If you are a woman who truly wants to have peaceful relationships, I encourage you to examine yourself and ask God to reveal to you any unrealistic expectations you may have of other people.

If you are trying to force someone to change, it will steal your peace. Are

Picture what could happen if a wife - instead of calling all her friends to complain about her husband - prayed to God to radically and outrageously bless him?

Becoming established in the thought I am difficult to offend can prepare you ahead of time for any offense you may face. It will set you up to forgive and release the offender, which will keep you out of the snare of unforgiveness.

It is very helpful for us to remember that "hurting people hurt people." I don't think very many people wake up every day with the thought in mind of purposely seeing how much they can hurt everyone in their life, yet that is often exactly what they do. Why? Usually because they are hurting and have unresolved issues in their own life.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings. —MARK 11:25—26 One of the greatest reasons why prayer isn't answered among Christians is unforgiveness. Jesus gave His disciples a command to forgive, and then He told them plainly that if they did not forgive, neither would their Father in heaven forgive them their failings and shortcomings.

Obviously these people are destined to be frustrated and discontented most of the time. Don't spend your life trying to make the impossible possible. People have faults and there is no way around it! No matter who you are in relationship with there will be times when they will disappoint you, so plan on forgiving frequently.

All faults may be forgiven of him who has perfect candor.

If you're angry at a loved one, hug that person. And mean it. You may not want to hug — which is all the more reason to do so. It's hard to stay angry when someone shows they love you, and that's precisely what happens when we hug each other.

Peace requires the capacity to forgive. Peace requires a readiness to share generously. Peace requires the violation of strict class stratification in society. Peace requires attentiveness to the vulnerable and the unproductive. Peace requires humility in the face of exaltation, being last among those who insist on being first and denying self in the interest of the neighbor. These are all practices that mark his presence in his society.

The enemy has always had a great way of trying to keep each of us tied to past sin, weighing us down with sorrow or pain and regret. Feeling heavy under the weight of knowing you made stupid mistakes will, if you allow it, cripple you for life. We have all fallen short. There is no one on earth who has not made mistakes. But walking in the miracle of forgiveness gives God much glory. The

Are you in conflict with someone? Maybe you feel you've done everything you can to make things right. But is there anything else you can do? It would please God so much.