Living Without Limits: Power Ideas for Positive Living

By James E. Kilgore Ph.D.

Written in the style of newspaper articles, these succinct applications to relevant issues of our time stimulate the reader to think about his own choices in facing the challenges of today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973675563

James E. Kilgore Ph.D.

Reflected in his long and distinguished career as an author, a consultant, a minister, a featured speaker and a marriage and family therapist, Dr. Kilgore writes from a unique perspective. Not only has he dealt with critical issues in the counseling office, but he has also spoken to audiences, conferences and university settings around the world.

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Copyright © 2019 James E. Kilgore, Ph.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7557-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7558-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7556-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019914602

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/3/2019

Contents

POWER IDEAS CREATE POSITIVE LIVING!

EXPLORING THE POWER IDEAS

POWER IDEA 0NE THE POWER OF THINKING …

POWER IDEA TWO HONESTY

POWER IDEA THREE ACCOMPLISHMENT

POWER IDEA FOUR THE POWER OF INTEGRITY

POWER IDEA FIVE FORGETFULNESS

POWER IDEA SIX ELIMINATE BITTERNESS

POWER IDEA SEVEN DISCOVERY

POWER IDEA EIGHT TRUST YOUR CREATIVITY

POWER IDEA NINE THE POWER OF LEGACY

POWER IDEA TEN ENCOURAGEMENT

POWER IDEA ELEVEN DISCOVER HAPPINESS

POWER IDEA TWELVE GRATITUDE

POWER IDEAS PART TWO: DISCOVERING POSITIVE WHOLENESS

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY ONE HOW CAN I KNOW THE WILL OF GOD?

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY TWO CHURCH: EVENT OR FAMILY?

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY THREE MAKING THE BROKEN WHOLE AGAIN

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY FOUR HELP ME - I’M THE VICTIM HERE!

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY FIVE CULTURAL CONFORMATION OR SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY SIX CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY SEVEN WELCOME TO HOLLAND!

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY EIGHT HOW BIG IS GOD?

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY NINE FEAR IS OUR ENEMY

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY TEN COMPLETE FORGIVENESS

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY ELEVEN WHO HAS YOUR BACK?

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY TWELVE PRAYER IS OUR GREATEST POWER

POSITIVE LIVING DISCOVERY THIRTEEN ARE YOU LISTENING?

LIVING POSITIVELY ALL YEAR LONG! THESE POSITIVE POWER THOUGHTS ARE FOR CALENDAR OCCASIONS AND SEASONS OF THE YEAR!

JANUARY APPROACHING A NEW YEAR

JANUARY APPROACHING A NEW YEAR (2)

FEBRUARY APPROACHING VALENTINE’S DAY

FEBRUARY THE MONTH FOR LOVERS

MARCH APPROACHING EASTER

APRIL APPROACHING SPRING

MAY APPROACHING MOTHER’S DAY

MAY APPROACHING MEMORIAL DAY

JUNE APPROACHING FATHER’S DAY…

JULY APPROACHING INDEPENDENCE DAY…

DECEMBER APPROACHING CHRISTMAS

APPROACHING CHRISTMAS (2) THERE’S A HOLE IN MY HEART – HOW DO I CELEBRATE?

DECEMBER APPROACHING CHRISTMAS 2

POSITIVE LIVING IN FAMILY AND MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS

A FOUNDATION FOR GROWTH UNFORGETTABLE LESSONS FROM MY GRANDPARENTS!

SETTING MY FAMILY’S VALUE TABLE WHAT ARE YOUR FAMILY VALUES?

BUILDING STRONG CHILDREN THE FACE OF THE FUTURE

WHAT MAKES A STRONG FAMILY? ONE YOU CAN HAVE TODAY

THE ULTIMATE GIFTS FOR YOUR CHILDREN ROOTS AND WINGS!

THE LOST ART OF READING MAKING BOOKS IMPORTANT TO OUR CHILDREN

WHO WILL TEACH MY CHILDREN? LESSONS EVERY CHILD SHOULD LEARN AT HOME

LEAVING A LEGACY OF CARING BUILDING A BRIDGE FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW

FREEDOM FROM FEAR THE TERRIBLE SILENCE OF THE DECENT

MARRIAGE A HAPPINESS FACTOR?

MARRIAGE A PERSONAL CHOICE

WHAT EVERY MARRIAGE NEEDS TO SUCCEED THREE KEYS TO A LASTING MARRIAGE

MOVING FROM THE MUNDANE TO THE MAGNIFICENT

I’M FEELING ALONE WHERE IS GOD WHEN I NEED HIM?

DISCOVERING FREEDOM GET OUT OF THE DUMPSTER

THE EARS OF THE HEART CAN YOU HEAR THE SONG?

WHERE DO YOU ENGRAVE? LOVE PRINTS ON THE HEART

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER ANTICIPATION FOR MORE

THINKING ABOUT ETERNITY IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?

ONE DAY AT A TIME TODAY CAN BE YOUR MASTERPIECE

THE MEASURE OF LIFE THE PARADOX OF POSSESSION

DON’T QUIT BEFORE YOU DIE STAY ALIVE ALL YOUR LIFE

CONCLUSION

For the Pathfinders,

my companions in the

search for practical truth from the Bible

over the last decade.

Thank you!

POWER IDEAS CREATE POSITIVE LIVING!

I have been fortunate to listen to the joys and the sorrows of thousands of people in my interactions with counselees in my office for Marriage and Family Therapy for more than sixty years and over sixty-five years as a Pastor-teacher. I am indebted to them for what I have learned. These interactions have allowed me to develop skills which resulted in a lifetime of writing, both in books and multiple articles, for professional and general audiences.

When I was a teenager, I first heard the concept, the explosive power of a new affection in a sermon by Thomas Chalmers. I have written more extensively about that and other ideas in my full-length books. I invite you to explore those books too! Excitement comes in a new idea, a new affection, and a new infatuation. They explode the boundaries of our thinking!

As you read these ideas, my intent is that like mental appetizers you will have a deeper appetite for positive thinking. Communication is my goal. I count on your imagination and stimulation to go beyond what I have written and to think more deeply about your lifestyle. The end result may be positive living – a more satisfying day by day experience of the full potential of your life. If that happens, I will be a success and you will be blessed!

That’s living without limits!

These articles have been written over a period of time and revised very little. I hope you’ll find that stimulating too.

James E. Kilgore

Here are twelve concepts to stimulate your mind and apply to your life:

1 – Thinking

2 – Honesty

3 – Accomplishment

4 – Integrity

5 – Forgetfulness

6 – Eliminate Bitterness

7 – Discovery

8 – Trust Your Creativity

9 – Leave a Legacy

10 –Encouragement

11 –Give Happiness

12 –Gratitude

Think with me as we begin our adventure.

EXPLORING THE POWER IDEAS

POWER IDEA 0NE

THE POWER OF THINKING …

As I have listened to the news recently, I am more aware that so much of what government does is to create limits on the basic freedoms we enjoy. Those unalienable rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution are shrinking. Through licenses and regulations, especially from Washington, we are being told what to do or say. Politicians proclaim freedom and rights, but they result in limits on our lives. All of us are faced with a critical question – how can I create life without limits in the face of 545 people in Congress working every day to limit what I can do or say? It’s a question we need to ask ourselves.

Living without limits is very personal. The answers are not materialistic but spiritual. Too often we are looking for limitless life in all the wrong places. This life is not the result of "luck. I watched as a customer spent several dollars on lottery tickets. I don’t think the government should be engaging in or regulating gambling. Too little of the money generated goes to education! If you want to waste your money doing that, you should be free to do so. The quest for happiness through what we have is always limiting. When Henry Ford was asked, How much money does it take to satisfy a man? he profoundly answered, Just a little bit more!" The itch to have more is rarely ever scratched!

So what choices allow us limitless life?

I choose faith over fear!

Over forty years ago, a couple I had worked with in marriage counseling brought me a small gift. It was a framed plaque that read, Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there. Fear locks us in place and keeps the key to freedom. Healthy change only comes through faith in the possibility of change. Soren Kierkegaard, the Swiss psychiatrist, defined anxiety as the alarming possibility of being able. Like the Biblical brave boy, David, all of us face giants in our world and in our inner thoughts. To overcome them, we need to exercise our faith through the skills we have already developed. A small stone in a practiced sling shot brought down an enemy that terrorized a whole army of soldiers.

All of us have faith; some use it more effectively than others. Living in the prison of fear restricts our imagination and our choices. Faith is the key that unlocks the prison cell.

I choose the