Quiet please...

I had a friend over for lunch today. This is the first time she has come to stay and chat. It was a nice visit, and the kids all played great together. One thing that kept flowing was the conversation. Only the problem was it was almost all me. My friend is a quiet personality and for whatever reason, I feel like I have to make up for it in conversation. I found myself rambling from story to story. Sometimes jumping to a new one and never returning to finish the last. Toward the end of the visit, I kept realizing just how much I was divulging on my guest. She was graciously listening and would join my topic often. Sometimes I need to take a step back and let there be awkward silence. I usually talk too much rather than not enough. And I wonder why my daughter is such a social butterfly and a chatterbox. She is following her momma's example. I have left gatherings in the past and realized I should have kept my words a little more guarded. This was one of those times. Not that there were inappropriate things said, just too many things said. One of my favorite verses to claim is Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God..." I need to be quiet and allow the Holy Spirit to guide my words rather than fill empty space with frivolity. Proverbs 10:19 is a verse I have brought up for my daughter to teach her to guard her tongue and now it is the same verse the Lord is using to sweetly rebuke me. "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, but he that refraineth his lips is wise." Now to begin practicing it myself.