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Vol.1 No. 11 | June 13, 2006
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This week
“The Bible teaches that Christians are totally different from anyone else.” -
Peter Jeffery, Evangelicals Then and Now (Buy Now)
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Finance
How to Increase Your Retirement Savings by $1.2 Million
Next time you invest money in your 401k or your IRA, pay attention to the type of mutual fund you put your money into. New evidence shows that choosing wisely could net you $1.2 million more than if you pick the wrong type.
According to a study published in the Boston Globe, that’s how much more you’ll make if you invest in low-cost mutual funds rather than high-cost mutual funds. In the study, researchers compared money put into low-cost, high-cost, and even mid-level mutual funds. (The high-cost funds can have management fees as much as eight times more than the low-cost funds.)
To conduct the study, the researchers simulated what the same amount of money would do when put into each type of mutual fund. Money that would earn $1.7 million in a high-cost mutual fund will make $2.2 million in a mid-level fund. And it will bring $2.9 million in a low-cost fund.
The study authors also said that you’ll have 70% more money to spend when you retire if you invest in a low-cost fund rather than the high-cost versions.
So when it comes time to invest your retirement income, don’t waste your money on mid-level or high-cost funds. They simply aren’t worth the extra cost.
– Steve Kroening
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Health
The Medical Treatment That Regularly Causes More Problems Than It Solves
Everyone needs good medical advice at some time. The problem is that there are a lot of competing opinions out there on health issues. It doesn’t matter whether it is diet or treatment, each “method” seems to find some supporters.
One medical doctor gained a reputation for this medical advice. Keep away from doctors. His advice, don’t go to a doctor unless you are ill. No annual checkups. Just stay healthy. When you realize that doctor error is one of the leading causes of death in this country, you can see why he gives this advice.
But there is one piece of medical advice that seems almost indisputable. It is this: Keep off ALL medications if at all possible.
In the latest AARP Bulletin, there’s an article entitled “The Medication-Free Minority.” It’s worth reading because it highlights some of the issues with modern medication. It can cause more problems than it cures.
Even antibiotics, the only drugs proven to cure any disease, have their downside.
Take Tequin, for example. This antibiotic, which was recently pulled off the market, can cause serious blood-sugar complications. This drug actually killed 20 people and caused 150 hospitalizations since January 2000.
We don’t often think about it, but most drugs are low-level doses of substances that, at higher levels, are poisonous. We’ve known this for centuries. In fact, the 16th-century Swiss chemist Paracelsus said, "The dose makes the poison."
We see this clearly in the drug Digitalis, one of the most common heart drugs around. It comes from the Foxglove plant and is a very deadly poison if you take enough of it. But we control the dosage and use it for some good purposes. However, it can have very negative effects for some people.
So how can you avoid taking drugs? In a 2001 survey, the Minnesota Board on Aging found “that older people who don’t take prescription drugs tend to participate in vigorous physical activity, are free of depression, and don’t worry about their health.”
The AARP Bulletin interviewed some of those not taking any medications. Each person had his own story as to why he was so healthy. Some attributed their health to diet, others to exercise, and some just to hard work. But one thing is for sure, they weren’t having any negative consequences from drugs.
- Ian Hodge
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Family & Relationships
What Shampoo and Family Worship Have in Common
The back of my shampoo bottle says, “Lather, rinse, repeat.” Simple enough that even I can do it. Though family worship may be a bit more complicated than shampooing hair, it ought not be rated with “home dentistry” in the scale of difficulty.
If you could buy family worship in the store, it would come in the form of a Bible, and the directions would simply say, “Read, pray, repeat.” Men should gather their families at least once daily. They should read a portion of the Scriptures to them. And they should pray with them. There need be no fireworks or pizzazz to keep the kids interested. There needs to be only a father with a heart-love for God – who desires to se that love appropriated by his children. Read, pray, repeat.
– Randy Greenwald
(Quoted from Tabletalk magazine, November 1997.)
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Parenting & Education
The Skill All Children Must Learn
No matter where your children are schooled, one of the most important skills they can learn is to submit to and respect authority. It will help determine their success in school, work, church, and how they deal with the government.
School is the first place that many children learn this skill, other than their parents. And they will use it in little league, art lessons, museum tours, and other extra curricular activities. Your attitude to your children’s other authority figures can determine very quickly how a child will respond to authority throughout their life. Here are a few ways to encourage your children to respond appropriately to these authorities.
1. Make the teacher or coach your ally, not your enemy. Work together with the other leaders. Clearly explain your expectations, and listen carefully as the other adult explains theirs. If they feel that you are committed to work with them, it’s more likely they will work with you.
2. Be polite. It’s amazing how far a pleasant attitude will go.
3. Give the other adult the benefit of the doubt. Keep in mind that when your child comes home with a story, you are hearing only one side. That teacher doesn’t listen to everything your child says about you – offer him the same courtesy.
4. Go directly to the leader. Asking other parents if they have a similar dispute, or asking other students about their experience, is gossip. If you have a genuine complaint, or even a difference of opinion, go directly to the offending party.
5. Keep the kids neutral. Even if you have a genuine complaint about one of your children’s authorities, it’s likely your kids don’t have the maturity to handle that information. A child who doesn’t understand that Dad was just letting off steam in private can repeat his comments in the classroom and on the ball field. And, even worse, bad attitudes are contagious.
It’s also important to teach your children about the importance of authority. Matthew 18, Proverbs 25, and Romans 13 are good scriptures to explore in family worship. These will help your children learn the appropriate way to deal with authority as they become aware of these authorities in their lives.
– Coralie Cowan
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Success
When It Pays to Be “Slow”
Have you ever considered how successful God is? The Scriptures tell us His purposes never fail (Job 42:2). Now that’s what I call ultimate success. How would you like to have that kind of success rate? I know, it’ll never happen this side of heaven. But still, we can learn a lot from how God achieves His success.
For instance, let’s look at how long it takes for God to accomplish His purposes. Sure, He could will it to happen overnight, but that’s not how He operates. He takes His time. He’s patient.
I once heard a pastor say that God’s patience is one of His most powerful attributes. While most of His other attributes show His power over His creation, God’s patience shows His power over Himself. What an incredible thought!
So what can we learn from God’s patience?
Obviously, we can see that God’s patience is a major part of what
brings Him success. And patience is also a major part
of what can bring us success in our endeavors.
How often do people jump ahead of themselves by borrowing a lot of money to get a business going, only to watch the debt destroy the business? And how often do we see hasty decisions cause the downfall of an enterprise? It happens all the time.
Worse yet, how many times do we see a venture fail because the person gives up too soon? Unfortunately, we see it all the time.
Just think about where we’d be today if Thomas Edison had given up. It took him thousands of efforts to finally invent the electric light bulb. But he never gave up. In fact, before finally finding success, he said, “I haven’t failed, I’ve identified 10,000 ways that it doesn’t work.” His perseverance forever changed the way the world operates.
Hebrews 6:12 tells us that those who are patient will inherit the promises of God. And Matthew 5:5 tells us the meek – another way of saying “the patient” – shall inherit the earth. This is God’s way of saying patience brings eternal success. But it’s also a key to earthly success.
– Steve Kroening
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The Time Shaver
Tips, Tricks, and Downright Ridiculous ways to SAVE TIME
As much as I use computers, I still do very little online banking. Paying with paper does not have to take long. When filling out a check – minimize!
The date could go from May 22, 2006 to 5/22/2006 or 5/22/06. It could even go to 5 22 06. Or how about 5 22 6?
When filling out the person or vendor name, abbreviate. Hudson County Water and Sewage Authority should simply be HCWSA or maybe even HCW.
The amount in words … never write no/100 or 00/100 if there is no change; just leave it blank.
Memo – keep it short.
Time shaved over the course of a few years will allow you that afternoon at the movies with your son or daughter.
– Dale Gramith (TheTimeShaver@adelphia.net)
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Wisdom From History
How James Naismith Learned to Overcome Obstacles
Growing up under his uncle's strict rules was tough. But it helped James Naismith (1861-1939) learn to face any challenge, even if it was to invent a brand-new sport.
He'd take any project by the horns, setting a goal and jumping into action. Naismith is known not just for inventing the popular worldwide game of basketball, but also for fashioning the first football helmet.
In 1870, 8-year-old Naismith and his siblings were taken to his uncle's house in Ontario, Canada, after both parents passed away from typhoid fever. Their uncle wanted to be sure they learned to rely on themselves. They were given chores, expected to be punctual and had to solve problems on their own.
Naismith never forgot the time he was asked to haul hay on a two-horse sleigh across a frozen river. Instead of going to the proper crossing area, he tried to save time by taking a shortcut across an unsafe icy part – and the horses plunged through the ice.
What could he do? He couldn't run home and ask for help – he knew he had to resolve the crisis himself. So he unhitched the horses from the sleigh and managed to bring each back up to the bank. Shivering, and with his heart still beating rapidly, Naismith noticed his uncle watching from the trees.
– Nancy Gondo
(Quoted from “James Naismith: He Made It Fun To Play At The YMCA,” Investors Business Daily.)
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Word for the Wise
The Key to an Intimate Marriage
"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."Psalm 46:10
Know - "Yada, yada, yada." The common slang expression doesn't carry quite the same meaning as its original Hebrew verb, yadah. In slang, it's almost like "and so on, and so on". But the Hebrew verb has a much deeper meaning; one that we simply cannot ignore when it's used in this verse. God commands us to know Him. That means it is entirely possible, desirable and expected. He even tells us what steps to take in order to reach this incredible goal. Let go of the world.
Now the only question left is this: what does yadah mean?
Yadah has about the same broad range of meaning that we attach to "know" in English. We can know everything from facts to people. We can perceive, discern, learn, experience, and discover under the umbrella of "know." But in this verse, yadah carries us into a world of intimate knowledge; knowledge that comes from relationship and experience at the deepest level. That's why yadah is also the verb for sexual intercourse (Adam knew Eve). There is a point at which my knowing someone goes beyond the facts I know about them, or my acquaintence with their likes or dislikes, and passes into a level of bonded unity. God instructs me to seek that level of intimacy with Him. Until I come to that place, I am "married" in name only. God wants more. And so do I.
The state of intimacy in my marriage usually reflects the state of unity with my God. If I allow the pressures and cares of the world to interfere with intimacy with my spouse, I drift away from the essential unity of marriage. Without shared intimacy in all of its forms, marriage becomes mutually productive acquaintance, not bonded unity. God is not interested in my acquaintance. He has known me as an acquaintance since my conception. He wants more. He wants bonded unity. Just like a marriage partner, His desire for relationship with me extends beyond household obligations, raising children, and vacations together. He wants me to know Him in the deepest possible way; the same way that He knows me. Every secret, every fear, every hope, every failure, every thought, every word, every deed – all of it shared with the Lover of my soul.
Do you know Him? Or is yadah only "yada, yada, yada" to you?
– Skip Moen
(Ed. Note: Skip Moen, PhD, is the president of At God’s Table and the author of Words to Lead By.)
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Resources
Basketball: Its Origin and Development,by James Naismith and William J. Baker (BUY NOW)
Evangelicals Then and Now, Peter Jeffery, Evangelical Press (Buy Now)
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