It was never in the living room. Our lives happened around a slab of wood. Our kitchen table was a sacred space growing up. We did the hard work of developing our beliefs and our character, asked big questions and shared all of our dreams. We fumbled over apologies and worked on humbling ourselves enough to ask for help. It was the spot for homework, dinners, celebrations, mourning, building and mending relationships, and everything else in between. Our family loves to eat and we believe in the beauty of sitting around a table together. “We don't come to the table to fight or to defend. We don't come to prove or to conquer, to draw lines in the sand or to stir...
"It's not good enough yet"I recently heard a child say this and it shocked me. Instead of saying "it's not done yet", they chose to say "it's not good enough yet". I'm sure the concept of "worthiness" is well known by our older kids but I wasn't prepared for a younger child to express it or demonstrate even the slightest understanding of it. Our striving for worth and perfection is seen by others, especially the younger people in our lives. Not only do they pick up on what we say, they also pick up on how we say it and how we respond to situations. When did we start shaping our actions and responses around proving or growing our worth?When did we start believing...
L I S T E N. There are many conversations I've missed in my life. Either I was too busy, too distracted, too focused on my response, or too tired to truly listen. There is a major difference between hearing and listening. I can hear what someone is saying - the tone of their voice and notice words coming out of their mouth - without actually listening to them.It's embarrassing. You know, to have a full conversation with someone and not be able to summarize what they said.And then, we expect others to listen to us and are discouraged or frustrated when they don't. Can anyone else relate? Have you ever been listened to? I'm talking about having the full, undivided, genuine...
