I stumbled on this article tonight on Psych Central and decided to share it. If you ever need to be forgiven or to forgive someone else, these guidelines will help you through that tough situation.
Forgiveness can be a gift that we give to ourselves. Here are some easy steps towards forgiveness:
- Acknowledge your own inner pain.
- Express those emotions in non-hurtful ways without yelling or attacking.
- Protect yourself from further victimization.
- Try to understand the point of view and motivations of the person to be forgiven; replace anger with compassion.
- Forgive yourself for your role in the relationship.
- Decide whether to remain in the relationship.
- Perform the overt act of forgiveness verbally or in writing. If the person is dead or unreachable, you can still write down your feelings in letter form.
What Forgiveness Is Not…
- Forgiveness is not forgetting or pretending it didn’t happen. It did happen, and we need to retain the lesson learned without holding onto the pain.
- Forgiveness is not excusing. We excuse a person who is not to blame. We forgive because a wrong was committed.
- Forgiveness is not giving permission to continue hurtful behaviors; nor is it condoning the behavior in the past or in the future.
- Forgiveness is not reconciliation. We have to make a separate decision about whether to reconcile with the person we are forgiving or whether to maintain our distance.
Source What is Forgiveness? | Psych Central.
In this tough economic climate, even the Girls Scouts are feeling the pitch of Americans spending less money on non-essentials.
According to Mollie Palmer of the Girl Scouts in Little Rock, “Sales aren’t quite equal to last year at this point. From our final numbers of 2008, we stand about nine-percent down right now which is something I think everyone’s seeing.”
Because of scheduling conflicts with the mandatory meetings required to sell Girl Scout cookies, my girls were not eligible to participate in the sales this year. In the past, they have sold a few hundred boxes to loyal GS cookie fans that our family knows.
For us, there is always next year.
And so it begins….
Anthony K. Valley
What in the world?
You would be amazed the number of times I’m asked, “Why do you have this page, blog, thing, or whatever, and not have any real content?” I’ve taken the time to seriously contemplate that same question. Why did I take the time to reserve a domain name that’s obviously my identity and place entry that only for months only contained a picture of me in it.
The answer? Simple. After further examination of this page, an inquisitive reader is sure to find my online presence across the Internet where my musings, ramblings, gripes, comments, rants, and minutiae abound. In the spirit of those who know me in real life, this collection of material covers a broad range of topics that I may or may not be passionate about. I hope that the discerning reader will hone into my passions by separating the signal from the noise.
I make no promise to the frequency of updating this blog. I humbly salute those who find the time and the creative energy to publish content on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. That creative energy, will power, and committment to your readership amazes me. In all sincerity, I say, “God bless you!”
And what does THAT mean?
Another point of interest for people is the meaning of my tagline “Faith, Father, Family Man, Frequent Failure of Frivolous Functions.” What does it mean? Do you mind if I use that? I understand part of it, but can you explain the rest? Whew! Well, I welcome conversation about the tagline. Allow me to explain what it really means to me, your interpretation may vary and rightfully so.
“Faith” points to my Christian worldview. I’m unashamed of being a Christ-follower and that stance shapes my outlook on all aspects of my life and my view of the world around me. When prioritizing commitments, this choice was by far the best decision of my life.
“Father, Family Man” outlines my committment to my bride of nearly 16 years, our two precious daughters, and my large, yet amazing family, “The Valley Bunch.” These are the people who know the best and the worst of me, yet still accept me for the person that I am and encourage my development into the person that I am longing to be. That said, I have an amazing supporting cast with me as I “strut and fret upon the stage.”
Nicole Nordeman recorded the song, “Legacy” that expresses the desire I have to impact the world around me, especially my impressionable children.
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
“Frequent Failure of Frivolous Functions” is usually the root of the discussion about the tagline’s meaning. Those who have intimate knowledge of my character understand that I’m better at solving the complex than the simple. One of my passions, then, is simplifying the complexities of life whenever and wherever I can. I’m not terribly interested (frequently fail) in making simple issues (frivolous functions) even more simple. I mean, if it’s already simple, I’m the wrong dude to call to “dumb it down.”
Now that we’ve official gotten off on a good start, “Hello, I’m Anthony Keith Valley.”
