What is the Teachable Spirit?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Bible-open.jpg

Personal Background: 

Growing up in the church, the emphasis was always placed on scripture, the validity of it, and how it was the supreme authority. However, it seemed to me like there was a disconnect because I did not see people around me living their life as if they believed that. Typically, the message was shame and punishment based if you did or did not do certain things; there was very little practical demonstration or application of the Word of God.

Challah is a sweet bread made for the Friday evening Erev Shabbat meal.

Over a period of thirty years, I was divorced three times. Most people would react to that with blaming, shaming, or escaping. However, I began to ask myself some questions:

What I did to work through my issues: 

Initially, I could not see that there was no one around me who had the answers. The only thing I could think to do was write in a journal, which I did purely to get the stuff out of my head that really was not true, and to find an answer. Today, my journaling is more for the purpose of describing my gratitude and thankfulness for past, present or future events.

• playing the piano for services
• blowing the shofar
• making challah
• worshipping on the Sabbath
• keeping the festivals of the Lord
• memorizing the entire book of Ephesians

Leslie Brown introduced me to Douglas Monene; Jim and Leslie are Blue Diamonds with Talk Fusion, May 2014.

During these thirty years, I was extremely attracted to network marketing because of their message of hope and happiness. They seemed to have the practical application I was looking for that would provide the means to become the individual who would attract the kind of people that did not have drama in their life. My process included:

• reading every book they recommended
• listening to every tape they provided
• absorbing every story about how people overcame life’s obstacles
• hanging out with people who were successful in the business
• examining this information against scripture 

Originally uploaded to wikimedia.org by Nikopoley, July 2007.

I asked a lot of questions; usually why?

Now I live in peace, knowing that He can do anything, and I can have whatever I ask or think:

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) to all generations forever and ever. Amen. –Ephesians 3:20-21

Providing professional development to the instructors of Ingrid Education Centre in Nairobi, Kenya is the purpose of creating this website and online business, February 2013.

Additionally, I realized I had found the solution for which I was searching and I wanted to share what God had accomplished in my life.

The scripture is full of stories of people who lived with angst. One day when I asked a question, I received an answer through a story from the Bible. Over time, that ability grew, and I began to relate people’s situations to the Word of God, in a way that helped them feel comfortable and relaxed about Him. I create a non-judgmental environment, explaining scripture to help people live in hope and happiness. I tailored stories from the Word to fit their personal experience.

Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. –Proverbs 20:5

Giving ear plugs to workers at the quarry near Ingrid Education Centre, January 2013. Photo by Isaac V. Photography.

Questions do not intimidate the teachable spirit. My personal experience has given me a lot of empathy. I want people to be comforted, guide them, and help them find the right messages in scripture. The process of growth happens in tiny increments over a period of time. What I know definitively is that the Word of God is a framework for interpretation. It helps us make sense of the world in a non-threatening way so that we can find our life’s direction.

The teachable spirit is about clarifying and interpreting the Word of God to help people find success in the mission God put them on this earth to fulfill.

For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.            –Ephesians 2:10