forgive Archives ⋆ Mike and Susan Dawson

Why Offer Forgiveness to Those Who have Hurt You Deeply?

michaeldawsonlpc@gmail.com2024-01-08T01:13:59+00:00Foregiveness|

When your spouse hurt you for the first time or broke your trust, what did you feel? We bet it was sadness, pain, shock, anger, and an oversized truckload of betrayal. But when the dust settled, and cooler heads prevailed, they expressed remorse for their actions, apologized, and asked for your forgiveness. Or maybe even, it didn’t happen quite that way. Ah, yes — forgiveness. The one thing we know that we should do but somehow remains one of the hardest things to do. Does that mean we should do the whole “forgive and forget” thing? By forgiving our spouse, does that really help the pain go away? Why should [...]

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How to Guide for Authentic Couples to Embrace Emotions

michaeldawsonlpc@gmail.com2024-01-08T01:14:54+00:00Emotion, Relationships|

Understandably, many are not necessarily on board with the emotional intelligence wave we keep hearing about, and we keep writing about too! I certainly believe there is a place for adapting and adjusting to what life throws at you. We all must do that. Embracing emotions and being OK with the pain attached to the difficult times in our lives helps us live our lives to the fullest, protect our relationships, connect with others, and deal with conflict appropriately. When we embrace emotions, we: Manage Conflict Better while we Embrace Emotions James 4:1 tells us the reason we fight is because of our "desires that battle within." We all have legitimate desires [...]

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10 Surprising Ways to Increase Romance

michaeldawsonlpc@gmail.com2024-01-08T01:16:36+00:00Communication, Intimacy|

Romance is an interesting word. It conjures up all kinds of thoughts for both men and women: candlelight, soft music, longing looks. Some might even think of a walk in the park or a bike ride together. But no matter how you see it, romance is really the act of pursuing each other; it’s a longing to be with someone and acting in a way that makes that person desire to be with you. Romance before marriage is usually pretty easy—there were no kids to distract you, no pressures of finances to fight over, no annoying habits to live with. After marriage, these things start to eat away at your longing [...]

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Forgiveness-Who is it Really For?

michaeldawsonlpc@gmail.com2024-01-08T01:17:50+00:00Foregiveness|

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." - Mahatma Gandhi To forgive is one of the hardest things we do. The process can be so misunderstood, and yet it is so necessary. Why should I be forgiving when the other person is the one who has inflicted pain on me? An excellent question! But first, let’s look at what it is and what forgiveness means. Webster’s says: To give up resentment Stop being angry with Pardon Give up all claim to punish Overlook Cancel a debt Another way to look at forgiveness is to see it as a step toward re-establishing an intimate relationship!! The [...]

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