Free The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional by Gary Chapman Page A
Authors: Gary Chapman
she cries or putting a hand on his shoulder as he makes a difficult decision. Your words may mean little to a person who is hurt or in shock, but your physical touch will communicate that you care.
Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that there's a time for everything, and crises provide unique opportunities for expressing love. Tender touches will be remembered long after the crisis has past, but your failure to touch may never be forgotten. Physical touch is a powerful love language. In a time of crisis, a hug is worth more than a thousand words.
Heavenly Father, when we face a difficult situation as a couple, help me to reach out to my spouse with loving touch. May my touch bring comfort.
Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper-it only leads to harm.
PSALM 37:8
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you experienced anger toward your spouse, and how did you handle it? In the next few days, I want to give you a five-step program for handling anger in a positive way.
The first step is admitting to yourself that you are angry. "That's obvious;' you might reply. "Anyone would know that I am angry." Perhaps, but the question is, are you conscious of your anger? Anger comes on so suddenly that often you may be caught up in a verbal or physical response before you consciously acknowledge what is going on inside you.
The Scriptures never say that anger is wrong, but multiple passages talk about the importance of controlling anger. Psalm 37 speaks about avoiding rage and not losing your temper, which can harm others. When you realize you are angry, I suggest that you say these words out loud: "I am angry about this. Now what am I going to do?" You have placed the issue on the table, and you have distinguished the difference between what you are feeling-your anger-and the action you are going to take. You have set the stage for applying reason to your anger rather than simply being controlled by your emotions. This is the first step in processing anger positively.
Father, I get angry more than I like to admit. Please help me as 1 try to deal with it the right way. Guard me from losing my temper and hurting the one I love most.
An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.
PROVERBS 29:22
HOW DO I KEEP from sinning when I am angry? That is the challenge given in Ephesians 4:26, which says, "Be angry, and do not sin" (NKJv). King Solomon echoes the same sentiment in Proverbs 29 when he reminds us that a hot temper can lead to many kinds of sin. We've all seen evidence of that, whether the sin is hurtful, cutting words; physical violence; or reckless behavior. There is a better way.
Yesterday we looked at the first step for handling anger in a positive way: Consciously acknowledge to yourself that you are angry. Today we look at step two: Restrain your immediate response. Don't jump to action; think. Most of us follow the patterns we learned in childhood, and those patterns tend to cluster around two extremes-verbal or physical venting on the one hand, or withdrawal and silence on the other. Both are destructive.
How do you change these patterns? How do you restrain your immediate response? Some do it by counting to ten or one hundred. Others do it by taking deep breaths or going for a walk. One woman told me that when she gets angry, she waters her flowers. She said, "The first summer I tried this I almost drowned my petunias."Yes, you can break old patterns. Find a plan that works for you and learn to restrain your negative responses to anger.
Lord Jesus, when I get angry, I often lose my temper and hurt my mate by lashing out verbally. I know that's destructive to our relationship. Please help me to retrain myself to respond differently.
If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.
MATTHEW 18:15
IN THE PAST DAYS, we've looked at two steps to controlling your anger: Admit to yourself that you are
Ecclesiastes 3 reminds us that there's a time for everything, and crises provide unique opportunities for expressing love. Tender touches will be remembered long after the crisis has past, but your failure to touch may never be forgotten. Physical touch is a powerful love language. In a time of crisis, a hug is worth more than a thousand words.
Heavenly Father, when we face a difficult situation as a couple, help me to reach out to my spouse with loving touch. May my touch bring comfort.
Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper-it only leads to harm.
PSALM 37:8
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME you experienced anger toward your spouse, and how did you handle it? In the next few days, I want to give you a five-step program for handling anger in a positive way.
The first step is admitting to yourself that you are angry. "That's obvious;' you might reply. "Anyone would know that I am angry." Perhaps, but the question is, are you conscious of your anger? Anger comes on so suddenly that often you may be caught up in a verbal or physical response before you consciously acknowledge what is going on inside you.
The Scriptures never say that anger is wrong, but multiple passages talk about the importance of controlling anger. Psalm 37 speaks about avoiding rage and not losing your temper, which can harm others. When you realize you are angry, I suggest that you say these words out loud: "I am angry about this. Now what am I going to do?" You have placed the issue on the table, and you have distinguished the difference between what you are feeling-your anger-and the action you are going to take. You have set the stage for applying reason to your anger rather than simply being controlled by your emotions. This is the first step in processing anger positively.
Father, I get angry more than I like to admit. Please help me as 1 try to deal with it the right way. Guard me from losing my temper and hurting the one I love most.
An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.
PROVERBS 29:22
HOW DO I KEEP from sinning when I am angry? That is the challenge given in Ephesians 4:26, which says, "Be angry, and do not sin" (NKJv). King Solomon echoes the same sentiment in Proverbs 29 when he reminds us that a hot temper can lead to many kinds of sin. We've all seen evidence of that, whether the sin is hurtful, cutting words; physical violence; or reckless behavior. There is a better way.
Yesterday we looked at the first step for handling anger in a positive way: Consciously acknowledge to yourself that you are angry. Today we look at step two: Restrain your immediate response. Don't jump to action; think. Most of us follow the patterns we learned in childhood, and those patterns tend to cluster around two extremes-verbal or physical venting on the one hand, or withdrawal and silence on the other. Both are destructive.
How do you change these patterns? How do you restrain your immediate response? Some do it by counting to ten or one hundred. Others do it by taking deep breaths or going for a walk. One woman told me that when she gets angry, she waters her flowers. She said, "The first summer I tried this I almost drowned my petunias."Yes, you can break old patterns. Find a plan that works for you and learn to restrain your negative responses to anger.
Lord Jesus, when I get angry, I often lose my temper and hurt my mate by lashing out verbally. I know that's destructive to our relationship. Please help me to retrain myself to respond differently.
If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.
MATTHEW 18:15
IN THE PAST DAYS, we've looked at two steps to controlling your anger: Admit to yourself that you are
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