Re: 2019 MIX

Admin Thu 03 Jan 2019, 6:23 pm

Preparing for 2019

Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t find the time.

Call up a forgotten friend.

Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories.

Share a funny story with someone whose spirits are dragging. A good laugh can be very good medicine.

Vow not to make a promise you don’t think you can keep.

Pay a debt.

Give a soft answer.

Free yourself of envy and malice.

Encourage some youth to do his or her best. Share your experience, and offer support. Young people need role models.

Make a genuine effort to stay in closer touch with family and good friends.

Resolve to stop magnifying small problems and shooting from the lip. Words that you have to eat can be hard to digest.

Find the time to be kind and thoughtful. All of us have the same allotment: 24 hours a day. Give a compliment. It might give someone a badly needed lift.

Think things through. Forgive an injustice. Listen more. Be kind.
Apologize when you realize you are wrong. An apology never diminishes a person. It elevates him.

Don’t blow your own horn. If you’ve done something praiseworthy, someone win notice eventually.

Try to understand a point of view that is different from your own. Few things are 100 percent one way or another.

Examine the demands you make on others.

Lighten up. When you feel like blowing your top, ask yourself, "Will it matter a week from today?"

Laugh the loudest when the joke is on you.

The sure way to have a friend is to be one. We are all connected by our humanity, and we need each other.

Don’t discourage a beginner from trying something risky. Nothing ventured means nothing gained. Be optimistic. The can-do spirit is the fuel that makes things go.

Go to war against animosity and complacency.

Express your gratitude. Give credit when it’s due—and even when it isn’t. It will make you look good.

Read something uplifting. Deep-six the trash. You wouldn’t eat garbage—why put it in your head?

Don’t abandon your old-fashioned principles. They never go out of style.

When courage is needed, ask yourself, "If not me, who? If not now, when?"

Take better care of yourself. Remember, you’re all you’ve got. Pass up that second helping. You really don’t need it.

Vow to eat more sensibly. You’ll feel better and look better, too.

Don’t put up with secondhand smoke. Nobody has the right to pollute your air or give you cancer. If someone says,
"This is a free country," remind him or her that the country may be free, but no person is free if he has a habit he can’t control.

Return those books you borrowed. Reschedule that missed dental appointment. Clean out your closet. Take those photos out of the drawer and put them in an album. If you see litter on the sidewalk, pick it up instead of walking over it.

Give yourself a reality check. Phoniness is transparent, and it is tiresome. Take pleasure in the beauty and the wonders of nature. A flower is God’s miracle.

Walk tall, and smile more. You’ll look 10 years younger.

Don’t be afraid to say, "I love you." Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world. If you have love in your life, consider yourself blessed, and vow to make this the best year ever.

Happy New Year!

…..Ann Landers (Best Advice by way of Tim Levin (levin@gmail.com) and ‘Christian Voices” (christianvoices@att.net)

Admin Thu 03 Jan 2019, 6:19 pm

There Just is No App

There was a new commercial on television the other day doing its best to sell the newest smart phone on the market. It made it sound like you could solve all of your problems if you just bought this device with its countless functions and applications. After it was over I looked down at my simple flip phone that I used mainly as a pocket watch and sometimes to call my daughter. Then I smiled and slipped it back in my pocket. I didn’t want that fancy new phone.

I knew there were no apps for the things that were truly important in my life. Apps can’t give you a child’s love. They can’t give you a dog’s loyalty. They can’t give you God’s grace. Apps can’t give you a hug. They can’t share a smile. They can’t kiss your cheek. Apps can’t hold your hand. They can’t share your troubles. They can’t touch your heart. Apps’ eyes don’t twinkle when they tell a story. They don’t laugh at a good joke. They can’t sing when the spirit moves them. Apps can’t breathe in the cold, fresh air on a Winter’s morning. They can’t watch the sunset over the mountains. They can’t count the stars at night. Apps can’t make you a home cooked meal. They can’t smell a Spring flower. They can’t hear birdsong in the trees.

Apps don’t do acts of kindness. They can’t share moments of joy. They can’t spread love to another’s heart. Apps can’t thank Heaven for a new day. They can’t pray. They can’t connect you to God, His love, and His light.

A new study, in fact, says that cell phones can actually drain our daily happiness from us. Perhaps it is because they distract us from what truly makes us happy. Don’t be afraid then to turn them off once in a while. Take the time to watch a sunset, pet a dog, and pray. God didn’t put us here to stare at a screen all day long. God put us here to live, to laugh, and to love. God put us here to help each other, to be happy together, and to make Earth more like Heaven.

…..Pat Earl (brian.earl@sympatico.ca) by way of ‘Christian Voices’ (christianvoices@att.net)

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READY, SET, GO!

It’s a brand new year. Folks are making resolutions they vow to keep. Such things as eat less chocolate, stop smoking, obey the speed limits and leave the phone in the back seat.

As Eugene Peterson explains in his book, THE MESSAGE, the first book of Peter gives several good resolutions for the children of God to follow throughout the year. The first one is “Roll up your sleeves and put your mind in gear.” In other words, we, as Christ followers, are to be active, reaching out to help where needed, serving with joyful hearts, giving freely of our time and talents. We are not to do this out of blind routine, but we are to think about our outreach. We are to listen to God’s leading, to remember His commands.

Next, he says: “Don’t lazily slip into old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing.” Christ is Lord of our lives now. He has paid a mighty big price to free us from sin and a guilty conscience. Therefore, we are to follow His lead even when we don’t feel like it. God has called us to live holy lives, to soak in His kindness and let that flow outward to touch others and precepts and to share God’s Word in speaking to others. We are to guard our lips, our thoughts and our actions, striving to please the One who loves us so much.

Finally, he says, “Clean the house! Make a clean sweep of malice, pretense, envy and hurtful talk.” Sounds like an impossible task, but we are not alone as we endeavor to follow the Lord’s directions and make our lives count for Him. God has promised to be right there with us.

Jesus is in heaven praying for us, and the Holy Spirit is within us always pointing the way. How can we fail with such a team guiding our every step and with a great cloud of witnesses in the heavens cheering us on?

Let’s each one of us make these sound resolutions. Let’s find a friend to be our encourager and accountability partner and let’s go into the new year with a smile on our lips and determination in our souls. Are you ready? Get set! Go!!!

“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am there, my

servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him/her my Father will

honor.” (John12:26)

…..Pat Earl (brian.earl@sympatico.ca) by way of “Christian Voices” (christianvoices@att.net)