{"id":2855,"date":"2012-07-17T05:13:31","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T09:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2855"},"modified":"2012-07-17T08:53:51","modified_gmt":"2012-07-17T12:53:51","slug":"stirring-our-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/07\/stirring-our-thoughts.html","title":{"rendered":"Stirring our thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I like listening to a variety of political opinions. \u00a0Honestly, I don’t believe many of the opinions I hear from the “other side” of my political viewpoint. \u00a0Yet, at other times, I find myself not agreeing with the positions of my own party.<\/p>\n

I have a good friend who seems to be able to anticipate all sides of almost every argument. \u00a0Most of us are not gifted in this way. \u00a0Therefore, in order to understand, I need to listen. \u00a0I find that listening to a variety of views helps me to sort through and better understand my true feelings, often based on my world view.<\/p>\n

Stirring our thoughts takes time, patience and a bit of mental exercise. \u00a0One of the things I see within the mentally challenged community is that they often are not threatened when their thoughts are challenged. \u00a0Of course, it is because they don’t feel secure with their own thoughts. \u00a0Nevertheless, this is a refreshing attitude, since so many of us are totally fixed in the way we allow ourselves to process ideas.<\/p>\n

Today, I looked up a website because I didn’t agree with anything a spokesperson was saying in a TV interview. \u00a0She was speaking about the special needs community within the school system. \u00a0At the website, I found several interesting videos. \u00a0I found myself taking pages of notes and looking up books that were recommended.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>My son-in-law watches TV evangelists whom he disagrees with because they teach him a different perspective. \u00a0He doesn’t mind that his thoughts and ideas about Scriptural principles are challenged. \u00a0He, in fact, welcomes the interaction.<\/p>\n

When Paul approached the religious leaders of his day, he taught them from the prophets about Jesus. \u00a0However, because their minds were fixed regarding how the Messiah would come to earth, they could not hear what the apostle was saying.<\/p>\n

Each of us has permanent markers in our brains that cause us to accept and reject certain facts. \u00a0While listening to others opinions often reaffirms what I believe, it is\u00a0vital that each of us reaches past what may be opinion in\u00a0search for truth.<\/p>\n

What are some of the things you are learning about the Lord? \u00a0Have you seen something different recently in the Scriptures that you had not seen before?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I like listening to a variety of political opinions. \u00a0Honestly, I don’t believe many of the opinions I hear from the “other side” of my political viewpoint. \u00a0Yet, at other times, I find myself not agreeing with the positions of my own party. I have a good friend who seems to be able to anticipate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,4,41],"tags":[428,690,21,688,7,699,715,701,694,19,689,6,429],"class_list":["post-2855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-apostle-paul","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-tv-evangelists"],"yoast_head":"\nStirring our thoughts - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/07\/stirring-our-thoughts.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stirring our thoughts - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I like listening to a variety of political opinions. \u00a0Honestly, I don’t believe many of the opinions I hear from the “other side” of my political viewpoint. \u00a0Yet, at other times, I find myself not agreeing with the positions of my own party. 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