Hot Chocolate
Hello!
I sat down and read some Proverbs today, and let me tell you, there are so many Proverbs. I feel a little overwealmed when I read all of them...for example:
My Thoughts While Reading Proverbs:
"OK...'Good people are guided by their honesty.' remember that; next verse...'Riches won't help on the day of judgement, but right living is a safeguard against death.' What? Wait...I was just learning about honesty. Crap...where is this going?"
If I'm not totally paying attention, I miss a verse here and there. That stinks because each little verse in Proverbs is oozing with wisdom. So it is important to pay attention. My confusion and frustration doesn't really matter...my concentration on the actual text does, though. I read...it gets soaked in.
One verse stuck out to me today: "It is foolish to belittle your neighbor; a person with good sense remains silent" [Prov. 11:12]. I feel like most people I know don't really talk negatively about someone else to their face; it is common for me to hear people one-up the other person. I don't do it in-the-know, it's subliminal. I feel like I should tell this person how 'I already know that,' or 'Yea, I've played guitar for five years..." Ooh la la.
I need to listen more. That is for sure. I was reading in John Maxwell's 21 Indespensible Qualities of a Leader today, and #4 in the book is "Commmunication". The ability to communicate is essential to leadership; i'll even go as far to say it's important to all relationships. In the mass amount of IPC classes i've taken, i've learned that communication is much more than talking. Communication is the things you do, gestures, etc, which include listening.
Maxwell points out that it is also essential to make the message understandable. I notice I sometimes make myself sound cool, adding in slang or verbal expressions to the message i'm trying to convey. Problem with this is that it distracts the other person from the real message, and only makes them think better of me. Maxwell also highlights that this is a problem with educators. Educators can often use words that students don't understand and go on about something they know a lot about, and totally lose their audience. I need to make it understandable, not make myself look cool.
I'm listening
~DC~
I sat down and read some Proverbs today, and let me tell you, there are so many Proverbs. I feel a little overwealmed when I read all of them...for example:
My Thoughts While Reading Proverbs:
"OK...'Good people are guided by their honesty.' remember that; next verse...'Riches won't help on the day of judgement, but right living is a safeguard against death.' What? Wait...I was just learning about honesty. Crap...where is this going?"
If I'm not totally paying attention, I miss a verse here and there. That stinks because each little verse in Proverbs is oozing with wisdom. So it is important to pay attention. My confusion and frustration doesn't really matter...my concentration on the actual text does, though. I read...it gets soaked in.
One verse stuck out to me today: "It is foolish to belittle your neighbor; a person with good sense remains silent" [Prov. 11:12]. I feel like most people I know don't really talk negatively about someone else to their face; it is common for me to hear people one-up the other person. I don't do it in-the-know, it's subliminal. I feel like I should tell this person how 'I already know that,' or 'Yea, I've played guitar for five years..." Ooh la la.
I need to listen more. That is for sure. I was reading in John Maxwell's 21 Indespensible Qualities of a Leader today, and #4 in the book is "Commmunication". The ability to communicate is essential to leadership; i'll even go as far to say it's important to all relationships. In the mass amount of IPC classes i've taken, i've learned that communication is much more than talking. Communication is the things you do, gestures, etc, which include listening.
Maxwell points out that it is also essential to make the message understandable. I notice I sometimes make myself sound cool, adding in slang or verbal expressions to the message i'm trying to convey. Problem with this is that it distracts the other person from the real message, and only makes them think better of me. Maxwell also highlights that this is a problem with educators. Educators can often use words that students don't understand and go on about something they know a lot about, and totally lose their audience. I need to make it understandable, not make myself look cool.
I'm listening
~DC~
My most favorite David Chapdelaine. I miss you. A lot. Listening with Integrity. Whew! I know what you mean. I mean, for the most part I listen intently to people, I really do. But, there are those times and people who we, as they continue to babble, become defocused in our own little world. You know what I mean? It's like a scene from an indie film, where the guy is going on and on and then our vision blurs and we think things like, "shut up or I have got this amazing thing to say, I wish he would hurry up." Can you feel the tension of your spirit and flesh going at it, like your embarassed to be in the room at the same time as your will's compete. You know that it's the Godly thing to listen and listen good, but you wanna go hang out with the "other" guys at the same time. But, you know what it feels like on the other end of things, you are a perciever, you totally know when a dude isn't listening at all, even if he's faking it. Talk about loving our neighbor as ourself. I agree that our actions are a product of our beliefs. God, I pray that we would look that next person in the eye as you would. That we would see them as you see them. Ridiculously loved and worth at least a 3 cup of coffee conversation. :) Oh yeah, did I say I love you?
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog...awesome job.
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