Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 16 – No. 0814 February 22, 2014
Thought for the week: "Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others." – Danny Thomas
It is reported that John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when [President] Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work, and give to those who would not." – Thomas Jefferson
"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world." – Thomas Jefferson
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." – Thomas Jefferson
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." – Thomas Jefferson
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." – Thomas Jefferson
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
– Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." – Thomas Jefferson
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." – Thomas Jefferson
Like the trees of the forest,
may you find nourishment
in rain as well as sunshine;
Bend with the winds of misfortune
without breaking;
Give of yourself to others
to provide shade from
the blistering heat;
Grow old gracefully and not
become rigid or unbending;
And above all—
may you keep reaching upwards
towards heaven and to God.
Reportedly, a woman was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane was diverted to Sacramento along the way.
The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft, the plane would re-board in 50 minutes.
Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind.
A man had noticed her as he walked by and could tell the lady was blind because her guide dog lay quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight. He could also tell she had flown this flight before because the pilot approached her, and calling her by name, said, "Kathy, we are in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?"
The blind lady said,"No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs."
All of the people in the gate area came to a complete stand still when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a guide dog for the blind. Even worse, the pilot was wearing sunglasses!
Remember: Things are not always the way that they appear.
The primary responsibility for instilling good values and building character is with parents. This doesn't mean, however, that teachers and coaches don't have a critically important role.
The unfortunate fact is that far too many kids are raised in morally impoverished settings that foster lying, cheating, and violence. If we don't give these children moral instruction, many of them will become predators. And I know it works because of Jesse, a young man I met in Tulare County, California.
Jesse was in an alternative school because he had serious behavioral problems. About a month after his school incorporated character-development strategies into the curriculum, Jesse found the janitor's keys. To a kid with a history of theft, this was a mighty temptation. When he voluntarily turned them in, people were shocked. When I asked him why, he surprised me with his answer. He didn't say anything about a new commitment to honesty. He said simply, "I didn't want the janitor to lose his job."
It's likely Jesse would not have thought about the janitor weeks before. What changed was he had been given a simple thinking tool that helped him see the way his choices could affect other people. Jesse was taught to identify "stakeholders"—all the people likely to be affected by a choice—and to think about how they might be affected.
Despite Jesse's flaws, he had decent instincts and didn't want to do something that would hurt the janitor. His teachers didn't teach him to care about others, but they gave him a way of thinking that unleashed the caring part of his nature.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?"1
"You probably read about Paddy who was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place.
"Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place, I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish whiskey.'
"Miraculously, a parking place appeared.
"Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'"2
While we make jokes about such things, I wonder how often I pray, God answers, and I forget to say thank you ... or fail to even see that God has answered my prayer because it wasn't in the way that I expected it to be.
The fact is, when my prayer is sincere from the heart, God always hears and answers it. Sometimes the answer is "Yes," sometimes it is "No," and sometimes it is "Wait a while." And sometimes it is in a way that is totally different from what I expected.
The important thing is that we always thank God for hearing and answering our prayers, regardless of the way in which they are answered, because God always knows what is best for us. Let's not be like the ten lepers whom Jesus healed, and only one came back to acknowledge and thank Jesus for healing him.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You that you always hear and answer my prayers in one way or another. May I always have a grateful heart and learn to thank You, regardless of the way in which You answer my prayer. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
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