Posts with an Intended Audience of ‘Christians’

Forgiveness Is the Foundation for Reconciliation

February 12, 2016 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Forgiveness: One of the Hardest (And Most Important) Things We Can Do for Ourselves and Our Relationships
Video Forgiveness Is the Foundation for Reconciliation

Video: 8 Minutes

Forgiveness (and the underlying grieving required) is one of the hardest (and most important) things we can aspire to do, in part because of how it touches so many vulnerable places within us. Whether a relational infraction is little or big, the work of forgiveness (of working through our pain) is the same: We have to learn how to let our self matter, without trying to make the other person matter less. This distinction is both a hallmark of real forgiveness ((in contrast to the various forms of counterfeit forgiveness we are all prone too, which devalue self, the other, or both)) and a necessary prerequisite to reconciliation. In essence, we cannot healthily move towards reconciliation until we have worked through (or at least begun working through) the pain and grief of forgiveness.

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Working Through Grief and Forgiveness

February 11, 2016 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Forgiveness: One of the Hardest (And Most Important) Things We Can Do for Ourselves and Our Relationships
Video Working Through Grief and Forgiveness

Video: 5 Minutes

Stepping into our grief and engaging our pain ((i.e., letting our pain matter)) is very challenging (though incredibly rewarding) work. Given how scary this work can be (especially if we don’t have people in our life walking with us through it) it should come as no surprise that we are prone to developing all sorts of unhealthy coping strategies in an effort to survive without having to do the actual work of facing our pain.

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Forgiveness Requires Grieving What We Experienced

February 10, 2016 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Forgiveness: One of the Hardest (And Most Important) Things We Can Do for Ourselves and Our Relationships
Video Forgiveness Requires Grieving What We Experienced

Video: 4 Minutes

Forgiveness necessitates our remembering and grieving our pain. Fortunately, this remembering is not contingent on our remembering perfectly. To put it differently: In order to forgive we must grieve what we experienced, letting our pain matter to us, even though we know that our memory is imperfect.

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Why God Calls Us to Remember and Forgive

February 9, 2016 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Forgiveness: One of the Hardest (And Most Important) Things We Can Do for Ourselves and Our Relationships
Video Why God Calls Us to Remember and Forgive

Video: 3 Minutes

A common (and mistaken) approach to forgiveness is to “forgive and forget.” This is problematic for a number of reasons ((one of which being the fact that we can’t actually forget in the way that we try to force ourselves to)), the most fundamental being that real, healing forgiveness requires that we remember. And embedded in this truth is one of the reasons that I believe God calls Christians to forgive.

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You Will Be Misunderstood Sometimes

August 21, 2014 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

xkcd communication is difficultOccasionally local news agencies will contact me (as well as other counselors, I’m sure) for my opinion on some mental health topic related to whatever news item they’re working on at the time. Observing the results of this is one of many life experiences that remind me that communication is imperfect, and that we are all misunderstood at times. ((Note that it’s not necessarily that I’m misquoted (though that can happen too)–sometimes quotes of me are simply not given as much context as I wish, which can make it sound like I’m saying something more strongly than I am, or emphasizing something that is only a small piece of a larger thought process.)) ((Comic Credit: https://xkcd.com/1028/ (On the xkcd site the caption is hidden in the “tooltip” that appears when you hover your mouse over the image.) ))

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Compassion & Hope: Unpacking My Christian Perspective

March 3, 2014 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

Video Compassion and Hope Unpacking My Christian Perspective of Counseling

Video: 8 Minutes

I believe that we were created for healthy, peaceful relationships ((both being at peace with our self, as well as with others)) and this is foundational to my having great hope for our capacity to grow, change and heal. Regardless of one’s spirituality, religion or faith, I think that many of us sense on an intuitive level, deep in our gut, that humanity was meant for better things than the brokenness which we all observe and experience.

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Resources from Ken Myers Lecture on Technology and Children

November 19, 2010 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: , ,

I recently came across my notes from the Ken Myers lecture from a while back on “Modern Technology in the Lives of our Children” ((Related Blog Post: Modern Technology in the Lives of our Children: A Lecture by Ken Myers)) and thought I’d share the various resources that he mentioned and as well as some of the themes he emphasized.

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Modern Technology in the Lives of our Children: A Lecture by Ken Myers

May 10, 2010 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: , ,

Redeemer Classical School (located in Keezletown, Virginia) ((About Classical Education: One of the things that I appreciate about the “classical eduction” model is how it seeks to match up methods of teaching with how a child’s brain naturally develops. For example, think about the difference between a child in elementary school versus a child in high school. The younger child is not yet able to think abstractly, but can soak up facts and figures like a sponge. As this child comes into adolescence their ability to absorb new information has diminished (comparatively) and they are instead developing abilities to think and express themselves in new ways. Many parents experience this as their teenager being argumentative and rebellious, but part of what is going on for the teen is they are growing new parts of their brain and they are trying out these new abilities every chance they get (not unlike how a toddler increases their mobility as they get better at crawling, standing, walking, etc.). You can read more about classical education at the Redeemer Classical School website.)) has arranged for Ken Myers to present a lecture this coming Friday (May 14, 2010) on Growing up in a Digital Nation: Modern Technology in the Lives of our Children.

Friday, May 14, 2010, at 7:30pm
Massanutten Presbyterian Church
50 Indian Trail, Penn Laird, VA
Admission is free and all are welcome.

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The Art of Stopping

September 1, 2009 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

Stop sign with a blue sky backgroundAs I’ve grown in my own awareness in the past few days of my need for a vacation I have been reflecting once again on the faith involved in choosing to cease from one’s labors for a season. Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, the act of taking a break from one’s labors (and/or other kinds of ceasing) can be inherently scary–whether it be for 10 minutes or 10 days. ((Photo by e453753.))

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