Keep It Shut Quotes

“The truth is, words are never accidental.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Take the advice I sometimes have to give to myself: Don’t say something permanently painful just because you are temporarily ticked off.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Bruises fade and bones heal, but a scorched heart may take years to mend.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Our words are powerful, and they have consequences.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“So if we have a mouth problem, in actuality what we really have is a mind and heart issue.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Listening is more than just being quiet for a moment. It’s not just the pause we were talking about earlier. Listening includes paying attention to the whole person, and especially their emotions.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“When showering life-giving words on another human, don’t just pick the people you know well. Notice the one who least expects to be noticed.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Remember, possessing feelings of anger isn’t wrong. What is wrong is when we allow them to fester and then we choose to fight.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“if a person is willing to listen to gossip they are also willing to spread it.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Listening requires attending to the other person’s heart.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“The mouth speaks what the heart has stored.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“When a family member’s behavior threatens to knock the nice right out of us, we can pause. Recalculate. Punch in a different destination for the words now downloading from our brains onto our tongues. We can program them to first stop at gentleness, swing by to pick up respect, and finally — arrive with grace. Then our mouths can utter pleasant words rather than those that are caustic, cutting, and unkind.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“God created us with emotions, and anger is one of them. Feeling the emotion of anger is not the problem. The problem is when we let our anger trigger actions that result in wrongdoing.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Don’t say something permanently painful just because you are temporarily ticked off.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“God’s Word is both powerful and practical.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3)”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“comments, nasty words, flying criticisms, and awful accusations. We can even use silence as a weapon. When we give someone the cold shoulder, we may hold in our words, but we’re spewing out our feelings all the same.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Even a fool when he holds his peace is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is esteemed a man of understanding” (Proverbs 17:28). Yes, sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all. We”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“I want you to get out a nice note card or piece of stationery and write a letter to yourself. Yes. To yourself. In it, encourage yourself with what you have learned from this journey. What do you need to work on? Why do you need to work on it? What relationships are being damaged or precious time and memories lost because of how you interact with those in your life, whether they are family, friend, or even foe? Spend some time thinking about this and then let your pen and paper do the talking.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Listening includes paying attention to the whole person, and especially their emotions. When we really listen, we give careful attention not just to the words a person says but also to the feelings he or she is trying to communicate. Listening requires attending to the other person’s heart.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“The best way I have learned over the years to be still is to dive into the pages of my Bible. Immersing myself in God’s Word provides protection. It snaps my heart back to attention and helps me to run to him for rescue rather than try to fix things on my own. Psalm”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“there is a direct correlation between our prayer life and our conversations. Perhaps if we spent more time and energy on our prayer life, we would use our tongues more wisely.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning. PROVERBS 10:12 – 13”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Repentance is simply agreeing with God about our wrong and then doing an about-face and walking in the other direction, committing the sin no more.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD. (Proverbs 16:2)”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“When we read the Bible, we learn. However, when we write out biblical commands in a way that is personal to us, we allow the Word to take root deep within our hearts. This will help us the next time we are faced with a challenging situation and need to use words wisely. When we have trained our brain to recall and apply biblical nonnegotiables, we are equipped to speak, act, and react in ways that honor God.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“My words, sometimes even my lack of words, have caused me much pain over the years. It hasn’t always been that I have gossiped or lied. Sometimes I just talk too much. Or I repeated the words of others, which I should not have. Other times I have tried to say the right thing, but it came out the wrong way. Or I have said the right thing but in the presence of the wrong people or at the wrong time. There was just no shortage to the ways I could misuse my mouth.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“When there are many words, sin is unavoidable,
but the one who controls his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19 HCSB)”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Our words are like sparks. They may start small, but they can ignite a wildfire of destruction and devastation.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Our words are powerful, and they have consequences”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All