Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Jeff Manion (2010-07-14) in his book, The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions (p. 139). Zondervan. Kindle Edition . There are so many people who get so upset when they make a mistake so it is difficult to understand why they keep making the same mistake over and over again.  I mean wouldn’t you think because it is such a negative emotional experience for them that they would do whatever they could to not visit this same place again and it seems again?  But somehow they haven’t learned the assessment and asking step in making mistakes.                                                                                    It is a difficult step.   It is much easier to believe that somehow the next time will be different.  So we do the same thing but we believe that life will turn out differently this time.  It is a faith thing.  I mean didn’t Jesus turn the water into wine.  Yes he did but He also created a complex marvel inside your skull called a brain and He

A thought by Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson (2011-07-19) in their book, Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You´ve Only Heard About (Kindle Locations 523-524). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. Have you ever noticed how dissatisfied you get after watching House Hunters on the HGTV network?  Have you ever seen it?  A person is dissatisfied with their home or location and they get with a real estate person and look at 3 different houses and then choose which one they want to buy.  Of course the homes are always bigger than the one they were living it.  And usually the one we are living in and it can cause us to be dissatisfied. Television is a great pusher of dissatisfaction.  Do you realize we live in bigger homes today with smaller families?  We don’t need all that room but we want it.  It is no wonder we are having economic problems.  We want more than we can afford and believe we’re entitled to it.  That is a problem. So what is the answer?  Well it seems like the proble

A thought by Seth Godin (2011-03-01) in his book, Poke the Box (p. 66). The Domino Project. Kindle Edition. That is so important for us to realize.  So many think that failure is a person, it is them.  I know there are parents who have made the horrible mistake to say to one of their kids, “you are a failure” but they are wrong.  Failure is not a person but an event. Now there is a cycle in this.  The parent who says that may feel that about themselves.  A parent, a teacher, coach, some adult told them that they were a failure when they were young and they have carried that with them all their life.  Now here is the problem for kids.  They believe what adults tell them.  Kids don’t have the ability yet to distinguish right from wrong and they believe the adult knows more than they do so they must be right. I have dealt with so many adults as a pastor who believe that failure is a person and lived with the pain of that untruth.  Yes, failure is real but failure is an event.  I hav

A thought by Andy Stanley (2009-03-31) in his book, The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (p. 43). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. There are times we do something to someone and then ask them to forgive us and expect there to be no consequences in what we have done.  We still need to ask forgiveness but we cannot expect that it does away with the consequences. For an example, let’s say we smoked in front of our kids for 20 years and they started smoking but after they grew up we stopped.  We now have deep remorse about the influence we had in this area and we ask them to forgive us and they do.  But they still have the habit and they still have the potential for cancer.  The forgiveness is important but the consequences of our action are not done away with by our asking for forgiveness.  They may forgive you but they can’t do away with the consequences. Now the key is not to use forgiveness to supersede responsibility or self-control.  F

A thought by George Barna (2011-05-15) in his book, Futurecast: What Today's Trends Mean for Tomorrow's World (Kindle Locations 579-580). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition . Fear has a way of robbing us of so many good, exciting, fulfilling things in life such as marriage.  I know there is pain in failure and there is a lot of pain in many families that people have grown up in.  But it has also been said that there is no gain without pain. I know the pain for those who run a marathon doesn’t keep them from training and then running or that only one person will win and all others will fail.  That seems OK.  But having a bad marriage keeps strong healthy, courageous men running away as fast as they can run. Oh I know rejection is horrible.  It leaves scars that are very difficult to heal.  But living life with someone who has made a commitment to be there “till death do us part” is one of the greatest things in life to experience. I was thinking today of that T

A thought by Andy Stanley (2009-03-31) in his book, The Principle of the Path: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (p. 43). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. This is so true.  …We own a car.  We never change the oil; we never maintain it as the manual tells us to and then blame God when it breaks down. …We forget to put gas in the car and then blame God when we run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. …We never pay our bills and then blame God when the collection agency starts calling. …We spend all the money we make, we have a bigger house than we can afford, we have our credit cards to the limit, we have no savings, and then blame God when our company doesn’t give bonuses this year and we have already spent it. …We work all the time, we’re never at home and when we are we’re always in a bad mood and then blame God when our mate asks for a divorce. …We never take care of ourselves physically or emotionally.  We eat the wrong things, we never sleep, and we live u

A thought by Seth Godin (2011-03-01) in his book,  Poke the Box  (p. 57). The Domino Project. Kindle Edition. The fear of doing wrong keeps us from so many good things in life.  Being wrong can either be a devastating experience or a learning experience.   It all depends on our perspective.                             Margaret, my wife and I took a Saturday trip  last spring to Orange, New Jersey to the home and factory of Thomas Edison.   Edison is the third most  prolific inventor  in history, holding 1,093  US patents in his name , as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.   He said one time, “ If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.   ” Being wrong was not a problem for him.  It was a learning experience, an opportunity to do better.                                                         In school, the young Edison's mind often wandere