What Make a Family Gathering Joyful?

A young woman told me recently that she regrets going to her in-laws for family gatherings but feels obligated to do so or else her husband and children would be sad and confused. This clearly identifies how difficult it is to tolerate the lack of mutual compatibility between some family members.

Incompatibility creates negative expectations, even at the thought of sharing time together. If this is your situation, focus on what created the love your spouse’s family feel toward each other. Is this similar to how you feel toward your family?

Look for the loving attributes in each person and in yourself, and stay focused on those throughout a gathering. So consciously commit to loving others as God loves you and you will be blessed. 

While God’s way is not always easy, eventually attitudes will change prompted by the love of God that resides in you.                  

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May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

~Romans 15:13 Revised Standard Version

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The Foundation for our Values: Jesus' Commands - Part 1

Avoiding strife and conflict seems impossible when we live in a world of turmoil. Although I grew up in small farming communities, some people kept struggles and strife alive by dishing out their unhappiness upon others. Strife is usually embedded in discontent, indicating the absence of inner peace.

Inner peace and serenity are embedded in values that determine thoughts and behavior. Strife occurs when values are separated from Jesus’ command for us to love others as we love ourselves. When you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you have the ability to love yourself and others as sons and daughters of God.

Loving yourself as God intended makes it possible to love others as God's creations. Because Jesus died to save each person, we all are equal in that respect. Strife is defeated by inner peace which God provides, as Isaiah 26:3 indicates. "You (God) will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed (fixed) on you because he trusts in you." 

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You are invited to listen as I will be the guest on "Vital Issues in the Christian Home" this week on Thursday morning, February 23 from 10:30-11:30 Central Standard Time on KHCB radio at 105.7 FM in the Houston area. To stream it live or for a listing of sister stations in TX, OK, LA, and FL, you may click on the KHCB link in the "About Me" section of this page.