Face the facts, don't lie

Face the facts. Don't lie and deny and the truth about yourself and the world. It'll make you a better human being.

Learning to Love the Enemy, Stanley Hauerwas on Matthew 18

"It is a sin to think that you are capable of naming your own sin. You are only able to know your sin by being told by another." Stanley Hauerwas.

"When we think our brother or sister has sinned against us, such an affront is not against us but against the whole community." 

"It is an unpleasant fact that most of our lives are governed more by our hates and dislikes than by our love. I seldom know what I really want but I know what or whom I deeply dislike or even hate."

"Jesus brings not a peace of rest but a peace of truth. Just as love without truth cannot help but be a curse, so peace without truthfulness cannot help but be deadly."

The "how" of being a Christian

"I do not put much stock in 'believing in God." (It) is a far to rationalistic account of what it means to be a Christian. I am far more interested in what a declaration of belief entails for how I live my life. ...the 'what' of Christianity is not the problem. It is the 'how.' ...we cannot understand the 'what' of Christianity without knowing the 'how' to be Christian. Yet then I worry about the how of my own life." Stanley Hauerwas, Hannah's Child. A Theologian's Memoir, On Being Stanley Hauerwas.

Love is ...

"Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real." ― Iris Murdoch.

"Love is the nonviolent apprehension of the other as other." Iris Murdoch as quoted by Stanley Hauerwas.

The Way to Exaltation is Suffering

God will never use a man effectively until He first wounds the man. 

We Have To Follow Our Dreams

Standing ovation for Glen Close's 2019 Golden Globes best actress acceptance speech:

"I'm thinking of my mom who really sublimated herself to my father her whole life. And in her 80s she said to me, 'I feel I haven't accomplished anything.' And it was so not right," the actress said. "What I've learned through this whole experience is that women, we're nurturers. That's what's expected of us. We have our children; we have our husbands, if we are lucky enough; and our partners, whoever. But we have to find personal fulfillment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say 'I can do that, and I should be allowed to do that.'"

Marriage reflects the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound (overflow) more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (wisdom), 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best (exceptional) and may be pure (sincere) and blameless (faultless) for the day of Christ,11 filled with the fruit of righteousness (uprightness, right living) that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).

Philippians 1:9-11 is Paul's prayer for the Christians in the church of Philippi. Love necessarily includes knowledge, wisdom, discernment, being pure, blameless and righteous—all to the glory of God. The basis of Paul's prayer alludes to the Trinity--to the blessing of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The best blessing in all of life is the blessing of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The greatest blessing on a marriage is the blessing of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The key ingredient of a happy marriage is the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Every marriage that is a slice of heaven is a marriage grounded in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Every marriage--to be happy and fulfilling--needs the love of the Father, the selfless sacrifice of the Son and the abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit.

1) The love of the Father. The Father shows us unconditional love. A marriage with the love of the Father will abound and overflow throughout the years of one's marriage. Love is a verb, not just a noun. Love is not just a feeling, but love acts on behalf of the beloved. Love is patient, love is kind (1 Cor 13:4). Love does not impose itself on others. Love has wisdom and discernment in order to understand the other (Phil 2:9-10a). Love never fails.

2) The selfless sacrifice of the Son. The Son shows us selfless sacrifice for others. A marriage grounded in the selfless sacrifice of the Son comes from one who is pure and blameless (Phil 2:10b). It is too easy to make excuses, blame others and react when one is irritated and upset with others. But one who is pure and blameless in Christ will sacrifice self for the benefit of the other.

3) The fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us attributes of love, joy, peace and self-control. A marriage with the abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit is filled with love, joy, peace...and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). Without self-control, love, joy and peace would be fleeting at best.