Momma Said....

Have you ever heard that animals take on the personality of their owners? Poor Chief deserves better than me. I'm afraid you'll have to click on his picture to get the full effect and then I'll tell you about it.

We have had a cold and wet summer. Even after a complete muck out there is still a lot of "scum" in the corral area that I just cannot seem to get rid of. To make matters worse the dyke that protects the barn from the irrigated pasture broke the last time we irrigated and flooded the corral AGAIN. Nobody was happy about it except Chief and General... guard dogs turned puppy when the water made them a nice place to splash.

Here is where poor Chief needs a new personality to take on. He was running through the corral with ears and jowls just a flappin' when one big dumb foot stepped on the other big dumb foot and before he could react he was torpedoed face first under the water....and all it's scum. It was no longer fun and he came totally humbled and whimpering looking for someone to love him better.

Man o' man have I ever had days like that... only it's not usually my feet that land me in a pile but my mouth! Sometimes my speech has about as much grace and tact as...as.....well, as a Newfie running through a mud puddle. There are days that I cry out to God "Oh, why didn't you just make me mute???"

The bible repeatedly warns us that our tongue is as dangerous as a sword. The wounds we give can be deadly, maybe not to the body but deadly to the soul. The hardest part to remember is that the ones we love the most are the ones who we tend to be hardest on....................

How many times have I been in the middle of dressing down one of my children and the phone rings and I am instantly sugar sweet to the caller on the line? I'd be ashamed if I could actually count them all up. But it proves that I am in total control. I cannot say "you make me so angry!" because the truth is I make myself angry. I can turn it on and off like a switch. I cannot say "I've had a bad day" because all that shows is I am not resting in the protection of my Saviour. When my speech is less than gracious and my mood undesirable I have no one to blame but myself. NO ONE.

My Lord has been convicting me of this lately, I have so many thoughts running a muck in my head I can't get them all straight. I will have to post more on this later. Until then I am going to practice speaking softer and smiling sweeter.

I just might find I like it.