Oh, My Goodness!

Let's talk about expressions......
What comes out of my mouth when I am startled, surprised, terrified, shocked or relieved?
Sometimes I wonder, "Where did that come from?"

The words we use say a lot about our character. It seems almost laughable how we try to "sanitize" colloquial expressions to make them OK.
Some expressions are just silly, funny and inane, but here are just a few that bother me because of what they infer and I wince a little every time I hear them.

Holy Cow!.........only God is Holy
Holy Mackerel!......an ugly fish is holy?
Jeez.!............ we may as well say the whole word
What the Heck!.........Hell
Oh My Gosh!.........only the last sound is changed
Friggin'..............I won't go there

Shoot! ....only the vowel is changed. I am guilty for using this one too many times.
I remember sitting in the office at work, sending Floral Transworld Delivery orders. Every time I made a typing mistake, I said,"Shoot!" My boss remarked that from where she was sitting it sounded like the "i" vowel, and to watch my language.

Of course, many other expletives come to mind which I will not print here, but it seems that cursing and vulgarities are considered a sign of "coolness" or "macho-ism" to some. It is almost impossible to find a good movie without them. Stand-up comedians can't be funny without them. Is it becoming so acceptable that we hardly notice or care anymore?

There are so many references to the importance of "words and speech" in the Bible. These two come to mind.
Colossians 4:6 ...Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
Psalm 19:14 .... "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."