Making my Words and my Life Memorable......

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a livingsacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

The Words we say and the life we share with others can touch a heart and person in ways that we might not ever know. Your words and life can cut like a knife, they can refresh like the smell of rain on a new spring morning, they can put you to sleep like a warm glass of milk (or maybe like a harsh sleeping pill), or they can drive you crazy like an itch you cannot reach.

Words.....what are they and what were they meant for? They are group of letters that can form a word that can form a sentence, which can form a memory. We all have words but how do we use them? Some of us enjoy using them as a knife and love to watch them cut someone down. Some of us use them to encourage people like the smell of a spring rain. Some of us use them to annoy others so that they itch so much they cannot stand the sound of our voice. What do you use them for?

How many times do we refer to a preacher we heard and we quote..."I don't remember his name but what he said changed my life." Or maybe it was the older lady who lived down the street that showed you a memorable moment in time. This event stuck with you for years and although you don't remember her name, you remember her words and life example.

I learned a lesson a few years ago that has stayed with me.......I used to speak at a church twice a month for a ladies event. Never really putting too much thought into what an impact I could be having, I added this to my monthly routine of events. Each month I would share the gospel and a short devotion to these women. Nothing out of the ordinary, or so I thought....just a quick devotion that the Lord would lay on my heart. Well...it was an early, hot Saturday morning and we decided to hit the garage sales in a town we don't frequent. We all headed around to the different tables and I spotted something that I knew I just had to show to my husband....I called for him and we started chatting. Just then a woman came over to me and said, "Are you the lady that is the speaker at ABC church". I greeted her hesitantly, not sure of how she knew me or why she was asking. I was not in a fimilar place and I felt out of my comfort zone to greet her. After chatting with her ...her response to me was that she recognized my voice.....not me or what I looked like but the sound of my voice. My tones and sounds left an impression on her. She also said she was watching me walk around with my family and she said you are like when you speak....kind. Wow, what a rude awakening for me....someone listened to my voice and remembered it and watched my life and it was "kind". Can I say that my tones, and sounds and life are always kind and are they something that I want everyone to remember?

I gave a message last year at a ladies event here at Keswick....I talked about attitude and how it affects so many in our lives. I also referred to that I have now set myself up, since I am the one who will answer your call when you phone Keswick. My attitude behind a platform can be professional, poised, and well delivered but when I have had a bad day, how will it be when I answer the phone and greet you? What words will you hear and how will my life impact you today? Again, I had someone say one day when I answered the phone..."are you the woman who did the seminar in October?" Oh boy, my first thought was how "did I answer the phone?" People do watch and listen to your words and life.

You know....more than just being a professional person in speaking engagements, or on the phone in guest services, I must be a picture of Christ and also be an example with my words and life all the time. How have your words and life example made a memory in someone else's life? Can they say you were kind, even when you didn't know that anyone was watching or listening? Can they see a kind person even on a bad day, or better yet a picture of Christ?

Lynn Wilson

Lynn is a wife and a mother of two boys & is currently on staff at America's Keswick. For several years she has been involved in her local church and hosts her own women's ministry in her home called Thumb Print Ministries. Her mission statement would be to...touch one life so in turn they can touch a life for eternity. Her greatest joy is to go home at the end of her work day and cook up soups from scratch and other homemade goodies for her family.

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow'r as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
by Frances R. Havergal