“Karen’s Notes!
Insights from a Glory-Bound Lady”

Selected Notes
Volume 1 Number 21, “A Lesson from Thumper’s Mother” August 29, 2018

Perhaps you remember the Thumperian principle as found in the Walt Disney movie Bambi. In the movie, a very young rabbit named Thumper makes a rude remark about the little fawn “Bambi.” Thumper boldly states with a rather loud voice that Bambi is “kinda wobbly” and that “he doesn’t walk too good.” Immediately wise mother rabbit speaks to Thumper and says, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Many of us didn’t realize such wisdom actually came from Thumper’s mother. We thought our mom’s came up with this on their own! You are probably smiling at this because you can hear your mom and grandmother saying this, can’t you?

In one of Karen’s speaking engagements, she began her session with this quote from Thumper’s mother. She then spoke to the ladies about our words. Here is the verse she underlined in her Bible and used in this workshop. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19).

Karen wrote: Words come from the heart, as we are reminded in Matthew 12:34-35. Our conversation will reveal our heart’s condition. In our conversation with others, our words must be gracious (“A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger” Proverbs 15:1). The aim is to build up and not to tear down. Be a Barnabas.

Michael’s observation: What power comes from the choice of our words, the volume of our speech, and the tone of our voice!