Waldorf Salad
About 3 large apples, cored, peeled and cubed
2 Tbsp. Chopped celery
3 Tbsp. Chopped walnuts
Mix with mayonnaise, chill and serve on a bed of lettuce.
Have you ever eaten a Waldorf salad? Created in 1896 by Oscar Tschirky, it was a signature dish of the Waldorf Hotel, (now Waldorf-Astoria), in New York City. The salad became so popular that Cole Porter featured it in his 1934 song “You’re the Top”. 1
This recipe has over 40 variations!
There are the San Francisco and Hawaii versions. Versions with chicken, with a variety of fruits, nuts and cheeses. If you don’t like mayo, there is always the oil & vinegar version. Whichever version you make, pick your fruit carefully. The result of using bad fruit? Why, a bad salad of course!
But there is another kind of fruit that we need to pick carefully; the fruit of our lips.
“I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.” Isaiah 57:19
According to this scripture, we create with our words.
Not like some hocus pocus but what we say does have power.
How about negative words?
Have you noticed that people who constantly speak negative things seem to have many negative occurrences in their lives? When we hang around people who often talk negative, how does that make us feel? Not very good, does it? Negativity seems to breed negativity.
How about those people who often speak positively?
Doesn’t it feel good to be around those people? People who speak positive things seem to have more positive outcomes, don’t they?
If you are still wondering about the power of our words, then let’s go back to the very beginning.
Not the beginning of this blog, but the beginning of the Bible. In Genesis 1 God created the earth. How? He spoke it all into existence. God created the world with the power of His words.
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Genesis 1:3.
But He didn’t just create light by speaking, He created everything that way!
He spoke to create the heavens, land, grass, herbs, fruit, day, night, birds, water and land creatures, (Genesis chapter 1). And you know what? Everything God created was good!
God created us in His own image and gave our tongues power;
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21
So, how about us? What fruit are we creating?
I for one, created some bad fruit. But God in His loving way helped me to change that. He showed me how to create good fruit.
For a number of years, I had been sick. Ahh, but then I learned the truth about the fruit of my lips. Like we need to select our fruit carefully to make a good salad, we need to select our words carefully to make a good life. I must tell you that I was not making a very good salad of life.
One main word I used seemed to be creating rotten fruit which of course makes a rotten salad.
The word the Lord showed me that I used often was “afraid.”
I would use it speaking of my physical limitations or fear of the future. However, I was also using it figuratively. Saying things like, “I’m sorry but I am afraid I cannot make that meeting.” It seems innocent, doesn’t it? Well, using it figuratively may have been innocent, but I wasn’t taking any chances. The Lord led me to stop saying “afraid,” so I was going to stop it!
So, this is what I did.
REVELATION
By now you can guess my first step. I asked the Lord to reveal words I was saying that created bad fruit. For me it was a single word. But it can also be a phrase like, “It’s driving me crazy!”
REPENTANCE
I know the Lord loves me too much to be pleased when I create bad fruit for myself. So, I asked for forgiveness. Oh! And remember it’s important to forgive ourselves too!
RECOGNITION
Now that I knew the word to watch out for, I needed to do just that! It wasn’t easy. Sometimes it would just pop out of my mouth before I recognized what I was saying.
When that happened, I would go through these steps again and keep on trucking!
REPLACE
I didn’t want to keep that bad fruit, I wanted to change my creation. So, I replaced “afraid” by speaking in faith.
You can too! For example; rather than say, “I will never get out of this.” In faith say, “God will make a way out of this.” In faith we trust God’s victory in spite of our circumstances. His victory may not look like we have envisioned but He has a plan and will work all things to good.
REINFORCE FAITH
I reinforced faith with God’s Word. Finding verses like 2 Timothy 1:7, I memorized them and posted them on my bathroom mirror as a constant reminder. I spoke them in faith believing God would create good fruit from my words.
Then in about 30 days, I had kicked the habit!
Now, how about you? Have you ever thought of the recipe your words are creating? Would you like to give it a try? Would you like to see about kicking the habit?
Take the 30-day challenge and see what happens!
What have you got to lose?
Let’s all make our recipe for life with good fruit from our lips. It won’t mean we will get everything we want, but it will certainly lift our spirits and create more positive outcomes for us.
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24
REFLECTION
Are there any words you have been saying that may be creating bad fruit in your life?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, as I write Isaiah 57:19 and say it aloud, please reveal any bad fruit I have been creating. Help me to refocus my words so that I speak positively in faith. In Jesus name, Amen.
SPEAK IN FAITH CREATING GOOD FRUIT
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Thanks so much!
May your day be filled with love and laughter!
For information on making Jesus Christ your Savior, email me or visit, http://www.peacewithgod.net/
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1 wikipedia
Dawn photo, Sara Vaccari, pixabay
Rotten fruit photo, Giuseppe Cuzz, unsplash
Cow photo, Dorothea Olda, unsplash
Boy photo, Gisela Merkuur, pixabay
