Boundaries

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: This book gives one the TOOLS to build healthy boundaries. It's a virtual Home Depot of psychology and living.

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: This book gives one the TOOLS to build healthy boundaries. It's a virtual Home Depot of psychology and living.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed- so far short of what Christianity offers
Review: This book is a psychology textbook with some bible verses plugged into it. Pyschology sometimes parallels the Bible, but many times takes a very humanistic turn. These Christian authors did not or would not discern the difference. The basic ideas of knowing your limits are good, especially if you have grown up not understanding the blessing and gift of boundaries in your life. They consistently suggest drawing lines in your life and expecting people to respect them, but they never come out and say that God has to define where your need to draw the lines and then more times than not you have to let Him defend them. By not clarifying this, the reader is left with a void that is filled with whatever they feel like the boundary should be. There are times when God will ask you to do something that you don't think you have the strength, time and/or money to do, but you do it because your Savior is asking you to and He will provide the resources. It would have been so much more helpful to today's church if instead of writing 300 pages of psychology definitions with some scripture, they would have written 25 pages on basic, biblical priorities (i.e. knowing what has eternal value), hearing the voice of God, and understanding fear of man verses fear of God (i.e. caring what God says about the situation verses what people are thinking or saying about you).

One last thought, they suggest a support group or therapist to help with a "boundaryless" life; I have found that having Jesus Christ do his simple work of convicting,forgiving,healing and then strengthening is far more effective then even years of professional counseling.

Rating:
Summary: Take back your life and find freedom
Review: This is a book about taking back control of your life by setting boundaries for yourself and others. It focuses on the problem of boundaries for Christians in particular. For example, if Christians are supposed to be loving and helpful to their neighbors then at what point are you supposed to say "No" to something they want or need? Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend help lead the reader through the process of setting up appropriate personal boundaries that define who you are and how you will interact with others.

The authors are right on target with their ten laws of boundaries and eight myths about boundaries. If you can follow these laws and dispel these myths you will go a long way toward reclaiming your life and finding happiness. The section on boundaries and your family is also excellent and shows the authors' depth of understanding about family dynamics. Other specific areas discussed include boundaries and your friends, boundaries and your spouse, boundaries and your children, boundaries and your work, boundaries and your self, and even boundaries and God.

This is an excellent book and is highly recommended to help everyone set appropriate boundaries in their life. While it was published in 1992, Boundaries is still often recommended by Christian and Pastoral counselors and timeless in its application to the human condition.