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 Dick Innes


Weekend Encounter

Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes          
Published by: ACTS International

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Vol. 15 – No. 4213  October 19, 2013

 
Thought for the week: "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." – John Adams
 
INDEX
1.   Words of Wisdom
2.   On the Lighter Side
3.   A Parent's Influence
4.   I've Learned
5.   My Sons Would Know
6.   The Power of Kindness
7.   Meekness Is Not Weakness
8.   Receive Daily Encounter Devotional  Without Charge
9.   Weekend Encounter E-mail Edition  Without Charge
10.   Know God ... Without Having to Be Religious
11.   Prayer Partners Needed
12.   Please Help Support Weekend Encounter
13.   Helpful Books, CDs, and Cassettes
14.   Services Without Charge
15.   ACTS in Action Report; Archives for Daily and Weekend Encounter

1. Words of Wisdom

"It is not genius, nor glory, nor love that reflects the greatness of the human soul; it is kindness." – Henri-Dominique Lacordaire

"Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes." – Jawaharlal Nehru

"Let us take things as we find them: let us not attempt to distort them into what they are not. We cannot make facts. All our wishing cannot change them. We must use them." – John Henry Cardinal Newman

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started." – Sally Berger

"The problem with the rat race it that even if you win you're still a rat." – Lily Tomlin

"Experimenting with drugs is like target practice where your head is the bull's-eye." – Michael Josephson

Index

2. On the Lighter Side

It was mealtime during our trip on a small airline in the Northwest.

"Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked the man seated in front of me.

"What are my choices?" he asked.

"Yes or no," she replied.

Index

3. A Parent's Influence

According to a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a parent's behavior can have future repercussions on their child's marriage. A child who grows up in a home where one or both parents are "jealous, moody, volatile, critical or prone to dominate their spouse" is likely to have a less healthy, less successful marriage than is a child whose parents divorce.

"In Brief" by Lisa McLaughlin, Time magazine, Dec. 10, 2001.

Index

4. I've Learned

I've learned ... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned ... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned ... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned ... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned ... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned ... That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned ... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned ... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned ... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned ... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned ... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned ... That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I've learned ... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned ... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned ... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned ... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned ... That I wish I could have told those I cared about that I love them one more time before they passed away.

I've learned ... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned ... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned ... That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned ... That when your newly born child holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned ... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned ... That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

I've learned ... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Source Unknown

Index

5. My Sons Would Know

The story is told of a father who took his two boys one afternoon to play miniature golf.

The father walked up to the man at the ticket counter and said, "How much is it to get in?" The young man replied, "Three dollars for you and three dollars for any kid who is older than six. We let them in for free if they are six or younger. How old are your two?" The father replied, "This one is three and the other one is seven, so I owe you $6.00." The young man at the ticket counter said, "Hey mister, did you just win the lottery or something? You could have saved yourself three bucks if you would have told me that the older one was six. I wouldn't have known the difference."

The father replied, "Yes, that may be true, but the boys would have known the difference."

Cited on KneEmail www.oakhillcoc.org.

Index

6. The Power of Kindness

       Character Counts by Michael Josephson (395.4)

A few years ago a fellow named Bob urged me to remind people of the power of kindness. He had just lost his wife of 42 years and was for a long time in a state of grief, despair and disbelief, but he was often pulled out of the blackness of woe by the kindness of strangers.

One day he was trying to make copies of the condolence notes he received and he broke down. As he was sobbing quietly by the copying machine, a young woman just put her arms around him and hugged him, until he regained control. Weeks later he had a similar emotional breakdown at a restaurant and the waitress sat beside him and held his hand. As long as there are people like that in the world, Bob concluded, there is still hope.

The great musician Pablo Casals said, "Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he acts on it and listens to it, he is giving a great deal of what the world needs most. It is not complicated, but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own goodness and act upon it."

The poet William Wordsworth put it another way, declaring that the best portions of a good person's life are the "little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love." And the novelist Henry James said, "Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind."

Think how much better the world would be, and how much more gratifying your own life would be, if every day each of us set out to lighten the life or brighten the day of another with simple kindness?

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

© 2013 Josephson Institute of Ethics; reprinted with permission. Michael Josephson, one of the nation's leading ethicists, is the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the premier youth character education program, CHARACTER COUNTS! For further information visit www.charactercounts.org

Index

7. Meekness Is Not Weakness

Sample of Daily Encounter by Dick Innes

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."1

I love the title of the country/western song, "What part of no don't you understand?"

Have you ever noticed that some of us have a difficult time saying no to people? We think we always have to be "nice" to be a good Christian, and give in to others' demands or even to their requests.

As popular author, Rick Warren, asked: "Isn't a Christian supposed to be meek?"

And then, answering his own question, he said, "Yes, you are supposed to be meek. But meekness is not weakness. There's a big difference. Meekness literally means 'strength under control.' Picture a wild stallion that has been broken and is now tamed. That stallion still has as much power as when he was wild, but now that power is bottled up for the master's use.

"Only two people in the Bible were called meek—Jesus and Moses. Neither of them were weaklings or wimps. They were strong men of conviction. God doesn't expect you to just cave in every time somebody wants to manipulate you or control you. What would you do if someone asked you to do something immoral or illegal or unreasonable? You'd say no!"2

When someone tries to make us feel guilty if we say no to something they want us to do, a simple response like the following can be very effective: "You're not trying to make me feel guilty are you?" Of course they will deny it, but as long as we don't let them control or manipulate us through guilt (false guilt), in time they will stop trying to put a guilt trip on us. And by the way, people only make us feel guilty with our permission.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to learn to be genuinely meek and say 'yes' when I need to say yes, and 'no' when I need to say no—and not feel guilty about it. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

1. Matthew 5:5 (NIV).
2. Cited on www.sermons.com

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Index

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Index

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Index

13. Helpful Books, CDs and Cassettes

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

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Index

15. ACTS in Action Report and Encounter Archives

ARCHIVES: Daily and Weekend Encounters



"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."



© 2013 ACTS International


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