“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk.” Doug Larson

“...and slow to speak.” James 1

I don't think I have ever gained one bit of wisdom when I was talking. I have certainly picked up a few pointers after thinking about some of the things I said. Usually they were tips on what I should not have said and not from anything that rolled off my tongue. Sometimes I mourn what I say immediately after I say it. Other times my grief comes to me after I see the damage I have wrecked by careless words. God has recently given me a gift. I am in a season where it is physically uncomfortable to speak, something the doctors are working on but in the mean time the discomfort is encouraging me to pause, to consider if it is worth saying. There are better ways to learn this pause I am sure, none-the-less, I appreciate the value of this limitation. I just hope I don't forget it when my voice returns to normal. 9/2/11 Conversations Within ts (Jacksonville, FL)