I Don’t Believe in Advice

Posted on August 22, 2018 by VoW under How To/Advice

I don’t believe in advice. So when someone comes to me and says, “I need advice,” what I think they’re really saying is, “I need love.”

And offering love looks a lot like being quiet, listening, empathizing, and letting someone talk long enough until he/she discovers that they already know the answer they’re looking for.

The thing is, we each hold the answers right inside of us. Sometimes, people simply need a safe place and some time to discover what they already know. So I think offering advice is essentially just trying to hold that space and time for folks in need.

Be Grateful

Posted on March 4, 2015 by VoW under Conversations with God, Daily Inspiration

I’ve given you a gift and you so deserve it, Child.

You’ve taken the gift and given it back to me. You are wise for this. For only a fool keeps my gifts for himself.

By giving it back to me, I will increase its fortitude and magnitude tenfold. I will multiply your gifts and shower you with more blessings because I have seen you are a good receiver and you are grateful.

A Short Course in Human Relations

Posted on December 5, 2014 by VoW under Relationships & Love

A Short Course in Human Relations (From Relationships 101 by John C. Maxwell)

The least important word: I

The most important word: We

The two most important words: Thank You.

The three most important words: All is forgiven.

The four most important words: What is your opinion?

The five most important words: You did a good job.

The six most important words: I want to understand you better.

A Letter to My Husband (I am not married, but I have observed many marriages)

Posted on September 2, 2014 by VoW under Personal Life Reflections

Dear Husband,

Is this what God intended? He made me from your rib, and yet it is you who is making me… humbling me, destroying me… and by doing so, revealing Him.

My dear, though at times it is painful, I promise that I will love you as sure as He has loved me. I will no longer barter or bargain for your love. I will no longer expect, demand, or trade for your love. I will… simply… love… Offering myself to you, again and again at this altar called marriage. And I will do this to my death, though my death it may very well bring…

…God risked Himself on me and so I will risk myself on you.

Love,
Your Wife

Sympathy vs. Charity

Posted on August 29, 2014 by VoW under Daily Inspiration

Homeless_woman
When we see someone in need, who’s homeless for example, I think it’s wrong to automatically feel bad for them.

I think we’ve somehow come to believe that because a person is in need, they’re candidates for sympathy, not just charity.

We don’t just want to buy them groceries, we want to buy them dignity.

And yet, by judging them, we’re the ones taking away their dignity in the first place…

Humility

Posted on February 14, 2014 by VoW under Daily Inspiration, Thought for the Day

Humility is remaining in the flow of giving and receiving, understanding that neither is inherently better than the other and that in fact, they must both co exist, side by side.