Cheryl Schatz

Janice,

Good quote!  We all need to practice hearing better.  The more confident we are of what we believe and why we believe it should help us to not be threatened by someone else’s view.  I am learning how to apply to Christians what I learned how to do when I witness to JWs.  It is helpful to ask why a person believes as they do and listen carefully to the answer.  The answer can give you an opportunity to hear their heart, understand what their foundation is.  Then we can speak on their level and address the holes in their argument that may allow them to see something that they have never considered before.  Perhaps it isn’t for us to persuade anyone but merely to put a “stone” in their shoe that is the cause of them doing their own research to find out.  Also maybe by working to actually hear the other person, we might find a stone in our own shoe that will cause us to find our own blind spots.

The puppy?  No, he isn’t mine, but I fell in love with his eyes and his little face expressed what I wanted to express in this post.

Janice, thanks for commenting and giving that great quote.  If we do not take time to listen, we will probably find ourselves without the ability to really affect change in others.  Listening, asking questions, caring, these are all things we all could work on.