When you feel it, you heal it

Jenny McCarthy's Warrior Spirit

Jenny's prayers were answered when she met and fell for Jim Carrey, an actor, comedian and proud father. . . .

When Jim first came into her life, Jenny says she was nervous about how he'd react to Evan's unintentional disinterest. "Any single mom can relate," she says. "You want your boyfriend to have this connection with your child, so you go, 'Okay, we can be a family.' And when there's nothing given to your boyfriend, you think, 'Oh, no. How is he going to see past it?'"

For the first few months of their relationship, Jim says Jenny never mentioned her son's struggle with autism. When the truth came pouring out, so did years of pent-up emotions.

"I call it a nervous breakthrough," Jim says. "I think people have ways of hiding their emotions. People think their emotions are ugly, but when she finally broke down, we were in the kitchen, and I kind of grabbed her and I wouldn't let her go until she dumped it."

For years, Jenny says she hid anger and guilt behind a beautiful smile. "Her therapist told her there was anger there because she felt guilty for giving her son autism," Jim says. "This is what a lot of mothers deal with—this terrible guilt for giving their child a disease."

Over the years, Jim has been Jenny's shoulder to cry on, as well as a voice of reason. "'When you feel it, you heal it' is what he taught me," Jenny says.

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/
20080910_tows_jenny/6
(bold added)

Clinton: don't have to find something wrong with people

On "The View," Bill Clinton says Obama will win election
posted by halboedeker on Sep 22, 2008 12:44:29 PM

Bill Clinton visited ABC's "The View" for the first time Monday. And he saved his most interesting observations for the end. He offered his prediction in November's presidential election.

"I believe Obama will win," loyal Democrat Clinton said.

"I genuinely like both of them," Clinton said. "I genuinely admire both of them. I think that we make a terrible mistake believing we have to find something wrong with the people we can't vote for. I like them. I like John McCain. If it hadn't been for John McCain, I'm not sure I could have normalized relations with Vietnam." ...

The debates could change the outcome, Clinton added. But he called Obama a smart man and a good candidate who has grown through the process. Clinton said: "I think he's ready to be president. And I think McCain's ready to be president. You've got to decide which president you want." ...

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How to Teach

To show someone how to do something:

1. Show them.

2. Show them while you explain how to do it.

3. Explain while they do it.

4. Ask them to explain while they do it.

~ Aldon Annis

Receive Your Salvation

“I believe that the root of almost every schism and heresy from which the Christian church has ever suffered, has been the effort of men to earn, rather than to receive, their salvation.”

~ John Ruskin

The Grace of God for a Burglar and a Judge

During Communion one Sunday at a large downtown church, the pastor saw a former burglar kneeling beside a judge of the Supreme Court of England - the judge who had sent him to jail for seven years. After his release, the burglar had converted to Christianity. Yet, as the judge and the former convict knelt there, neither seemed to be aware of the other. After the service, the judge was walking home with the pastor and said to the pastor, "Did you notice who was kneeling beside me at the Communion rail this morning?" The pastor replied, "Yes, but I didn't know that you noticed." After a few more moments, the judge said, "What a miracle of grace." The pastor nodded in agreement, "Yes, what a marvelous miracle of grace." Then the judge said, "But to whom do you refer?" And the pastor said, "Why, to the conversion of that convict." The judge said, "but I was not referring to him. I was thinking of myself!" The pastor, surprised, replied: "You were thinking of yourself? I don't understand."

"Yes," the judge replied, "it did not cost that burglar much to get converted when he came out of jail. He had nothing but a history of crime behind him, and when he saw Jesus as his Savior he knew there was salvation and hope and joy for him. And he knew how much he needed that help. But look at me. I was taught from earliest childhood to live as a gentleman; that my word was to be my bond; that I was to say my prayers, go to church, take Communion, and so on. I went through Oxford, took my degrees, and eventually became a judge. Pastor, nothing but the grace of God could have caused me to admit that I was a sinner on a level with that burglar! It took much more grace to forgive me for all my pride and self-deception, to get me to admit that I was no better in the eyes of God than that convict I had sent to prison!"

indifference is a crime

"If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime."

"My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have, but in my lack of control of them."

~ Jack Kerouac

George Washington's Prayer for the Nation

"And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will
that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth,
grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness
by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee.
Bless us with thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle,
and let our victories be tempered with humanity.
Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds,
that they become sensible of their injustice,
and willing to restore our liberty and peace.
Grant the petition of Thy servant,
for the sake of whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son;
nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."

Truthful Grace:
"Hate can stifle evil, but God's Love has the power to transform evil."

God's power and will are equal

"He that loves
works out good to those that he loves,
as he is able.
God's power and will are equal;
what He wills He works."

~ John Owen (1616-1683), Puritan theologian

Triumph!

The difference between "try" and "triumph" is a little "umph."

~ author unknown

His Disciple

Romans 12:1 - "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice."

An African pastor was overwhelmed by rebels who demanded that he renounce his faith. He refused. The night before they took his life, he wrote the following lines on a scrap of paper:

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line. The decision has been made.

I am a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals!

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought , compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, or burn up till I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops.

And when He comes to get His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear.

Sweet are the uses of adversity

Duke Senior:

Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.

As You Like It Act 2, scene 1, 12–17

Before you have done it

"The Bible will tell you what is wrong before you have done it."

~ D.L. Moody

Enjoy your bitterness?

from Obama, Clinton reach deal to limit roll-call vote
Philadelphia Inquirer, Tuesday, August 26, 2008

"Townsend, a Maryland delegate, was a strong Clinton supporter but now is fully behind Obama. She said she understood why some of her colleagues had not joined her yet.
'There's a moment that you want to enjoy your bitterness,' she said."

God will help me

A man stayed in his house as a flood engulfed his town. Two men in a rowboat came to his house and offered to take him to safety.
"No thank you", the man said, "G-d will help me".
As the waters rose, the man retreated to the second story of his house. Now, two men in a motorboat came by and offered to rescue him.
Again, the man declined, saying, "No thank you, G-d will help me."
As the waters rose still higher, the man retreated again to the rooftop of his house. A helicopter came by, and someone inside it threw down a rope, urging the man to grab it and be pulled up into the helicopter.
Once more, the man declined and said, "No thank you, G-d will help me."
Whereupon a mighty voice called out to the man, "You idiot! I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat, and now a helicopter. What more do you want me to do?"

Martha Beck's Joy Diet

Feasting on Food
"Though the Joy Diet isn't a typical food regimen, it does have two strict rules about eating. They are:

1. You must eat only what you really enjoy.
2. You must really enjoy everything you eat."

http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/omag_200305_beck/3
from O, the Oprah Magazine

Abraham Lincoln on the Bible

"Read this book for what on reason you can accept and take the rest on faith, and you will live and die a better man."

~ Abraham Lincoln

Jesus Christ is more than a man

"I know men, and Jesus Christ is more than a man."

~ Napoleon Bonapart

He Saved Her Life

It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. It was a dry season that would bankrupt several farmers before it was through.
Every day, my husband and his brothers would go about the arduous process of trying to get water to the fields. Lately this process had involved taking a truck to the local water rendering plant and filling it up with water. But severe rationing had cut everyone off. If we didn't see some rain soon, we would lose everything.
It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the only miracle I had seen with my own eyes.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my six-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn't walking with the usual carefree abandon of youth, but with serious purpose. I could only see his back. He was obviously walking with great effort, trying to be as still as possible. Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house.
I went back to making sandwiches, thinking that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow, purposeful stride toward the woods. This activity went on for an hour: walking carefully to the woods, running back to the house.
Finally I couldn't take it any longer and I crept out of the house and followed him on his journey (being very careful not to be seen . . . he was obviously doing important work and didn't need his Mommy checking up on him.) He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked, being very careful not to spill the water he held in them, maybe two or three tablespoons were held in his tiny hands.
I snuck up close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face, but he did not try to avoid them. He had a much higher purpose. As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing sight.
Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck with elaborate antlers was dangerously close. But the buck did not threaten him, he didn't even move as Billy knelt down.
Then I saw a tiny fawn, lying on the ground, obviously suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water cupped in my beautiful boy's hand. When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house and I hid behind a tree.
I followed him back to a spigot on the side of the house. Billy opened it and slowly filled his makeshift "cup," as the sun beat down on his little back. When he stood up and began the trek back, I was there in front of him.
As he began his walk, I joined him with a small pot of water from the kitchen. I let him tend to the fawn. I stayed away. It was his job. I stood at the edge of the woods, watching the most beautiful heart I had ever known working so hard to save another life.
As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, other drops, and more drops, and more, suddenly joined them. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, Himself was weeping with pride.
Some will probably say this was all a huge coincidence. Those miracles don't really exist. That it was bound to rain some time. I can't argue with that. I'm not going to try.
All I can say is that the rain that came that day saved our farm just like the actions of one little boy saved another life.

~ Author Unknown

The importance of laughter

"Laughter is America's most important export."

~ Walt Disney

Thinking of ourselves less

"Humility does not cause us to think less of ourselves; it allows us to think of ourselves less."

~ author unknown