"My clients want me to function like a giant eraser."

A thought by H. Norman Wright from his book, When the Past Won't Let You Go (p. 19). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

But is that possible?

Norman says, "I’ve been asked, 'Can’t you do something about these memories to get rid of them?' My clients want me to function like a giant eraser. Short of severe trauma, I don’t think there is such a thing as a memory eraser. Memories can be dulled by chemical substance use, but that is temporary and eventually causes more problems. Some individuals vacillate between a 'rid the memory' agenda to a 'just forget the past' agenda. Within some Christian circles, a common response to people dominated by the past is Paul’s admonition recorded in Philippians 3:13 (NLT): 'Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…' I like what Robert D. Jones said about what is possible since our goal as believers is Christlikeness: 'The good news is that if you belong to Jesus, God does have something better for you. God does not want to remove your memories; he wants to redeem them. He wants to transform them into something good, something that will make you more like Jesus.' Your memories can be opportunities for growth. Jones said, 'You do not need to avoid, run from, cover over, or get rid of your past. God’s goal is neither memory erasure nor memory denial.' (1)"

And we want growth, don't we?

Yes, yes!

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"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...

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...

“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...

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