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USA Weekend recently polled Americans to determine who is happy and why. The results were surprising. Two in three adults rated their happiness at 8 or higher on a 1-10 scale.The poll and subsequent interviews revealed the following reasons people give for being happy. • Younger isn't better. Most people…

The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender. —William Booth One afternoon a Christian author found herself on an airplane, sitting next to a young man. She writes, “I had already observed something about this young man when I was being seated. He called me ‘ma'am.’ At the time I thought,…

Slow Me Down Lord Slow me down, Lord! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amidst the confusion of my day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the music…

5:00 a.m. Friday morning, Steve Worley’s house — Question to young men from the South in Nigeria: “How did you sleep last night?” “We slept in the van. We managed.” - May 16, 2003

First I was dying to finish high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. And then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work. And then I was dying to retire. And now,…

A favorite prayer with some: “Lord, give us this day our daily bread – with butter.” 1800 Quippable Quips, E. C. McKenzie, page 41

In Our Daily Bread, Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked. “Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman. “Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?”…

Learning About Contentment A Russian women lived with her husband and two children in a very small hut. Then her husband’s parents lost their home and she had to take them into hers. The coughing of the old folks and the crowding were unbearable. In desperation, she went to the village wise man, whom…

Imagine that you want to be a concert violinist. Someone gives you an old, poorly made violin on which to practice. Of course, you wish you had a Stradivarius, the best violin in the world, but you don’t. So you study day and night, you pour your heart and soul into playing that inferior violin well.…

Ambition says, “You could be doing great things for Christ.” The balancing voice says, “Christ is doing great things for you.” That’s contentment. Leadership, Summer 1990, page 3

The secret of contentment is the realization that life is a gift not a right. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into...world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 1 Timothy 6:6, 7 God’s Little Instruction Book Daily Calendar, October 27

In Living on Less and Liking It More Maxine Hancock describes contentment as, “Similar to happiness, that greatly sought-after but always elusive goal of society. However, it is deeper and more fulfilling than happiness. It is a quiet plateau that can be reached internally even when there seems little…

And the soul of a man hanging on a cross crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is also the soul of the boy stumping the elders in the Temple. The deepest soul-hopes and soul-fears of our everyday, healthy parishioners do not stray far from these poles. These touchstones for the gospel…

He who knows enough is enough will always have enough. - Lao-tzu, BC 600-?, Chinese Philosopher, Founder of Taoism, Author of the Tao Te Ching

I worked as a registered nurse for about ten years before my life took a different direction. One of my earliest patients was a young girl of about 14 who had been in a dirt bike accident. I met this young girl down in the physical therapy department. She was in a whirlpool bath. I had read her chart…

“People who have what they want are fond of telling people who haven’t what they want that they really don’t want it.” - Ogden Nash The Tennessean, “Shortcuts,” February 14, 2002

First boy: Who do you think is more satisfied – a man with a million dollars or a man with eight children? Second boy: The man with eight children is more satisfied because a man with a million dollars would want more. Jokes, Jokes, Jokes, Jeannette Fidell, page 9

“As World War II was drawing to a close, the Allied armies gathered up many hungry orphans. They were placed in camps where they were well fed. Despite excellent care, they slept poorly. They seemed nervous and afraid. “Finally, a psychologist came up with a solution. Each child was given a piece of…

Bumper Stickers of Life You can never get enough of what you don’t need, because what you don’t need can never satisfy you. - Contributed by Bill Puryear

How many joys are crushed under foot because people look up at the sky and disregard what is at their feet? - Catharina Elisabetha Goethe cyber-nation.com/quoteaday

Sometimes, of course, a smart farmer can put this animal delusion to good use. My neighbor Floyd Dexter does this regularly. Like all Vermont farmers, he gets his hay baled and under cover as fast as possible. Sometimes this means a few bales at the edge of a field aren’t quite dry enough and develop…

Hollywood publicist Michael Levine lives in what many consider the beauty capital of the world, surrounded on a daily basis by gorgeous women. But he isn't satisfied. "Although I'm a successful, red-blooded American male," he confesses, "it is beauty alone that is keeping me single and lonely." He subscribes…

While I was working inside the house, a garbage truck lumbered down our street. Stopping every few houses to grind and crush the trash, the truck was incredibly noisy. It broke my concentration. Irked, I walked to the window hoping to speed the truck’s passing with an annoyed glare. But in the front…

What Charlie Brown, the Apostle Paul and We Have in Common Lucy: “What do you think is the Secret of Living, Chuck?” Charlie Brown: “The Secret of Living is to own a convertible and a lake.” Lucy: “A convertible and a lake?” Charlie Brown: “Yeah! If the sun is shining, you can ride around in your convertible…

With self-fulfillment, feeling good is the product. With self- development, feeling good is the by-product. It comes from the service performed. Leadership, Spring 1996, page 35