By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Do you know the next phrase in the classic Western ballad that begins, “Oh, give me a home”? It has something to do with buffalo, deer, and antelope.
However, the line after that is the best one, in my opinion, and no doubt became the deciding factor in the song’s popularity.
“Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day.”
“Home on the Range” became the iconic tune of the American West in the 1800s and was sung by cowboys on the Chisolm Trail and elsewhere. It was popularized in the next century by silver-screen cowboy crooners like Gene Autry.
But it’s not just the prairie that has changed since Dr. Brewster M. Higley penned “Home On the Range.” It’s the proliferation of discouraging words.
How many have you heard lately?
Probably more than a few. And I’m not even talking about the news media.
As an author, I hear both positive and negative feedback about my work through public review forums such as Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and Facebook. One of my very first reviews years ago was a real slice-and-dicer, yet that book turned out to be a top seller.
“Consider the source,” I was told, and there is some comfort in that cliché. But for me, the experience underscored the power of words, both spoken and printed.
Words are like bricks. They can build up or tear down, and it’s a whole lot easier to tear down something than to build it up. Anyone with a sledge hammer and a crow bar can demolish a house, but it takes a skilled craftsman to construct one.
Our parents’ generation of school children were taught to deflect painful words with an old quip:
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.
How untrue!
Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can shred us to ribbons and leave us bleeding in the ditch.
Words have power to heal hearts, but discouraging words can destroy marriages—like little drops of acid over time, corroding once-loving foundations until nothing is left.
Cruel remarks on social media impact young people more and more every day. Ugly barbs devastate their characters and diminish their sense of worth.
God knows the power of our words and He has a lot to say about it. Check out this list of scriptures on kind words:
This week, may we choose our words wisely, and make our homes a refuge where “seldom is heard a discouraging word.”
The very words
I have spoken to you
are spirit and life.
-Jesus
John 6:63 NLT
~
Words are like bricks Share on X
The Dodson place opened up east of the Rafter-H with good flat land as well as prime mountain grass. The couple had been mostly farmers with potatoes, berries, and a small apple orchard north of the barn and outbuildings.
Hugh approached off-road from the west, and a chorus of red-winged blackbirds cut loose from new-leaf cottonwood trees. But as he neared the house, an eerie feeling climbed his shoulders like the first time he’d ridden over. The place must have been in decline for years with the older couple unable to keep it up. He and Cale would have helped if they’d known, but the Dodsons kept to themselves, even the few times he’d seen them in town.
Didn’t matter. Neighbors were supposed to help neighbors. It’s how things were.
Rather than start right off on the barn, Hugh stopped behind the house and went inside through the open back door. The place was run-down and dirty with the wind blowing through. It must have been a nice home at one time. He reminded himself he was no trespasser, for if he had his way, he’d soon be the owner.
Word was, the place was up for taxes and overdue mortgage payments, but there would be an auction. Just like the government to milk every penny they could get. So be it—he’d play their game. A fat worm if there ever was one, and he planned on being the early bird. ~Hope Is Built – Colorado Book Award finalist
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
#WesternRomance #ChristianFiction #FreeBook #HistoricalRomance #CowboyRomance
That’s quite the list of scriptures! This is an important subject!
Words can be devastating! If only we would follow God’s advice! What a happy world it would be.
So true, Karen. God’s words are life to us in every area of our lives.
Thank you, Davalynn, for the list of kind Bible verses. How often we forget the damage our words can do to others. These verses will help me to remember to be a builder.
Nanci – I like the way you put that: “Remember to be a builder.”
I just finished reading “The Snowbound Bride” and was delighted by it. You have a great way with words that show deep feelings. And the ending was an example of joyous love. I greatly enjoyed it.
I love the Front Range in Colorado, spent much of my life there and miss it very much. Circumstances have me in MO now and I miss the mountains so much. I hope you will have pictures of them on your blog to share with all your followers. God bless you and your writing. Pattie Sines
Thank you, Pattie. I’m so glad you enjoyed The Snowbound Bride. Thanks for writing in.