Skip to main content

Shut Up, Listen & Learn

I was at a wonderful & intimate holiday office party at a local restaurant in DC. The atmosphere was lively and festive.  Our table was full of great people and great conversation. One of them is an author of a new book which inspires others to take time to self reflect and rest.  I became increasingly intrigued into the concept of her book called 'Sabbath Season' by Nichola Brown.
For what I understand the essence is to take a 'sabbath' in order to reflect, think, and break from the normal activity to find yourself; yourself with who you are, and even in your relationship with God. I began to carefully listen to the wisdom flowing from this sister's mouth. 

Take a sabbath?!? I don't ever think I have thought of taking my family away for  a sabbath.  A sabbath could mean a weekend away. It could mean a week away or it simply at home on a particular night and we simply focus on 'us'. I really need to do this. 

But there was another lesson in all this. That lesson is sometimes I need to be open to listen and learn. Dads, we really don't know it all. In some areas, we 're clueless.  God has put each one of us in great positions to be students of any and everything He has created. In those moments I need to shut up, listen and learn.  I'm still in training. I'm NOS.

By the way, you can order 'Sabbath Season' by Nichola Brown at www.sabbathseason.com. Also follow her on Twitter @sabbathseason.

Comments

  1. UnknownTuesday, December 17, 2013

    Dijon- It was a pleasure spending time with you and your lovely family. There was lots of laughter and great food! I'm so grateful that the conversation about the Sabbath resonated with you. The Sabbath is a blessed experience and biblical principle.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Before you go, I have to tell you this...

My wife and oldest son had been feverishly preparing for this for over two years. A sojourn to Egypt is what monopolized the attention of this house for about the past week. We've been packing, buying last minute items, and anticipating an almost 24-hour travel. As my wife was packing at the gorgeous time of 4:15 am, I was writing some thoughts to my son. I was giving him advice-technical, moral, physical, and spiritual advice. Even while cutting his hair last night, I was advising him. At the end of the letter, I gave him my blessing. I wrote a letter to Paula as well. And just like the one to my son, I gave her the same type of advice, just more seasoned for her needs. And at the end of the letter, I gave her my blessing. I packed the letters away in their suitcases. They won't see them until they reach their hotel in Egypt. I learned and was reminded of a couple of things from their upcoming experience. First, perseverance has its rewards. They stuck this program out fo
7 comments
Read more

Running with the pack

53:45 unofficial.  That was my time for the Veterans Day 10K race I ran.  53:45 unofficial.  My goal was to knock off some minutes from my 10K last year.  I knocked off about 5 minutes; I am happy about that.  Yet my time was 53:45 unofficial. I had a very good pace starting out.  I actually changed my running style some months ago to conserve a bit of energy.  It worked.  But during the race, I stopped...three times to be exact.  Once for water, the second time I am clueless about, and the third was because I really was tired (next time, I will stay off the late night movies and donuts before race day!)  But that was not my lesson.  My lesson was that I needed to stay in a pack, run with other people to keep a constant pace.  Why is that so important?  Well, I, The Bassman, am a very successful introvert (at least I can be).  I know how to be alone and be comfortable.  I have noticed in the last couple of years that I work best when I work with others.  That's just me.  Tryin
4 comments
Read more

But I Need My Car!

It turned out to be a day of running around the city.  I took care of my minivan; the 'check engine' light was on for the last two days.  So, I dropped the kids off at school, drove to 7-11 to get my coffee and donut, and went to the auto repair shop.  The repair man checks the car and begins giving me an oil change.  He comes back in with the bolt that seals the oil pan and says its damaged.  "You need to get it replaced."  he said. "Okay", I responded as I am sipping my coffee. About three minutes later, he returns and says, "We have to replace the entire oil pan because it is damaged.  I cannot let you drive off with it in this condition.  What are you gonna do?" I'm thinking to myself, "What do you mean, 'What am I gonna do?  I have no car!'"  I begin calling my wife only to remember that she was in an all day conference-I could only text her.  Meanwhile, the repairmen comes back in the room and says to me in his
4 comments
Read more