Good Listening

Recently my pastor posted Listening on his blog. I found it interesting, probably because I do more listening than talking. I have his permission to share it with you here:

“An eighty year-old grandfather went to his daughter’s home for Sunday dinner. When the meal was over, he announced he was going to take a walk through the neighborhood. ‘I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,' he said. Two hours passed before he returned. ‘Sorry I’m late,’ he said upon his return, ‘but I stopped to talk to an old friend and he just wouldn’t stop listening.’

“How good are you at listening? Have you ever thought about listening being a ministry? Sometimes we fail to appreciate the significance of just being a good listener. There is an old saying that says, ‘A self-centered person doesn’t feel the time is being used wisely unless the air is filled with the melodious sound of his own voice.’ Know anyone like that? Preachers sometimes are the worst offenders. We just think people always enjoy hearing us talk. Someone once said, ‘Remember, God gave us two ears and only one mouth.’

“There is a real ministry to be offered to someone who is hurting. It is called a ministry of presence. It means that you go to someone who is hurting without all the answers to their problems. It means you realize you don’t know why something happened to them, or what they should do now. Sometimes just being there without saying a word – not giving opinions or advice – can provide great comfort to that person who is hurting. By your being there you are saying that you care and that you share in the other person’s pain. Too often with the best of intentions we say things like, ‘I know what you’re going through’ when we don’t. Again, sometimes just being there is what is needed.”

I liked the idea of a “ministry of presence.” You really can make a difference just being there for someone. Yes, listening is a viable ministry. As my pastor's blog asks, "How good are you at listening?"

Some quotes to enjoy . . .

"Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering." Winnie the Pooh

"A good listener is a silent flatterer." unknown

"If you spend more time asking appropriate questions rather than giving answers or opinions, your listening skills will increase." Brian Koslow

"Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand." unknown

"Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again." Andre Gide

"I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway

"A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something." Wilson Mizner

I found the above picture at a Hospice Facility close to home. The pictures below are of some farms I found while I was out and about.

Sweet Sleep

“ . . . for he grants sleep to those he loves.” Psalm 127:2b

I am very fortunate to be able to sleep well. No matter what is going on I’ve always been a quick-to-sleep person. I’m talking one minute to begin snoozing! Now, that’s fast.

This post in no way suggests that God doesn’t love you if you have trouble sleeping. I recently read the above words from the Psalms and knew how thankful I am to be one who sleeps.

Sleep is very necessary if we’re to function normally. Some can function on very little sleep and others need more than average sleep. Either way . . . it is very necessary.

Following are some quotes I’ve read about sleep:

“It takes more than a soft pillow to ensure sound sleep.” Unknown

“Sleep recreates. The Bible indicates that sleep is not meant only for the recuperation of a man’s body, but that there is a tremendous furtherance of spiritual and moral life during sleep.” Oswald Chambers, 1874-1917

“O bed! O bed! Delicious bed! That heaven upon earth to the weary head.” Thomas Hood, 1799-1845 (I like this one!)

“Tired nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep!” Edward Young, 1683-1765

“Thank God for sleep! And, when you cannot sleep, still thank him that you live to lie awake.”
John Oxenham, 1861-1941

I smiled at this last quote. I guess if you can’t sleep, being thankful that you live to lie awake is the next best thing. And praying, of course.

I've posted both pictures in this post before, but find them approproiate here, well just because their sweet! The picture above is the lamb I caught beside its mother. The picture below my friend, Kathy Kreyling captured. Oh to be so dreamy-eyed as thee!

October Gave a Party

“October gave a party,
The leaves by hundreds came
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand.
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.”
George Cooper

Isn’t fall grand! Sweatshirts . . . evening fires . . . falling leaves . . . wind blowing.

Recently I wrote to a lady in Florida who is living there because of her illness. Suzanne and her husband were in Brazil for many years teaching at a school for children of missionaries. Her health brought them home, and they spent several years in New Hampshire. Now they’ve been in Florida for many years. I asked her: “Do you miss the seasons?”

I can’t imagine living where there is only warm weather. Missing the beauty of snow, the glory of spring, the rest of summer, and the color of fall is something I don’t want to ever miss! For all the hardships each season may bring, their own special beauty outweighs it all.

The two pictures above were taken at one of my favorite ponds, each on a different morning, a different side of the pond. I waited 20 minutes one morning for the geese to fly, but they didn't. I still got a nice shot though. The second morning they flew! I’ve never gotten a good picture of geese flying; this is the best so far!

The two pictures below are of lightposts I pass on my drive to and from work. They both happened to be lite and it provided a special scene!




Below, I even found a fall calf nursing vigorously as I snapped!





"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus

Yes, fall is a gorgeous season!

Taming Thoughts . . .

“No! No! No! Get out of my mind! Jesus is in control, not you, Satan!” I’ve certainly had my share of thoughts that crippled me. Thoughts mostly of heartbreaking things that I have no control over. Early on in my years, I started a practice of shouting at Satan and reminding him that I belong to the King.

This practice has been fine-tuned over the years. What use to take months to stop dwelling on something, now only take me a few weeks before it’s under control. And it usually only takes me a few days to remind myself to begin the process to stop those bad thoughts.

In Diamonds in the Dust by Joni Eareckson Tada, one of her devotions is titled “The Thought Patrol.” And this is just what she’s talking about. “When I catch myself, I’m aghast at how many lazy, anxious, or lustful imaginations wheedle their way into my head. When they do, the “thought patrol” goes on alert . . .”

2 Corinthians 10:5 says it is possible for every thought to be made obedient, to become captive to Christ. The “thought patrol” that Joni speaks of is just another name for the Holy Spirit. “The only way you can exercise power over your thought life is to do so in the power of God’s Spirit,” Joni said.

Remember, when those thoughts just won’t get out of your head, attack them with the power of the Holy Spirit. Then think on good things, and you will have peace.

The above picture was taken one evening at a friend's home. Her husband walked past the patio with a bucket in his hand. As he continued his walk up the drive to the barn, cats started coming out of everywhere to follow him. I started laughing and my friend, Jackie, said, "He's going to feed the cats. This happens every evening." By the time I got a snap off he was up the hill aways. I cropped the picture so it would take in the fence and wheel, so you can't see many cats. But there was at least 20 following him to dinner. The picture below closes in on more of the cats.

Amish Proverbs

I recently purchased the book “Amish Proverbs” by Suzanne Woods Fisher. The Amish life has always interested me, and I thought reading the proverbs from the Amish community would be telling. I’ve listed some of my favorites below:

“Every mother crow thinks her own little crow is blackest.”

“Choose your love and love your choice.”

“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.”

“One thing you can learn by watching the clock is that it passes time by keeping its hands busy.”

“A task takes as long as it takes.”

“Nothing is all wrong; even a clock that has stopped running is right twice a day.”

“Remember, when you talk, you only repeat what you already know; if you listen, you might learn something.”

“We always admire the other fellow more after we have tried to do his job.”

“Those who let God provide will always be satisfied.”

“Standing your ground is easier when you are grounded in God’s word.”

“Good deeds have echoes.”

“Every hen will lay an imperfect egg now and then.”

“Nothing is quite so annoying as to have someone go right on talking when you are interrupting.”

I especially laughed at the first quote and the last. And there really isn’t “anything new under the sun,” so listening is indeed a worthy habit.

The rain and dark mornings have limited my picture taking opportunities each day, so I’m sharing one of my favorite pictures, above. Sammy was still a puppy. She wanted to be on the other side of that gate so badly.