Dear Miller,
A very happy birthday #8 to you!
Last year in my birthday epistle to you I shared with you some “reflections of an older man.” One of my reflections went like this: Learn to ask great questions. I still love great questions but I have become a big fan in the last year of using “unfinished sentences” to start good conversations. Here’s what I mean: I might start a conversation by saying something like “Finish the following sentence – Two things that most people don’t know about me is…” For instance, I might finish the sentence by saying, “Two things that most people don’t know about me is that I have visited 50 different countries and I saw Muhammed Ali win a World Championship boxing match in person.” You can see how those answers might lead to some great follow up questions. Which is the whole point.
Here are a few others you might try out on people…
- When I have free time I love to…
- I would describe my relationship with God as…
- Something I am really looking forward to is…
- One thing I am really good at it…
I won’t see you today but I will see you next week. Here are some unfinished sentences that I want you to finish for me. I’m giving you some time to think about them ahead of time.
- Two things that I love about King’s Church is…
- I think my Mom and Dad are awesome parents because…
- The best thing about being the youngest of 3 brothers is…
I have about 25 unfinished sentences that I like to use so far. I’d love for you to come up with a few to try out on me so that I can add to my collection.
Jesus loved to ask questions. I can easily imagine that he also loved unfinished sentences. For instance, a few that He might have asked could have been…
- So Peter, finish this sentence: When I was walking on the water I was thinking…
- So Barsabbas, finish this sentence: When I wasn’t chosen to replace Judas as an apostle I felt…
- So Mom, finish this sentence: When I thought that I’d lost you when you were 12 years old I…
Looking forward to seeing you next week and looking forward to finishing some unfinished sentences that you come up with.
Never forget that you are very loved!
Pop Pop
Always love your blogs. Always love you and Linda!