Your weekly collection of positive tips, hints, and advice offered with humor, inspiration, and other goodies for anyone who is inclined to read. Guidance, mentoring, inspiration, English lessons, editing, proofreading services for entrepreneurs and online marketers.
Publisher: Mary Wilkey
Volume 10 — Issue 23 — December 21, 2010
Published every other Tuesday
My wish is that each of you, my dear readers, has the most blessed Christmas ever! And I hope that reading some of the articles in this issue will be part of that blessing. :-)
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In
Remembrance of
September 11, 2001
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If you enjoy this ezine, you can help it grow faster by introducing 'elf Expressions to just one other person—because the faster we grow, the more we all benefit from the promo copy. Thank you!
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If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek
my face, and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land.
—2 Chronicles 7:14
Contents:
Top Sponsor
Weekly Contest
A Healthier You
Feature Article
Test Your Bible Knowledge
Today's Chuckle
Today's English Lesson
Guest Article
Inspiration
Etcetera
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New Marketing & Writing Tips newsletter starting up in January.
Each issue will include tips & techniques to help you in your
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Contest
Results of last issue's contest, when the question was — Which crop that was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations was called as the "mother of all grains" by the Incas?
The answer — Quinoa (prounced "keen-wah"). During the European conquest of South America, it was scorned by the Spanish colonists as "food for Indians" and even actively suppressed, due to its status within indigenous non-Christian ceremonies. See Jan Emo's offer above.
For our subscribers only: Be first to submit the correct answer to the following question and receive the next available top sponsor slot gratis. So answer this:
What is the only fish that can blink with both eyes?
Send to cont@elfexpressionsezine.comand be sure to include your promo copy with your entry. I will no longer contact winners to request it. Several people have missed out having their copy published, because they did not include their ads with their entries!
"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five
years there’d be a shortage of sand."
—Milton Friedman
A Healthier You
Folks, I heard about this method a few months ago, and it does seem to be much better for someone who just drops. They make a special point of saying that it is only recommended for cardiac arrest, and not for drowning, etc.
The new, simpler CPR method: It is interesting to note that certification is not required.
If you haven't seen this, you should.
If you have seen it, it won't hurt to see it again.
This is a new CPR technique, which is much simpler.
Please watch and forward to your friends and family if you haven't already
done so.
Giving what you have been given will create what you have been promised.
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Feature Article
Some Thoughts on the Bible Versus Other Revelations
Why do some people insist that we read only the Bible and
not other books, articles, etc. about the Word of God?
The Bible, of course, must be the ultimate authority, as
the inspired Word of God. But to disregard other people's
thoughts (which also, by the way, may be inspired by God)
is to assume that no one today receives any deeper revelation
or another way of looking at any given issue.
To ignore other people's insights is unwise, because, as
some sage once said, "Every man is my superior, in that I
may learn from him."
Very simply, the Bible teaches that Christianity
rests merely in belief, faith, and trust. Without
these three, we have no Christianity.
Everything, and most assuredly, those things we do not
and cannot understand intellectually, hinges on just
these three: belief, faith, and trust.
To read writings other than the Bible opens us
up to being inspired beyond our own personal revelations
and may given us a different slant on a particular issue.
That does not mean that doing so implies that we
are questioning the Lord or His Holy Word in any way. No!
Who would we purport to be to have the audacity to question the
sovereignty of Almighty God? There is no comparison
between God and us. Think of the analogy between an
elephant and an ant ... or an elephant and a 747 ... or
a 747 and the moon.
It is a matter of degree and relevance. Always on our
radar screens we find such comparisons. But there is
absolutely nothing to compare to God Almighty. Very
simply and rudimentarily, there is nothing bigger than
God.
Therefore, He is and always will be the final authority.
He is absolutely sovereign and has no obligation to give
us any explanation or justification for anything He does
or says in His Word or elsewhere.
Do you try to explain to your two-year-old why you and
his other parent are getting a divorce? (And you can
add here any of a multitude of other such examples.)
There is neither any reason nor necessity to make such
an attempt. The child is simply incapable of understanding
such adult issues.
While I do not impose any limits on my reading such as
many do to confine their study to the Bible, which is the
ultimate authority, and while I may seek and search for
clues to answers and deeper revelation, in the end I resort
to belief, faith, and trust in God. Beyond that, I can do
nothing.
Case in point: This morning I was reading a booklet on the
"Ministry of Angels" by Gordon Lindsay, and I finished it
with more questions than answers, the same as oftentimes
happens during Bible study.
So then I typed this question into my search function:
"Where are satan and his third of the angels?" One of
the results led me to this: http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/90-237.htm.
It is John MacArthur's treatise on this subject, and I
reached the same conclusion that he did on the necessity of
belief, faith, and trust ... and the recognition that God
is sovereign, and we are not.
Ironically, one of the basics is just this premise: One
cannot know what light is if darkness does not exist; what hot
is if cold is absent; up/down; back/front; north/south;
happy/sad, etc. So, in order for us to exhibit goodness or
righteousness, we first have to learn about its antithesis.
Evil is the absence of good. Evil resulted from the wrong
choice made by our forebears. God gifted man with free will.
Man used that gift to choose to disobey and distrust God. So,
in essence, the logical conclusion is that man "created" evil,
and God did not, so we have no grounds for making such a blasphemous
accusation, as many are wont to do.
So whether you get full revelation on any given issue, just rest
in belief, faith, and trust in our heavenly Father, and all will be well
with you and yours.
Question — Fill in the blank: Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it _____.
a — is murky in the dregs.
b — doeth good as a medicine.
c — biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
d — leaveth bitterness in the mouth.
Scroll down for the answer.
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All you can do is all you can do, but all you can do is enough. So do all you can do. It'll make the difference in your life.
Today's Chuckle
Let's Get Technical
Submitted by Nickie Smith
In 2031, President Clinton finishes his time on earth and approaches the pearly gates of heaven ...
"And who might you be?" inquires St. Peter. "It's me, Bill Clinton, formerly the President of the United States and leader of the free world."
"Oh, Mr. President! What may I do for you?" asks St. Peter. "I'd like to come in," replies Clinton.
"Sure," says the saint. "But first, you have to confess your sins. What bad things have you done in your life?"
Clinton bites his lip and answers, "Well, I tried marijuana, but you can't call it 'dope-smoking' because I didn't inhale. There were inappropriate extramarital relationships, but you can't call it 'adultery,' because I didn't have full 'sexual relations.' And I made some statements that were misleading, but legally accurate, but you can't call it 'bearing false witness' because, as far as I know, it didn't meet the legal standard of perjury."
With that, St. Peter consults the Book of Life briefly, and declares, "OK, here's the deal. We'll send you somewhere hot, but we won't call it 'hell.' You'll be there indefinitely, but we won't call it 'eternity.' And when you enter, you don't have to abandon all hope, just hold your breath waiting for it to freeze over."
To be wonderful, be full of wonder.
Today's English Lesson
Seeing the same elementary mistakes over and over again has prompted this publisher to write an English lesson each issue. Look for some of these lessons to be repeated, because the mistakes are!
The following might be "over the heads" of some, but it is offered for others who may be helped by it:
A common mistake involving wrong or missing inflected ends is in the usage of who/whom. "Who" is a pronoun with a subjective case; "whom" is a pronoun with an objective case. We say "Who is the speaker of the day?" because "who" in this case refers to the subject of the sentence. But we say, "To whom am I speaking?" because, here, the pronoun is an object of the preposition "to."
To be appreciated, all you have to do is appreciate more.
Be grateful for another day—yet another ordinary day. Be grateful for those who are in your life—and show it.
Guest Article
Top Internet Business Brings In Top Income by Thierry Goho
There are a lot of Internet businesses out there, but you
will want the top Internet businesses that are legit, have
proven results, and at the same time share a step-by-step
system to better promote your site and also the support you
will need to make your business grow as well.
One of the many ways to make money online is through
affiliate marketing, and there are many sites available to
help you start what is basically a referral service. You
own a website on which you promote other businesses. When
someone uses your gateway to visit the site and makes a
purchase, you are paid a commission, typically once a month.
They key to making money with this type of operation is to
become affiliated with companies that provide products or
services that people need and want and pay a decent
commission. One such online business that can help you do
all this is the Plug-In Profit Site, which will build a
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running in 24 hours.
For your business to become a top
Internet business, you will have to actually perform a few
hours work each week, but the Plug=In Profit opportunity
will show you what you need to do and how to do it.
Basically, it is a website that shows you the top five
affiliate marketing businesses that the owners have used to
make money online. By copying the business model and using
the same affiliates, which, by the way, pay decent
commissions, results could be similar and approach the
six-figure annual level many look for in choosing a top
Internet business partner.
Being able to have the business set up for you is welcomed
by beginners and those with no technological knowledge and
no idea how to build a website. To get started you just
have to sign up for the free program and become an
affiliate of five recommended businesses to be on your way
to growing with the program to become one of the top
Internet business operators yourself.
Affiliate marketing is growing into a top money generating
operation on the Internet, and a top Internet business
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Some complain that
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As an example, let's say you are an affiliate for five
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Looking carefully at the possibilities, the
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Small actions done consistently can yield big results. The day to improve yourself, help others, and be happy is TODAY.
Answer to Bible trivia:
c — biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Proverbs 23:32
Inspiration
The Faith of a Little Child
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.
She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even ...
The total had to be exactly perfect ... No chance here for mistakes.
Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.
Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice ... I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk
to you about my brother,"
Tess answered back in the
same annoyed tone.
"He's
really, really sick ...
and I want to buy a miracle."
"I beg your pardon?"
said the pharmacist.
"His name is Andrew and he has something bad
growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how
much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl.
I'm sorry but I can"t help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn"t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist"s brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he"s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can"t pay for it, so I want to use my money ..."
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar
and eleven cents," Tess answered, barely audible.
"And it's all the money
I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents—the exact price of a
miracle for little brothers."
He took her money in one hand, and with
the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."
That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn"t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
"That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a
miracle cost ... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the faith of a little child.
