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A Time of Learning...

 SHANNON’S CORNER

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”

– Chinese Proverb


This month has been a month of learning.  It wasn’t something I planned on doing.  But God carved out this time for me and orchestrated it all even down to some recurring themes that have overlapped through the various avenues of learning.  Learning is in my top five strengths according to the StrengthsFinder assessment.  I want to share with you some of the treasures I have received.

Bethann had shared with me a certification course on Mental Health Coaching through the Association of American Christian Counselors (AACC) as they were offering lay people in the church to take this course for free.  People are hurting.  People are searching.  Many times, they are seeking help from a church, pastor, or priest.  What the church can offer to the broken mental health care system is hope – Jesus is our hope.  It starts with welcoming, accepting, listening, and connecting with the person.  But the work also starts within our own lives, in our spiritual walk with the Lord, receiving healing from our own personal wounding, becoming more self-aware, having healthy boundaries, etc.



The biggest nugget from this course so far has been the lesson on the four main false beliefs that we believe that is enmeshed with our identity and God’s Solution for each one.  This has shown me areas in my own life where I need to continue seeking God’s truth.  And with identity being a big challenge with TCKs this has given me a great biblical foundation to stand upon and draw from as I talk with preteens, teens, and their families.  If you want to learn more about these four false beliefs of our identity let me know as I would love to talk to you about it and learn from you.

I have taken three classes from TCK Training, one on ‘TCK Parenting Styles’, other on ‘Healthy Home Assignments’, and one on ‘Triaging Families’.  The parenting style was more for parents and even caregivers to be aware of what type of style they may do and the various situations in a TCK’s life where you may need to try a different style for that situation.  The healthy home assignment had some great tips for me when working with TCKs and their families in debriefs which are meeting the emotional needs, considering schooling from a wholistic perspective (amount of time back in the US), planning accordingly their time, maintaining the positive childhood experiences, and providing low but good expectations of the children.  I really enjoyed the triaging families as it gave caregivers and organizations ways to assess how families and each child may be needing a little more support and care during different aspects of life or because of what they have experienced.


I’ve been reading a book, Unshockable Love by John Burke.  This has been a book that has convicted me of some things in my life but especially my Pharisee-like mindset.  Am I willing to see the image of God in people and their potential or like the Pharisees do I look down on them because of their “sin”, the issue, behavior, or problem, not the person?  Am I able to call out in people God’s image by complimenting them for their creativity, or how others govern and manage well or those who do their work with excellence or those who take seriously the justice and integrity God created them to display?  Am I able to see people how God sees people?  Grace and truth are the tools He uses to restore his people, but they can feel like the positive polarities of two powerful magnets.  It can be hard for us to hold the two together in tension as grace and truth tend to repel each other.  Why were people so drawn to Jesus?  Jesus held grace and truth together in tension by a stronger force…LOVE.  He showed people a new way of doing and thinking, yet he didn’t force them, nor did he condemn them.

Many, many more things I could share about what I have learned this month but have run out of time and space.  Email, message, text, or call me and I would be happy to share with you more.  ¡Muchas gracias por todo lo que hacen por mi!

"So God created man in his own image; 

he created him in the image of God; 

he created them male and female.”

Genesis 1:27


PRAYER REQUESTS

Praise the Lord for His guidance and direction with the 2 debriefs in April!

Praise the Lord for being a part of Rylie’s senior softball game! Seeing Morgan play too!

Praise the Lord for watching Jack play soccer & baseball and Theo playing T-ball!

Praise the Lord for watching Jack & Theo in the Kola dance (Croatian)! 

Praise the Lord for another year of life!

Pray for wisdom as I meet with people either one-on-one or debriefs.

Pray for Cru group debrief, June 6th-8th in New Jersey.

Pray for family debrief, 2 teens, June 22nd-23rd in Kempton, PA.

Pray for God to continue chipping away my Pharisee mindset and tendencies.

Pray for understanding and implementing what I have learned to my daily life and ministry.




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Shannon Eaton

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Harrisburg, PA  17111

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Email:  shannon.eaton76@gmail.com

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