Caught Again!
Theme of the Week: Two-Way Street
Charles Sell
Wednesday, July 9, 2003
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Key Bible Verse: What a shame, what folly, to give advice before listening to the facts! (Proverbs 18:13). Bonus Reading:Hebrews 5:11-14
Chick, you've just prom-ised Larry a new bicycle!" My wife's startled voice and three kids' loud laughter jolted me as I sat at the supper table where my thoughts had drifted from the family's conversation to reflecting on my job. Larry had asked for a bike, and I absent-mindedly said, "Sure." It takes more than using your ears to be a good listener.
Listen with your posture. Have you ever had a child get upset because you weren't looking at him when you were talking? I've had children grab my face and turn it toward them or slam dunk the newspaper I was holding in front of my face. Kids want eye contact.
Listen with your mind. Children won't always come right out and tell you what they're feeling; you'll have to deduce that from their words and actions. If your child says, "Do you have to go to work today, Dad?" try to discover what emotion is lurking behind that statement.
Listen with your mouth. Ask things like "Why do you feel this way?" to help talkers explain more fully what they have to say. Or "Do you think you're angry, or are you really discouraged about what happened?" to help kids better understand themselves.
—Charles Sell in HomeLife
My Response: What messages might my body language be conveying?
Thought to Apply: To live without listening is not to live at all; it is simply to drift in my own backwater.
—Joan Chittister (writer)
Adapted from HomeLife (6/02, 12/01, 11/02) by permission.
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
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Lord, help me to honor You in the way I communicate—both on the giving and receiving ends.
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