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 8 — Issue 3 — January 22, 2008
Published every Tuesday
Hi, everyone, and welcome all new readers. Things continue to be challenging, both online and off, but everything is finally coming together . . . and I hope to keep it that way! :-)
Today's issue brings you another installment in our Healthier You series of adding and subtracting different things to improve our lifestyles. Then I climbed back on my soapbox to ask "What Times are you Busy Trying to Keep Up With?"
The Memories feature is back this issue, conjuring up visions of fender skirts, curb feelers, and steering knobs, among other things.
And don't miss Paul Harvey's wishes for his grandchildren . . .
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In
Remembrance of
September 11, 2001
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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
Classifieds
Today’s Chuckle
Today's English Lesson
Internet Tips & Hints
Memories
Guest Article
Inspiration
Etcetera
Top Sponsor
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To put the world right in order, we must first put
the nation in order; to put the nation in order,
we must first put the family in order; to put the
family in order, we must first cultivate our
personal life; we must first set our hearts right.
—Confucius
A Healthier You
This is the 16th installment in our add/subtract lifestyle change, and today it's time to subtract again. I know that some of these are "sacred cows," but just grin and bear it on your way to a new you . . .
We have already eliminated the microwave, soda pop, fast food, M.S.G., trans fats (hydrogenated oils), and eating after 6:00 pm.
Now, what? Well, it's time to start reading labels and eliminating anything that contains high fructose corn syrup (which is just about anything processed). You will be astounded, when you begin reading closely, just how many products contain this fattening and physically addictive ingredient.
In fact, when you start reading labels, eliminate anything that has an inordinately long list of ingredients, and don't buy anything with something in it that you can't even pronounce!
Finally, ask yourself: "If I were going to make this in my own kitchen, would I add these chemicals or whatever?"
The family you come from isn't as important as the
family you're going to have.
—Ring Lardner
Feature Article
What Times are you Busy Trying to Keep Up With?
Even my 87-year-old mother is caught up in this kind of thinking. Whenever an issue arises that challenges my standards, she often says, "This is the 21st century!" . . . as if to say, "Get with it . . . times have changed, and so should you!"
And I ask, "Why?" By what authority do I need to change from trying to live honorably, from keeping wrong images from my eyes, and compromising my principles?
While I respect my mother, I do not agree with this conciliatory stance. Time remains constant. People and their values and morals are what have changed.
Anyone who has read this ezine for awhile knows that I am anything but politically correct. Nor do I intend to be.
It is stated in the Bible that, "I am the Lord; I change not." The inference to be drawn from that is that, if we are to emulate Him, neither should we change, morally speaking, that is. We are to grow and develop our character to be more like Him, and not change to compromise our values just so that we can "fit in" with today's rampant secularism.
What was wrong two centuries ago is still wrong today, and it matters not what anyone says to the contrary, no matter how socially or politically elevated anyone's position might be.
The Bible says that, in the last days, good will be called evil and evil, good. Is that right on, or what?
Recently, I watched a rebroadcast of one of Billy Graham's crusades from back in the sixties. When people came forward at the end, I was struck by the stark contrast in the appearance of people back then (well groomed, neatly dressed) and in how people go out in public today. (Back then also, very few seemed to be obese, also in stark contrast to the way it is now, but then that's a topic for another article!)
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that we have to be careful not to yield to pressure to be like the world, and that is not easy, because we've been instructed to be in the world, but not be "of" it. It's kind of like sitting near a body of water and not getting wet. Or going to a smorgasbord and having only salad. While it is possible, it's anything but easy.
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The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar
doctrine that age brings wisdom.
—H. L. Mencken
Today's Chuckle
Are You Sure?
One year my mom went to my sister's house for a traditional
feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to
play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something
from the store. When my sister left, my mom took the turkey
out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen,
and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She
then placed the birds back in the oven.
When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of
the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her
serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the
little bird.
With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed,
"Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant bird!" At the reality of this
horrifying news, my sister started to cry.
It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay
eggs!
Imagination was given to man to
compensate him for what he isn't.
A sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is.
—Horace Walpole English novelist
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!
Okay, people—today we'll learn the difference between "then" and "than."
"Then" refers to time or a condition. As in, "If such-and-such happens, 'then' we will do thus-and-so."
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A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a
tremendous feeling confidence and personal power.
—Brian Tracy
Internet Hints & Tips
This feature will return next week.
Permanent marker on appliances/countertops
(like store receipt blue) comes off easily
with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel.
Memories
This will really tell your age! Someone sent it in, and the author is unknown.
The fender skirt?
I came across this phrase in a book yesterday "Fender Skirts." A term I haven't heard in a long time and thinking about "fender skirts" started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice.
Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over fifty to explain some of these terms to you.
Remember "Continental kits"? They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.
When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes"? At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."
I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed." Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house?
Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore—"store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.
"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term "world wide" for granted. This floors me.
On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered his hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.
When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way"? It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company. So we had all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply"expecting."
Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day, and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now. "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.
I always loved going to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" an affectation.
Most of these words go back to the fifties, but here's a pure sixties word I came across the other day—"rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!
Here's a word I miss—"percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? "Coffee maker." How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.
I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like "DynaFlow" and "Electrolux." Introducing the 1963 Admiral T-V, now with "SpectraVision!"
Food for thought—Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore!
Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most is "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.
I thought some of us of a "certain age" would remember most of these.
Guest Article
Paul Harvey Writes:
We tried so hard to make things better for our
kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren,
I'd like better.
I'd really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover
meatloaf sandwiches. I really would.
To them, I write:
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated,
and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow
the lawn and wash the car.
And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new
car when you are sixteen.
It will be good if at least one time you can
see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.
I hope you get a black eye fighting for
something you believe in.
I hope you have to share a bedroom with your
younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you
have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but
when he wants to crawl under the covers with you
because he's scared, I hope you let him.
When you want to see a movie and your little
brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let
him/her.
I hope you have to walk uphill to school with
your friends and that you live in a town where you
can do it safely.
On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I
hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two
blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone
as uncool as your Mom.
If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad
teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read
books.
When you learn to use computers, I hope you
also learn to add and subtract in your head.
I hope you get teased by your friends when you
have your first crush the opposite sex, and when you
talk back to your mother that you learn what Ivory
soap tastes like.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain,
burn your hand on a stove, and stick your tongue on a
frozen flagpole.
I don't care if you try a beer once, but I
hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you
dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your
friend.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch
with your Grandma or Grandpa and go fishing with your
Uncle.
May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy
during the holidays.
I hope your mother punishes you when you throw
a baseball through your neighbor's window and that
she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when
you give her a plaster mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you—tough times and
disappointment, hard work, and happiness. To me, it's
the only way to appreciate life.
Written with a pen and sealed with a kiss. I'm
here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to
heaven and wait for you.
I have deep faith that the principle of the universe will be beautiful and simple.
—Albert Einstein
Answer to Bible trivia:
1 — understandeth, seeketh
See Romans 3:11
Inspiration
Burdens and Stepping Stones
Someone has said, "Burdens, too, can often be stepping stones to higher ground."
A biologist tells how he watched an ant carrying a piece of straw, which seemed a big burden for it. The ant came to a crack in the earth, which was too wide to cross. It stood for a time as though pondering the situation, then it put the straw across the crack and walked over upon it!
What a lesson for us! A burden can become a bridge for spiritual progress if we practice, with God's help, living the overcoming life!
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