Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
To receive the email edition of Weekend Encounter (without charge) click on the Subscribe button.
Privacy policy: We do not sell or rent subscriber's e-mail
addresses to anyone. We value your privacy.
Global Communications Outreach:
Learn how to be a missionary right from your own home and have a vital part in worldwide gospel outreach by becoming an ACTS People Power for Jesus Partner. Click HERE There is no charge.
Vol. 10 – No. 3608 September 06, 2008
Thought for the week: "Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking." – J. C. Watts, Jr.
"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." – John Wooden
"Love, like virtue, is its own reward." – John VanBrugh
"If you let others dictate how you feel, you are going to be miserable." – Unknown
"That man [or woman] is a success who has laughed often, and loved much; who has filled his niche and loved his task; who leaves the world better than he [or she] found it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he [or she] had." – Robert Louis Stevenson
"You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile." – Brian Tracy
"That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach." – Aldous Huxley
Dispatcher: "9-1-1 What is the nature of your emergency?"
Caller: "I'm trying to reach nine eleven but my phone doesn't have an eleven
on it."
Dispatcher: "This is nine eleven."
Caller: "I thought you just said it was nine-one-one."
Dispatcher: "Yes, ma'am, nine-one-one and nine-eleven are the same thing."
Caller: "Honey, I may be old, but I'm not stupid."
Dispatcher: "9-1-1 What's the nature of your emergency?"
Caller: "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart."
Dispatcher: "Is this her first child?"
Caller: "No, you idiot! This is her husband!"
And the winner is:
Dispatcher: "9-1-1 What is the nature of your emergency?"
Caller: "Yeah, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm all out of breath. I think
I'm going to pass out."
Dispatcher: "Sir, where are you calling from?"
Caller: "I'm at a pay phone. North and Foster."
Dispatcher: "Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an asthmatic?"
Caller: "No."
Dispatcher: "What were you doing before you started having trouble breathing?"
Caller: "Running from the police."
"Do we know the poor in our own homes? Sometimes people can hunger for more than bread. It is possible that our children, our husband, our wife, do not hunger for bread, do not need clothes, do not lack a house. But are we equally sure that none of them feels alone, abandoned, neglected, needing some affection? That, too, is poverty."
This was written by an 83-year-old woman to her friend.
Dear Bertha, I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working.
Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.
I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom.
I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.
"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now
I'm not sure what others would've done had they known they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner or for whatever their favorite food was.
I'm guessing; I'll never know.
It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, tell myself that it is special.
Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.
A Peanuts cartoon showed Peppermint Patty talking to Charlie Brown. She said, "Guess what, Chuck? The first day of school, and I got sent to the principal's office. It was your fault, Chuck." He said, "My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?" She said, "You're my friend, aren't you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me."
6. The Saga of Will and Fern: The Power of Encouragement
By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (551.5)
Two frogs named Will and Fern weren't looking where they were going and fell into a pit. At first, they thought it would be easy to jump out, but after numerous failed attempts they were getting desperate. A crowd of animals gathered around to watch.
The consensus of the onlookers was there was no way either one could jump high enough to get out, so they urged the two to accept their fate.
The harder the trapped frogs jumped, the more the crowd yelled at them to surrender. Finally, Will fell back to the bottom and gave up. Fern refused to quit. With one mighty last try, she leaped out of the pit.
The other animals were amazed. One asked her how she could keep trying despite their discouraging taunts.
Fern was shocked. "What do you mean? I'm a bit deaf. I thought you were rooting for me. I couldn't have done it without you."
Patty, a resident of a transitional housing program, gave a printed version of this story to my wife Anne. After a long period of homelessness and drug abuse, Patty wanted us to understand that positivism and support can inspire those who seem down and out to get up and out.
Patty said she escaped her own pit of despair because caring people at the housing program gave her the faith and confidence she needed to jump just a little harder.
There are lots of ways to help others. We can educate them, feed them, and house them. But we can also change their lives if we encourage and empower them.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living."1
In response to a Daily Encounter on codependency a subscriber enquires, "What I'm wondering is, what led you to believe in codependency? The modern psychological term 'codependence,' the meaning of which is not an idea that I have ever found in Scripture. You say things like this a lot and so I'm only writing this wondering what led you to come to this belief/conclusion."
Actually, there are many terms we use today that are not found in the Bible. In fact you won't find the word, Trinity, in the Scriptures but this truth is clearly taught. You won't find anything about denominations either, or theological terms such as eschatology (the study of the end times), or homiletics (the study and art of preaching), or hermeneutics (the study and interpretation of the Scriptures), but these are all valid terms and biblical exercises. Furthermore, the word, Bible, isn't in the Bible either.
Codependency, among other things, is short circuiting the logical consequences of somebody else's self-destructive behavior. It is rescuing another from his or her lack of personal responsibility and mistaking need for love. It may look like love but it isn't. It's a way of trying to fix another's problems by avoiding facing your own. It is keeping someone over-dependent on you instead of allowing them to take care of their own needs and becoming dependent on God. It's neurotic.
While the Bible doesn't use the word, codependency, a prime example of not being codependent is found in Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son who, as a young man, wanted to do his own thing so asked his father to give him his inheritance now. So the father gave his son his inheritance and let him go. We know how the story ended. The son blew his entire inheritance in riotous living. When he hit rock bottom, did his father send to rescue him? No. It was his hitting rock bottom that brought him to his senses.
It was very important that the father allowed him to bear the consequences of his behavior. Only when the son came to his senses and returned home with a contrite heart, confessing his waywardness, did the father forgive and accept him back into the family and home—a great example for all parents and the wives of alcoholic husbands. There comes a time when we need to let go of a loved one and stop protecting them from the consequences of their self-destructive behavior.
Keep in mind too, that the deeper meaning of Jesus' parable is about God, our heavenly Father, not being codependent but, rather, allowing us to experience the consequences of irresponsible and reckless behavior to bring us to our senses and repentance.2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to see if in any way I am being codependent and blocking the consequences of a loved one's self-destructive behavior. Help me to let go of seeking to control this person, and overcome my problem of being codependent. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
Daily Encounter, a free weekday e-mail inspirational from ACTS International is now going to 150,000+ subscribers. Scores of letters from around the world have come from readers saying how much they are being helped by this brief, practical devotional.
Over 28+ million e-mail Daily, Weekend and Prayer Encounters are delivered to subscribers every year!
NOTE: Some ISPs (especially AOL) now use e-mail filtering software that allows you to add e-mail addresses to your 'buddy', 'safe', or 'approved' list. Please be sure to add acts@actsweb.org to yours so you won't miss any issue of Daily Encounter.
9. Receive E-mail Edition of Weekend Encounter ... Free
NOTE: Some ISPs (especially AOL) now use e-mail filtering software that allows you to add e-mail addresses to your 'buddy', 'safe', or 'approved' list. Please be sure to add acts@actsweb.org to yours so you won't miss any issue of Weekend Encounter.
One of ACTS greatest needs is Prayer Partners to stand with us as we seek to share the gospel with millions of people around the world through E-mail and the Internet and to win the lost to Jesus. If you would like to be an ACTS Prayer Partner, please subscribe to the Prayer Encounter list. Approximately two prayer reports are emailed monthly. Thank you.
If you have a special prayer request please submit it to David Clark at: www.responda.co.uk/prayer.php. David is not on the ACTS staff but is offering this as a service to Daily and Weekend Encounter readers.
Helpers Needed: If you can help David pray for prayer requests, please could you go to: www.responda.co.uk/member.php
Weekend Encounter and Daily Encounter are just two of the ways the nonprofit organization, ACTS International, is working to improve the spiritual and emotional life of many thousands of people around the world.
Every weekday Daily Encounter is going to 150,000+ subscribers, and every week Weekend Encounter is going to 10,000+ subscribers worldwide—many of whom are in places where it is forbidden to spread the Christian gospel and message. Plus we reach several hundred thousand more every week through our advertising. As a result every day we are seeing an average of 5-6 salvation responses from around the world—over 3000 in the past 12 months!
If you find value in the free Weekend Encounter and/or Daily Encounter, we hope you will be comfortable donating at least $26. That's only 50 cents a week for an entire year (tax-deductible in the U.S.). You can donate in one of the following ways:
Oprah Winfrey: "Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi." – Oprah Winfrey
Books:
Books by Dick Innes, Editor of Weekend Encounter You Can't Fly With a Broken Wing How to Mend a Broken Heart I Hate Witnessing—A Handbook for Effective Christian
Communications
Books by Bestseller and Popular Authors: The Miracle of Kindness His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.
has topped the charts as the best marriage
book available. More than one million couples
have read it ... made their marriage sizzle. Fall in Love Stay in Love Just Hand Over the Chocolate ... Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships Sex Starts in the Kitchen Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours Harried With Children Adolescence Is Not an Illness Show Time It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian
On Sale at: http://www.actscom.com/store
Cassettes:
Healing, Wholeness & Happiness by Dick Innes
Loving & Understanding People by Dick Innes
I Hate Witnessing by Dick Innes
God's Formula for Success by Dick Innes
Damaged Emotions by David Seamands Healing of the Memories by David Seamands...
On SALE at:http://tinyurl.com/2unmmy
1. Bible concordance and Bible helps
2. New Hope Crisis Counseling with trained
lay/volunteer counselors. www.newhopenow.org 3. E-Word Today for a daily Bible reading
4. To find your ZIP+4 Area Code in the U.S.A.
5. How to find and write to your U.S. Representative
6. ASK ... Smart answers fast
7. Send a FREE greeting card for all occasions
8. To check the weather in your area
9. Hoax Web Sites
10. Plus many more sources of helpful information
"Because the world is hungry,
go with bread.
Because the world is filled with strife,
go with peace.
Because the world is filled with deceptions and lies,
go with truth.
Because the world would die without,
go with the love of God."
ACTS International
PO Box 73545
San Clemente, CA 92673-0119
U.S.A.
To receive the email edition of Weekend Encounter
without charge click on the Subscribe button.
Privacy policy: We do not sell or rent subscriber's e-mail
addresses to anyone. We value your privacy.
