2020 has been full of experiences and events. Have you felt peace in any of it?

Peace is NOT the word I would associate with the last 7 months.

However, when we feel an absence of peace, we have a huge opportunity to invite peace into our spaces. That makes us peacemakers. The Bible mentions the word “peace” over 400 times throughout–and God not only provides peace but instructs all people to live a life that speaks peace. And it can start -easily- with our speech.

As with many things, we don’t know what we don’t know. Every day, we learn something new, and this can be very humbling. It is also very empowering as we consider the words/phrases we currently say. With each careful consideration (and sometimes a switch of a term or phrase), we are able to remove barriers for connecting with people from a myriad of backgrounds, experiences, cultures, genders, faith groups, ethnicities and perspectives.

For example, I have always used the term “bullet point” to describe the items on any given list. Thanks to a class with Rev. Dr. Dan Buttry, I might switch to his term of “olive pits.” It sounds silly, but it’s a serious way to remove language related to violence and weaponry (like bullets) from my everyday speech.

A peacemaker (or peacebuilder) invites peacemaking strategies into all parts of their life: mindset, goals, how time is spent, and how they relate & communicate with God, themselves, and others.

How can we speak peace?

-a few things to consider, next time we open our mouths-

Instead of saying…	maybe say… {switch out}
bite the bullet	go for it
give it a shot, take a stab at it	give it a go, try it out
shoot an email over	quickly send an email over
shoot the breeze	chat, talk
shot in the dark	it’s a guess
that really bombed	it failed, it didn’t work

How do you speak peace in your life? Is there a “switch out” that you could use moving forward, to promote peace?

Prayer: God, thank you for today . So, so much going on in this world, our country and in our own lives. Breathe peace into our souls, and may we speak your present peace in our lives through both our words and actions. We trust in the loving presence of you today and tomorrow. Amen.

Happy Weekend!! ~Laurel