Amber Sirstad
I Love You Too!
I Love You Too! Within most relationships, one person is the primary initiator, and the other is the responder. For example, in the area of affection, one spouse says, “I love you,” and the other spouse responds by saying, “I love you, too.” The initiating spouse will reach out their hand first, and the other…
Perfect Love
Perfect Love What is perfect love? It seems reasonable for the beloved disciple to be the only one to write about perfect love (1 John 4:18). I have been curious about this descriptive term for much of my life. Perfect love is not where a relationship starts. As a teenager, I remember my mother brushing…
Perfect Peace
Perfect Peace At the beginning of this new year, my wish is for perfect peace to saturate every home. The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Philippians, refers to a peace that passeth all understanding (4:7). An incomprehensible peace. Isaiah refers to such peace. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is…
Learn to Listen!
I may have just lost the majority of my massive reading audience using the word “learn.” Compound that with the word “Listen,” and maybe I should stop right here. I’m not sure which is more distasteful to folks: learning or listening—probably learning. However, listening is a more formidable challenge for many. Any healthy relationship is…
Are Grandparents Really That Important?
Are grandparents really that important? Grandparents are important because grandchildren are important. A special dynamic only exists between grandparents and grandchildren that does not exist between a parent and child. I have filled the role of child, grandchild, parent, and grandparent. As a child, most of the time, I looked forward to spending time with…
Initiate or Stagnate?
Initiate or stagnate! I write this to every individual in a relationship today. Most of humanity is part of several associations. A relationship could be with a spouse, parent, sibling, child, or other family members. It could be with a friend, a work associate, or someone at church. In short, I write this to you.…
Healing Hurts
Healing Hurts (Part 2 of 2) Most people would prefer a solution to their conflict, but since that requires ‘rocking the boat’ many learn to live with the conflict. Historians tell us the ‘Cold War’ ended in the 1980s. However, within the walls of many Christian marriages today, there is a cold war brewing. It’s…
Healing Hurts
Healing Hurts (part 1 of 2) Healing hurts! On June 11, 2020, my body celebrated 58 years of breathing on my own. In all that time, no surgeon had cut into me. Seven days later, I stared into the eyes of my anesthesiologist, asking for verification of her intention to wake me up in a…
Affected or Infected?
Are you affected or infected? There is a difference between being affected and infected. I think it is safe to say all of us have been affected by Covid-19, but the virus has not infected most of us. To affect means to influence or alter. Each day we affect and are affected; we influence and…
Hope Thou In God!
Hope Thou In God! Hope is a powerful commodity! We live in a world full of hopelessness. Even within the confines of the church, we find people that are in despair. They know the right words to say and the right look to put on the face, but on a deeper level, there is hopelessness.…
A Can Of Worms!
I have heard this term many times. A husband or wife may say, “Let’s not go there. That will open up ‘a can of worms.’” A parent may say, “I don’t want to open up that ‘can of worms.’ What do they mean? Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘a can of worms’ as “a situation that causes…
Apostolic Moral Purity
Apostolic Moral Purity “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;” (1 Timothy 2:8). Paul gives men three requirements to be a godly man: Lift up holy hands in prayer. (Having a body free from sin.) Worship without anger. (Have a spirit free from anger.) Worship without…