posted August 19, 2014 under Avoid tension, Change your attitude, Communication, healthy relationships, Stress, Talk it out, Tension
I’ve had a busy, stressful few weeks. For years, Robert and I have been care-takers of his elderly father. He was once a hard working, fruitful missionary. In two years, he moved from independent to being totally dependent on others for everything. Recently, weakness, instability, and confusion marked further rapid decline. It has also increased our responsibility, stress,…
continue reading »
posted August 5, 2014 under anger, Conflict, Freedom, grace, Judging, Kay Camenisch, love, Peace, Relationships, Strife
Is bickering, conflict and strife threatening to destroy your marriage? Your family? Your job? A close relationship? Don’t let strife tear apart important relationships. You can make a difference toward positive change. “Turn away from evil and do good; …seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:11). How? How do you turn from strife and…
continue reading »
posted July 31, 2014 under love, mercy, righteousness, Salvation, saved
“He saved [and saves] us not on the basis of deeds which we have done [do] in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Jesus Christ has saved me through His blood. Furthermore, He has clothed me with His righteousness. I am grateful…
continue reading »
posted July 29, 2014 under anger, evil-for-evil, Judgment, Kay Camenisch, stormy relationship
Our marriage was punctuated with conflict and strife. What happened to the peace and joy that we had enjoyed for so long? How had the seemingly never-ending sparring match begun? Robert and I no longer trusted each other for good. The thunderstorm raging outside as I write illustrates what our marriage had become like. Flashes of lightening…
continue reading »
posted July 22, 2014
Teens from our church bubbled over with stories about their week of summer camp. They spoke of fun, new-found friends, signs of God at work, and how good it felt to be used by Him. There were also reports of challenges in relating with others. Most of the trouble came from a pack of pre-teens that…
continue reading »
posted July 15, 2014
“Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread,” is familiar. As I read it, I It was first written by Alexander Pope in 1709. He was targeting literary critics and closed his poem with, “Nay, fly to Altars; there they’ll talk you dead; For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.” Edmund Burke borrowed…
continue reading »
posted July 8, 2014 under boundaries, discipline, insecure, Parenting, security, spanking
A recent dream stirred up memories of an incident from baby-sitting when I was a teen. One weekend, I cared for children while their parents went out of state for a wedding. I was in charge of 6 or 7-year-old Bill, and his younger brother Dave for three days and two nights. The first day…
continue reading »
posted June 30, 2014 under glory, in Christ, needy, strength, Weak
“I don’t like being needy,” I complained as my husband and I drove home from the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta. We had a great time at the show, but physical limitations threatened to defeat me. Long hikes between appointments coupled with the commotion and stimulus of crowds had taken their toll. I cried…
continue reading »
posted June 24, 2014 under anger, Bitterness, half-filled glass, heavy, Judgment, paralyzed, unforgiveness
A Facebook post this week communicates a good lesson for life. It’s making the rounds, but I’m copying it in case you haven’t seen it. A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half…
continue reading »
Blame is a way to discharge pain and discomfort or guilt.