The Power of Words<\/b><\/p>\n
Recently, I heard a touching story which illustrates the power that words have to change a life — a power that lies right in the hands of those reading this article. <\/p>\n
Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other kids, and she hated it. She was born with a cleft palate and had to bear the jokes and stares of cruel children who teased her non-stop about her misshaped lip, crooked nose, and garbled speech.<\/p>\n
With all the teasing, Mary grew up hating the fact that she was \u201cdifferent.\u201d She was convinced that no one, outside her family, could ever love her \u2026 until she entered Mrs. Leonard\u2019s class.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Leonard had a warm smile, a round face, and shiny brown hair. While everyone in her class liked her, Mary came to love Mrs. Leonard.<\/p>\n
In the 1950\u2019s, it was common for teachers to give their children an annual hearing test. However, in Mary\u2019s case, in addition to her cleft palate, she was barely able to hear out of one ear. Determined not to let the other children have another \u201cdifference\u201d to point out, she would cheat on the test each year. The \u201cwhisper test\u201d was given by having a child walk to the classroom door, turn sideways, close one ear with a finger, and then repeat something which the teacher whispered. <\/p>\n
Mary turned her bad ear towards her teacher and pretended to cover her good ear. She knew that teachers would often say things like, \u201cThe sky is blue,\u201d or \u201cWhat color are your shoes?\u201d <\/p>\n
But not on that day. Surely, God put seven words in Mrs. Leonard\u2019s mouth that changed Mary\u2019s life forever. When the \u201cWhisper test\u201d came, Mary heard the words: \u201cI wish you were my little girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dads, I wish there was some way that I could communicate to you the incredible blessing which affirming words impart to children. I wish, too, that you could sit in my office, when I counsel, and hear the terrible damage that individuals received from not hearing affirming words — particularly affirming words from a father. While words from a godly teacher can melt a heart, words from a father can powerfully set the course of a life.<\/p>\n
If affirming words were something rarely spoken in your home growing up, let me give you some tips on words and phrases that can brighten your own child\u2019s eyes and life. These words are easy to say to any child who comes into your life. I\u2019m proud of you, Way to go, Bingo \u2026 you did it, Magnificent, I knew you could do it, What a good helper, You\u2019re very special to me, I trust you, What a treasure, Hurray for you, Beautiful work, You\u2019re a real trooper, Well done, That\u2019s so creative, You make my day, You\u2019re a joy, Give me a big hug, You\u2019re such a good listener, You figured it out, I love you, You\u2019re so responsible, You remembered, You\u2019re the best, You sure tried hard, I\u2019ve got to hand it to you, I couldn\u2019t be prouder of you, You light up my day, I\u2019m praying for you, You\u2019re wonderful, I\u2019m behind you, You\u2019re so kind to your (brother\/sister), You\u2019re God\u2019s special gift, I\u2019m here for you. <\/p>\n
John Trent, Ph.D., Vice President of Today\u2019s Family, Men of Action, Winter 1993, p. 5<\/p>\n
The Kiss<\/b><\/p>\n
Andor Foldes is now seventy-two, but he recalls how praise made all the difference for him early in his career. His first recollection of an affirming word was at age seven when his father kissed him and thanked him for helping in the garden. He remembers it over six decades later, as though it were yesterday. But the account of another kiss that changed his life says a great deal about our inner need for purpose. <\/p>\n
At age sixteen, living in Budapest, Foldes was already a skilled pianist. But he was at his personal all-time low because of a conflict with his piano teacher. In the midst of that very troubled year, however, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to the city to perform. Emil von Sauer was not only famous because of his abilities at the piano, but he could also claim the notoriety of being the last surviving pupil of Franz Liszt.<\/p>\n
Sauer requested that young Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged the master with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann. When he finished, Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen I was your age I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first lesson, saying, \u2018Take good care of this kiss — it comes from Beethoven, who gave it me after hearing me play.\u2019 I have waited for years to pass on this sacred heritage, but now I feel you deserve it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Little House on the Freeway, Tim Kimmel, pp. 41-42.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Power of Words Recently, I heard a touching story which illustrates the power that words have to change a life — a power that lies right in the hands of those reading this article. Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other kids, and she hated it. She was born … Continue reading “Affirmation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}