Summary of April 5 Care Group

Thanks to Cheryl for the beautiful trifle dessert! Our theme for the night's conversation was chapter 5 in our book, "Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment." Here's what we talked about: -Have a posture of leaning toward your spouse with an attitude of mercy. This keeps you ready for the unexpected moments that can catch you off guard. -Mercy sweetens marriage and can change the atmosphere of a home from a battle ground to a sweet place. The gospel can keep us in the right posture. -At hectic moments God gives us grace to respond like Him and take time to be merciful. -Mercy doesn't remove the need to speak truth. It replaces the need to win a battle with the desire to represent Christ. -God helps us to be forgiving, patient, merciful with co-workers and children. I need to ask myself regularly "Do I want to speak to __ about __ because I want God's glory? or because I'm irritated? Am I the center of this? or is God's purpose? -Usually I do worse stuff than anyone I accuse of sinning against me. This is GOOD to remember! -We all need to move in His mercy at home, at work, everywhere, and learn to live in a forbearing way. We can be the shock absorber and let things go, not mentioning offenses. We need to pray for God to make us grow in this area. -God has been SO forbearing with us! Remembering this moves us to receive mercy and give it out freely. -Self-righteousness is the enemy of mercy. We can be so quick to judge even our own children. God wants us to remember our place, our smallness, and trust Him. -God has a never-ending supply to provide us with as we pass on His mercy to others. -In marriage all the masks come off and it can be easy to forget to be merciful to our spouses as we see the good, the bad and the ugly. -Sometimes we judge others because we measure them by our own strengths. This is self-righteous! -We need to ask forgiveness and let that forgiveness affect us powerfully and move into His love as we interact with our spouses.