Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 18 - No. 5016 December 10, 2016
Thought
for the week: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." – Annie Dillard
"Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous—not just to some people in some circumstances, but to everyone all the time." – Thomas J. Watson
"The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears." – Unknown
"Hell has no exits. Heaven needs none." – Unknown
"You cannot perform in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself." – Zig Ziglar
"My life as a writer consists of 1/8 talent and 7/8 discipline." – John Irving
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." – Albert Einstein
"Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted." – Aldous Huxley
"Just as iron rusts from disuse, even so does inaction spoil the intellect." – Leonardo da Vinci
I figured that at age seven it was inevitable for my son to begin having doubts about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Sure enough, that day came. One day he said with an ominous tone, "Mom, I know the secret of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy."
Taking a deep breath, I feared his innocence had been betrayed. I asked him carefully, "What is that?"
Without hesitating he replied, "They're all nocturnal."
The three greatest scourges of the 20th century—Nazism, Japanese militarism, and Soviet Communism—were defeated through war or continued military resistance. More were killed by Hitler, Stalin, and Mao outside of combat than died in World Wars I and II. War, as Sherman said, is all hell, but as Heraclites admitted it is also "the father of us all." Wickedness—whether chattel slavery, the gas chambers, or concentration camps—has rarely passed quietly into the night on its own. The present evil isn't going to either.
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter." It depends on how long you try to hold it. "If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
"If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.
"Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"
Some of the following statements are wise ... others tongue-in-cheek!
Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
If you lend someone $20 and never see them again, it was probably worth it.
It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
The second mouse gets the cheese.
When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today ... I did.
In his book, Character is Destiny, Pepperdine professor Russell Gough is emphatic about the virtue of personal accountability and the importance of recognizing our power and responsibility to shape our own character, and thus, our future, by consciously choosing our words, deeds and attitudes.
One chapter builds on the diary of Anne Frank, written while she was hiding from the Nazis. This precocious 15-year-old wrote that "the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."
This is such a vital point. Everywhere we see evidence that we're becoming a nation of unaccountable victims, whiners and wimps all too ready to pass off responsibility to someone else.
Satirist Ambrose Bierce poked fun at this tendency when he defined responsibility as "a detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor." The parade of recently indicted CEOs added a new object of blame to this list—"It was the people who worked for me!"—as they claimed to be victims rather than perpetrators of frauds that enriched them.
Everywhere we turn, we see people blaming personal shortcomings and social ills on circumstances beyond their control or on an irresponsible media, greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, irresistible economic pressures and every manner of psychological syndrome.
Even while facing likely death from an unspeakably evil regime, Anne Frank knew no external power could make her become a bad or good person. She knew she had choices, including how to react—in actions and attitudes—to circumstances beyond her control.
What temptations we resist and surrender to are always a matter of choice. Each of us can be as good as we are willing to be.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?"1
Today's Daily Encounter Lego illustration is by Steve Klusmeyer who writes:
"Life might be less complicated for all of us if we each received our own LEGO kit at birth. Yes, I realize there is a choking hazard for children under three. But when you are old enough, you can learn a lot from LEGOs. I have learned that:
"Size doesn't matter. When stepped on in the dark, a 2X2 LEGO brick causes the same amount of pain as a 2X8 brick.
"All LEGO men are created equal (1.5625 inches tall). What they become is limited only by imagination.
"There is strength in numbers. When the bricks stick together, great things can be accomplished.
"Playtime is important. Sometimes it doesn't matter what you are building, as long as you're having fun.
"Disaster happens. But the pieces can be put back together again.
"Every brick has a purpose. Some are made for a specific spot—most can adapt almost anywhere—but every one will fit somewhere.
"Color doesn't matter. A blue brick will fit in the same space as a red brick.
"No one is indispensable. If one brick is unavailable, another can take its place.
"It doesn't always turn out as planned. Sometimes it turns out better. If it doesn't, you can always try again."2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to remember that I have a part to play in your body, the Church, and that I am not any more or less important than any other member. Help me to play my part faithfully that my life will bring honor and glory to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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