Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 2115 May 23, 2015
Thought for the week: In essence God says, "I love and accept you as you are, but love you too much to leave you as you are."
"The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." – William Faulkner
"Who has not served cannot command." – John Florio
"Experience is not what happens to a person; it's what a person does with what happens to them." – Aldous Huxley
"Nurture your mind with great thoughts for you will never go any higher than you think." – Benjamin Disraeli
"Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can." – Willis R. Whitney
"Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one, it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves." – Dale Carnegie
A juggler, driving to his next performance, is stopped by the police.
"What are those machetes doing in your car?" asks the cop.
"I juggle them in my act."
"Oh, yeah?" says the doubtful cop. "Let's see you do it."
The juggler gets out and starts tossing and catching the knives. Another man driving by slows down to watch. "Wow" says the passer-by. "I'm glad I quit drinking. Look at the test they're giving now!"
* * * * * * *
If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a month.
"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."
A party was thrown in honor of a couple's 50th wedding anniversary. The husband wanted to honor his wife, who was hard of hearing. In the presence of all, he said, "My dear wife, after fifty years I've found you tried and true!"
Everyone clapped but his wife looked bothered. She loudly asked, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
He spoke louder, "After fifty years of being married I've found you tried and true!"
The upset wife shouted back, "And after fifty years of marriage I'm tired of you, too!" Four things will keep you from getting tired of your spouse and will insure a happy marriage.
1. Commitment—holds your marriage together. A marriage is only as strong as the husband's and wife's commitment to the Lord. If your spouse is faithful to the Lord, he or she will also be faithful to you. A study on marriage revealed that the divorce rate for a married couple who attended church every week, regularly read the Bible, and prayed together at least once a day was 1 in 1,015.
2. Caring—keeps the love alive. If your marriage has lost its love, the Lord can resurrect it because "God is love" (1 John 4:8). He will show you what to do because we are "taught by God to loveone another" (1 Thess. 4:9).
3. Compromise—minimizes your differences. Compromise doesn't mean that you violate your integrity, but that you negotiate your differences and come to an agreement. "Do not merely look out for your own interests, but also for the interest of others" (Phil. 2:4). My wife and I used to argue about where to set the thermostat in the house. I like it 76 degrees and she wants it 72 degrees. We agreed to set the thermostat at 74 degrees. End of argument. If you are arguing about issues, figure out how to meet in the middle and quit fighting about it.
4. Communication—makes marriage run smoothly. Communication stops when yelling begins. If a husband and wife don't enjoy talking to each other, they will drift apart and the marriage will slowly die. Learn to talk positively about what interests your spouse.
It will take both spouses doing these four things to make your marriage work, but change usually starts with one spouse taking the initiative. You make the first move and let God deal with your spouse.
It really is the little things
That mean the most of all...
The "let me help you with that" things
That may seem very small.
The "I'll be glad to do it" things
That make your cares much lighter,
The "laugh with me, it's funny" things
That make your outlook brighter...
The "never mind the trouble" things,
The "yes, I understand,"
The interest and encouragement
In everything you've planned.
It really is the little things,
The friendly word or smile,
That add such happiness to life
And make it more worthwhile.
Maturity is the ability to stick with a job until it's finished; to do a job without being supervised; to carry money without spending it. – Ann Landers
Everyone grows older; some attain maturity; a few become wise.
Maturity is being able to do a job well, even when you don't feel like it so you earn respect to bounce back from mistakes and misfortunes with confidence and optimism so you become stronger and to learn from every experience so you become wiser.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Share each other's troubles and problems, and so obey our Lord's command."1
The North American Indians had no written language before they met the white man. Their language, however, was far from primitive. Many of the Indians had as many words in their vocabulary as their English and French exploiters. Some of their words were much more picturesque, too. For example, "friend" to the Indians was "one-who-carries-my-sorrows-on-his-back."
Everybody needs at least one trusted "Indian-type" friend with whom he or she can share his or her deepest sorrows and painful feelings. We all need a helping hand and a listening ear when we're going through difficult times.
How do we find such a friend? First, by praying and asking God to help us to be an "Indian-type" friend to others. And then by asking God to help us find such a friend for ourselves.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to become a true 'Indian-type-safe-burden-bearing friend' myself and be supportive of others in need. And please help me to find a friend with whom I feel safe to share all my sorrows, failures, struggles, and problems—as well as all my successes and joys. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."
1. The Apostle Paul, (Galatians 6:2, TLB).
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