grace in words that give life

"You know it.  You feel it, I do too.
Just listen.  Something is calling you."

-Norah Jones, "Something is Calling You"

i've been thinking a lot about words lately.  the words that we choose to use.  it's a lot easier to take time and be selective when writing than it is speaking.  i've noticed lately that when i get stressed out, i tend to grow careless in my word choice - especially when speaking.  sometimes my words hurt and destroy rather than giving life.  i imagine most of us could probably say the same thing; we are not always at our best and sometimes we need God's grace to re-fuel us and re-inspire us.  sometimes we need grace from others to move past those less-than-stellar moments and those days we'd like to forget.  my prayer right now is that my words will be more like God's words - that they will give life, and call others to greatness, to action, and to be their best selves.  

think of all the voices speaking to you these days.  which ones give you life?  which ones inspire you to be your best self?  which ones are better left ignored?  what about God's voice?  how is our loving creator calling you these days?  what is he calling you to do?  who is he calling you to be?  these are the questions i am pondering for myself these days.  there are no quick or easy answers, but this is one of those stretches when i will do my best to live the questions.

"Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

-Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet