Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 9 – No. 3707 September 15, 2007
Thought for the week: "Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind." – Leonardo da Vinci
"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they might have planned for you? Not much." – Jim Rohn
"A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person." – Dave Barry
"The value of a relationship is in direct proportion to the time that you invest in the relationship." – Brian Tracy
"I would rather work with five people who really believe in what they are doing rather than 500 who can't see the point." – Patrick Dixon
"A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit." – D. Elton Trueblood
"When the morning's freshness has been replaced by the weariness of midday, when the leg muscles give under the strain, the climb seems endless, and suddenly nothing will go quite as you wish—it is then that you must not hesitate." – Dag Hammarskjol
I read a story recently about an American who did her nurse's training at a hospital in Liverpool, England. She and her fellow students had little money for meals, so they ate the (not-so-good) food provided at the hospital complex. When they took their breaks in the kitchen, sometimes kindly visitors would give them some of the treats they had brought for patients.
One night, a woman brought a pork pie to the kitchen and said to this nursing student, "Would you 'eat this up, love?"
Delighted at the offer, she and another student devoured every crumb.
Soon the woman returned, however, and asked, "Is me 'usband's pie 'ot yet, dearie?"
In a "Peanuts" comic strip, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus are reviewing the performance of their baseball team. It has been a losing season. Charlie Brown (the team manager) agonizes: "You know our team lost every game. There's simply nothing good about our team." Lucy tries to cheer him up. "Well, Charlie," she says, "Schroeder almost hit a home run. And we did almost win a couple of games. Once we almost made a double play. We were this close. We almost made it." Then Linus pipes in, "Charlie Brown," he says, "If its any consolation to you, we led the league in Almosts."
Many of us have heard the story about Abraham Lincoln. He was defeated seven times for elective office before winning the Presidency of the United States. He certainly defied the odds. And he did not give up.
Then there was Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh earned all of $85 from his paintings during his lifetime. One hundred years after his death, just one painting alone, Dr. Bachet, sold for the incredible sum of $82.5 million.
Then there was this itinerant Middle Eastern preacher who lived some 2,000 years ago—his ideas were definitely rejected by the people of his hometown, as well as the religious leaders of his time and country. Yet he continued his ministry as he understood it to be—Divine Defiance?
The point is clear. If Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, or Jesus of Nazareth had let rejection rule their lives, and let it keep them from doing and saying what they felt sure to be right—our world would be incredibly impoverished today.
If you have watched "The Secret" you heard me quote the father of the space program, the late Dr. Warner Von Braun, who said the natural laws of the universe are so precise that we do not have any difficulty today building a space ship, sending a person to the moon and timing the landing with the precision of a fraction of a second.
Whether you're a manager trying to instill company values in employees, a coach trying to teach positive life skills to athletes, or a parent trying to build good character in your kids, you'll be more effective if you consistently "Teach, Enforce, Advocate, and Model" the desired behavior and attitudes. At Character Counts we use the acronym T.E.A.M. to capture this four-step strategy.
Modeling is not simply demonstrating. It's living and acting with the realization that everything you say and do will either support or undermine your efforts to convey values. Ralph Waldo Emerson highlighted the importance of consistency between words and actions and the futility of the Do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do theory when he said, "What you are thunders so loudly, I can't here what you say to the contrary."
This poem by an unknown author expresses it another way:
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang up my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew little things are special things.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me good night, and I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you cared, and I wanted to be everything I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked... and I wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
A friend shared with me her way of handling the deceiver-tempter: "When Satan comes to remind me about my past, I remind him about his future."
One thing Satan does is continually accuse us before God.2 Knowing that he does this, we can remind him not only about his future in hell but also that Christ shed his blood on the cross and gave his life to pay for our sins and has washed them all away. So what's there to accuse us of if we have confessed our sins to Christ and asked for and accepted his forgiveness?
Furthermore, because Christ died for us and cleansed us from our sins, we can, in Jesus' name, resist the devil and, as James said, he will flee from us. Satan hates the name of Jesus. Be sure to mention it when he comes to tempt you.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you forgive all who confess their sins and ask for your forgiveness. Help me always to resist the devil in Jesus' name, knowing that he will flee from me and has no power over me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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