One real mark of wisdom is having a sense for what is appropriate given the situation. Perhaps you were present in a moment where someone said something that was totally inappropriate for the occasion. I remember being in a funeral home once and someone began a conversation that really didn’t fit the occasion. I cringed… Continue reading Before I Speak
Author: Jim Martin
When You Wonder How to Respond
One real mark of wisdom is having a sense for what is appropriate given the situation. Perhaps you were present in a moment where someone said something that was totally inappropriate for the occasion. I remember being in a funeral home once and someone began a conversation that really didn’t fit the occasion. I cringed… Continue reading When You Wonder How to Respond
Make Your Home Safe and Significant #2
So many dads and moms seem to feel that they are just not handling things as they would like. I’ve heard the following: 1. “I’m just not a very good mother right now. I am tired and on edge! I hate the way I have talked to my husband and children recently.” Sometimes those who… Continue reading Make Your Home Safe and Significant #2
Make Your Home Safe and Significant! #1
This is an exhausting, tiring season for so many young families. The air is thick with anxiety! A health crisis. A financial crisis. A social crisis. You may be married with kids. You may be a single mom or dad. The truth is that no one is doing a work that is any more important… Continue reading Make Your Home Safe and Significant! #1
5 Ways to Invest in Your Spouse
1. Put some energy and intentionality into you marriage. Like your finances, constant withdrawals with few deposits doesn’t end well. Being passive, while sitting in your emotional recliner, will bring a slow death to a marriage that could have been so much more. Think of what you might have missed! 2. This is a very… Continue reading 5 Ways to Invest in Your Spouse
5 Suggestions for Any Parent
Do you have young children at home? Being a parent can be wonderful. Being a parent can also be challenging! What to do? 1. Practice “good enough.” Stop insisting that everything you do in your home must measure up to a certain standard. So if you spent the afternoon with the kids, your evening meal… Continue reading 5 Suggestions for Any Parent
Praying for Our Children
Much of my life, I have prayed for children. I have long prayed for our own children, two daughters, who are now grown. (Along with them I have prayed for our son-in-law, who now is like a son to me.) I now pray also for the children of our children. Brody, Lincoln, Sully, and a… Continue reading Praying for Our Children
Life is Hard
Sometimes life is just hard. Does this describe your life today? If it does, let me encourage you to hang on. You are not alone. 1. Maybe you don’t know what to do with that child (doesn’t really matter how old that child is). You love your child. Of course you do. However, sometimes you… Continue reading Life is Hard
We Can’t Fix People
Can you really fix these people? Sometimes, a congregation can become a minister’s project. “The congregation is rough around the edges now but they promised that if we (this minister and family) will move there to be their minister, everything will work out.” Sometimes, a man can be a woman’s project. “Sure he is rough… Continue reading We Can’t Fix People
The Window for Our Children
The window is getting smaller. I thought about this as I watched our grandson, Brody, play basketball on Saturday. He will be in the fourth grade this calendar year. That is only nine years away from high school graduation. 9 Years! Nine years before he finishes high school. That is really not much — at… Continue reading The Window for Our Children