Colossians 3:8

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Matthew 15:10-11

And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Ephesians 5:4

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Matthew 12:36-37

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Luke 6:45

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

These are some of my favorite bible verses. Especially the last one: “…for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Everything we say comes from our heart. And “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick…” (Jeremiah 17:9). 

Speaking badly about others, even speaking profanities, is a clear sign of bad fruit.

Gossip is so easy to get sucked into. I hate it but at the same time it is difficult to avoid, so everyone struggles with this. Mostly girls though.

Everything that we say and do should be uplifting and glorifying to our God. If someone who claims to be a Christian (a follower of Christ) is constantly encouraging something that God deems as shameful and sinful and even corrupt, then how does that make God look? Christians are supposed to express and share and reflect God’s definition of love (1 Corinthians 13), not their own personal opinion of what it means to be a Christian. Christianity is not meant to be comfortably fit around our personality or schedule. WE are supposed to follow CHRIST. If you are constantly excusing yourself from any sins, then you are not walking in faith and obeying God.

I have witnessed so many people on a regular basis who say “Yeah, I believe in God… I’m a Christian”. And yet their fruits are bad. They do not reflect Christ. In fact, they give Him a bad name. And a lot of the time it’s because they don’t understand what it really means to be saved and to be a follower of Christ. However, there are still some who do understand and yet they hold themselves higher than the rest. They think they know everything and that by putting others down or pointing out others’ flaws that they will be recognized for their own strengths and seen as “holier than thou”. Even those who don’t verbally criticize… just thinking lowly of someone is sinful.

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

We are all sinners, born into selfishness. Nobody is better than anyone else and even if someone’s life on earth seems “greater” than another’s, material wealth and happiness does not follow you when you die.

This past Sunday in a Gospel-centered parenting class I’m going through at Church, we watched a message by Paul David Tripp. He explained that every single day we all worship someone or something. Every second of every day we are devoting precious time to something other than God. In a sense, we may be idolizing things. It might sound silly or absurd, but it is true.

There are several times every day when time we spend on earthly/unnecessary things could be time spent with growing in our relationships with God. When I think through my day and break it down I become filled with a strong conviction. I long to grow closer. I want to have a stronger faith. I desire His guidance, will, and wisdom. And yet in the small moments, I am weak and my flesh almost always wins the battle between serving God and serving self. It is a sad truth that exists in everyone’s life.

But I have faith and I am determined to strengthen my relationship with my God. I will continue to seek after Him no matter what and I know that He will never let me go.

Saw this on Pinterest! Love it! So true!

One of my most favorite Bible verses.

So many people only make friends with people who are nice to them, make them feel good about themselves, and support & even encourage every thing they say/do even if it’s something wrong or foolish.

True friends are the ones who will steer you right. The ones who have the guts to tell you when you’re being a complete idiot when you make stupid decisions. The ones who will stand up to you and tell you what everyone else is thinking but no one else will say.

I would rather have friends who are completely honest with me, even if it hurts (Faithful are the wounds of a friend) than to have people in my life who are fake and just say what they think would make me happy or feel good because they are scared of hurting me or losing me as a friend (deceitful are the kisses of an enemy).

I love my friends, but if being honest with them meant risking my friendship with them, then that’s what I would do. I would rather lose a friend knowing that I was there for him/her and gave my honest opinion on what the right or better thing to do is than to keep a friend and watch them suffer and hurt in their stupid/foolish decisions.

I don’t regret anything with anyone and I would not take anything I’ve ever said back. I am more than happy with the friends that I have, even though I don’t have or make a lot of time for them. But they are people who understand that I have a child and I’m in school and I’m planning a wedding and going to bible studies and going through counseling, and they are still there when they can be. I do not NEED a certain amount of friends or people in my life to make me “happy”. But I do appreciate the friends that I do have, a lot more than they know! And although we don’t get to hang out hardly ever anymore, I still love them all to death and I will always be there for them.

So much has happened over this past year. I thought it started out well, but I was wrong… again. I stumbled, I fell, I got lost, I strayed from my walk with Christ. But after finally being smacked in the face with conviction, realization, and mercy… again… I joyfully and eagerly removed the “trash” from my life and found my way back into the arms of my God.

I have been so content with being single. I have made all my career and life plans based on being a single mom… everything I’m going to do to support just me and Elijah… I was happy and looking forward to all of it. And now… God has brought someone into my life so quickly and unexpectedly. I still find myself making plans based on me being content in my singleness… and this is the first time I haven’t revolved my whole life/heart/all my plans around a guy. After always being in the habit of centering my life on whoever I dated for soo long, I almost feel guilty for not being so focused on trying to make him happy. But I am glad that I have finally learned to keep my focus on Christ.

Some people think I am just with him because he’s there and he’s interested. But that’s definitely not the case at all. There has been quite a handful of guys who have pursued me over this past year. A couple guys have even talked about their interests in getting married and being a family. And these guys aren’t bad looking… they are very responsible, their financial situations are even very sturdy and reliable… I just haven’t been interested. None of them were right for me. And now… this guy… reflecting all these VERY specific characteristics and qualities that I have been praying for on a regular basis in my future husband. I am blown away. God has poured out blessing after blessing in my life and I am just spoiled rotten by His love and mercy. I almost can’t believe it.

I haven’t talked to a lot of people about how serious we are because of how quickly this all has happened… but it is very serious and I am very excited to see God’s plans play out in His perfect timing. I also haven’t talked about it much because I am so used to getting my hopes up and then having them torn down so viciously and without warning. But for the first time I feel as if I am completely content with whatever God does. I am trusting in God and my faith in Him is growing so strong. I am not worried about being in control and it feels great. I am at peace with everything… and by everything I also mean everyone. I am worry-free and filled with joy and I owe it all to God.

This year is ending well for me and I am so thankful for all of the blessings that God has brought into my life. I have a wonderful circle of friends who are all so sweet and just make my days so much brighter. I have a great church family that never ceases to encourage me and make sure that all my spiritual needs are met. I have an amazing family that is so supportive and loves me unconditionally. And most importantly, I have an awesome God/Father who has loved me so perfectly and provided me with everything that I need and more. I am so undeserving. 

rachelretro:

damn right!

(Source: franksjunkdrawer)