This was an interesting week in my house.
Three of my siblings had to prepare speeches, memorize them, and then present them to their class.
I have been hearing speeches 24/7!
It got to the point that I was able to recite these speeches because I had heard them so much!
I was even DREAMING about their topics.
I have to be honest, I was not really paying much attention to what my brothers and sister were saying.
Even though I could actually say parts of their speech, I must admit, I wasn’t really listening for any sort of message.
It was kinda like background noise.
I am being really HONEST with you right now and I have a CONFESSION.
I honestly didn’t think any of my siblings had something WORTHWHILE to say.
Ok I admitted it!
Please don’t think badly of me because what I’m gonna say next will make up for it…
Something hit me the other night.
While my brother Jacob was saying his speech to my Nonno (that’s my grandpa), he kept interrupting Jacob, saying, “no – really? Is that true? No? Wow, I didn’t know that!”
My Nonna (that’s my grandma), told Brooklyn after she said her speech that she learned a lot from it.
Finally my brother Tyler commented that he had no idea Jordan felt the way he did.
I realized that I had missed out on something.
Everyone else seemed to have learned something from LISTENING to my siblings.
Maybe I should listen and grab some meaning from them too.
Afterall, it seemed as though I was missing out!
I’ll start with my brother Jordan’s speech.
He talked about the diet he needs to follow because of his food sensitivities.
When he was 5, he started LOSING HIS HEARING.
Really this is TRUE and I remember it very well, even though I was only 3.
My mom put him on a special diet that was free of wheat, sugar and cow dairy and he got better. He actually got his hearing back!!!
I knew this too. What I didn’t know was how hard his diet has been for him.
He said it is like a roller coaster ride and that he didn’t know if he’d ever out grow it.
A roller coaster ride! I had no idea.
Can you IMAGINE not being able to EVER have WHEAT, SUGAR OR MILK?
But he said that when he sticks with it he feels great and when he doesn’t he feels lousy!
I instantly had a deep feeling of compassion for him!
You know I’m always sharing nutrition tips with you, but the reality is that when we make the WRONG food choices we don’t suffer right away – but HE does!
I never really got it, until I actually took the time to listen – really LISTEN to what he had to say.
Next is Jacob. Now come on – What could I possibly learn from him? He’s my younger brother!
Well his speech could actually make an AMAZING blog for Power Girl.
It was on soft drinks (Coke) and how BAD they are for you.
He talked about how the average person eats 53 tsp of sugar A DAY and that the average person drinks 220L (55 gallons) of pop (or soda) EVERY YEAR!
He set out to convince people that they should STICK TO WATER to quench their thirst.
So far, I know all this too.
He talks about how HIGH IN SUGAR Coke is, how ACIDIC Coke is and about a SECRET ingredient in Coke that isn’t good for us.
When I actually sat back and really LISTENED to what he had to say, I realized WHY my Nonno was so shocked.
I will save some of Jacob’s amazing facts for a future blog, but I will share one thing with you.
Drinking 4 litres (one gallon) of Coke an hour can KILL you because it contains ETHYLENE GLYCOL!
That’s ANTIFREEZE – and it is a slow POISON like arsenic!!!!
Wow, way to go Jacob! Big sister learned something very fascinating from you!
Brooklyn’s speech was AMAZING!
Everyone can learn a bit from what she had to say!
Brooklyn did her speech on GOSSIP.
She made it her mission to convince people that gossip is not safe, that it hurts people and that it is not how God wants us to use our mouths!
We ALL know this is true, but hearing it from the mouth of a 9 year old, does something to you.
It makes you realize how EASY it is to get involved in gossip and HURT people,without even knowing it.
My favourite part of her speech was when she talked about James (from the Bible), comparing the gossiping tongue to a tiny spark that can set an entire forest on fire.
I never really thought about it that way.
She is right though.
When we use our mouths to speak CRUEL, UNKIND or UNTRUE words we can cause DESTRUCTION!
Way to go Brooklyn!
I know she is always telling people how much she looks up to me – well you know – I look up to her too!
Please learn something from what I’m sharing with you.
Look for the good in EVERYTHING you hear.
Try to take a message from something everyone has to say to you.
Give people a chance to show you that what they have to say is worth LISTENING to.
Let’s look at some examples….
Say your teacher is giving a lesson and perhaps they are not energetic and the lesson is slow…
PAY ATTENTION and LISTEN and guaranteed you’ll learn something.
You may even learn something that will be on your next test! 😉
What about the message at church.
My friends sometime admit that they don’t go to church because they don’t learn anything.
Why don’t you make it a goal to go anyway and force yourself to take just one message from what you have heard.
Make it like a game. I think you’ll realize that there is ALWAYS something to learn.
This next one is hard but as I learned this week, you can LEARN FROM ANYONE!
Yes even younger people!
When kids speak never assume they have nothing worth listening to.
Think of the times when YOU were young and YOU just wanted to be heard.
The world is a better place and we feel better about ourselves, when we show OTHERS respect, make THEM feel special, and let them know that what THEY have to say is important!
Be a great LISTENER and become a great PERSON!
Your friend and coach,
Jessy Lipke
P.S. I’D love to LISTEN to you… drop me an email at jessylipke@powergirlfitness.com and let me know how you’re doing with your eating and exercising, or just what’s on your brain and I’ll answer any questions you have or design some blog posts to better help YOU!