Mama —
Thanks for always being willing to teach me hard things and to bear with our long discussions and Bible studies with so much love and patience; I treasure these daily conversations and ask God to count it as ministry and bless you with a reward for that.. Here is a recap of our conversation. I want to be sure that I understand what you were saying and that you hear some of my condensed thoughts as well. These are “The 6 things!”:
1.Do not make any statements. Prride uses periods. Humility=wisdom=patience
2.Ask only questions and do not interrupt. Follow each question with an honest paraphrase and revelatory statement about that persons point of view, an “aha”, if you will. Then proceed to ask more probing questions, even if they are on a matter that you disagree or misunderstand. You are presuming ONLY that you do not have the equipment necessary to understand this person fully and they are going to help you. Never assume to know motivation or meaning……..ask!
3. If you feel your volume raise or “righteous indignation” this should be a red flag in your spirit that their may be something you are misunderstanding about one another. This is a common area where the enemy will try to trick the saints into believing that their anger is legitimate but it is ill-timed and ill-tempered and if shared in the “moment of vulnerability” can contribute to not the sharing of truth but the closing of ones spirit. Restrain from sharing these thoughts and ask a question. Restraint, proper timing, and a pleasant response are all in the mouth of the wise. The fool shows his annoyance at once instead of giving the other a voice to air what may simply be a semantic or pragmatic difference.
4. Seek first to understand the other person on their terms and then God will will make sure that you are understood as well. Remember, the golden ruler is dead. We should treat each other as they want to be treated
5. Be more concerned with protecting the other persons emotions in the moment before seeking to protect your own. This is evidenced in Jesus life and teaching. It is the Lord’s to avenge. Us protecting or “explaining” ourselves is just another way insecurity rises up between us and Gods ability to heal us
6. Finally, recognize,moment by moment that God’s healing power is great than any human capability to hurt us
I love that we are Christians and we can have such diverse conversations about so many things. You are my resting place Ma and I thank God for that. Thanks for always taking care of me; I know you are tired and I am praying for you.
Proverbs
9:8-9
10:13, 19
11:12
12:1, 18
13:3, 10
15:1, 31-33
16:28, 32
17:10, 19, 27-28
18:2
19:11
20:3, 19
21:23
22:10
23:9
25:12-15
26:20-28
27:5-6
28:23
29:8, 11, 20, 28
Hope you were able to sleep after our long conversation.
I Love you Mama
-Donny