"Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne During our 31 days together, I'd like to keep weekends simple by sharing a quote or passage that fits in ... Read More about Day 11: Good and evil

~Humans of NJ~ As we close out the week and head into the weekend (TGIF!), I thought I'd share one place I always stop when I need a word or story fix. Humans of NY  by Brandon Stanton never fails to break my heart into tiny shards, and piece by piece, put it back together again. Brandon lives in ... Read More about Day 10: One story away

He stutters a lot. Over most sentences and in every conversation, the words come labored and slow. They've taken him to specialists, and hope to find one who will discover the key to unlocking his speech so the words begin to flow. It breaks his mother's heart, and she watches him regress and fall ... Read More about Day 9: Read and repeat

Yesterday, I wrote about some of the struggles we've faced with our kids and the way they speak to one another. Over the last six months, we've seen some progress in this area, and I thought I'd share the approach that seems to work for our family. Ask me six months from now, and this list could ... Read More about Day 8: Three tips for helping our kids tame their tongue

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." ~Proverbs 18:21 It tastes like honey in the mouth, when you say exactly what you meant to say at exactly the right moment. When the words floating in your head gather themselves on a string and fall out of ... Read More about Day 7: The power of the tongue

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1 Not coming from a household of yellers, imagine my surprise, when, after the birth of a few kids and the onset of their toddler years, I discovered I am one. Children, specifically the ones that come from our bodies, ... Read More about Day 6: Soft answers and the habit of yelling