Must admit I have had to face your questions. My daughter has been saying to me ,”Mom I just want you to listen to me.” I began hearing that and began working on this shortcoming of mine. I now tell myself to keep my mouth closed until she asks me to speak. Our relationship is much better. Just like wanting Jesus to hear my heart, she wants me to hear hers. I know when I first met you I did way too much talking about myself. I’ve learned to be more quiet so I could learn more about you. Wherever you go I will be honest here I will miss you. That is as honest as I can be. I believe it’s so important to be honest with yourself and others. You can’t change your ways until you’re honest with yourself and number one, God. Be at peace.
I have had a struggle with this as well, you mentioned early in the walk that your focus tends to be on the negative side of the conversation, I too have been in this place. I think growing up in chaos and disorder makes it hard at times to see the positive side of things because you have always had to be on the defense. Throughout my life I have been hurt by people I trusted, from this you learn to listen and read people with a cautious eye. Being quiet and staying in the background allows me to figure out who I can begin to trust.
One thing I also find myself doing is working hard to impress, I listen and find a place where I can interject with my own knowledge. But almost immediately I get this sinking feeling that I have spoken out of place or that people may think I am not being authentic. This is a hard topic to figure out - and to decide when to listen and when to speak. Thank you for a very in-depth and interesting walk. Blessings and prayers that the answers you seek are soon revealed.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, Robin. I can relate to what you describe as working hard to impress, and interjecting knowledge, then feeling like it was out of place. Been there, done that. My hope is that being aware of it will help us learn a better way. That is my prayer today.
Donny, I've asked myself those same questions. And even now, I do at times, not to put myself down, but to reflect and ask myself, "where is my focus (on me or on God)?" I only speak for myself, when I feel like I may want to speak too much, usually, my focus is not exactly where it should be. What I will share; I give God all the credit for the doors He has opened up for me in this chapter of my life has made me listen more, react and say less. I'll never be perfect and I'm not striving to be any more, but I call it live life, "doing it messy," basically learning and growing with letting Jesus taking the lead and I humbly follow.
I'll be lifting you up in prayer for your coming move. Wherever God takes you, I pray for safe travels as I know God will provide everything you need. 🙏
Lucinda, I was like you. My adult daughter kept telling me that I wasn't listening to her - it is a learning thing for me. I was a teacher and a youth leader, but listening to my own daughter has been a challenge. We are at a better place now, but it takes effort. I am most certain that I don't listen to God like I should, but I am trying and it has improved with these prayer walks. Thank you, Donnym
The "Complexities of Life" is hard enough for anyone learning and growing up in this chaotic world of ours. No one asked to be born, but yet here we are, no one is perfect, and yes, we are bound to make mistakes. Navigating any part of your life journey from beginning to end is something we all have to go through. Some will get it at an early age, others will get it later when they are ready to accept it. Life on earth is about surviving it by all means.
If you our born in this world you are a precious gift already, and there is always someone out there to help you.
Another great Prayer walk. Been walking with a co worker and today I tried to put some of these suggestions into place. I listened more than talked and tried really hard not to think of things to say while she was talking. (This one is harder to do 😊) Being a shy person, I usually listen more than talk if in a large crowd but with age have gotten better about contributing to the conversation and letting my voice be heard. Continued prayers and blessings to you Donny on getting your bus fixed and having a place to live. Thank you for the insightful Prayer walk.
You point out things because they make you uncomfortable or they're obvious to you…
A lot of people are just willing to let everything slide because they're scared and they want to continue living.
So they don't say anything when there is evil around evil about evil amidst us.
Maybe they're less noble or they're cowardly.Maybe they're jusuggesting that it does not matter.
Connect with Patriots…
But everybody notices.
Zuckerberg in musk keep blocking and banning people making that really hard to do when they block you and ban you on other appsZuckerberg in musk keep blocking and banning people, making that really hard to do when they block you and ban you on other apps like YouTube and stuff.That's who's really holding patreonic.People back from connecting and taking back North America.Entirely.
This topic really hits home. Thank you, Donny. Praying for direction and discernment for you in your life specifically. And all who meet here striving to connect with God and people in a genuine, selfless way, may God bless us with insight from His Holy Spirit.
Thanks for sharing. Many many years ago someone brought to my attention that I never acknowledged the positive..I was stuck on negative island. At that point I prayed about it and ask God to let me see the positive side of things. And to understand and give me guidance to understand what I could do to turn a negative impact into a positive impact.
Amazing! Remembering my last conversation, I barely spoke, I gave the other person space to speak more... WOW! For me, this is a great evolution, because I am always giving my opinion...
In fact, I have been reflecting more before speaking!
After all, God has put me in situations that have "forced" me to remain silent. Mainly, respecting the silence of others, this has always been a challenge for me.
But God has been kind to me, teaching me to respect the time and feelings of the people I relate to. Sometimes, this process causes "pain", but I am learning that only those who can remain silent to listen "know how to speak".
You continue in my prayers and, as always, thank you very much for the prayer walk.
WOW! I will definitely keep you in prayer regarding your job situation.
I have taught both full-time and also as a substitute teacher. I have three boys that are 16, 12, and the youngest will be 9 tomorrow actually. If it’s one thing I have learned about kids it’s that they are brutally honest. Some are quieter than others. Kids will ask and say things not always at the most inconvenient time sometimes. If that ever happens again, just take a deep breath, smile, and think of the most reasonable and the nicest way to put whatever you’re thinking. A technique that I was taught as a teacher that I try to use at home is to say something positive, then the negative thing, and then another positive thing. I don’t always do this, but it helps when I can naturally work that in. A very common example I might say DAILY to my youngest is thanks for getting on your pajamas, go brush your teeth, and thanks for doing what I said. I try really hard not to complain in front of the kids. It’s extremely hard. If they whine or complain, I will put it back on them and ask how they would fix it. Now with my kid that’s almost a teenager and the teenager, I will tell them that they are almost of voting age which is good, knock off (whatever behavior they are exhibiting) and I think you have the power to be a good adult paying taxes like me in a few years. Teenagers are really hard candidates, but we make it.
Kids are hard subjects, but they are also resilient. I have been in your position definitely where kids think something about me other than what I think I am putting out into the world.
Just pray about both the perception of others and the job situation.
Leave it to kids to be honest about what they see and sometimes we adults need to hear their perspectives. My last conversation was last night with a friend I haven't seen in awhile and I just mostly listened as she shared how her life has changed since I saw her last and where she hopes to end up. Being on the more introverted side, I think I tend to listen more than talk and wait for the right opening to share my thoughts, but I'm sure there have been times I have stepped on someone sharing by interjecting my opinions. I continue to pray for you, Donny, to have clear direction from God and the means to go where He intends you to be. I'm sure there are lessons in where He has you now. I know you always try to stay open to His leading, so I hope you will soon know the next steps.
Must admit I have had to face your questions. My daughter has been saying to me ,”Mom I just want you to listen to me.” I began hearing that and began working on this shortcoming of mine. I now tell myself to keep my mouth closed until she asks me to speak. Our relationship is much better. Just like wanting Jesus to hear my heart, she wants me to hear hers. I know when I first met you I did way too much talking about myself. I’ve learned to be more quiet so I could learn more about you. Wherever you go I will be honest here I will miss you. That is as honest as I can be. I believe it’s so important to be honest with yourself and others. You can’t change your ways until you’re honest with yourself and number one, God. Be at peace.
Another thought provoking walk. Thank you.
I have had a struggle with this as well, you mentioned early in the walk that your focus tends to be on the negative side of the conversation, I too have been in this place. I think growing up in chaos and disorder makes it hard at times to see the positive side of things because you have always had to be on the defense. Throughout my life I have been hurt by people I trusted, from this you learn to listen and read people with a cautious eye. Being quiet and staying in the background allows me to figure out who I can begin to trust.
One thing I also find myself doing is working hard to impress, I listen and find a place where I can interject with my own knowledge. But almost immediately I get this sinking feeling that I have spoken out of place or that people may think I am not being authentic. This is a hard topic to figure out - and to decide when to listen and when to speak. Thank you for a very in-depth and interesting walk. Blessings and prayers that the answers you seek are soon revealed.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here, Robin. I can relate to what you describe as working hard to impress, and interjecting knowledge, then feeling like it was out of place. Been there, done that. My hope is that being aware of it will help us learn a better way. That is my prayer today.
Donny, I've asked myself those same questions. And even now, I do at times, not to put myself down, but to reflect and ask myself, "where is my focus (on me or on God)?" I only speak for myself, when I feel like I may want to speak too much, usually, my focus is not exactly where it should be. What I will share; I give God all the credit for the doors He has opened up for me in this chapter of my life has made me listen more, react and say less. I'll never be perfect and I'm not striving to be any more, but I call it live life, "doing it messy," basically learning and growing with letting Jesus taking the lead and I humbly follow.
I'll be lifting you up in prayer for your coming move. Wherever God takes you, I pray for safe travels as I know God will provide everything you need. 🙏
Lucinda, I was like you. My adult daughter kept telling me that I wasn't listening to her - it is a learning thing for me. I was a teacher and a youth leader, but listening to my own daughter has been a challenge. We are at a better place now, but it takes effort. I am most certain that I don't listen to God like I should, but I am trying and it has improved with these prayer walks. Thank you, Donnym
The "Complexities of Life" is hard enough for anyone learning and growing up in this chaotic world of ours. No one asked to be born, but yet here we are, no one is perfect, and yes, we are bound to make mistakes. Navigating any part of your life journey from beginning to end is something we all have to go through. Some will get it at an early age, others will get it later when they are ready to accept it. Life on earth is about surviving it by all means.
If you our born in this world you are a precious gift already, and there is always someone out there to help you.
Another great Prayer walk. Been walking with a co worker and today I tried to put some of these suggestions into place. I listened more than talked and tried really hard not to think of things to say while she was talking. (This one is harder to do 😊) Being a shy person, I usually listen more than talk if in a large crowd but with age have gotten better about contributing to the conversation and letting my voice be heard. Continued prayers and blessings to you Donny on getting your bus fixed and having a place to live. Thank you for the insightful Prayer walk.
I will be praying for your solution Donny Mac! 🙂
You point out things because they make you uncomfortable or they're obvious to you…
A lot of people are just willing to let everything slide because they're scared and they want to continue living.
So they don't say anything when there is evil around evil about evil amidst us.
Maybe they're less noble or they're cowardly.Maybe they're jusuggesting that it does not matter.
Connect with Patriots…
But everybody notices.
Zuckerberg in musk keep blocking and banning people making that really hard to do when they block you and ban you on other appsZuckerberg in musk keep blocking and banning people, making that really hard to do when they block you and ban you on other apps like YouTube and stuff.That's who's really holding patreonic.People back from connecting and taking back North America.Entirely.
Thank you Trevor. I appreciate you sharing your opinion.
Please keep in mind, this platform is not for pointing fingers or speaking bad about anyone. God bless you
positive things? what positive things? haha jk I do the same thing.
This topic really hits home. Thank you, Donny. Praying for direction and discernment for you in your life specifically. And all who meet here striving to connect with God and people in a genuine, selfless way, may God bless us with insight from His Holy Spirit.
Thanks for sharing. Many many years ago someone brought to my attention that I never acknowledged the positive..I was stuck on negative island. At that point I prayed about it and ask God to let me see the positive side of things. And to understand and give me guidance to understand what I could do to turn a negative impact into a positive impact.
Keep sharing your knowledge
Love and hugs Miss Peg
That is a real challenge.
Same goes with my conversations with Abba Father.
I want to listen deeply.
Thank you, precious brother.
Amazing! Remembering my last conversation, I barely spoke, I gave the other person space to speak more... WOW! For me, this is a great evolution, because I am always giving my opinion...
In fact, I have been reflecting more before speaking!
After all, God has put me in situations that have "forced" me to remain silent. Mainly, respecting the silence of others, this has always been a challenge for me.
But God has been kind to me, teaching me to respect the time and feelings of the people I relate to. Sometimes, this process causes "pain", but I am learning that only those who can remain silent to listen "know how to speak".
You continue in my prayers and, as always, thank you very much for the prayer walk.
WOW! I will definitely keep you in prayer regarding your job situation.
I have taught both full-time and also as a substitute teacher. I have three boys that are 16, 12, and the youngest will be 9 tomorrow actually. If it’s one thing I have learned about kids it’s that they are brutally honest. Some are quieter than others. Kids will ask and say things not always at the most inconvenient time sometimes. If that ever happens again, just take a deep breath, smile, and think of the most reasonable and the nicest way to put whatever you’re thinking. A technique that I was taught as a teacher that I try to use at home is to say something positive, then the negative thing, and then another positive thing. I don’t always do this, but it helps when I can naturally work that in. A very common example I might say DAILY to my youngest is thanks for getting on your pajamas, go brush your teeth, and thanks for doing what I said. I try really hard not to complain in front of the kids. It’s extremely hard. If they whine or complain, I will put it back on them and ask how they would fix it. Now with my kid that’s almost a teenager and the teenager, I will tell them that they are almost of voting age which is good, knock off (whatever behavior they are exhibiting) and I think you have the power to be a good adult paying taxes like me in a few years. Teenagers are really hard candidates, but we make it.
Kids are hard subjects, but they are also resilient. I have been in your position definitely where kids think something about me other than what I think I am putting out into the world.
Just pray about both the perception of others and the job situation.
I find myself talking instead of listening. A great prayer walk with sound advice. Continuing to pray for you.
Leave it to kids to be honest about what they see and sometimes we adults need to hear their perspectives. My last conversation was last night with a friend I haven't seen in awhile and I just mostly listened as she shared how her life has changed since I saw her last and where she hopes to end up. Being on the more introverted side, I think I tend to listen more than talk and wait for the right opening to share my thoughts, but I'm sure there have been times I have stepped on someone sharing by interjecting my opinions. I continue to pray for you, Donny, to have clear direction from God and the means to go where He intends you to be. I'm sure there are lessons in where He has you now. I know you always try to stay open to His leading, so I hope you will soon know the next steps.