Do you ever feel like… you’re done making mistakes? Not that you won’t ever make a mistake again; (ha. ha. ha.) but that moment where you fall flat on you face and say, “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to hide under the covers!”

Yeah. Pretty much been this last year in a nutshell.

I’ve made so many mistakes, it’s almost unbelievable. When I was young, it was easy “to be a Christian”. It was easy to believe. But this past year or so… man! It’s like the scum in me has overgrow the cleanliness, and wants to take over.

Now, the fact is: I’m growing up. And it ain’t easy! As a young woman in today’s age, I’ve always striven to live a life devoted to GOD. Following HIM. Following HIS word… As a child, that was so easy. It was easy to trust HIM; easy to be respectful; easy to listen and learn… (Hm. Sometimes I wonder where that faith went.) Now… it seems like everything I do is wrong. I’ve always known that we learn from our mistakes. And that sometimes the learning process is hard… we get hurt. And most often, we can’t reverse what we’ve done. Even if it’s an unintentional mistake–the damage is done. And people are effected by what we do. And how we react.

And what we say.

Ah, there’s that dreaded moment of truth.

The saying is commonly heard, “Actions speak louder than words”. I always thought that if I concentrated on my actions, my words would follow. Makes sense, right? Yeeeeah. Sure. The truth is, GOD has a lot to say in HIS book about words–and more specifically, how much they impact people. Words can bring us up or pull us down… words can encourage, or discourage.

Another aspect of that is tone of voice. I mean, who believes the guy who says “you’re amazing” while scowling?

GOD made us a certain way. HE made us to communicate. Because of sin, that communication can very easily be twisted. Think of the serpent in the garden of Eden: “Has GOD truly said…”

But… But… BUT….

IT’S SO HARD!

Whether it’s a normal conversation, talk around the dinner table, texting, Facebook messages, google chats, or video chats, our words matter. And can easily be taken the wrong way. Our tones of voice matter. Which ultimately means: we got a lot of work to do. 😉

Have you ever found that it’s easy to have a grumpy tone of voice–or even an angry tone of voice–when you’re hormonal? Sometimes my words come out angry, even if I’m not angry with a specific person… or even a specific situation. Most of the time, I’m angry with myself. And that shows. It wears down those in my family, and my friends who are around for those “moments”.

As the body of CHRIST, we have been called and chosen; we are called to be sanctified: set apart. Most Christians have heard all their lives about “being a good example”, because other’s seeing our behavior will either lead people to Christ, or push them away.

But what does that truly mean? How does that apply to us?

HOW CAN WE FIX IT?

It starts in the heart. We know that. A bucket will eventually overflow–whatever the bucket is full of… THAT’s what will spread.

So… what are we putting in our hearts? What kind of people influence us? Are they people who get angry… give up on us easily? Are they people who are patient? What kind of movies do we watch? What are our friends like? Do we listen to music that encourages “rants” and “raves”?

How patient are we with others?

Where do we get patience?

I’ve found out the hard way, that when you ask for patience… GOD gives us opportunities to be patient. (Sound familiar?) HE doesn’t just zap me with the patience blessing and TA-DA! I’m all better. It’s a long–loooooooooong–hard journey of a thousand miles. And it begins with one step. And then another. One opportunity, one test, one example, one person…

One word.

One word can change a life. Just as one action can.

Are our words pointing people to JESUS? Our family members? Our friends? The people who follow us on Facebook? Twitter? Pinterest? Do we complain often? Have we made ourselves fall into the trap of negativity–always looking at the bad in the world, instead of the good? Instead of focusing on GOD?

I know I have.

I hope you’ll join with me on a new project. A purity project… purity of speech. I’m not gonna lay out any goals, or rules, or specifications. That’s for you to decide. But will you join me in TRYING? Trying to be pure in speech, conduct, dress, mind, body, heart, spirit… Let’s be sanctified.

Let’s be set apart.

And change this world. One word at a time.