Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 14 – No. 5212 December 29, 2012
Thought for the week: "Love received and love given comprise the best form of therapy." – Gordon William Allport
Wishing all readers a very Happy and God-blessed New Year.
"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves." – Wilhelm von Humboldt
"Never test the depth of the water with both feet." – Anonymous
"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." – Winston Churchill
"No one was ever lost on a straight road." – Indian Proverb
"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." – Carl. W. Buechner
"If everybody else is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction." – Sam Walton, Wal-Mart Founder
"Conscience is a man's compass." – Vincent Van Gogh, Painter
A little seven-year-old boy prayed one night before bed for God to give him a baby sister.
When he awakened the next morning, the youngster found that there was no baby. Undaunted, he prayed a second time for the same thing. Still no baby.
Some months later, the boy and his father made a trip to the local hospital. When the two of them arrived, they stepped into a room in the maternity section and found the boy's mother holding a precious baby sister in her right arm, and yet another baby sister in her left! The proud father looked down into the eyes of his son and said, "Now, aren't you glad you prayed?" To which the little boy responded, "Yes, and aren't you glad I stopped when I did?"
Patti Davis, the daughter of Ronald Reagan, said that her dad made a lasting impression on her the day after the assassination attempt of 1982.
She says, "The following day my father said he knew his physical healing was directly dependent on his ability to forgive John Hinckley. By showing me that forgiveness is the key to everything, including physical health and healing, he gave me an example of Christ-like thinking."
I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.
I am your next chance at the art of living.
I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.
All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it out with more determination.
All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.
All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have—these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.
I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new."
Roger Crawford was sixteen years old before he could tie his shoes, and even then Velcro made it possible. But he excelled in other areas such as sports, becoming a star tennis player. While in high school he was a championship player, winning more than 95 percent of his matches. He continued at nearly the same pace in college and has succeeded as a pro. You can look at Roger and see that he has a disability. As Roger explains it, however, most people's disabilities cannot be seen, but they're just as real and in many cases more pronounced than his.
Roger was born with one leg missing from the knee down. He doesn't have hands complete with four fingers and a thumb. As a matter of fact, he has only two extensions from where the fingers usually are, and yet he uses the two extensions to accomplish some remarkable successes. Roger doesn't complain about what he does not have, but makes full use of what he does have. This attitude enabled him to become the first athlete with severe disabilities to compete in an NCAA division college sport.
6. What I've Learned: The Perspective From 13-Year-Olds
By Michael Josephson, Character Counts (423.5)
A few years ago I got a note from Sam Rangel, an eighth-grade teacher in Corona, California. He distributed some of my commentaries on "What I've Learned" to his students and asked them to write down what they'd learned over the past year or in their lives. Here's the world of growing wisdom from the 13-year-old perspective:
I've learned that work comes first; fool around later.
I've learned that being popular isn't everything.
I've learned that being pretty on the inside is better than being pretty on the outside.
I've learned that not everything in life is fair.
I've learned that all people want is someone to listen to them.
I've learned that girls seem to fight with their friends a lot, but almost never with their enemies.
I've learned that it takes a long time to make a friendship and a fraction of a second to destroy it.
I've learned that your imagination is as important as your knowledge.
I've learned that to say no to someone is not wrong.
I've learned that by following others, you aren't following yourself.
I've learned that the harder it is to do something, the stronger it makes us.
I've learned that I am responsible for me.
I've learned to give everybody a second chance.
I've learned that teenagers will do dumb things.
I've learned that if you respect your elders, they will respect you too.
I've learned that words do hurt people more than sticks and stones.
I've learned that when I come to a fork in the road, ask for help.
I've learned that the easy way is not the best way.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."1
"The great Scottish preacher John McNeill told how, during his childhood, he had to walk a long distance home every evening, and his route led through a forest with a large ravine. Reports said that wild animals and gangs of robbers were often seen in that area. Great fear would seize his heart as he made his way past the spooky looking trees. He recalled, 'One night it was especially dark, but I was aware that something or someone was moving slowly and quietly toward me. I was sure it was a robber. When a voice called out, its eerie tone struck my heart with fear. I thought I was finished. Then came a second call. This time I could hear the voice saying, 'John, is that you?' It was my father. He had known of my fear and had come out to meet me.'"2
Being a child of God—one of his sheep—doesn't deliver us from the storms of life, but our faith in him gives us a sure and steadfast anchor—a safe and secure rock to hold on to knowing that God knows exactly where we are even in life's darkest and most scary places. As one of my poems puts it:
Hide-And-Seek
Sometimes it seems that life
makes little or no sense
as we wander blind
searching for a ray of light
to lead us to the truth
or to a God who isn't there.
But if we will stand still and
listen with our heart, we will
hear a rustling in the leaves,
feel the brush of angel's wings,
and sense the presence of a loving
Father playing hide-and-seek,
waiting patiently –
wanting us to find him.3
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you are always with me no matter what and that you will never leave me nor forsake me. In the quiet of my heart help me to know and hear your voice assuring me of your presence and that my life and times are in your hands. Always. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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