Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 12 – No. 2810 July 10, 2010
Thought for the week: "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." – William Shakespeare
"The real battle is about whether God is Lord, or whether government is Lord. And make no mistake, if government can redefine or restrict our freedom of religion, our first freedom will be gone. And, as our Founders understood, when that freedom is gone, we will, in short order, lose the other freedoms as well." – Chuck Colson
"It's not what you do once in a while; it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference." – Jenny Craig
"Life is too short to waste. Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action." – David J. Schwartz
"I love the man who can smile in trouble, gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection." – Thomas Paine
"If I had to pick the No.1 key to success, it would be ... self-discipline." – Brian Tracy
"No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined." – Harry E. Fosdick
"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." – Agatha Christie
"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future." – Paul Boese
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."
For every hill I had to climb,
For every stone that bruised my feet,
For all the blood and sweat and grime,
For blinding storms and burning heat,
My heart sings but a grateful song—
Those were the things that made me strong.
For all the heartaches and the tears,
For all the anguish and the pain,
For gloomy days and fruitless years
And for the hopes that lived in vain;
I do give thanks, for now I know,
These were the things that helped me grow.
'Tis not the softer things of life
Which stimulate our will to strive,
But bleak adversity and strife
Do most to keep our will alive.
Over rose-strewn paths the weaklings creep,
But brave hearts dare to climb the steep.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and less of food that is manufactured in plants.
Live with the 3 E's—Energy, Enthusiasm & Empathy!
Make time for PRAYER.
Play more games!
Read more books than you did in 2009.
Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
Sleep for at least 7 hours.
Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day—and while you walk, smile!
Personality
Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
Don't overdo; keep to your limits.
Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does!
Don't waste your precious energy on idle gossip.
Dream more while you are awake.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
Smile and laugh more!
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Community
Call your family more often.
Each day give something good to others.
Forgive everyone for everything.
Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
Try to make at least three people smile each day!
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends
will. Stay in touch.
Do the right things.
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
GOD can and will heal everything in time if we trust Him to.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up!
The best is yet to come.
When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
According to legend, a Russian countess was driven to the theater in her coach on a bitterly cold evening. To be sure she wouldn't have to wait in the cold when she came out, she ordered the driver and footman to remain outside until she returned.
She cried during the play when an uncaring lord mistreated a loyal servant. When the performance ended, it was snowing heavily outside, and a small crowd had gathered around her carriage. She demanded to know what was going on. The driver fearfully told her that the old footman had frozen to death. The lady was appalled.
How could a sensitive woman who cried at the plight of fictional characters be so callous about the comfort and safety of her own servants?
Sometimes people see only what they want to see, and know only what they want to know. It's a form of willful blindness that afflicts many of us who profess grand principles of caring and respect, but ignore them when we deal with people in our own lives.
I've seen parents who want their children to be happy, self-confident, and honest, yet brutalize them with relentless criticism and confuse them by cheating on their taxes or lying to get them into better schools.
Sometimes well-intentioned coaches ignore players' injuries, emotionally abuse their athletes, or work them as if they were in a slave-labor camp—all the while convincing themselves it's for the athletes' own good.
And I've worked with executives in companies who advocate employee well-being and family values but look the other way when employees, either out of fear or the desire to please, work excessively long hours and neglect their families, causing stress and domestic conflict.
We all have moral blind spots. The challenge is to have the humility to find them and the character to fix them.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain."1
Brett Blair reports how Henry P. Crowell contracted tuberculosis when a boy and couldn't go to school. After hearing a sermon by Dwight L. Moody, young Crowell prayed, "I can't be a preacher, but I can be a good businessman. God, if you will let me make money, I will use it in your service."
Under the doctor's advice Crowell worked outdoors for seven years and regained his health. He then bought the little run-down Quaker Mill at Ravanna, Ohio. Within ten years Quaker Oats was a household word to millions. Henry P. Crowell faithfully gave 60 to 70 percent of his income to God's causes, having advanced from an initial 10 percent.2
One of the recipients of Crowell's support was the Moody Bible Institute—the school that D. L. Moody founded in Chicago. And by way of interest, that is the school where I did most of my Bible and theological training. So, I too, benefited by the commitment to God that Henry Crowell made so many years ago.
What you and I do today for God can also have a ripple effect and touch many other lives for years to come—and many for all eternity. So let's invest our time, our talents, and our life wisely, keeping eternal values in mind.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that no matter what my gifts and talents are—be they many or few—I can use them to serve you and help others. Please help me to do this and influence many for time and eternity. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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