Vol.1 No. 2 |  April 11, 2006  

    

This week

“The Bible teaches that Christians are totally different from anyone else.” -  
Peter Jeffery, Evangelicals Then and Now

   

Finance


Has the IRS Gone Phishing?

Some people cannot spell. Phishing, however, is not a misspelled version of “fishing.” Rather, phishing is an activity that people do to you. You receive an e-mail that claims to be from a particular organization. It asks you to log on to their website and conduct certain transactions, which usually require you to hand over confidential information. This can include your social security number, your bank account information, or even your credit card details. These will then be used in commercial transactions – in your name!

Criminals have been using banks for phishing techniques for a long time. It’s a major form of identity theft, which is now the fast growing crime in America.

However, a new phishing scam that has emerged is one that claims to be from the IRS. It plays on people’s expectations for a tax refund, and asks them to log on to what appears to be the IRS website. The e-mail claims that a refund has been determined for you, and to get it you need to log onto the IRS website. If you are foolish enough to follow these instructions, you’ll be asked for your SSN number, credit card number, expiration date, and the security number on the back of the card.

Unfortunately, there will be no refund – at least not from this site. Instead, you can expect credit card expenditures in your name.

Taxpayers should remember that the IRS does not use e-mail to initiate contact with taxpayers about issues related to their accounts. If a taxpayer has any doubt whether a contact from the IRS is authentic, the taxpayer should call 1-800-829-1040 to confirm it.

If you’re interested in protecting yourself from identity theft, please visit www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/ianhodge. This is my web site and I can show you how to get identity theft protection for as little as $9.95 a month. This service is run by Kroll Background America in conjunction with Pre-Paid Legal, Inc., and offers a full restoration of identity when theft occurs. Kroll actually provide continuous monitoring of your credit, so they have the best chance to catch any wrongful activity before it occurs. You can also get coverage from your home insurance company, but the coverage is not as thorough as that provided by Kroll and Pre-Paid Legal.

- Ian Hodge

 

   

Health


The Unknown Treatment for Asthma

Last week, you saw how acetaminophen is causing a dramatically increasing number of asthma cases. The good news, though, is that there’s an easy way to prevent and reverse the damage done by acetaminophen.

Acetaminophen’s toxicity occurs because the drug lowers blood levels of a natural compound called glutathione. Glutathione has an antioxidant effect in the body, particularly in the lungs. When your glutathione levels plummet, your risk of developing a chronic lung disease, such as asthma, goes up significantly

Unfortunately, you can’t just go out and buy an effective glutathione supplement. You see, glutathione is destroyed by stomach acid, so your body won’t absorb any of it. So what’s the best way to increase your body’s levels of glutathione and beat asthma?

The antidote for acetaminophen poisoning is NAC (N-acetyl cysteine), a supplement that raises glutathione levels. For those who have asthma, NAC is a good choice because in addition to protecting the lungs by raising glutathione, it also thins the mucous in the bronchial passages.

I would suggest 400-1,200 mg daily of NAC for anyone who has a long history of using Tylenol or other painkillers with acetaminophen. I also recommend it for anyone who has breathing difficulties. You can find NAC in most health food stores.

By the way, when it comes to painkillers and asthma, there really are no good drug choices. Other pain relievers, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as Celebrex and Vioxx), increase asthmatic symptoms, too.

If you suffer from headaches, arthritis, or other chronic pain troubles, I’ll have more on how you can treat these safely in the weeks ahead.

In the meantime, the bottom line is simple. Don’t make a habit of using painkillers or any other drug. All drugs have toxic effects on the body when used regularly. If you’re in pain, you must work on finding the cause and treating that cause rather than covering up the symptom with drugs.

– Steve Kroening

Source: Prescriptions for Healthy Living, July 2005, 800-728-2288.

   

Family & Relationships


A Key Ingredient to Successful Parenting

Anytime a child doesn’t respond to circumstances the way the parent wants them to, it’s easy to ask “What did I do wrong?” The question is often raised in reference to what a parent did wrong with the child. But it’s quite possible the problem didn’t arise out of what the parent did wrong with the child. It could have come from what the parent did with his or her spouse.

Children learn a lot by watching how their parents relate to each other – which makes a healthy husband/wife relationship a major key to God-centered parenting.

Pastor John MacArthur in his book Successful Christian Parenting hit the target with these words, “Aside from the parent’s fundamental commitment to Christ, the single most important foundation for successful parenting is a healthy, Christ-centered marriage.”

When a husband and wife live out their love relationship before the watching eyes of their children, children are able to hear their parent’s verbal instruction because true love is modeled visually. What better way for a son or daughter to learn what sacrificial Christ-centered love looks like than from their parent’s mutual love?

Children who live in a home where Mom and Dad share their love for one another tend to live with a greater sense of security. More importantly, they live in a home where the love of Christ is magnified through the tender affections of their parents. Consider several ways that you can cultivate this God-honoring love with your spouse and then put your considerations into practice for the glory of God and the well being of your spouse and children. I'll have a few suggestions in coming weeks.

– Ray Rhodes, Jr.

(Ed. Note: Ray Rhodes is the founder and president of Nourished in the Word Ministries. His ministry focuses on family worship and parenting. For more information, see www.nourishedintheword.org.)


   

Success


How to Get Ahead While Driving Your Car

Last week, Zig Ziglar gave us the best thing he’s learned through the years. This week, Zig is going to share with us a simple way to get ahead. After Zig’s answer to my first question, I asked him why people don’t prioritize. Here’s what he said:

“Well, that’s one thing that’s not taught in college: how to set and reach those goals; how to prioritize. And that’s most unfortunate. But the good news is that you can learn it in Automobile University. There are cassettes and CD recordings that teach all of those things you want to learn but didn’t think you had time.

“I did some work at the University of Southern California for a couple of years and they were doing a study while I was there. What they found was, that if you live in a metropolitan area and drive 12,000 miles a year, in three years’ time, you can get the equivalent of two years of college education in your automobile listening to CDs.

“Interestingly enough, 70% of the college graduates today are earning their living in a field unrelated to what they majored in while they were in college. Now think of the benefits they would have received if as freshmen, they had been taught how to prioritize and how to set and reach those goals to discover what they really want to do. To think that 70% of them are earning their living in a field they didn’t study in college – well, those years of schooling represent a ridiculous waste of time and resources.”

Spending your time in the car is oftentimes a waste of precious time. But buying CDs, tapes, and/or MP3s of anything you want to learn can redeem that time and help you get where the Lord would have you go.

– Steve Kroening

   

Wisdom From History


Suffering From Anxiety? Don’t Let It Hold You Back

It’s often been said that the reason most people fail is because they lack confidence. Lacking confidence is another way of saying “fear” or “anxiety.”

But if you suffer from fear or anxiety, you don’t have to fail. In fact, one woman in history was almost destroyed by her anxiety, until she found an amazing way to succeed in spite of it.

Margaret Baxter, the wife of famed preacher Richard Baxter, was often depressed, tense and fearful. Obsessive worry was exacerbated by her inability to communicate her feelings to others: she would bottle her fears up rather than discussing them and getting them back in perspective. Margaret even developed a great fear of losing her sanity. An aunt of hers had suffered mental illness, and her parents had tended toward instability. Margaret was naturally excitable, and her very fear of insanity tended to push her closer to the edge.

So how did she succeed in spite of her anxiety? According to Sharon James, author of In Trouble and in Joy, “she was devoted to evangelism; she had a deep compassion for the poor. She was willing to spend all they had (and more) to relieve the deep needs around them.

“Her popularity with her neighbors was due to her cheerful and pleasant demeanor, which she managed to keep up even when consumed with anxiety. This is a remarkable testimony to her unselfishness.”

Margaret tried to keep her focus on others. Outside of her walk with the Lord and relationship with her husband, it was the only satisfaction she ever really experienced.

So what’s one secret to overcoming anxiety? Focus on serving others. You’ll be amazed at how successful you’ll become.

– Steve Kroening

   

Word for the Wise

“The English word “edify” goes back to an old Latin word “aedes,” which originally meant a hearth or fireplace. A fireplace has emotional associations for most of us, representing cozy warmth, loving togetherness, and, perhaps a special tranquility. The hearth was the center of activity in ancient times, the only place of warmth and light in the home, and the place where the daily bread was prepared. Certainly it was the place where people were drawn together, comforted, and sustained in the midst of the harsh realities of life…. The process of edifying holds a similar place of importance in the emotional sense. We find as we study the New Testament passages that speak of edifying that three golden strands are interwoven: personal encouragement, inner strengthening, and the establishment of peace and harmony between individuals.”

– Ed Wheat, MD

(Quoted from “Love Life for Every Married Couple” by Ed Wheat MD and Gloria Okes Perkins, Zondervan, 1980)

 

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