keep you from getting the message

If your child is screaming at you in anger, listen! Calmly ask questions and let the anger be expressed. The more questions you ask and the more intently you listen, the more likely his volume will decrease. Concentrate on the reason your child is angry, not on the way he is expressing it. Seek to understand what he thinks is unfair or wrong. You may not agree with his perception, but the purpose is to hear him out. If he thinks he was wronged, the anger will not go away until he feels that you have heard and understood his complaint. You are the parent, and you have the final word on what will be done, but your child needs to know that you think his feelings and ideas are important. Don’t let the child’s method of delivering his message keep you from getting the message.



Anger: Handling a Powerful Emotion in a Healthy Way by Gary D. Chapaman, 2007.

heaven is at the feet of your mother

When she tried to explain it to friends and family, Kathy fumbled. But she knew that in Islam she had found calm. The doubt sewn into the faith gave her room to think, to question. The answers the Qur’an provided have her a way forward. Even her view of her family softened through the lens of Islam. She was less aggressive. She had always fought with her mother, but Islam taught her that “heaven is at the feet of your mother,” and this reined her in. She stopped talking back and learned to be more patient and forgiving. It brought back a purity in me, she would say.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. Random House, Inc. 2010.

trace the passions of the soul

Not only does a person become what he thinks, but often he comes to look like it. If he worships the God of War, hard lines tend to develop on his countenance. If he worships the God of Lust, dissipation will mark his features. If he worships the God of Peace and Truth, serenity will crown his visage. A thoughtful poet gave us this:

A human face I love to view

And trace the passions of the soul;

On it the spirit writes anew

Each thought and feeling on a scroll.

There the mind its evil doings tells,

And there its noblest deeds do speak;

Just as the ringing of the bells

Proclaims a knell or wedding feast.

—Author unknown

Spencer W. Kimball

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball. 1969. p.104