#forgiveness

The Upside Down World ~ The Blog

Oct 27, 2014
3 min

Does Forgiving Demand Restoring Relationship?

One of the problems that people commonly struggle with when it comes to forgiveness is the issue of the restoration of relationships. Can you really say you’ve forgiven someone if you are unwilling to be in relationship with them? Does forgiveness demand that your relationship be restored? Or can you forgive but refuse to engage in relationship with the person who wronged you? Part of why I am such a big fan of forgiveness is that it’s a very empowering act. I cannot often co

May 14, 2014
1 min

More Recklessness, Please

Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #christianity #religiousmeme #forgiveness #christianspirituality #spirituality #memes #religion

May 14, 2014
6 min

Manhunt for Peace in the Dark Heart of Africa

You know my thing about Africa that I’ve mentioned a couple of times lately? Well, allow me to share a story out of the Congo and Uganda. Now, in Western minds, this part of Africa was long considered “the dark heart” of Africa. And unfortunately in the last few decades, there have been times when anyone who was paying attention would wonder if there wasn’t some sort of curse on that area. The details of the back and forth that got and kept the conflict going are long and bor

May 2, 2014
1 min

Your Daily Cud

A random thought to ponder over your lunch break: Forgiving a great wrong is rarely a one time event. Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #forgiveness

Apr 7, 2014
4 min

Forgiving Is Hard, Not Impossible

One of my many idiosyncratic beliefs is that Africa has a special role to play in God’s upside down kingdom. For so long, Africa has been last which according to Jesus’ words, means that the day is coming when they will be first. I suspect that we will be looking to them in order to understand God’s kingdom rather than assuming that it is our job as westerners to hand out the kingdom like a goody bag to the rest of the world. I bring this up because, as you might know, it is

Mar 28, 2014
1 min

Sins and Mistakes

Pass It On! Tweet Email More Print Share on Tumblr WhatsApp #christianity #inspirational #forgiveness #christianspirituality #spirituality #memes #life #religion #sin

Jun 11, 2013
4 min

Self Righteousness, Election and Healing

How’s this for the most pretentious opening line I’ve ever used for a blog post? So, I was talking with my therapist yesterday . . . . OK, maybe pretentious is too strong a word. But yes, really, I was talking with my therapist yesterday. Because when you’re going through so much and your support system is failing like a fat woman’s bra and you have a bunch of kids who might be adversely affected by watching their mother break into a million tiny shards, the responsible thing

May 6, 2013
4 min

Disbelieving Forgiveness

Sorry for the long silence. I’ve been dealing with some heavy stuff here. I think it’s getting better. Prayers are appreciated. Or if that’s not really your thing, cash is always an acceptable alternative. 😉 Today, I want to talk about what happens when we refuse to believe we are forgiven. Like everyone else, the people around me have sometimes treated me in ways that weren’t the best or even done outright awful things which I then needed to forgive. Fortunately for me, for

Jan 30, 2013
1 min

Forgiveness – VIDEO

‘K – something you need to know about me; I am freakishly un-photogenic. Seriously. Not that attractiveness is terribly important, but I am much better looking in person than on this video I’m going to share with y’all. Even my 13 y.o. when he was helping me format the video commented, “you don’t look anything like this in real life, mom. It’s really weird.” Which is all cover to make myself feel better before coming out from behind the text and sharing my video with you. The

Aug 18, 2012
5 min

Forgiving God*

We’ve all heard that we need God’s forgiveness, but rarely do you hear people speak of our need to forgive God. More’s the shame because anyone who has ever had or will ever have a real relationship with God will at some point struggle with the necessity of forgiving Him. It may not be theologically sound, but it’s true nonetheless. We are hurting people. I don’t know anyone who isn’t. Or wasn’t. This world is filled with wonder and joy, but it’s also hard. People die when th

May 24, 2012
9 min

The Sacrifice of Jesus and the Prodigal Son

So, a couple of days ago I laid out my argument as to why the idea that God demanded the blood sacrifice of his son for the forgiveness of sins is an error. (If you missed it, you should go read that post before continuing with this one: Did God Really Demand the Death of His Son for the Forgiveness of Sin?) Today I further elaborate my explanation/argument for a better understanding of what happened and why. The writings of the New Testament draw a very clear line from the a

May 16, 2012
2 min

The Prodigal Son – The Hangover Edition

Have you ever wondered what happened in the household of the prodigal son after the party was over? The father has accepted him home, restored him to his place in the household, the family and his community and a celebration was held. But then what? Did the son retain his humility or did he slip all too readily into his old habits of laziness, selfishness, arrogance and short-sightedness? Did the older brother start acting up in order to prove that he too was a treasured son

Feb 12, 2012
4 min

I Need an Editor. Or Something. . . Forgiving. For Real.

(I spent the weekend with Mr. Kennedy a couple of years earlier when his son Teddy got married. We were both just-outside-the-inner-circle participants in the wedding. My ex was the best man and Mr. Kennedy was the now sober and present father. I am quite certain that Mr. Kennedy absolutely laughed his ass off over the whole thing. I mean, he valued his children more than men who never went without them sometimes do. But the whole thing was pretty rich. He would have s

Dec 18, 2011
3 min

Would you run?

Last winter as things were really unravelling with the qxh (quasi-ex husband), I was, of course, very upset with him. I was considering at what point a couple could say that they had hit the point of no return. At what point would it be reasonable to say that I’d had enough and wasn’t going to consider trying to fix things anymore? To my horror, as I prayed God brought to mind the story of the prodigal son and challenged me to be like . . . the father. Really? Uh, that’

Nov 8, 2011
2 min

Stages of Forgiving

That’s the offer of forgiveness we all want to take. But when it comes to forgiveness between us humans, as far as the east is from the west is a bit much to contemplate. God knows this. In fact, when the disciples were told that they had the power to forgive sins, they were also told that they had the power to declare someone bound to their sin. I have found that this power is an essential tool for forgiving deeply without being a perfect saint. It’s a process that you

Nov 7, 2011
2 min

Steps to Forgiveness

Forgiveness is absolutely essential, but sometimes our hurts are just so big. Here are some steps I have found useful in getting to a point of forgiveness. 1. Be realistic about your pain and what it is you are forgiving. If you are angry, be angry. If you are hurt, be hurt. Don’t pretend it’s not as bad as it is. If you are destroyed, but you only let yourself feel put-off, you will forgive being put-off, leaving the whole rest of the mess to be deal with later. Don’t

Nov 1, 2011
1 min

Practice Forgiveness Day!

Forgiving = Freedom Pick a day this week to deliberately forgive anything and everything that bugs you. Traffic? “I forgive you idiots for being in my way. I forgive the morons who designed the road system while under the influence of socialist drug addicts during their brutalist period. I forgive my brakes for screetching.” (FYI – Name calling is tolerated, but not encouraged on forgiveness day. It’s not really forgiving if you’re still pissed about it!) Forgive everyone