I met a man several weeks ago.  His name is… well… let’s call him Kris Kringle, you know, to protect the innocent.

When he told me his name, I was immediately taken aback. I thought it was a joke- thank goodness I didn’t start laughing.  He looked every bit his name. He had a round face with rosy red cheeks.  His stark white beard matched his white hair that had a slight curl at the tip. He wore little round glasses that were pushed down toward the edge of his nose.   His round belly told me that he’d probably eaten his fair share of Christmas cookies.  He was even wearing red. He looked like he had stepped right out of a Christmas card, minus the Santa suit.

It got me thinking… he obviously did not come out of the womb looking this way.  I wondered what his mother must have thought, looking down at her newborn baby, to name him this name.  He probably didn’t come out saying ‘ho, ho, ho’.  I trust that he was a normal looking baby, child and even a normal looking teen.  At what point did he morph into this iconic character?  He had been called that name his entire life, and it was stunning to see the visual effects it had on him.

The power of life and death are in the tongue indeed.  The power of my future depends on what I am speaking over myself.  The future of my kids and spouse depend on what I am speaking over them right now.  Kris Kringle challenged me to change what I speak- over myself, over my friends, over my family.

What am I speaking over myself every day? What effect are these words going to have on my future?  Am I even going to realize how I change to fit what I am speaking over myself?  I want to live up to everything that God has called me to be, and I don’t want my words to be what holds me back.

~Shiney