Thought of the Day - 9/7/09

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.
~~ Walt Streightiff ~~

5 Ways to Grow Your Faith

With the school season in full swing, there's no doubt that you're already overwhelmed with the demands of homework, Boy/Girl Scouts, church events, fall sports, and other activities . . . not to mention the time and budget constraints that make things even more challenging.

I encourage you and your family to grow closer to God and each other this season with the following free resources from Crosswalk.com.

Family Devotionals
Build your family's faith and Christian walk by studying the Bible together with FREE family devotionals.

Kid-Friendly Movie Reviews
Read the latest kid-friendly movie reviews for new releases and DVDs from a Christian perspective. Create regular family movie nights that everyone will enjoy.

Online Bible Study Tools
Whether you need to do a quick verse search or an in-depth Bible study, BibleStudyTools.com makes it easy to understand Scripture. Start growing in Biblical knowledge with an extensive library of FREE resources like popular commentaries, concordances, study guides, parallel study bible, and more than 29 Bible translations.

Free Christian Music Online
Listen to today's top Christian music hits on the go with Crosswalk radio. Find your favorite artists and bands featured on 10 different radio stations including Praise & Worship, Christian Top 40, Classics, Southern Gospel, and more.

Christian Book Reviews
Catch up on the latest Christian fiction and non-fiction books for family members of all ages with Crosswalk's reading finds.

Thought of the Day - 9/6/09

I think the secret to a happy life is a selective memory. Remember what you're most grateful for and quickly forget what you're not.

Stop Smoking

Though, I don't smoke as often as I used to (a pack a day in the Army), I do still smoke when I am terribly stressed. This summer has been a very stressful summer so my smoking habit has dramatically increased over the past few months. I have several friends and my children who wish I would quit all together so I need to find the motivation -- and willpower -- to quit.

I think one of the main reasons it’s so hard to quit smoking is because all the benefits of quitting and all the dangers of continuing seem so very far away.

To help me (and you), I put together this timeline about some of the more immediate effects of quitting smoking and how that will affect my body RIGHT NOW.

• In 20 minutes, your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
• In 8 hours, the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half and oxygen levels will return to normal.
• In 48 hours, your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
• In 72 hours, your bronchial tubes will relax and your energy levels will increase.
• In 2 weeks, your circulation will increase and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
• In three to nine months, coughs, wheezing, and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
• In 1 year, your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
• In 5 years, your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
• In 10 years, your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
• In 15 years, your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

I do (and you do) have more immediate things to look forward to if I quit now, besides just freaking out about not being able to smoke.

My promise to Sandy and Michael (and others) is I am going to quit RIGHT NOW!

Thought of the Day - 9/5/09

Is it better to be lonely or afraid?

Thought of the Day - 9/4/09

We can bury the past, but it never really dies.
~~ Richard Paul Evans ~~

Thought of the Day - 9/3/09

We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience.

Thought of the Day - 9/1/09

Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.