Have you ever felt any of the following:

“I can’t wait to get my point across!”

“I wish they would quit talking so I could speak!”

“I know what to do, why won’t they listen?”

“Why is it so hard to get them to understand?”

“It’s not worth the effort trying to share.”

“I have no idea what to say or even how to say it.”

“Please, just make your point, I’m busy.”

One of the biggest builders of strong relationships is the ability to communicate well. Scott Kersha wrote an article entitled, “Talking is Easy, Communication is Not.”  In his article, Scott shares 10 pitfalls to avoid in order to build a strong marriage.  I’ve taken these and converted them into eight positive ways to better communicate for any and all relationships.

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Honesty requires the truthfulness to admit the attachment and addictions that control our attention, dominate our consciousness, and function as false gods . . . When we give anything more priority than we give to God, we commit idolatry.  Thus we all commit idolatry countless times every day.—Brennan Manning in The Ragamuffin Gospel

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Oswald Chambers once wrote in the classic My Utmost For His Highest, "Beware of making a fetish of consistency to your convictions instead of being devoted to God."

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Monday, I received a message from my antivirus program telling me that a Microsoft Word App was trying to access my protected files.  I checked the block to prevent that access.  The next day all my Word documents were Read Only which meant I could not edit them and anything I copied and pasted also reverted to a Read Only status.  In essence I was shut down from working . . . 

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It is ingrained in our thinking that competition and rivalry are essential to the carrying on of civilized life; that is why Jesus Christ’s statements seem wild and ridiculous.—Oswald Chambers in Not Knowing Where

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Started in 1994, the No Regrets Men’s Conference is an annual event whose purpose is to challenge men in their relationship with God at home, at work and in their ministry.  Hosted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the organizers seek to create an environment over about a four-hour period that ministers in a great variety of host sites around the world.  Spiritual growth is set in motion when men and boys come together to worship and to hear challenging messages.  What is also encouraging is the effort by the leaders to provide ongoing Bible Studies and messages designed to stimulate men spiritually so they don’t just experience a “one and done” but have impetus to keep maturing.

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Have you ever considered that during some of the worst, most difficult times of your life that God may have actually been right in front of you, standing on the rock?

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Fellowship is a rich concept much deeper in meaning than we probably realize.  

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The post-apostolic fathers took the realm of the demonic so seriously that they automatically took new converts from paganism through rites of deliverance from evil supernaturalism, a practice we have lost to our detriment.—Dr. Ed Murphy in The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare

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It might seem strange to start the year with a devotional on 1 & 2 Kings but it actually is quite appropriate.  In this new year a president-elect is soon to be inaugurated. Somewhere around 1010 B.C., David, arguably the nation of Israel’s greatest king, just before he died passed great wisdom to his son Solomon. His words if heeded by any newly elected leader or monarch in modern times would make a significant difference.  ​

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