Growing in the Lord & Walking in the Spirit

Happy Valentine's Day! The day all about love, hearts, and flowers! This is the day when all couples get excited about yet another excuse to go on a date. All married couples make an effort to go the extra mile to show their love to each other. And, all the single people feel bad about not having a significant other. Yet, while all of that is okay I think this holiday should have a different focus.  Valentine was a real person, a preacher who was still officiating marriage ceremonies when they were found illegal.The ruler during the time decided that single men did better in war than those who were married, so he made marriages illegal. Valentine, though, knew that love was worth it. So, he did not stop giving people in marriage. One specific instance was in fact with his daughter and another man. Yet, the ruler eventually found out about it and had him executed. (There is much more to this story, but I did not go into the details here). He knew that the power of love is more impor...

Recently, I attended a seminar that talked about how to disagree well. This does not mean how to make your case. This does not mean how to allow people to step all over you either, though. This seminar helped paint the clear picture that how you chose to respond to the speaker and your presuppositions coming into the 'argument' both play a big part in how you will choose to 'argue' with the 'opponent'. Here is what I got from it:  It's important to understand that our culture and family of origin affect why we have our beliefs, instead of just the Bible.  -Do you want to be right, or do you want to influence and be influenced? Do you want to be right or be happy?  -Can you see the bigger picture? There is always a greater narrative. If you can see that, you can learn to disagree well.  -Do you value the person with whom you are interacting with? "To live well with others before God." -Vanhooser. We need to live well with people and get along as muc...