January 12
Here is a Tip

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient equipped for every good
2 Timothy 3:-16-17

    I am a pastor's daughter.  Well-meaning people in the church criticized my behavior or gave me pointed advice on everything from attending meetings to praying aloud to making the right kind of friends. As I grew older I became sensitive to others' opinions.  I resisted listening to advice and often attempted to act on my own without asking for help.
    Recently, I was having trouble putting a battery in a power tool when I heard a voice cheerfully say, "If you were doing that backwards, would you want to  know?"  The question made me laugh and I suddenly realized that my attitude determines whether advice is helpful or hurtful.
    God is the author of helpful instructions, but whether or not I welcome the Bible's words of encouragement and direction is up to me.  No matter how mature I am, I'll always need help. As my friend might ask, "If you were letting pride get in the way of accepting encouragement and power from God, would you want to know?"  My answer is yes!

Reflection
This is a great story and I could draw another lesson from it.
The reason she could laugh and come to an new insight"
was because the question was put in a friendly and not condescending way.
We talk about the golden rule as being:
"Do unto other as you would have them do to you."
But in our Transformational Leadership, when we speak about the Core Value of Service
we point out that our experience with diversity gives us another spin on this:
"Do unto others as they would have you do to them."
Shaping our service that the person we serve feels
understood
appreciated
valued
and loved
and is open to our message-and our witness. crsr