Assumptions

I've been thinking a lot about communication-how to do it most effectively, what that entails, and how I can get better at it. One of the things that Court and I have talked about recently was how assumptions fit into effective communication. I will try and make this as clear as possible. When I am talking to someone about a certain topic, and they assume that I don't know something about that topic (when I actually might), and they begin to feed me the information as if I didn't know it, it clouds the effectiveness of our communication. I hope this makes sense. Have you ever been in a conversation, and you were both trying to say the same thing, but were both saying it in very different ways? That's what I'm talking about. I think this is where I could get much better at communicating more effectively-choosing the right words, in the right order, so that across the board (no matter who you are talking too), they do not assume something different than the message you are trying to get across. I think I say, "That's what I meant." way too often. What are your biggest communication frustrations?

Relationship before preference

If you think about your closest relationships and how they came to be, more than likely it was relationship before preference. You became good friends with them because it just clicked. You have a ton in common, your personalities compliment each other, and they probably bring out the best in you. Over time, you begin to learn each others preferences-what really bothers or excites them. For other people, those things are annoyances or difficult to understand, but you understand them perfectly because of the relationship that you have formed. For you, there is no list of rights and wrongs that you need to please your friend by. Maybe you see where this is going. Christ wants a relationship with us first. Out of the relationship building process, understanding and fulfilling preferences flow naturally from within us. Sounds simple, but so many of us say and still believe (through our actions), "List first, relationship second." Try relationship first this week, I'm sure you won't regret it.

Inadequate

I feel like God has been teaching me a lesson. I know I have said this before but in the last few days and weeks I feel that God has really been trying to impress this on my heart. No matter how many righteous acts I do, no matter how many things I "get right", no matter how humbled I may feel or be, no matter how well or not well I lead discussion in my small group, it will never be enough. Even on my best of days, my inadequacy is more than I will ever be able to make up for. Isaiah 64:6 says, "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags to God". No matter how many rules we try to keep to feel good about ourselves, our hope must always be in Jesus' perfection through the cross. I love this statement by Matt Chandler, "Our hope must never be in our moral expectation, but only in the cross of Christ". I will finish with a statement from Paul, "What a wretched man I am...Who will rescue me from this body of death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Context

Everything we do is about the right context. The story of the woman giving all she had in Luke 21 seems out of context. A purple cow (thanks to Seth Godin) in a field of all black and white cows seems out of context. Me talking about engineering or computer programming on this blog would seem out of context. But, if we knew that Jesus was actually not talking about giving, and that he was talking about the hypocrisy of a religious system it makes much more sense. Or we said the purple cow was actually an advertisement for a purple shoe, or engineering was talked about on this blog because I had interviewed a Christian engineer it all comes in to context. Christianity/scripture/religion, in the wrong context, seems all too wrong. People are becoming more devoted to putting back in the right context. What ways do you see Christianity/scripture/religion in the wrong context?

Labor Day

Kind of a bummer in the morning-we had a funeral yesterday at Mayfair of a longtime member who had not been coming recently due to her health. But it got better in the afternoon...kind of. Courtney and I recently started P90X with my brother and sister in-law (no i will not post before and after pictures) so yesterday we did it a second time. I am the sorest (sp?) I have ever been in my life. We also went to Chick-fil-a to get a free Chicken sandwich. The only "college team" shirt Court had was, Harvard. Kinda funny. How was your labor day spent?

Celebration at the End of Genesis

We have finished Genesis in our Sunday morning class! It was a great study of God, his people, and how that impacts us today. Someone suggested that for our celebration everyone should come dressed up as their favorite Genesis character the next week for class. Well, we did. Bet you can't guess who is who?