The Practical Word

  “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you” (Jn 14:18, NASB).   We may not be orphans, but we can make orphaned decisions. We can step on, over or around the will of God, and go at it our own way. How do we avoid this?   Start out by grace-coating everything in prayer.* Then apply a second coating of faith and step out into the world. Finally, apply a finish of thankfulness. (As for sheen, that will be the all-around praise from start to finish.) In all things, prayer.   So, g race-coat everything and step into God’s will.   “ … you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Rom 8:15b, NASB).   *Note: There is no such thing as praying too much. You cannot err by over-praying. The instances in Scriptures where God stops prayer are bare minimum rare (e.g. Jer. 14:11 & 11:14). However, there is such as erring by under-praying. We do it daily.

Gracious Communication...  Anger shuts the other person down; kindness opens them up. Leadership is all about connecting w/ ppl and making them feel seen or heard.  Break down defensiveness with graciousness.  In every interpersonal comm, leaders should err on the side of kindness. ... takes courage to live.  ~ The above are quick notes from a HBR article, The Simple Power of Communicating with Kindness, by Sally Susman

Let  your   speech   always  be  gracious ,  seasoned  with  salt , so that  you  may  know   how   you   should   answer   everyone . ~ Col. 4:5 (NET)   From. Dr. Thomas Constable's commentary: Furthermore one should wisely suit his or her speech to each need. The words “seasoned with salt” refer to witty speech in classical Greek, but Paul probably meant attractive and wholesome speech in view of other biblical uses of the term salt. [207] “A child of God should have a conversation that  deters  evil. It should withhold evil rather than promote it. I think it also means that a Christian should not be boring.” [208]  208  McGee, 5:363.

  "A problem well stated is a problem half solved." ~ Charles Kettering “The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate,” said Thomas Watson Sr., former CEO of IBM. 

 I found the following at Ligonier: Witnessing vs. Evangelism  "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;  and you will be my witnesses   in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,  and to the ends of the earth." ~ Acts 1:8 From: “ witnesses ” μάρτυρες A witness (literally (judicially) or figuratively (genitive case)); by analogy, a "martyr" ~ From Quotes Cosmos The following is a good video:  The Definition of Evangelism --- Sam Chan  

  H. Norman Wright, a licensed marriage and family counselor, once described a situation that another man had brought to him in the course of his ministry: A new woman came to work in our office. We struck up an acquaintance and began to talk each day over coffee. In time she began to share the problems in her own marriage and we found that we were both in a position of drifting away from our spouses. We actually found that we communicated better together than with our own spouses. We looked for reasons to be together—we shared similar interests and hobbies. I had no ulterior motives—no sinister plans but I enjoyed our time together as friends. We saw each other every day for a few moments and once a week we went to lunch. In time I began to compare Elaine with my wife. I saw so many positives in Elaine. The more I compared the more defects I saw in my wife. Then one day it hit me. “I was in love with another woman. Me! No! I’m a married man with three children. I’m chairman of our chu