Years ago, a true friend shared this story with me after I’d succumbed to the temptation to share damaging gossip. I’ve never forgotten this story – today was the day I would pay it forward.

Once there was a foolish woman in a small village, who spread some gossip about another woman in the village. Before long the foolish woman began to feel remorse about what she had done so she went to the wise man of the village to ask him what she could do to make things right. The wise man listened carefully to her story, thought for a moment, and then told her to go to the market and buy a chicken. On the way home from the market she was to pluck that chicken letting the feathers fall along the path. The next day she was to come back and see the wise man again.

The foolish woman did as the wise man suggested. She bought a chicken and plucked it on the way home. When she came to him the next day she told him that she had done what he asked her to do. The wise man said to her, "Now, I want you to go home today by the same road you took yesterday, and pick up every single feather you dropped along the path." The woman was distraught, and protested that there was absolutely no way she could find and pick up all those feathers. The wind would have surely blown them everywhere!

The wise man quietly responded, "You are correct…and you see, just as you can never retrieve all those feathers, there is no way you can ever restore the reputation of the woman whom you harmed with your words."

Have you seen the video or a least heard about it?

Strong opinions have been shared over Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and just about every news program under the sun.

Opinions have been sharply divided about whether Jordan, a father, angry over a disrespectful message his 15-year-old daughter posted to Facebook, did the right thing by publicly posting his own eight-minute rant in response.

What do you think? Parents get so frustrated with their children’s behavior, and some take extreme measures to teach valuable lessons. But how many of you ever wanted to shoot their computer, cell phone or video game console? What’s the most extreme lesson you’ve ever taught?

Marriage is hard. Subsequent marriages are even tougher. If you believe anything different, you’re setting yourself up for a huge letdown. Believe me, I’ve spent my entire life wanting the kind of love I thought my grandparents had. I’ve spent most of my life dreaming of finding my own fairytale – of becoming the one he couldn’t live without.

Does. Not. Happen!

Disney, Chick Flicks and television commercials feed misconceptions on what love, relationships and marriage actually are.  Marriage is not wine and roses. Marriage is not romance served fresh 24/7. Marriage does not make you feel that natural high feeling you get when you’re falling in love on a continual basis.

Marriage is a partnership, a business between two partners with a different kind of benefits.

Divorces, adultery, and these media manipulated misconceptions, are infecting, plaguing and destroying marriage and the products of those marriages.

Divorces are easy. In today’s world, like the video says “It’s no longer about the “til death do us part” – it means “until the feelings go away.” Believe me, I know! I’ve become a pro at running away when my feelings are gone. My problem has been choosing the wrong partners. I’d find myself in relationships or marriage with men who weren’t capable of being loyal or monogamous. I’d try with all my might to fix the marriage, to fix the person, but in the end, they weren’t mind to fix.

That’s why it’s so important to be friends and take ample amount of time to get to know someone before getting married. It’s not enough to know them in the real world for years, you have to know them as they are within a committed relationship to really understand how they would be in a marriage.

The road to love and marriage may seem long when trying to get there, but take it from an old pro, being trapped in a dying marriage filled with disrespect, lack of trust and remorse feels like eternity.

This video was created to highlight the most frequent and problem issues marriages face today while also pointing to Jesus as the ultimate healer, redeemer, and restorer of every marriage.

Whether single or married, watch this video for a deeper look for inspiration. This is a great place to start on helping your current marriage, or prepare you for marriage.

Have a comment or opinion? I’d love to hear it!

As adults, we need to teach YOUNG GIRLS the difference between:

A man who FLATTERS her and a man who COMPLIMENTS her

A man who SPENDS MONEY on her and a man who INVESTS in her

A man who views her as PROPERTY and a man who views her PROPERLY

A man who LUSTS after her and a man who LOVES her

A man who believes he is GOD’S GIFT to women and one who remembers WOMAN is GOD’S GIFT to MAN

And then we need to teach OUR YOUNG MEN to be that kind of MAN

I read a version of this on Facebook this morning – it was too good not to pass on

Most people who know me, know my older brother passed away when I was 10. While Tony was with us, he taught us many valuable lessons – but one lesson my family learned during his life was to mind the gas tank in your car.

The morning Tony woke with a horrible headache, my mother got ready to take him to the hospital but was unable to because the fuel gauge was registering empty.

We lived in the country and the nearest gas station was in the opposite direction of the hospital and there wasn’t that much time to waste.

Mom was faced with thinking through what action would get them to the hospital quicker.

• Should she call the closest friend who happened to be at home on a workday?
• Should she call 911?
• Should she jump in the car and hope it makes it? (Remember, this was well into the PRE cell phone era)
• Should she take the car to the gas station in the opposite direction then go to the hospital?

Keep in mind, Tony had fallen unconscious at this time.

NO parent should have to stop to evaluate a situation based on the amount of gas in the car! Ever!

Keeping that single event in mind, I have realized you NEVER know when an emergency is going to happen – so be prepared. Never let your gas tank get below a quarter of a tank.

I already see this lesson has stuck with my kids. When Trey’s gas gauge gets close to the quarter mark, he makes a point to get gas before he parks the Blazer or the night.

Unfortunately, my husband is learning this lesson the hard way. He called this morning having ran out of gas on the interstate near a work zone. As I got ready to take gas to him, he called back telling me a nice guy in a wrecker pulled up within seconds and offered to assist. He’d only sat for about 10 minutes from the point of running out of gas to the point of starting up and moving again.

The gauge wasn’t registering empty, and the low fuel light had not come on so he thought he was safe. Which further validates my point – anything under 1/4 of a tank should be considered empty. Always!