David Henderson invites the Covenant family to join him this summer as we consider how best to love those God places in our path:
God regularly places people in our lives whom he calls us to love. This summer we have two great books to help us learn more about how to do just that. Both books are designed to help us, as David Brooks puts it, to have "the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen – to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood." That skill, a rare one in our society, lies at the heart of any success we will ever have at making someone else feel loved.
The first book, a short and encouraging guide to better conversation and connection, is The Six Conversations: Pathways to Connecting in an Age of Isolation and Incivility by Heather Holleman. It isn't overstating it to say that when you're done with this book you'll be much more confident speaking with whoever God brings into your life.
The other book we encourage you to read, or reread (it was our Summer Read last year), is the awesome book by David Brooks, How To Know A Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. This is a deep and thoughtful dive into what it means to show care and respect to others: with someone we're meeting for the first time, with someone who is struggling emotionally, with someone who is on the other side of lines of difference, and more. We get to join with David as he, an introvert who tends to stay in his head, sets out to learn how to engage with others on a heart level. Great stuff!