Taken from the Advisor Source
Serving Macomb County, Michigan — Friday, December 16, 2011
Guest column: God meets us where we are
Published: Friday, December 16, 2011
"How many hours do you expect to spend fighting during your life together?" I asked the prospective bride and groom sitting across the desk from me.
Surprised, they laughed.
Not many who plan for marriage talk about the time they may lose in coming battles. Perhaps if they did there would be fewer home breakups.
A woman speaking to me on the phone blurted: "I'm disgusted with you."
"That's a terrible waste of time," I replied, kindly, in an effort to remind her that time is too precious to waste in useless anger and conflict.
A dying queen is said to have cried, "Millions in money for an inch of time."
How many of your remaining hours do you expect to spend in a negative, critical or depressed mood?
Is this a needless question?
Perhaps not!
You may even enjoy being down or down on others but there is a better way to live.
Positively!
"Sounds good," you may be thinking, but how does one achieve this positive peace of mind?
What's the secret of living peacefully?
I recommend simply practicing the presence of God.
Start each day giving thanks for your blessings.
Become active in a church and contribute to its work in your community.
In his book, "Secrets of the Spirit," author Ray Stedman says at a time when he was going through a tough time five words of Jesus turned his life around: "Let not your heart be troubled."
While these words had long been familiar to him, Stedman found personal power in them to bring peace. What familiar words of wisdom lurk in your mind awaiting your application of their power to set you free from stress and sorrow?
God also meets us in times of thankfulness.
How many things can you name that make you thankful?
The moment we begin thanking God for His present blessings, we are on our way out of the pits because thanksgiving cancels negativism.
When I awake in the morning knowing that my family members are well and have lived safely through the night I can count enough blessings to keep me positive all day.
Most of us have times ahead in hospital rooms or doctor's waiting rooms. If this is not one of those times, it is a time for thanksgiving, a period to be filled with praise.
Jesus taught His disciples to be thankful for daily bread. If there is food on the table, this is a day for praise ... not pouting.
Roger Campbell is an author, a broadcaster and columnist who was a pastor for 22 years. He can be reached at rcministry@ameritech.net
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday Albom
Just read Mitch from Sunday and I must say I couldn't agree more!!! Having raised a step-son who is now 21, two girls in the house now (step-daughter -18 and pseudo foster kid – 19) and my two sons who are 11 and 12, I can fully and completely relate to Mr. Albom’s recent article… This is a repost FYI. Do with it what you will. Dap.
Youth On Web: Reason? Who Needs A Reason By Mitch Albom
Published: 12/04/2011 Wait long enough, and a study will be published confirming you were right. So it was this past week when a Pew Research Center project revealed that on any given day, more than half of Americans ages 18-29 go on the Internet for "no particular reason." Aha! I knew it! I have long since believed that going into cyberspace is a mission young people take not to actually land on a planet, but to cruise around the stars until the ship runs out of gas. The study shows that these young people have no purpose with the Web other than "fun," which is why a video of a two drunken Ukrainians can have a gazillion hits. When you're not looking for anything special, the un-special will do just fine. It reminds me of when we were kids, and we came into the house and immediately flipped on the television set. "What are you watching?" our parents asked. "Nothing," we said. "Then why do you have it on?" We had no good answer then, as I suspect kids have no good answer today. Their parents ask, "Why are you on that computer?" And they say, "Uh... what?" Different from TV and radio Now it's true, every generation has its diversions. In the recent Woody Allen movie "Midnight in Paris," the main character thinks life in the 1920s is much more alluring than today, and he gets to go back to that time - only to find a woman who thinks that life in the 1800s is much more alluring then the 1920s. Same thing with diversions. We wonder why our kids are on the computer for so long, our parents wondered why we were addicted to the TV set, their parents wondered why the radio always had to be on, and their parents wondered how the horse got disconnected from the buggy. (OK, I made that last one up. My research doesn't go back that far.) But there is special concern with this new online addiction. No one was a predator on the radio. No one stole your identity through the TV. No one posted anonymous hate mail or vicious rumors through those mediums, nor were they used as a way of communicating with people in lieu of speaking face-to-face. I am not in the 18-29 age group anymore. I barely remember it. But I see so many people of that age drawing all their opinions, news, entertainment and - worst of all - social interaction through a computer screen, that I worry soon the whole world will roll out of bed, plop down and reach for the mouse. That is not how we were meant to live. Just so much online An old teacher of mine once told me he couldn't watch much TV because he found it "physically depressing." Not the programs. The act of sitting and staring at images. He said he felt worn out after a few TV hours, even though he barely moved a muscle. I know what he means. I feel that way after too many hours on the computer. It's a cross between wanting to fly away and not wanting to let go. There's always one more thing to check. One more site to find. One more search to run. It's this yin and yang that are behind the Pew survey, I believe, and I don't think it's getting better. More and more of our lives are online - banking, shopping, problem-solving. And of course, communicating. We're beginning to hear about people texting in their sleep. It makes you wonder how we ever filled up our time before screens or speakers were invented. You know what people did? They talked. They visited. They sat near fires or rocked on porches. They wrote letters. They read quietly. They played with the kids and looked at the stars. You know what we call that today? A vacation. Contact Mitch Albom: 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch Albom Show" 5-7 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Also catch "Monday Sports Albom" 7-8 p.m. Mondays on WJR. To read his recent columns, go to www.freep.com/mitch.
Youth On Web: Reason? Who Needs A Reason By Mitch Albom
Published: 12/04/2011 Wait long enough, and a study will be published confirming you were right. So it was this past week when a Pew Research Center project revealed that on any given day, more than half of Americans ages 18-29 go on the Internet for "no particular reason." Aha! I knew it! I have long since believed that going into cyberspace is a mission young people take not to actually land on a planet, but to cruise around the stars until the ship runs out of gas. The study shows that these young people have no purpose with the Web other than "fun," which is why a video of a two drunken Ukrainians can have a gazillion hits. When you're not looking for anything special, the un-special will do just fine. It reminds me of when we were kids, and we came into the house and immediately flipped on the television set. "What are you watching?" our parents asked. "Nothing," we said. "Then why do you have it on?" We had no good answer then, as I suspect kids have no good answer today. Their parents ask, "Why are you on that computer?" And they say, "Uh... what?" Different from TV and radio Now it's true, every generation has its diversions. In the recent Woody Allen movie "Midnight in Paris," the main character thinks life in the 1920s is much more alluring than today, and he gets to go back to that time - only to find a woman who thinks that life in the 1800s is much more alluring then the 1920s. Same thing with diversions. We wonder why our kids are on the computer for so long, our parents wondered why we were addicted to the TV set, their parents wondered why the radio always had to be on, and their parents wondered how the horse got disconnected from the buggy. (OK, I made that last one up. My research doesn't go back that far.) But there is special concern with this new online addiction. No one was a predator on the radio. No one stole your identity through the TV. No one posted anonymous hate mail or vicious rumors through those mediums, nor were they used as a way of communicating with people in lieu of speaking face-to-face. I am not in the 18-29 age group anymore. I barely remember it. But I see so many people of that age drawing all their opinions, news, entertainment and - worst of all - social interaction through a computer screen, that I worry soon the whole world will roll out of bed, plop down and reach for the mouse. That is not how we were meant to live. Just so much online An old teacher of mine once told me he couldn't watch much TV because he found it "physically depressing." Not the programs. The act of sitting and staring at images. He said he felt worn out after a few TV hours, even though he barely moved a muscle. I know what he means. I feel that way after too many hours on the computer. It's a cross between wanting to fly away and not wanting to let go. There's always one more thing to check. One more site to find. One more search to run. It's this yin and yang that are behind the Pew survey, I believe, and I don't think it's getting better. More and more of our lives are online - banking, shopping, problem-solving. And of course, communicating. We're beginning to hear about people texting in their sleep. It makes you wonder how we ever filled up our time before screens or speakers were invented. You know what people did? They talked. They visited. They sat near fires or rocked on porches. They wrote letters. They read quietly. They played with the kids and looked at the stars. You know what we call that today? A vacation. Contact Mitch Albom: 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com. Catch "The Mitch Albom Show" 5-7 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Also catch "Monday Sports Albom" 7-8 p.m. Mondays on WJR. To read his recent columns, go to www.freep.com/mitch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
