Lessons learned-lessons learning!

“I said to myself, I will watch what I do and not in sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39:1

The Lord has truly taught me so many amazing lessons over this last week. And the biggest one that I want to share with you is one that He has been pounding on my heart for quite some time. I know this will sound familiar to some of you but there is a point the Lord is trying to make.

“And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak.” Matthew 12:36

I don’t know about you, but to know that one day I will be held accountable for EVERY word I have spoken and will speak leaves me full of emotions. I just cannot imagine standing before the Lord and hearing those words being repeated back to me. The ugliness, the sadness, the hurt, the devastation overwhelms me. More so, the thought of what those words did to Jesus when I spoke them…

I have to start taking into account that all things said and done will one day be judged. That they all affect, reflect, and impact Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Lord I love You! Forgive me for often failing to remember that You are the one most affected by what I say and do. Amen

In EVERYTHING we do!

“I said to myself, I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39:1

Have you yourself or anyone you know ever went a whole day without complaining?

“In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.” Philippians 2:14-15

The Lord tells us in everything we do that we are to stay away from complaining and arguing. And yet for me it is sometimes as though I can find something to complain about in everything I do. As I let those words fill my thoughts I am reminded by the Lord that I have absolutely nothing to even complain about so why do I do it? SELF the very thing I can’t stand to be around.

Noah could have complained building the ark, Moses could have begun complaining along with the Israelites who were very good at complaining. David could have complained to anyone who would listen about his enemies, but instead he chose to go to the Lord. Paul could have complained about all the persecution he faced, the beatings he endured, starving, being tired, etc, and instead he praised God and encouraged all the more. Jesus could have complained about our ignorance, our lack of obedience, the beatings He endured, the mocking He had to listen to, the nails that were driven in His hands and feet, the spit that hit His face, the cross He had to carry, the cross He hung on, the pain and suffering He felt, and He could have complained about putting on the world’s sin, of which includes mine, but He DIDN’T, instead He did the very opposite, He loved, forgave, and covered us in His blood.

No matter what comes in this life, sickness, death, real persecution, beating, mocking, standing alone, and so on, I should still never complain because I have Christ Jesus in me who has promised to be with me always, give me life, rescue me, protect me, and deliver me. He has promised to love me, forgive me, and He shows me mercy and grace every second of my life.

He has left me His word, He has left and filled me with the greatest counselor-the Holy Spirit and for that I should spend every day rejoicing and praising God.

Prayer: Lord may I constantly be reminded of just how amazing my life is, because my life is with You and in You. I want to possess the same qualities and self-control that You possessed during Your time here on earth. Forgive me for complaining and arguing about unnecessary things. Amen

Because I love Him

"I said to myself, ‘I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39:1

For no other reason I want to be able to live out this verse because of the love I have for Christ. I want to become more aware of my words and my actions making sure they always display Christ’s love and the love I have for Him.

“Jesus replied, All those who love me will do what I say.” John 14:23

Therefore we will;

“be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” James 1:19


“Avoid all perverse talk; stay far from corrupt speech.” Proverbs 4:24


“Then watch your tongue! Keep your lips from telling lies!” Psalm 34:13


“Those who refuse to slander others or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.” Psalm 15:3


“The godly think before speaking; the wicked spout evil words.” Proverbs 15:28


“Obscene stories, foolish talk, and course jokes-these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.” Ephesians 5:4

”Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.” Ephesians 4:29-30

Most of all we will;

“Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:16-17

I don’t want to just say I love God and then not back it up with my actions and speech. I want to truly be able to show, speak and say that I love God with every part of me and others see that love relationship we have for each other.

Prayer: Lord forgive me, I have so often said I loved You and have not showed it through my actions nor my speech. Lord thank You for removing the veil from over my eyes so that today I could truly grasp and see that true love is shown through obedience that is displayed through my actions and words. Lord I want everything I do and say to be a reflection of You, representing You in with the utmost respect and honor. Amen

RED ALERT!

“I said to myself, ‘I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39:1

Over these last several days I have noticed something that I have come to greatly appreciate-the accountability I have been receiving from those who read Godly Gossip. Thank you! You have no idea how much being held accountable to the word of God and to you my brothers and sisters, has driven me, encouraged me, and inspired me. I am deeply grateful and I ask that you all will continue to hold me and all our other brothers and sisters accountable to become even more like Christ than the day before.

Do you know how much Scripture there is throughout the whole Bible that talks about speech, our words, our conversations, TONS! And it just goes to show how important it is that we control our tongue and do not sin in what we say. It might just be me, but I have noticed how easy it is to sin in what I say, whether it is complaining, being negative, grumpy, speaking out of anger, or being frustrated or annoyed. I have even noticed that my joking with others can be sinful. Which I must confess I did have a “why did I say that moment” the other night and the minute it came out I knew!

Through the help of my magnificent counselor that lives inside the control center of my heart-the Holy Spirit-Jesus, I am learning and becoming very aware of making wiser decisions in what I say. I like to look at it as though He pushes an aware alert button that shoots up to my brain warning me that He is not pleased with that thought and what so ever do not let it come out of my mouth. Isn’t God good?

He is so good that last night as I was studying He led me to a verse that spoke directly to my heart and reassured me that if I begin to speak in this way He will be pleased and there will be more goodness in my heart and in my words than sinful.

“Listen to me! For I have excellent things to tell you. Everything I say is right, for I speak the truth and hate every kind of deception. My advice is wholesome and good. There is nothing crooked or twisted in it. My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those who want to learn.” Proverbs 8:6-9

When we study, meditate, learn, store, and apply God’s word, when we make His words become our words than our speech, our conversations, our thoughts will also be truthful, wholesome, good, plain, clear, encouraging, kind, loving, peacemaking, helpful, and sweet.

“From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive.” Proverbs 16:23

- In other words if we are not studying the word of God seeking knowledge, wisdom and discernment we are not going to become very wise, therefore our minds and speech will lack wisdom and the things we say will not be persuasive.

“A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.” Proverbs 17:27

-I just love how all these verses flow together. Wisdom my friend is the key to not sinning in what we say and the key to gaining self-control.

Prayer: Lord do You know how awesome You are? Do you know how amazing Your word is? Thank You Father for giving us Your word so that we might know You and become more like You. Lord just as You did for Ezekiel I ask that You do the same for me and put my tongue to my roof until You release it for me to speak. Lord fill me with the wisdom of Your word so that my speech and conversations will bring You honor. Amen

How much control do you have?

“I said to myself, ‘I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39:1

Is it just me or is the second part of this passage crazy hard? David says Lord not only am I going to watch what I do, but I am not going to sin in what I say. I am going to use self-control, and make sure to evaluate my thoughts before I speak. As for Kristi, it will be best to only speak when directed and prompted by the Holy Spirit, otherwise nothing good will come out. Now I am not saying that every time I speak it is just horrible at least I hope not, but I know my fleshly self and I also know that the place I struggle with what I say the most is at home with my husband.

I would also like to use the excuse of just being “woman” for the nonsense that sometimes pours out of my mouth, but the truth is I often lack self-control and I often find myself acting off of my feelings, which we all know for women is a major rollercoaster.

I cannot express the importance of taming the tongue, not in my own life let alone to anyone else, but I can share with you some wonderful powerful passages from the word of God that will be able to express just how important controlling our tongue is.

Importance number 1-“We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way.” James 3:2

-so know when to speak and when not to speak. When the urge to jump into a conversation arises be sure that what is going to come out will be helpful, useful, truthful, kind, and needed.

Importance number 2- “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.” James 1:26

-Examples of an uncontrolled tongue consist of; gossip, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, lying (these were taken from my bible commentary) All of these come from a selfish heart.

For today I want to do two more importance’s that I find to be very useful and two that we should study, store, apply, live, share, and repeat over and over to ourselves.

Importance number 3- “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

-If we truly want to please the Lord than we will control our tongues and make sure that what we say and think will be pleasing to Him.

Importance number 4- “Take control of what I say, O Lord, and keep my lips sealed.” Psalm 141:3

-I have found this passage to be one of the most used prayers in my life. Most of the time before I begin a conversation I ask the Lord to take control of what I say only allowing things to be said that will honor and glorify Him. I will admit that I do fail quite often because I try and take control instead of letting the Holy Spirit be in control. But when I do step aside it is amazing just so amazing how much better a conversation is because I walk away knowing God was in control, pleased, and I don’t have a guilty feeling inside wishing and wondering why in the world I said the things I said.

Prayer: Lord today before I even begin to open my mouth I ask that You take complete control of what I say for when You are in control Lord I know that You will be pleased, honored and praised. Lord I ask that You will continue to convict me, teach me, and keep my lips sealed in all situations, through all my frustrations, and over any feeling that arises within me. Lord I want nothing more than to have a tongue that speaks with control, that is encouraging, uplifting, kind, and loving and I can only do that through You. Amen

Is my life representing what I claim to advertise?

“I said to myself, ‘I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39:1

Do you know what a world of difference it makes when you put forth the effort to watch your actions, think before you speak, and pray during stressful or frustrating times? A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

Yesterday was a good day, I did stumble in my speech one time and just as I had asked the Lord yesterday to convict me, He did exactly that. I am so thankful for the discipline and love my Heavenly Father shows and has for me. I could not imagine being hardened to the convictions of the Holy Spirit, could you?

I also could not imagine leading others to believe that God is okay with me complaining or arguing, speaking wrongly of others, or having perverse speech. Not only that but I could not imagine causing others to stumble because I chose to take part in worldly things.

All of this leads me to this one question, is my life representing what I claim to advertise-which is being a follower of Christ?

David said, “I will watch what I do.” Why was it so important for David to watch what he did, why is it so important for me to watch what I do? “We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry. In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God.” 2 Corinthians 6:3-4 good enough reason? I thought so too.

We have to watch what we do because we are constantly being watched and our actions and words could be just enough excuse to cause someone to reject Christ. And I in no way want anyone to miss entering the Kingdom of Heaven nor do I want to be held accountable for causing them to stumble because I chose to please my flesh and ignore what effect my actions and words might have on others.

For me, I will watch what I do making sure that my actions, choices, and the places I am in, will reflect Christ and not myself or the world.

Prayer: Jesus thank You for teaching me just how important it is that I watch what I do. Show me all the areas in my life where my actions could cause others to stumble or cause them to reject You. May my actions be completely guided by the Holy Spirit. Amen

Curb it!

Week 2 June 8-14

“I said to myself, ‘I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will curb my tongue when the ungodly are around me.” Psalm 39:1

As I begin a new week I begin it with a heavy heart. A heart that is full of shame and sadness because of the lack of control I have with my tongue, especially in the area of complaining and arguing. I find it so amazing how quickly I can open my mouth and allow just ugliness to come out. I know this is going to be an extremely eye opening week for me, but one that I look forward to. I so desperately want to change in the area of my speech and I want to reach the point David did in this Psalm. He took all his complaints, his anger, his hurt, frustration directly to the Lord first, not man. And oh how I have failed in that area, there is no reason I can and should not vent to the Creator the one and only one who can bring calmness, reasoning and true Godly understanding to my heart and mind. He is even great about teaching me areas I need changing.

I also know that in order for me to not sin in what I say and do I have to clean up my heart first. “Whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” Luke 6:45 If I have a complaining, negative, angry heart my speech will reflect that, of which it has so much lately.

There are three words that stand out in this passage, watch, not, and curb. These three words will become the application part this week. I will watch my actions and my body language, I will NOT allow complaining or ugliness to come out in my speech, and I will curb my tongue, which to me means I will park it under my teeth where if need be they will use a little tough love towards my tongue if ugliness tries to seep out.

Prayer: Lord forgive me for having a heart that is full of selfishness. I know that all my speech comes from within. I ask that you cleanse me from the core of my soul. Lord may the Holy Spirit take complete control of my life especially in the area of my weakness. I ask that by the power of the Holy Spirit I will be under such conviction if I even think or murmur a word or thought that will be displeasing to You. Lord I want my words to be a reflection of You! Amen