Don’t tell me that women do not use power tools! I know that it is men who have this almost obsessive passion for power in the form of all things electric or otherwise power-driven, but let me tell you, the “babes” of this life have the same passion, and in no small portion either! I realize that most women would rather receive a gift certificate for a day at the spa than to the local hardware store, but I am not speaking of the ordinary power tool. So listen up, ladies; this one is for us!

I very distinctly remember one of my early elementary school teachers. She had the kind of womanly beauty that could stop traffic. Her hair was perfect, her shape and size were perfect, her posture was perfect; but when she opened her mouth, the idea of perfection was totally dispelled. A volcanic eruption of words spewed from her lips and devoured everyone and everything in its path. She daily used her words as a finely sharpened weapon on her students to maintain control, and I guess she thought she was commanding respect.

I learned a lot that year that actually benefits me to this day. As I grew in my Christian walk, I realized that my teacher had overlooked the fact that she had the power to bring life or death to a student through her words. Her weapon of choice was her tongue.

The same applies at any given moment for all of us. We live in a society that throws words around like they are nothing. We rant and rave on our cell phones in public about someone as though we are watching television, forgetting that there are real people around us listening, watching, observing. Parents admonish their children with loud voices in public places using descriptive phrases that should not be said at all, much less to a little one. Just like my school teacher, we are no different.

Our words have lasting effects, and whether the effect is positive or negative is a choice we make before we open our mouths. We must depend on the Holy Spirit to filter our thoughts before they become our words, and then choose whether to speak. I look at it this way: The Motor for our Mouths is Our Minds. Just because we think something does not mean that we have to say it. Usually what we think about, we talk about; and what we talk about, we end up doing. What we do determines our destiny.

I dare say that as women, what we do can affect the destiny of others as well. God has given us a tremendous amount of influence. If you doubt that, just go all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Seems like a “babe” and a mouth were involved, and some pretty heavy influence took place.

—Lila L. Pond

Lila is a native of Southeast Texas and resident of Dallas, has raised eight children and blended a family for the past thirty-four years with her husband, Paul G. Pond. A “parenting survivor”, Lila is the founder of Authentic Woman Ministries and may be found at http://www.authenticwoman.org.