Last evening my husband was preaching at a congregation about an hour away. Biscuit decided to go with him. My husband preached a sermon that he had actually preached here at Tipton last week, so Biscuit had heard it before, but apparently wasn't listening last week.
This morning Biscuit said, "Mom, Dad said last night that women speak 27,000 words a day and men speak 15,000. I asked, "What do you think that means?" He said, "That y'all need to be quiet??" I said, "Okay....then I won't talk to you the rest of the day, okay???"
Biscuit didn't like that! He is the only one of our children home this week, so I guess he decided he needed someone to talk to, but he did go on to remind inform me that I am usually one of the last ones to leave the church building after services and that I had probably already spoken 300 words at that time of the day!
I told my husband about my morning conversation with Biscuit. He said that as soon as they got in the car last night after worship Biscuit asked him about it. He told Biscuit that women spoke more words because they are just more verbal. They just are made that way. Biscuit asked him, "So what do we do?" My husband said, "We just give the 'man nod' ", and gave him a nod with his head. :) From then on they worked on the 'man head nod'. At lunch today, they still worked on it. Biscuit's got some work to do on the man "head nod"!
The statistic my husband quoted is right. I've seen other numbers quoted, but it's always the same ratio: men speak a lot less that women do. I don't think that's a statistic we women could ever dispute. We pretty much know that we talk more than men....although some of actually speak more than others. I'd like to think I don't talk as much as I used to, but my family would beg to differ I'm sure. (Hey, maybe writing this blog has helped me! Maybe I really don't talk as much as I used to. Now I type more words :) !! )
What is important about use women and our words is what words we actually say. Do we use our words to help or hurt? Do we use our words to uplift and encourage or to put down and discourage? Do we use our words to pray to God about others, or do we use our words to speak gossip about others to others? Do we use our words to glorify God and to praise His name, or do we use our words in a profane way and misuse and disrespect His name?
On this Gratituesday, I am grateful to God for giving us the ability to speak. I am grateful that women do have the gift of gab, but I pray that our gift of gab is always used to the glory of God. I pray that our words will be used in wise ways.
Now back to Biscuit......
I think by the end of the afternoon, Biscuit was really wishing I would keep quiet. He was straightening up his room - the room he shares with his two brothers. And, he was having to pick up quite a bit since they're at camp this week. I had to keep him on track from time to time!
Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:36
I bet he picked up on that because of the numbers. If he remembers all this he should be a really wise teenager!
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