Forgiveness is a tough thing. Both in the offering…and the accepting.

Forgive your enemies...it messes with their heads.

You can live under the weight of your past or the weight of forgiveness. If you choose the former, you'll constantly be working off the guilt like someone who overeats at the holidays.

Lord, I don't know if Tony is in trouble or if he's upset about his job or if he's just working out at the gym. But I pray that You would draw him closer. Help him see there's no sin so great that You aren't ready to forgive. I pray You would give him hope. I pray You would allow him to see how much You love him and want him to come back to You. And give me the ability to love him well, through whatever we face.

One of the Bible studies her group had gone through contained a whole section on forgiveness and how important it was. It asked, if we truly possess forgiveness from God, can we give that forgiveness to others? And if you're not ready to forgive another person, can you really say you're ready to be forgiven by God?

He thanked God for the chance to change, the chance to be part of his family, the chance to love and be loved and make mistakes.

God, I want a new job and I don't want to go to jail," Tony prayed. "But I know there are consequences to my actions. I know what I did hurt people. I've hurt my family. I hurt my employer. And I thank You for forgiving me and grabbing hold of my heart and not letting me go any further toward things that would have destroyed me.

You can go to work and actually make someone else's job less miserable. Use your job to help others.

You want to give me chocolate and flowers? That would be great. I love them both. I just don't want them out of guilt, and I don't want them if you're not going to give them to all the people who helped mother our children.

Talk like an ambassador (Eph 4:29-30). 1)Consider the person (only what is helpful for building others up) 2) Consider the problem (according to their needs) 3) Consider the process (that it may benefit those who listen)

No matter how you spin it, forgiveness is costly. Regardless of how big or small the offense, canceling a debt and absorbing the cost is going to hurt. But the parable shows us that not forgiving also has a price, and it is higher than the price forgiveness demands.

And then she knew. Her friends and neighbors were angry at her because she had overstepped, given too much, offended them by excess.