February 11

The acid test of our faith in the promises of God is never found in the easy-going, comfortable ways of life, but in the great emergencies, the times of storm and of stress, the days of adversity, when all human aid fails. --Ethel Bell

A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Their domestic tranquility had long been the talk of the town. A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage.
"Well, it dates back to our honeymoon," explained the man. "We visited the Grand Canyon and took a trip down to the bottom on the canyon by pack mule. We hadn't gone too far when my wife's mule stumbled. My wife quietly said, 'That's once.' We proceeded a little further and the mule stumbled again. Once more my wife quietly said, 'That's twice.' We hadn't gone a half-mile when the mule stumbled the third time. My wife quietly removed a revolver from her pocket and shot the mule dead.
I started to protest over her treatment of the mule when she looked at me and quietly said 'That's once.'

Who receives the most Valentine cards? It's not sweethearts. According to Aspire, of the 1 billion cards sent or given one recent Valentine's Day, teachers got the most. Children got the second highest percentage, followed by wives and mothers. - Source: Current Thoughts & Trends (February 2000)

"There are those who believe that a new modernity demands new morality. What they fail to consider is the harsh reality that there is no such thing as a new morality. There is only one morality. All else is immorality. There is only true Christian ethics over against which stands the whole of paganism. If we are to fulfill our great destiny as a people, then we must return to the old morality, the sole morality." - Theodore Roosevelt

Americans consumed 25.7 pounds of candy per capita in 2005. - U.S. Census Bureau



Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark:
One: Don't miss the boat.
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
Six: Build your future on high ground.
Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Journalist Maria Shriver, wife of Arnold Schwartzeneger, in her book, tells about these ten things she wishes she would have known earlier:
1. First and foremost: pinpoint your passion.
2. No job is beneath you.
3. Who you work for and with is as important as what you do.
4. Your behavior has consequences.
5. Be willing to fail.
6. Superwoman is dead ... and Superman may not be alive
7. Children do change your career (not to mention your entire life).
8. Marriage is a ... lot of hard work.
9. Don't expect anyone else to support you financially.
10. Laugh a lot.

All I Need To Know About Life I Learned From Trees
* It's important to have roots.
* In today's complex world, it pays to branch out.
* Don't pine away over old flames.
* If you really believe in something, don't be afraid to go out on a limb.
* Be flexible so you don't break when a harsh wind blows.
* Sometimes you have to shed your old bark in order to grow.
* If you want to maintain accurate records, keep a log.
* To be politically correct, don't wear firs.
* Grow where you're planted.
* It's perfectly okay to be a late bloomer.
* Avoid people who would like to cut you down.
* Get all spruced up when you have a hot date.
* If the party gets boring, just leaf.
* You can't hide your true colors as you approach the autumn of your life.

Difficulties are things that show what men are. Epictetus (c. 55-135) Philosopher

You can't always beat what is difficult in your life. Sometimes you have to let it win and shout hallelujah anyhow. Bebe More Campbell 72 Hour Hold


We went to breakfast at a restaurant where the "seniors' special" was two eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast for $1.99.
"Sounds good," my wife said. " But I don't want the eggs."
Then I'll have to charge you two dollars and forty-nine cents because you're ordering a la carte," the waitress warned her.
"You mean I'd have to pay for not taking the eggs?" My wife asked incredulously.
"YES!!"
"I'll take the special."
"How do you want your eggs?"
"Raw and in the shell," my wife replied. She took the two eggs home.

THE CHURCH vs. AN AUDIENCE
Charles Jefferson once described the difference between an audience and a church. He said, “An audience is a crowd. A church is a family.
An audience is a gathering. A church is a fellowship.
An audience is a collection. A church is an organism.
An audience is a heap of stones. A church is a temple.” He went on to say, “Preachers are not to attract an audience, but to build His church.”

What men and women want most in the hour of trouble is not an answer to a problem but a power to carry them through. And, indeed, even if the best and most completely satisfying solution of the mystery of suffering were available, that would not alter the fact that the actual suffering itself—the grim reality in experience—would still be there to be endured. So we begin to see that there is a deeper question. The ultimate demand is not “Why has this happened to me?” but “How, seeing it has happened, am I to face it?” And when you see that, suddenly the New Testament comes right in. The New Testament is not much concerned about Why? But it is desperately and magnificently concerned about How? It does not offer you a theory and an explanation—it offers you a power and a victory. --James S. Stewart

A COUPLE I KNOW were discussing their wallpaper, which had just been hung. Dov was annoyed at Debby's indifference to what he felt was a poor job. "The problem is that I'm a perfectionist and you're not," he finally said to her. "Exactly!" she replied. "That's why you married me and I married you!"

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. – Socrates
 Grammar has gots to be one of the most importantest things ever?
 I am becoming increasingly worried that there isn't enough anxiety in my life.
 I have this nagging fear that everyone is out to make me paranoid.
 Life is full of uncertainties...or I could be wrong about that?
 Not only am I redundant and superfluous, but I also tend to use more words than necessary.
 Always remember you're unique... just like everyone else. 


A church newsletter mentioned a man who visited eighteen different churches on successive Sundays. He was trying to find out what the churches were really like. He said, "I sat near the front. After the service, I walked slowly to the rear, then returned to the front and went back to the foyer using another aisle. I smiled and was neatly dressed. I asked one person to direct me to a specific place: a fellowship hall, pastor's study, etc. I remained for coffee if served. I used a scale to rate the reception I received. I awarded points on the following basis:
10 for a smile from a worshiper
10 for a greeting from someone sitting nearby
100 for an exchange of names
200 for an invitation to have coffee
200 for an invitation to return
1000 for an introduction to another worshiper
2000 for an invitation to meet the pastor
On this scale, eleven of the eighteen churches earned fewer than 100 points. Five actually received less than 20. The conclusion: The doctrine may be biblical, the singing inspirational, the sermon uplifting, but when a visitor finds nobody who cares whether he's here, he is not likely to come back." -Author unknown

“The walk with God is not always an easy walk, especially here in the largest of stages,” Byrd said. “You don’t want to be thrown in the lions den wearing pork chop underwear. You want to be strong in whatever you do.”

Coaches Dungy and Smith haven't sold their souls in pursuit of the game's Holy Grail, and yet here they are, reminding us that good men can do great things, that nice guys can and do finish first. ... Dungy and Smith are family men. And they still win.
You won't hear either utter a word of profanity. And they still win. They care about and foster relationships with their players. And they still win. They serve their communities. And still, somehow, they find time to do what it takes to prepare their teams. ...
Dungy and Smith are Christian men who serve the Lord first and spend nearly as much time serving their communities. ...
After they won their conference championships, you heard Smith talk about his "being blessed" and Dungy giving thanks to God. That isn't just lip service with these guys. As Christians they believe it is their responsibility to let their light shine whenever they're in the spotlight.

February 4, 2007

St. Peter and Satan were having an argument one day about football. This goes on and on with both arguing about who would field the best team.
Satan proposed a game to be played on neutral grounds between a select team from the heavenly host and his own hand-picked boys.
"Very well," said the gatekeeper of Heaven.
"But you realize, I hope, that we've got all the good players and the best coaches."
"I know, and that's all right," Satan answered unperturbed, "we've got all the officials!"

“Look at this mess!” roared an angry customer at a local cafe, pointing to his squashed doughnut. “It’s just as you ordered it, sir,” the waitress replied meekly. "You told me to bring you coffee and a doughnut and step on it.”

TIME TO GO
A visiting minister was very long-winded. Worse, every time he would make a good point during his sermon and a member of the congregation responded with "Amen" or "That's right, preacher" he would get wound up even more and launch into another lengthy discourse.
Finally, the host pastor started responding to every few sentences with "Amen, Pharaoh!" The guest minister wasn't sure what that meant, but after several more "Amen, Pharaohs" he finally concluded his very lengthy sermon.
After the service concluded and the congregation had left, the visiting minister turned to his host and asked, "What exactly did you mean when you said 'Amen, Pharaoh'?"
His host replied, "I was telling you to let my people go!"

In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering. --Howard Hendricks

The most pleasant and useful persons are those who leave some of the problems of the universe for God to worry about.

It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. --Madeleine L'Engle

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.


"It really doesn't matter if the person who hurt you deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. You have things to do and you want to move on." -- Author Unknown

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take" – Wayne Gretzky

"Every generation of Americans [and others] needs to know that freedom exists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." -- Pope John Paul II

"We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God." --Dwight L. Moody

"If it is desirable that our children be kind, responsible, pleasant and honest, then those qualities must be taught--not hoped for." -- James Dobson

"When your only tool is a hammer, you see every problem as a nail." -- A. Maslow

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

If Moses, after spending 40 days and nights with the Almighty, had come down from Mount Sinai today bearing two tablets with the Ten Commandments, he would have been hard pressed to find a publisher.

It took John D. Rockefeller 16 years to become a billionaire. Bill Gates did it in 10. Mike Dell in five. And Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page became multibillionaires in their late 20s.
Goldman Sachs' golden touch delivered $16.5 billion in year-end bonuses, up 40 percent in a year, or $623,418 for every employee. But that wasn't the way it was divvied among the 26,467-strong work force. Some star traders made $100 million as their reward for boosting Goldman's stock 61 percent in 2006.
Winston Churchill once said socialism is the equal sharing of miseries whereas capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings.
A worker earns in a year roughly what the CEO on the top floor takes home each day.

Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles, with sniffles predominating. -- O. Henry


Healthy Relationships--Healthy Life
Everybody's Normal Until You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg. I've included this quote from the book: "One of the most thorough research projects on relationships is called the Alameda County Study. Headed by a Harvard social scientist, it tracked the lives of 7,000 people over nine years. Researchers found that the most isolated people were three times more likely to die than those with strong relational connections.
"People who had bad health habits (such as smoking, poor eating habits, obesity, or alcohol use) but strong social ties lived significantly longer than people who had great health habits but were isolated. In other words, it is better to eat Twinkies with good friends than to eat broccoli alone. Harvard researcher Robert Putnam notes that if you belong to no groups
but decide to join one, "you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half."
"For another study, as reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 276 volunteers were infected with a virus that produces the common cold. The study found that people with strong emotional connections did four times better fighting off illness than those who were more isolated. These people were less susceptible to colds, had less virus, and
produced significantly less mucous than relationally isolated subjects." Talmadge Hobbs

Olympian Hits Wrong Target Matt Emmons had the gold medal in sight. He was one shot away from claiming victory in the 2004 Olympics 50-metre, three-position rifle event. He didn't even need a bull's-eye to win. His final shot merely needed to be on target.
Normally, the shot he made would have received a score of 8.1, more than enough for a gold medal. But in what was described as "an extremely rare mistake in elite competition," Emmons fired at the wrong target. Standing in lane two, he fired at the target in lane three. His score for a good shot at the wrong target? Zero. Instead of a medal, Emmons ended up in eighth place. It doesn't matter how accurate you are if you are aiming at the wrong goal.
-- Leadership, Winter 2005. Cited in Encounter

The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot. Michael Altshuler


Super Sunday
The Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts are headed to Super Bowl XLI this Sunday. Much has been made of the fact that Lovie Smith of the Bears and Tony Dungy of the Colts will become the first African-American head coaches in the 41-year history of the NFL's marquee game. "It means a lot," said Dungy. "I'm very proud to represent African-American coaches."
However, both coaches are also representing Christ. "The Lord set this up in a way that no one would believe it," said Dungy. "The Lord tested us a lot this year, but He set this up to get all the glory."
Dungy and Smith are close friends. Smith was one of Dungy's assistants when the two were with Tampa Bay from 1996-2000.
On Feb. 3, one day before the big game, Dungy will join Campus Crusade for Christ's Athletes in Action for the annual Super Bowl Breakfast, which emphasizes men of faith in football and honors those who have shown exceptional character. He was the keynote speaker at last year's breakfast, where he shared a message about God's love weeks after his 18-year-old son died from a suicide.

Stress in Americans
Four in 10 Americans often feel stressed, according to a December 2006 Gallup phone survey of 1,010 adults. Thirty-three to 42 percent have reported having frequent stress since 1994. These levels have not changed much in recent years, according to CBSNews.com.
One in five Americans reported only rare stress, with only three percent saying they are never stressed. Those reporting frequent stress included:
* 44 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds, and 46 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds.
* 47 percent of parents with children under 18.
* 43 percent of full-time workers and 46 percent of part-time workers — but only 29 percent of unemployed Americans.
* 40 percent of women and 35 percent of men.
* 55 percent of people who say they do not have enough time to do things they want to do.