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WITandWISDOM(tm) – November 8, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties." - Charles Spurgeon Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2007, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.php ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Is That You, God? From: Daily Encounter by Dick Innes "I [God] have loved you with an everlasting love." - Jeremiah 31:3 When my boys were little, I would tuck them into bed every night, say their prayers with them, and speak positive affirmations to them--affirmations such as, "I am so proud of you," "I'm so glad God sent you to be a part of our family," "I love you devotedly," etc., etc. When my youngest son, Mark, was about nine I crept into his bedroom real early one morning. I was certain he was asleep--because he looked like an angel! I quietly leaned over and whispered in his ear, "O beloved of the Lord." As quick as a flash he spun his head around and, looking upward, asked without a moment's hesitation, "Is that you, God?" When I regained my composure, I whispered back in his ear, "No, it's not God, but he sent me to tell you that." Dear Reader, God is "sending" me to tell you that today, too. No matter what you have ever done or have failed to do, God loves you with an everlasting love and has a wonderful plan and purpose for your life. His primary purpose is that you find God and receive his forgiveness for all your sins and his gift of eternal life. If you have never done this and would like to, click on the following for help. http://tinyurl.com/8glq9 Second, God wants you to discover and fulfill his divine purpose for your life and in so doing become a part of what he is doing in the world in which you live. Your life purpose will have to do with using your God-given abilities to serve God by helping others. Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I thank you that you love me with an everlasting love no matter what. Help me to know and experience your divine love, forgiveness, and acceptance and communicate these to every life I touch. Help me, too, to discover and fulfill my God-given life purpose. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." - Start Your Day -- Monday to Friday... With an Inspirational and Uplifting E-mail Message by Subscribing to "Daily Encounter" By Dick Innes ... (Without Charge) "Daily Encounter," a week-day inspirational from ACTS International is now going to 102,000+ subscribers. Scores of letters from around the world have come from readers saying how much they are being helped by this brief, practical devotional. You can see more samples and subscribe from: http://www.actsweb.org/daily_encounter.php ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Quotes of the Day Classical music is the kind we keep thinking will turn into a tune. - Kin Hubbard It only takes 20 years for a liberal to become a conservative without changing a single idea. - Robert Anton Wilson If not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled. - P. G. Wodehouse Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good. - Samuel Johnson, (attributed) Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy. - Groucho Marx Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: "When you were a little kid remember how hard it was to get a cookie? Way in the back, unless your mom was really mean - then they'd be on top of the refrigerator. Nowhere on a package of Oreos does it say, 'Keep out of reach of small children.' Where's the Liquid Drano? Under the sink, right next to the rest of the poisons." - Mike Bullard Source: Clean Laffs, http://www.cleanlaffs.com/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: In her July 19, 2002 column for townhall.com, commentator Mona Charen discusses a study which shatters one of the myths of many who advocate divorce: that separation will lead to greater happiness. "The Institute for American Values released a study with some intriguing data about the effects of divorce on the unhappy couples themselves. It seems that another great myth is about to tumble - the myth that at least divorce makes unhappily married adults happier. Even this may not be true." "According to the survey conducted by a team of family researchers, unhappily married adults who divorced were no happier five years after the divorce than were equally unhappy marrieds who remained together. And two-thirds of unhappily married people who remained married reported that their marriages were happy five years later. Even among those who had rated their marriages as "very unhappy", nearly 80 percent said they were happily married five years later. These were not merely bored or dissatisfied whiners. They had endured serious problems, including alcoholism, infidelity, verbal abuse, emotional neglect, depression, illness, and work and money troubles." "Even more surprising, unhappy spouses who divorced actually showed slightly more depressive symptoms five years later than those who didn't. (They did, however, report more personal growth.) And, make of this what you will, the divorced sample reported a good deal more alcohol consumption than the married group. The data shows that if a couple is unhappy, the chances of their being happily married five years hence are 64 percent if they remain together but only 19 percent if they divorce and remarry." The Institute for American Values http://www.americanvalues.org Source: Preaching Now, http://www.preaching.com/newsletter/preachingnow/