a gentle answer turns away wrath

James 1:20 "the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God"

hmm.

Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger."

That explains why they sometimes act the way they do. My words, thwarting His righteosness, stirring up anger. Argh. Forgive me, 5-yr-old-wonder, forgive me for stirring you up.

Lamentations 3:22-23 The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

thanks to Colleen for this:
The Bible tells us in Lamentations 3:22-24, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines compassion as sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. The more familiar quotation of this verse taken from the King James Version of the Bible uses the word mercies instead of compassions. Mercy is defined as a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion or compassionate treatment of those in distress. God desires to take away our stress. When we are suffering he treats us gently with love and favor. How fortunate we are to have a loving God who cares so much that every morning he renews his compassion and mercy for us. As night closes in, a new morning filled with hope awaits our waking.