Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 5208 December 27, 2008
2008 has been a wonder-full year with both its challenges and its victories and, as we draw to a close of another year, we thank all of our partners for making Weekend Encounter and Daily Encounter available free of charge to more than 230,00 subscribers worldwide. Be sure to read our encouraging annual report at http://www.actsweb.org/acts_in_action.php.
Happy New Year: Joy and I wish all of our readers God speed and his very best for the New Year of 2009.
"Remember, if Christ isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under the tree." – Charlotte Carpenter
"Love came down at Christmas; love all lovely, love divine; love was born at Christmas, stars and angels gave the sign." – Christina G. Rosetti
"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." – Og Mandino
"The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat." – Napoleon Hill
"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way." – John C. Maxwell
"Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction." – Thomas Jefferson
"The really happy man is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour." – Anonymous
"Those who wish to sing always find a song." – Swedish Proverb
"My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose—somehow we win out." – Ronald Reagan
Joe, the governor's most trusted assistant, died in his sleep one night. The governor had depended on Joe for advice on every subject, from pending bills to wardrobe decisions. In addition, Joe had been his closest friend.
So, it was understandable that the governor didn't take kindly to the droves of ambitious office seekers who wanted Joe's job. "They don't even have the decency to wait until the man is buried," the governor muttered.
At the funeral, one eager beaver made his way to the governor's side. "governor," the man said, "is there a chance that I could take Joe's place?"
"Certainly," the governor replied. "But you'd better hurry. I think the undertaker is almost finished."
"It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts, and then heals, than falsehood that comforts, then kills. It is not love, and it is not friendship, if we fail do declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie. It is impossible to find anyone in the Bible who was a power for God who did not have enemies and was not hated. It's better to stand alone with the truth than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better ultimately to succeed with truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie."
Highly creative people tend to have fluid, flexible, adaptive minds. Here are three statements that creative people can make easily and which you learn by regular practice.
Admit It When You Are Wrong. The first is simply, "I was wrong." Many people are so concerned with being right that all their mental energy is consumed by stonewalling, bluffing, blaming and denying. If you're wrong, admit it and get on to the solution or the next step.
Face Up to Mistakes. Second, non-creative people think that it is a sign of weakness to say, "I made a mistake." On the contrary, it is actually a sign of mental maturity, personal strength and individual character. Remember, everybody makes mistakes every single day.
Be Flexible With New Information. The third statement that creative people use easily is, "I changed my mind." It is amazing how many uncomfortable situations people get into and stay in because they are unwilling or afraid to admit that they've changed their minds.
In recent years, a number of psychologists and sociologists have joined the chorus of religious and political opponents in warning about the impact of pervasive pornography.
They argue that porn is transforming sexuality and relationships—for the worse. Experts say men who frequently view porn may develop unrealistic expectations of women's appearance and behavior, and have difficulty forming and sustaining relationships and feeling sexually satisfied. Fueled by a combination of access, anonymity and affordability, online porn has catapulted overall pornography consumption—bringing in new viewers, encouraging more use from existing fans and escalating consumers from soft-core to harder-core material. Cyberporn is even giving rise to a new form of sexual compulsiveness. According to Alvin Cooper who conducts seminars on cybersex addiction, 15% of online-porn habitues develop sexual behavior that disrupts their lives.
"The internet is the crack cocaine of sexual addiction," says Jennifer Schneider, co-author of Cybersex Exposed: Simple Fantasy or Obsession?
Tim McLaughlin
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things" (Philippians 4:8).
A teenager really wants to go to a party, but she's sure her mom won't let her go, so she and her friend concoct a false cover story. If she's asked whether she finished her homework or cleaned her room, she's prone to lie.
What's the big deal? Most kids lie to their parents from time to time, and their parents probably lied lots of times to their parents. Despite rhetoric about virtue being its own reward, a great many adults—and a higher proportion of kids—are more likely to make their choices based on a calculation of risks and benefits rather than on moral principle.
Since young people are particularly susceptible to choices that indulge impulses and favor immediate needs and wants, we need to teach them how bad choices made to gratify an immediate impulse can sabotage their most important relationships and impede their more important life objectives.
Every dishonest act has at least two potential consequences: 1) the actual penalty and 2) loss of trust. The second is by far the more important and underestimated.
This is especially true in parent-child relationships. Where trust is important, there are no little lies. When parents aren't sure they can believe their children, the cords of control will be tighter and held longer. The price of lying is lost freedom.
It's often difficult to predict how a decision today will affect tomorrow, but dishonesty often has a lasting negative impact on relationships and reputations as well as self-image and character.
From both a moral and practical perspective, honesty is the best policy.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."1
For today's Daily Encounter I would like to use the Prayer of St. Francis both for the devotional and the prayer:
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light, and
Where there is sadness, joy.
"O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."
"Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen."
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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
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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."
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