Power Words

Words are amazing things. They can chastise, insult, curse, and cut. They can encourage, compliment, praise, and mend. While the scar from a physical cut can heal; the scar from cruel words almost never leaves us. Words communicate a myriad of emotions, and they have become all the more powerful due to this remarkable thing we know as the internet. It's incredible how so many words are out there for everyone to view with just the click of a mouse.

The blogworld centers around the written word. Some of us are gifted in how we put our words together. Some of us are not so gifted - to put it kindly. Some use words to express their frustration, or humor, or love, or religious beliefs. Some use them to make others laugh. Some use them to make others think. Some write words only for themselves, while others write for as many people to read as possible.

What I have found most fascinating in the blogworld is that a person's personality can be seen in their words. We can see the sarcasm (usually), the pain, the laughter, the fear. And we can tell the difference between sincerity and bullshit in almost every post. Sometimes we can be fooled, but usually not for long. Blogging has created a whole new world, and like most worlds, it is made up of many small communities. I feel lucky that I have found my way into a very special blog community, and even luckier that it just keeps growing with new and interesting people.

In elementary education, power words are words that are used repeatedly and therefore important to memorize (sometimes referred to as high frequency words). Out in the big bad world, the term power words often refers to words that express positive affirmations. This past weekend, one of the special people in my blog community wrote a beautiful and thoughtful blog - a perfect example of power words - and I was lucky enough to be the recipient of this lovely gesture. Sarah, the author of the fabulous The Only Reason I Feel Secure*, created a post just for me, for no other reason than to make me feel blessed and good about myself. She had no agenda, gave me no indication it was coming, and got nothing out of it but my sincere and heartfelt thanks. Her powerful words made my day. They made my month. They were indeed a blessing. And I won't forget them. Thank you Sarah. You are classy, lovely, and full of grace. I wish the world was filled with people like you.

**Note to readers: Now go read her blog and give her lots of power words back! And add her to your bloglist! And ooooh and aaaah over her gorgeous baby pictures! And tell her husband Jacob* how fabulous he is too!

*Bloggers are no longer blogging. Links removed.