Overflow

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45 NIV

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Have you ever been sitting there, perfectly comfortable, on the couch in your living room, relaxing and reading Facebook updates, and God suddenly reached down and stepped on your toes?  I'd like to be able to say that hasn't happened to me either, but yeah.  It has.  A lot, actually.  This week?  More than once.  It hurts, doesn't it?


So, there I was, chatting with my sister on Facebook, asking on my Facebook fanpage whether any of you had any suggestions as to what should be my "word" for 2012.  (None of you responded, which may be good anyway.)  I switched back to my personal wall, and the verse there at the top popped up on someone's status and squashed me.  You see, I'd just yelled at Little Lou out of frustration.  I can't remember why, and I would guess she couldn't tell you either.  In hindsight, though, it was no big deal (even just moments later, when I read the verse).


People, my words aren't always nice.  They're not always thoughtful.  They're not always uplifting.  They're not always what I want them to be.  But they're (sadly) me.  As much as I don't want to admit it, it's right there.  "Out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."  I can't deny it.  As much as I WANT to say I have a happy heart, my words sometimes say otherwise.

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Overflow.

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I've chosen it to be my word for 2012.  

advance, cataclysm, cataract, congestion, deluge, discharge, encroachment, enforcement, engorgement, excess, exuberance, flash flood, flooding, infringement, niagara, overabundance, overcrowding, overkill, overmuch, overproduction, plethora, pour, propulsion, push, redundancy, spate, spill, spillover, submergence, submersion, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, torrent

I want my overflow, my discharge, my excess, my surplus, my overabundance, to be a plethora of joy, a niagara of happiness, a deluge of positivity!  

I want my family and friends to know that, even when things get rocky (and we already know that tends to happen around here) that they can count on me to be steadfast, to keep my eyes on Christ, and to respond respectfully and accordingly.

I want my children to know that the words that come out of my mouth are the words of a kind, gentle, loving mommy, not a spiteful angry one.

I want my husband to know that he can expect uplifting, joyful words when he comes home, not nagging, judgmental, harsh words.

I want the overflow of my heart to mirror the overflow of Christ's love.  

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2012.  Overflow.

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