Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 11 – No. 5009 December 12, 2009
Thought for the week: "Treasure your relationships, not your possessions." – Anthony J. D'Angelo
"Become the kind of person that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position." – Brian Tracy
"Dig the well before you are thirsty." – Chinese Proverb
"We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons: inspiration or desperation." – Jim Rohn
"Most of your success in life will depend on your ability to get along well with other people, and on the quality of your relationships." – Brian Tracy
"I would rather have it said 'he lived usefully' than 'he died rich.'" – Ben Franklin
"Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind." – Eric Hoffer
One Sunday morning when my son, David, was about 5, we were attending a church in our community. It was common for the preacher to invite the children to the front of the church and have a small lesson before beginning the sermon. He would bring in an item they could find around the house and relate it to a teaching from the Bible.
This particular morning, the visual aid for his lesson was a smoke detector. He asked the children if anyone knew what it meant when an alarm sounded from the smoke detector.
My child immediately raised his hand and said, "It means Daddy's cooking dinner."
Joan, a Daily Encounter subscriber wrote that: "You Can't Fly With a Broken Wing is a great book that can be helpful for all ages. I bought some and gave them to those that had 'broken wings.' I sent one to my grand-daughter in Florida and her mother. My granddaughter let some of her friends from school read it, and they wanted to know where she got such a wonderful book. She said, 'My grandmother from Ohio.' Don't just tell someone to buy the book. Buy it and give it to them on one condition; that when they read it, pass it on to someone else that has a 'broken wing.'"
"The Copenhagen
Climate Change Summit kicked off this [past] weekend with 15,000 delegates and
officials, 5,000 journalists and 98 world leaders expected to attend....
"While the
delegates in Denmark debate what steps we should take in response to the theory
of global warming, reality in the United States is running contrary to the idea
of warming. The central U.S. is bracing for its first blizzard of the year. The
wind chill in the northern plains will reach 30-40 degrees below zero. In
southern California, at the San Bernardino mountain range, up to 3 feet of snow
is expected, and some areas set a new record low. Dallas, Texas, had its
earliest snowfall in 90 years, and Houston experienced its earliest snow fall on
record."
From Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families
End of Day Report, December 7, 2009
"A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable for he is known and carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself ... for the traitor appears to be no traitor: He speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their faces and their garments; he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the souls of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is to be less feared."
The founder of a company needed to choose his successor. He studied resumes and talked to references, but he decided to ask only one question during the final interview: "How much is 2 + 2?"
Ann, the first candidate, worried that there was a trick, but she answered straightforwardly. "There's only one correct answer: four."
Terry, who had an engineering background, was more creative. "Depending on whether you're dealing with positive or negative numbers," he said, "the answer could be plus four, zero, or minus four."
Chuck, the last candidate, looked the founder in the eye and whispered, "How much do you want it to be?"
While Ann and Terry took different approaches, their intention was to give an honest answer. Chuck, on the other hand, wanted the founder to know he was willing to say or do whatever it takes to succeed. Some employers may find this combination of creativity and moral flexibility highly attractive.
I'd show him the door.
You see, Chuck is a manipulator and rationalizer, and they don't make good employees. They search for excuses rather than solutions. They're more concerned with looking good than doing it right.
People like Chuck, who are adept at inventing justifications that sound good but aren't true, are simply clever liars. Eventually they'll be found out. Remember, an employee who will lie for you will lie to you.
Without conscience there's no credibility; without credibility there's no trust; and without trust there's no future.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."1
There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God, or so the story goes. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with cupcakes, several cans of root beer and started on his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he saw an elderly woman. She was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed the lady looked hungry so he offered her a cupcake. She gratefully accepted and smiled at him.
Her smile was so wonderful that he wanted to see it again, so he offered a root beer as well. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling without saying a word.
As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and wanted to go home. He got up to leave, but before he had gone no more than a few steps, he turned around and ran back to the old woman, giving her a big hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy arrived home his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked, "What has made you so happy today?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." Before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile in the whole world!"
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face. He asked, "Mother, what has made you so happy today?" She replied, "I ate cupcakes in the park with God." And before her son could reply, she added, "You know, he is much younger than I expected."
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.
People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Take no one for granted and embrace all equally with joy.2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to so live that people will see Jesus in me and, seeing him, will want Jesus in their heart and life too. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV). 2. I believe this story to be written by Leo Buscaglia, author of Living, Loving and Learning.
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