Zip It: The Keep It Shut 40-Day Challenge

by Karen Ehman

Overview

This follow-up devotional to the New York Times bestseller Keep It Shut takes a deeper look at the advice and commands of Scripture concerning the tongue, offering practical how-to's that will inspire you to use your words to build, bless, encourage, and praise.

Each day we speak thousands of words in dozens of places. One thing is certain about the words we speak, type, and text: they are powerful, and they have consequences. They can impart love and life or deliver discouragement and defeat.

No wonder Scripture contains more than 3,500 verses about the power of the tongue. This devotional will take you on a journey over the next forty days to learn to choose and use your words wisely--saving you a boatload of regret and wounded relationships.

Each of the forty interactive entries includes a Scripture-verse focus for the day, a story or teaching point, and reflection questions. Each entry ends with both an action that will help you carry out the directive in the verse and a prayer prompt. The entries in Zip It build upon each other, equipping you with new tools for how--or how not--to use your words.

Ultimately, Zip It will challenge you to use your mouth with godly purposes. To build . . . not to break. To bless . . . not to badger. To encourage . . . not to embitter. To praise . . . not to pounce.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310345848
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	02/07/2017
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishing
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	80,004
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Karen Ehman is a Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker, a New York Times bestselling author, and a writer for Encouragement for Today,an online devotional that reaches over 4 million people daily. She has written seventeen books including Keep It Shut, Pressing Pause, and Keep Showing Up. Her passion is to help women to live their priorities as they reflect the gospel to a watching world. Married to her college sweetheart, Todd, the mother of three, and mom-in-law of two, she enjoys antique hunting, cheering for the Detroit Tigers, and feeding the many people who gather around her mid-century dining table for a taste of Mama Karen's cooking. Connect with her at www.karenehman.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction 15

Week 1 The Power of Our Words

Day 1 A Matter of Life and Death 21

Day 2 The Great Know-It-All 26

Day 3 Shutting down the Motormouth 31

Day 4 On Cherry Slushies and Refreshing Springs 35

Day 5 Weight Control 41

Week 2 The Heart-Mind-Mouth Connection

Day 6 Sleep Talking and Daytime Words 49

Day 7 Your Heart Thoughts Are Louder Than You Realize 54

Day 8 Mouth-Shut Prayers 59

Day 9 Building Your Word-Robe 64

Day 10 This Conversation Took a Turn 69

Week 3 Oh, the Places You Go (and the Things You Say)

Day 11 R-E-S-P-E-C-T 77

Day 12 That Time I Spied Ugly in the Mirror 82

Day 13 When You're About to Cross the Line 87

Day 14 When Facebook Makes You Feisty 92

Day 15 Following from Afar 97

Week 4 Taming Our Tempers

Day 16 One-Bullet Barney 105

Day 17 A Sprinkle of Salt 110

Day 18 Laced with Grace 115

Day 19 From Foothold to Stronghold 120

Day 20 But You Don't Know My Family 125

Week 5 Bad Speech/Good Speech

Day 21 The Snowball of Senseless Speech 133

Day 22 The Sting of Searing Sarcasm 139

Day 23 Just Say Thanks 145

Day 24 Help Them Hit Refresh 150

Day 25 To Tell the Truth 155

Week 6 When to Be Silent and When to Speak Up

Day 26 When You Think You Know Why: It's Time to be Silent 163

Day 27 When You Know Better: It's Time to be Silent 168

Day 28 When You Can Help (And There's Nothing in it for You): It's Time to Speak Up 173

Day 29 When Only God Knows What Just Happened: It's Time to be Silent 178

Day 30 When You Know They Need To Know: It's Time to Speak Up 183

Week 7 Making Our Words Both Sweet and Salty

Day 31 Do or Die: The Sweet Words of Abigail 191

Day 32 Pouring Salt on a Wound: The Salty Words of David 196

Day 33 It All Happened So Fast: The Sweet Words of Boaz 201

Day 34 Kicking it up a Notch: The Salty Words of Mordecai 205

Day 35 Soul Food: The Sweet and Salty Words of Jesus 210

Week 8 How God's Words Affect Our Words

Day 36 God's Word Teaches Us How to Respond with Forgiveness 217

Day 37 God's Word Teaches Us How to Respond in Prayer 223

Day 38 God's Word Teaches Us How to Respond in Faith 228

Day 39 God's Word Teaches Us How to Respond Compassionately 233

Day 40 God's Word Teaches Us How to Respond to Problems 238

Acknowledgments 243

Editorial Reviews

01/23/2017
Ehman (Keep It Shut), bestselling author and Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker, writes on the challenge of keeping one’s mouth shut so that the few carefully chosen words one does speak will serve to enhance ones life and build up others in the process. Ehman makes her 40 chapters easy to follow; they’re filled with prompts, suggestions, and resources that will facilitate using self-control to speak only in ways that bring help, not hurt, into everyday situations. No matter whether people are angry, tired, irritable, hurt, sad, happy, or joyful, she writes, they are all in control of how they use their voices. Ehman sets biblical guidelines for using one’s thoughts (which necessarily affect one’s words) to the betterment of others. Readers will laugh, cry, and commiserate with her real-life examples of how she successfully (and not so successfully) tamed her tongue at crucial life junctures. Readers will also receive daily nudges to stop before they speak, consider before voicing strong opinions, and learn to make reparations as needed. For Christ-followers looking to harness the power of their words, Ehman is a clear, persuasive guide. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

'A great follow-up to her book Keep It Shut, this practical and engaging devotional will convict and encourage you! We all need to tame the tongue, don't we? This practical help is exactly what we need to get us there!'

Shaunti Feldhahn

'Our words are directly tied to the condition of our relationship with Jesus. The 40-challenge of Zip It arrives at a great time in the history of the world. Social media, circles of friendships, and family relationships are built and destroyed with the power of our words. Zip It is a great book that will help you have victory of your mouth! Take the challenge!'

Chrissie Dunham

'Our words are a powerful weapon—for good or for evil. To wield our weapons properly, we need to allow God to steer our speech, aligning our words with his will. Karen Ehman has given us an important tool in this quest. Zip It takes us on a 40-day devotional journey through the Bible, giving us biblical direction, questions for reflection, and a daily challenge to ponder as we discover what to say, God's way of saying it, and when we'd better just shut our mouths.'

Dr. Tony Evans

'Our words hold the power to make someone feel like a king or a pauper. This book will help you with 'mouth management' so the ones closest to you will feel like royalty. Karen Ehman is a trusted guide who will teach you when to zip it and when to speak up.'

Arlene Pellicane

'Karen has done it again! In her coffee-shop-chat style, Karen's latest devotional encourages us to use our words wisely. With her perfect blend of teaching and transparency, Karen leads with wisdom and wit. I felt convicted but hopeful that this is a change that is biblical and possible!'

national speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries and wr Whitney Capps

'This 40-day challenge is just what I need to help me refocus and think through the words I say daily. Karen Ehman's biblical wisdom, mixed with practical insight and everyday applications, helps me see that I can do better. If I follow God's Word and think before I speak, I can learn to zip it and so can you! This is a must-read for all of us.'

Courtney Joseph

'Karen equips us with takeaways, lessons, and prayers to ensure the words we speak not only please the Lord but also bless and encourage others. I especially love her challenge to create a 'word-robe' (a word wardrobe) within our hearts and fill it with biblical truths and promises tailored to meet our needs and circumstances.'

Wendy Blight

'Karen Ehman teaches God's truth in an authentic, practical, humorous, yet very relational way. In her new book, Zip It, Karen guides us through Scriptures concerning the tongue, while also providing application-oriented takeaways and helpful lessons for our lips. Not only did Zip It inspire me to choose my words more carefully and prayerfully—especially when Facebook makes me feisty—but I also can't wait to read it with my two tween daughters. This devotion will be a 'go-to' for many years to come. Highly recommend!'

Cindy Bultema

'Karen Ehman combines biblical depth and relational breadth, then wraps it all in practical application, making Zip It the complete package! In it, Karen has identified all the nuances of our speech, especially those with potential to harm, calling us out in the very kindest way, and offering hope for our wayward tongues. The right word in the right manner at the right moment has the power to transform lives. I'm so grateful to Karen for inviting us to a place of loveliness and grace with our words in a world that so desperately needs both.'

Glynnis Whitwer

'Few people use words wisely. Those who do are like a 'rare jewel,' as the Scriptures say (Proverbs 20:15). Short, insightful, and aimed at the heart, Karen Ehman's brand new devotional, Zip It, offers hope to those of us who want to be that 'rare jewel.' Powerful!'

Patrick and Ruth Schwenk

Our words just may be the single most important key to successful relationships. This book is a gem and it reminds us of that. It’s practical, easy-to-read, and just what is needed to enable us to use our words in a way that brings life to those around us. Thank you, Karen, for such a powerful book wives and husbands both can use!

Jill Savage

Imagine what the world would look like if we only used words to build, bless, encourage, and praise? That is the world Karen offers us through her compelling and life-giving challenge to zip it. This book is a much-needed 40-day diet for the soul—leaving you with new and life changing habits on how to use your words!

speaker and author Tracy Wilde

With great application, personal insight, and humor, Karen Ehman dives into an area each one of us struggles with—our words! She has a way of taking touchy subjects, giving them a fresh perspective, and pointing us to grace-covered truth. What a perfect book at any age and stage of life!

Clare Smith

Thank you, Karen Ehman, for writing this book! Zip It landed in my lap when I absolutely needed to read it. Let me confess, as a woman who speaks far faster than she thinks; this 40-day challenge was a Godsend! With all the different relationships I juggle, I’ve witnessed far too many times how my words speak life or death. I’m so grateful for the truth and transformation found in these pages . . . and so are those closest to me!

Marian Jordan Ellis

In Zip It, Karen Ehman gives us a hard but needed 40-day challenge to practice using our tongue to heal and give life instead of as a weapon that hurts and kills. Her use of Scripture coupled with personal examples help us learn to use our words for the honor of God and the good of our neighbor. This is a much-needed challenge!

Jennifer Thorn

Keeping my mouth shut is a daily struggle—whether it’s talking too much when I need to listen, partaking in the watercooler gossip when I should walk away, writing my opinion on social media when it’s not needed, or the hundreds of other reasons. While doing the Keep It Shut study I became more aware of my mouth and its actions. I am so excited for this devotional and the daily reminders of how to keep it shut! I have a feeling I will start it over every 40 days!

speaker and blogger at Mandy Young.com Mandy Young

A great follow-up to her book Keep It Shut, this practical and engaging devotional will convict and encourage you! We all need to tame the tongue, don't we? This practical help is exactly what we need to get us there!--Shaunti Feldhahn, social researcher and bestselling author, For Women Only

Few people use words wisely. Those who do are like a "rare jewel," as the Scriptures say (Proverbs 20:15). Short, insightful, and aimed at the heart, Karen Ehman's brand new devotional, Zip It, offers hope to those of us who want to be that "rare jewel." Powerful!--Patrick and Ruth Schwenk, founders of TheBetterMom.com and ForTheFamily.org; coauthors, For Better or For Kids

Imagine what the world would look like if we only used words to build, bless, encourage, and praise? That is the world Karen offers us through her compelling and life-giving challenge to zip it. This book is a much-needed 40-day diet for the soul---leaving you with new and life changing habits on how to use your words!--Tracy Wilde, speaker and author,

In Zip It, Karen Ehman gives us a hard but needed 40-day challenge to practice using our tongue to heal and give life instead of as a weapon that hurts and kills. Her use of Scripture coupled with personal examples help us learn to use our words for the honor of God and the good of our neighbor. This is a much-needed challenge!--Jennifer Thorn, pastor's wife and blogger, jenthorn.com

Karen equips us with takeaways, lessons, and prayers to ensure the words we speak not only please the Lord but also bless and encourage others. I especially love her challenge to create a "word-robe" (a word wardrobe) within our hearts and fill it with biblical truths and promises tailored to meet our needs and circumstances.--Wendy Blight, Proverbs 31 Ministries First 5 Writing Team; author, I Know His Name: Discovering Power in the Name of God

Karen has done it again! In her coffee-shop-chat style, Karen's latest devotional encourages us to use our words wisely. With her perfect blend of teaching and transparency, Karen leads with wisdom and wit. I felt convicted but hopeful that this is a change that is biblical and possible!--Whitney Capps, national speaker for Proverbs 31 Ministries and writer for their First 5 app

Karen Ehman combines biblical depth and relational breadth, then wraps it all in practical application, making Zip It the complete package! In it, Karen has identified all the nuances of our speech, especially those with potential to harm, calling us out in the very kindest way, and offering hope for our wayward tongues. The right word in the right manner at the right moment has the power to transform lives. I'm so grateful to Karen for inviting us to a place of loveliness and grace with our words in a world that so desperately needs both.--Glynnis Whitwer, Executive Director of Communications, Proverbs 31 Ministries; Senior Editor, Encouragement for Today online devotions; editor, The NIV Real-Life Devotional Bible for Women

Karen Ehman teaches God's truth in an authentic, practical, humorous, yet very relational way. In her new book, Zip It, Karen guides us through Scriptures concerning the tongue, while also providing application-oriented takeaways and helpful lessons for our lips. Not only did Zip It inspire me to choose my words more carefully and prayerfully---especially when Facebook makes me feisty---but I also can't wait to read it with my two tween daughters. This devotion will be a "go-to" for many years to come. Highly recommend!--Cindy Bultema, Bible teacher, speaker; and author, Red Hot Faith and Live Full, Walk Free: Set Apart in a Sin-Soaked World

Keeping my mouth shut is a daily struggle---whether it's talking too much when I need to listen, partaking in the watercooler gossip when I should walk away, writing my opinion on social media when it's not needed, or the hundreds of other reasons. While doing the Keep It Shut study I became more aware of my mouth and its actions. I am so excited for this devotional and the daily reminders of how to keep it shut! I have a feeling I will start it over every 40 days!--Mandy Young, speaker and blogger at MandyYoung.com

Our words are a powerful weapon---for good or for evil. To wield our weapons properly, we need to allow God to steer our speech, aligning our words with his will. Karen Ehman has given us an important tool in this quest. Zip It takes us on a 40-day devotional journey through the Bible, giving us biblical direction, questions for reflection, and a daily challenge to ponder as we discover what to say, God's way of saying it, and when we'd better just shut our mouths.--Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Dallas; founder, The Urban Alternative; former chaplain, Dallas Cowboys; chaplain, Dallas Mavericks; author, Watch Your Mouth: Understanding the Power of the Tongue

Our words are directly tied to the condition of our relationship with Jesus. The 40-challenge of Zip It arrives at a great time in the history of the world. Social media, circles of friendships, and family relationships are built and destroyed with the power of our words. Zip It is a great book that will help you have victory of your mouth! Take the challenge!--Chrissie Dunham, Global Director of Women's Ministry, Prestonwood Baptist Church

Our words hold the power to make someone feel like a king or a pauper. This book will help you with "mouth management" so the ones closest to you will feel like royalty. Karen Ehman is a trusted guide who will teach you when to zip it and when to speak up.--Arlene Pellicane, Proverbs 31 Ministries writer and speaker; author, 31 Days to Becoming a Happy Mom

Our words just may be the single most important key to successful relationships. This book is a gem and it reminds us of that. It's practical, easy-to-read, and just what is needed to enable us to use our words in a way that brings life to those around us. Thank you, Karen, for such a powerful book wives and husbands both can use!--Jill Savage, founder, Hearts at Home; coauthor with husband Mark Savage, No More Perfect Marriages

Thank you, Karen Ehman, for writing this book! Zip It landed in my lap when I absolutely needed to read it. Let me confess, as a woman who speaks far faster than she thinks; this 40-day challenge was a Godsend! With all the different relationships I juggle, I've witnessed far too many times how my words speak life or death. I'm so grateful for the truth and transformation found in these pages . . . and so are those closest to me!--Marian Jordan Ellis, author and founder, Redeemed Girl Ministries

This 40-day challenge is just what I need to help me refocus and think through the words I say daily. Karen Ehman's biblical wisdom, mixed with practical insight and everyday applications, helps me see that I can do better. If I follow God's Word and think before I speak, I can learn to zip it and so can you! This is a must-read for all of us.--Courtney Joseph, author and blogger, WomenLivingWell.org and GoodMorningGirls.org

With great application, personal insight, and humor, Karen Ehman dives into an area each one of us struggles with---our words! She has a way of taking touchy subjects, giving them a fresh perspective, and pointing us to grace-covered truth. What a perfect book at any age and stage of life!--Clare Smith, blogger, speaker, personal coach, and trainer, ClareSmith.me

From the Publisher

Imagine what the world would look like if we only used words to build, bless, encourage, and praise? That is the world Karen offers us through her compelling and life-giving challenge to zip it. This book is a much-needed 40-day diet for the soul---leaving you with new and life changing habits on how to use your words!

Tracy Wilde

Keeping my mouth shut is a daily struggle---whether it’s talking too much when I need to listen, partaking in the watercooler gossip when I should walk away, writing my opinion on social media when it’s not needed, or the hundreds of other reasons. While doing the Keep It Shut study I became more aware of my mouth and its actions. I am so excited for this devotional and the daily reminders of how to keep it shut! I have a feeling I will start it over every 40 days!

speaker and blogger at MandyYoung.com Mandy Young