Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 4, 2011
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LIMITED UNDERSTANDING
Suppose I take my 2 year old to the doctor and he gets a shot in the arm and it really hurts. He doesn’t understand that the shot is to help him get better. All he knows is that shot hurt. And daddy just stood there. Doesn’t dad know how bad a shot hurts? Was he unable to
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 4, 2011
THE LECHEROUS HEART
Malcolm Muggeridge, the famous British philosopher and journalist who converted to Christianity late in life, once told the story of when he was working in India as a young man.
One evening, he went down to the river for a swim. As he entered the water, he saw across the
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 3, 2011
RECOVERY IS CONNECTION
Henry Cloud in How People Grow writes, "Virtually every emotional and psychological problem, from addictions to depression, has alienation or emotional isolation at its core or close to it. Recovery from these problems involves helping people get more connected to each other
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 3, 2011
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RESPONSE TO HURTING PEOPLE
In his book Soul Talk, Larry Crabb writes:
"Which is worse? A church program to build community that doesn’t get off the ground or one person sitting every Sunday in the back of the church who remains unknown? A Sunday school class that once drew hundreds but has now
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 3, 2011
GET UP STRONGER
By the beginning of the nineteenth century, about three million African slaves had been transported to the Americas on British ships. People being stolen from their homes, ripped from their families, robbed of their dignity, transported on ships 3 decks deep, squalid conditions,
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jul 17, 2010
The murder of Willie Stokes Jr. a young gambler on the south side of Chicago attracted local attention when the family had an auto-body shop outfit his coffin as a Cadillac Seville, complete with trunk and front grille, windshield and dashboard, silver spoke wheels, working headlights and tail
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Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010
Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century postulated that the earth was the center of the universe, that the earth was still, that other planets orbited and other planets rotated, but the earth not. The universe revolved around the earth. It made sense, and people believed it. For 1400 years.
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Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010
If you can start the day without caffeine, if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains ... if you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles ... if you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it ... if you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to
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Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010
Jonathan Edwards, who was one of America's greatest theologians, was a New England pastor of the 1700s. Edwards was brilliant. At age 6 he studied Latin. He entered Yale when not quite 13 and graduated when barely 15. He was ordained at 19, taught at Yale by 20 and later became president of
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Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010
In the movie Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood plays the part of an aging gunfighter who lost his taste for killing many years before. He and his old partner, played by Morgan Freeman, are lured by the rumor of a bounty of gold being offered for the arrest of some cowboys who had disfigured a young
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Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010
October 17, 1977, People Magazine
"I sit in my house in Buffalo and sometimes I get so ..... lonely it's unbelievable," "Life has been so good to me. I got a great wife, good kids, money, my own health—and I'm lonely and bored. ... I often
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Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010
I'm always fascinated by the stories of people who win large sums of money in lotteries. A large majority of whom wish they had never won.
Willie Hurt of Lansing, Mich., won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years later he was broke and charged with murder. His lawyer says Hurt spent his fortune on a
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 8, 2010
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One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon,
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 8, 2010
A BETTER LIFE
There was a time, and maybe still is, when you might hear a parent say something about wanting to provide a "better life" for their son or daughter. A better life than what they had growing up. And by better life, they mean - a bigger house, more and nicer cars, and more stuff.
And
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 8, 2010
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BECAUSE ONE TEEN TOOK ACTION
There was a youth group where the teenagers were challenged to try to reach someone in their school for Christ. Everyone blew it off. Except for one guy. He felt compelled to take action. So he did. He knew who he wanted to see come to Christ. It wasn’t exactly someone
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Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 7, 2010
It was approaching Thanksgiving and Dave's family was together. He was in the construction supply business and business was good. In response to hearing about how well things were going, Dave's daughter said "We sure have a lot to be thankful for!" But instead of agreeing, Dave snapped "I worked
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