Keep It Shut Quotes

“May you speak the truth from a loving heart. May your tongue utter no slander. May you do no wrong to a neighbor and cast no slurs. May you weigh your words carefully and keep your oaths. And may you never be shaken.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“We must find the fulcrum — the pivot point that balances gentle honesty with hard truth enveloped in love.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth!” (30:32). Here it is, translated for social media: “If you are tempted to slam someone online or brag on Facebook or send off a nasty tweet, turn off the screen and walk away!”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“bound to experience frustration, anger, and at times, wounded feelings. People who are not wired as we are, who don’t think like we do, and who make decisions and carry out actions we would never dream of, are going to rub us the wrong way. That’s a fact.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Father, I face another day in which I will be called upon to use my words wisely and well. May they encourage those who listen. May they speak truth but also be said in love. May I pause before I pounce. May I be bold enough to speak when I would rather run away. Lord, I give my mouth to you today. May what comes forth be sweet and not bitter. May the journey each word takes from my mind to my heart to my lips be guided by your hand. May what comes out be life-giving rather than causing death. May my words make you proud and bring you glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Long before our words go wrong, our hearts are the place in which they fester and brew. We must take very careful care of our hearts and their condition so that the words that come forth will be pleasant and sweet instead of hurtful and bitter. But just how do we do this?”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“we read a little farther in James, we find that the tongue cannot be tamed (James 3:7 – 8). Every creature, reptile, bird, or animal can be tamed, but not the tongue. Imagine a colossal circus full of every kind of creature: dancing bears, prancing horses — even a ferocious looking feline or two performing tricks or jumping through hoops when their trainers give the signal. But way off in one corner stands a booth with a closed curtain and a sign that reads: “The Utterly Untamable.” Then, at a very strategic time during the spectacular show the ringmaster hushes the audience in order to display this beast that will not bend. When he throws open the concealing curtain, sitting behind it is a woman”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“But better a bleeding tongue than a family member’s wounded heart. We might have to choose to let go of the need to prove our point, choosing instead to do the right thing: to impart grace and deal with the other person in love and with utmost patience.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“The truth is, words are never accidental. To be sure, there are times we utter careless words, but even then those words are first formed in our minds, filtered to our hearts, and then given permission to come out of our lips. So in our quest to use our words in ways that are good and honor God, we must first consider the heart and mind from which they come.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45).”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:5 – 6).”
― 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. Whether it is a string of words screamed out in anger during the height of a marital spat, or a politician who chooses to lie in order to win votes, or even just a middle schooler trying to impress a group of boys. Our words are powerful, and our words have consequences.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Are you willing to try — really try? If you’ve struggled with words like I have, you may have some mixed feelings in response to this question. You really do want to try, but you also remember times you’ve “really tried” and failed. If that’s the case, allow me to whisper a little encouragement to that word-weary heart of yours. Believe me when I say that if it is possible for someone like me to run her words through the grid of God’s holiness, it is more than possible for you to do the same. One step at a time, prayer by prayer and word by word, we really can temper our talking so we have fewer words floating out there that we wish we could take back. It is possible — for me, and for you.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“With our tongues we curse men and women who are made in God’s likeness and then, at other times, we praise God. Out of our mouths flow both praising and cursing. But, says the New Testament writer, this should not be! James tells us that a spring cannot suddenly shoot out both sweet and bitter water. Neither can a fig tree produce olives or a grapevine decide to grow a whole mess of figs instead of grapes. You can’t get salt water from a freshwater spring (James 3:9 – 12). Lesson? We should not have both righteous and evil words coming from our tongues.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“each word takes from my mind to my heart to my lips be guided by your hand. May what comes out be life-giving rather than causing death. May my words make you proud and bring you glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen. * Louann Brizendine, The Female Brain (New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006), 4.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All

“Psychiatrist Louann Brizendine states in The Female Brain, “Men use about seven thousand words per day. Women use about twenty thousand.”
― Karen Ehman, Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All