"Invest
Wisely. Everything Counts"
It
may make a difference to all eternity whether we do right or wrong today.
James
Freeman Clarke
"Guard
The Ridges And Railways"
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Good and evil both increase at compound interest.
The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a
few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of.
An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge
or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack
otherwise impossible.
C.S. Lewis
"Resolution
#17"
Resolved,
that I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.
Jonathan
Edwards
“The
Wasted Life”
God created me—and you—to live with a single,
all-embracing, all-transforming passion—namely, a passion to glorify God by
enjoying and displaying His supreme excellence in all the spheres of life...the
mark of God-enthralled joy is to overflow and expand by extending itself into
the hearts of others. The wasted life is the life without a passion for the
supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples...We waste our lives
when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God
in all spheres of life.
John
Piper
"How
To Fulfill Your Deepest Destiny"
We and God have business with each other;
and in opening ourselves to His influence our deepest destiny is fulfilled. The
universe ...takes a turn genuinely for the worse or for the better in
proportion as each one of us fulfills or evades God's demands.
Williams James
“Keep
a Tender Heart”
“A Navajo Indian tradition says that your
conscience is like a small triangle inside your heart. When you know something
is wrong, it turns and pricks the flesh of your heart with one of its corners.
But when you harden your heart and ignore your conscience, it keeps turning,
wearing down its corners in the effort to get your attention. Eventually the
triangle gets so worn down that it becomes smooth and circular, spinning around
and around in your heart but to no use. You can’t feel it anymore”
Alex and Brett Harris
“Guide
Thy Bark Aright”
“...let us go back to the man who says that a thing
cannot be wrong unless it hurts some other human being. He quite understands
that he must not damage the other ships in the convoy, but he honestly thinks
that what he does to his own ship is simply his own business. But does it not
make a great difference whether his ship is his own property or not? Does it
not make a great difference whether I am, so to speak, the landlord of my own
mind and body, or only a tenant, responsible to the real landlord?...Now there
are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going
to live only seventy years, but which I had better bother about very seriously
if I am going to live for ever...if we are to think about morality, we must
think of all three departments: relations between man and man: things inside
each man: and relations between man and the power that made him.”
C.S.
Lewis
"Buck
The Trend"
Modern
morality consists in accepting the standard of one's age. I consider that for
any man of culture to accept the standard of his age is a form of the grossest
immorality.
Oscar
Wilde
"Pleasure
After Pain"
Morality
turns on whether the pleasure precedes or follows the pain.
Samuel
Butler
"Pleasure
Minus Harm"
Enjoy
and give pleasure, without doing harm to yourself or to anyone else - that, I
think, is the whole of morality.
Chamfort
"Hide
Nothing"
Don't
do anything you're not prepared to see in the papers the next morning.
Anonymous
"Success"
To
laugh often and much;
to
win the respect of intelligent people
and
the affection of children;
to
earn the appreciation of honest critics
and
endure the betrayal of false friends;
to
appreciate beauty;
to
find the best in others;
to
leave the world a bit better
whether
by a healthy child,
a
garden patch,
or
a redeemed social condition;
to
know even one life has breathed easier
because
you have lived.
This
is to have succeeded.
Bessie
Anderson Stanley
"Who's
Responsible?"
Responsible
persons are mature people who have taken charge of themselves and their
conduct, who own their actions and own up to them—who answer for them
William
J. Bennett
"...And
Heaven Takes Note"
Not
a day passes over this earth, but men and women of no note do great deeds,
speak great words and suffer noble sorrows.
Charles
Reed
"Work
With Him"
The
Bible really seems to clinch the matter when it puts the two things together
into one amazing sentence. The first half is, "Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling"-which looks as if everything depended on us and
our good actions: but the second half goes on, "For it is God who worketh
in you"- which looks as if God did everything and we nothing...God and man
are working together.
C.S.
Lewis
"Direct
Your Instincts"
...there are no such things as good and bad
impulses. Think again of a piano. It has not got two kinds of notes on it, the
'right' notes and the 'wrong' ones. Every single note is right at the one time
and wrong at another. The Moral Law is not any one instinct or set of
instincts: it is something which makes a kind of tune (the tune we call
goodness or right conduct) by directing the instincts.
C.S. Lewis
"Everything
We Do"
The
art of acting morally is behaving as if everything we do matters.
Gloria
Steinem
"Trendy
Morals"
I
cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions.
Lillian
Hellman
"Valueless
Certainty"
Conviction
is worthless unless it is converted into conduct.
Thomas
Carlyle
"Don't
Forget To Dust"
He
shows much more of Himself to some people than to others -- not because He has
favorites, but because it is impossible for Him to show Himself to a man whose
whole mind and character are in the wrong condition. Just as sunlight, though
it has no favorites, cannot be reflected in a dusty mirror as clearly as a
clean one.
C.S.
Lewis
"How
To Read Minds"
We
know what a person thinks not when he tells us what he thinks, but by his
actions.
Isaac
Bashevis Singer
"All
Things Pertaining To Life And Godliness"
He
who gave our nature to be perfected by our virtue willed also the necessary
means of its perfection.
Edmund Burke
"Efficiently
Effective"
Efficiency
is concerned with doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.
Peter
F. Drucker
"Don't
Do Anything I Wouldn't Do"
Neither urge another to that thou wouldst be
unwilling to do thyself, nor do thyself what looks to thee unseemly and
intemperate in another.
William
Penn
"Reflect
And Proceed"
Think
like a man of action, act like a man of thought
Henri
Bergson
"Be
Good"
To the good I would be good; to the not-good I
would also be good, in order to make them good.
Lao-Tzu
"As
A Ring Of Gold In A Swine's Snout"
Virtue
may not always make a Face handsome, but Vice will certainly make it ugly.
Benjamin
Franklin
"Guaranteed
GPS"
No
man ever got lost on a straight road
Abraham
Lincoln
"Griefworthy"
Do not be grieved if you do not enjoy
popular favor; grieve rather that you do not live as well and carefully as
befits a servant of God.
Thomas a Kempis
"Your
Decision: A Son Like John, Or A Tool Like Judas?"
A
merciful man aims at his neighbour's good as so does 'God's' will, consciously
co-operating with 'the simple good'. A cruel man oppresses his neighbour and so
does simple evil. But in doing such evil he is used by God, without his
knowledge or consent, to produce the complex good — so that the first man
serves God as a son, and the second as a tool. For you will certainly carry out
God's purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you
serve like Judas or like John.
C.S.
Lewis
"Greatness Is Goodness"
They are only great who are
truly good.
George Chapman
"As Instruments of Righteousness"
Let
your eye be chaste, your hand faithful, your tongue truthful and your heart
enlightened.
Tablet of Baha’u'llah
"Morality = Joy"
All theories of morality agree in
considering that conduct whose total results, immediate and remote, are
beneficial, is good conduct; while conduct whose total results, immediate and
remote, are injurious, is bad conduct. The happiness or misery caused by it are
the ultimate standards by which all men judge of behavior.
Herbert Spencer
"Acquiring
A Taste For Obedience"
...action
precedes love. The...way to get to like doing God's work...is to throw yourself
into it.
Andree
Seu
"Wait
For Clarity"
Act nothing in furious Passion; it's
putting to Sea in a Storm.
Thomas Fuller
"He
Has Honor"
He
has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient,
unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.
Walter
Lippmann
"Thy
Father Sees From Heaven And Will Reward You"
Better
to deserve honor and not have it than to have honor and not deserve it.
Portuguese
Saying
"Trying
To Make Someone Else Look Bad?"
He
who violates another's honor loses his own.
Publius
Syrus
"For Nothing is Hidden That
Will Not Become Evident"
Whenever you are to do a thing, though it
can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were the
whole world looking at you, and act accordingly.
Thomas Jefferson
"What If Everyone Did That?"
There is...only one categorical imperative:
It is: Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will
that it should become a universal law.
Immanuel Kant
"The Right Thing At The
Right Time"
The character of every act depends upon the
circumstances in which it is done.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Choose
Your Asphalt"
The
road to Hell is paved with good intentions, the road to Heaven is paved with
good deeds.
Anonymous
"Ugly
In Them? Ugly In Me."
Neither
urge another to that thou wouldst be unwilling to do thyself, nor do thyself
what looks to thee unseemly and intemperate in another.
William
Penn
"Consider
The Lilies Of The Field"
Those
who make their dress a principal part of themselves, will, in general, become
of no more value than their dress.
William
Hazlitt
"Becoming
You"
One does what one is; one becomes what one does.
Robert von
Musil
"American Idols"
While
we may not be physically slaughtering our children before literal blocks of
stone or wood, doesn’t idolatry continue to plague us? Who among us could deny
that if the apostle Paul was looking over the average American city, his spirit
would be “provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols” (Acts
17:16)? Though we live thousands of years after Ezekiel and Paul, our sons and
daughters continue to be sacrificed on the altars of modern society . ҉ Millions of unborn babies are slaughtered every year on the
abortive altar of Selfishness. Sons are offered at the altar of Sports.
Daughters are placed on the altar of Sexuality. The Temple of Materialism
overflows with adherents. Shrines to Pride and Ego stand prominently in every
neighborhood. Fulfillment is sought at the altar of Busyness and Celebrity is
worshiped at the altar of Fame.
The time, geography and culture has changed, but the sinful
tragedy marches on. With our idols we are guilty of unfaithfulness to our
Creator. And we even offer our own God-given children in sacrifice to people
and things that are not gods. .
҉ Dads, what do you want most for your
children? Moms, what is your greatest aspiration for your sons and daughters?
We know how we ought to answer that question, but what are we communicating to
our heritage day after day, TV-show after TV-show, weekend after weekend? How
are the priorities of our children being shaped as they follow the lead of our
own living? Who or what is shown to be worthy of worship in our homes? Are we
teaching our children that Almighty God is to be held as reverently ultimate and
consistently worthy of the highest place in every single aspect of daily life?
.
҉ ...Moms and Dads, let’s not waste this
precious time. When “enough is enough,” let’s have the courage to say so. As
unrighteous danger and moral decay continues to creep into our homes, let’s
have the fortitude to tune out, log off and fight back. Let’s take the time,
not only to say “No” to our children, but to explain why. Let’s lovingly and
consistently teach our children what is “out of bounds.” Let’s model for our
children that the God of heaven alone is worthy of our worship.
Jason Hardin
“The
Sweetest Charm”
“Unaffected modesty is the sweetest charm of female
excellence, the richest gem in the diadem of her honor”
Webster’s
Dictionary 1828
“Always
Right”
The time is always right to do what is right
Martin
Luther King, Jr.
"The
Ends Do Not Justify The Means"
The
glory of great men must always be measured against the means they have used to
acquire it.
La
Rochefoucauld
"What
Benjamin Franklin Asked Himself Upon Awakening And Sleeping"
What
good shall I do today?...What good have I done today?"
"Dress
The Part. Why?"
You
become what you pretend to be.
Author
Unknown
"A
Good Name Is Better Than A Good Ointment"
Our
names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior
Logan
Pearsall Smith
"Promising
Carefully"
He who is slow in making a promise is most faithful
in its performance.
Jean
Jacques Rousseau
"What
Lies Within"
What lies behind us and what lies before us are
tiny matters compared with what lies within us"
Oliver
Wendell Holmes
"Viewing
Media With Deathbed Clarity"
I
don’t want to wait until everything is clearer on my deathbed; I would like my
deathbed clarity now, when it can still do some good. I expect that one of the
things I will regret on that day “when the keepers of the house tremble, and
the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few,” is the
movies and TV shows I allow myself to see. .
҉ In truth, this allowance has been more drift
than philosophy, but to the extent that you can dignify half-conscious notions
with the status of convictions, mine have been the following: (1) I am no
legalist, and (2) one must be informed about the culture. .
҉ The
interesting thing about these self-justifications, as I view them at the
moment, is that they are nowhere to be found in the Bible. Oh, some crafty
person can wrest them out of the Word “by good and necessary consequences,” as
they say. I can imagine the texts rustled to the rescue: Galatians will be a
rich vein. And Colossians 2:21, where Paul excoriates teachers of “Do not handle,
do not taste, do not touch,” who put rule keeping for true piety. .
҉ What
is unequivocal in the Bible is the command to love God with all your heart.
What has no ambiguity is the call to pure eyes that alone will see God. What is
not fudgeable is that we are to put God’s word above the word of man. .
҉ Evan
Thomas went around Wales during the great Revival of 1906 telling folks to “put
away everything doubtful in your life.” I like that. You have to think about
that one. I sometimes get deathbed inklings. I feel quite sure that when the
death dew lies on my brow, I will not think it had been necessary to see a
raunchy movie in order to be better informed about the culture.
Andree Seu
"Making
Character"
Character may be manifested in the great moments,
but it is made in the small ones.
Phillips
Brooks
"This
Moment's Obedience"
All the real action in the Christian life takes
place on the cellular level of this moment’s obedience to this moment’s call.
Andree Seu
"Seven Essential Life Skills"
1)Focus and Self Control
2)Perspective Taking
3)Communicating
4)Making Connections
5)Critical Thinking
6)Taking on Challenges
7)Self-Directed, Engaged Learning.
Ellen Galinsky
"Andree's
Aphorisms"
(Selected)
People
laugh at your unwholesome talk at the moment but think less of you afterwards.
Marry
a man who loves God more than he loves you.
Neglect
a phone call, lose a friend.
I
complained, "God hasn't answered my prayer." That's because I was not
looking for help in my weakness but for the removal of my weakness to the
praise of my own glory.
Sit
on a sensitive letter for three days before sending it.
A
phone call to say, "I'm thinking of you," yields benefits all out of
proportion to the time investment.
The
best teaching moments are never at convenient times.
An
idol forfeits your life. You look back and say you never lived.
God
is the better chess player. Just obey.
Talent
is good, but faithfulness is better.
Tell
your child what delights you about him.
Drop
the dust rag and look at your child when he's telling you a story.
Andree
Seu
"A
Letter To Departing Soldiers"
Dear
Soldier
I’ve been thinking about the true statement you said about how the military is
going to change you. It’s can’t not. . ҉ My prayer for you is that when
you see death, it will make you treasure life.
When you see suffering it will make you that much more compassionate.
When you see soldiers using and degrading women, may you stand for honor.
When you see violence, my prayer is that it will make you love peace.
When you see poverty, may your response be gratitude for when and where you
were born.
When you feel pain, use it to long for heaven.
When you see courage may it empower you, and
when you see sacrifice- remember Christ’s for your forgiveness.
When you see selflessness, and are yourself selfless, know that we appreciate
all you are doing to keep our country safe and free.
Stand firm. Stand strong.
Cindy Dunagan
"Goes
Around Comes Around"
He
finds assistance in adversity who renders services in prosperity.
Publius
Syrus
"How
To Test A Nation's Quality"
The
condition of women affords in all countries the best criterion by which to
judge the character of men.
Frances
Wright
"How
To Silence One's Enemy"
No
matter: I will live so that none shall believe him.
Plato
"The
Superior Man Verses The Small Man"
The
superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort.
Confucius
"Why
Virtue?"
The
purpose of all virtue is to lead us to union with God.
St.
John of the Cross
"Between
The Two Extremes"
Virtue
is a mean between two vices.
Aristotle
"Searching"
Search
others for their Virtues, and thyself for thy Vices.
Thomas
Fuller
"Take
The Long Way Home"
Wickedness
is always easier than virtue, for it takes the shortcut to everything.
Samuel
Johnson