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Week 25: Knowing What to Talk About: Self X-Ray
QUESTION
What is most important for you to talk about with a friend related to your situation, relationships and emotions?
JEFF STORY
I went through a tough final year leading the non-profit I founded. Burnout was setting in, funding was tight, and the pressure got heavy. It eventually led to so much debt I fired myself to keep the organization alive. But every week, I had a lifeline. On Wednesday mornings, I sat at a table with a few close friends eating oatmeal. We started with a quick self-assessment on a portable whiteboard leaning against one of Jerry’s chairs. Almost immediately, we knew what each of us needed to talk about. For me, that meant getting things off my chest and being prayed for by guys who had my back. Talking through life with my close friends, plus the help of a simple tool to focus on what mattered most, carried me through one of the hardest seasons of my life.
EXAMINE SELF
Do I stay on the surface — or do I take the time to examine and talk about what’s really going on in me?
SCRIPTURE & INSIGHT
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” — Proverbs 4:23
Self-awareness helps us know what to share with a trusted friend and bring to God.
QUOTE
“You can’t talk about what’s most important if you haven’t slowed yourself down to notice what’s happening inside you.”
TIP
When you don’t know what to talk about, quickly go through the Self X-ray.
PRAY, CONFESS & REPENT
Jesus, I confess staying on the surface too often, and ignoring what’s really going on inside me. Help me pause, search my heart, and talk about what’s really there with You and a trusted friend(s).
COACHING
You don’t need perfect words to figure out what’s going on in your life. Use the Self X-ray to grow a habit of checking in on the crucial aspects of your life. Knowing yourself brings honesty, and honesty brings depth and hope.
ACTION STEP
Before huddling for the next several weeks with your core friend(s), share and use the Self X-ray to figure out which area is most important to talk about.
COMMITMENT
I’m not going to hide behind vague answers with my close friends. I will honestly name what is going on in the crucial areas of my life.
HABIT
Use the Self X-ray until the pattern of assessing yourself in the key areas of your life shapes your weekly huddling conversations and prayer.
TALK & PRAY WITH FRIENDS
Share the self X-ray with your core friend(s) and discuss the most natural way you guys can use it to zero in on the most important thing to talk about as you huddle and pray for each other.
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