Listen, Learn, Love

While sitting in the middle seat on a full flight from Denver to D.C. I was reminded of three simple truths: To listen, to learn, to love in order to impact and grow all my relationships.

I grabbed the book Listen, Learn, Love: How to Dramatically Improve Your Relationships in 30 days or Less to be my reading material for the flight. 

The book speaks to all relationships: the static, the mediocre, and even the good and shows the reader how to move them to the next level. 

When life gets busy (like it always seems to be) or stressful (like it can get)  I tend to put my relationships, the ones I'm secure in, on auto-pilot. I forget  to affirm my loved ones with Susie Albert Miller's three L's.

This little book takes everyday wisdom and clearly lays out how to apply the listen, learn, and love principles. Basic in their application, blessed in their reception. 

In the time it took to fly from the Rocky Mountains to the Capital, I was able to start and finish the book. (I believe my EQ -Emotional Quotient- increased!) 

Profound and practical. No platitudes. Common sense.

Parents, don't underestimate the power of really listening to your child. We are so good at talking at them. Not so good at listening to them. 

With our little ones we are tuned into their likes and dislikes. As kids get older we know less. What music does he like? Who is his favorite band? Why is his best pal, his best pal? What are his hopes, dreams, goals, plans? Study your child. Learn him.

Choose to love. We can make a decision each day, in each interaction, to choose love. 

Don't we all feel well loved when we are heard, understood, and cared for? 

And when we listen, learn, and love--Susie is right, our relationships will blossom.

Click here to head over to Amazon.

with faith hope and love,

Lori Wildenberg

Echoes in My Mind

Theme for August: Communication

Verse:

"A wise man listens to advice." Proverbs 12:15

Mom's Musing:
When my family and I moved to Colorado we missed the lakes of Minnesota. One of our first excursions was to visit Echo Lake and then Summit Lake both located on Mount Evans. Mount Evans is one of the 54 fourteeners (mountains with their summit at 14,000 feet or more) in Colorado Thinking we'd combine the best of the Rocky Mountains with our love of the water, we packed swim suits and beach towels. Our neighbors recommended leaving our suits behind saying the lakes were mountain lakes. Being a born and bred Minnesotan, I knew better!
 "What a bunch of wimps! We swim in cold lakes all the time." We laughed and packed our suits. Our neighbors just smiled.
"Have fun!" I noted a little mischievous twinkle in their eyes.
We drove up the scenic highway, the highest paved road in North America. Beautiful scenery. The crisp mountain air turned  chilly. We noticed a little snow along the side of the road and in the hills. We drove past Echo Lake and climbed another 2,000 feet. Summit Lake was above the tree-line. Leaving the car we grabbed  the sweatshirts we had thrown in the trunk-just in case. We took the beach towels and wrapped them around our legs. We dipped our toes into the water. Whoa. We are talkin' cold! Colder than Lake Superior cold!
Tomorrow I'm hiking Mount Evans. I've never climbed a 14er before. I plan on following the advice of my hiking companions,the ones who have experience. I can still hear the echos of my neighbors' recommendation from years ago!
Parenting Tip: Model listening by considering and following wise counsel.