You all have shown so much excitement over my book, “LIVE”, coming out in TWENTY ONE DAYS, that I wanted to share one of my favorite chapters from the book! This is so you don’t have to wait twenty one days for encouragement that your life is valuable, seen, and worth living. If you want my book in your hands come Feb. 25, pre-order it now!

One time when Christian and I were dating, we went out for a walk, which we love to do, but we found ourselves in an argument. I was telling him something I wished that he would have remembered to do, and his response was, “I suck.” When those words came out of his mouth, I got so upset. I had shared with him before that it really makes me sad when he speaks negative things over himself. Well, this conversation just kept going downhill and ended with me saying, “That is it. You walk that way. I’m walking this way.” As I turned to walk away, Christian said, “You said you would never walk away.” As I type this, I see how dramatic we were both being, but thinking back on this story, I cannot help but question why Christian and I both said and did things that neither of us truly meant or believed.

I remember hearing a cheer at a football game that started with a group of people yelling something for another group to act out; the other group yelled in response, “What’s that you say?” and then the first group repeated what they said and proceeded to do that action.

“What’s that you say?” is a great question. Being challenged about what we say is helpful because it makes us think about whether we are confident in the words we speak. Sometimes we say things we don’t really mean. Stopping to think about whether we would repeat them can cause us to examine what’s in our hearts and make sure our words align with it, and then make sure our words and our heart align with our actions.

So I want to ask you today, “What’s that you say?” I mean, what are you talking about—to yourself and to others? What kinds of actions are your words sparking? Are they bringing life or death? Are you even confident in what you are saying?
Now I want to offer you a visual, so to speak, of what the words of life and the words of death look like:

The words of life empower. The words of death destroy.

The words of life encourage. The words of death cause people to lose heart.

The words of life affirm. The words of death tear down.

The words of life give hope. The words of death cause despair.

The words of life are confident. The words of death are powerless.

The words of life are full of hope for the future. The words of death replay the pain of the past.

But wait. There’s more. Let’s go a little deeper. Just as a tree has roots that run deep underground, the words you speak have a root system too. You can look at a tree and see if it’s healthy or not by looking at what it produces. If it’s leafy and green and full of good fruit, you can bet it has a strong root system. If it’s dry and brown, its roots aren’t nourishing it as they should. Likewise, you can figure out what your root system is by the fruit of your lips—the words you say (Hebrews 13:15). Let’s look at some common roots of life and death.

The words of life are rooted in a place of security. The words of death are rooted in a place of jealousy.

The words of life are rooted in knowing you’re loved. The words of death come from feeling unwanted.

The words of life are rooted in feeling content. The words of death come from never being satisfied.

The words of life are rooted in being confident in who God made you to be. The words of death come from striving to do more to find your worth.

The words of life are rooted in knowing you are accepted just the way you are. The words of death come from feeling rejection.

The words of life are rooted in peace. The words of death come from fear and anxiety.

The words of life are rooted in a positive attitude. The words of death come from a negative outlook.

The words of life are rooted in caring about others. The words of death come from focusing on yourself.

It’s important to look at what your words are rooted in so you can be confident in knowing how they impact you and how they affect others.

XO,

Sadie

Excerpt from “LIVE” (Ch. What’s That You Say?). PRE-ORDER TODAY TO GRAB YOUR COPY!