Last summer I asked a friend what I thought was a light hearted, simple question and it opened the door to a several hour conversation, which has resulted in regular phone calls over the past 9 months. Why? Because, entirely unbeknownst to me, the question hit a tender spot and she was wanting to examine it.
I grew up with a friend’s mother asking really good questions. I always liked being near her because her questions were different – they made me think and made me feel like she truly cared about my responses. At the same time, I never really wanted her asking me questions because I knew she would blow off unthoughtful responses and it was intimidating to be made to think.
Questions are powerful – probably for far more reasons than I could ever articulate, but here are a few:
- They can communicate love, care and interest.
- The right questions are a catalyst for excellent conversations.
- They cause you to examine things from multiple perspectives.
It has been fun to see the response to this little series of questions and get your feedback!
Five Questions for Conversations This Week
- Based on actual scenarios real people have been in, what would be the most terrifying to you? (people you know, books, news, etc.)
- What things do you do at your current age that your twenty year old self would be impressed with?
- Where have you seen God work in your life this week?
- What is worth doing, even if you fail?
- Tell me about someone new you met this week? (or observed, or read about in a news article or book, etc.)
Books that Inspired the Questions
As always, nailing down the inspiration is hard to do, but these are the books that have been filling my mind this week!
- Dee O’Hara Astronaut’s Nurse – I shared this one on Facebook this week as I finished it and am trying to track all completed reads in 2020. It is the story of America’s first aerospace nurse. I have an album on there of all finished books with comments.
- Exploring Romans by John Phillips
- Being Truly Human by David Gooding and John Lennox
- Aku-Aku by Thor Heyerdahl
You can see all the posts in this series of Questions for Conversations here. This includes sets 1-4 (set 3 being questions for teens) plus an anniversary edition, and a New Years Reflection edition.
