- To avoid having to demand respect, earn the respect of others. First show respect for them. It’s never more true than when dealing with children and emphatically your own.
- When fashion prevails in your heart, adolescence prevails in your mind.
- You can’t love someone more than you love yourself, and no one gives you more love than God. If Christ isn’t in your heart, how do you love others as much as you possibly can?
- If someone’s kindness doesn’t stimulate true gratitude in you, disrespect floods whatever form your “thank you” takes.
- You can’t disrespect someone without clouding up your self-respect. Eventually your conscience will win out, unless of course it has been seared or scorched or stricken from your heart by showing so much disrespect for so many people both close and not so close.
- If someone’s kindness doesn’t stimulate true gratitude in your heart, you’ve not taken the time to ponder and appreciate the value they feel in giving. It sends a loud message of disregard at least and disrespect at worst.
- When celebrity worship dominates your thinking, self-centeredness dominates your heart.
1697. RANDOM THOUGHTS—Group 62
Filed under Dear daughter
This has so many beautiful truths in it, what an amazing way to start the day!
Tireless Sir Guy,
May I have your thoughts on something? In a few weeks, we will be visiting my husband’s mother (J) and stepfather (K) for two weeks. K has a car shop in their basement where he restores beautiful classic cars in his spare time. He plays the radio down there at all times, for background noise, you know. But since his hearing is going, he plays it loud enough to be heard upstairs in some parts of the house. And in fact the nursery where our three kids will be napping and sleeping is right above his radio. :/ I would like to have permission to turn down the radio if it’s interfering with sleep and he’s not present (as he still works during the day). But I can’t get past the feeling that it would be disrespectful to come into HIS house and ask to have things MY way. Additionally, J and K have a rather contentious relationship, so I don’t think it would be hard for K to see my request as coming from “another bossy woman.” What do you think?
Your Highness Sarah,
First, try this: Quit presuming that the radio keeps kids from sleeping. They will get their sleep in spite of adult noise that may or may not surround them. Your sense of ‘ownership’ of the nursery may keep you from using your relationship expertise.
Second, keep hubby and J out it. Don’t try to force them into the middle to defend your position.
Third, defend yourself by taking the issue to the source. Casually, but when you and K are alone, seek his advice. Don’t complain and don’t explain other than the following. Tell him that kids can sleep through anything but ask if he knows whether or not infant ears are particularly vulnerable to damage from high noise nearby. If he doesn’t know it, can he find the answer? Let him figure out that his radio volume may be adversely impacting the kids. Admire his ability to know or research such simple things and interpret the findings clearly. IOW, shift the problem from results you worry about to the process that threatens but can be easily resolved by K, unless he is put on the defensive before he gets the opportunity to ‘rescue’ a gal from her distress.
Guy