The Key to Getting Along With Your Parents
June 27th, 2008
By Gareth Fraser
Frustrated by the generation gap? Here’s your hidden key to harmony in the home!
“Why is it so difficult to talk to my parents? Why do they make life so hard for me? They never let me have my say. How can I honor my parents when they make life so hard for me?”
Sadly, such thoughts and words are often part of many parent-teen relationships. Are they part of yours?
It doesn’t have to be this way. God didn’t design the family to be unhappy and arguing all the time. He wants your relationship with your parents to be happy and fulfilling. So, what does He expect of you?
A Big Plastic Monkey on Your Back
June 24th, 2008
By Eric Anderson
Student debt on American campuses is at an all-time high. Many financial experts and lawyers say young people in their late teens and early 20s are the fastest-growing group of bankruptcy filers, mainly because of credit-card debt.
Thirty-three million teens currently live in the U.S. In 2005, American teens spent an outstanding $159 billion on everything from movies and soda to clothes and phones.
In one survey, teens reported that they pump an individual average of $94 a week—nearly $5,000 a year—into the U.S. economy. Many of these purchases are charged on credit cards. And sadly, many students are learning the hard way about the pitfalls of using plastic.
In the past, credit card companies required parents to co-sign for students’ cards. Not today. Now students can easily get a credit card and charge items their parents wouldn’t normally give them cash for—things like alcohol, tobacco, tattoos or body piercing.
“Kids’ access to credit is way too easy,” said Paula Langguth Ryan, author of How to Bounce Back From Bankruptcy. “The credit card companies have figured out that high school seniors and college students have the most disposable income.”
Go to the Ant
June 19th, 2008
By Stephen Flurry
One of the biggest lessons we can learn with regard to our brief existence on this Earth is portrayed by one of nature’s smallest creatures—the ant. Solomon wrote, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8). Solomon was referring to the harvester ant, common in the Middle East region. These ants gather all sorts of seeds and grains and then store them for future use in organized chambers underground. Like most other species of ants, they are known for their methodical organization and diligent work ethic.
Harvester ants are also experts at time management. They work hardest during the harvest season in preparation for the winter months. They adapt to unexpected events like excessive rain. After wet weather, they lug their seeds outside to dry in the sun. And if some of their stored seeds germinate and begin growing while in storage, the ants snip off the chutes to stifle the growth. No matter what the circumstances, harvester ants work together and use their time wisely. It’s easy to see how a colony of these small insects can accomplish so much.
Earth’s Perfect Place
June 17th, 2008
Just how detailed did God get when He created Earth—what makes its design so special? Life is only possible because of the delicate balance of many factors. In fact, life could not exist on Earth if any of the following conditions existed:
Take Off the Training Wheels!
June 16th, 2008
By Sam Kitchen
“I can do this,” I told myself. I stood on a hill overlooking my house. New situations have always made me nervous, and this was no exception. I looked hesitantly over my surroundings one last time and pushed off. I had no idea what kind of trouble I was about to get into.
Learning something new can be a frightening experience, and one of the hardest things I had to learn was how to ride a bicycle. After several months of being called a “scaredy cat” by other kids, I decided that riding was something I had to learn. I had been watching other kids ride their bicycles, zooming around while I was still on my training wheels. I wanted to be like them. I knew I needed the extra exercise and I knew it would help build my physical health. What I didn’t realize was learning to ride would also come with a powerful and painful lesson.
Questions and Answers: Gossip
June 13th, 2008
Question: What’s the difference between getting advice about a problem with another person and gossip?
Perseverance!
June 10th, 2008
By Russell Williams
“Cleared for take-off,” came from the control tower. The four power levers are moved smoothly forward to reach take-off power, and the passengers sink back into their seats. The captain calls out to the co-pilot who is flying this leg from Fiji to New Zealand: “V1” [maximum abort speed], “V2” [committed to fly speed]—“Rotate!” Nearly 400 tons of technology, passengers, freight and fuel lumber into the sky, climbing to flight level three-five-zero—35,000 feet.
How exciting it was to be invited on to the flight deck of this Boeing 747/400 by an old colleague from my earlier aviation days. I was invited to stay in the jump seat throughout the entire flight.
“What a wonderful job these pilots have,” I thought. “And they get paid for it as well!”
It all looked so easy, but to fly a B747/400 takes many years of training and experience—as well as a lot of perseverance. Additionally, each crew member’s performance is checked at regular intervals both in the air and in flight simulators.
As I sat there, my mind flashed back to another flying colleague of earlier days. His name was Roger. We both instructed at the same flight training organization in the South Island of New Zealand.
Three Words You Need to Know
June 9th, 2008
By Michael Dattolo
What do you wish you could change about YOU?
I know three words that can change your life. In many ways, they have changed mine. Hard to believe? Let me explain. How many times have you set a goal to accomplish something—and then, days later, found yourself returning to your old habits again? You had good intentions—but your goal turned out to be harder than you thought, and so, maybe after a few days of working at it, you gave up.
These three words can change that.
What is it that you wish you could change? Do you want to be better at basketball? Watch less television? Be more positive? Learn to pray? Be less shy? Get in better shape?
Whatever you want to do, these three words will help. Even if your goal seems too hard, these three words can help you turn your good intentions into concrete actions.
Armstrong Anecdotes: Question Machine
June 6th, 2008
By Adar Kielczewski
“That youngin is always asking so many questions, he’s sure to be a Philadelphia lawyer when he grows up,” Mr. Armstrong’s father said of young Herbert.
Herbert W. Armstrong, even from a very young age, was hungry for knowledge. He wanted to know why things were the way they were and how things were possible and how things worked. He had an inquiring, analytical mind that craved understanding. He fervently pursued the answers to his questions and quandaries. He continued asking until he received an answer.
As little children, many of us were like that. We wanted to know why. Even when given an answer, as a little child we still asked, “Why?” Children can sometimes pester adults with a steady stream of such questions. Somewhere in the process of growing up, we often lose that inquiring mind. We start to lazily accept whatever information we come across, whether from television, movies, newspapers, and books or acquaintances … without asking why?
A Lot of Zeros
June 5th, 2008
Did you know the United States is unique to the world in what it calls its large numbers?