Speech Class: by EJ Blohm

Being from central Wisconsin, we never gave any thought to having an accent. That was for folks in the south or out east. Yet it seems the folks here in western Nebraska think we do! As soon as I say "out and about" my origin gives me away! ('about' and 'a boat' are NOT the same!) Our speech should give our spiritual origins away too! Each time we open our mouth, His words should be evident. As Christians there are times when we slip back to our old way of speech - the former 'accent' we had before Christ. Do you?

The book of James talks about the difficulty in controlling our tongues. Yet in the midst of hopelessness and the "I'll just never change" attitude, God gives us an action plan and hope for change. In chapter 4 it says we should submit to God, resist the devil, come near to God, repent, and humble ourselves.

We don't know if we'll ever figure out how to say "out and about" without an accent - or if we'll pick up the Kentucky drawl - but we do know we want our speech to give reference to our Creator and Lord.