Fridays keep rolling around.  I pace my week by what I write.  I have found that I love to write.  I am much more organized in my thinking than when I talk.  And I can edit!!!  How I wish I could edit out some of the things I have spoken with my mouth.  I doubt that any of you out there have ever said something that you wish you could take back.

 James 3:5  "...the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. ... In the
same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. ...

James 3:8 "...but no human being can tame the tongue. It is... restless ... "

Proverbs 15:4  "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

Let's see, those verses say the tongue is boastful, grandiose, restless, perverse, and deceitful.  And the verses give us the remedy:  Gentle words, and a soothing words.

Now that Ken is gone, I find myself remembering things that I said that I regret.  And it is too late to offer an apology.  I know he loved me anyway, but I could have been kinder with my words.

If you still have your spouse, think about this:  What we say in anger hurts.  And most often, it doesn't help at all.  It cuts like a knife.  It causes a permanent scar.

I respond to praise a lot better than I respond to criticism.  Because I want more praise.  If you change what you do, you will get a different response from the other person.  The only person in the world that you can change is yourself.  Basically what I am saying is, "Keep your mouth shut more often."