Did you know the first week of March is annually celebrated as “Words Matter Week?” And that in honor of this holiday, the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) is hosting a Blog Challenge each day?
Yesterday was the first I heard of this celebration… so here I am, jumping in on the March 9th challenge for conversation!
Challenge: What is your favorite quote about words and why?
Well, with the theme of this blog, can there be any doubt? 
The right words at the right time are like apples of gold in settings of silver. — Proverbs 25:11 Because words hold power and I want mine to bring life and encouragement… just exactly when needed.
Like these…
Head hung low, the little girl entered the school cafeteria line and sighed. Words like “stupid,” “useless,” and “never amount to anything” had already been spoken over her so many times, crushing her spirit under their weight.
“Good morning, Sunshine!” a server greeted her, warmly. Looking into the woman’s smiling eyes, light lifted the child’s heart for the first time. Years later, she recalls this daily incident as life-changing. “It was the one moment in my day when someone affirmed me,” the now award-winning singer said on a recent talk show, “and led the way to my believing I could become somebody.”
Listening to her story, a lump rose in my throat. Only a few days earlier, I’d been talking with a friend whose nine year-old daughter is struggling under her own label of “stupid.” Having a slight learning disability, the one thing school seems to have ingrained in her is that she must be “set apart” for the “dumb class” one hour a day. Kids make fun of her. Defeat is her banner. Fear, her crushing enemy. “Can’t I just stay home?” is her daily, heartbreaking plea.
Something in me longs to erase those poisonous negatives she now rolls around in her mind and surround this child I barely know with words of life:
She is a jewel in the eyes of the One who made her… a pearl of great price
He created her with and for joy
She is bright and full of sparkle in ways only she can bring to this world
She is a gift just waiting to unfold
I see in her eyes someone who will make a difference
She is the wonderful friend someone else is waiting for
I love her sweet smile and shining eyes
She is not stupid. 
She is a rose who will bloom as she looks up to the Son
I ask the Lord to make these words circle and enfold her each moment until they take root in her heart, lifting her eyes to see herself as a beautiful dream of God…. and setting her own dreams flying on new wings of hope. No more may she declare lies over herself, but soar under the banner of his love.
Do you know someone who could use an uplifting word today? Remember…your words matter! I’d be encouraged to hear your favorite quotes about words, too, if you’d like to leave a comment...
© Pam Depoyan
Linked with Salina and her Listen to His truth post at “http://www.heartreflected.com”
Hi Pam, one of my favorite if not my favorite is in Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” What is really neat is my Mom & Dad had a drawing with a tea pot and these words were written around it. I always loved this and now I own it and can hardly wait until I can hang it in my apartment. Words can be so beautiful & healing and also amazingly they can be so ugly & hurtful. I often wonder who wrote that famous quote… “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.” In my opinion this is absolutely not true! Would be quite interesting to find out who wrote this quote and what they were thinking when they did and why this quote is used so often as a form of healing when someone uses cruel words against us. I do so enjoy reading all of your writing. Thank you for sharing & God bless you!
Hi Pam, I just found another quote about words it was in Our Daily Bread Devotional… “A gentle word of compliment falls lightly but it carries great weight.” The story that was included in this devotional was one of two students at Purdue University and they decided to lift the spirits of people on campus so they gave out free compliments. They said things like “Very nice smile” and “Cool snow boots.” Some people deliberately walked past the “Compliment Guys” every Wednesday just to hear a kind word. I would love to walk past them and receive a kind word. I often do this at work when I tell someone they have cute shoes or a dress or whatever. We just never know what those words could mean to someone. Bye for now!
Hi Angel,
Thanks for sharing! I agree… nothing could be farther from the truth than that “sticks and stones” quote… I love the story about the “compliment guys.” Great idea!
Hi Pam, I found another quote about words actually from the same devotional…
“The power in words can build up or tear down–
Create a big smile or produce a sad frown;
So in all your contacts with people each day,
Be sure to encourage in all that you say.–Fitzhugh”
It easy to forget the power that words can have as we use them. Oh and I read this today…
“Lord, set a guard upon my lips,
My tongue control today;
Help me to evaluate each thought
And watch each word I say.–Hess”
“Bite your tongue before your tongue bites others.”
My Mom shared one with me… “A closed mouth gathers no feet.” I really like that one it is so very true. Oh before I let you go… here is a quote from John Wayne… “Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.” I sure could use this in my life. Bye for now….
Lots of good words… thanks again for sharing, Angel!
Pam, can I make one quote, even if it is late?
I have one back at “Compassion@Work,” which says: “If words could only speak, they’d mean even less.” (English proverb)
Does it mean, there are time we have to shut up, and there are time to open our mouths to speak, and speak them in truth and in love, to be understood and not to boast?
Did I get it wright, Pam? What will you add in that, please.
Padon again Pam, Miss S did not come with me here. I always fail to register her. Time to replace my keyboard or let my fingers hit the point? Which is which.
Pam, I am making a lighter banter over the way I type and how I always hit enter even without re-reading.
And miss W decided to go with mister right…. and they married and became mr. and mrs. wright. Oh wow! One of these days!
No problem, Lolita! I love your comments… and it’s easy to make typos. I do it too!
I’m not sure what that quote means, but I like your definition! Thanks for sharing it. I love quotes… I have found a lot of them just by googling quotes for certain themes…