Some of you know – and have been deeply blessed by (haha!) – my collection of questions that I keep near me at almost all times. It is one of my very favorite collections because it is endlessly inspiring and once everyone gets over the absolute dorkiness of having a notebook of questions it has been the springboard for some wonderful conversations.
In the past I have shared a collection of Anniversary themed questions and New Years Reflection questions on here- the questions are meant to inspire conversations and get a little bit deeper. It has been a long little while since I shared those lists of questions for conversations… like almost three years long and I have been meaning to continue the collection of questions in a useful way since several dear friends have asked.
I read a book last night about a songwriter/performer who booked his first concert before he’d even written the songs and how that pushed him to actually then write the songs he likely wouldn’t have otherwise written. So here I am, trying to find a useful way to share questions for you to sit and ponder for yourself, for you to ask a friend, a spouse, a neighbor. I don’t know how to make it most accessible and useful, so if you have a suggestion I am happy to hear it. But for now, I am just going to share them here.
Paul and I generally do a date night at a coffee shop once a week while the kids are at Awana on Sunday night and so I am going to try to share questions on Saturday morning – they’ll be the same questions we talk about Sunday night. Or, at least the springboard for our conversations. We aren’t likely to get through all the questions, and don’t ever feel like the questions are a to-do list to work through. Start with the question that resonates most with you and let the conversation flow.
Five Questions to Inspire Conversations
- What is something you have really wanted but delayed buying? Did you end up buying it? Was it worth waiting for?
- In the course of a conversation if someone were to state something as fact that you didn’t agree with, how would you respond?
- What book do you really want to read? How long have you wanted to read it for? Why haven’t you started reading it?
- If we could say that affection is a habit, how and where are you nurturing your habit of affection?
- If you could take a class or workshop of personal interest to yourself, what would it be? Would you do it by yourself?
Books that Inspired the Questions:
And while I cannot with an absolute certainty contribute the inspiration of my questions to a singular source, I am going to add – as best I can recall – the resources I feel inspired such questions.
Adorning the Dawn by Andrew Peterson
Feel free to share, text, or print the questions for your own personal use and enjoyment.
Elaine Kalmbach
Funny you should mention the songwriter/performer who booked the concert before composing the songs!
I remember what I did when I was about your age, and the ladies’ ministry for outreach was trying to come up with ideas for courses we could offer for Ladies’ Time Apart. I would think of the most exotic food ideas and incorporate them into a gourmet cooking course – people would sign up, and once I knew the number attending I would start looking for amazing recipes – Eric would ask if I had ever made them before, and of course I would answer, “Of course NOT – the ingredients cost way too much to make a trial run!” “Gourmet” cooking classes always were an adventure – both for the attendees and ME! Of course, one of the secrets to success was always to give them far more than they expected – (and, best of all, they heard the BEST NEWS ever during the devotional!)
Jessica
I LOVE this example! And while I never did one of your cooking classes I do remember the Ladies Time Apart with fondness.