Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 9 – No. 3507 September 01, 2007
Thought for the week: "Once the truth is told, you never need to pretend again." – Stephen C. Paul
"It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes." – Louis Pasteur
"God does not ask your ability or your inability. He asks only your availability." – Mary Kay Ashe
"The human race is divided into two classes—those who go ahead and do something, and those who sit still and inquire, 'Why wasn't it done the other way?'" – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
"The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands." – Robert M. Pirsig
"To fly we have to have resistance." – Maya Lin, architect
"The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone." – Orison Swett Marden
"Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." – Napoleon Hill
On a business trip, my father approached a security checkpoint at the airport. The National Guard shift was rotating, and a guard, in full uniform, was in line in front of him.
As with everybody else, the soldier was ordered to go through the metal detector. So, as he did so, he handed his M-16 rifle to security personnel along with other items such as handcuffs and a flashlight.
Still, the alarm sounded when he walked through. Further inspection revealed a little Swiss army knife inside one of his pockets.
"Sorry, Sir, but this item is prohibited," security said to the soldier.
Then, taking the knife away, the airport worker handed him back the M-16.
(This one hits me where I live. I've lost at least 4 small Swiss Army knives at airport security points. It's on my key chain and I just forget about it! Dave Aufrance)
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.
"Cowboy Ethics," by James P. Owen
Submitted by Bill Cousins
I love the story of a church that had a parking problem. It was right next door to a store that was closed on Sunday. They asked the owner if they could use his parking lot. He said that they could use it for 51 Sundays out of the year but that it would be chained off one week. They were happy with the deal, but curious why it would be chained off that one Sunday. He explained that he just wanted them to remember that it wasn't their parking lot!
You know, there's a lot of wisdom there. Because if you use something long enough, you tend to assume that it's yours. But everything we have belongs to God. God wants us to remember that. He told Israel that one day they would be richly blessed. But he warned them: "But then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of mine hand have gained me this wealth.' And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).
Think about it. Is it harder to give up something of your own or give someone back what is already his? If I need to haul some stuff around, I might need to borrow a friend's pickup truck for a while. Suppose I kept it for a day. Then I start to give it back to him. Is that hard to do? Here's a car that's worth thousands of dollars and I'm just giving it to him? Sure, it's easy to give it to him because it's not mine; it belongs to my friend.
What we have belongs to God; it's his stuff to begin with! He blesses us by letting us use it, but it's still his. And when we understand that, giving to God becomes a lot easier.
Someone has said that "As long as a man thinks that he owns what he has, then the church will always appear to him as a beggar appealing to him to part with what he has to meet her needs. But once a man realizes that he owns nothing, but owes everything, and even his life is given him in trust, then proper portion of his blessings will be given back to God."
Have a great day!
Thought for the Day by Alan Smith,
Helen Street Church of Christ Fayetteville, NC http://www.tftd-online.com
No matter what you do, no matter how stupid, dumb or damaging you judge it to be, there is a lesson to be learned from it. No matter what happens to you, no matter how unfair, inequitable or wrong, there's something you can take from the situation and use for your advancement.
In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy asks Charlie Brown, "Why do you think we were put on earth?"
Charlie answers, "To make others happy."
Lucy replies, "I don't think I'm making anyone happy," and then adds, "but nobody's making me very happy either. Somebody's not doing his job!"
People like Lucy are so sure happiness is a matter of getting something that they ask not what they can do for others but what others can and should do for them. They usually feel shortchanged or cheated. They become so preoccupied with what they don't have that they can't enjoy what they do have.
What's more, they don't realize one of the best ways to be happy is to experience the joy and sense of self-worth of making others happy.
Dennis Prager, in his book, Happiness Is a Serious Problem, argues that it's human nature to want and feel we need more. The problem is, the quest for more is endless because we can always add more to whatever we have. As a result, the Lucys of the world often live in an "if only" world that keeps them one step away from happiness: "If only I could get this raise, make this sale, pay off my debts, or win this game, I'd be happy."
Abraham Lincoln understood that happiness is essentially a way of looking at one's life. "A person is generally about as happy as he's willing to be," he said. Thus, we're more likely to experience happiness if we realize it's not just getting what we want. It's learning to want what we get.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"A ruthless businessman once said to author Mark Twain, "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud from the top."
"I have a better idea," Twain remarked, "You could stay home here and keep them."
Talk is cheap. It's what we do that counts—not what we say—and when our words don't match our actions, we are, as the Apostle Paul put it, as empty vessels and clanging symbols.
One of the best lessons I learned from one of my many teachers was the written comment he seemed to relish writing in bold red letters in the column of several of my written assignments. It simply read, "Show me. Don't tell me!"
I've never forgotten that lesson. It really applies to all of life's lessons we want to impart to others—especially to our children! Whatever we want to teach others we need to model ourselves before we can make any lasting impact on anybody else, otherwise what we say is unbelievable and the only person we deceive in the long run will be ourselves.
As a general rule, we teach best that which we ourselves most need to learn. And the place to begin modeling what we want to teach? At home!
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to model the kind of person you want me to be ... a better father/mother/child ... friend ... partner ... business person ... and Christian so people seeing what you have done in my life will want the same for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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