BOUNDARIES: WHEN TO SAY YES, WHEN TO SAY NO – TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE by DR HENRY CLOUD AND JOHN TOWNSEND

Title: Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No-To Take Control of Your Life
Author: Dr Henry Cloud and Dr John Townsend
Publisher: Zondervan (2002)
Pages: 304

DR HENRY CLOUD has been a guest speaker at my church on more than one occasion over the years. He’s an amazing speaker, and seems like a genuinely nice guy. When I heard about BOUNDARIES: WHEN TO SAY YES, WHEN TO SAY NO – TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE by DR HENRY CLOUD AND JOHN TOWNSEND, I decided to purchase it.

I’m sorry to say I let it sit on my bookshelf for some time before finally reading it. Once I got started, I quickly realized what a treasure I’d stumbled upon. There’s so much good stuff packed into 304 pages, I can’t begin to cover it all. I will say that I have more dog-eared paged in BOUNDARIES, then I do in any other book I’ve ever owned.

I didn’t realize I had boundaries issues until I read this book. There wasn’t a chapter I didn’t get something out of it or couldn’t connect with. I had thought about skipping the section on “Boundaries and Work”, since I’m no longer in the work field. I would have missed out if I had. It was a real eye opener to when I had worked, and packed with wonderful information if I ever decided to return to working.

Boundaries are needed in all parts of our lives including, our family, friends, spouses, kids, and those we work with. We as individuals need to set our own boundaries as well. To not do so would only be cheating oneself. We also need to recognize that God has boundaries as well.

BOUNDARIES will teach you all you need to know about boundaries in all aspects of your life, and how to apply them properly. I love the reference to Christianity, but even if you’re not a believer, I highly recommend this book.

My copy of BOUNDARIES is filled with highlights, parentheses, and astericks. If I had to pinpoint the most valuable piece of information I took away, it would have to be in a paragraph on page 89.

“What you can do is influence others. But there is a trick. Since you cannot get them to change, you must change yourself so that their destructive patterns no longer work on you. Change your way of dealing with them; they may be motivated to change if their old ways no longer work.”

What amazing advice. How often do we gripe and groan about others? How often do we try to change others, whether in the way they act or what they say? And more importantly … how often do our efforts have a positive result? On page 89, BOUNDARIES teaches us that we are the ones that need to make a change, and by doing so, we may be instrumental in changing other’s life.

I can’t even begin to guess how many people I’ve recommended this wonderful book too, packed full of knowledge for every person, written in a way that anyone can grasp. It’s a book that will remain in my home indefinitely.

THE COWBOY’S HEALING WAYS by BRENDA MINTON

Title: The Cowboy’s Healing Ways

Author: Brenda Minton
Publisher: Love Inspired (January 22, 2013)
Pages: 224

I can’t help it, every time I spot a BRENDA MINTON book at the store I get excited. If I’m currently reading a book, I have to fight not to stop reading that one, and read MS MINTON’S instead.

One thing I can be sure of when I open up to the first page of a BRENDA MINTON book, I’m going to be swept away. Swept away in an amazing story with characters that I will fall in love with and wish I could walk into their world.

Laura White is down on her luck when she’s driven off the road by a sweet, elderly woman. When her handsome grandson comes to the rescue, Laura doesn’t trust him as much as he is leery of her. He may be a doctor, but the caring man has the potential to break her heart. Something she’s experienced one too many times. 

Jesse Cooper isn’t happy that his grandmother is so willing to take in a stranger. One that seems to be hiding something. In time he discovers not only is Laura to be trusted, she just may be the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

I feel like a broken record when reviewing a BRENDA MINTON book. How many ways can I say that I love her writing and the stories she gifts her readers with. Never tired of her novels, as I finish one, I wait with baited breath for the next.

I love Jesse Cooper, just as I have loved the rest of the Cooper men. Sweet and caring come to mind when I think of his character. Laura’s story is refreshingly unique. An ending can make or break a story. THE COWBOY’S HEALING WAYS has one of the sweetest and endearing endings I’ve read.

Bring on another, I’m ready!

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HOME FOR GOOD by JESSICA KELLER

Title: Home For Good

Author: Jessica Keller
Publisher: Love Inspired (January 22, 2013)
Pages: 224

If I was only allowed one word to describe HOME FOR GOOD by JESSICA KELLER, I guess that would have to be “WOW”. If I had not been told so, I would not have believed this to be MS KELLER’S first novel.

Ali Silver’s husband took off before she had the chance to tell him she was carrying his child. Raising a child on her own hasn’t been easy. When Jericho Freed returns after eight long years, Ali isn’t so forgiving.

Jericho isn’t proud of deserting the love of his life all those years ago, but it couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t the man she deserved. After joining the military and getting his life back on track, Jericho returns to the town he grew up in and the woman he left behind. But will she forgive him enough to allow him back into his life?

At only 224 pages and such a great read, I should have finished HOME FOR GOOD quicker than I did. So why didn’t I? The writing was so rich that I felt the need to take my time to absorb each and every word.

Right from the first page I was sucked in. It began with a POW, but it didn’t stop there. It just kept going. Don’t ask me why, but names are important to me. If the characters name isn’t one that I like, it can hinder my reading. If it is one that I adore, then all the better. All that to say that I loved not only the name Jericho, but his character as well. Maybe the word love is a little strong …Nah.

MS KELLER’S did an amazing job with bringing the characters to life, keeping a wonderful pace, moving the story along in a way that kept you from wanting to put it down. I’m not much into mysteries, suspense or thrillers. I loved the subtleness of the suspense and mystery MS KELLER added. Just enough to spice up the story, yet not enough to take away from the romance.

Will I be looking for more by MS KELLER in the future? You can count on it.