Speak Life

It's a brand new year! What if we started this year with a commitment to being kinder to yourself?
I know I'm not the only one that can say I am my biggest critic. We all get to those places where we mess up and start calling ourselves stupid, clumsy, a failure, or a bad friend. It's way too easy to start saying these things, and once we start to say them, it's even easier to believe them.
I had a moment with the Lord today that He showed me just how harsh I can be with myself and He started asking me some questions.
How would you speak to your friend that just made a mistake?
Would you criticize another mom as harshly as you criticize yourself?
When your child cries, how do you respond?

"The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit." - Proverbs 15:4

I would venture to say that most of you probably don't speak to your friends or family quite as harshly as you speak to yourself. You probably don't come to them at their lowest moment with a list of all the other ways they've failed and tell them they're stupid. So why do it to yourself?
Our words have power, even when they're not uttered out loud. Even when it's a simple thought in your head. When we speak negatively to ourselves, we build up a monument of a lie in our heads, and the more you do it, the harder it is to tear down.
Starting today, I challenge you to look through the lens of God's eyes for you (which is Jesus, btw), and start speaking to yourself the way you would to those you love. If you're still not sure what to say, pause, pray, and ask God to speak to you. Write down what He says, and keep telling it to yourself until you've torn down the lie and can live in that truth.