Hello heart partners! I hope you all are having a LIFE GIVING week, as you seek to serve YESHUA, and meet the needs of others! How are your REFLECTIONS coming along? Are you REFLECTING for RENEWAL, or BEING A PAST DWELLER? I hope and pray we are all GROWING GOD’s way! Always feel free to reach out and share as you feel led, I love hearing your processes!

Today, we are going to look at LISTENING…as it has come to my HEART’S attention that people can be very hurt when folks “pretend” to LISTEN and then end up asking questions that PROVE they were not actually LISTENING! HMMM…have you ever looked at the different TYPES of LISTENING? Let’s dive in and first see what GOD says about the IMPORTANCE of LISTENING to OTHERS! Did you know that the BIBLE actually emphasizes the importance of ACTIVE LISTENING to others, as we read here in James 1:19-21 The Message “ACT ON WHAT YOU HEAR”. “Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: LEAD with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, GOD, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.” Check this out…Proverbs 18:13 Complete Jewish Bible “To answer someone before hearing him out is both stupid and embarrassing.” How about Matthew 7:24 New Living Translation the words of YESHUA…” Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”

So, are you an ACTIVE listener? One who listens attentively, to understand what the speaker is actually saying, and then do you respond and reflect on what was said, and later retain the information? To be honest I do not experience this very often when I am talking to people…but more importantly am I striving to be an ACTIVE LISTENER? You see…in ACTIVE LISTENING one should also be able to read body language, discern emotions through voice tone, and respond appropriately and affectively to ensure the person feels HEARD! Now…are you more of a PASSIVE LISTENER? One who is more ONE SIDED, one hears what is being shared but does not actively engage or respond. PASSIVE LISTENERS can be distracted by a multitude of things in the environment which makes the speaker feel very unimportant and not cared for! Also, a PASSIVE LISTENER may never join in or just sit with a blank stare…again making the speaker feel de-valued! HMMM…where do you fit into these descriptions?? Are you a FALSE LISTENER who pretends to be listening, but later has no idea what has been shared thus needing to seek clarifications or simply ask the questions that have already been explained? OH DEAR…hopefully if you fall into this category you will want to choose to pick up your LISTENING SKILLS so as not to HURT others who have taken the time to chat with you!

I can honestly say that I have been all three of these types of LISTENERS…until I realized the truth in GOD’S word and how it hurts the hearts of people which makes our light much dimmer in the world! Even today, as I was writing this post my phone rang…and as I looked at the screen to see who it was, I STOPPED and chose to engage in ACTIVE LISTENING before answering! I actually moved my computer so I would not be tempted to listen, chat, and type at the same time! I knew with all my heart this person was calling for a REASON…and it was my choice to BE THERE FOR THEM! You see we often read a TEXT or answer a CALL before choosing to read thoroughly with attention to the person TEXTING, or to answer or not answer if we are NOT READY to be an ACTIVE LISTENER! EVERY part of what we do in our lives speak into our TESTIMONY, and if we desire to show others the heart of YESHUA, we must be conscious LISTENERS and COMMUNICATORS so people will see, hear, and experience the difference in us, and desire to explore WHO is in our lives that has changed us for the GOOD! How about YOU? Can YOU relate?

I hope and pray that each of us will take the time to REFLECT on our LISTENING and COMMUNICATION skills, so that we can make our own circles of influence a more POSITIVE place to share! I choose today to practice James 1:19-21 and LEAD WITH MY EARS…and heart engaged!

Remember to give yourself GRACE as we are all on this communicative journey together! And let’s PRACTICE TOGETHER!

Sending lots of LOVE and ENCOURAGEMENT to keep GROWING YESHUA’S WAY!

Shalom,

DanaKae

Everyday I watch Mama Deer LISTEN as she protects her young!

These two brothers often SPEAK to each other…

Now, as the babies grow, they are learning to listen for danger in their environment! WE were all designed to LISTEN!