“My mother-in-law told me that I wasn’t meeting up to her expectations as a wife and mother. She said that I was a mess and a disappointment to everyone. I have been kind, and I have even followed some of her suggestions. But no matter what I do, it is not right or ever good enough.” “One of my oldest…
A face mask can shield us from some destructive airborne germs. What shields us from the airborne destruction of words that disrespect and dishonor us? How can we help people see how life-giving or destructive and deadly words can be? Why has the world made verbally attacking and hurting people easy, fun, and considered “normal?” The staggering number of COVID-19…
If you keep going through friendships, stop, and consider what these past friends have said. Do you demand continual contact or an immediate response to your calls, texts, or emails? Do you get hurt, mad, or any other negative emotion when the person is not responding according to your expectations. Do you think “if only she would _____ then our friendship would be great.” If any of these statements are true for you, it’s vital for you to recognize that you have an unhealthy definition of friendship with unattainable expectations.
As we walk with Jesus and become more like him, we will recognize when we are unhealthy or others around us. We will know how to draw and live in healthy boundaries. We will be able to limit or end the unhealthy relationships that are destructive and toxic in Christ’s love. As we walk with Jesus in our healthy relationships, he will bless us. Disciples of Christ, it’s time to love and live like Jesus Christ in healthy relationships!
All people are not created or considered to be equal in the world’s values. Just look at the amount of discrimination, prejudice, segregation, fighting, and hate in the news and in our communities. The world influences us from an early age that we must fight for what we want or prove that we are good enough to deserve it.
The world often teaches us to take an offensive or aggressive stance in life to get ahead and achieve our goals and dreams. Although there are times we must push through, and we must prove our credibility, we always have a choice to be kind or cruel. Only we can choose our hearts and motives and how we will speak and act.
Once we are living in Christ’s love design, other people will notice a change in us. In Christ’s love design, we will understand what is healthy and what is unhealthy. We will understand the difference between forgiveness, trust, reconciliation, persecution, and how to draw and live in healthy boundaries.
People will continue to do what they know or what they can get away with in our sinful flesh. Unless you learn how to speak God’s life-giving words and implement them in your life, you will keep using words of death. When you proclaim to be a Christ-follower, your words must give life.
The other day, my husband and I were in the post office using the self-serve package kiosk. The line was out the door, and you could tell people had been waiting a long time. As we finished our transaction, an older woman walked through the door and headed up to the counter. A man about halfway up the line said,…
When we ask Jesus to be our Savior, he accepts us as we are. The problem is, we have all been trained from people with their imperfect guidelines and definitions of love and boundaries. Some of us may have grown up in healthy, loving environments founded on God. However, I would guess that most of us have learned imperfect and skewed ways growing up, and we have the scars to prove it.