Boundaries

I've been reading "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend.  You can visit the Cloud-Townsend website here.  I highly recommend this book, and I think everyone should read it.  You are either going to identify with me or you are going to think "duh," but this book has really helped me to understand how emotions were given to us by God to help us identify what boundaries we need to set for our self and the people in our life.  As Christians we are taught to deny our self, so sometimes we inadvertently think that boundaries are selfish.  However, God always designed us to know when we are hungry or need to go to the bathroom.  If we stop to eat or to use the bathroom,  no one thinks of us as selfish, but we are taking care of our own physical needs.  Emotions are designed by God to do the same.  I'll be honest and say that I did not know that emotions had this purpose: to take care of needs in an emotional sense. 

God has given us clear boundaries that we all are to abide by in His Word.  But He has crafted each one of us uniquely with different emotional responses to different situations.  I cannot explain it as adequately as you can read in the book, but I think boundaries set us free to be who God created us to be and also free us from placing judgment on others when they choose to do something differently than we think is best or even right. 

So much of what I have said on this blog probably has made no sense in light of this basic information, but I feel it is an ah-ha moment for me.

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

As I mentioned earlier, I have become a book review blogger for Thomas Nelson.



The New York Times best selling author, Andy Andrews, brings us his latest work, The Noticer. This book is a very fast read - easy to follow and understand, and conveys deep meaning with simplicity. This book is composed of many stories all woven together through a man who notices and walks into people's lives at just the right moment and changes them forever. The stories are much like parables, and the book conveys biblical wisdom without using the bible in and of itself. He even references Gary Chapman's, The Five Love Languages.

Whether depressed, discouraged, down, or defeated, this book offers the promise of a new perspective. Whatever your particular crisis currently is, this books offers the hope to keep on going. As long as you are alive, you have not fulfilled your purpose yet, so LIVE. If you have ever had a dream and thought about giving up on it, then this book will remind you to keep going! This book could be especially encouraging in these economic times.

I personally liked this book because I am a "noticer", and I was inspired to think of it as a gift and to use it to encourage others. It also reminded me that I am a person of worth and value, and that I just need to gain a different perspective on myself when I feel that I am not. I will say that this book is not my favorite kind of book to read, but I believe that it could be of great value to others.

To find out more about the book, please watch this summary video here, and see Andy Andrews Noticer interview with Shepard Smith here.

Ultimately, we can all be "noticers" or encouragers who help give perspective and change lives. Sometimes, all any of us really need is a little encouragement. You can put this thought in motion at The Noticer Project.

Book Reviews

So I've become a book review blogger, and I am actually reading. I will post my first review next Monday, BEFORE the book comes out!

You can become a book review blogger too at Thomas Nelson. You get books for free, and you have something to blog about. Happy Reading!