Hello Dads4Kids readers! Today is a GREAT, WONDERFUL DAY!

Speak life or speak death… What will you choose to say? Since antiquity, the importance of speaking life has been understood. Consider these words from the ancient and wise book of Proverbs:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
—Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

How do we speak life or death? Let me show you the way to recognise life and death and to help you NEVER ARGUE FOR YOUR LIMITATIONS.

I can’t do that; I can’t do this… that’s death. I may not have the resources yet or the skill, but I am phenomenally willed! That’s life!

I am depressed… No! I am anxious… No! I am nobody… No No No! You are somebody even if you don’t know it yet. Speak life!

I’m having a bad day… I’m always in a bad way… I can’t find anything good to say… Best say nothing lest you speak death… Best take a breath, pause and rest, then say these words… I am blessed! Speak life!

Building Up, Not Tearing Down

Friends, hear me, with your lips you can kiss or curse. We can heal by saying, ‘Feel better real soon,’ or we can hurt by saying, ‘You must be the dumbest person on earth!’ We can build up: ‘You’ve got this, bro, and I believe in you’; or we can tear down: ‘You should quit right now’. Speak life!

When my daughter Audrey graduated from velcro straps to shoelaces, I watched her struggle for many moments. I didn’t say, “Here, let me do that because you can’t do it properly.” I said, “How are you going with that, sweetheart?”

Audrey was 5 or 6 at the time and replied, “Good, Dad. Dad, it’s a bit tricky, but the rabbit makes an ear, and I loop it around the other ear… down into the rabbit hole and pull tight.”

Well, let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty at all — that shoelace was loose and uneven. “Good effort, babe,” I said. “You’ll get it eventually, so don’t give up, and ask for help if you need it.” I speak life to my child, and Audrey speaks life back to me!

Affirmation Shapes the Future

When we speak life, it has the power to change the present, which then changes the future, which comes from a positively changed past. Consider this: there are no days of future past, only a continuation of the present, an infinite number of present moments happening NOW. Speak life!

Muhammad Ali once said, “It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” Speak life!

My fellow dads, I implore you to search your minds for the good words, a lexicon of great words in fact. The kind, caring, uplifting words, words of love and affection and of positive affirmation.

I know how challenging this call to action can be. I am certainly still a work in progress myself, but choose to shine in the shadows. Put smiles on people’s faces and hope in your children’s hearts. SPEAK LIFE!

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Image courtesy of Adobe.