The Best Advice My Mother Ever Gave Me.

My mom was a school secretary. And a very wise woman. When I graduated from college and prepared to begin my first year of teaching, she gave me some wonderful advice. She told me, "Stay out of the teacher's lounge."

Now, that may sound odd to you. Why would a teacher need to stay out of the teacher's lounge? But my mother, the wise school secretary, knew something that a new teacher would not know.

She was not telling me to stay away from the coffee pot. She was not telling me to avoid the copy machines. She was telling me that hanging out in the teacher's lounge can be hazardous to one's health, and to one's career. My mother explained to me about the "Lounge Lizards." The people who have nothing better to do with their time than sit around the lounge, criticizing and gossiping about everyone from the parents to other teachers to the principal! And yes, sometimes even the students were victims. She was simply telling me to stay away from those people.

I taught public school for seven years. Now, I have been a stay-at-home mom for ten years. I have learned through experience that the Lounge Lizards don't exist only in the teacher's lounge. They are everywhere! They are at the ball park, in the grocery store, they clog up the phone lines, and yes! They are even regulars at church.

Ephesians 4:29 tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up." Do you know any lounge lizards? Is it possible that you have become one? I encourage you today to edit your speech. Let the words that spill out of your mouth be a blessing to everyone concerned - the listener, the person being talked about, and to you.

May God bless your speech today, as you bless others!

Renae