Phase 2 of The House Behind The Trees ~ The downstairs #TeelsBuildaHouse

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So we are starting the downstairs ... I HATE to say basement because we had a basement in our old home, where you opened a door and went down stairs separated from anything else. It was a finished basement complete with a bedroom, craft room, family/game room and we spent a lot of time there ~ our oldest son moved down there in jr high and stayed through high school ... until we finished the master suite in the attic then he moved back up to the bedroom floor with his brother and sister.  So here our downstairs is open to the rest of the house, you can see through to the outside from the top of the stairs going down because we have a wall of windows down there as well.  We really didn't plan to have a kiddo down there but since we are having to do a switch-a-roo with rooms (I'll explain later) he is moving home soon and will be downstairs. Anyhoo, our downstairs will house our main family room, our middle sons room, a full bath and kitchenette.  I thought it would be fun ...
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Bite Your Tongue

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Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it!
—Psalm 34:13–14

"You really talk a lot,” you've been told by everyone all your life {me.me.me}!  They were pointing out something that you already knew: God had given you “a ready tongue,” you speak easily, freely and willingly to whoever and wherever! Words are your tools, and the Lord gave you that gift.

While you have no trouble talking ~ that’s your gift ~ it can also been your greatest problem {me.me.me}. Because you always have something to say, you have to really watch and/or bite your....some days are better than others right?  Sound familiar.

I would guess that through out the years, you've heard various people saying things like, “Bite your tongue.” “Do you have to speak every word that comes to your mind?” “Do you always speak first and think later?” “Must you sound so harsh?” If you truly listened to what people were saying to you when making these suggestions/statement, you might have realized that God was trying to tell you something.

We have to gain control of our tongue, not just stop talking {for some of us that would be impossible =)}, but keep our tongue from evil, our lips from speaking deceit, as the psalmist David says.

We have a choice ~ we can hurt people with our words {and we can} or we can bring our lips into subjection to God. Obviously, we/I want to be subject to the Lord, but it is a battle.

Our words are expressions of our hearts, of what’s going on inside us. If we want to know who a person really is, all we need to do is listen to their words. If we listen long enough, we learn a lot about them.

As we learn to listen to our own words, we too will begin to learn a lot about ourselves. Some of the things we learn will not please us but help us realize that we have a character flaw that needs addressed. Once we confess that failure to God, we will be on the path to victory ~ not all at once and not perfectly, but God is patient, thank you God!

No matter how negative you are or have been, or how long you’ve been that way, God wants to change you. It won’t be easy, but we can win and the effort will be worth it.

Lord, help me use my mouth for right things. Put a watch over my mouth lest I sin against You with my tongue. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You. I ask it in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen.

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