Breaking the Power of Negative Words by Mary C Busha

How Positive Words can Heal

How many of you can remember words that were spoken to you as a child, but made a lasting impression on your life? Maybe they were spoken out of anger, frustration, or maybe out of kindness and love, both can be very long-lasting.

Mary explores the power that negative words can have on a person. She gives examples of words spoken on a playground that had the power to linger and be on the tip of the person's tongue 70 or so years later. She also brings out the fact that hurting people hurt people and if we can look behind the words that were spoken to the why of why they were spoken it can help us as we process their effect on our lives. But as children, we are incapable of doing that and those words can do damage. There is the flip side though as well, words that were spoken to a child to lift them up and support them and encourage them can also stick in their minds and inspire them to greatness.

It is very sobering and has really made me stop and think as I speak words to my children. What am I really saying to them? What am I showing them? Am I building them up or tearing them down? Yes, words of correction need to be spoken, sometimes many times a day, but is it said in a mean-spirited way, is it said only about the behavior or am I including aspects of their personality as well? Am I also seeking out the positive things they do and speaking words to them in the affirmative as well?

And then, moving on, what do I say to myself? Am I constantly filling my mind with negative things about myself or am I resting in who I am in Christ and remembering that I am His creation and that I am worth something? Am I also processing what other people say to me through the lens of perspective and seeking to understand why they said what they said?

One thing Mary did talk about was how personality differences can cause an unintentional offense, simply because we view life differently based on our personality. Grace, we need so much grace, both for the words we hear spoken and the words we say to ourselves and then we need to extend grace to others as well.

One question she asked that I really liked was: "Will I wallow or walk?" Meaning will I wallow in the words that were spoken to me or will I move beyond and claim God's promises and walk forward in newness? That's putting it into my own words. She also used the walking literally and I think that can be very helpful, instead of sitting around and letting the words burn and poison, get up and go do something else.

I enjoyed this book, it was full of so many practical things on such a necessary topic. It was easy to read and filled with enough anecdotes to keep it interesting.

I received this book from Revell and was not required to write a positive review.