"You can tame a tiger~but you cannot tame the tongue."

"I hate my big mouth! Why can't I just be quiet like all the other girls?" she said through tears while running upstairs to her room.

I had to correct her for bragging about her new hot pink flats (adorned with rhinestones on the toe) to her brother who did not have anything new waiting for him when he came home from school yesterday.

I decided to leave her alone for a bit until she was ready to talk.

Eventually she came downstairs...red faced & tear stained.

"I'm not upset about you taking my shoes away mom, I'm mad at myself. I just blurt out whatever is on mind. I don't think I'll ever change."

I silently reach for her bible and open it to James chapter three verses one through twelve.

After she is finished reading I ask her what it says to her heart.

"It's impossible to tame the tongue. Words hurt for a longtime, like a forest fire."

And I remind her that we are all out of control if we do not daily surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit working though our lives. I tell her that God wants to turn our weakness into His greatest strength.

It wasn't preachy...just one of those teachable moments.

It's easy to become discouraged over our children's faults. We expect them to behave perfectly at all times and then blame ourselves when they don't.

The fact is they are sinful people just like us. They can only find true peace through the cross of Christ.

We cannot be their victory.

Only Jesus.