With God's Help You Can Put a Stop To It...

Regardless of the issue... abuse, alcoholism, gambling, adultery, etc., you do NOT have to follow in the footsteps of your parents. It can sometimes be hard to recognize the inroads that have been programmed into your personality that would allow these seeming self-destructive traits to take hold. Our world today seems steadfast in it's collusion to allow everyone to ignore or pass responsibility on for issues that confront us daily. I say it is time to stop, point the finger at the enemy and the action, and declare that you will not allow it to affect your life or that of your family. While the image below may seem a bit melodramatic, it demonstrates the level of commitment it will take. Stand on the bridge of your life and do whatever it takes to keep the sins of the past from moving into the future of your family.

Generational Garbage

by Max Lucado • October 16

Your family history doesn’t have to be your future. The generational garbage can stop here and now.
Don’t give your kids what your ancestors gave to you. Talk to God about it, in detail. God, everyday I came home from school to find mom drunk, lying on the couch. I had to take care of baby brother, do homework on my own.  It’s not right, God. Difficult, for certain.  But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Let Him replace “childish thinking” with mature truth.
A dear friend of mine was called to identify the body of his father who’d been shot by his ex-wife. The blast was just another in a long line of angry, violent family moments. He made this resolution:  “It stops with me.”  And it has!
God wants to help you—for your sake! Trust Him—with His help, you’ll get through this.
From You’ll Get Through This

The Choice by Max Lucado

He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground.

All of the Garden’s inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.

“You will love me, nature,” God said. “I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose.”

All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. “It’s called ‘choice.’ The seed of choice.”

Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.

An angel spoke, “But what if he … ”

“What if he chooses not to love?” the Creator finished. “Come, I will show you.”

click this link to read the rest...
http://www.maxlucado.com/static/email_archive/2010/03.13.html