At the point where hope would otherwise become hopelessness, it becomes faith. Kindness is a way of life. It's much, much, much better than thoughtlessness. Or indifference. Certainly better than being mean. May you be blessed to be kind. You have it in you—be the kind of person who lives a life of kindness. It feels oh so good.
An Essay on Marriage by Hannah Brenchner |
We think we are saying things like “can you do the dishes?” or “Do you like this outfit?” but it really is something so much deeper going on. We are asking essential questions of one another beneath the surface: Can you
help me? Am I attractive to you? Can you be with me? Can you rally for me right now? Marriage is not a honeymoon, where all the problems can be shelved for another week. Marriage is a building site where hard hats are required and not all of the construction crew is guaranteed to show up. Marriage is hard and holy work, each new day a chance to communicate better and find common ground.
Marriage is honoring the vow we made to choose one another, and forsake all the others, to build something together that didn’t exist before.
Our friends Nate and T gave us some of the best marriage advice a few months ago and I find myself wanting to scream it from mountaintops. They told us it is okay, and probably smart, to spend an obnoxious amount of
time with one another during these first years of marriage. This isn’t so you become obsessed with one another or hermits in your own love story. When you spend a ton of time together, you learn how to communicate well. You learn how to face the baby elephants in the room before they grow up, become too big, and stomp all over you. You learn how to fight and fight well. You learn fighting isn’t a bad thing nor does it need to become your default, the thing that sucks your joy away, but it’s a
way of sorting things out and getting to the root of who you truly are as one.
You don’t shove things under the rug. Instead, you learn to look one another in the eye and face the disappointments. You forgive. And forgiveness is this tiny yet sprawling miracle that makes you think the stuff of the Bible is still happening all the time.
Beware of baby elephants. I guess that’s all the marriage advice I have gathered so far. Baby elephants will grow up to be bigger elephants if you don’t pay attention. Right now, Lane and I are training baby elephants. We are noticing the things about us that, if we don’t pay attention to them, could grow up to be a big disaster. In an effort to not trample one another, we are figuring out how to face the baby elephants.
We are communicating about the baby elephants...READ MORE
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SUPPORT AND PEACE FOR MY SON
Please pray for my son TJ 53 years old who has Mental Health Problems that cause him frequent life chaos; loosing job, eviction, no supportive personal relationships, hustling to put belongings in Storage-over and over again. I am his only family and am 74
years old and tired of the stress it causes me. Pray that God helps my son find support and peace in this life.
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From Susan: I'm sharing a message I received from a member of our community. I found her story
fascinating and I think you will too.
Dear Susan, My meditation sustains me. I believe in the Universal Positive Energy and very little else. Born a Hindu, attending Christian Catholic institutions throughout my childhood, traveling to many Buddhist places as an Indian diplomat, being anointed a Buddhist by a 100 year old monk at an ancient shrine in Bhutan, exposed to Islam as India has the second highest Muslim population in the
world.
My only takeaway from religion, Susan, is that God - whatever one may call him - is Love. And Kindness. And Help.
My husband and I worked all our lives - separately in many countries - to better our kids' lives and worked hard to be able to retire together close to them. We relocated for good to Stamford, Connecticut, far from our. Active India, retired and had a glorious retirement together- For three months!
Anil
was diagnosed with leukemia and I lost him after a fifteen month struggle, in July 2014. Every since that moment, and after great tumult, I have found complete peace and joy in the Divine Universal Positive Energy and in the love of my two kids and their spouses and my five grandchildren. And my dear friends.
I live alone, but am never lonely. There is a Guiding Spirit always close to me and very often I have found it in your messages. Love, Mitra
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~Today's quote is by author Robert Brault ~ |
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