Hugging verses Shaking Hands

 It's funny, I heard Robin on 91.3 Hope FM talking about an article she read about hugging. I had to laugh when I heard it because on Sunday morning I went to hug someone and in that split second I wondered "should I hug him?"
Have you ever gone to hug someone and realize how awkward their reaction was or they got a strange look on their face but you hugged them anyways?  I had that happen just the other day. I thought it was rather funny how this all came into play; the situations involving hugging and this article Robin shared. So here I am sharing a few insights I read from the same article, just in case you want to know what to do.
Look the person in the eye and great with a smile and a generous "hello, glad to see you" and speak clearly. Offer your hand out for a hand shake or an arm shake (mostly for the guys) and make sure when you give a hand shake it is a firm grip. No one likes to shake a limp hand, so shake with confidence, pump 2-3 times and release. Don't squeeze their hand too hard, you might break something or hurt their hand. Don't linger in your hand shake either and last definitely don't sneak a kiss.  This last move might be embarrassing for you both.
IF you really don't want to hug or give a hand shake, go to the next best thing "the nod." You can't ever go wrong with nodding your head with a smile of hello.
The nodding of the head reminds me of the old movie "My Fair Lady." Everyone at the dance nods their head as they pass one another. I guess in some cultures it is definitely a nice greeting.
Speaking of which, it brings a question to mind. Isn't there a culture that hugging is a sign of warmth and invite? What do you do to not offend another person's culture when you are not a hugger or a hand shaker? Get out the Lysol and the hand sanitizer?

Just food for thought.....
~ Marjorie

resource: http://www.rd.com/ "Please Don't Hug Me"

The Relationship between Forgiveness and Unconditional Love

I've been asked to give my thoughts on the relationship between forgiveness and unconditional love. So here, I am sharing what I have learned and giving my thoughts on it too.
First, I want to say that forgiveness is a choice and Jesus says to forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NLT)
To love someone unconditionally is difficult for me because my flesh gets in the way.There have been people whom loves me with all my faults, but I was thinking more of how I love them with all of their faults. I have a difficult time to love unconditionally. I know God tells us to love one another as He has first loved us, however, it has not been something that comes naturally for me. In fact, I am not the best person to talk about this.
 However, what I do know is that my parents are the best examples I have of showing unconditional love. For the most part, I can remember my parents always loving each other and us five kids. I remember one time when my mom hit my dad with a frying pan and my mom left in the car for a long time, but came back within a few hours. Still they stayed married through five children, a lot of church and social functions, and loved each other through all the good and bad times.
I askrf people who are married in todays world what the relationship between forgiveness and unconditional love looks like to them. Here are some of the replies:

"Uunconditional love is for our children not our mates; you forgive for yourself not the other person, you never forget and the condition of your love is trust." My Lovely Sister.
"Forgiveness is the teacher...#1 you allow yourself AND the offending party to move forward. #2 Unconditional love is choosing to love the offfending party in spite of the offense." ~ Lil Bro' Adam

I definitely agree with both statements. I know I love my children unconditionally. I wish they had seen me pray for them and went to church more often than we did, but when they did go it was great for them. For relationships, I am in no hurry, In fact, I am in God's boot camp again.  He is showing me scripture and changing me from the inside out. What He is doing is difficult to explain, but I can hear His voice. I don't know what He is saying, yet I know there is changes going on inside my heart.
Someone once asked me "how would you feel if Jesus said to you, I forgive you but I don't want to be around you." I know Jesus says we are to forgive others, but I haven't read were it says we have to sit down and have a meal, a conversation, or visit at all. I have  been forgiven and I know what it is to forgive. I know that there are times when I need to forgive the offense done more than once. Like Chris August said in his "Seventy Times Seven" song "I'm reaching up to pull it down." 
I have found in my journey that a person's unkind word, the tone in their voice, or their body language can be offensive. It may not be the other person's intention to hurt anyone, but it might be the way I receive it. This is the area that I know I must go to my Father God and ask for help to change my thinking.
For me, it is important to look at the way I talk to others, what I not only say but how I say things. I believe that I can only change myself to be better and not the other person.
So the relationship between forgiveness and unconditional love is.....completely opposite of each other yet they can also co-exist and it all depends on the situation at hand.

~ Marjorie