The extent to which two people in a relationship can bring up and resolve issues is a critical marker of the soundness of a relationship.

Dating is about finding out who you are and who others are. If you show up in a masquerade outfit, neither is going to happen.

When we can't hold back, or set boundaries, on what comes from our lips, our words are in charge-not us. But we are still responsible for those words. Our words do not come from somewhere outside of us, as if we were a ventriloquist's dummy. They are the product of our hearts. Our saying, "I didn't mean that," is probably better translated, "I didn't want you to know I thought that about you." We need to take responsibility for our words. "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken" (Matt. 12:36).

In the end, as a leader, you are always going to get a combination of two things: what you create and what you allow.

The amount of truth a relationship can handle is proportional to the amount of perceived love that's present.

The fool tries to adjust the truth so he does not have to adjust to it.

There's no better way to become a disintegrated character than to be your own authority.