listen…

i got a book for Christmas this year called “the coffeehouse gospel” by matthew paul turner. i am not the fastest reader in the world and don’t really get into too many books. it’s hard for me to sit still and read for long periods of time. but this book had me fixated!!! one, i love coffee…two, the author and i seem to have a lot in common (from reading it)…and c or three or however that goes, i had just finished my personal evangelism and missions classes last fall.

the more i read the more i was challenged with the idea of being willing to listen to people. just listen, not pre-judge what is going to come out of their mouths due to what they have on or how they talk. to be patient enough to hear what they have to say, and more so to hear what they are telling me behind what they are saying…confused yet? i am.

so often i am in too big of a hurry to listen, i just have too many important things to get done? plus i tend to get annoyed quickly at story tellers…you know, the ones who want to sit and tell me every detail to their story in the last five months, which seems to take another five months. i just want the facts that i need to know and i’m good…that’s horrible, i know…just being honest.

so this book and thoughts of my course work are really hammering away at me. so i have been trying to do a better job at hearing people out and being patient about my listening. but there’s a lot of work to be done yet, let me tell ya! and this morning i check a blog and see where one of the top seven things to avoid in communicating…not listening.

of course i’m caused to remember james 1:19…Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. (NLT)

so yeah, God is working away on this work or art. it’s funny because now i get annoyed at myself if i don’t listen to someone and even more so if someone doesn’t listen to me.

my thanks go out to matthew paul turner and i hope to e-mail him soon and possibly share life stories. and hopefully i will get a better handle on this listening thing. that way i can better know how to talk with them about God and what He has done in my life. not to mention what He wants to do in their life!