The big picture

Just in case you’ve lost sight of the big picture.

“I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work,” the Lord says.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.”

Isaiah 55.8,9

The above image is the most detailed picture of Earth ever taken. NASA has just released this image, and you can even download a large size from here.

Only the great practice this

God is God, Lord, and All-mighty — but He still humbles himself, takes the form of a servant, and asks us, "What do you want me to do for you?" He seeks to meet our needs, even though He is greater than us.

Contrary to the way of the world, where the greatest are served by their subordinates, in the Kingdom of God, He teaches that the greatest shall serve those under them, and if someone wants to be a leader, he must serve everybody else.

That's what husbands and wives should do in their marriage. They should always ask themselves: "What does my partner want me to do for him/her? What does s/he need from me right now?" Then, they should seek to meet that need.

This servant spirit has to be practiced in marriage. However, only great people practice this. They know there is greatness in serving.

But if instead, you insist on being your wife’s or husband’s master, bossing him/her around and making demands, eventually you will end up alone.

Maybe

Maybe that person is not thinking evil of you.

Maybe your friend didn’t greet you in the hallway because her mind was really elsewhere.

Maybe your wife/husband is right, after all.

Maybe her outfit is tight because she gained some weight, not because she’s a slut or because she wants attention.

Maybe he didn't do that on purpose.

Maybe what you heard about that person is because whoever said it wants to hurt her.

Maybe that compelling story that destroys someone’s character is just a well-told lie  — or not the whole story. 

Maybe it's not what you think.

Maybe that criticism you received was because the critic feels inferior to you, not because your performance was bad.

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. Luke 11:34

Believe the best until you see evidence to the contrary. And watch out for what people call "evidence."

And yet, do not be blind.

Check the health of your relationship

All you need to die is to be alive. All you need to have relationship problems is to be in one.

Many couples we counsel find out that they have relationship problems the same way some people discover they have a deadly disease. On a routine visit to the doctor, or when they go just to check on a small complaint, they find out they have a very serious illness, which is in an advanced stage. And they often hear the doctor say: "If we had caught it early, it would have been much easier to treat…”

Many couples find themselves in a relationship crisis when they least expect it.

Relationship problems are common, but it is not so easy to detect when something more serious is going on. It is essential to catch and deal with serious problems as soon as possible, before the situation gets to the point of no return.

Here is a way for you to check the health of your relationship. If possible, do this test and then ask your partner to do it as well. Then compare your answers (which will probably be quite different). You may be surprised with the results.

Now, the test.

Go through the questions and write down your answers on a piece of paper. Don't choose the answer that should reflect your marriage/relationship, but the one that does right now.

1. Can you reveal personal weaknesses and worries to your spouse without fear of embarrassment, criticism or judgement?
(a) Yes (b) Sometimes (c) No

2. Do you check with each other about money concerns that affect both of you?
(a) Yes (b) Sometimes (c) No

3. When you're upset or angry about something your spouse does or fails to do, is it easy to tell him/her about it?
(a) Yes (b) Sometimes (c) No

4. Is your spouse comfortable with the way you interact with opposite-sex friends?
(a) Yes (b) Sometimes (c) No

5. Are you both comfortable with the way you're paying the bills and keeping track of your finances?
(a) Yes (b) Sometimes (c) No

6. Do you discuss important decisions and how they will impact your relationship and family? 

(a) Yes (b) Sometimes (c) No

7. Do you know the basic needs of your spouse?

(a) Yes (b) Sometimes (c) No

Now that you're finished with the quiz, we'd like you to score yourself.

Give yourself...


10 points for every "a"
5 points for every "b"
0 points for every "c"


A perfect score is 70 points.

70: Excellent, but keep working at it. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, or what types of stress will be placed on your relationship, so keep learning!

65-55: Good, but you have some areas that need improvement. If you do not address them quickly, they will only increase.

50-40: Bad. Your marriage is in need of serious help. Chances are you need professional help in making healthy changes to negative, ingrown habits. Chances are your parents and relatives have the same kind of marriage. You need help now.

35 and below: Your relationship is in intensive care, hanging by a thread. There are major breakdowns in your relationship and one or both of you are behaving and making decisions based solely on themselves. A serious re-evaluation needs to take place. Without a doubt you and/or your spouse have one or more of the following that need to be dealt with: unhealed wounds from the past, trust issues, unforgiveness, anger, insecurity and selfishness. Get help immediately!

Help resources for your marriage: The Succeed in Marriage Course is one of the best relationship courses in Houston. If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and attend one of the live courses, periodically given throughout the year. More info here. Not in Houston? Get the DVD set of the course. More than 10 hours of go-to-the-root-of-the-problem teaching, offering practical tools to save your relationship NOW. No blah, blah, blah.

Training ground

Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him." 1 Samuel 16.22

Shortly after being anointed by God as the future king, David was providentially summoned to serve in the palace, next to King Saul. Was God preparing young David to sit on the throne 38 years later? You bet. 

There's often a gap between the issuance of the anointing and its actual fulfillment. But the gap is the training ground, the preparation period. Don't complain or be anxious. Just learn your lessons -- or you'll never be ready to receive the blessing.

"Nuke" Gingrich

Politics aside, and not judging the character of the man one way or the other, you've got to admire the firmness, razor-sharp, and ballsy manner in which Newt Gingrich nuked the CNN journalist in this debate. This must be one of the kings of comebacks in a debate, ever.

Lesson:

There's always a way to turn a bad situation around to your advantage. And please sound like you believe what you're saying.

Update: Shame on CNN for pulling this video off YouTube. It seems the Internet censorship has begun... If anyone knows where to find this video, please leave a comment, and I'll replace it.

Update 2: Found the video, thank you Audrey. To make sure it won't be pulled again, I've uploaded it here to Blogger.

No stopping them

When a man is determined, what can stop him? 

Cripple him and you have a SIR WALTER SCOTT; put him in a prison cell and you have a JOHN BUNYAN; bury him in the snows of Valley Forge and you have a GEORGE WASHINGTON. Have him born in abject poverty and you have a LINCOLN. Load him with bitter racial prejudice and you have a DISRAELI.

Afflict him with asthma until as a boy he lies choking in his father’s arms and you have a THEODORE ROOSEVELT; stab him with rheumatic pains until for years he cannot sleep without an opiate and you have a STEINMETZ; put him in a grease pit of a locomotive roundhouse and you have a WALTER CHRYSLER; make him a second fiddle in an obscure South American orchestra and you have a TOSCANINI. —Paul Speiker

Everyone has determination in him. He just needs to let it out.

So He could be by himself

With the crowd dispersed, He climbed the mountain so He could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night. (Matthew 14:23)

When was the last time you made time to be alone with God?

Forward-looking

Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Proverbs 4:25

One of the most enlightening lessons I've ever learnt about faith is that it's forward-looking.

Faith always looks forward. It wastes no time with the past. The only use it has for the past is to remember God's deeds and promises, to remind itself that they must also happen today.

Every time you're looking back, crying about your past, lamenting, regretting, dwelling on your mistakes — you're not using your faith. 

Faith is forward-looking. 

That's the way to success.

The real secret to losing weight

Okay, straight up, no beating around the bush. Drum roll for the secret...

Eat fewer calories than your body burns.

That’s it. There’s nothing else to it. Except for health issues that may affect your weight, losing weight is pure mathematics. Your body burns calories all the time. Just by reading this blog you are burning some. Okay, not many, but you are.

If you are overweight and want to lose a few pounds, eat fewer calories or increase your physical activity to "burn" more calories — ideally both. If you eat fewer calories than your body burns, you will lose weight. Guaranteed. You will drop sizes like hot potatoes. Oops ... Sorry for the food metaphor! (By the way: 1 baked potato, medium size: 170 calories)

(Incidentally, here's a calorie calculator to find out how many calories your body needs daily.)

You may be wondering, "What, will this blog now give tips on nutrition and diet?" No. Sorry to disappoint you.

The reason why I am revealing this "secret" here is to illustrate an interesting truth about people.

What I said above is no secret, of course. The thing is that people don’t want to do what must be done to lose weight. They don’t want to eat less or exercise. They want magic: a miracle diet, a pill to make all their body fat disappear, some bitter tasting tea that makes them lose 4 pounds a week without doing anything different.

There lies the big problem in human beings. They want the result, but they don’t want to pay the price for it.

The weight loss industry shouts “Thank you!”

When you're well in your spirit, your mind will always master your body. But when you are not spiritually strong, your body, along with its emotions and appetites, will always master your mind.

P.S. I don't usually ask for this: Please share this truth with your friends.