Customer Reviews

How to Stop the Pain

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The topic of judging others and its fruit is a bit tough to "own" but I've found that my judgements have impacted every area of my life. Walking free of the need to judge others and even myself has been liberating.

I highly recomend this book.

Pastor Ed Johnson
laklandbelieverschurch.com

Disclaimer: I am only 1/2 way through this book. I normally don't write reviews for a book that I haven't even finished yet, but this book deserves to be an exception. This book will change your life!

I have slowly read the first 7 chapters over the last couple of weeks and tried to incorporate what I would learn into my daily life. By doing this, I have learned more about not only pain, but relationships and how to treat people than any other book I have ever read. Truly learning about judgment and to stop trying to fix people has given me huge insights into myself and people around me. The first few chapters are worth the price of the book alone once applied to your life. I am excited about what else I'm going to learn from this book.

I found this book on an Amazon search because my life was on the rocks with a new relationship that I had started. By all accounts I had met my soul mate; however we were suffering from daily fights or fallouts over stupid stuff. What was going on? I thought that I was being too sensitive and taking stuff too seriously, so I bought this book for myself. More than a week went by and I almost forgot that I had ordered the thing.

The book came in the mail on a day where my fiance and I suffered another hard "attack." I half-heartedly opened the book and started reading the introduction after we suffered the pain of another argument. I was floored by what I read. I had to run and get my fiance and read it to her. The message hit us both so hard we started to cry. What I had originally thought was just a self-help book for myself turned out to be something we both desperately needed, and the introduction applied to what had just happened in our lives only minutes before. Me choosing this book out of the hundreds on this topic and the message in that introduction was truly a gift from God to give us the tools we needed to pull through those hard times.

I started that night and read the first few chapters out loud to her. This stuff was profound and provided clear examples of how to incorporate it into your daily life. It has affected every single relationship in my life with friends and family. I am going to go back and re-read the first chapters and take notes. I'm going to make notes to hang on my mirror and cubicle at work. The topic at hand is simple, but truly incorporating it into your life is going to take time. It is well worth it!

An extra note to the readers of this review: This book is heavily laced with the teachings of Jesus Christ, and as such may not initially appeal to everyone. However, I urge you not to let that dissuade you, because even if you went through the book and stripped every mention of Christ from the pages, this would still be relevant and helpful to you.

Every time I read one of James Richards books (I've read five) I declare it to be the "most amazing" Christian teaching book Ive ever read!

How To Stop The Pain truly delivers a 'most amazing' biblical view on a difficult, rarely embraced (personally embraced) subject. I have underlining on nearly every page!

This is NOT one of those "C'mon solider, pull your self up by the boot straps, suck it up, stuff it down and "act" like a good Christian" books! At no point will you feel condemned, instead you will feel motivated and greatly encouraged to truly release the source of the pain in your life.

Imagine what life would be like if you never got your feelings hurt, got offended, felt inadequate or judged again.......
Joy,
Peace,
FREEDOM.

If you really what to break out of some paradigms, this is the read for you.

Get ready to enjoy many many "ah-ha" revelations.

"It IS for freedom that Christ set us free"

(Check out James Richards "Heart Physics" 30 day program for a more indepth launch into the life Christ died to give you.)

Before I read this book a good friend of mine would often quote from it or use what Dr. Richards said trying to convince me to stop my judgment of others. I thought he was foolish for letting go of the "gift" of judgment. I held on to the pain others had caused me for my entire Christian journey. I actually felt I was benefitting from filtering every experience through my own judgmental "lenses". I was harshly critical of my brothers and sisters in Christ and of the delegated authority God had placed me under. I ended up reading the book, and the Holy Spirit used it to set me free from my judgmental mindsets. The quote on the front --"pain is inevitable. suffering is optional" is the best summary of this book. People will hurt you-they are people, after all. But YOU make the choice to hold on to that pain or to let it go and live in freedom-it could be the most important decision you ever make as a Christian. This book above all others has CHANGED MY LIFE. I recommend it to absolutely everyone. The many applicable bible passages are collected and expounded on in this one resource. Get it!

Most people have no idea of how many judgements they have made over their life time that keep them in bondage. This book will expose the way you think and the significance you placed on actions of other people that really were not about you in the first place. This book is excellent material for a small group book study.

This book is great. If everyone dealt with people as this book suggests it would be quite a different world. We can do it one person at a time!

When I started reading the book I was skeptical but I decided not to 'judge' it until I had read it all. There were two or three translation quotations that I took exception to, however, I remember something my father taught me growing up on the farm.

We would buy flour in 25 pound cloth bags. When we opened the bag, we would many times find weevils (smal bugs or worms) or small rocks in the floor. The first time I saw this, I told my father the flour was ruined and that we would have to throw it away. Dad said, "No, we will just pour it into a floor sieve and let the good flour fall through into a bowl to be used in cooking; the screen in the sift will catch the bugs and rocks and we will throw THEM away."

What a powerful and wise lesson my father taught me. I don't have to agree with EVERYTHING a person says in order for me to received something from God and be Blessed.

Thank you Dr. Richards. The book came into my life at a point when I really needed it!

Pastor Richards' messages always go beyond "what does the Bible mean?" to "what does the Bible mean for my life today?" This is why his teachings are so practical, embracing the whole man--the body, mind and spirit. His mission is to change the way the world sees God, and he has done that for me. God is no longer a taskmaster that can not be pleased; I now see that God completely delights in me and this confidence in the love of God is revolutionary. I highly recommend any of Dr. Richard's books, along with his Heart Physics 30 day meditation program. I have met him in person, and he is very real and genuine and imperfect! It is very refreshing.

I have found this to be an outstanding tool, not only in my own life but in the lives of the women I minister to. Since reading this book and applying the scriptural principals, I have had remarkable success at improving my personal communications, especially communicating with my husband. I was shocked when I actually realized how often I judged his motives one way, and upon asking him "why" found I was completely off base in my assessment.... What a blessing.
I found myself recommending this book so often to my women at our church, that I finally ordered 20 copies and set up a bible study group... the women can not stop talking about how the main principals of this book are helping them... Don't judge motives, apply forgiveness, allow others to have the information they need to repent when they offend or harm you, and fix yourself first... just for starters :)
Please take the time to read this book and search out the scriptures used... apply the scriptures. You will regain peace in your life.

Great book that I plan on reading for the rest of my life. A chapter a day as often as I can. I would even be so bold as to say that I think everyone should read this book...over and over again.