I picked a truly must read book this week and actually spent money for it. This one will be required reading for my girls in time. It is Sharon Jaynes’ The Power of a A Woman’s Words. She begins by pointing out that all of creation came to be because of the spoken word (And God said….) and goes on to show how by our speech we have the ability to hurt or heal, inspire or devastate.

Everyday we must choose whether we will “invest our words wisely or squander them foolishly. Will we use them to build others’ up or tear them down?” She reminds us that our words have the ability to change the course of a day…to change the course of a life. These changes depend upon the decisions we make moment by moment.

There is no shortage of words in our day, certainly not in cyberspace. I know I have made a hefty contribution to that total. : o I also know that “in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.” Therefore I am working on which ones I use – moment by moment because….

You are going to meet an old lady someday. Down the road, ten, twenty, thirty years;
she’s waiting for you. You will catch up to her. What kind of old lady are you going to
meet?
That is a rather significant question. She may be a seasoned, soft and gracious lady. A
lady who has grown old gracefully, surrounded by a host of friends – friends who call her
blessed because of what her life has meant to them. She may be a bitter, disillusioned,
dried-up, cynical old buzzard, without a good word for anyone or anything – soured,
friendless, alone. The kind of old lady you will meet will depend entirely upon you.
She will be exactly what you make of her, nothing more, and nothing less. It is up to you.
You will have no one else to credit or blame. Every day, in every way, you are becoming
more and more like that old lady. Amazing but true. You are getting to look more like
her, think more like her and talk more life her. You are becoming her. If you live only in
terms of what you are getting out of life, the old lady gets smaller, drier, harder, crabbier,
more self-centered. Open your life to others, think in terms of what you can give and your
contribution to life, and the old lady grows larger, softer, kinder, and greater.
These little things, seemingly so unimportant not – attitudes, goals, ambitions, desires –
are adding up inside, where you cannot see them, crystallizing in your heart and mind.
The point is these things don’t always show up immediately. But they will – sooner than
you think. Some day they will harden into that old lady; nothing will be able to soften or
change them then.
The time to take care of that old lady is right now, today. Examine your motive, attitudes,
and goals. Chuck up on her. Work her over now while she is still pliable, still in a
formative condition. The day when it is too late comes swiftly. The hardness sets in,
worse than paralysis. Character crystallizes, sets, and gels. Any wise businessperson
takes an inventory regularly. Merchandise is not half as important as the person. You had
better take a bit of a personal inventory too. Then you will be much more likely to meet a
lovely, gracious old lady at the proper time.

– anonymous

You can find more articles by Jaynes at her website.