The Clarion Newspaper | The Clarion Newspaper – Northeast Alabama's Largest Newspaper

Love shouldn’t hurt – ever

Published on Wednesday, 01 September 2021 06:05

How to Respond to Unwanted Attention
by Christina Hays

We all have probably met someone who believes they just “naturally” pick the wrong person to date. Maybe this friend says they attract all the wrong attention or are a magnet for trouble, when in fact they are falling prey to someone who just will not take no for an answer. This is a major red flag and potential warning sign for someone who could be controlling, possessive, and eventually abusive. There are lots of ways to avoid feeling trapped into saying yes when your gut has told you to say no. Rejection is hard and most people try to be as polite as possible, however, if you are too polite or not straightforward enough it could encourage the person to continue trying instead of understanding that it simply is not going to happen.

Thoughts from The Bible

Published on Wednesday, 01 September 2021 06:03

Hope
by Terry Broome

It’s a simple word but a very encompassing thought arrives from it. “Hope.” Years ago, I learned that a big difference exists between “just wishing” and “real hope.” As a child I used to wish I would get all sorts of expensive things for Christmas, but I knew there wasn’t much reason to hope for those things as they were out of my family’s financial reach. Kids still do that, don’t they? In spite of our spending more on Christmas than we ever imagined we would, we still can’t produce everything on their “wish list.” Hope gets us down to reality – to where we have some strong and reasonable expectation of receiving a thing. Where there is reasonable expectation, we can hope for these things.