Listen In: Building Faith and Friendship Through Conversations That Matter, By Rachael Crabb and Sonya Reeder and Diana Calvin alt
Listen In
ebook
  • Length: 159 pages
  • Published: January 28, 2015
  • Imprint: IVP
  • Item Code: 9765
  • ISBN: 9780830897650

*affiliate partner

  • 2015 Readers' Choice Award Winner

We all know how discouraging it can be to share our story with someone who's not really listening. Being engaged in a conversation, just like friendship, is about so much more than simply talking. How can we use words to connect with each other in ways that can do deep and lasting good? How do we have conversations that matter?

In these pages Dr. Larry Crabb?s wife Rachael and two of her friends in ministry take up this question in a creative and informative way, providing model dialogues with one another exploring the deep issues of their lives. You will be intrigued and informed by learning from their journeys, but most importantly you will learn how you can start similar conversations with your friends.

Reflection and discussion questions provide a guide for you to think about how the themes of these chapters relate to the themes of your own life journey. This makes an ideal book for small groups of women as well as for triads or pairs to read and discuss together. Along the way you will learn new listening skills as well as learning about yourself and your friends. Come along and listen in.

"In Listen In, my dear friend Rachael Crabb has given us a glimpse into the way that she builds deep friendships with women. The powerful and transformative conversations between the three women in this book provide a model and an inspiration for those of us who long for real spiritual connection. I highly recommend this book for individuals, prayer partners and small groups."

Elisa Morgan, author of The Beauty of Broken and cohost of Discover the Word

"This is a one-of-a-kind book. You're invited to listen in as these women speak with rare courage and rich wisdom about how wounds from the past can, through the power of Jesus, be transformed into opportunities to relate well today."

Larry Crabb, psychologist and author of Connecting and Shattered Dreams

"Listening in to these richly nuanced conversations is more than just fascinating. It offers the hope that any woman can open her inner self with courage, pursue her friends with kind curiosity, and discover beauty hidden within her story. Rachael, Sonya and Diana beckon us all to similar conversations—with God delightedly listening in."

Nancy Groom, author of Risking Intimacy

"As a woman who is emotionally allergic to small talk, I deeply appreciate this book. It's a real-life example of what can happen when friends ask curious questions and cast a hopeful vision. I want to be the kind of friend that Rachael, Sonya and Diana are to one another and I'm thankful that they have generously let us listen in."

Emily P. Freeman, author of A Million Little Ways and Grace for the Good Girl

"God works through Christian community to heal and redeem the past, but the question remains, how? How do we engage with the Holy Spirit in conversations that actually redeem the locust eaten years of our lives? In this remarkable book, Rachael, Sonya and Diana invite us to listen in on their conversation as they 'lock arms to face the past' and 'search for and find the truth and beauty in one another.' Listen In is a pocket guide to authentic Christian community—a must-read for every person committed to being formed in the character of Christ."

Miriam (Mimi) Dixon, pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Golden, Colorado

"In these pages Dr. Larry Crabb's wife Rachael and two of her friends in ministry take up this question in a creative and informative way, providing model dialogues with one another exploring the deep issues of their lives. You will be intrigued and informed by learning from their journeys, but most importantly you will learn how you can start similar conversations with your friends."

Light Magazine Canada, March 2015
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CONTENTS

Foreword by Larry Crabb
Introduction: Three Voices, One Song
Why Listen In Is in Dialogue Form
Five Key Ingredients

1. Hands Over My Mouth: Rachael?s Story
The Day I Lost My Voice
Staying on the Surface
A Secret Revealed
Learning to Listen In

2. Finding My Voice: Rachael?s Response
Speaking with a New Energy
Directing the Universe
The Beauty in Being Outspoken
Learning to Listen In

3. I?m a Girl and I Like Football: Sonya?s Story
Looking for Answers
Trying to Be Tough
Resting in the Tenderness of Others
Learning to Listen In

4. Giving Away More of Me: Sonya?s Response
Living Out of a New Place in My Heart
Feeling Different
Celebrating Uniqueness
Learning to Listen In

5. I Can Do Anything: Diana?s Story
(Little) Girl Power
The Pressures of Power
Hope for an Addict
Learning to Listen In

6. Invitingly Competent: Diana?s Response
The Faces of Competence
The Power of a Competent Grace-Receiver
Learning to Listen In

7. Reflecting on the Process
Vision Letters
Next Steps

Afterword: Man to Man, by Larry Crabb
Acknowledgments

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