Whether we’re dining with friends and family or waiting for our table with strangers, we can offer warm greetings as an appetizer to fruitful conversation. Let’s think about dinner appetizers. Imagine sitting on your friend’s sofa as she serves an appetizer tray. You pop a small slice of green fruit into your mouth and immediately wish you hadn’t. One eye closes involuntarily like you’ve been sucking lemons all day, and you shudder to the core of your being. Your mouth purses into fish lips as the inside of your cheeks pucker and meet in the middle. Green persimmons do not…
Tag: conversations
Encouraging Speech is Not “for the Birds”
Sometimes I say too much. My intentions are good, and I realize the listener doesn’t need to know all that I know—or think I know—about how to solve her problem. But, sometimes I say too much. Maybe God was teaching me a lesson when I saw a mockingbird who didn’t sing. The bird flew across my neighbor’s yard and perched on a bush. Blue jays, cardinals, and sparrows were filling the morning air with musical notes but not this mockingbird. She simply turned her head from side to side as if listening intently and then flew away. A few moments…