Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again ( p. 31). Howard Books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is so true. Henry says, “Trying to be someone else simply will not work longer than a little while. The real you will come out in various ways, fighting on the outside—actively or passively—or dragging you down from within. Personhood—as God has designed it—is something to be fed, nurtured, matured, grown, and expressed. If it isn’t, it ends up expressing itself in negative ways.” He goes on, “I am not saying that we should never do things that are ‘not me.’ Sometimes that’s actually the responsible thing to do. Like taking a job that is not who you are in order to support your family or to pay for an education or an illness. But notice something about that. Even though you may have to do something that is not fully ‘you,’ you do it for a reason that truly is you : the love o...

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again ( p. 22). Howard Books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) He made us that way. Henry says, “As time moves forward we grow, develop, and transform into newer, more complete and mature lives. Unless . . . we are stuck. And there is no better way to remain stuck than to repeat what has already been. The last thing you want to do is relive the past all over again. Tomorrow should be new and improved—always! “When a person comes to this realization, it’s usually because he has made the same mistake twice or more. He has gone back to some situation or person that he had left behind, thinking and hoping it would be  ‘ different this time. ’  But he found, instead, that the old situation simply repeated itself. At some point in the journey, he realizes, ‘I was here before and I left. Why did I come back to do it again? Ho...

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again ( p. 18). Howard Books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Change and maturity are so important for all of us! Henry says, “I see this often in family businesses where an adult child leaves the family business either because of conflict with the parent-boss or a drive to ‘make it on his own’ or because he has simply not grown up in some way. So things don’t work out, and he leaves. “Time passes, the adult child works in other places, experiences failures and successes, or gets the ‘need to be on my own’ out of his system. He has grown up, feels less like a child under the parent’s control, or whatever. He comes back into the business and is very successful, fulfilled, and happy. But the important thing to note is that the child has truly changed and matured.  “If you are that adult child, be honest in examining your reasons for...

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again ( p. 16). Howard Books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We many times believe that being sorry is the key to going back to a broken relationship or a job. But Henry says, “ Something has to be different. There must be fruit, results, or a real change in life or the situation that gives reason to believe that something will be different this time. So here is the main concept: If you ‘go back,’ make sure you are going forward. “That way you are not going back just to repeat what has already been. You are truly moving forward because something tangible is different. Someone being ‘sorry’ (ourselves included) is not enough; just missing the good parts of what was is not reason enough to return; going back to assuage the pain—temporarily, mind you—is not enough. Life is meant to be forward moving, not backward. Make sure that if you ‘go ba...

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again ( p. 14). Howard Books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But we need to go forward. Henry says, “Laura had been in this relationship for about four years. Her biggest complaint was that Jason took her for granted and did not make her a priority. He was a nice guy, but too self-centered to make a relationship work. Over and over again, he would leave her feeling ignored and unimportant. She had broken up with him several times, missed him, reunited, and nothing had changed. She would break up with him again and then a few months later would run into him and, with the pain gone, begin to enjoy all the good things about him and want to try again. “They would both talk about how they had been foolish to break up with so much good in their relationship, how they really loved each other, and how they truly should be together. ‘I was wrong to ...

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Never Go Back: 10 Things You’ll Never Do Again (p. 6). Howard Books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Now to some, repentance is not a very positive term, but it can be. Henry says, “People think of ‘repentance’ as having to do with a parent, preacher, nun, or teacher scolding them and saying, ‘Don’t ever do that again!’ It is a religious term with a lot of cultural baggage. It feels like a parent or authority figure telling you to stop doing something, and then you feel like you just have to do it. That is a problem. “The reason is this: whenever we get our backs up at a message that says we should not do something again, it shows that we are out of touch with life’s realities. Picture a parent telling a toddler to ‘repent’ from running into the busy street. The toddler just looks at the parent as if the message or the messenger is the problem , sets his face in determination, an...

A thought by Craig Groeschel, from his book, Dangerous Prayers Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe , Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book) That is what we want, isn’t it? Craig says, “Are you ready to pray this dangerous prayer? Are you prepared to hear what God might show you as you do? Do you have the faith to ask and the courage to obey? Search my heart, God. Reveal my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting.” He goes on, “Every phrase in this faith-filled cry to God is important. But it’s incomplete without the final passionate prayer—lead me in the way everlasting. “We don’t want God to just show us the impurity of our hearts. We want more than to simply know our fearful and anxious thoughts. We desire more than just knowing how we are offensive. We want God to lead us, to direct us, to guide us to become who he wants us to be.” He cont...