Today I am joining Lisa-Jo and friends for Five Minute Friday.
This is where we come together writing for 5 minutes without editing or overthinking.
I love this community.
Check out what everyone's is sharing on the word FOCUS here.
Words can hurt.
Sometimes they are thrown around so carelessly.
Without a thought to how they can wound.
My heart is tender today after hearing words like that.
Why is it so much easier to focus on those words than ones that encourage?
I can hear several people say something nice and have one person say something hurtful and will forget all the others and absorb the hurt instead.
You remind me in Your Word to guard my heart because everything flows from it.
I know why today. When my heart is bruised I tend to isolate.
Like a wounded animal I will hide and lick the wounds. After the fact I go in to protect mode and come to You to hear what you say about me.
That is the only way to repair the break in my heart today.
Guard your heart more than anything else,
because the source of your life flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23
Words can hurt.
Sometimes they are thrown around so carelessly.
Without a thought to how they can wound.
My heart is tender today after hearing words like that.
Why is it so much easier to focus on those words than ones that encourage?
I can hear several people say something nice and have one person say something hurtful and will forget all the others and absorb the hurt instead.
You remind me in Your Word to guard my heart because everything flows from it.
I know why today. When my heart is bruised I tend to isolate.
Like a wounded animal I will hide and lick the wounds. After the fact I go in to protect mode and come to You to hear what you say about me.
That is the only way to repair the break in my heart today.
Guard your heart more than anything else,
because the source of your life flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23
It is so true, I do the same thing. It is easy to latch on to the one negative thing and the enemy will run with it in our head if we let him. Gotta get the "Focus" back on Jesus. Thanks for the encouragement on Twitter tonight. I will definitely be back next Thursday. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteYes Tobi and focusing more on what He says and not others. So enjoyed chatting with you and can't wait to do it again next Thursday! Blessings!
DeleteWendy, you're not the only one who takes the hurtful comments in and "forgets" the nice stuff. But I am glad we can talk about it together and remind each otehr to listen to the truth about who we are in Christ. Thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteOh yes Jenn! Such a gift to be able to encourage each other! Blessings!
DeleteThe temptation is for me to hide also. I have to trust the Lover of my soul to be the Guardian of my heart. We journey together in this... Beautiful words. Blessings..
ReplyDeleteMichele-Lyn
Thanks so much Michele! Love that He has connected us. You are such a blessing. Have a wonderful weekend!
DeleteThis is so true Wendy! We do need to guard our hearts against the hurtful words of others and focus more on what is good, pure, positive, encouraging... This is such an excellent, thought-provoking post which is going to hit home with many of us.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Wendy! Wanted to post the verse you were referring to. Such a wonderful reminder of where our focus needs to be. Blessings!
DeleteAnd now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8
P.S. I'm with Jennifer when it comes to hiding away with my hurt. I tend to cut myself off from people for fear of being hurt. I know I have need of healing in this area of my life as it affects my ability to make friendships for fear of rejection. I tend to operate in the 'safe' zones when it comes to relationships, e.g. Internet.
ReplyDeleteWendy I so know what you mean. Standing with you in prayer for healing of your heart in this area. Blessings friend!
DeleteIt so hard to guard our hearts when it feels like hurtful things are thrown at us full force! But this is a good reminder that we can do something on our end to protect ourselves. Take it all to God... :)
ReplyDeleteFollowing from Harvest of Friends Weekend Blog Hop! :)
That is so true Rebecca! So thankful to be able to give it all to Him! So blessed to connect with you and am so looking forward to getting to know you more! Blessings!
Deletenice post thanks for sharing the 5 minutes friday...looking for to visit more..blessings
ReplyDeleteThanks so much friend! Blessings!
DeleteThat is a wonderful post! I'm now following as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela! Following you as well and LOVE your blog! Looking forward to getting to know you and read more from you! Blessings!
DeleteWow!... your words, Wendy, were spot on...right from God's heart to mine...THANK YOU! Will have to share :) Happy Friday :) Thanks for the #FF...so sweet...need to go visit the other ladies later :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Dolly! So love connecting with you and all our FMF friends! What a blessing you all are!
DeletePraying peace for your heart, time in His presence for that heart-healing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your prayers Annie. Blessings!
DeleteIt's funny how we will let one negative comment completely pull us down but it takes so many more positive ones to fill us back up. I appreciate how you said we should guard our heart in these situations because we have to be careful who we are vulnerable with. We need to trust that they will treat our hearts with care.
ReplyDeleteSo true Mary Beth. We really do have to be careful who we open our hearts to. So thankful for you friend. Blessings!
DeleteI'm trying to get passed the thought that someone managed to dig low enough to come up with something negative to say to you....I'm trying.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why we listen to the lies...probably because they ring 100 decibels louder than the whispers of truth in our feeble minds. Oh friend. I'm praying those whispers blow loud today for you. May He wrap His arms around you an coo sweet everythings in your ear...Oh how He pursues you...
Love and hugs to you, Wendy!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you my sweet friend. So blessed by your encouraging words and your prayers. Love and hugs!
DeleteI don't think we can ever get past being hurt by words. Many times its not even intentional but our hearts intercept it the way it chooses. You've got the right idea - seeking God before anything. That requires a little isolation, a chance to unpack what was said, how it was meant, and how you received it. God will show you when and how to respond. It's wonderful how He knows everything you feel. He may even turn it into a teachable moment for you.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a sweet spirit, I think people might feel you wont get upset no matter what is said to you. That's no excuse.
Glad to see so many people love and encourage you.
Oh, BTW, You ROCK!!!
Hugs
MB I am so thankful for you and our band of sisters. There have been so many times that words you all have shared to encourage have lifted my spirits in these moments when other voices could've been much louder. I think YOU ROCK! Love ya! HUGS!
DeleteYou are right. The negative words do linger. I try hard to remember "don't let it stick - shake it off."
ReplyDeleteOh yes Nonnie...we have to shake it off for sure. And replace those negatives with positives. Blessings!
DeleteThis is exactly what I needed to hear this week. Thanks for posting such encouraging words!
ReplyDeleteBailey
So blessed that God spoke to you through this post Bailey. He knows exactly what we need to hear when we need to hear it. He is so faithful. Blessings!
DeleteThanks so much Rena! For some reason it won't allow me to go to your blog from that link. Do you have a direct link to share? Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Jennifer! Blessings to you as well!
ReplyDeleteSaying prayers for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Denise! Blessings!
DeleteThis was a lovely post, and I do think we should focus on the good things, and dismiss the bad things people say. It's the former that matter most anyway. Keep doing what you do right and the rest will fall into place. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Blessed by your encouraging words!
DeleteI'm a new follower! It is so important that we guard our hearts. Though I think we have to be careful not to take it the opposite direction and guard it too tightly...from God. We have to guard it from Satan but leave it open to God's moving in our life.
ReplyDeletehttp://lovingwhenithurts.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-ugly-truth-part-3.html
So true Jamie. We have to be careful that we don't harden our hearts, but guard them. What a good word. Thanks so much! Following you as well and look forward to getting to know you! Blessings!
DeleteThere are people that are not healthy to be around because they speak lies...and we have to be reminded of the truth of who we are in Christ. Good reminder to speak truth in love to others, and to remind ourselves of the truth...because people will say things that aren't true, noble, just, pure, honest...
ReplyDeleteYes Lisa...such truth. Sometimes the only way we can guard our heart from another's words is by removing the opportunity for them to speak into our lives. Blessings!
Delete