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.

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.

Nothing will undo the accident; nothing will immediately repair the jar, so what is the urgency of the beating? To teach a lesson or to enjoy it?

Forgiveness is first and foremost a decision. It doesn't begin with an emotion. It is not contingent on how you feel

If you could be a fly on the wall of my office the numerous times I counsel married couples, you would hear the same word I hear over and over and over again: Trapped. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to help married couples not feel so trapped. One husband came to me after only six months of marriage, already saying he felt trapped and wanted out.

Life is too short to sit around and hold grudges; it doesn't make any sense to do it.

Unforgiveness imprisons our souls and opens the door to evil spirits in us. In my experience, unforgiveness is the number one reason why Christians are oppressed.

I was beginning to learn from my grandfather that love covers a multitude of sins and that I was more important to him than his stuff.

He adored me in spite of my blunders. He never made me feel like the rules were more important than our relationship. He often corrected me, but he refused to punish me.

punishing people for their mistakes creates self-destructive ecosystems that invite demonic oppression.