Oolong and Oatmeal

So, I should say, my dad is still alive. I wanted to point that out because I think the title of the post makes it seem like these are things he taught me, and then died. 

But he's still here and he's still teaching me things.

Hope that clears things up. No? Cool.

Anyway, the next thing my dad has taught me is to speak the truth in love.

I know this sounds like a lotta love coming from him after yesterdays post, but there's a difference here. See, my dad is sort of seen as an intimidating guy. He can come off gruff, and kind of like a pitbull.

I did not inherit this from him. No one is intimidated by me, and I hate confrontation. My dad is great at it. He is a straight shooter and he isn't afraid to tell someone the truth. But he always does it with love.

Although he is seen as tough, he's actually really gentle with people. He doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but he does need to tell them the truth. He tempers his confrontations by keeping his words and actions loving. He's telling you the truth because he wants you to do better, be better. He wants to fix a problem and move on.

I tend to be too focused on the love part and can shy away from the truth part. Not that I lie, I don't, it's just that if I think something will hurt someone's feelings I can be persuaded to leave it out. I'm getting better at it, but I'm not good at it.

I also know people that are all truth. They don't speak to others in a kind manner, they just blast them with the truth. I think you need to do both. I think I need to do both.

Speak the truth in love.