A Note From Tom: January 11th, 2013
Hey, everyone!
Hope you're having an awesome day, filled with praise and thanks! And, by the way, thanks for stopping by and reading this CCC Friday email! We want to make it worth your while and our hope here at Triple C is that you'll be encouraged and maybe even learn a thing or two…So, with that in mind, did you know…
...that there are only 68 more days 'til spring?
Here's something else you might not know…
On this date in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon to be a national monument…That was a better deal than the Washington Monument! It's a lot bigger and the cost tons less! In fact, it cost zero! It was just there!
Also on this date in 1973, the American League adopted the designated hitter rule, thus dividing America's baseball world in two…"fer it or agin' it"…Where do you stand?
Here's something I learned yesterday! The system that measures in millimeters and centimeters (is it "millimetres"?) is the metrics system. The one that measures in inches, feet, and yards is called (do you know?)...the imperial system! How did I not know that 'til yesterday?
Come to think of it, during the fourth grade, I was pretty distracted.
Here's another thing I learned yesterday. Your keyboard on your computer has 400 times more bacteria than your toilet!
Isn't it cool to learn stuff? Aren't you glad you're reading this!?
More fun facts for January…
Since it's resolution season, what's resolution Numero Uno in America? It's "lose weight"! "Quit smoking", "save money", and "be an overall better person" all tied for third. 59% of Americans under 45 years old made New Years resolutions, while only 28% of those over 45 made any.
I guess as people get older, they realize quitting stuff is hard. I was looking for articles on the best ways to break bad habits and found one by the American Association of Dental Health on how to quit chewing tobacco. Apparently, it's super tough to stop. (Probably also super tough to start!) Their advice?
"1) Make up your mind to quit."
"2)Pick a date you're going to quit…(and it has to be in this decade!")
"3) List your reasons"... Such as…
"…To avoid oral health problems"
"…I have sores or white spots in my mouth"
"…To set a good example for my kids"
"…To save money"
"…Dipping tobacco is discussing"…(duh!)
"…My girlfriend hates it"
"…My wife hates it"…
Wow. Those last two reasons were weird! If his girlfriend AND his wife hate it, seems to me there's something he needs to quit even more than dippin'!
Quitting stuff… What and how…
As I was telling y'all last week, I've been reading again the seventy resolutions that the happy Puritan, Jonathan Edwards lived by. He wrote over time seventy things that he had determined to keep all his life long. He started when he was nineteen and added to them and reviewed them every week 'til death. Some of them are beautifully straight-forward.
Like #13…"Resolved, to be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality"…What should I give to and care for?
And #15…"Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings"…When you're upset, don't kick the dog.
#20's pretty obvious…"Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking"
But often, he had one (several, really!) that were just, well, amazing! Like #25…(Read this slowly and carefully…)
"Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it."
Wow!
He's saying...
Is there anything in my life that causes me to doubt that God loves me constantly, infinitely, eternally, uniquely, personally, always and in amazing ways? If I could believe this, I would be the healthiest, happiest Me! He says He loves me like this over and over in the Scriptures!
Why do I ever doubt His love for me?
Or better, what makes me doubt it?
If I'm looking for things in my life that make me doubt His love for me, those are the things I need to quit! As Jonathan would say, if anything causes you to "doubt in the least the love of God for you", quit it! Better yet, "direct all your forces against it"!
Does watching the news fill your heart with anxiety and fear, even tho' God loves you? Nothing wrong with watching the news, but it isn't good for you! Quit watching it!
Does checking the financial report daily bring worry about the future into your heart when that heart should be filled with thoughts of His loving care for you? Quit checking it!
Do you have a "friend" who always talks about you, snips at you, or cuts you down and makes you feel terrible about yourself, even tho' your Lord is crazy about you? Get a different friend!
Does Facebook make you doubt and wonder why your life, or your kids aren't as "exciting" or "amazing" as someone's latest post, or why someone had the "greatest time last night" with their "four BFFs" when you thought you were one of those? Then quit it! Quit FB today!
If "whatever" is making you doubt God's unbelievable, amazing love for you, quit it! Direct all your forces against it! Be the healthiest, happiest You because you don't let anything cause you to doubt His love for you!
If you have a nagging habit that infuses you with secret shame or guilt, even tho' by His blood and in His love you are clean and pure in His eyes…
It's causing you to doubt His love for you!
It isn't worth it!
Quit it!
If it's something' as stupid as dipping tobacco that gives you that shame or McGuilt that makes you doubt God's love…
Quit it!
Kick the can!