The 80% Rule

http://health.msn.com/fitness/womens-fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100254483>1=31050

"Most guys avoid anything that even smacks of perfectionism," and that applies to dieting, too, says Prevention adviser Pamela Peeke, M.D., an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "When women start a diet, they go from zero to 100—they become 'perfect' overnight, which is a hallmark of failure.
That's why I developed the 80 percent rule: Hit your weight-loss goals 80 percent every single day you can. One day, it'll be 120 percent because it happens to be a great day. Other days, you'll hit 50 percent or even 20 percent when you're dealing with PMS. Just make sure it averages out to 80 percent."

John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, quotes

"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place....With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us."
~ Chapter 1, pp. 13-14

"A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya," he cried, "I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."

~ John Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men)

Einstein on Christianity and Judaism

Christianity and Judaism
If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity.
It is the duty of every man of good will to strive steadfastly in his own little world to make this teaching of pure humanity a living force, so far as he can. If he makes an honest attempt in this direction without being crushed and trampled under foot by his contemporaries, he may consider himself and the community to which he belongs lucky.

~ From Einstein's book The World as I See It (Philosophical Library, New York, 1949) pp. 111-112

Os Guinness, The Call

“In the decades I have followed Jesus, second only to the joy of knowing him has been a sorrow at the condition of those of us today who name ourselves his followers. If so many of us profess to live by the gospel yet are so pathetically marginal to the life of our societies and so nondescript and inconsequential in our individual lives, is there something wrong with the gospel, or does the problem lie with us?”

"Years ago that question prompted me to a search through other times and places to look for instances in which the truths of the gospel were neither platitudinous nor impotent but fresh, compelling, explosive, and consequential. Along with the truth of the cross of Christ, the truth of calling has been as influential on individuals and societies as any truth in history--and will be again, when rediscovered."

"Do you want to know a truth that in the momentous challenges of our modern world will be at once a quest to inspire you, an anchor to hold you fast, a rich fare to nourish you, and a relationship you will prize above all others? Listen to Jesus of Nazareth; answer his call."

~ Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, Thomas Nelson: Nashville, TN, 1998, p. 59

Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful."

~ Author unknown

Jesus Loves Me Too Much to Let Me Stay That Way

"Jesus Christ Loves Me Just The Way I Am,
But Too Much To Let Me Stay That Way."

~ Author unknown

get what you always got

"If you always do what you always did,
you'll always get what you always got!"

"One day at a time,
no guilt,
and move on."

Dotti
www.dwlz.com

a TULIP of communication

Quoted from PreachingNow email list:

In a recent interview on the website Breakfast With Fred, Steve Brown (speaker for KeyLife, a prof at Reformed Seminary, and a Preaching Magazine senior consulting editor) explained that, "In my classes at the seminary, I teach a TULIP of communication. The TULIP presupposes the authority of Scripture, understanding doctrine, knowing how to exegete a text. The principles are as follows . . .

T = Therapeutic. " The communicator must, by necessity, speak to problems with solutions. Like a surgeon, the words may heal or hurt to heal . . . but if there is no healing, then there is no real communication."

U = Unconventional. "The greatest sin for a communicator is the sin of boring the audience . . . Don't say it the way everybody else has said it. Don't say the expected. Don't fit into anybody else's mold."

L = Lucid. "I tell students that a good measurement of their communication skills is this question: If your listeners wanted to take notes, could they? . . . The content my be only one point made by a story . . . but that one point should be clear . . . clear enough so that it would be written down and put into practice."

I = Illustrated. "Stories are very, very important in modern communication. Learn where to find them, how to use them and then use them often . . . "

P = Passionate. "If you don't care, nobody else will. If you aren't excited about what you are going to say, nobody else will be excited. So, if your "hot buttons" are not pushed, don't try to communicate it to anybody else." (To read the entire interview, click here.)

Preaching

"Preaching should break a hard heart, and heal a broken heart."

Pastor John Newton,
ex drunken slave trader,
author of "AMAZING GRACE."

self-discipline and awareness of consequences are critical

The Dalai Lama had not heard of Tiger Woods before. After hearing the facts, he agreed that a return to Buddhism would be helpful, saying that self-discipline and awareness of consequences were critical.