As you know, I read a lot of blogs. If there’s a hidden message for me somewhere, then it’s best to place it in one of the blogs I read regularly. And I kinda think that’s what has happened. It’s gonna be a doozy. So much of a doozy that I was actually supposed to do this last week. But I didn’t. But my inner voice kept telling me that I needed to do it. Then I made up all kinds of excuses why I couldn’t. And one by one, the reasons were slowly discounted. And now, I’ve got to do it. Right here, right now, on this blog, and in front of all of you.

I am going to Pause Before I Pounce.

Last week in Blogworld, noted author, speaker, and blogger Karen Ehman hosted a “Pause Before You Pounce Challenge: The Cure for Mama Mouth.” Ouch….just typing that gives me chills. The day I received the first email about the challenge was rough. No one seemed to be listening. Everyone seemed to be arguing. And I felt unappreciated.

In my house, unappreciated leads to frustrated. Frustrated leads to angry. Angry leads to short, curt responses. And eventually, short curt responses lead to the full-blown Mama mouth.

Unfortunately, I heard the Mama mouth in my own home a little too much. At first I blamed it on my thyroid. Then my lack of thyroid medicine. Then I blamed it on past situations. And then I finally realized I was doing a lot of blaming. So I’m not going to blame. And I am going to pause. And deal with my mama mouth.

And you get to hold me accountable for it.

So here’s how I’m going to do it. Karen sends me a blog post about our topic for the day. She then encourages me to review the bible scripture the post is based on, and then I have ponder my feelings on the subject and then DO an act that will facilitate my pausing.

I will review the daily posts and scripture during my morning quiet time. Afterwards, I will post the act I am doing that day. That evening, I will let you hear from the Three Amigos their thoughts on what I did. After reading that post, I am encouraging you all to comment, make suggestions, etc.

We do this for the next 5 days. Can you tell I’m excited? 🙂

I respect Karen as an author and all of the work she does with Proverbs 31 Ministries. Her latest book is entitled  LET. IT. GO. How to Stop Running the Show & Start Walking in Faith. This pausing is a small step in my journey. Thanks for joining it with me.