I hate that sarcastic question. I've actually heard it from the mouths of my sweet children! Gasp! They're saying, "it's my decision, my business." Food is often the subject of all sorts of issues among our tribe. When you have six kids (who have an amazing ability to divide all food packages by six), and one of them takes more than his share, feathers get ruffled, claws come out. It's ugly. So when one kid asks another, "are you eating the last Oreo?", and they get "What's it to you anyway?", ugly gets uglier.

We do not make choices in a vacuum. Most every decision we make affects another person in some way. When the waste disposal guys removed our trash cans by mistake, our family felt the effects as our trash piled up outside. The neighbors did too. When someone decided several years ago to steal in order to get what they wanted, we felt the effects. I lost my mother's engagement ring, my college class ring. There are ripples from our choices that spread into the lives of others.

Words have powerful rippling effects, like sparks from a fire. This past weekend, a large ember from our campfire jumped into one of our chairs, burning a hole. I thought then how so many times, I am like that fire, spitting sparks and embers out at my family in the form of words and fiery tones. Because I'm married to a burly, outdoor, nature-loving, lumberjack kinda guy, I know that some types of wood are more sparky (hot pastor will laugh that I wrote sparky) than others. If you put pine in your fire, it will pop and crack, spitting sparks at you. So, it makes sense when I say that sometimes I'm like a campfire full of pine!  If I want to be the kind of fire that brings warmth and a sense of protection to my family, then I have to choose my fuel carefully.

Do you know yourself well enough to identify the "pine" in your life? For me, I'm throwing pine in the fire when I'm not taking care of myself. (rest, fun, time with friends, exercising)  Pine for me is also not abiding in Christ. If I'm not tight with him, I am soooooo sparky! Stay away or you might get burned children! It's hard to gather around a fire to warm up and roast marshmallows when it's shooting sparks at you.

Our words are unbelievably powerful. They can make someone's day or make someone cry. Words can build bridges, but can so easily construct walls. There is a great song out right now about our words.
I may write the lyrics on our huge chalkboard as a reminder to myself. I want my words to be life.
Words by Hawk Nelson click on this link to hear the song