Williams P. Smith on "6 Ways to Bring Light to Heated Talks with Teenagers"

You can read the whole article here. What Smith says in this article is good advice for other relationships as well. Here’s one of the ways from the article:

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Call yourself out when you’ve disrespected them.

Your children already know when you are disrespectful, so let them know that you’re also aware—and that you’re not okay with what you’ve done. It’s normal Christian life to confess our sins to each other (James 5:16), so I’ve found it helpful to say out loud to my kids, “I’m yelling,” or “I’m interrupting,” or “I’m being condescending.”

You then need to apologize to them like you’d want them to apologize to you. When you do, you’re not only living faithfully before Christ, you’re also helping them learn what to do when they say something wrong. How else will they know what a good apology sounds like if they haven’t heard many from you?

Experiencing Joy in the Detours of Life

In Minnesota we say there are only two seasons: winter and road construction. 

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Another way to put is winter and detours. Enough detours sometimes to confound the GPS and add tons of time to getting anywhere. 

We have detours right by our house right now. The way we usually go to get quick access to the highway is blocked on weekdays. How many times have I headed the old route before seeing the detour signs? Don’t ask. 

Life has its detours, too. And life detours can suck the joy out of our lives.

But they don’t have to.

The apostle Paul is on a detour. The traveling missionary and church planter is languishing in prison. But languishing is the right word. He’s thriving. He’s hurting, but he’s also rejoicing. He’s joyful. 

Why? How? That’s what we’re looking at this week as we explore Philippians 1:12-30.

Anyone you know experiencing life detour that you could invite to this weekend?