{People} Life Lessons from Others

I did a post like this once upon a time. It was fun, so I obviously wanted to do one again. But the inspiration didn't come until now. The inspiration slowly built over the last couple of weeks. So here's some lessons I've learned from people lately. (No names, sorry. Guess away if you like. You'll never get it. Trust me.)

A week or two ago our family was invited to play games and have supper with another family. I was caught at "games".  I love, love, love playing games. Seriously, love it! Especially with friends. But anyhow, here we were playing games and I watched this interaction between my friend and a couple of her little siblings. We were playing in pairs, and the younger kids wanted to switch around. Something wasn't working out. One person wanted to be with this person, but this person was not in agreement. So my friend really quietly suggested a way for everyone to agree by one person joining her team. I'll add here, her team had won every game up to that point. I just got to thinking about that. She was a peacemaker, obviously. But what stood out to me was that she inconvenienced herself to be a peacemaker. I'd never thought about it that way. I've always thought of being a peacemaker as being the one who just reaches into other peoples life and rearranges things. But, no, peacemaker also means willing to inconvenience yourself to avoid strife for others. Sure, in that instance it was just over a game, but I learned from her small action. (I also learned that it's just a game...I shouldn't be so intense about it....*sheepish grin*)

Second lesson. I was talking with my parents some about being sober (Not talking about alcohol...read Titus 2), and what that means. My mom and I were reading a book with the ladies in our church awhile back and the chapter on being sober was a little confusing to me. (It was on the commands to women in Titus 2) The book almost seemed to suggest no laughing, no teasing. But I couldn't agree with that. I would definitely agree that my family (*points to self*) doesn't have the sober thing down. We tease all. the. time. Anyhow, we were talking over what we thought it meant. So I started going through people in my head who I thought showed what I would consider the right mix of soberness and joy. (If the Bible says laughter is the best medicine, I can't believe we are meant to be always serious) After some consideration, I came across a whole family I thought was headed in the right direction. There's always laughter and fun when they're around, but it never seems to be at other's expense, or rude. It's just good, fun laughter. (Several of them have a gift for telling stories that is really funny!) I think there's a lot of things I could learn from them (there's one specifically who has already helped me a lot in my attitudes toward my family just by example) about being a godly family, but this is one! :)

In conclusion, God has given people many people different gifts. Learn from those around you! :)

{People} The Peterman Sisters

So, last week, I got spend time with the Peterman sisters. Let me just tell you, Hannah and Natalie are pretty amazing. So here's a little bit about what I love in those two:

Natalie is very quiet. I mean very, very quiet. She's been quiet since I met her in 4th grade. But she is also very observant. She pays attention to the feelings of people around her, and encourages them accordingly. Playing volleyball with Natalie has been a really fun experience. She's very aware of her position on the court, and can get under absolutely ANY ball. I won't even go into  her serving... let's just say, it's amazing! ;) My favorite memory of playing with her was in eight grade, when she approached and spiked for the first time in a game. The look on her face was more emotion than I have ever seen. It is a very treasured volleyball memory of mine!

Hannah is very happy. Energetic. Enthusiastic. Full of energy. Bubbly. I really appreciate in Hannah the skill of talking. She can talk to anyone, about anything! She makes everyone around her feel accepted and loved. Small talk scares the bejeebees out of me, but when Hannah's around, any conversation is lit up. There's several things about Hannah and Natalie that makes me think "yep, those two are sisters!" One of those is their encouraging words. They spread around sweet comments everywhere they go. Another one of those similar traits is the whole "get-under-every-ball-no-matter-where-it-is-and-make-it-look-easy" and "make-the-other-team-wish-they-would-just-miss-a-serve" thing! :) One last thing that totally impresses me about Hannah. She can write POETRY! Almost every students fear since the beginning of time, and Hannah will do it voluntarily. That should be information enough to show you that Hannah is amazing. :)