As Jacob was blessed by Abraham, so we all yearn to receive the blessing of our parents. It is also natural for us to want to "pass on to our children more than we received. This book can put into words what you missed as a child as well as provide practical, hands-on ways of communicating unconditional love and acceptance to your children and loved ones." (p. 5) Please don't get me wrong. I had a wonderful childhood and felt the love of my parents. However, part of human nature is doubting our true worth and competing with siblings, if there are any. If possible, I want to eradicate any possibility of my children's doubts they they are loved and truly treasured by their parents, regardless of what choices they make in life. The world tells us otherwise. This book equipped me with five specific tools to counteract what the world is telling my children. If I have made the book seem as if it is only written for parents to use with their children, I need to clarify. While that is the focus of the writing, these principles enrich and bring healing in all intimate relationships such as friendships, parents, or your spouse. We all, whether adult or child, want to know we are treasured by someone. The Blessing will tell you how to accomplish that through five different venues: meaningful touch, a spoken message, attaching high value to the individual, dreaming with and believing in him or her about a very special future God has for him/her, and a commitment to bestowing the blessing. Using Biblical truths and stories of Jesus' life on earth, Trent paints us a vivid picture of the changed lives that are a result of such a blessing.
Why should we bless our children and others? As Mr.Trent explains, it allows them to develop intimate relationships when they are older and it "lays the foundation" for a genuine and fulfilling relationship with God that can survive the rocky teen years". We need others, but especially our children, to feel that unconditional acceptance with us, as parents, rather than seeking "counterfeit blessings" in the world through money, drugs, poor choices in friends, cults, or even success. If you missed that blessing in your life from parents or grandparents of other significant adults, the book also contains helpful information in overcoming that hurt and not allowing it to define who you are or passing the same lack of blessing on to your own family.
How I wish space allowed me to explain deeper each of the five components of the blessing. This book is a must read for all parents but I highly recommend it to anyone who works with children be they Sunday school teachers or public school teachers or counselors. I also feel this book would be helpful to those who may have had a rocky childhood and may find it difficult to be loved or to love unconditionally.
The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley is a reprint. It has been updated by Trent with ideas and questions that pause you to think about how to apply what you have read as well as rich Internet resources. The Blessing is available on amazon.com, christianbook.com or your local Christian bookstore.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Do you want to be happy? Enemies of the Heart: dealing with greed, anger, guilt, and jealousy even if you choose to refuse it exists
How many times has something slipped out of your mouth that you couldn't believe you said or did something that was totally "uncharacteristic" of you? For me, it is far too often. I may have thought it, but did it need to be said? Luke 6:45 says that ........for his mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. So, is my mouth the problem or is my heart the problem? I think you can see from the scripture that it is my heart. Was I born this way? No. I could pretend that everything is okay, as most of us do, but eventually the "real" me (who I am inside) will surface. Every thought, deed, and word that comes from me originates in the heart. Doesn't that mean that I should take the time to make certain my heart is as it should be? Originally published in 2006 as It Came From Within, Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley caused me to examine my heart to determine its health (not in the physical sense but in the spiritual sense).
Things may have happened to us in the past that may give us every right to be anger, jealous.....But do you want to stay that way? How long are we/you going to allow those events to have power over you and control who you are? Even if you don't see any of these four enemies of the heart glaring in your life, this book will allow you to see bits and pieces of them in yourself, making your heart less than what God would have it to be. If you have a weak physical heart, you immediately see a doctor to see what needs to be done. Allow Andy to be the "doctor" of your spiritual heart and he will point you to the path of healing, whether you need an "immediate transplant" or just a bit of exercise.
However, once you see those bits of "poison" in your own life, there is hope. Andy doesn't leave you there. Change won't happen overnight. It took you/me years to get where we are. The last two thirds of the book is devoted to confronting those undesirable traits and overcoming their power in your life.
Andy writes just like he preaches: straight up, to the point, encouraging, confronting in love, in everday language. Even though I have listened to a number of his sermons both in person and via the Internet, this is the first of his books I have read. It won't be the last. Andy doesn't dance around the Truth and his illustrations are pointed and personal. He is able to grab the reader's attention and keep it from the beginning paragraph to the end of the book. I"m typically not a non-fiction reader but I very much enjoyed reading this book. Did it sting a bit? Of course! But who wants to become stagnant and not grow in their faith and become all God wants you to be? Any change and growth is uncomfortable a bit but definitely worth it.
Enemies of the Heart is availabe June 21, 2011 from Amazon.com, christianbook.com and your local Christian bookstore.
Things may have happened to us in the past that may give us every right to be anger, jealous.....But do you want to stay that way? How long are we/you going to allow those events to have power over you and control who you are? Even if you don't see any of these four enemies of the heart glaring in your life, this book will allow you to see bits and pieces of them in yourself, making your heart less than what God would have it to be. If you have a weak physical heart, you immediately see a doctor to see what needs to be done. Allow Andy to be the "doctor" of your spiritual heart and he will point you to the path of healing, whether you need an "immediate transplant" or just a bit of exercise.
However, once you see those bits of "poison" in your own life, there is hope. Andy doesn't leave you there. Change won't happen overnight. It took you/me years to get where we are. The last two thirds of the book is devoted to confronting those undesirable traits and overcoming their power in your life.
Andy writes just like he preaches: straight up, to the point, encouraging, confronting in love, in everday language. Even though I have listened to a number of his sermons both in person and via the Internet, this is the first of his books I have read. It won't be the last. Andy doesn't dance around the Truth and his illustrations are pointed and personal. He is able to grab the reader's attention and keep it from the beginning paragraph to the end of the book. I"m typically not a non-fiction reader but I very much enjoyed reading this book. Did it sting a bit? Of course! But who wants to become stagnant and not grow in their faith and become all God wants you to be? Any change and growth is uncomfortable a bit but definitely worth it.
Enemies of the Heart is availabe June 21, 2011 from Amazon.com, christianbook.com and your local Christian bookstore.
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