Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Bob Goff, from his book, Dream Big   (Kindle Locations 391-392). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   That’s an important thought, isn't it? Bob says, “It’s not found in familiarity or approval or popularity either. It is discovered somewhere far deeper within us. Maria (his wife) lives her life solely and sacrificially for our family and a handful of friends. She not only helps us better understand the complex world we live in, but she also helps me get ready each day so I don’t leave the house with one pant leg tucked into my sock. “I’ll admit, it’s a lot of work to live with a guy who acts like he’s sponsored by Red Bull. They call my drink of choice at the local coffee stand ‘Goffee.’ It’s two shots of energy drink and three shots of espresso. I may die young, but I’ll be wide awake when I do. Sweet Maria likes to say I’m the balloon and she’s the string. This beautifully describes the

A thought by Bob Goff, from his book, Dream Big Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is an interesting thought that I didn’t know. Bob says, “I’m glad they did because I’ve erased in my life much more than I’ve kept. We all get to do this. We take what we’ve written about ourselves, what we truly believe God thinks of us, and decide what to keep and what to erase. We’re not the only author of our lives either. Like the ones who have signed the pages of a high school yearbook, other people who have intersected our journey have written over us too. Some of what they said is true and beautiful and lasting. Other things not so much. ‘Never change’ was written in my yearbook by at least a dozen people. It’s the worst advice I’ve ever received. We’re supposed to change constantly—into kinder, humbler, more faithful versions of our old selves. This change and growth happens when we sort out the truth from the lies in

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, The Secret Things of God: Unlocking the Treasures Reserved for You (p.30) Howard Books.  Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) And that is so true. Henry says, “Through trust, we connect with God in a way that shows our reliance on him and our surrender to him. This is what he desires most from us. He wants us to trust him and depend on him more than any other thing. In fact, he says that without trust, or faith, it is impossible to please him, to have a relationship with him, or to receive anything from him. (See Hebrews 11:6) Trust is the essence of ‘faith,’ and it opens you up to all that you need from God.” He goes on, “Learning to depend on God will make your life larger than you could ever imagine and better, in every way. As you trust, you will step out in faith and receive blessings you never would have received and accomplish things you never thought possible. It is the way tha

A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, The Secret Things of God: Unlocking the Treasures Reserved for You (p.24) Howard Books.  Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Now, the him that Henry is talking about is God.  And he starts by saying, “Whenever we seek him, we are responding to his stirring something in us. So, respond to that little voice inside, those thoughts, those wonderings. Talk to him; tell him that you are looking for him. Talk to someone who can help you.” Henry goes on, “ If you do know him and cannot find him right now , hear this: that is normal too. Even if you feel that you are going through a ‘desert’ experience and that God seems far, far away, know that in reality, he is always near. Either there is some reason he is not doing anything at that moment, or he is doing something and you cannot see it. Though it may be distressing, it is a normal part of the spiritual life. The psalms are full of writings

A thought by Lisa Bevere, from her book, Be Angry, But Don’t Blow It (p.24) Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) This is so important to see. Lisa said, “… if I was disappointed with the way I had handled my children during the day, I pressed the issue very heavily: I should be more patient. Then I would allow guilt to weigh on me until I felt hopelessly horrible, and in this despair and self-loathing I would go to sleep. My hope was to wake up feeling so bad about my impatience that it would not be replayed. Instead, I would wake up feeling hopeless and like a failure. This would weigh me down and make me feel overwhelmed, which made the challenges of the day seem that much more taxing. I had set myself up to fail again. I have learned both self-loathing and anger are destructive. Inflicting guilt does not reform our relationships with others, nor will it work on you.” She goes on, “Jesus understood that the

A thought by Lisa Bevere, from her book, Be Angry, But Don’t Blow It (p.22) Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Lisa says, “Patterns are established through positive or negative reinforcement. We learned what worked or got us attention, and we repeated it so often it became a habit.” And habits can control us, can’t they? She continues, “Some of you may have made the dangerous decision to go to bed angry in ignorance as I did as a child. Others of you may have known the truth yet chose your own wisdom. Still others of you don’t go to your bed angry at another individual. No, your anger is leveled at yourself. You go to sleep disappointed and upset with yourself and imagine by punishing yourself throughout the night you will awake changed and different. But this is not true. The nightly punishment will not be constructive but destructive. “You are mistaken to think anger is only destructive when vented on

A thought by Lisa Bevere, from her book, Be Angry, But Don’t Blow It (p.17) Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) And we must let go, don’t we? Lisa says, “Perpetuating anger perpetuates sin, which perpetuates unforgiveness, which intensifies the anger response. You no longer are dealing with each infraction of displeasure; you are dealing with an accumulation of many infractions against your person. You are repeatedly scraped by the same offense until it is no longer the site of a single injury but a multiple stab wound.” She goes on, “Let’s probe deeper into the part of Ephesians 4:26 that says, ‘Do not let the sun go down on your anger.’ There is a very important spiritual and physical principle here. When you go to sleep upset, you wake up upset. When you have not extended mercy the night before, it is hard for you to embrace God’s mercy in the morning (Ps. 59:16). “In Psalm 4:4, David warned of the dan