May the words of my mouth …

May the words of my mouth …  Ephesians 4.29¹; Psalm 19.14

What does an 18-year-old young man, who once again lives for surf,

do when he bursts his eardrum at the Wedge (while bodyboarding) and is restricted from the ocean for a month?  Well, if he is my son, then he gets a tattoo … wait, did I say A tattoo?  I meant to say, tattoos, as in three of them².  ‘Well, if I have to be out of the water, now’s the time,’ Dylan said.

“And Mom, I am going back to get Psalm 19.14 put in the middle of this cross…”

I didn’t say anything—just smiled.

Why Psalm 19.14?  Because it was the first verse I taught he and Danny to pray at bedtime when they were very little boys.  “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”  If Dylan wants to wear it forever, I guess he values it.  It seems he agrees with the Psalmist, David, who lands an arrow right in the heart of the matter of choosing our words well.  David’s sentiments obviously resonate with me, since I long ago memorized this little verse, and then taught it to my sons.  I want my words and my thoughts to please God.  Indeed when David’s prayer becomes our prayer, it is because we realize that what God thinks about our speech matters to us individually. 

My daughter Amy is expecting a baby boy in a little over a month now, so I recently made her a lullaby CD from I-tunes, and stumbled across this lovely song, which captures the above prayer of the psalmist and a little more.  I pray it will speak to you as it has to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKfhlHoemPI 

“May the Words of My Mouth”  Janna Long/Christy Nockels

"May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart bless Your name, bless Your name, Jesus

And the deeds of the day and the truth in my ways speak of You, speak of You, Jesus

For this is what I'm glad to do … It's time to live a life of love that pleases You

And I will give my all to You … Surrender everything I have and follow You

I'll follow You.

Lord, will You be my vision, Lord, will You be my guide; be my hope, be my light and the way

And I'll look not for riches, nor praises on earth … only You'll be the first of my heart

I will follow       I will follow      I will follow You…"

There you have it.  When we desire to bless God with our lives—with our words, with our thoughts—well, then we will take care with them. 

Christine

1 – Ephesians 4.29 – Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up, that it may benefit those who listen.

2 – Yes, three tattoos! ‘How did you respond?’ many have asked.  Well, what could I say?  The milk had been spilt!  So, I do not think I said a word; I just smiled, and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that all three could be covered when he goes for a job interview, or otherwise needs to look conservative.  And why was ‘now the time’ as he said?  Because you have to stay out of the ocean for two weeks when you get a tattoo … or three.