply giving away theology books from his seminary days to friends and family. While we tend to be more minimalistic when it comes to possessions or things, we make an exception when it comes to books! 
 
When we became parents to our daughter Emersyn we agreed we wanted not only to instill a love for books but especially for books that would deepen her understanding of the Bible and cultivate a desire to know God. Therefore, from the very beginning, we’ve been building her little library with books that reveal God’s character, who we are as His creation, and how we can know and love Him better. 

As a Christian, there are often times when the commands of Scripture seem almost impossible to follow. This is especially true when it comes to what God’s Word tells us about forgiveness.

People wound and hurt us. Sometimes those hurts are simple slights or offenses that can be easily mended with a conversation and a genuine apology. However, there are all too many occasions when there are serious and hurtful wrongs that cut deeply and lead to pain, sorrow, damaged relationships, and bitterness. When we find ourselves dealing with these kinds of hurts, it is difficult to imagine how we can follow God’s call to offer free and full forgiveness.

Is it even possible?

In my own life, I have experienced this kind of questioning and uncertainty. 

One of the recurring themes of Scripture for the believer is that of stewardship. From the beginning of life on this earth, God gave mankind the responsibility to oversee and care for His creation (Genesis 1:26). As Designer and Creator, God holds the ultimate authority and ownership of everything in His world. All of the things He has blessed us with in this life are His first, and He has granted to us the privilege and duty of stewarding these gifts in order to bring Him glory and honor.

In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis sets out a proper perspective of stewardship by saying,

This time three years ago, my husband and I had just adopted our daughter and were happily ensconced in baby snuggles, bottle feedings, and the sleep-deprived existence of newborn life. We were thrilled to finally be parents! As I write this, a dear friend of mine is just days away from giving birth to her third child, and the entire family is anxiously awaiting this precious little one’s arrival. It’s estimated that close to 4 million births take place each year in the United States, and I would guess that most of those are joyous occasions for the families who welcome a new child into their home. But for many women, discovering they are pregnant is not a happy moment or a reason to rejoice. Instead, there is overwhelming fear, shame, guilt, dread, and hardship that often lead them to believe that their only recourse and means of help is abortion. 

As we have recently wrapped up Our Words Matter, a 5-part mini-series about using our words wisely and avoiding careless words, I would like to take this opportunity to address a different type of carelessness in our speech and why it is important for us to be mindful to avoid it — the Christian cliché. 
 
One doesn’t have to be a believer for very long before becoming aware that the church and Christianity has its own unique language and phraseology. In fact, this isn’t only true of the church. Every culture, demographic, and society has their own collection of shorthands and sayings that distills their values and beliefs down to concise little phrases and sentences.

Often these statements can be helpful as they condense the truth into something that is simple and easy to remember. However, as believers we must exercise great care with our words.

Welcome to "Our Words Matter" a 5-part mini-series about using our words wisely and avoiding careless words.

​Last month we looked at What Do Careless Words Do? Today, we're looking at How Do I Avoid Careless Words?

Check out all 5 posts in the series:
 

• The Sin of Careless Words
• What Are Careless Words?
• Where Do Careless Words Come From?
• What Do Careless Words Do?
• How Do I Avoid Careless Words?

​​
​
​I hope you'll join us for "Our Words Matter" because they do! ​

Welcome to "Our Words Matter" a 5-part mini-series about using our words wisely and avoiding careless words. Last month we looked at Where Do Careless Words Come from? Today, we're looking at What Do Careless Words Do? Next month (the last Friday of the month) we will also look at:​​

• How Do I Avoid Careless Words?

​
​I hope you'll join us for "Our Words Matter" because they do! ​

I’ve already touched a little on how wounding, careless words can be, but I think it’s important to really examine the deep hurt and damage they can cause. When we speak careless words we are often blissfully unaware of the havoc they create. But taking the time to consider the end result and consequences of our words can serve as a cautionary and preventive measure.