Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 9 – No. 2707 July 07, 2007
Thought for the week: "Do not have your concert first and tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with God." –
James Hudson Taylor
"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that
reflects it." – Edith Wharton
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." – Leo Buscaglia
"What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows
exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds
it." – Alexander Graham Bell
"Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind." – Leonardo da Vinci
"Peace is not the absence of conflict; it's the absence of inner conflict." – Unknown
"There are none so blind as those who refuse to see." – Helen Keller
"It is difficult to know what counts in the world. Most of us count credits, honor and dollars. But at the bulging center of mid-life, I am beginning to see that the things that really matter take place not in the boardrooms, but in the kitchens of the world." – Gary Allen Sledge
It was hot outside, but it was even hotter in the restaurant. I was serving tables when a customer stopped me and asked if there was anything I could do about the heat. I told him I'd see. Just as I was going to the manager, the automatic sprinkler system came on; a fire had started in the kitchen. As everybody got up to leave, the same customer caught my eye and gave me a wink. "That's not quite what I had in mind," he said.
1. Live each day with courage.
2. Take pride in your work.
3. Always finish what you start.
4. Do what has to be done.
5. Be tough, but fair.
6. When you make a promise, keep it.
7. Ride for the brand.
8. Talk less and say more.
9. Some things aren't for sale.
10. Know where to draw the line.
Two old friends bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?"
The sad fellow said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars."
"That's a lot of money."
"But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand free and clear."
"Sounds like you've been blessed...."
"You don't understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million."
Now he was really confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?"
"This week ... nothing!"
That's the trouble with receiving something on a regular basis. Even if it is a gift, we eventually come to expect it. Someone once suggested to me a way to test someone's character. Give him (or her) $5 a day for a month. Then stop, and see what his reaction is. The natural tendency is that if we receive a gift long enough, we come to view it as an entitlement. We feel hurt, even angry, if we don't receive it any longer.
It's the same way with the blessings God gives us every day. I don't deserve the comfortable home I live in, the beautiful scenery around me, the clean water that I drink. But after receiving these gifts (and a multitude of others) for years, I sometimes fail to be grateful. I've come to expect these good things. And when one of them is removed for a short while (like the water being cut off), I get upset.
Make an effort today to recognize the blessings you've come to take for granted. Focus on what you have rather than on what you don't have, and see if it doesn't improve your attitude.
"Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men" (Psalm 107:8).
An unusual tribute was paid to Abraham Lincoln by Carl Sandburg. The poet wrote, "Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect."
Lincoln demonstrated then and now how a person can possess both a will of iron and a heart of tenderness. Nothing deterred the president during the American Civil War from his "noble" cause, and few persons have ever endured more criticism and detractors than Lincoln. Yet he was no more a man of steel than one of velvet.
When General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army, Lincoln sent an unexpected message to the enemy commander. "Tell your men they may keep their horses; they'll need them for plowing," said the president. Then this: "Tell your men they may keep their rifles; they'll need them for hunting." When Lee read those words he wept.
Consider this scenario: Annoyed and concerned that his well-educated son didn't have and wasn't aggressively looking for a job, the boy's father declared, "It's time for you to carry your own weight. Get a job, son."
His son, whom I'll call Mac, told his father, "I want a job I can enjoy."
His dad responded, "They call it 'work' for a reason. Make a decent living, and you can make a good life."
Mac shot back, "You mean like you, working all your life running a muffler shop? That's not my idea of a good life."
His dad winced. "You're right. I work very hard and don't have much fun or prestige. But it never occurred to me you saw me as a failure." And he left the room.
Mac's mother was furious. "How dare you demean our life? Your dad's a wonderful husband and father, and people look up to him. He gave up on his dream to be a sportswriter, but he gave you a good home and a college education. He may not be your idea of success, but he's mine."
A poem by Betty Anderson Stanley says it all:
He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much / Who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men, and the love of little children / Who has filled his niche and accomplished his task / Who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul / Who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had / Whose life was an inspiration / Whose memory a benediction.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Then he [Jesus] said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.'"1
Not all by any means, but most of the motivational books and lectures that I have read and heard pretty much measure success in terms of wealth and material gain. For example, businessmen and women who are considered successful are those who have built an effective business that has become very profitable financially. Most of these "successful" people have been totally committed to, and have invested their life in achieving their goal of success.
However, many or at least some of these people after they have reached the pinnacle of success in terms of the world's measure of success ask themselves, "Is this all there is to life?" and wonder, "What have I achieved with my life that will leave anything of lasting value after I have gone? What, if anything, have I contributed to the betterment of mankind?" In other words, "What have I done of lasting significance?"
The reality is that one can achieve success and receive many accolades and obtain wide recognition and yet not have achieved anything of lasting significance. On the other hand, if one has invested his or her life in things of lasting value, he or she is the one who has achieved real success and whose life is truly significant—with or without any accolades, recognition or monitory gain.
In other words I can be "successful" but not have any significance, but if I have achieved significance I will be truly successful.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be successfully significant by my life's priorities, in the way I invest my life, and in the worthwhile goals I achieve. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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