Forwarded Messages

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...

Constriction happens when we feel like our options are reduced to one or two bad possibilities. It's either "this" or "that," and "this" is horrible while "that" is disastrous. Here’s how to avoid making a hasty decision in panic, and prevent them from doing something rash. The first strategy is  D ELAY . Keep from making a rash move by waiting. As a Christian, waiting is not inaction; it is waiting on the Lord (Isaiah 40:28-31). It is time for prayer and for seeking God's will in Scripture. Often we cannot see the real situation and all the other possible options because we’re so caught up in the miseries of the moment. So often in the haste of the moment, we don't have all the facts or have misperceived the situation. A prayerful delay for a short time allows us to refocus and opens our heart so God can show us another way.

Many of us are broken at one time or another. We are sometimes broken in spirit, sometimes broken in body, sometimes broken in relationships and sometimes broken by the death of a loved one or even the loss of a job. We often struggle to find a reason for this happening, but we just as often struggle for a reason to go on, to have some purpose in our lives. We want to cry out, "What's the use? Why should I even try? No one cares, no one sees me." It may be that you are hurting, lonely, feeling rejected, useless or abandoned... broken. I understand how hard that is to deal with in your life, but remember that God always has a use for you and always has love for you, even when you feel unlovable and unloved. I recently found a quote from "Heart Held High," that reminds us of some amazing things about God. The author wrote:

Is your computer safe? Do you know who might be lurking in your files, swiping your private information, accessing your financial records? Is someone stealing from you? Studies say that one out of every twenty Americans has suffered some sort of identity theft. Smartphone users were one third likelier to be targeted by thieves. There are approximately 378 million victims per year, or more than 1 million each day and 12 per second. Have I made you paranoid yet? In Jesus' day, identity theft wasn't a problem. Computer hackers didn't steal information. No one worried about cyber crime. Yet Jesus issued a security warning. He said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal" (Matthew 6:19). Even then, almost two thousand years ago, people had to worry about having their treasure stolen. Jesus had a solution as to how to prevent that: "But store up for yourselves trea...

Forgiveness is setting the imprisoned bird free, then realizing that you were the imprisoned bird.  "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD"  (Leviticus 19:18). "Your hatred of her is unjustified," the teacher said as a man ranted about his ex-wife. "What do you mean unjustified?" he spit out. "You have no idea how she treated me, the things she's said to me, or the #$#@$@# things she continues to do. It's my God-given right to hate her." I'm taking a class for couples who are divorcing or are recently divorced that have too much conflict. Actually, let me restate that: the judge ordered that we take it. It's like a finishing school of sorts for something that is, well, finished, or at least theoretically should be. The class is divided into 2 sessions: one partner comes to the earlier class and the other comes to the later one. M...

Commencement Speech Given in the Ateneo de Manila University for the Graduates of 2015 You cannot imagine how great an honor it is for me to speak before you today. And that is certainly not a cliché or an exaggeration. Few people would ever guess that despite the many blessings I’ve received in over 30 years as a ballerina, most of my young life was spent pining for something that you all have and I don’t—a diploma from the Ateneo de Manila University. You see, I come from a certified Blue Eagle family. My father, his brother and my siblings all graduated from the Ateneo, with all four men in my family in the Honors Class since their elementary grades. Although I married a magna cum laude from Harvard. (Sorry, my husband made sure that I stuck that in there somewhere.) When I was seventeen, fresh out of high school, I found myself standing at a crossroad in my life: I was accepted in both the Ateneo and UP for college. But I decided to go to Russia instead and pur...

An anti-technology, anti-social media campaign message watched more than 40 million times through technology and social media.... Isn't it ironic?  Nonetheless, its good to be reminded once in a while... and I believe, it's a matter of discipline.  >>Anthony, thank you for forwarding>> 

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...

1. Today, my sister and I were in a bad car accident. My sister is Mrs. Popular at school – she knows everyone. I’m a bit of an introvert – I hang-out with the same 2 girls all the time. My sister immediately posted a comment on Facebook about our accident. And while all her friends were commenting, my 2 friends showed up independently at the scene of the accident before the paramedics arrived. 2. Today, my fiancé returned home from his last tour of duty overseas. Yesterday he was just my boyfriend, or so I thought. Almost a year ago, he mailed me a package. He told me I wasn't allowed to open it until he got home in two weeks. But then his tour got extended for another 11 months. Today, when he got home, he told me to open the package, and just as I pulled the ring out of the box, he got down on one knee. 3. Today, my 12-year-old son, Sean, and I stopped by the nursing home together for the first time in several months. Usually I come alone see my mother who’s sufferin...

Steve Jobs was a revolutionary. He turned an industry around. He did it by doing things differently than how they were being done. His pitch was: Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. The early church was revolutionary in a different way — a much more important way. Their pitch could have been: Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in Jesus and living differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by living lives that are beautifully designed and simple. We just happen to live generous lives. 

Who am I? What was I created to be and to do? Why am I here? Do I have a purpose? Does God have a plan for my life? These are all questions we struggle with from time to time questions some struggle with all the time.

As we celebrate love this month, here are some tiny love stories that made us smile, I hope this works for you too... love love love.  1. Today, my 75-year-old grandpa who has been blind from cataracts for almost 15 years said to me, “Your grandma is just the most beautiful thing, isn’t she?” I paused for a second and said, “Yes she is. I bet you miss seeing that beauty on a daily basis.” “Sweety,” my grandpa said, “I still see her beauty every day. In fact, I see it more now than I used to when we were young.”

There's an amazing story about Jesus and a man named Jairus who was a  religious leader, one of the rulers of the Jewish synagogue. At that  time, that would have made him unlikely to go see someone like Jesus. But Jairus went. He went because his daughter was very sick. He went because he was  desperate. He went because he considered Jesus to be his only hope.  Jairus was able to convince Jesus to come to his house. But while they were on the way, someone came with terrible news: Jairus' daughter was  dead. All hope was now gone. Or so Jairus must have thought. But Jesus thought otherwise. He said to the grieving father: "Don't be  afraid; just believe, and she will be healed" (Luke 8:50).  When they arrived at Jairus' house, people were standing outside,  crying. Jesus told them: "She is not dead but asleep." They laughed at  him, because everyone knew she was dead. Except Jesus. That is, he knew she was dead. But he also knew that ...

Our culture loves to rank things. Just take a look at all the top ten lists that are published. There are lists ranking the best — or worst — songs, movies, jobs, places to live, and things to see. We rank people too. There are lists covering looks, bodies, popularity, effectiveness, and abilities. High school athletes are rated by recruiting services as one star up to five stars. The only thing worse than a low rating is no rating. People even rank themselves. Just listen to conversations that include phrases like "... at least I am better than so and so." Or, "... at least I look better than she does."

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?

I recently read a little story about a little girl that touched my  heart. It seems that this little girl was late coming home for supper  one evening. When she got home her parents were understandably upset.  He questioned her about why she had been so late, after all they had  worried about her! The little girl said, "I stopped to help Marcie, she had a wreck on her  bicycle and it was broken." Her father said, "But you don't know  anything about fixing bicycles!" To which the little girls replied, "I  know, but I stopped to help her cry."

Have you noticed how we consumers are being swayed into buying products  by the advertisers? There's a psychology behind what makes us buy  things. Maybe those stores and their advertisers are in cahoots to make us hungry enough to buy their stuff! A few years ago, a lady in my exercise class sold athletic clothing.  She told us about her product line and showed us her catalog. The  clothing looked very nice, but it was a bit too pricy for me. My other  rationale was -- did I need to look stylish while working out, or  impress anyone? The lady told one of her interested customers about a  hot-selling item. She said that it was available in Merlot, but she was  out of the Chocolate Brown.

Death asked Life: Why does everyone love you and hate me. Life replied: Because I am a beautiful Lie and you are a painful Truth

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.