I can't get into my primary e-mail account this morning. The hosting service is experiencing Technical Difficulties. Don't you just hate when that happens?
Actually, it is probably a gift. E-mail has come to dominate so much time in the corporate world that it is often difficult to accomplish anything for responding to or, creating e-mail.
It is easier than a phone call because you don't have to deal with all the polite conversational things that we always go through on the phone. The trouble is that what might take 5 minutes in a phone call ends up taking half the day in e-mail traffic.
But, there is always the individual for which it is good to have a written "trail" so that there is accountability. Phone conversations sometimes have the wonderful distinction of deniability. "That's not what you said," comes to mind. If it is written, there is little doubt as to content although possibly of intent.
It's too bad that we can't clearly understand each other. That occurs even in face-to-face conversations. Because of diverse backgrounds and experiences, communication is often difficult. What one party says is not necessarily what the other hears -- or understands. It isn't just a language issue, it is a "box" issue. What I mean is that we understand things based on the context of our own life -- whether it be technical language, or just experiential understanding.
Discernment; that is what is missing. How do you discern what is correct and what is incorrect? Too often statements are taken on faith that the intentions are good and honorable. There is only one way to gain discernment -- prayer. God will grant what you ask if you ask in faith. Just don't expect it to blossom in you full-grown and immediately. Sometimes the ground needs plowed, the seed needs planted, the pant watered and the weeds cleared away before you "discern" that it is there. That takes time.
24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. John 16:24
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