Search

listen

There’s a Good Reason We’ve Been Give Two Ears and One Mouth

by

It’s Because Good Communication Takes Twice as Much Listening as Talking

Miscommunication happens too often but doesn’t have to if we weren’t so quick to jump to conclusions.

Our Pastor told a story about visiting a lady in the hospital who had had a stroke and was unable to speak. She kept pointing at something, but he was having trouble understanding. She was getting frustrated and kept pointing. He kept turning around and going to different things trying to figure out what she was pointing at.

This went on for a while until he realized that she was pointing at him…his zipper was down.

Then they both had a good laugh.

Even in the middle of this difficult situation they were able to share a good laugh.

There are more than 7000 different languages around the world. The one word that is most universally understood among all of those different languages is the word “huh?”.

This is what Pastor Lee kept asking the lady in the hospital.

Not asking enough questions and listening, really listening, to the answers is where communication begins to break down. We presume we know what the other person is going to say before they even open their mouth.

I believe this is why God gave us two ears and one mouth. We need to listen twice as much as we talk if we’re going to understand others.

In Acts 2:1-21, Jesus’ followers were all together when a noise like a mighty wind came from heaven. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking in whatever language the Spirt led them.

There were many different people from different countries in Jerusalem at that time. When they heard this commotion, a crowd began to gather, and they were surprised because they were all hearing everything in their own language.

Communication can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be if we are just willing to listen.

The Holy Spirit can help us communicate better, but we must be open and accept the help. The Holy Spirit will help us to see clearer, understand better, and give us ideas for sharing God’s love (Acts 2:17).

13-year-old Abraham Olagbegi needed a bone marrow transplant due to a rare blood disorder. He decided to use the Make-A Wish gift he received to help others rather than getting a gaming console or taking a trip somewhere. He wanted to use it to help feed the homeless.

Abraham’s Table planned to provide meals once a month for a year to homeless people in Jackson, Mississippi. Abraham’s mom always says, “It’s a blessing to be a blessing.” This was a big undertaking for a 13-year-old but, the Holy Spirit gives us thoughts and ideas that God wants us to do. It’s up to us to do it.

When you come up against a big mountain, you need to remember you have a big God.

Listen to the Holy Spirit. Listen to others. Ask questions. Communicate clearly through your words and your actions.

Do You Hear That? It’s the Sound of Being Called to Serve

by

It’s Up to You to Open Your Ears and Listen Carefully So You Do the Right Thing

How many Christians does it take to screw in a light bulb?

That’s a good question, but first…

Once again, this week we were blessed with a message from a guest speaker. Thanks to Sara Pines for her willingness to share God’s message in the absence of Pastor Lee!

Most of us are familiar with the story of Mary and Martha found in Luke 10:38-42.

In this passage Martha and Mary welcome Jesus and his disciples into their home. Martha is working hard preparing a meal and setting the table, trying to get everything ready. As she’s working, she gets frustrated with Mary, who is sitting in the other room listening to Jesus while Martha is working.

In her frustration Martha goes to Jesus and says, “Lord, doesn’t it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”

Jesus replies, “Martha, Martha! You’re worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I used to struggle some with this Scripture.  

It seemed to me that Martha’s work to serve Jesus was the more important task. The problem is that Martha had made this decision from her own worldly perspective. She had neglected to open her ears to what Jesus wanted her to do.

This is not to say that what she was doing was wrong or right…It is about partnering with God and getting His input.

Serving isn’t the same as slavery. Slavery is forced. Serving is voluntary.

Serving doesn’t have to be something monumental. It can be as simple as showing kindness by opening a door or simply smiling at people we meet.

Having the heart of a servant includes:

  • Using Jesus as our role model
  • Choosing to be last, not first
  • Showing God’s love by loving others
  • Considering other’s needs before your own
  • Using your God given gifts to serve God

Serving others lights up the world around us. In Matthew 5:14-16, we are told to be the light of the world.

“A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, and no one lights a lamp and puts it under a clay pot. Instead, it is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. 

Make your light shine, so others will see the good you do and will praise your Father in heaven.”

Back to the question, how many Christians does it take to screw in a light bulb?

None…As Christians we are the light of the world.

Listen carefully to God and find out how you can serve Him best and light up the world around you.

Knowing the End of One Story in the Beginning Is A Good Thing

by

How You Read Other Stories Is A Personal Preference

There are two differing opinions of how to read a book. Some people start by reading the last chapter first to see how the story ends. Others will start at the beginning and not read the end until…well the end. Whichever way you want to read is fine except for one specific story.

There is one story that you should know how it ends when it begins.

Knowing how the story in the Bible ends is critical to our own story and how it will end. We are all living our own stories surrounded by other stories in the middle of a bigger story. These stories are being written continuously every minute of every day.

We can write our story however we want, it’s up to us.

The important thing to remember is the importance of choosing to write it rather than letting someone else write it for us. Pastor Lee referred to two different stories in his message Sunday.

The first you are probably familiar with; it’s the story of Rip Van Winkle. In this story, written by Washington Irving and published in 1819, Rip Van Winkle falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains. When he wakes up 20 years later, he has slept through the American Revolution.

After he goes back to town everything has changed. His wife is dead, his kids are grown, the country now has a President rather than a King. Nothing is as it was when he went to sleep.

Too much of the time we sleep through life and let it happen to us.

The other story that he told was less popular. It’s a story about a Mexican priest, Sergio Gutierrez Benitez, who supported an orphanage for 23 years as the masked professional wrestler, “Friar Storm”. The La Casa Hogar orphanage became home to 270 children. Father Benitez chose to write his story, taking an active role and changing other people’s stories at the same time.

We can let life happen to us, or we can choose the life we want to happen.

Too often when we choose to write our own story, we forget to check with the Author of all stories to see if we are following His outline. Too often we don’t listen before we think or speak. We assume we have everything figured out and just start blabbering. This isn’t the best way to write a story.

Just like Peter, in Matthew 17:1-5 when he was on the mountain with Jesus. While he, James, and John were standing there Jesus became white as light and Moses and Elijah appeared. Then Peter began talking and making suggestions to Jesus without listening. While he was talking, God spoke and said, “This is my Son…Listen to Him!”

We need to be quiet and listen.

We have control over how our story is going to be written. Listen to God, study your life’s outline and right a good story.

Good Communication Is Not A One-Way Street

by

 

Remember That I Have Two Ears and One Mouth

 

In January last year I wrote about my core values and how I use them as a life filter. In that post I told you that I would go into each one in more detail. In this week’s solution we will dig into another one. It is to Remember that I have two ears and one mouth.

This core value points out that good communication is twice as much about listening. This makes perfect sense why God gave us two ears and one mouth. I have accepted the fact that I like to talk and do quite a lot of it. I believe that over communication is better than poor communication.

This core value reminds me of the importance of listening.

Within the last week I had two different people compliment me on my ability to communicate. One was directed at speaking and the other to writing. This was nice because I haven’t considered this to be something that I was particularly skilled at. The fact that this was communicated to me, was encouraging and inspiring.


Poor communication or the complete lack of it is one of the biggest issues in business and in life. How can I expect to help people build their dreams if we don’t communicate? Too often assumptions are made, and they lead to disasters.

If I don’t know what you want to achieve, and I don’t accurately tell you what to expect, somebody is going to be disappointed.

It is understandable why communication gets ignored. We’re busy. Communication takes time and we don’t have any extra. Whether it is listening, talking or writing…it takes time. You’ve probably heard the proverb ‘haste makes waste’. This is more evident now than ever. We are an instantaneous people. We want everything now. Aesop’s Fable about The Tortoise and the Hare points out how intentional focus on the goal and a steady movement toward it will win the race.


The constant connection to our electronic devices also contributes to our losing the ability to communicate well. There is nothing wrong with electronic devices. They allow us to connect with more people than ever before. It’s just that it can be hard to convey emotion electronically. We need to be careful to strive for and maintain a balance.

This is the ninth core value that I have written about in more detail. You can read the others here:

 

Honor God in all that I do

Intentional action

Take off the blinders, be more observant

Pay attention to detail

Spend time wisely, there is a limited amount

Never be satisfied with mediocrity

Find and maintain the balance in everything

Move the mountain one shovel full at a time

That only leaves three more to examine more thoroughly. I will communicate about them in more detail in the future so keep following these Weekly Solutions and if you know of anyone that you think would enjoy or benefit from these solutions be sure to share this link with them.