Words, Words, Words... by Mandy Baker Johnson

Words, words, words. As wordsmiths, we dabble, we play, we agonise, we yearn over the tools of our trade. 

When we speak, our tongues can drip poison and hurt people, or our speech may be seasoned with salt to bless. There's often little time to think about the effect of what we say. How many times do we wish we could take back the words that have left our lips?

Even bad news is hard to give: once we've spoken and seen the light go out of someone's eyes we can never unsay that thing.

Writing words down is easier. There is time to craft the sentences and ensure the meaning we intend is coming across.

All of our words, whether pouring from lips or hands, come directly from our hearts. What do our hearts say about us? What subtleties of our inner lives do we unwittingly display through our words? I remember how horrified I was at coming back to a fiction blog I'd posted online a few years ago where I'd unknowingly spilled across the screen so many of my 'hidden' insecurities. Ouch.

But writing from the heart is also good, it makes our writing authentic and enables readers to connect with us. It means being vulnerable which in itself is challenging.

I love how my favourite author pours out his heart on the pages of his books. He makes me think, and challenges me on current issues. I often come away feeling inspired and ready for adventure. There seems to be a bit of everything in his books: murder, sex, intrigue, romance, wisdom, history, the future. I'm usually very careful with what I read as things can play on my mind, but with this author I'm happy to read anything and everything he writes. I know it's okay because he believes in focusing on what is pure, lovely, right, and admirable. He goes for excellence - and achieves perfection every time.

The ultimate word is a person: Jesus the Word of God. His word is so powerful that it upholds the universe. You are reading this only because Jesus is making sure your eyes and mind are functioning. Your lungs are breathing because he tells them to. Your heart is beating to the rhythm he sets.

Words, words, words. I've been challenged in the last day or two by this Word. In all of my life, especially in my writing and blogging, I want to be a bit like him.




Mandy Baker Johnson is a private medical secretary and freelance writer. She enjoys blogging and recently co-authored her first book, Drawn from Words. She volunteers with a Christian charity working with women in the sex industry, and is currently researching this area for her second book.