Forwarded Messages

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. PSALM 119:130 Sharing this video forwarded by a friend... thank you Nick. #WorthWatching #WorthForwarding #ForwardedMessages

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success ( Psalm 118:24-25 NLT). The really good coaches are smart cookies. Forget the "dumb jock" jokes, and pay attention to their ability to motivate — and focus on what matters. One of several nicknames carried by the late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was The Wizard of Westwood. During his eventful career, he mentored — not just coached — dozens of men who went on to success both in the NBA and in a variety of careers outside athletics. Along the way, his teams won a record ten national titles and set a record 88-game collegiate winning streak. He died in 2010 but remains one of the most respected figures in all of sports. Wooden was a reflective man whose speeches, books, and occasional interviews scattered gems of practical wisdom. A Christian who read his Bible daily, many of those tidbits mirror the teachings of the Master Tea...

She was nobody. A nameless woman in a sea of people.  A woman with a secret: she had a gynecological problem that caused her to bleed continually. Under Jewish law, anyone that touched her would be ceremonially unclean. So she hid in the crowd, seeking anonymity and isolation. Jesus was with Jairus, an important man in the community, a ruler of the synagogue. They were on an urgent mission to save Jairus' daughter, who was gravely ill. The woman wanted to be healed as well. She had heard of Jesus and the miracles he had done. She knew that no holy man would touch her on purpose... they wouldn't want to defile themselves in that way. She would have to find a way to be healed in secret. The gospel of Mark tells the story: When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from ...

The lead story on our local news this morning was about potholes. After the rough winter we have experienced already, the roads are a mess — with auto-damaging potholes on all the main thoroughfares. It reminds me of the way human life works. Life is a journey. We map our roads to success and happiness. There are curves along the way, and we must not give in to the temptation just to coast. Okay. You've got it. Right? The notion of life as a road to travel has been used in the Bible, by Scott Peck, and in the vocabularies of practically all of us. There are no roads without potholes. So the people who get the most joy out of life are the ones who learn early how to deal with discouragement. Temperament appears to predispose some people to see the dark side of situations and to incline toward pessimism. There are external circumstances over which one does not have control. There are people who can make life harder for you as critics or enemies. But you are not helpl...

One of our dogs is a tattletale. She is small, cute, and has a very loud excitable bark when something sets her off. And nothing sets her off like when our Golden Retriever does something he should not. If he sticks his nose in the trash, she gets about six inches from his face and starts barking as loud as she can. If he puts one paw on the couch, same thing. If he does anything he is not supposed to do, then she lets him, us, and everyone in earshot know about it. You have known people like that. They want to be sure everyone knows about every mistake you have ever made. It is as if their greatest joy in life is to see someone get in trouble. Tattletales want to get people in trouble, see people "get what is coming to them," and make sure everyone knows about it. You see them among children on the playground, and among employees in the workplace. There is even a tattletale who wants to be sure God gives you what you deserve for all the wrong choices in your life. A...

There's a story that tells of a woman who volunteered with the school  district in a large city. Specifically, she was helping tutor children  who were forced to miss school due to illness. One day she was given a  name and a hospital room number, with this written instruction from the  teacher: “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now, and I’d be  grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too  far behind.” When the woman arrived at the hospital room, she found a young boy who  had been badly burned that was lying in great pain in the bed.  Overwhelmed by the sight of this boy, all she could do was blurt out,  “I’ve been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs.”  After working with the child for a time, she left feeling foolish. What  good were grammar lessons to a boy in his condition?

Sometimes we say ...   "Lord, I am tired because there is too much ..."     * Too much stress.     * Too much stress over money.     * Too much stress over balancing, or trying to balance accounts.     * Too much stress over things that we cannot change.     * Too much stress due to talking about having a simpler life.     * Too much discontent.     * Too much time wasted on trivial and useless endeavours.     * Too much stuff.     * Too much stuff happening.

A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move. “Sensei,”(Teacher in Japanese) the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?” “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For...

Wayne Dyer wrote a book that he believed was important and much needed by a lot of people. Upon completing his book, he began to search for a publisher. All his search brought him were rejection slips. Not one publisher saw any market for Dyer's work. Discouraged but undaunted, he dipped into his own pocket and published the book himself. Then, he took to the roads to peddle it. He'd arrange appearances on local talk shows around the country, then stuff his car full of books and tell area booksellers he was going to be on the radio or TV the next day - and that he would provide them books to meed the demand created by his appearance. He did this for two years, selling a few books at a time.

Perhaps the most challenging distinctive of Christianity is that our  God wants us to love him. While world religions talk of studying about  their gods, following teachings, keeping rules and living solemn,  self-sacrificing lives, becoming more self-aware, our God asks for  something more. He sent his son to show us how to love because that's what he wants. He wants us to love him, to love him with all our heart  and mind and soul. Love is longing for the presence of your loved one; you think about  that person throughout the day. Much more than words, this relationship  is a new way to live life. Jesus' disciples learned it through  experience. Toward the end of his life, John could speak of nothing  else, "... let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions" (1 John 3:18 NLT) . Love demands relationship. You can memorize stacks of facts and know a  lot about someone, you could even deve...

"In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" In his book, Life Changes, James Hefley writes about Barry Luppin who was just twenty-six when a rare nerve disease sent him into the world of silence. Unable to pursue the law career he had planned, he drifted aimlessly for eight years bemoaning his deafness. Then he determined, in his own words, to "put my chin up and fight." He learned to lip read and went into the auto leasing business. The business prospered into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

In the early 1900s Marian dreamed of becoming a concert singer. But she knew that because her skin was different color than that of the majority, she would be at a disadvantage. Marian's dream was buoyed by her mother, who had a patient trust in God. Marian recalled, "Mother's religion made her believe that she would receive what was right for her to have if she was conscientious in her faith. If it did not come, it was because He had not considered it right for her. We grew in this atmosphere of faith that she created. We believed as she did because we wanted the same kind of haven in the time of storm."

In 1970, Wally started baking chocolate chip cookies for his friends. He used a recipe and process passed down by his Aunt Della. For five years, he made cookies and gave away every batch - even though folks told him that his cookies were so good that he should sell them. But to Wally, the cookies were just sideline. His major goal was to be a big-time show business manager. One day, a friend told Wally that she knew someone who could put up the money for a cookie - making business. That comment sparked Wally's thinking. He talked to some of his friends -- people like Jeff Wall, Helen Reddy and Marvin Gaye - and convinced them to put up some money.

ANXIETY IS THE MISUSE OF THE IMAGINATION  The Apostle Paul instructed believers to " be anxious for nothing ." Think about that. Paul says that child of God should worry about anything! And Paul didn't give this advice lightly. He was in prison at the time he wrote it. In fact, he spent a lot of time in chains at various "gray-bar hotels" -- separated from those he loved. He had his well-publicized "thorn in the flesh" to contend with as well. Paul was a man who endured beatings and stoning. He even had disagreements with one of Jesus' original disciples, Peter. Ultimately, his staunch faith in God and his outspokenness about it got him beheaded.  Despite all his trials, Paul knew God could bring peace. God doesn't always untie all the knots in our lives. But He does give us the grace to live with the knots.  So remember, there is nothing you face that is too difficult, too troubling, or too frightening for God. Follow Paul'...

by Steve Ridgell I was helping clean up my sister-in-law’s yard after a recent wind storm when it happened. The neighbor’s dog got me. I knew he was not happy with the chain saw, the activity, and the work going on. After all, he kept barking at us. I was carrying a load of wood to the back gate, walking about one foot inside the fence. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of this dog trying to jump over the fence. As I jumped sideways, he managed to extend his head over the fence and catch my arm. There was not any lasting damage. My arm was swollen and stayed bruised for a couple of weeks. The dog was as surprised as I was. My father-in-law worried about whether the dog should have gotten shots. Ha, ha. The neighbors were apologetic. The yard got cleaned up, and we all stayed several feet away from the fence. And I thought about how much like life this was.

After winning the grueling Tour de France in 1999, cyclist Lance Armstrong went on to repeat the feat in the year 2000. Armstrong won both these races and a score of others after battling cancer, a cancer so devastating that it had spread throughout his body, even to his brain. After his remarkable victory in the 1999 Tour de France, Armstrong said that he wouldn't have been able to win if not for the cancer! The drive, the perseverance, and the courage that he developed while battling his internal enemy made him strong enough to ride faster and harder - and with more determination - than all of his opponents.

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 57 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories. He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands. He knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on. Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two. Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak. Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones, dropped them in her basket.. Hesitated, and then put them back. S...

Some people would rather endure an enema than love an enemy... Is there any tougher commandment than the one that instructs us to love our enemies? Not tolerate them or simply do kind things for them. Love them. Those obnoxious, cruel, hateful people. The boss who treats you unfairly. The co-worker who pretends to be your friend, then back - stabs you. The unhappy customer who unfairly criticizes you to your superiors. The technical support person who is consistently rude. Or that certain someone who is simply annoying.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: ' I am blind, please help .' There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.'

A partially deaf boy trudged into his home one day after school. In his hand, he carried a note. It was a note from school officials, suggesting that his parents remove him from school. According to those wise officials, this boy was "too stupid to learn." Upon reading the note, the boy's mother vowed, "My son Tom isn't stupid to learn. I'll teach him myself." And that is exactly what she did. Many years later when Tom died, many Americans paid tribute to him by turning off their lights for one full minute. This was a fitting tribute, for Tom Edison invented the light bulb - along with motion pictures and the phonograph. In all, he was credited with more than a thousand patents.