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Local Atlanta Pastor known for his charity work such as feeding the homeless, at risk youth and giving toys to children at Christmas time is releasing his first book entitled “Diary OF A Shattered Spirit”. Pastor Adams says that this book will address some of the struggles and stresses that plaque our society today. This book touches on many personal struggles that people just don’t want to talk about. This book gives an account of many trials that the Pastor has experienced in his childhood through adulthood and through the years of his ministry.

The Braves win the National League East division every year. With the Phillies and Mets being teams notorious for choking, is there any reason to believe these Braves should not repeat again? No.

It is not only that these Braves win games, but they win their backers money. A lot of money. Over the past 4 seasons, their backers have won 57 units. They are the best kept secret in baseball betting. Particularly impressive is their record against left-handed pitching. Much is said about the lack of offense for these Braves but when they go up against left-handed pitching, they have an average margin of victory of 0.8 runs over the past 7 seasons.

Did we have an international terrorist attempt in Atlanta? There were three detonation devices with explosives found in the courtyard of two Georgia Tech dorms. Atlanta Police said these were a terrorist attack. Meanwhile we had in Oklahoma someone blow them selves up in front of a Sports Stadium while the game was going on. The FBI went to his home and found similar devices that Richard Reed the shoe bomber had? Oh this is just great now we have renegade international terrorists who have infiltrated our colleges and Universities.

Contrary to how it is sometimes presented in the media, living single is not a condition to be cured. It is a valid life choice for many people.

It’s a totally acceptable choice if you would rather be alone. In fact, being alone is always preferable to being with someone and wishing you were alone.

We are built for relationships

At the same time, when asked, most singles say that one of theri top life goals is to find someone to be with in a long term committed relationship. This is normal and human, as we were created for relationships.

How long do you need to know a person before you can know for sure that this person is “the one?”

In my experience working with singles and couples, it’s a good idea to know a person for at least four seasons - winter, spring, summer, fall - before you decide this is the one.

This give you enough time to determine if this person is someone who is commit-able, able to enter fully into a long term loving relationship.

If you have a history of failed and/or difficult relationships, you may be feeling “gun shy” - more than a little scared to get into another relationship and repeat history.

Several years ago the media got a hold of a statistic that once women reach a certain age their chances for marriage dwindle dramatically.

Just like the media to take one line from one study and play it with lots of drama. It then becomes truth in the minds of many.

What this does is foster the myth that good partners are scarce and hard to find. If this its true, then you beter settle for whatever you can find.

Results of this myth

Q: “I am writing to ask you to please devote a future column to trust, or more specifically, how to trust again in a new relationship.”

A: Trust can be complex, because so many elements go into having trust in a person.

In an attempt to simplify the issue, I’ve broken it down into five components, one for each letter of the word trust.

inTegrity - A dictionary defines integrity as uprightness of character. Sounds nice, but what does that really mean?

Q: The woman I am dating is very confusing. She will promise to do something and I believe she really means it, and then goes out and either does not do what she promised and/or does the opposite.

A: One of the main principles that has helped me through all of these years of working with people is this:

“Does the person’s behavior match their words?”