The one with the Teabag

I am very blessed.  Yes, I know it.  You see, most mornings one of my sons will bring a cup of tea up to me in bed.  Some mornings I might even get two!  Life is good.

The other morning however, it was not so good.  My alarm had gone off, and been put on snooze, and there I lay, drifting in and out of sleep, waiting to hear the familiar 'chink' as a cup is placed on my bedside table.  It seemed a long time coming this particular morning, but it did arrive.  I slowly sat up, picked up the new Starbucks mug that had appeared, and with a content sigh, I took the first sip.  MMmmmmm ......

BUT - the MMmmmm soon turned into Ewwwwwww.  Something was wrong.

It was still hot.  It looked the right colour.  It was in the right mug (yes, that does make a difference!) - So - what was the problem?

It just didn't hit the spot!  Something was different.  Somehow, something seemed missing.  And then it dawned on me ....

Caffeine!  Or rather, the lack of it!

Somehow, the teabags must have been mixed up in the cupboard and the teabag my son had used was void of caffeine.

Not so good first thing in the morning! Thankfully, I still had time to have a 'proper' tea before leaving the house.

Later on that morning, I met with a friend (yes, you guessed it, for tea!), and I shared my early morning experience with her.  After laughing at how I can make such a big thing out of tea, she explained that she wouldn't have known the difference.  This got me thinking ...

How did I know with such assurance?  After all, it was early in the morning and I was still very sleepy and decaf tea doesn't really taste that different to regular tea.

But ... I knew.

The one with the Duck Song

WARNING: Interacting with this post will get into your head and stay there - for a very long time!
Waddle Waddle!!

Last year one of my boys introduced me to Bryant Oden's genius Duck Song.  I say genius because for a short and simple song (with video) first uploaded in 2009 - it has already had a whopping 59,924,170 hits!!  That is some achievement.

What is the appeal?  Well, watch the link below and you will see for yourself .....

 
Cute and catchy eh?  Now, I challenge you to watch it again without singing along - it just can't be done!!

So - that is it, there is no going back!  The Duck Song is well and truly inside your head - and for that I do apologise a little.  However, my hope is, that in sharing this song with you, it will find its way not only into your head, but also you thoughts, your mind and your heart.  You see, I believe this simple (if not annoying!) song has a lot to teach us.  Really?  I invite you to read on ...

The story begins with the duck walking up to a lemonade stand and asking ... got any grapes?

However, to his dismay, he soon discovers there are no grapes on offer .... and he waddles away ... till the very next day ...

Our duck friend doesn't seem to learn from this, as the following day, he walks back up to lemonade stand, and again asks ... got any grapes?

Once again, the duck is to learn that the lemonade stand has no grapes to offer, and he waddles away ... till the very next day ...

Despite being very bright in colour, it would seem that Mr Duck lacks a certain amount of intelligence, and visits the same lemonade stand a total of five times, each time asking for grapes.  Why would he do this?

My guess is that such was his desire for grapes that he would do whatever was needed in order to get some.  He had his heart and mind fixed on grapes and nothing else seemed to matter, including continued knock-backs. 

Silly duck.  We wouldn't have been so daft right?

The one with the card

This morning I made my way to Basingstoke and whilst there I popped into a card shop to purchase a New Home card.   Having successfully negotiated my way round the somewhat disorganised shop, and picked out a card, I headed to the till.  The queue consisted of only one other person, and there were two assistants ready to serve.  My turn to pay came round quickly, and in less than a minute I had parted with £1.40 and walked out the shop with the card neatly placed in a bag.  Job done.  So, why did I leave the shop contemplating the rudeness of the shop assistant?  She hadn't listened.

You see, the very brief interaction I had with the shop assistant went something like this:


Shop Assistant: 'Hi' (takes the card I wish to purchase)
Shop Assistant: 'That's £1.40 then please' (puts card back on counter and hand hovers to receive cash)
Me: (rumbles around in my purse and presents £1.50) 'There you go'
Shop Assistant: 'Thanks' (takes money, puts in till) 'Would you like a bag?'
Me: 'No, it's fine thank you' (waits for change)

Shop Assistant: (takes out change, holds it in hand whilst putting card in paper bag) 'There you go then'

Me: (Takes 10p change and paper bag with card in, and walks out the shop wondering how 'No it's fine thank you' could have been translated as 'Yes, please I would love one!')

All could have been forgiven if the shop had a lot of background noise, but as it was quiet, there is no way the shop assistant hadn't heard me.  She just hadn't listened to my answer.  This rattled my cage, (can you tell?!)  but as I thought about it later over a Chai Tea Latte,  I began to wonder whether, at times, we can all be guilty of hearing but not listening.  


I know that the shop assistant could hear my answer; I spoke up and spoke clearly.  'Yes' and 'No' do not sound the same.  So, why did I find myself with a bag in my hand that I had not asked for?  My guess is, that instead of actually listening to my answer, the shop assistant merely assumed I would say 'yes' to a bag.  


I wonder how many times we do something similar?  How often we assume we know the answer to a question, without really taking the time and effort to listen carefully to what is actually being said? 

Perhaps the speed of our lifestyle has a lot to do with this.  We ask questions in passing, such as 'how are you?' and far too often never actually stop to listen to the answer.  We assume that the person is all right, and incorrectly interpret 'ok' to mean 'great' when really the person is hurting or finding things tough.   

Paul Tillich wrote 'The first duty of love, is to listen.'

As Christians we are called to love.  We must strive to love at all times, not just when it is convenient. If Tillich is right, and I personally believe there is a lot of truth in his statement, then we really do need to concentrate on developing the lost art of listening. 


Real listening involves both hearing and understanding.  

A fuller understanding comes through listening to the words, their meaning, and the context and tone in which they are spoken.  It can also be just as important to listen to what is NOT being said.   Yes, it takes time and it takes effort.  But doesn't love?

I want to show the love of Christ to people, and having considered the thoughts that followed the aforementioned card incident, I cannot help but feel challenged to work at developing my listening skills.  If genuine listening demonstrates love, I pray I am not the only one to be challenged.

Are you prepared to demonstrate love by slowing down and focusing enough to hear what people are really saying?
  

This week, when you politely ask someone the question 'How are you?' - don't assume you know the answer and rush on.  Stop.  Listen.  Respond.  Love.

The one where God shows up

Having just come back from an amazing weekend away at the Youthwork Conference in Eastbourne - my head and heart are full of thoughts that I could share with you.   It was inspirational, encouraging, challenging - and even a little bit uncomfortable at times.  It reminded me how important it is for us all to take some time out of the ordinary - and place ourselves in an environment where we can slow down and listen to what it is God might be saying to us. Easier said than done though with today's pace of life!

So, what did I come away with that is worth sharing with you?  What pearls of wisdom did I hear that could be conveyed to you?  What experiences could I share with you to encourage you and remind you that Jesus is alive and with us?  Or, which funny story could be shared to make you smile and see the funny side of life?  (And boy do I have a good one!!)  The options seem endless!

To be honest, I am still quietly sifting through a lot of the things I heard and experienced whilst there.  Does that ever happen to you?  You come away from a conference, or service,  with so much - that you are not sure exactly what to do with it!  It is almost overwhelming.  This his how I felt on my return to Basingstoke yesterday.  I came back feeling spiritually full with my battery fully charged  -ready and willing to go for it - to inspire, challenge, teach, give, make a difference!  The only problem was though, and still is to some extent, I had no idea which direction to face before setting off!  I came back knowing I had been challenged and ready to respond in my day to day life - but how?  where? who with? I had no idea!  I guess as I continue to process and pray through these things it will all become a lot clearer to me?  I will keep you informed :)

So, all that said - was there anything that I came away with that I can encourage you with?  Yup, for sure ...

During the weekend, one question in particular was asked that is still going around in my mind today.  It has totally challenged me, and I hope, will begin to transform the way I think and act.  The context this question was asked in was in a discussion about what success looks like in youth ministry.  However, this is such a key question - and is by no means confined to youth ministry.  Are you ready to be challenged?

The question ...

What would happen in your ministry  [life, work, conversations, etc]  if God showed up?

 .... and you tuned in?

Now, although this question presented itself in two parts,  it is really only one question.  What would happen if God showed up?  I believe there is no need for the 'if' - because God does show up!  He is omnipresent, he is everywhere!  Quite simply there is no 'if' about it. 

We need to believe that God will be with us.  We need to believe that God will be there as we step out and work for him.  We need to believe God will be there when we talk to our friends.  God will show up.  In fact - he already has!

David contemplates this in Psalm 139, when he asks ...

Where can I go from your Spirit?   Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there;  if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 

God is always there.

So the part of the question that really matters is  ... 'and you tuned in?'

This really challenged me.  I totally believe God is there - when I run Take Off on Fridays or Lavish on Mondays.  I absolutely believe that God is there with me when I speak to friends about him, or lead a prayer time.  I really do.  But do I always respond accordingly and tune in?   Ouch.  In all honesty - no I don't.

Sadly, it is all too easy to believe that God is always with us without really stopping to tune in to him to see where he is leading, or what he is saying.  We can plan our meetings and work out what to say, without really giving God a chance.  We often rely far too much on our own strength and ideas instead of tuning into God and allowing him to work effectively through us.

It is like listening to an un-tuned radio.  It sounds crackly and distorted and cannot be corrected simply by turning the volume up.  It needs to be finely tuned.  Only then will the music, or programme (that has always been there) come through clearly and as it should.

We really do need to do more than acknowledge God's existence.  We need to ask ourselves what difference this means to us and the things that we do.  We need to take time to tune in and ask God what he wants us to be saying and doing.   Let's face it - he can do it far better than we can anyway!

If we truly believe that God will turn up and stop to tune in to him - what a difference this will make!  We can live and work with a new confidence and boldness that comes through knowing God is with us. 

Now to put this into practice ....