Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to PAWS for Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! We are delighted you could join us today for another lesson to be learned and some wisdom to be gained from our four-legged children and Jennifer! Grab your coffee and come join us for some profound communication tips…from a dog!

My dog Logan has no problem letting me know what he wants.  Sometimes I feel he is a better communicator than I am :-). 

• When he is hungry – he carries his dog bowl around
• When I walk in the door – he shows concern (where were you, he says)
• He tells me no when he doesn’t want to do something
• He sits by the door when he wants to go outside

The list could go on and on.  He is a very smart dog and has learned what responses or interactions get corresponding reactions from his people.

Do I think that deeply about my communication?  I like to think that I do but sometimes I don’t believe I do.

When God created the first human beings—Adam and Eve—He created them in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27).  This likeness included the ability to engage in intelligible speech via human language.  In fact, God spoke to them from the very beginning of their existence as humans (Genesis 1:28-30).  They possessed the ability to understand verbal communication—and to speak themselves!

Last week I pondered listening and communication.  This week I have been focusing on why God created communication and how we are supposed to use it. 

God spoke the world into existence and we were created in His image, so that tells me how much power our words have.  So what do we do with that power?

I believe there are five standards of communication:

1. Care - Am I choosing my words carefully and weighing the consequences of them?
2. Praise - Is what I am saying tearing down or lifting up? (even conflict can build up someone)
3. Truth - Do I have all the facts or am I making assumptions based on what I am feeling?
4. Faith - Where am I placing my faith? In them? God? Circumstances?
5. Surrender – Am I holding back or putting up defensive walls?

Hurt people hurt people. Healthy people don’t hurt other people. People are dying for respect. When you treat people with dignity, and use communication standards, you treat people with respect. Stop and listen to what’s beneath the words they’re saying.

James 1:19 tells us: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry”.  God gave you two ears and one mouth. He wants you to listen twice as much as you speak. But we get in a hurry. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.”

Until next week, PAWS and pay attention to what you may learn from your four-legged pet…

Jennifer