Welcome to 515 Metro Studio Blog! I am so glad you are here! I hope you will find inspiration, positivity, hope and encouragement here.
This is my very first Blog post! So let's chat about what you will find here and 7 Affirmations you can use today to speak life over yourself and others. Words and thoughts are powerful, so we need to use them wisely.
We will be focusing on the power of words. How can we use words to positively affect our selves and those we speak with? How do words make us feel? How can we change the words we use to inspire and uplift others?
Let's look at scripture. Proverbs 18:21 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."
Words are powerful. I think about the old saying "Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me". Here's why I think it is and isn't a thing.
There is some truth in the old saying. Yes. We can brush off some words spoken at us that we know are not true; for example: walking past a stranger and they call you a name. They don't know you, they have no idea what they are saying, they speak untrue and unkind things for a couple reasons. A. to get a reaction out of you for their pleasure or B. to make them feel better about themselves or C. they are jealous of you. Those comments are easy to ignore and brush off. I hope you take a moment to pray for people like that, for some reason, they are hurting and projecting that hurt onto others.
Here's why I think that old saying is also not true. When people we love say hurtful things to us it hits home because we respect them and expect them to be truthful to us. So when someone says hurtful things to us, the words hit a little deeper. Like Proverbs says, there is power in the tongue.
I recently saw a video with a grandfather teaching his granddaughter how her words can affect someone and it really stuck with me. She had called her friend some very hurtful words and he was showing her how those words can affect her friend. Here's the short of it. Imagine a piece of 2x4 wood (this is your heart) and some nails (hurtful words). When someone calls you a name, the wood gets a nail hammered into it. Over and over. Every time a name is called another nail goes in. Now, let's say that every time the person says sorry a nail comes out. That's great! But, what is left in the wood? A dent that will never go away. Maybe the pain of the word is no longer stuck into your heart and the sting is gone, but there is a little scar that will never go away. It may take a very long time for that scar to fade or get filled back up, but it will be there forever.
I think we can all remember a time when we've been called something terrible by someone close to us and it cause a nail in the wood. We know how it feels and we can make sure our words don't create a feeling like that for others. We can choose to make sure the words we speak are speaking life to ourselves and to those we speak to daily. We can choose to eat the fruit of Life and not death.
Take a moment today to think of someone who spoke negative words over you and pray for them, take a moment to speak words of love and encouragement over them. Maybe that person is even you. Do you need to speak words of love and kindness to yourself? Here are 7 affirmations to speak over yourself. Say them out loud and with conviction. "I am loved. I am courageous. I am bold. I am fearless. I am beautiful. I am grateful. I am enough." Repeat them daily for yourself, then do it for someone else (even if it's not straight to their face). See how your heart changes. See how their heart changes!
Go. Be the Positivity.
-Sarah