Self Improvement

Imagine what it would be like with no problems, no difficulties, and no troubles. You're probably thinking of how peaceful and easy your life would be, but others, the rest of us, would see a weak person with nothing to offer, nothing of substance, and nothing of interest. The things we hold most valuable in people are born out of adversity, not ease. Imagine watching a movie that only detailed how easy everyone had it, with nothing to overcome, nothing to triumph over, and nothing to strive for. You would be bored stiff. If nothing every bad happened to the good guys, if they didn't have to struggle,...

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As Christians we do have certain obligations and requirements. Like anything else of privilege, it comes with responsibility. Here are the top 3 priorities for any Christian. There are more priorities than the ones listed here. But these three are the number one priority in each of the three areas listed below. Forgive the bluntness of the following statement, but it would be unchristian to do anything less than these three duties. How can we, as Christians, claim that title (of being Christ like) if we are not doing the very things that make us Christ like? How can we claim we love God if we are unwilling...

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The humanist religion, and I believe it is a religion, is based almost completely on the idea of following your own heart. It has pervaded almost every level of society from movies to politics and even religion. The idea is that our own conscious, our own heart, is the best judge of right and wrong in the world, that no authority can actually dictate to you what is right and what is wrong. The lyrics of one rock song say, "how can it be so wrong when it feels so good!". This is nothing but the core of the humanist religion. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 28:26 "He that trusteth in his own heart...

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If someone were to ask me what I thought the single most important factor was to gain happiness, I would have to say that it was purpose or vision. You can have a lot of money, be popular, have decent relationships, possess power, have friends, even have a walk with God and find yourself unhappy. The reason for that, is that none of these things have full value until you have purpose behind them. Having a spiritual walk with God brings protection and peace, but without reason or purpose it'll grow old and stagnate. You could marry the kindest, gentlest man in the whole world, but if your...

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Breaking life down to its most basic physical components, the meaning of life is merely survival and reproduction. From a purely evolutionary perspective that is all there is. It leaves us, however, meaningless. For thousands of years humans have been asking themselves if there is something more to life than mere existence. Many do good, help others, donate to charities, participate in community needs, and love others in an effort to fill a void in their souls--to make life meaningful. Yet many struggle to maintain this level of goodness over a long period of time without becoming disillusioned...

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Humility is often an unrecognizable quality in one's self. You cannot achieve humility by trying to be humble, simply because the effort to be humble requires you to be anything but humble. Humility is the absence of pride and ego. Achieving humility is not about suppressing your pride, or hiding your ego--which is what most of us do in an effort to be humble. But merely hiding it is not true humility. This, interestingly enough, really struck home one day while I was watching the old TV series 'Gomer Plye USMC'. They portray Gomer as somewhat of an idiot, but a happy, joyful, and fun loving...

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It may not be that intelligence is a measurable quality. We establish IQ scores, true, but these scores are not set in stone. Our brain is like any other muscle, if it is exercised, it grows stronger and more agile. Therefore, it may not even be accurate to assume that one person is necessarily smarter than another. With proper mental exercise and training, you could surpass someone supposedly smarter than you. Chess, for example, has been established to raise a person's IQ level. The exercise of the brain in such intensity is bound to create a more intelligent person. But then, did this person...

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I'm much more impressed with a person who shoots for an A and fails and gets a C instead than the guy who aimed for a D because he knew he could hit it, and does. Failure is not the bad thing that we tend to think it is-at least not in the positive areas in our lives. Succeeding in becoming a drug addict is not the type of success anyone should shoot for. Failure is the process by which we learn. As toddlers, we failed and failed in our attempts to walk. Our failure even brought pain as we fell down, bumped our heads, and wailed for mommy and daddy. But this process of failure teaches us a very...

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I am going to ask you to participate in figuring out your priorities and the proper means to set them. If you'll do this with me, this article can help you understand your priorities better. First, make a list, in order, of everything that is important to you. Start with what you feel like is your greatest priority and list them in order of importance. Your list may look something like this: 1. God 2. Wife / Husband 3. Children 4. Job 5. And so forth Got your list? Good. Now, let me make some statements about your list that hopefully will get you to rethink your priorities. 1. The main...

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Emotional immaturity is the result of or a combination of one of two things. 1. Emotional trauma as a child or young person. 2. Never having had to accept responsibility for one's own actions. These two things are the primary source of emotional immaturity. Combined, they reflect a troubled individual and personality. EMOTIONAL TRAUMA Children and even teenagers lack the experience and emotional stability to deal with the trauma that can result from abuse, abandonment, being unloved, or even the death of someone close. So many of the problems that I as a pastor and counselor deal with...

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