November 26. Furrowed Brows Or Mumbled Lips?
What does a hand written note mean to you?
How do you say good job? Do you say it with a smile or with furrowed brows? When we do it, we could do so with our arms crossed and our body leaning forward in an aggressive manner. As a leader, how we say things to our team starts with why we say things.
Those two components must match or the message will have interference that keeps it from being clearly received. That should make us very careful with the use of technological uses of communicating. The likelihood of interference occurring can also heighten the importance of our spoken word and maybe even the pen and paper form as well.
When was the last time that you gave a written note to someone on your team? A written note is an antiquated idea for many people. That is exactly why it might be the most valuable at this point in time. The written note is something physical which requires care to be stored if you wish to keep it.
It is not a virtual piece of data which can be tucked away and lost in all the technology. I have a book so important to me that I have handwritten a copy of it for each of my children to have. I did not pay for those extra copies with money. I paid for them with my time and sacrifice to make it happen.
Maybe that is why the handwritten note is so valuable. When was the last time you received a written note yourself? If you can recall the ones you received, then you have given them value in your mind. What is the first thing that you can do about it this week?
I cannot imagine what it was like to walk the earth with Jesus during his short time here among his family and his work with the disciples. But I am so grateful that people took the time to be inspired enough that they wrote down that history.
We read, "I have much more to say to you, but I do not want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete." 2 John 1:12 NLT. We can get busy with our modern forms of communication like text, email, chatting on snapchat and so many more.
It just might be that moving everyday communication to electronically transferred forms has heightened the value of the written word. I know that a pen and a piece of paper is certainly less expensive than the most recent phone that I acquired. Maybe we can save the best conversation for the face-to-face kind.
Who among your sphere of influence might benefit from a written note from you? Could it be a pastor, a coworker, or maybe a family member? Maybe the most important note could be the one you write to those serving you that seems to be struggling.
Who is the person in the world that you would value receiving a note from? Did you name someone? If you did, then know that you can make a difference in someone’s life by giving a note to them. What is the first thing you can do about it in the next seven days?
Let us pray, Heavenly Father, thank you for inspiring those that have come before us. They have left us a rich written history that we can share and pass on. Send your Holy Spirit to inspire us to share with others as well. May the pen and paper, as well as the keyboard serve you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,
