Zip It

Zip It by Karen Ehman is a Keep it Shut 40-Day Challenge. While not hailed as a Lenten devotional it arrived at the perfect time for me to start it on Ash Wednesday and use it as my devotional until Easter. I've just finished week one and by day 2 I knew this book would be a powerful message for me. A somewhat *cringe-worthy* one at times I recognized some of my faults within just the introduction.

"I have learned something in my decades of relationships on this earth: words are powerful, and they have consequences.
    Combative words have sparked wars, bringing about death and destruction. Soothing words have calmed souls, quieted hearts, and prevented potentially volatile situations from escalating and producing dire consequences. Encouraging words have imparted bravery and empowered doubting souls to accomplish what they never dreamed they could. Loving words have birthed relationships and bonded soul mates." (p. 21)






"The consequences may be stellar-or sorrowful. They may be amazing-or awful. They may make an impact on lives for the better-or affect souls for the worse." (p.23) I'm sure we can all remember a time as a child, young teen, or adult when someone has said something that has stuck with us. If it was a positive thing it can uplift you and be brought to mind in the future when you need an extra encouragement. If it's negative it can affect how you view yourself or how you view the person who said it. Words do stick with us and I do not want to be the type of person who spouts out wounding words.



When there are many words, transgression and offense are unavoidable. But he who controls his lips and keeps thoughtful silence is wise. Proverbs 10:19

Each chapter has a verse, thoughtful insight into that verse, *Today's Takeaways which are really just points to ponder, *Lesson for the Lips (questions that bring about more pondering), and a prayer. I've gotten so much out of the first week and look forward to each chapter every single day. I've found myself stopping in mid-sentence when I realize what I was saying wasn't so nice and have even been pausing before speaking. The message each day really sticks with you and the fact that there are more than 3,500 verses in the Bible speaking to us about our words and/or silence these daily meditations get the point across of how important it is to control our tongues (or in this day and age, our fingers when at the computer) and thoughts. 

I highly recommend this to everyone, especially during this season of Lent.

This book was sent to me by BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.