Bad Thoughts
A Preacher and a Shrink's Guide to Reclaiming Your Mind and Soul
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Overcome bad thoughts and discover lasting inner health that transforms your life and faith by the renewing of your mind.
Your thoughts don't have to control you. You can control your thoughts--if you know how. And that's exactly what Judah Smith (New York Times bestselling author and popular pastor) and Les Parrott (New York Times bestselling author and trusted psychologist) will teach you.
Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience, the principles of Christian formation, and their unique relationship as therapist and client, Smith and Parrott give you a fresh, easy-to-understand, and highly practical guide to curbing your compulsive negativity and finding inner health that lasts.
In these pages, they dive into what they call the "Big 5"--the most commonly held self-destructive thoughts--revealing what they are, why they happen, and how you can overcome them. You'll be equipped to:
Let go of false guilt and discover the road to graceCure your disease to please and cultivate authentic relationshipsExtinguish self-doubt and rekindle your confidencePut pride in its place and embrace humilityQuit questioning your personal value and receive God's gift of love
Smith brings the sermon. Parrott brings the science. Together, they're dedicated to helping you retrain your brain and refresh your spirit.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pastor Smith (How's Your Soul?) and psychologist Parrott (Crazy Good Sex) team up for a perceptive guide to challenging damaging beliefs. They argue that negative thoughts influence mood and quickly become so habitual that they're ingrained in the brain, "unknowingly shaping who we become." The types of negative thinking include thoughts of unworthiness, thoughts about wanting to please others, self-critical thoughts fueled by insecurity, thoughts rooted in entitlement that "exaggerate one's own importance," and thoughts that question one's value and ability to be loved by God. Smith and Parrott provide concrete suggestions for replacing these with more useful thought patterns, including giving names to one's "inner critic" and "inner champion" and having the latter question the former, and praying for those who might not deserve it (by extending undeserved grace to another person, the authors note, it becomes easier to understand that God's love doesn't need to be earned). Fluidly combining examples from scripture, science, and pop culture with actionable advice, the authors make a persuasive and upbeat case that the power to change comes from within. Christians stuck in a cycle of self-defeatism will want to pick this up.
