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Thomas F. Fischer, M.Div., M.S.A., Editor

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"This 'n' That" Snippets

Thomas F. Fischer

Number 115

"Those whom the gods would destroy,
they must first make angry."

Ancient Greek Proverb

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Time heals; But time heals faster with experience.

Anonymous

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Don't let worry kill you. Let the Church help!

Typographical Error from a Church Bulletin
(or a Freudian Slip from a Cynical Pastor??)

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From My Mentor...

Years ago in counseling I learned an excellent axiom: If you, the counselor, are receiving personal gratification in the counseling process, you are not really helping.

Rev. Erwin Kostizen, Vice-President,
Michigan District-LCMS

 

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You don't have to win every battle,
You just have to win the war.

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The harder it gets,
The stronger my faith becomes.

A bumper sticker

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Don't Look!!!

Don’t look, you might see.

Don’t listen, you might hear.

Don’t think, you might learn.

Don’t walk, you might stumble.

Don’t run, you might fall.

Don’t risk, you might fail.

Don’t live, you might die.

By Dr. John Maxwell

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Forgiveness is the final stage of love.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Directness

We feel safe around direct, honest people. They speak their minds, and we know where we stand with them.

 

Indirect people, people who are afraid to say who they are, what they want, and what they're feeling, cannot be trusted. They will somehow act out their truth even though they do not speak it. And it may catch everyone by surprise.

 

Directness saves time and energy. It removes us a victims. It dispenses with martyrdom and games... It creates respectful relationships.

 

It feels safe to be around direct, honest people. Be one.

Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, p. 154

Planning By Trial And Error

Every once in a while we find--usually by accident--something that works. 

Then we teach the seminars and pretend like we planned it all along, when really it was just the result of trial and error.

—Rick Warren

Source: Leadership Magazine, Summer, 1997
Vol. XVIII, No. 3, Page 22
http://www.Christianity.net/leadership/7L3/7L3022.html

How To Refuel

"To refuel, I do three things:

• Divert daily--do something that's fun each day,
• Withdraw weekly--take (really take it!) a day off every week,
• Abandon annually--get away from your church to vacation, and don't call in."

—Rick Warren

Source: Leadership Magazine, Summer, 1997
Vol. XVIII, No. 3, Page 22
http://www.Christianity.net/leadership/7L3/7L3022.html

Sutton's Law

Named after Willie Sutton the famous bank robber, this law explains why uncovering and dealing with hurt can be the most invaluable approach toward healing.

 

The law was formulated in response to a reporter's question to Sutton. "Why do you rob banks?" "Because that's where the money is!" Sutton replied.

 

M. Scott Peck noted that psychotherapists focus on the bad stuff because that's "where the payoff is." It's "where the wounds and scars are…the areas that need healing."

 

Could this be God's reason for calling pastors to "bad stuff"--because they are the areas needing healing? After all, isn't that what the Gospel is about--healing?

 

Be healed by God...and be His instrument of healing even the bad stuff!

Inspired from Peck, M. Scott. Further Along The Road Less Traveled.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993, p. 45

Failure

If you don't at first succeed, failure must be your thing.

Failure is an attitude before it's an outcome.

If you can't handle failure, you can't handle success.

People take failure personally because they take success personally.

Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

Failure is either a stepping stone or a tombstone.

Failure breeds innovation not defeat.

There is no failure, only feedback.

Test fast, fail fast, adjust fast.

Failure is the cost of achievement.

Learn to laugh at yourself—everyone else does.

Failure is an opportunity to begin again more intelligently.

I tried and failed; I tried again and succeeded.

Inspired from John Maxwell. "Failure Is Not Final" (1991) From the Injoy Life Club. Vol. 1, No. 4.
For Information or to request a copy of the tape call 1-800-333-6506.

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort!

Celebrate Your

Ministry!

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