BEGINNING WITH HIM
October, 2000 Edition
As is the continued tradition, the first E-Mail Ministry message of the
month is my chance to talk to all of you about E-Mail Ministry and other
related items.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR TODAY’S MESSAGE:
[WHAT’S NEW AT E-MAIL MINISTRY] [THANK YOU] [CHANGE OF E-MAIL ADDRESS]
[POLL QUESTIONS] [SUBSCRIBER COUNTRIES] [USAGE OF E-MAIL MINISTRY
MESSAGES] [CHURCH HUMOR] [ORIGINAL WORKS] [AUTHENTICITY OF THE E-MAIL
MINISTRY MESSAGES] REGISTER AT Ibelieve.com AND SUPPORT E-MAIL MINISTRY]
[MY KIDS SEE] [SLOW DANCE] [WORK – FAMILY – HEALTH – FRIENDS – SPIRIT]
[A PINK RIBBON] [FOR ALL TEACHERS PAST AND PRESENT] [FEED THE HUNGRY FOR
FREE]
* * *
WHAT’S NEW AT E-MAIL MINISTRY
Where to begin, where to begin.
— Home Page: I have reconfigured the home page and the top of all the
other pages to make it easier for people to subscribe. Links to the
last three messages can now be found at the top of the home page.
Hopefully, this will make it easier for first time visitors to get a
sample of the messages. Links to the polls, guestbook, tell-a-friend,
vote buttons, and donate food have been added to the top of the page to
make navigation easier.
— Web Site Configuration: I reorganized the entire web site to make it
easier to navigate and maintain. Therefore, if you bookmarked any of
the various pages you will need to re-bookmark them.
— E-Mail Ministry Store: As part of our affiliation with iBelieve.com,
we now offer fiction, non-fiction, cd’s, and videos from our on-line
store. If you have a favorite book, cd, or video that you would like to
recommend, please let us know via the form found at:
https://www.emailministry.org/store/index.htm#Recommend
— Links page: I have reconfigured the links page and added a lot of
links from my bookmarks as well as sites recommended by various
subscribers. If you would like to recommend a Christian site, please
use the ‘Add a Link’ form at:
https://www.emailministry.org/links/index.htm#AddALink
— Link to E-Mail Ministry: You can add a link from your web site to
E-Mail Ministry. Simply copy the following html code into your web page
using your html editor:
— The EMM Story: A new page has been added which gives a brief history
and significant dates of E-Mail Ministry.
* * *
THANK YOU
I want to thank all of you who write such nice notes and responses. I
greatly appreciate them. They bless me so much and sustain me in this
ministry. I wish I could write back to each of you but time does not
allow.
* * *
POLL QUESTIONS
The September poll question results can viewed from a link on the main
web page. Here are the October poll questions (Go the web site at:
https://www.emailministry.org/#Polls register your vote!! Please do NOT
send me an e-mail with your vote!)
Q1: How much was the ‘Survivor’ TV show like real life?
Q2: How much does your faith influence your vote?
PLEASE NOTE: The banners on the guest book, poll questions and
referral do NOT support E-Mail Ministry and E-Mail Ministry does not
support them.
* * *
SUBSCRIBER COUNTRIES
E-Mail Ministry broke through the 10,000 subscriber mark on 25-Sept.
There are now 10,109 subscribers in 42 countries. See the
https://www.emailministry.org/countries.htm for a list of countries. If
you are from a country other than those indicated with an “X”, please
let me know by sending an e-mail to emailministry@emailministry.org
* * *
USAGE OF E-MAIL MINISTRY MESSAGES
As always, feel free to send these messages on to others as the Lord
leads you. I do have one request (and it is an optional request) if you
use these messages in your church bulletins, sermons, bible studies,
etc., it would be nice if you put “Message distributed by E-Mail
Ministry (https://www.emailministry.org)” at the bottom of any material
you use. That way more people will become aware of this ministry.
* * *
CHURCH HUMOR
Thanks to all of you who sent in a church humor piece. The ‘Church
Humor’ page (https://www.emailministry.org/humor/humor6.htm) has been
updated with some very funny submittals. Please send church humor
submittals to emailministry@emailministry.org
* * *
ORIGINAL WORKS
I appreciate all of you who have sent in original works. Regrettably, I
am VERY behind in reading them. Therefore, I respectfully request that
NO more original works be sent in. When I catch up I will lift this
‘hold’.
* * *
AUTHENTICITY OF THE E-MAIL MINISTRY MESSAGES
I have had some inquiries as to the authenticity of the messages. I
would love to be able to validate all of the stories that E-Mail
Ministry sends out; however, I do not have the resources. I tend to
look upon a lot of the stories as parables. Jesus, as you well know
(and I don’t mean to offend your knowledge), used parables all the time
to illustrate a teaching.
* * *
REGISTER AT Ibelieve.com AND SUPPORT E-MAIL MINISTRY
Register for free at iBelieve.com and receive the new pocket-sized,
paperback edition of “Left Behind”, the first in the #1 best-selling
apocalyptic series. Registration is free and it helps to keep E-Mail
Ministry free!!
Why register at iBelieve.com?
– 7 Inspirational newsletters from which to choose
– Excellent content, articles and community
– Largest selection of Christian product on the internet (visit
our store to see the most popular books, cd’s and videos.
– Free email account
– Updates on issues and events that affect Christians
– FREE gift! October’s FREE gift is
Say so long to summer and ease into fall with iBelieve.com. This
season, savings take center stage. With over 140,000 products at your
fingertips, you don’t want to miss this fall’s special previews shipped
to you for only $1.99.
In a note from the iBelieve.com Affiliate Marketing Manager:
“[E-Mail Ministry is] doing a fantastic job as an affiliate. Last week
you were number 5 out of our entire network of affiliates. That is to
say out of 3000 affiliates you were number 5 in driving traffic and
registrations.”
* * *
MY KIDS SEE
When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are
going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing
white fluff, you can wish on.
When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty
person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone
smiling at them and they smile back.
When I hear music I love, I know I can’t carry a tune and don’t have
much rhythm so I sit self consciously and listen. My kids feel the beat
and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don’t know them, they
make up their own.
When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it
messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close their
eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground
laughing.
When I pray I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that. My kids
say, “Hi God!!! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad
dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don’t want to go to Heaven yet. I would
miss my Mommy and Daddy.”
When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and clothes
and dirty carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to
cross and worms to play with.
I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God
loves the little children!!
— Author Unknown
* * *
SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short The music won’t last
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask “How are you?”
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say “Hi”?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift….
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
* * *
“WORK – FAMILY – HEALTH – FRIENDS – SPIRIT”
This was written by the CEO of Coca-Cola Brian G. Dyson. It was used as
Georgia Tech’s Commencement Address
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the
air. You name them – Work – Family – Health – Friends – Spirit, and
you’re keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it
will bounce back. But the other four balls — family, health, friends
and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be
irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered.
They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for
balance in your life. How?
1. Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is
because we are different that each of us is special.
2. Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you
know what is best for you.
3. Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to
them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
4. Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past
or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL
the days of your life.
5. Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is
really over until the moment you stop trying.
6. Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this
fragile thread that binds us together.
7. Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we
learn how to be brave.
8. Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose
love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give
it wings.
9. Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve
been, but also where you are going.
10. Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel
appreciated.
11. Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you
can always carry easily.
12. Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.
* * *
A PINK RIBBON
A handsome, middle-aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down.
Before he ordered, he couldn’t help but notice a group of younger men at
the table next to him. It was obvious they were making fun of something
about him, and it wasn’t until he remembered he was wearing a small pink
ribbon on the lapel of his suit that he became aware of what the joke
was all about.
The man brushed off the reaction as ignorance, but the smirks began to
get to him. He looked one of the rude men square in the eye, placed his
hand beneath the ribbon and asked, quizzically, “This?” With that the
men all began to laugh out loud. The man he addressed said, as he
fought back laughter, “Hey, sorry man, but we were just commenting on
how pretty your little ribbon looks against your blue jacket!”
The middle aged man calmly motioned for the joker to come over to his
table, and invited him to sit down. As uncomfortable as he was, the guy
obliged, not really sure why. In a soft voice, the middle aged man said
“I wear this ribbon to bring awareness about breast cancer. I wear it
in my mother’s honor.”
“Oh, sorry dude. She died of breast cancer?”
“No, she didn’t. She’s alive and well. But her breasts nourished me as
an infant, and were a soft resting place for my head when I was scared
or lonely as a little boy. I’m very grateful for my mother’s breasts,
and her health.”
“Umm”, the stranger replied, “yeah.”
“And I wear this ribbon to honor my wife,” the middle aged man went on.
“And she’s okay, too?”, the other guy asked.
“Oh, yes. She’s fine. Her breasts have been a great source of loving
pleasure for both of us, and with them she nurtured and nourished our
beautiful daughter 23 years ago. I am grateful for my wife’s breasts,
and for her health.”
“Uh huh. And I guess you wear it to honor your daughter, also?”
“No. It’s too late to honor my daughter by wearing it now. My daughter
died of breast cancer one month ago. She thought she was too young to
have breast cancer, so when she accidentally noticed a small lump, she
ignored it. She thought that since it wasn’t painful, it must not be
anything to worry about.”
Shaken and ashamed, the now sober stranger said, “Oh, man, I’m so sorry
mister.”
“So, in my daughter’s memory, too, I proudly wear this little ribbon,
which allows me the opportunity to enlighten others. Now, go home and
talk to your wife and your daughters, your mother and your friends. And
here . . .”
The middle-aged man reached in his pocket and handed the other man a
Little pink ribbon.
The guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and asked, “Can ya help me
put it on?”
October is breast cancer awareness month. Do regular breast self-exams
and have annual mammograms if you are a woman over the age of 40. And
encourage those women you love to do the same.
* * *
FOR ALL TEACHERS PAST AND PRESENT
Let me see if I’ve got this right ….
You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their
every waking moment with a love for learning. Not only that, I’m to
instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, behaviorally modify
disruptive behavior, and observe them for signs of abuse, drugs, and
T-shirt messages. I am to fight the war on drugs and sexually
transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for guns, and raise their
self-esteem.
I’m to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, and fair
play; how and where to register to vote; how to balance a checkbook; and
how to apply for a job — but am never to ask if they are in this
country illegally.
I am to check their heads occasionally for lice, maintain a safe
environment, recognize signs of potential antisocial behavior, offer
advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and
scholarships, encourage respect for the cultural diversity of others,
and, oh, yeah, teach, always making sure that I give the girls in my
class 50% of my attention.
I’m required by my contract to be working — on my own time – summer and
evenings and at my own expense towards additional certification, advance
certification and a master’s degree; to sponsor the cheerleaders or the
sophomore class; and after school, I am to attend committee and faculty
meetings and participate in staff development training to maintain my
current certification and employment status.
I am to collect data and maintain all records to support and document
our building’s progress in the selected state mandated program to
“assess and upgrade educational excellence in the public schools.”
I am to be a paragon of virtue larger than life such that my very
presence will awe my students into being obedient and respectful of
authority.
I am to pledge allegiance to supporting family values, a return to the
basics, and to my current administration. I am to incorporate technology
into the learning, but monitor all Web sites for appropriateness, while
providing a personal one-on-one relationship with each student.
I am to decide who might be potentially dangerous and/or liable to
commit crimes in school or who is possibly being abused, and I can be
sent to jail for not mentioning these suspicions to those in authority.
I am to make sure ALL students pass the state and federally mandated
testing and all classes, whether or not they attend school on a regular
basis or complete any of the work assigned.
I am to communicate frequently with each student’s parent by letter,
phone, newsletter, and grade card.
I’m to do all of this with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few
books, a bulletin board, a 45-minute-or-less plan time, and a big smile
— all on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps in
many states.
Is that all? …..
And you want me to do all of this and expect me to do it without
praying?
PERSONAL NOTE FROM doug: As a “teacher’s kid” I can tell you of the
dedication of a caring teacher. Obviously, they are not in this
profession for the money. During the school year children spend more
time with their teachers than with their parents. Please keep the
teachers in your daily prayers.
* * *
FEED THE HUNGRY FOR FREE (and do it every day!):
You can help feed hungry people, at no cost to you, by pointing your
internet browser to http://www.thehungersite.com Click the Donate Free
Food button to bring up a page of corporate sponsors, each of whom
contributes 1/2 cent per click, which translates to 1/4 cup of cooked
food. The food is distributed through the United Nations World Food
Program. Founded by an unnamed “private individual,” the site displays a
map that dims one country every 3.6 seconds, signifying a death from
hunger. Three quarters of those deaths are children under 5. A link has
been placed on the E-Mail Ministry main page and link page to this site
to make it easier for your to click it each day!
“When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of
John, do you truly love me more than these?’. ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said,
‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.'” – John 21, 15
* * *
I pray this finds you all growing in the understanding of how God loves
you.
— doug
The “Staff” of E-Mail Ministry