Insights

Did you know that the average person spends one fifth of their life talking? In fact, in just one year, most of us could fill sixty-six 800-page books with the words we say and type. Genesis tells us that the world came into being as God spoke it into existence. We see in the gospel of John that this Word, this LOGOS, is His Son, Jesus.  So it would make sense to us that God has an opinion about the words that we speak. James 3, in the New Testament,  discusses the power of the tongue by comparing the power of our words to a bit in a horse's mouth, which controls the whole horse, and a large ship that is set on course by a small rudder.  Words are incredibly powerful and they steer our lives.  James goes on to say that it only takes a small spark to start a forest fire and the tongue has the same power to set a course of destruction by a simple phrase.  Without control, words can bring destruction overnight, but with control, words can build, edify and give good direction.Our words can create a world where our children are confident and brave, where they know they are valued, pursued and cherished.

In our newsletters, we have been talking about writing a family mission statement.  Mrs. McIlvoy encouraged us to ask each family member, “What is the purpose of our family?” and Mr. Gutowsky spoke of being an active listener as you talk with each member about which things are important to your family. This week I want to speak about the power of words. Proverbs 18:2 says,”the power of life and death are in the tongue.” We can speak blessing or cursing and it can change a situation for better or worse depending on our choice of words. If we can catch ourselves between stimulus and response and choose words that bring life, we can create an atmosphere of wellness in our families that is both attractive and contagious.

A written family vision statement, where all members deposit words through collective thinking, will help create a world for your family that is a respite from the storm. Families need home to be a place where they want to come at the end of a hard day, a safe haven when the world has beaten them up a bit, a place where they know they will be unconditionally loved, their voice will be heard and their vote honored.

Ask your children: What words best describe our family? What words do you want to hear spoken at home? How do you feel when unkind words are spoken by family members? Is there power in the words we say? Why? What is a phrase you would like spoken to you everyday?

I wrote a proclamation that doubles as a family mission statement for the Brooks St. Campus this year since we are focusing on what it means to be part of a family.  It is Biblically based, it is simple, it has motions, and it rhymes! I want to make it palatable for them to absorb.  In Stephen Covey's book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, he says, “In spite of the work we do on mission statements, if we don’t internalize them in our hearts and minds and inside the culture of the family, other cultural forces will confuse and disorient us. They will stagger our sense of morality so that ‘wrong’ is defined more by getting caught than by doing wrong”. Make sure you are creating a mission statement that your family can understand and internalize. Make it traditional or make it a poem or song or rap, something that reflects the character in your family. As I taught the Brooks St. mission statement to the students with motions and rhyme, I became ever more aware of how important the words we speak are and to instill that importance in them when they are young. (You can find the proclamation in the newsletter this week)

In Joshua 30:19, it says that the Lord has set before us life and death, blessing and cursing and then He says, CHOOSE LIFE!  Words can become a self fulfilling prophecy so make sure the words you speak over and to your family are words you want to see fulfilled.

Your family mission statement might take a while to craft, months even!  But I encourage you to make it a fun priority in your family’s life.The words will steer your family like a rudder on a ship or bit in a horse’s mouth. The words that your family speaks to and over each other will create a world that will affect your family for generations to come.  

Becky Ross
Primary Education Principal
Logos Preparatory Academy