Stop using Skype!

Ugh.  Oprah and Skype.  IT rarely works.  I love Oprah as you may have guessed, but this Skype business is getting old.  On a great show today about hero kids, Oprah had an opportunity to meet Elliot's amazing parents.  In Person? On the Show? On no, from Skype.  It really took away from the story.

Oprah, stay amazing.  But stop using Skype on every single show.  Ugh.

p.s.  please don't be mad at me.

p.p.s.  please remember I'm your number one fan.

p.p.p.s.  please don't be mad at me.

Forgiveness - is it in you?

A family of four comes home from a celebration and all four are shot.  A mom and son die.  A father and son live.  Within hours, the father makes a promise that he will forgive whoever has done this. Yes, that's huge - even if it's been years later, let alone hours.  It seems impossible.  

The twist - the murder is tied to the surviving son.  He'd been pretending to attend college and he even had been confronted for plotting this family-murder two years prior.  This son had convinced two of his friends to murder his family.  And then the son, Bart, disappeared to Mexico. Eventually captured, he was convicted and sentenced to death.  Would this father still be able to forgive? Even now that it turns out his own son is responsible?  Kent Whitaker tells an amazing story of death followed by forgiveness.  

Lisa Ling went to the prison and asked Bart why he did it; he basically said he had hatred for his family.  Oprah asked his dad, Kent,  if he knew this and if he thought his son had changed.  Kent profoundly stated that his love and forgiveness for his son is not based on whether his son has changed or not.  Forgiveness or no, Dad Kent is still struggling with this and who can blame him?  The pain is unimaginable. The loss extreme.  The forgiveness surprising.   Kent reminded us that forgiveness is a choice, a difficult one.  God calls us to forgive and gives us strength to do so.  And forgiveness leads to our own healing.  

Who do you need to forgive? Someone who hurt you deeply? Someone who did something very petty? Yourself?  Let the change and the healing begin.  Choose forgiveness.  And life.

p.s. Oprah, please stop using Skype in every show.