Seasons of Life

I trust your new year is going well. Today marks the seventh anniversary of when my mother died. She left a great legacy for me. I would like to share some memories plus give you a link where you can read the pdf of a little book I wrote after her death. The title is Teaching Observation Skills.. Steps to Servanthood.
Our family is listening to a tape book called The Power of Communication by Kenneth Erickson. This is my husband, son and myself. Of course it was my idea to have each of us listen to the book. Smile. So why a book about communication? Don't we enjoy Google, Facebook, My Space, Twitter, G Mail, Skype, Cell phones, Instant Messenger.. whew, I know I have left some out.
So to clarify, let's define 'communication' as this book does. Communication only occurs when the one attempting to communicate what is in his/her mind is understood by the listener. So this is not the same as transfer of information. Big smile.
I have experienced in my relatively short life time an incredible growth of information technology that has changed the world. I can talk to a man in Algeria who speaks only French and use Google translator tool and have a fairly successful 'conversation'. I speak very little French. He speaks no English.

I can see a video of someone knocking down the Pope.

I can see a satellite picture of the home where I live even showing our old cars parked outside.

But somewhat troubling to me is with this growth in IT, there has been a real decline in the quality and quantity of communication. Dialogue is almost non-existent. Whatever happened to the 'front porch' of the 1950s? Why don't most people read much? 'Think' even less?
With the information glut surrounding each of us, how do we choose who to listen to or watch on you tube or the other myriads of visual and verbal recordings or live broadcasts via internet? Why do so many people continue to forward messages that are not even true and they don't take time to check out the implications of sending on lies?
Whatever happened to 'real' relationships? Or soon will the world be 'virtual'?
So am I saying throw away your computer and veg out in your lawn chair or front porch chaise? No of course not.
But it is time to seriously think about how short life is.. and what we will say to the One who asks for an account of every word we spoke and every deed done in the body.
It is also time to re-evaluate how well we communicate.
What part of 'communication' is not working so well.. I think it is the listening part. We are too busy or too proud to put in the effort to spend enough time or to be honest enough to truly make sure the listener will understand us. Maybe we don't want to be understood. Maybe we are afraid of the growing of a relationship that accompanies open and honest communication. Sharing information isn't safe. Communication can cause us to look deep within and maybe not like what we see.
As to Who is trying to communicate with us and why.. look up! Psalm 19 states that the heavens declare the glory of God; their expanse declares His works. What is God saying? Is nature the ONLY way He communicates?
God has spoken in the last times through His Son, Jesus Christ. You can read this in the New Testament book of Hebrews. This book also tells us it is a good idea to listen to what He says. Reading the Bible is the best way to open up dialogue and communication with God. Here is a great website where you can do all sorts of Bible study, listen on audio, have your own Bible reading schedule. I encourage you to pick a method, commit time to reading the Bible and see what God is saying to YOU this year! You will not be bored or disappointed.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.cfm

Next time we will discuss communication more in detail. Write me back and let me know your thoughts on this subject. I hope you start with listening and dialoguing with the One who Loved you enough to die in your place so you could enjoy communing with Him forever.

http://www.lighthouseenterprises.us/bulbs/TOS.pdf