Old First’s pastor emerita, Rev. Geneva Butz, preached for us this past Sunday, while Michael was away at a retreat in Virginia. The inspiration for her sermon was the large “Love First” sign proudly displayed between our front doors.
Building on that motto, she challenged us with the notion that one of the roles of the church is to teach us how to love. And what better place to start, than in our own families. Drawing from Brian McLaren’s book entitled The Great Spiritual Migration, she read us this list of basic skills for building and maintaining loving family relationships. Take some time to review this list, and honestly assess how you are doing on each of these. Then share them with your family! Love First!
- common courtesies
- gratitude
- admitting weaknesses and failures
- sharing of one’s own emotions
- expressing hurt or disappointment
- confronting and forgiving
- asking for help
- differing graciously
- surfacing and negotiating competing desires
- taking the first step to resolve conflicts
- upholding wise boundaries
- saying yes and no
- winning and losing graciously
- creating win-win outcomes
- speaking truth in love
- speaking truth to power
- asking good questions
- requesting feedback
- expressing affection
- opening one’s heart
- giving gifts
- seeking wise counsel