Sometimes the most profound words come from the mouths of little children.
My daughter and son-in-law were heading out for a date night, and my husband and I were babysitting the littles. “Come give Mommy a hug,” my daughter said to Lauren, the 2-year-old. Kneeling, she wrapped her arms around her daughter’s wiggly body. “You come back, Mommy?” Lauren asked, burying her face in her mother’s neck. “Yes, I’ll come back,” my daughter replied. “Mommies and daddies always come back.” Later that evening, Lauren asked me, “Mommy and Daddy come back?” Before I could respond, she answered her question with the words her mother had taught her: “Mommies and daddies always come back.” My daughter is wise. She recognizes that every parting won’t always be as pleasant as this separation with Gigi and Papa. She knows there will be times when their parents' leaving might create anxiety or fear in her daughters’ hearts. She’s preparing them by teaching truths to carry them through the uncertain times and protect their hearts from fear. I watched another example of this parenting approach during our playtime together. One of Lauren’s favorite toys is a yellow giraffe that rocks and plays music when she sits on it. Now that her little sister is becoming more mobile, the giraffe has also become Caroline's favorite toy. You see where this is going. “Lauren, you’ve been riding Giraffe for a while now, it’s time to share with Caroline.” Her shoulders hunch up and her hands hold more tightly to the handles. I see the struggle on her face. Then sunshine breaks through, and she hops off. “You can take a turn, and then I’ll get it back,” she says, repeating the words her mother has taught her. Smart girl. She applied the principle to the situation and made the right choice. Smart mama, too for teaching her little girl to speak truth to herself. The philosophy behind my daughter’s parenting approach is the principle that words have power. When we embrace truth, remind ourselves of it often, and apply it to our lives, we live better. Maybe this is why Jesus called himself, “The Word,” and why he gives us his Word to base our lives on. If we learn God’s truth and apply it to our lives, we live better. If we learn God’s truth and repeat it to ourselves often, false and destructive thoughts flee. God’s Word guides us, comforts us, and empowers us. But we must actively engage it or it does us no good. What situation are you facing today? Which truths from God’s Word can you apply? Our family is currently facing the challenges of unemployment. Here are a few truths we're choosing to focus on:
I’d love to hear the Words you’re claiming today. Leave a comment below and share them. And if you’re reading by email, click here to visit Hungry for God online, scroll to the end of the post, and share your thoughts.
In probably one of the most poignant lines in the movie, The Help, Aibileen's empowering words to Mae Mobley resonate. Inspiring in their own right, they are life-giving to a little girl starving for a kind word or gesture from her cold and distant mother.
"When Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865, he was carrying . . . a brown leather wallet containing . . . nine newspaper clippings, including several favorable to the president and his policies," reports the Library of Congress.*
My friend Maryann shared recently that her father-in-law refers to her as "the best daughter-in-law ever." He has never said a critical word to her in her 27-year marriage.
I have a box where I keep every kind thank you note anyone's ever sent me.
Why?
Because we're never too old, important, or secure not to care what other people think about us. It's universal. It's part of our humanity.
So if words of affirmation are so important, why don't we speak them more often?
When our children do something wrong, we correct them, but when they do something right, we fail to comment, because they were supposed to do it.
I get paid to do my job, but I sure like it when a patient takes time to thank me for caring for them. One compliment or expression of thanks can carry me through a whole day of grumpy patients.
And when was the last time we thanked our husbands for going to work every day? "Well, he's supposed to! And I work hard too; nobody thanks me," we justify.
When was the last time we told our young adult children we are proud of them?
Now that my children are out of the nest, both my mother and my mother-in-law have told my husband and me that we "did a good job raising the girls." I carry these words tucked close to my heart, especially when Satan whispers words to the contrary.
What words do you wish someone would say to you?
Go out and speak them today.
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I watched another example of this parenting approach during our playtime together. One of Lauren’s favorite toys is a yellow giraffe that rocks and plays music when she sits on it. Now that her little sister is becoming more mobile, the giraffe has also become Caroline's favorite toy.
Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, 
