Heart Touchers - Everything in Its Time and Place by Rubel Shelly

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Everything in Its Time and Place

By Rubel Shelly

Gordon Dahl wrote this insightful paragraph several years ago: "Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship. As a result, their meanings and values are distorted. Their relationships disintegrate faster than they can keep them in repair, and their lifestyles resemble a cast of characters in search of a plot."

Worshiping work? Lots of us are guilty here. Too many hours beyond what is necessary or reasonable cut us off from the people in our lives. It communicates their lack of importance in relation to company, career, or money.

Working at play? Ever see somebody play golf or tennis "to relax" only to fight the course, throw her racquet, or otherwise create a greater need for something to relax him? Know anyone who built his life around sports? The relaxing and regenerative power of play gets lost in that sort of intensity.

Playing at worship? From simply being present for a worship assembly to taking time for private Bible reading and prayer, it seems all too easy to drop God in order to save time for other things. That says something about how important - or unimportant - God was from the very start, doesn't it?

If your life is a story "in search of a plot," a good strategy is to get these three elements in proper balance. Yes, you need to work. But you don't have to get so consumed with it that you neglect the significant people God has put in your life. But it will also help to remember that fatigue is not next to godliness.

That brings us to play. It really isn't necessary to be quite so competitive. Enjoy tennis or the lake without having to do something better than someone else. Maybe you should just watch a sunset, take a walk, or put your feet up and listen to a favorite piece of music - without feeling guilty for doing so.

Then, when the time for worship comes, be thankful. Thank God for allowing you to be productive without being obsessive, to take pleasure in his creation without being consumed by it. Acknowledge him as the giver of every good gift that has come your way in life.

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 NIV)

There is a time for everything, so long as everything is kept in its place.

Rubel Shelly

Visit: http://www.faithmatters.com to read more of Rubel's writing. Rubel Shelly has preached for the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ in Nashville since 1978. During that time, he has also taught at David Lipscomb University and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is the author of more than 20 books,
including several which have been translated into languages such as Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Russian.

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Creation Q & A

Q: Why do we believe dinosaurs lived with people?

A: Since the Bible is the Word of God, and since God cannot lie, then the Bible is trustworthy. That is our starting point. We are told that land animals were created on Day Six, and this would include dinosaurs. Since Day Six is also when man was created, we certainly believe dinosaurs lived at the same time as man.

How do you explain the various petroglyphs of dinosaurs found around the world? How do you explain the fact that so many dragon legends from around the world describe creatures that match what we know about dinosaurs from their fossils? How do you explain the biblical account that seems to describe something like a brachiosaurus, called behemoth in Job 40:15-24?

The easy answer is that people have lived with dinosaurs, which were often called dragons. Yet this conclusion is unthinkable for those who believe in billions of years.

Read more and watch a video clip showing the absurdity of evolutionary explanations for dragon legends.

Source: AnswersinGenesis.org

Creation News

Click on the Bible above or visit the web site listed below!

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/Creation_News

This new addition to our web site will give you an article on the leading news in the
Creation/Evolution controversy each day. This section also includes a rotating
Question and Answer feature and a weekly Creation Comic strip from the people
at AnswersInGenesis.org. Be sure to come back and visit each day for an informative
article that will help you keep up to date on the latest news in this controversial area!

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Thought For The Day

"A poor man is not the one without a cent. A poor man is the one without a dream." --Henry Ford

Verse for the Day

"The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them." --Proverbs 18:15 TLB

Kid's Thought For The Day

"Children's tea parties are more fun then grown-ups' tea parties."

Parent's Thought For The Day

"As a parent it is my job to tell my kids that they must work hard with a good attitude in everything they do... As a parent I should never expect that my kid should be handed something or just sit back and pout and expect to get the applause. If they are not getting what I think is due to them, than I think I should help them brainstorm ways to work harder at what they would like to achieve, to help them reach their full potential... or, I should make sure they are involved with things that they are truly gifted at, their "bent" in life...

If, as my kid's parent, I refuse to do this, I will be creating a future full of hurt and disappointment and a sense of "entitlement" in my kids that will cause them harm in the future, but most of all, it would also be harming the future of this great country if we continue to let our kids think they are entitled...that is why the Grandparents of today are called the "Greatest Generation"... Oh, for us to learn some lessons from them!" -- Kristi Powers

Creation/Evolution Thought For the Day

"Question is: Can you tell me anything you know about evolution, any one thing, any one thing that is true? I tried that question on the geology staff at the Field Museum of Natural History and the only answer I got was silence. I tried it on the members of the Evolutionary Morphology Seminar in the University of Chicago, a very prestigious body of evolutionists, and all I got there was silence for a long time and eventually one person said, 'I do know one thing - it ought not to be taught in high school.'" --Dr. Colin Patterson (Senior Paleontologist, British Museum of Natural History, leading cladistic taxonomist), Keynote address at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City.

Coach's Thought For The Day

"Give them the benefit of your convictions but keep your doubts to yourself for they already have enough of their own." --John Kessel

Deep Thought For The Day

If you define cowardice as running away at the first sign of danger, screaming and tripping and begging for mercy, then yes, Mr. Brave man, I guess I'm a coward.

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Inspired Audio -- Inspirational Audio Message of the Week!

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This Week: "Of You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat" by Jeff Williams

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Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business

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Dear Michael,

"I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for the beautiful video you made for me! It was so special to see both of my parents in tears as they watched their children grow up in pictures before their eyes! I loved the way you made Estania's part set aside from the rest--that was the part that really got them! The music was beautiful. My mom kept blubbering, "What song is that?" I don't know how you did such a beautiful job with the video in such a short time. I really appreciate your doing it so quickly. You have a wonderful gift, and I thank God that you are using it to create such sentimental memories. I hope that I can find my niche like that in an area that I love. Your video gave us one of our most lasting Christmas memories! I hope yours was filled with moments to be treasured forever!"

Love,
Trisha
Silverhill, AL

Let me make you a video from your photos! Check out my video production business by visiting:

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