SYNOPSIS

Gain practical insights into breaking habits of gossip, flattery, verbal retaliation, and people-pleasing in this encouraging and biblical resource on taming your tongue.

Got words? Oh yeah, you do! The average person speaks over 2.5 million per year–not to mention the ones they type online. In this fully updated and expanded edition of Keep It Shut, Karen Ehman–a woman whose words have often landed her in a heap of trouble (you’ll find out more about that in chapter one)–shares the how’s (and how-not-to’s) of dealing with the tongue’s enormous power.

Now with an all-important bonus chapter on how we talk to ourselves as well as a 10-day devotional on watching our words, including an explanation of a different biblical Greek or Hebrew word each day, Keep It Shut will teach you:

The difference between gossip and properly processing with a trusted friend.
How to wisely use our digital tongues as we talk online or on social media.
How to pause before you pounce, attacking the problem but not the person.
How to avoid saying something permanently painful just because you are temporarily ticked off.
What the Bible teaches about making our speech laced with grace, as sweet as honey, and yet seasoned with salt
Using biblical examples as well as Karen’s own personal (and sometimes painful!) stories, Keep It Shut will equip you to know what to say, how best to say it, and when you’d better just keep your lips zipped!

REVIEW

This book was recommended by a  couple fellow bloggers. I gravitated to it because of the title. Ever since I learned how to talk I have been saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and using the wrong tone. 

I have lost count of the number of times I have read the book of James for a spiritual butt-kicking.  Not to mention the countless books I have read on the subject.

In the end, taming the tongue is about showing others grace no matter the circumstances and loving them no matter what.  It also means taking a breath and praying before responding to an upsetting situation.