Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book, Don't Give Up (p. 75). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) It seems that confidence and difficulty may go together, at least in the handling of difficulties! Kyle says, “That kind of faith gives us a perspective on our current struggles. We don’t feel sorry for ourselves now because we have confidence in what awaits. Faith understands that our best life isn’t now; our best life is yet to come. So we don’t grow weary or lose heart.” He goes on, “Not only will we choose not to feel sorry for ourselves because of our circumstances but we will also choose to overcome our circumstances. “Instead of feeling like a victim, we choose to use what’s happened to us as a springboard propelling us to greatness.” Kyle says, “Sound overly optimistic? A little too Tony Robbins for you? “It’s not. This is the power of God in your life. Paul reminds us in Ephesi...

A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book,  Don't Give Up   (p. 66). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wait a minute, that can’t be true, can it? Kyle says, “People with a victim mentality tend to whine and complain. They feel powerless to change, so they lament their circumstances. They focus on what’s wrong and ignore what’s right. They can offer exhaustive lists of the ways they’ve been treated unfairly and gotten the short end of the stick. “Journalist James Glassman declares that a ‘culture of complaint’ has infected America. For instance, we complain about low incomes, high food prices, and the outsourcing of jobs. However: Adjusting for inflation, compensation has tripled since 1947, while the cost of necessities has plummeted. Food in 1950 represented about one-third of a family’s total expenditures; today, it’s one-seventh. Americans work fewer hours and have more cars, cultural ...

A thought by Kyle Idleman from his book, Don't Give Up (p. 64). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I know, I know, it’s not you or me.   But I really do have it rough. Kyle says, “One of the ways you know it may be time to stop feeling sorry for yourself is that you feel defensive when some meddling book pipes up and tells you to stop feeling sorry for yourself. “When people tell you to stop feeling sorry for yourself, it’s hurtful. And you start feeling sorry for yourself. If this sounds like you, stay with me.” He goes on, “People who pity themselves and live with a victim mentality rarely realize it. That’s especially true when the people around them are constantly reinforcing it. Well-meaning friends and family often reinforce a victim mentality because they see our pain and try to comfort us with the nearest tools in their emotional toolshed: sympathy and pity. That tough...