{"id":3412,"date":"2013-01-28T16:40:41","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T21:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3412"},"modified":"2013-02-06T16:43:25","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T21:43:25","slug":"meaning-what-you-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2013\/01\/meaning-what-you-say.html","title":{"rendered":"Meaning what you say"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"chat\"<\/a>Even though saying what we mean is difficult, it may be harder to mean what we say. \u00a0When working with people with intellectually disabilities, I\u2019ve found that our sub-culture is actually less prone to say things they do not mean than other segments of the population. \u00a0Yet, this is a continuing problem within our society.<\/p>\n

A good friend of mine tells me that his wife was constantly threatening to \u201cleave and never come back.\u201d \u00a0He learned eventually that this was only an idle threat; but even in knowing this, it put him in continual trauma. \u00a0Finally, he realized that the sense of drama which produces trauma was her true purpose. \u00a0This is when he learned to ignore the threats.<\/p>\n

However, threats about almost everything is a part of many people\u2019s lives. \u00a0A parent may tell the Bible study teacher, \u201cIf that happens again, my daughter won\u2019t be able to come back to your program.\u201d \u00a0A member may inform you, \u201cI\u2019m never coming back\u2026\u201d\u00a0if I don\u2019t get my way<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"talking<\/a>One of the great life lessons is to mean what we say. \u00a0Our members who are mentally challenged are concrete learners. \u00a0They must have truth in everything they do, especially in their relationship with the Lord. I\u2019ve found that even some people who claim to have a vital relationship with the Lord have a little problem with mangling the truth.<\/p>\n

Understand that I\u2019m not speaking from the lofty tower of innocence. \u00a0I\u2019ve caught myself more often than I care to remember torturing the truth in my speech. \u00a0When we mean what we say, there is a release that comes for everyone with whom you must interface.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will go\u201d becomes a sealed covenant. \u00a0\u201dI can\u2019t do that\u201d releases you and the other person from future expectations. \u00a0\u201dIf you do that, I must punish you\u201d is a committment that should not be violated. \u00a0This week there was a conflict between two members. \u00a0One member began to curse at the other person. \u00a0I had to pull him out and ask for him to apologize. \u00a0He refused.<\/p>\n

\"argue\"<\/a>This refusal meant that I had to separate him from the others. \u00a0Once we were in a more private area, I could reason with him. \u00a0Within a few minutes, he was able to understand what was needed and what should be done. \u00a0He agreed and could be moved back to his normal seat. \u00a0My greatest danger \u00a0in this situation was threatening something that I could not or would not do. \u00a0It was essential to\u00a0mean what I said<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Only the Lord\u2019s strength and wisdom can help us to follow through on what we say. \u00a0Asking for his help always allows us to become the people of integrity that who can be the example we need to be for our members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though saying what we mean is difficult, it may be harder to mean what we say. \u00a0When working with people with intellectually disabilities, I\u2019ve found that our sub-culture is actually less prone to say things they do not mean than other segments of the population. \u00a0Yet, this is a continuing problem within our society.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,699,715,701,694,689,57,6,647,700],"class_list":["post-3412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-prayer","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-speaking-the-truth","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nMeaning what you say - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meaning what you say - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Even though saying what we mean is difficult, it may be harder to mean what we say. \u00a0When working with people with intellectually disabilities, I\u2019ve found that our sub-culture is actually less prone to say things they do not mean than other segments of the population. \u00a0Yet, this is a continuing problem within our society.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2013\/01\/meaning-what-you-say.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-28T21:40:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-06T21:43:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/01\/chat.jpg?w=126&h=126\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meaning what you say - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meaning what you say - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"Even though saying what we mean is difficult, it may be harder to mean what we say. \u00a0When working with people with intellectually disabilities, I\u2019ve found that our sub-culture is actually less prone to say things they do not mean than other segments of the population. \u00a0Yet, this is a continuing problem within our society.…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2013\/01\/meaning-what-you-say.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2013-01-28T21:40:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-02-06T21:43:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/01\/chat.jpg?w=126&h=126"}],"author":"Linda G. 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