Words.

Most weekday mornings, just as the sun is starting to peer over the house across the street, you will find the same scene played out in our home.

Alarm clocks buzzing. Sleepy feet dragging themselves to the kitchen for a bowl of Frosted-Mini-Wheats. Faucets on, faucets off. Toilets flushed. Teeth brushed. Beds made. Hair combed. Notes signed. Lunch boxes filled. Book bags stuffed. [Insert every day occasional morning-melt-down: “She won’t stop looking at me!”, “I can’t find ANY socks!!”, “This bread is STALE.”, “MOM!!! There’s no more milk!”]

Getting the Koziarz crew ready for the day is a task –as it is in any busy household.

But the last ten minutes of the morning rush are by far the best ten minutes of my day.

Morning Challenge Time.

As the girls have moved into phase two of childhood [5-12yrs], I have loved engaging with them in God’s word. I mean, we’ve always engaged God’s word with them, but you know your kids might need a little more spiritual challenging when they start their prayers like this:

“Dear God, this day will have many aspects to it. Please help guide me through each one.”

There comes a point as a parent we need to challenge their souls beyond Bible basics. It is important to clue in on our kids and challenge their growth. To allow them to experience Truth beyond just saying, “This is what you believe.”

So each morning we read  a short devotion [which I’m not a huge fan of the kids devos…just to be honest, they all seem to be super cheesy]. But then, I try to challenge them.

And as you know, quite often when we challenge our kids…we are in fact the ones challenged.

As it was this particular morning.

Hope Ann [8], sat on the floor legs criss-crossed apple sauce, eagerly awaiting my challenge for the day. Hope tends to have a bit of the “church-lady” personality:

She does things by the book.

Everything is black and white.

She’s always aware of the needs of others.

Her answers always include: Jesus, the Bible and God. [safe]

Therefore, sometimes challenging Hope is tough.

So, we were discussing: words.

Saying things we don’t mean. Making promises and not keeping them. Spitting things out of our mouths in the heat of “intense fellowship”.

I asked the girls to tell me about a time where they couldn’t keep their word [added bonus: Morning challenge time often turns into confessions of the Koziarz girls]. Taylor began blurting out every lie she had ever told, mean thing she said and hateful look she ever gave a soul in this world.

But, Hope Ann looked at me and just gave me that twisted look. I could tell we were about to go down the “church-lady” road, “I have never not kept my word.”

So I re-phrased the question.

“Hope, tell me about a time where you said something you didn’t mean.”

She quietly began sharing with us a story of a girl at school. Hope had told this little girl she would run the track with her at playground time but said because she didn’t like her –she chose not to.

It was really hard for her to admit this but I could see a layer of her heart removed as she shared her inadequacies as a person sometimes.

After I ushered my girls out the door that morning, I sat down and began to think about this topic.

Words.

My words.

I thought about how freeing it was for Hope to be challenged to think past her normal “church-lady” answers. It was good for her to look at life to see that because she’s human, she will make mistakes too.

And as I gazed into my own life I began thinking about the opportunities to speak life, truth and hope. But the human side of me is often drawn towards negativity, doubt and fear.

The words we hold on the tip of our tongue and in the corners of our hearts do something to us.

I think its why this verse pierces through my soul today:

“Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” -Matt 12:37 [MSG]

I make mistakes with my words. I am careless. Thoughtless. Selfish. And sometimes, just like my sweet Hopie…I just don’t see it.

But as I openly admit to God my struggle with words -both spoken and unspoken- I believe a concrete layer of my heart is dissolving.

And today, I am challenged to make every word count…