Courtesy photo Christian writer Sharon Jaynes will be the featured speaker at the Spring Ladies Encounter event on April 22 at the Blair County Convention Center.

What is said and what is not said can make a difference in someone’s life.

Sharon Jaynes, featured speaker at the Spring Ladies Encounter event, will tell how words spoken to family members, friends and others can have a positive or negative effect on them and when it is best to say nothing at all.

The Spring Ladies Encounter will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 22 at the Blair County Convention Center. Joyful Noise will lead the praise and worship. Interpretation will be available for hearing impaired attendees.

Jaynes, a Christian writer and international speaker, was a co-host for Proverbs 31 Ministries and served as vice president for the ministry, which provides a daily radio feature that can be heard on K-Love as well as being available online. She continues to serve on its writing team for devotions.

In addition, Jaynes is the author of 20 books, including “The Power of a Woman’s Words,” which is also the theme for the spring Encounter event.

A co-founder of Girlfriends in God Inc., Jaynes, along with her partners, Mary Southerland and Gwen Smith, provides daily online devotions for about 600,000 subscribers, and the three women speak at conferences.

Smith was a previous speaker at Ladies Encounter, said Joyce Bassler, one of the founders of the organization, which is now in its 18th year. Bassler said she heard Jaynes and the other two Girlfriends in God give presentations at a conference, and they were all inspiring.

She said Ladies Encounter asked Jaynes to speak on the power of words, the same topic she covered at the conference. Bassler, chairman for the spring event, said she thought it would be beneficial for other women to learn what words can do, and it is a topic that can enhance spiritual growth. She said when she heard Jaynes speak previously, she remembers Jaynes telling the crowd that what mothers and grandmothers speak to their children and grandchildren can have an effect on the younger generation’s lives.

Bassler pointed out that the brochure about the event says: “Our words can change the course of a day … the course of a life.”

“I think that is true,” she said.

Words are powerful, said Jaynes of North Carolina. “God created the heavens and the earth by using words.”

She pointed out that humans are unique and different from all of God’s creation in that they communicate with words.

“God gave words to us. What do we do with them?” she asked. “The Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

“The words we speak can bring life or death to others. Words can build up and words can tear down. Words can change a life,” Jaynes said.

She pointed out that the Hebrew word for mouth is peh, which she said can mean a sharp edge or knife.

“In the same way that a knife in a surgeon’s hands brings healing, a knife in the hands of a murderer brings death,” Jaynes said.

During the event, she will talk about being more aware of what one is going to say before the words tumble out of one’s mouth.

Words spoken in anger cannot be taken back, she said, likening them to squirting too much toothpaste out of the tube.

“You can’t get it back in,” she said, adding that those harsh words can stick in the mind of the recipient.

But women have the potential and power to change what they say, she said.

“When the women hear how their words affect other people, they become more aware of the words they speak,” she said.

And sometimes, the best response may be not to give one.

Not saying something can be more powerful, especially during an argument, she said.

Jaynes suggested walking out of the room if the conversation starts to get heated.

“There is a lot of power in being silent,” she said.

During the conference, women will have an opportunity to meet Jaynes during a book signing session and to learn about other ministries, such as Ladies Encounter’s media partners, REV-FM and Way, Truth, Life Radio. Change Purse will sell new and gently used purses for its ministry to fight sex trafficking, and Ladies Encounter will sell jewelry to benefit its mission to impact the Central Pennsylvania community with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to encourage unity in the body of Christ.

Cost to attend the Spring Ladies Encounter event is a $25 ticket donation. A separate $15 ticket donation is required for the luncheon, consisting of marinated breast of chicken on a mini Kaiser roll, potato salad, pickles, chips, carrot cake and beverage. Gluten free and vegetarian meals are available if requested with reservation.

Tickets are available at ladiesencounter.com, Roaring Spring True Value Department Store in Roaring Spring, Thompson Pharmacy in Hollidaysburg and Juniata, Everett Flower Shop in Everett and Northern Bedford Pharmacy in New Enterprise. Deadline to purchase tickets is April 16.