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We are talking this week about actualizing your fullest potential. One of the most important things you can do when it comes to actualizing your physical strength and potential is to strengthen your core. Your core is your center, or your middle! Do you know it is one of the most important things you can do for your spiritual life as well. How do you increase your core strength? Here are some ideas that may get you moving – Proverbs 4:20-23 says that out of your core come all your issues. What is at the heart of your life is what is important. If your core isn’t strong, your body will suffer. Stability comes from the core – and so does reliability(!) That’s why our core is so important. If we want to be stable and make good decisions, we need to strengthen our foundation. Increase your core by increasing these foundational areas:
a. Read your Bible – put down the fork, pick up the Bread of Life Thy word have I hid in my heart – Ps 91:11
b. Have a daily prayer time – pray in the spirit every day – Pray without ceasing I Thes 5:18
c. Fellowship with believers – have accountability – there is power in 2 or more together. It is called synergy!
d. Serve – winning for God and His kingdom happens as we serve Gal 5:13
e. Control your thought life – Renew your mind…all the time. Roman 12:1-2. Here’s a challenge – why not fast negative thoughts.
f. Control your tongue –Fast negative words! Confession means to say the same thing. We speak the truth when we say the same thing God says. Don’t say what the world is saying. Choose not to participate in the world’s circumstances! We live in the world, but we are not of the world! Change your thoughts to change your words, change your words to change your world. Learn more about the power of the tongue in James chapter 3.
These are a few things that should come naturally if you’ve been walking with God for a while. If these aren’t a part of who you are as a believer….start now. These foundational things will help increase your core strength and you will be on your road to reaching all that God has for you.

Intro:
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. One of the things I am always praying for is for people to reach their potential. This week we’ll be talking about that, and I hope you see that your potential is within reach. The giftings and callings in your life can be maximized to actualize all that God has for you. Here is your encouraging Word for today.

This is the season for Graduations and Milestones. Probably each of you know at least one person who is moving from one season in their life to another. Our daughter graduated with her Dr’s Degree from the University of Utah last month and we are so proud of her accomplishment. We are thankful that her steady faithfulness has paid off, and she gets to say she has finished a goal that was so important for her, before she goes on to the next season of her life. In the midst of momentous accomplishments….whatever that may be in your own life, we need to realize that once we make it to our goal, we have to maintain and continue to grow. Stagnation is not an option for the believer. Here are three important things we will address this week, so that you can actualize all of your potential. Where you are is great, but let’s keep on growing. Here are some great steps to keep you on track:

Increase your core strength – Prov 4:20-23 Out of your core come all your issues. What is at the heart of your life is what is important. If your core isn’t strong, your body will suffer. Stability comes from the inside out. We want you to have inner strength so that you are balanced, flexible and strong.

Get better at what you are good at – You can’t be good or an expert at everything! II Peter 1:5-11 tells us to continue being perfected. Find areas that you know you do well, and continue learning in those areas. Delegate or ask for help in the areas that aren’t your greatest strengths.

Operate in Faith – Roman 1:17 say the just shall live by faith. Faith is a dynamic that is essential to all areas of life. I can remember asking my husband once, long ago when we were young in ministry….. “When do we get to quit using our faith?” Of course you know the answer….never. We live by faith and we walk by faith. It is an area we must be strong in to reach all of our potential.

So as you strive to reach your fullest potential, remember this: You are a blessing to the body of Christ – Strengthen your core, get better at what you are good at, and keep on using your faith. When you do, you please God! Think of it, you make God smile! How encouraging is that!

Today, I really want you to be able to make what we’ve been talking about this week a pattern that becomes a lifestyle. So when it comes to talking about the power of words, and how they affect our relationships, we have some choices to make. What kind of words will you let out of your lips? Will you choose to listen not only with your ears, but also with your heart? Will you try to see and understand where someone else is coming from? Do you see that you really can do better in your conversations? Do you know that what you say has lasting effects? I’m hoping your answer to all of those questions is yes. Sometimes it is helpful to have a jump start, so here are some positive feeling words to add to your vocabulary.
I accept you
I affirm you
I appreciate you
I think you are brave
I think you are beautiful
I’m blessed to have you in my life
Thanks for caring for me
You make me comfortable
I’m contented when I’m with you
You make me feel hopeful
Thanks for being kind
I’m proud to know you
You are a good parent
I’m refreshed, relaxed, renewed, and rejuvenated
when I’m with you
I’m secure in our relationship
I feel supported by you
I appreciate that you are tender, thoughtful, and tenacious
You understand me
You make me feel warm and wanted
From that list of suggestions, I think you can find at least one good thing to say, and then say it……over and over! Be encouraged this week that you can speak words that will bless and encourage someone you know!

We are talking this week about how our words affect others. Today we’re going to talk to married people, or those who will someday be married. (That’s probably most of you!) What kind of words are you speaking to your spouse? What percentage would you say are encouraging and constructive? What percentage would you say are discouraging or destructive? That may be a hard one to answer, because as I have said before, often we treat our families and our spouses less kindly than we treat everybody else. Do you think it is about time to change that? I think it is! Let’s make a pact, right here and right now, that we will only speak to our mates, the way we want to be spoken to. Do you think that might change your marriage completely? Wonderful! Even in times of conflict, we can still be nice, we can still speak in control, and we can still speak in an edifying manner. When it comes to issues that need to be dealt with, we don’t have to brush them under the rug, we can be kind, and our words can be constructive. I like constructive words spoken to me, so I can do the same for my spouse. Since we are to pursue peace with all men as the Bible says, that should start at home. Why not make your home life a little more peaceful, by speaking kindly to your spouse. That could be one of the best things you can do for your kids. Not only does it bring confidence into your home, it brings peace. What you model in your home, will very likely be how your kids will treat their spouse, so let’s be excellent examples. So today, I’m encouraging you…..to speak nicely to your spouse, let your words be edifying, uplifting and encouraging. Very likely, the words you’ll be hearing will take on a different tone, because of the seed you have sown! Happy Birthday to my sweet 4th daughter Leah!

I am so thankful for the many ways positive words have encouraged me in my life. What you hear is what you speak. Think of it this way, how people have been treated, is often how they treat others. It applies not only to words, but to actions. What I find admirable is when you find someone who has lived with negative words, or been treated poorly in their life by parents or whomever, who really make an effort never to act or speak like they have been treated in their past. Counselors and psychologists will tell us that it is really rare for someone who has been raised in a totally negative environment to take a 180 degree turn and act exactly the opposite. It definitely takes an act of the will, but also takes the power of God. When you see someone who was raised in an angry environment really make an effort to act and react another way, you know it is going against the world’s prediction for that person’s life. As much as we know the truth of the saying “hurt people, hurt people”, it doesn’t have to be that way for the believer. If we have been hurt, we can make a choice to walk in forgiveness, and then change directions. That is what happens in salvation, we make a choice to change direction. If you know someone who is trying to overcome negativity in their own life, and are working to live the opposite of how they were treated, encourage them with your words. It is no easy task, and your encouragement may be just what they need to keep trying. Old patterns are hard to break, but it is possible with the power of God, and words of encouragement from a thoughtful friend.

Our words affect others. Can you remember a time when you were cut to the quick by someone’s words? Or a time when someone said something to you that made you believe you could accomplish anything? Words can be that extreme. Proverbs says that the power of life and death is in the tongue. (Prov 18:21) Our words are destructive or constructive. It is interesting to examine our words and see what is the motivation behind what we speak. Words that are destructive are full of:
bitterness,
envy,
selfish ambition,
earthy concerns and desires,
unspiritual thoughts and ideas,
disorder and evil.
It’s not hard to see that the enemy is the motivating factor behind destructive words. Constructive words are motivated by:
mercy,
love for others,
peace,
consideration,
submission,
sincerity,
impartiality,
and righteousness.
These are the kinds of things that God desires for us to communicate. When we build, lift and encourage with our words, we are using our ability to lift people to a higher place, exactly what God wants to do in our lives. When talking with others, let’s make a determination to put a guard on our lips, and let nothing but constructive words come out. Sometimes that means we just keep our mouth shut. Like Thumper in the movie BAMBI, If you don’t have somethin’ nice to say, don’t say nothin’ at all. My sister has a cute plaque at her door that says, be nice or leave! It brings with it the same thought, find ways to say nice things. Find good just like Phil 4:8-9 tells us to do. Think and speak about things that bring blessing and healing.

This week we are continuing the topic of the power of words. I think this is a topic we could stay on for months, because words are so powerful to hurt or to heal and we are conversing all the time. Today we will speak specifically about how our words affect other people. You can probably look at your own life and see where words have hurt someone you love. I can remember one particular instance recently when my son spilled massage oil all over the freshly cleaned living room carpet…..my words were less than kind, and I had to ask for forgiveness from my sweet boy, who just wanted to give someone a nice massage. There are times that we do need to bring correction but the best way I have found to do that is through the oreo method. The cream inside is the important part, and if you cushion your correction with a compliment on each side (the cookie part), it seems to go down better. In the oreo method, the process makes us say 2 things positive to one thing that needs adjustment, or is the area that we need growth or change. Wash it all down with a little milk (the Word) and it makes everything taste great! (Or at least a whole lot better!) Let’s use our words constructively, and build, encourage and edify those around us.

An interesting fact that has been proven in studying healthy marriages is that those who are good at conflict resolution are the ones who will have a lasting, productive, joy filled marriage. It filters over in other areas as well. If we can get good at using our words constructively, especially when working through conflict, we can live peacefully with all men as we are told to do in Romans 12:18. Sometimes wisdom would say that there are some people that are better kept at a distance because of their behavior toward you. We do need boundaries and the Bible tells us to guard our heart. Just because the words, I’m sorry, or please forgive me have been spoken, doesn’t mean that it is wise to put your heart and soul on the line again, but it also is not an excuse for building walls around your life.

My prayer for you this week is that if there is conflict in your life, let’s seek for resolution. God is not the author of turmoil, but of peace…..Let’s use our words to live peaceably with all.

Happy Birthday to me and my oldest daughter today!

Intro:
Do you hate friction and turmoil as much as I do? One of the reasons I hate tension is because I am a peacemaker by nature. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your daily eword. I do like everyone to get along well, and I especially like it when there is joy in the room. What is very evident is that words are very often the way that tension is created, but words are also the pathway to peace. We are going to look at that this week, and find a way to use our words to ease conflict and tension, and find a way to use our words to bring peace and joy. My prayer for you this week is that if there is conflict in your life, let’s seek for resolution. God is not the author of turmoil, but of peace…..Let’s use our words to live peaceably with all.
Here is your daily eword.

Monday May 25
It’s not hard to see how we get ourselves into trouble with our words. Sometimes it is just thoughtlessness, or speaking before we think things through. Sometimes we let our emotions take us places we should not ever go. When we meditate on our negative thoughts, they often take the jump from a simple thought, to imagination, to become a strong hold. It talks about that in II Corinthians 10:4,5,6. The best definition I’ve ever heard for the word stronghold, is something that holds on strong in your life. It can become like an actual force that keeps you from growing or moving ahead, because it has entangled its talons around your life.

The thing that happens so often when we let something become a strong hold in our life is that we begin to think, imagine and meditate on all the negatives that go along with the thing that is holding on to us strongly. All of the sudden, instead of a small thing that needs to be dealt with, we have a huge mountain that very often is far removed from the original issue. Sometimes people can’t even remember what the original issue was, and they are still upset and in turmoil.

God’s desire for us if that we live on the higher plane. When issues come into our lives that need to be resolved, we use our words constructively, and find resolution to conflict. We’ll talk about that more tomorrow.

It doesn’t matter who you are, words can hurt worse than a wound. Mean words should never be spoken to anyone. We should never say them, and we should never hear them. That would be a perfect world, but we live on an imperfect earth, where we can be good examples and treat others like you want to be treated. Luke 6:31 tell us to do just that. I don’t like my thoughts or ideas being slammed, even in fun. I’m sure you are like that too. I know you hear people laughing when they are slamming someone else, but it is not Godly, and it is not right. We can be ones who treat others with respect, and choose to encourage instead of discourage others. So how about saying these kinds of words to each other:
You inspire me
I love being around you
You make me smile
You make me laugh
I have faith in you
You can reach your dreams
Your future is bright
There is nothing you can’t accomplish with God on your side.

The book of Colossians is full of buried treasure that benefits our relationships. In the second chapter of Colossians, verse 2, Paul writes, My purpose is that you may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that you may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that you may know Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We are encouraged to “know and discover” all of what God has for us. He uses encouragement to help us grow in our relationship with Christ. That is what a good friend will do. Just taking time to use your words to build someone up has positive effects in many realms. Take time to use your words to build up your friends.