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October 2004 ETC Corner
Hearing God
By Rachel Olsen, Speaker Team Member
Do you find wondering why others seem to have a direct line to God? Do you desire to hear God speak to your heart? I am confident He has specific things He'd like to say to us from time to time (John 10:2-5). So how can we begin hearing God's voice, and be assured that we're hearing Him correctly?
First, let's check our motives. Our motives for wanting to hear directly from God may be a clue as to why we aren't hearing Him much. Do we want a direct word because we are unwilling to stop and read the scriptures for guidance? Will we not seek wise counsel from others because we wish to appear to "have it all together?" Do we think hearing directly from God would validate us as an extra-spiritual person?
We learn in James 4:3 that wrong motives can shut down the exchange between us and God. Our desire to hear from Him should flow out of our love for Him and a desire to please Him in all we do.
Next let's check our execution. Are we obeying what we have already heard from God? Imagine your son or spouse asking you, "What do you want me to do today?" You reply, "Mow the lawn." They walk away, thrilled that you answered them, but they do not mow the lawn. This scenario repeats day in and day out. Would you bother giving them additional directions to plant a flower bed when the lawn is knee-deep and still growing? Our obedience keeps the conversation flowing between God and us.
With our motives and performance examined, bible study is a great place to begin listening for God's voice. During your bible study time ask God to lead you to scriptures relevant to your life. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth as you read. Mull a passage of scripture over in your mind, waiting for God's Spirit to bring you fresh revelation as you do.
Regular reading of the Bible enables us to more intuitively understand how God operates and what He expects of His people. This familiarity with Him and His principals will increase our ability to hear Him and to discern if something is "of Him" or not when we hear it. Always compare what you believe may be a word from God with the scriptures, as God will not contradict himself.
In addition to grounding ourselves in the scriptures, we need to develop an active ear. By the end of winter I long for spring. I'll open my windows in the morning and listen for the sound of song birds returning from their Southern wintering spot.
After a couple weeks of this ritual, the bird's chirping are pushed to the background as my focus centers back on my muffins or my work. While they're still singing within earshot, it doesn't really register because I'm not listening with focused attention anymore.
Hearing God requires that we go about our days actively listening for His voice. Too often we send up a prayer requesting God to speak to us about a given situation and when it doesn't come instantly, we loose faith and carry on with life obliviously. To hear His voice we must attune our heart to His, and remain so, with an expectation to hear from Him.
We want God's voice to break through our busy, self-absorbed lives but God's voice is still and small - it requires right motives, quiet practice and expectant patience to hear. However, as the late evangelist Charles Finney assures us, "The inner ear of the soul can hear his whispers."
Trouble with Learning
By Rachel Olsen, Speaker Team Member
Is your child having trouble in school? Do you suspect your child may have a learning disability? Each year thousands of parents around the country answer, "Yes, what do I do about it?"
According to the National Institute of Health, a learning disability (LD) is a disorder that affects a person's ability to interpret what they hear or see, or to link information from different parts of their brain. Signs of a possible learning disorder may include: difficulties with spoken or written language, limited coordination, limited self control, or limited capacity to focus attention.
If your child is displaying a significant delay - such as 2 years behind for grade school level - in any of these areas, professional testing is recommended. Dr. Bill of Focus on the Family's Weekend Magazine suggests getting a referral from a doctor you trust such as your family physician or pediatrician. Testing can also be arranged through most schools. Once testing has provided a diagnosis, parents need to create a family plan for getting the needed help - be it educational, medical, practical or emotional.
Some families choose to homeschool their child with LD. In the home, curriculum can be personalized to the child's strengths and challenges. Other families keep their child in school but work closely with the child's teachers and provide ample homework help in the evenings to ensure successful learning. Still other families utilize professional tutoring services. Regardless of the schooling option chosen, participation and encouragement by the parent is a key to success.
As you form and carry out your family's plan, draw not only on the expertise of LD professionals but also of fellow parents "in the trenches" of LD with their own children. A local or online support group can provide a wealth of information, ideas and needed encouragement.
Here are five online resources for reading more about LD, asking questions, or seeking some needed support:
1. Schwab Learning's Guide to Helping Kids with Learning Difficulties: http://www.schwablearning.org/index.asp
2. LD Online's extensive web site, including a section for parents: http://www.ldonline.org
3. Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, an empowering web site for parents of children with LD: http://smartkidswithld.org
4. Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder's web site: http://www.CHADD.org
5. Articles and advice from parents home schooling children with LD: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/learningdisablities.htm
Thoughts, Quotes and Scriptures on Mentoring
By Barbara Goodroe
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
- Titus 2:3-5
Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.
- John C. Crosby
Mentor defined is an experienced and trusted friend and adviser. - Webster's Dictionary 1988
Sandwich every bit of criticism between two layers of praise. - Mary Kay Ash
The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive. - Joe Batten
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. - Ecclesiastes 4:9
You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but by building a fire within. - Bob Nelson
The word "mentor" comes from a character named Mentor who was a friend and tutor in Homer's classic book the Odyssey.
Mentoring is relational interaction in which one person empowers another by sharing their God-given wisdom, experience, and habits of obedience to God's word. - Rachel Olsen
In 2 Timothy 1:1-8 we see Paul's mentoring of young Timothy. Paul thanks God for Timothy (3a), he prays for Timothy each day (3b), he longs to be with him (4), he is intimately familiar with Timothy's life and family (5), and he speaks encouragement and direction into Timothy's life (6-8).
Millennials (people born after 1982) are longing for connection and meaning, and there's no better way for older people to help them find those things than by mentoring them. - Whitney Hopler on Mentoring Millennials: Shaping the Next Generation, by Dr. Daniel Egeler
If you want one year of prosperity,
grow grain,
If you want ten years of prosperity,
grow trees,
If you want one hundred years of prosperity,
grow people.
- Chinese proverb
The good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth as a sign that we should listen twice as much as we talk. - English proverb
No matter what you are teaching the younger woman - how to sew, know sound bible doctrine, be godly in character, or to serve the Lord through some sort of ministry to her family, church or friends, God wants the older woman to teach and encourage the younger women.
- Martha Peace, author of Becoming a Titus 2 Woman
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. -Ephesians 4:29
Mentoring is a dynamic relationship of trust in which one person enables another to maximize the grace of God in her/his life.
- John Mallison, author of Mentoring to Develop Disciples and Leaders
All you need is a home, a date and time, a few young people and a few older Christians. It's a great mix for a night of sharing and encouragement. You never know, it might lead to some one-on-one mentoring long term! - Robyn Claydon of www.christianmentoring.com
Watch over one another in love. - John Wesley
It is essential that mentors be loving enough to correct (Proverbs 27:5-6) and caring enough to affirm (Hebrews 10:24).
Christian mentoring isn't about being intensely spiritual all the time, it's about building relationships. - Mary Jane and Chris Konings
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