Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

I'm sure we've all heard this before. Maybe some of us might even have said it. While it might be something that is meant to make us feel better, the older we get, the more we should realize how untrue this saying is.

Words are powerful. They can tear down, be hurtful, spiteful, and not representative of God's love. As Christians, we are called to love and have grace. We are to exhort and uplift. And when the time comes when we are to correct or rebuke, we are to do so in love. It might not be received well, but how we approach and say the things that need to be said falls on us.

I've been thinking about the use of words lately as Kenley's vocabulary continues to grow. Not only is her vocabulary continuing to grow, but her feistiness and independence is growing as well. With that comes her pushing the envelope in the things she does. Climbing up the couch, jumping on the couch, standing on her toys, and just being crazy. Because of this, the word "no" comes out a lot. As Kenley continues to develop, she does lots of really great and funny things too. It's in these instances that Chellie and I have a chance to encourage her and celebrate her! She lights up when she does something that she deems good. And even at a year and a half, she knows to look to mom and dad for affirmation. If we smile and clap and say "good job" or "yay" she knows that she has our approval.

In Hebrews 3 we are told that we are to "encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today.' Who can we encourage today? Life can be tough and too often, people can get down on themselves. Whether that be because of family, work, school, relationships, or anything else, the enemy is quick to work on dragging us down. This is where we can enter the picture. The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 4 that two is better than one. It also tells us that a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Reach out to someone today and tell them that you are thinking about them and ask how you can pray for them. Remind them of how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate them. An encouragement from a friend can be the uplifting word they need at that moment.