Grandparenting and Marriage
by Dr. Gary Chapman  

Last week, a colleague who has a two-year-old grandson received a call from his wife.  "Honey, Brad just cut his eye.  Can you go over there?"  

To which my friend responded, "Honey, we're the grandparents, not the parents.  Did they ask me to come?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Well, I'll call and see if they need me."   

A wise grandfather...in my opinion!

But do you see how grandparenting can be tough on a marriage?  

Most of us had conflicts with each other about how to raise our own children.   

My guess is that we will also have some conflicts about how to be good grandparents. 

If you're about to become a grandparent, maybe you ought to read a book on the subject.  Let me suggest a book entitled The Gift of Grandparenting by Eric Wiggin.  Read it and discuss it with each other before the grandchild arrives.  You'll save yourself a lot of conflict.  Or at least you will get some of your conflicts resolved before the baby comes.  

Grandparenting can be fun, but not when you are fighting with each other.  

Article written by Dr. Gary Chapman.  Based on the book, How to Really Love Your Adult Child  by Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Ross Campbell. Published by Moody Publishing.  For a complete listing of Dr. Chapman's books and resources, click here.     

Myths About Forgiveness
by Gary and Barbara Rosberg 

Forgiveness sometimes gets a bad rap because some people have believed some myths about forgiveness that are just that - myths.

SOME MYTHS SURROUNDING FORGIVENESS:

1. "When I forgive, I must also forget."

(The Bible never says we must forget the offenses.)

2. "The hurt is too great. It is impossible for me to forgive."

(God would never command us to do something we cannot do.)

3. "I don't feel like forgiving, so my forgiveness cannot be genuine."

(Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.)

 4. "I can't forgive unless the other person asks for it."

(We must forgive without conditions.)

5. "In order to forgive, I must pretend that nothing bad happened."

(If you have to forgive, then something happened. We are not to pretend.)

6. "I must forgive right away or it doesn't count."

(We are not to let anger foster, but we should be realistic.)

Article taken directly from the book, Discover the Love of Your Life All Over Again  by Gary and Barb Rosberg. Published by Tyndale Publishing.