For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart... Matthew 12:34

Confession time.  I have a potty mouth.  I can make a sailor blush.  It is embarrassing and shameful and I hate it about myself.  It is a horribly bad habit I picked up many years ago and it needs to go. 

I have lots of excuses and justifications about it:  I don't do it in front of my kids.  I only do it sitting in traffic or when I am mad and John is usually the only one who hears it.  It isn't hurting anyone.  I don't take God's name in vain or anything like that...But these are all just ways I try to excuse it away.

God, in his wisdom, has been pointing me toward lots of scripture lately about speech.  I am working on memorizing a bunch of them. 

Some toe stepping ones:

And I say to you that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.  Matthew 12:36--37

But now you also put them all aside:  anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech from your mouth.  Colossians 3:8

The wise in heart will be called discerning and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.  Proverbs 16:21

She opens her mouth in wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  Proverbs 31:26

If you were to ride with me on 280 in the mornings or afternoons you would definitely not hear kindness on my tongue.

I have entrusted this secret of mine to several close friends and asked them to hold me accountable.  I am working diligently to break myself from this habit. 

I want my words to reflect what is in my heart and this ugliness is not it. 

I adore singing and helping to lead worship more than just about anything.  So how can I stand before my church family on Sundays and lead worship and have praise coming from my mouth then get in the car on Monday and have nothing but filth stream from it?  That is a hypocrite of the worst order and I loathe hypocrites. 

We are about to enter a new year and I am not big on resolutions but I am committing to clean out my vocabulary ASAP. 

I have prayed and asked God to convict my heart every single time I let something slip, to have others hold me accountable and to have my sweet husband not have to hear his wife talk like she belongs in the shipyard. 

They say it takes 21 days to create a habit and I have had this one for probably 15 years so it is going to be a challenge but I love a good challenge.