No sleep

18 Mar 2016 4 Comments

by Minstrels wife in Christianity, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, meditation, Prayer Tags: , ,

So, I find it very difficult to get any sleep. I suppose I have gotten used to it more now, but still find the darkest hours of the night disturbing and lonely, even with my beautiful family only yards away from me. My husband made a picture for me and framed it near my pillow with a verse from proverbs in it, which in those times of bad thoughts, loneliness, times of attack or times when God seems so far away, I can look at this verse and be reassured that He never leaves or forsakes me.

Proverbs 3 vs 24-25

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down your sleep will be sweet.
Do not be afraid of the sudden fear
Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes.

Better Communication

22 Jan 2016 2 Comments

by Minstrels wife in Christian Worship, Christianity Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good communication is needed in every relationship, but I feel more so now that a lot of our words are typed through text messages or emails. We have lost most face to face communication, and since there is a high percentage of how we speak is done by body language or facial and vocal expressions, there is much more of a chance to get the wrong message from the one that was meant.

Our relationships thrive on good communication, and I feel it is the nutrient needed for a healthy relationship, whoever that is with. It could be your Pastor, spouse, friends, shop staff, employees, postman, the list is endless.

Norman Wright explains that when people communicate there are at least 6 messages that come through.

What you mean to say

What you actually say

What the other person hears

What the other person thinks they hear

What the other person says about what you said

What you think the other person said about what you said

This shows how important it is to think and work on how we communicate with everyone we have contact with. By spending more time working on what and how we say to others, we can make sure more of what we say is clear and helps us to smooth out any weaknesses we may have in this area.

If we want a relationship to go deeper, then we need to grasp how to communicate with that person, not just in what we say but in how our body and  vocal languages come across. We all have some hang ups in this area. We may have a fear of opening up to others for fear of rejection, fear of being hurt, low self esteem or image. All these factor in when we open up to anyone. The relationship will only ever go as deep as you are willing to communicate with openness and honesty. Say what you mean, and work hard to say it in the way you would want it to be received. Try to put yourself in the other persons shoes for a minute and think about how you would want that sentence, greeting, criticism, word of encouragement to be said. How would we want to receive that spoken and unspoken communication?

Try to be constructive and focus on the positives of the other person or group.

Proverbs 18:21,” your tongue has the power of life or death.”

Bring life and love to our relationships.