It’s true that “you are what you eat.” I have a favorite sugary cereal that I sometimes snack on, even though I know that half an hour later I’m going to crash. Diet is important, because—thanks to the miracle of metabolism—our food literally becomes a part of us. I might be 20-percent milk and hydrogenated corn syrup!

It’s even truer that “you are what you say.” When the religious leaders complained that His disciples were eating with unwashed hands, Jesus replied that it’s not what you eat that corrupts you, but the words that come out of your mouth. Why? Because there is a direct line from your mouth to your heart. Jesus explained, “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you” (Matthew 15:17-18).

If you want to know what’s in your heart, think about what you said today. Did your words nourish and encourage others? Were they kind “like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body”? (Proverbs 16:24). James said we can tell what we’re really like by the way we talk to and about others. We know better than to curse God in the presence of others, but do we curse “those who have been made in the image of God”? If we do, then our hearts have become a “salty spring” that produces only “bitter water” (James 3:9-12).

Last night I did something worse than eat junk food. I carelessly spoke junk words to my daughter, which caused her eyes to be filled with hurt. My heart sank for the damage I had needlessly inflicted, and for what my foolish words said about me. I asked for her forgiveness, and thank God for a fresh start today.

Words of Encouragement

From: academictips.org

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”
Henry Ford

“One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping stone to something better.”
Col. Harland Sanders

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe

“A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure.”
Unknown

“I am grateful for all of my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties.”
James Cash Penney

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road… unless you fail to make the turn.”
Unknown

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain

“Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.”
Henry Van Dyke

“Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.”
Dr. Robert Anthony

“Extraordinary struggles bring an extraordinary purpose for those who wait.”
Brianna Gazvoda

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
Henry David Thoreau

“Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall. Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll.”
Unknown

“Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.”
Sicilian Proverb

“The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.”
Ivy Baker Priest

“It doesn’t matter how many say it cannot be done or how many people have tried it before; it’s important to realize that whatever you’re doing, it’s your first attempt at it.”
Wally Amos

“If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.”
Mary Pickford

“He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he had failed.”
William James

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”
Alexander Graham Bell

“Instead of giving myself reasons why I can’t, I give myself reasons why I can.”
Unknown

I’ve learned-
that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I’ve learned-
that no matter how much I care, some people just don’t care back.

I’ve learned-
that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I’ve learned-
that no matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I’ve learned-
that it’s not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts.

I’ve learned-
that you should never ruin an apology with an excuse.

I’ve learned-
that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you’d better know something.

I’ve learned-
that you shouldn’t compare yourself to the best others can do.

I’ve learned-
that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I’ve learned-
that it’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I’ve learned-
that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I’ve learned-
that you can keep going long after you can’t.

I’ve learned-
that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I’ve learned-
that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I’ve learned-
that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I’ve learned-
that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I’ve learned-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I’ve learned-
that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I’ve learned-
that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I’ve learned-
that sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I’ve learned-
that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.

I’ve learned-
that just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.

I’ve learned-
that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I’ve learned-
that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.

I’ve learned-
that your family won’t always be there for you. It may seem funny, but people you aren’t related to can take care of you and love you and teach you to trust people again. Families aren’t biological.

I’ve learned-
that it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you are to learn to forgive yourself.

I’ve learned-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I’ve learned-
that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I’ve learned-
that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.

I’ve learned-
that just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I’ve learned-
that we don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I’ve learned-
that you shouldn’t be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I’ve learned-
that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I’ve learned-
that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually get hurt and you will hurt in the process.

I’ve learned-
that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

I’ve learned-
that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I’ve learned-
that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I’ve learned-
that it’s hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people’s feelings, and standing up for what you believe.

I’ve learned-
that people will forget what you said, and people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

By Omer B. Washington