{"id":1408,"date":"2014-10-11T15:46:35","date_gmt":"2014-10-11T14:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/?p=1408"},"modified":"2014-10-11T15:46:35","modified_gmt":"2014-10-11T14:46:35","slug":"listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the things I have been doing recently is listening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Prayer<\/a>

Prayer garden where I spend a few minutes each morning<\/p><\/div>\n

One morning not long ago, I was sitting \u00a0in the prayer garden at school and thinking, “Wow it is not raining and yet there are no birds out chirping. \u00a0That is unusual.” \u00a0 But then as I sat, I realized that when I stopped the conversation in my head, paid attention and really listened, that in fact the birds were chirping and I could hear the wind blowing in the trees. \u00a0I had not heard them because I had tuned them out and pushed them to the background. \u00a0They had been silenced by my brain.<\/p>\n

\"Flowers<\/a>

Flowers I am noticing as I sit in silence to hear what God would say to me.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Listening to hear what God is saying is similar because so often my head is filled with my thoughts and plans. \u00a0Silencing them to hear the voice of God requires work. \u00a0I must retrain my brain to silence my own thoughts and dialogue and instead concentrate on the quieter voice within. \u00a0I have found in the last few months that it is worth it to learn to sit in the silence and listen, not to my plans and concerns for the day but for the chirping of the birds, which means I am ready to hear the voice of God.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Flowers<\/a>

Flowers I had not noticed before remind me that I need to take time to listen and notice.<\/p><\/div>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the things I have been doing recently is listening.   One morning not long ago, I was sitting \u00a0in the prayer garden at school and thinking, “Wow it is not raining and yet there are no birds out … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nListening - Stoker Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Listening - Stoker Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the things I have been doing recently is listening.   One morning not long ago, I was sitting \u00a0in the prayer garden at school and thinking, “Wow it is not raining and yet there are no birds out … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stoker Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-11T14:46:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2014\/10\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jcstoker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jcstoker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jcstoker\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dc54890c67362b5686c36657df311e4\"},\"headline\":\"Listening\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-11T14:46:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":275,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/76\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/\",\"name\":\"Listening - Stoker Stories\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/76\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-11T14:46:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dc54890c67362b5686c36657df311e4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/76\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/76\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg\",\"width\":448,\"height\":336,\"caption\":\"Prayer garden where I spend a few minutes each morning\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/2014\\\/10\\\/11\\\/listening\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Listening\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stoker Stories\",\"description\":\"Reflections from the Rain Forest\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dc54890c67362b5686c36657df311e4\",\"name\":\"jcstoker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0581d13f4b5e1c8c6dfc01aa984fa52b4cdec8d116450dd79fda1d8d115830b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0581d13f4b5e1c8c6dfc01aa984fa52b4cdec8d116450dd79fda1d8d115830b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0581d13f4b5e1c8c6dfc01aa984fa52b4cdec8d116450dd79fda1d8d115830b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"jcstoker\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/jcstoker\\\/author\\\/jcstoker\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Listening - Stoker Stories","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Listening - Stoker Stories","og_description":"One of the things I have been doing recently is listening.   One morning not long ago, I was sitting \u00a0in the prayer garden at school and thinking, “Wow it is not raining and yet there are no birds out … Continue reading →","og_url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/","og_site_name":"Stoker Stories","article_published_time":"2014-10-11T14:46:35+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2014\/10\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"jcstoker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jcstoker","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/"},"author":{"name":"jcstoker","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/#\/schema\/person\/8dc54890c67362b5686c36657df311e4"},"headline":"Listening","datePublished":"2014-10-11T14:46:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/"},"wordCount":275,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2014\/10\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/","name":"Listening - Stoker Stories","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2014\/10\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg","datePublished":"2014-10-11T14:46:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/#\/schema\/person\/8dc54890c67362b5686c36657df311e4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2014\/10\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2014\/10\/Prayer-Garden-comp.jpg","width":448,"height":336,"caption":"Prayer garden where I spend a few minutes each morning"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2014\/10\/11\/listening\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Listening"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/","name":"Stoker Stories","description":"Reflections from the Rain Forest","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/#\/schema\/person\/8dc54890c67362b5686c36657df311e4","name":"jcstoker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0581d13f4b5e1c8c6dfc01aa984fa52b4cdec8d116450dd79fda1d8d115830b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0581d13f4b5e1c8c6dfc01aa984fa52b4cdec8d116450dd79fda1d8d115830b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0581d13f4b5e1c8c6dfc01aa984fa52b4cdec8d116450dd79fda1d8d115830b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"jcstoker"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/author\/jcstoker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1408"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1416,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1408\/revisions\/1416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}