ARRANGING YOUR DEPARTURE
A young man works as a photographer for a magazine. In 1981 he was flown into an Alaskan wilderness to photograph the natural beauty and some rare flowers. He had everything prepared - photo equipment, 500 rolls of film, and several days of provisions. He kept a diary
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 29, 2010
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A SPECIAL VISITOR
This past Tuesday, it was difficult to drive in and out of our church parking lot because of a barrage of traffic down Webster Street. Where did this traffic come from? Downtown was blocked off because President Obama and Vice-President Biden were speaking at a closed meeting a
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 22, 2010
GRATITUDE ATTITUDE
A few years ago Dr. Nick Stinnett of the University of Nebraska conducted a group of studies called the "Family Strengths Research Project." Stinnett and his researchers identified six qualities that make for strong families. The first quality and one of the most important to be
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 8, 2010
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FAD OR FOLLOWER?
I was looking at a list of some fads from the 1990's. Among them were: spandex shorts, Pokemon, Grunge music and fashion, The Macarena, Bowl cut, What would Jesus do?, Pogs, Polly Pocket Toys, and Tickle Me Elmo.
In that list, only one fad had long-term bearing, "What Would Jesus
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 8, 2010
WHAT MAKES JERUSALEM SO GREAT?
"Archaeologists and historians have long wondered why Jerusalem should have been established where it was, and why it should have become great. It enjoys none of the physical features which favored the advancement and prosperity of other important cities in the
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JOHN STOTT ON TEMPTATION
"The command to get rid of troublesome eyes, hands and feet
is an example of our Lord’s use of dramatic figures of speech. What he was advocating was not a literal physical self-maiming, but a ruthless moral self-denial...to reject sinful practices so resolutely that we
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Oct 25, 2010
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HESED
Proverbs 20:6 records: "Many a man claims to have hesed, but a faithful man, who can find?"
Not only is a person with hesed truthful, he is also faithful. The proverb indicates that many people may claim to have hesed for you, but only a very few will demonstrate it by actually remaining
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Oct 11, 2010
A friend loans you a car at the last moment. As he rushes off, he says, "By the way, the gas gage is broke." You have no idea whether the tank is almost full or nearly empty.
This is our status in life. Some of us die young, others live to be
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Oct 11, 2010
A bored student at the University of Washington used an Internet auction site to sell his soul to the highest bidder. As it turned out, the top offer was only $400.
Since the soul is immaterial, it can’t be extracted from a body like a physical organ such as a heart. The student had to admit, “I
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 20, 2010
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PSALM 47 AND ROSH HASHANAH
When a brand new believer in 1974, my friend loaned his LP Album by Messianic Jewish group "Lamb." When I married Marylu in 1980, I married into Lamb albums.
One of the songs was titled, "Clap Your Hands, All Ye People," and was a paraphrase of Psalm 47. Preparing this
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 6, 2010
This doesn't mean that we do not feel the brunt of bad news, trials, or miseries. It means he helps us gain our composure. Judy Ackerman Link wrote:
After my doctor announced that I had cancer, I tried to listen to what he said, but I couldn’t. I went home, pulled a blanket over my head, and fell
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 29, 2010
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Married for many years, Paul had been ignored by his wife, Liz, for some days, so eventually he confronted her with what he perceived as the problem.
'Come on Liz, admit it,' he ranted, 'You only married me because my granddad left me $6 million, didn't you?'
'You really are silly, Paul,' retorted
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There was a girl named Maria who had broken up with Jimmy. She told him she simply didn’t want to be with him anymore. But after about a year of being broken up, she wrote Jimmy a letter. She said, “Jimmy, I miss you bad. I think of you all day and all night long. You dominate my mind and I
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 10, 2010
In the Spring, Marylu and I spent a day at one of our State Parks, McCormick's Creek (my personal favorite). But we could not go into the cave there because of a deadly disease that is annihilating bats.
This week, an AP story broke:
"A mysterious illness is threatening the bat population in
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 9, 2010
According to Greek mythology, sirens (sea nymphs) inhabited certain Mediterranean coastal areas. As ships passed by, the sirens sang such enchanting songs that the sailors, drawn by the music, would jump overboard and drown.
Odysseus was on a ship that had to pass that way. Aware of the powerful
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 9, 2010
RELATIONSHIPS AND BATS
In the Spring, Marylu and I spent a day at one of our State Parks, McCormick's Creek (my personal favorite). But we could not go into the cave there because of a deadly disease that is annihilating bats.
2. This week, an AP story broke:
"A mysterious illness is
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 2, 2010
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STRANGE MEDICINAL CLAIMS
In the world of medicine and nutritional supplements, do we really know what we are doing? People seem so sure about their claims, but we need to remind ourselves: we don't know what we don't know.
This AFP article broke this last week: (7-10)
"Ordinary calcium
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Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 2, 2010
THE BRONZE SERPENT
This event, the healing effected by glancing at the Copper Serpent, was so spectacular that it was probably famed region wide. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
"With the decline of Egyptian control of the region in the middle of the 12th century BCE, the
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To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the businessman whose flight was delayed an hour.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask the man who had
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