Why I don’t talk much

I don’t talk very much. My wife calls me the king of brevity. I think there’s two reasons why.

First, I am by personality, taciturn. I’m an introvert so I’m not inclined to be verbose. I don’t need to talk a lot.

Secondly, I can remember a conversation I had when I was seventeen years old with a friend called Raymond (I’ll call him Raymond because that is his name).

Early on, Raymond talked a lot. Sometimes annoyingly so. But when we were seniors in high school I noticed that he talked less. It was so apparent that one day I asked him, “Raymond, are you okay? Is something wrong? You don’t talk as much as you used to.”

He said, “Don, I read and memorized a Bible verse and have decided to obey it. James 1:9 says, ‘Everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak,’ so I’ve made a decision to talk less and be a better listener.” 

I knew obeying God’s Word was a good thing, so I made the decision to follow Raymond’s lead. That was 55 years ago.

I’ve learned that sometimes I need to talk more. Being too quiet may come across as unsociable or non-engaging. For sure, Mary deserves more conversation from me. And at times I need to insert my thoughts into conversations because few people ask “Don, what do you think about…”

I also avoid verbosity when writing, so I’ll stop here

Off to Alaska!

I’ve scheduled two information meetings regarding the July 30-August 11 2025 trip to Alaska. [Here’s the brochure.]

1. 1. Wednesday, October 30, 6:00-6:30 in the choir room at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, TX.

   2. Thursday, October 31, 6:00-6:45 Zoom meeting. If you want to participate just send me your email address.