Have you ever gone to great lengths to avoid going on a date with someone? When my maternal grandmother was in high school, a young man asked her for a date repeatedly. After turning him down multiple times, she finally relented and accepted his invitation. As the day of the date drew closer, she started dreading it. Have you ever experienced that sick feeling in your gut when you're dreading something? When he showed up for their date, my great grandmother (her mother) sat with him in the living room and made small talk. Apparently the stress of going on a date with him proved to be too … [Read more...]

As a child, I remember my mom telling me repeatedly that a soft answer turns away wrath (Proverbs 15:1). I didn’t always want to hear it, but she was certainly correct (as was King Solomon)! There is something so powerful in how we speak to one another. The same statement can be taken with ease or with anger depending on how we say it. If you get married and get in the habit of being snippy with your spouse, you can expect your spouse to eventually get tired of it and retaliate in anger. If you are in the habit of being snippy, you might not even realize when you’re doing it! In addition to … [Read more...]