“Just as our yard has physical boundaries, so our lives—emotional, psychological, and spiritual

“Just as our yard has physical boundaries, so our lives—emotional, psychological, and spiritual—have limits also.”

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Changes That Heal (p. 131). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I’m sure we understand our limits in some areas but maybe not all of them.”

Henry says, “God has designed us in his image with one exception: he is infinite, and we are finite. This truth has serious implications for our idea of boundaries.

“We all possess a finite amount of ability, time, money, energy, and so on. The amounts are not static, however. We may get more or less as time goes on, but it is still true that, at any given moment, we have fixed amounts. Our salary limits what we can spend. Our energy level limits how many projects we can take on.”

He goes on, “Many people don’t take responsibility for their limits and overextend themselves. It takes time to learn our limits in the various areas of life, but they can be learned if we are aware of our feelings, attitudes, and behaviors. If we are feeling overburdened, we must realize where we have overextended our limits and say no. Sometimes, we don’t know the limits of our love, and we love past where we should.

“Many people don’t take responsibility for their limits and overextend themselves. It takes time to learn our limits in the various areas of life, but they can be learned if we are aware of our feelings, attitudes, and behaviors. If we are feeling overburdened, we must realize where we have overextended our limits and say no.”

He then says, “Many Christians do not take advantage of the amount of room God has given them to experience all that is within them.”

Also, he says, “If someone is asking too much of us, we draw the line as to what we will give and what we will not. If someone is abusive to us, we must set a limit. Family expert, Dr. James Dobson in his book, Love Must Be Tough calls this ‘a line of respect’. It means basically, ‘I will not allow myself to be treated this way.’”

We need to know our limits and the limits of others and not allow them or us to cross our limits of time and energy. But we also need to spend time with God. There may be areas when He wants us to stretch but also areas when He wants us to limit ourselves and with others. So, will you strive to ask Him for wisdom and direction in this area?

Yes, yes!

Comments

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog