Listen

"A wise man will listen and increase his learning, and a discerning man will obtain guidance."
Proverbs 1:5

One of the reasons I quit blogging for a while was that I felt convicted to just be there for my children. And to just listen to them. When I'm too busy sucked into the computer, I can't. I'm not "all there" if you know what I mean. I want my kids to open up with me and I want to be a good listener. If I'm not listening, they not likely to open up. And the first step in keeping the lines of communication open is to be a good listener.

This morning in my quiet time, this was the verse. The Lord just reminded me to continue to be a good listener. I feel like when the girl comes home from school, it's like playing "20 questions" to get her to tell me about her day. But I've noticed that if I just let her talk and make myself shut up, she's more likely to just talk and tell me things. And usually, it's not all at once. She tells me something, then a little while later, she tells me something else, and so on. And that's fine. As long as she's communicating and she knows that I'm going to listen.

So, are you a good listener? What are your tricks to get your children to open up?