It seems like they are everywhere: at the grocery, in cars, at the theater, at restaurants, even on billboards! What’s the trend? Frowning! This countenance may be increasingly widespread, but it’s not a trend you want to be part of. Turn that frown upside down! 

$30,000 Smile!

By Richard Palmer (Excerpted from the Fall 2006 True Education)

Did you know that there is one little thing you can cash in right now to instantly make you more likeable, help you get on with friends and co-workers and even increase your self-motivation? Multi-millionaire steel tycoon Charles Schwab declared that the value he got for his was undoubtedly worth a million dollars.

What is the marvellous thing, you cry? Why, it’s a smile! It’s a trivial little thing, but just take a minute to look at what a smile can do for you — and what yours can do for other people. As to the $30,000, read on!

What can smiling do for you? For one, it can make you happier. Numerous researchers have proven how acting cheerful, even if you don’t feel like it, can actually elevate you to a happier and more positive frame of mind. Abraham Lincoln said, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their mind to be.” Make an effort to go around with a smile on your face, it will actually help you feel cheerful.

By smiling, you instantly make yourself more approachable. A smile exudes positive energy and radiates joy—and that joy attracts people. Just think about how you respond when you see someone radiating a big smile.

For example, imagine reading this article aloud with a frown on your face. It becomes boring, humdrum and mundane, no matter how exciting the content. Now turn that imaginary frown upside down. All of sudden, you are more dynamic and exciting.

Smiling can even help you in business. If you get on with people better and communicate with them more, you are bound to be more successful. In fact, smiling is almost essential in any business that involves people, and there are very few that don’t. This wisdom is encapsulated very well in an old Chinese proverb: “A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.”

But more importantly, smiling is also a great way to serve others. Dale Carnegie, in his book How to Win friends and Influence People, wrote, “Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says ‘I like you. You make me happy. I am glad to see you.’”

The surprising thing about a simple smile is its tangible value!

In a March 4 article published by The Scotsman, Alastair Jamieson wrote: “Receiving a smile from a friend or relative generates much higher levels of stimulation to the brain and the heart than being given money or having a cigarette, according to clinical tests.”

Researchers explained results from smiling experiments in terms we can identify with: “Participants who were shown a child’s smile experienced the same level of stimulation as they would have had from eating 2,000 chocolate bars or receiving £16,000 [$30,000] in cash. … [T]he smile of … a loved one was worth about 600 chocolate treats or £8,500 [$16,000]. The smile of a friend was worth £145 [$275] of feel good, or about 200 bars of chocolate.”

That makes smiling a fantastic way of giving! Just one smile can make a person’s day—and it’s a whole lot less fattening than all that chocolate!

So smile as much as possible, not only with friends and family, but also at school, at work and even when you’re on your own. Even when your smile can’t actually be seen, for example when talking on the telephone, it will creep into your voice, and you will come across more positive.

Smiling really doesn’t take much effort, but what a great impact it can have on your life and all of those you meet!

So, if you don’t have $30,000 to give away, give a smile instead!

Winston Churchill said, “the history of man is war.” Considering the past and looking at the present, this statement stands true. Where does all that conflict come from? Us! Maybe you’ve never fought a war, but the same human nature that causes war strives inside of us: sibling rivalry, best friend brawls, gossip, neighbor feuds, road rage, squabbles among strangers, and the list goes on. It’s not easy, but we have to confront confrontation on the “battlefield.”

Confronting Confrontation

By Olivia Vejil (Excerpted from the Winter 2006 True Education)

They were hideous. Something had to be done. I wondered whether or not her parents really cared about her, sending her to school in atrocious white pants covered with pink and green flowers. Those pants were, frankly, more than I could bear. Somebody had to tell her about the tragedy that covered the lower half of her body. After surveying the candidates, I elected myself as spokesperson.

At that moment, an ordinary day in 4th grade turned into a “I-should-never-have-said-that” kind of day. Little did I know I had set in motion events that would teach me a very important lesson about confrontation.

As she walked by my desk, I let her know—in front of all of her other friends—precisely what I thought of those pants. About six years seemed to pass between my last derogatory word about her fashion sense and her response. During that time, I had plenty of opportunity to size her up. This was no ordinary 4th-grade-sized girl I had chosen to rile. She was about two feet taller than me and had a lot more body weight than I did—everyone does. She was the type that no one messed with; she was definitely the type that you did not want to have threaten to beat you up at lunch. “I’m going to beat you up at lunch,” she said.

Well, that was just grand. She returned to her seat and I began making my last will and testament. I learned the first lesson about confrontation the hard way. If you want to avoid confrontation, don’t be the one starting it. “I can’t believe I just did that,” I thought to myself. What the teacher was speaking about, I can’t remember. I do remember thinking about what asphalt might taste like. There was no way I was going to be able to do anything to this Goliathess of a classmate, so I sat and waited for my doom. I kept looking at the clock and hoping that maybe it would go back an hour, but it didn’t; it kept ticking nearer to lunch time.

Since we lived on a small military base, I could walk home during the lunch hour. Not surprisingly, I felt a strong need to go home during lunch that day. I didn’t feel like eating. I didn’t feel like doing much of anything. That lunch hour seemed like the shortest hour of my life.

As I started on my walk back to school, I thought of what I was going to do. The only thing I could think of was to pray to God for help. I prayed for a way to escape from this trial. As I neared the school playground, I could see a group of people gathered near the basketball court fence. She stood in the center of the group, waiting for me. My heart skipped a beat with each step. When I got closer, the kids stopped talking and stared like the bloodthirsty crowd they were.

This was it; the end of my life. This huge confrontation was about a pair of pants. I took one last sweet breath before she pushed me against the fence. It hurt. I bounced off the chain-link toward her and the crowd, but managed to catch myself before I was back within pushing range. I took another shaky breath.

“Look, let’s just talk about this. Tell me why you are upset.” She stared at me but calmed down almost instantly. She said, “I didn’t like the way you made fun of my pants—don’t ever do that again.”

I said, “Okay—sorry,” and split the crowd open as I walked away.

As I walked toward the building, my back still hurt a little, but she didn’t follow. Everyone returned back to playing basketball, and she went back to doing whatever it was she was doing. I felt a thousand times better, now that it was over. At the end of the day, she and I were able to say goodbye. It seemed we gained respect for one another that day.

Looking back on that day, I know that God helped in that situation, and He taught me some very important lessons in overcoming tough confrontation. I learned to be careful about the things I say to others, especially if it will offend them. Some things are better never said. I also learned to go to God for the answer and help in taking the best route to handle confrontation. I learned that it is better to talk with the other person than to get hit. Chances are, they are willing to talk and express themselves, as well. Lastly, I learned to move on from the confrontation and not hold grudges. At the end of the day, the girl and I were able to say goodbye as if nothing happened that day. But something had—I had learned an important lesson.

Flying fish live in all oceans, and are most known for their pectoral fins, which are unusually large, and allow the fish to escape from predators by leaping out of the water and flying through air a few feet above the water’s surface. They can fly up to 120 feet!

The flying fish does this by first moving its tail; it moves its tail up to 70 times per second. Then it spreads its pectoral fins and tilts them upward to provide lift.
When finished gliding, it folds its pectoral fins and reenters the sea, or drops its tail in the water to push against the water and lift itself for another flight, sometimes changing directions.

Whoa—someone isn’t paying attention in class! If this guy caught you on lunch break and asked you a few questions, how do you think you’d do? You might know how many states there are, but how far would you get beyond that? The National History Coalition says that even if you’re doing okay in history class, that’s nothing to gloat about. “They’ve narrowed the curriculum to teach to the test. History has been de-emphasized.” How much do you know about current history? This article will show you history, current events and prophecy, and how they’re all connected. And a lot more interesting—and important—than you (or the teens in this video) may think!

So! What’s News?

By Ron Fraser (Excerpted from the Spring 2005 True Education)

“So! What’s news man?” That was a stock standard welcome among friends in my day. But, now, being a grandfather and watching my elder grandsons reaching toward adulthood as their teen years speed by, I can’t help but notice a particular difference between them and their peers in the surrounding society. My grandsons have a real interest in world news. That’s pretty unusual in their age group, which generally tends to be plugged into the latest electronic game and typically be video’d, stereo’d, DVDd, mp3’d, www’d and e-mailed to the saturation point!

With constant electronic vibrations numbing so many young minds, there’s hardly room for any real world news of real importance to sneak through and penetrate the brain of the average teen. And why would anyone want to know anyhow? Instead of “So! What’s news man?” today it’s more likely to be “News? So what, man!”

But, why is it that my grandchildren are growing up differently in their outlook on the world than the average teen? It’s simply a question of a way of living. Their parents have deliberately chosen a way of life that is the most stimulating and exciting on the planet! Their children see and experience their parents’ excitement, and they really want to be part of the action! Believe it or not, it’s a way of life that keeps them truly “switched on”—on the edge of their seats! No time to be bored!

How come?

These young folk actually have had the precious privilege of being taught all their lives what to expect will happen on the world scene. To expect the news that will affect their lives before it happens! Having been taught that at a very young age, they are now living through daily, weekly, monthly and yearly events; seeing them all come about, exactly as their parents taught them they would!

Now that’s a thought-provoking approach to world news! Wouldn’t you like to do that? Wouldn’t you like to be able to know what the future holds for this world, and to actually live through and even contribute to it actually happening? Well, you can!

The knowledge my grandchildren were taught about the future is not unique to their parents! Hundreds of youth, worldwide, have been taught this vital knowledge predicting the future, and thrill to actually see it all coming about! They have a real feeling of security in this knowledge. They actually know the full extent of their incredible human potential! They know why they live. They actually have a wonderful goal in sight, which, each day of their lives, they are advancing steadily toward attaining.

Perhaps we can pique your interest, tempt you to at least investigate what this intriguing, challenging, satisfying and fulfilling way of life involves.

But first, a word of warning! Prove it!

If you really want to understand just what is happening in this crazy world and where it is all leading, if you really want to prove it and see the real news behind the daily news that our media serves up to a gullible audience—if you really want to be able to predict the future—you will need to do something quite different from the normal way of looking at news. You need to free your mind of all prejudice, all bias, all preconceived ideas, and be willing to meet a real challenge! A challenge given to you by the One who claims to have inspired the words contained in your Bible, saying “… I am God, and there is none else …. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand ….” (Isaiah 46:9-10). And here is the challenge of that God to you: “Set forth your case, says the Lord; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob (Isaiah 41:21-24, Revised Standard Version).

Do you think you know better than the Author of the Bible? Then prove it! Predict, accurately, in detail what is going to happen on the world scene this year—in advance! Predict accurately and in detail what is going to befall this nation or that, or your own home country, over the next few years! Could you do that confidently, faultlessly, without error, even to the very year, month or day? It’s ridiculous to even contemplate. The very best news analysts try—but, inevitably, get it wrong most of the time!

Yet, the One who authored your Bible actually predicted world events that are beginning to affect your life. Thousands of years ago, through His prophets, He even named, precisely, the very nations involved in the unfolding events that are actually happening on the world scene today.

The clearly documented record of history, in so many cases, is a record of events that actually happened—in some instances hundreds, and in other cases thousands—of years after they were prophesied as future occurrences in the writings of the prophets of old. Are you ready to accept the challenge to prove God; to prove His Word? All we can do in this short article is whet your appetite for more detailed research. Let us take just one example, an instance where the Bible’s Author took some nations, thousands of years ago, and predicted what would be happening to them today. We will choose just two nations—the United States, the greatest single nation in the world, and Britain, which once headed the greatest empire in the world—to show you how their future was predicted 3,500 years ago!

Identity of Nations

Perhaps you did not know that the mighty U.S. and its brother nation, Britain, are mentioned in your Bible. One of the vital keys to understanding Bible prophecy is to understand the biblical names given to today’s modern nations. In Deuteronomy 27, after leading the Israelites out of Egypt, “Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day” (verse 1). In chapter 28, the Bible’s Author details the blessings that were promised to Israel if its people would obey their God. But that chapter also reveals the curses that would be brought to bear on Israel if the people refused to obey their God. One of those curses relates to a foreign nation attacking Israel and besieging it “in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee” (verses 49-52).

Does this refer to the tiny nation called Israel located in the Middle East today? Actually, it has a far wider application when you understand the true identity of modern-day Israel! Students of the Bible understand that the Jewish nation is, in fact, descended from just one tribe of Israel, the tribe of Judah.

If you study the Bible references to Israel, you will come to understand that it comprised 12 tribes which grew, over time, into 12 separate nations, each of which can be identified by its modern name today. It would take a book to present the proof of these nations’ identities … and we have such a book! Write for a free copy of The United States and Britain in Prophecy and prove this for yourself.

A study of the biblical account of the nations of Israel will lead you to understand that one tribe, that of Joseph, was to separate into two, and become two related, yet separate nations, identified by their patriarchs’ names, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were sons of Joseph (Genesis 48). Believe it or not, further study will prove to you that modern Ephraim is the nation of Britain and Manasseh is, today, the United States of America! Verse 16 of Genesis 48 shows that the name Israel was given specifically to these two! Believe it or not, they, together with the other English-speaking nations (such as Australia, South Africa, Israel, Ireland, and several others), are the descendants of the patriarch Abraham. Joseph’s father, Jacob, was Abraham’s grandson.

Blessings of Abraham

Now Abraham, for his willingness to obey God faithfully, had some very special blessings bestowed upon him, which were inherited by the nations that descended from him. You will read in Genesis 22:17 that God promised Abraham, “… I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.”

So, take a look at a map of the world. Look at the narrow seaways that give entry to and from the world’s major oceans and seas to the continental land masses. They are traditionally called sea gates (the Panama and Suez canals or the Strait of Hormuz, for example). The major shipping routes around the world are called sea lanes (including shipping routes through the Philippines and Indonesia and around South America and Africa). Now, stop and think. Most of the world’s trade is conducted by sea. All of the major sea lanes channel toward the sea gates of the world that provide entry to and exit from various countries to deliver and collect the goods that maintain this world’s economy.

Would it not give tremendous power to a nation if it could possess and control all the major sea gates of the world? Well, that is exactly what God promised to Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 24:60) over 3,000 years ago, and that’s exactly what Britain and the United States inherited about 200 years ago! It’s the major reason why the English-speaking peoples have enjoyed so much freedom over the past two centuries, why they’ve gained so much wealth, and why these countries have been a haven for suppressed peoples all over the world as they have migrated by the tens of thousands to the lands of the English-speaking peoples.

Open … Closed!

Take another look at the world map. Every major sea gate on it was possessed either by Great Britain or the U.S. for over 200 years. But, commencing in the period between the two great world wars, these nations progressively lost their great sea gates to the point where every one of them is now controlled to a greater or lesser extent by a nation that is a declared enemy of the U.S.—China!

So what happened? Had you studied Bible prophecy for the days that we are living through right now, you would have known that the God of Israel (the English-speaking peoples) declared, when He reiterated those great promises of wonderful blessings for Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s descendants, what would happen to them if they refused to honor Him and disobeyed Him! He would take away those blessings, including the great strategic blessings that kept their enemies at a distance—the sea gates of the world—and He would permit the modern nations of Israel to be literally besieged, locked out from life-sustaining trade!

Read that prophecy again in Deuteronomy 28:49-55. There’s no way that prediction could have been fulfilled while the U.S. and Britain possessed the sea gates of the world! But, beginning just over 70 years ago—mostly only over the past 50—these nations have literally given away their greatest strategic asset! That’s like handing an enemy a key to your front door! That’s how vulnerable to attack and siege the U.S., Britain and the nations largely populated by British peoples (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) have become!

Prophetic Twist

But do you know something else? It won’t be China, in possession of most of the world’s major sea gates at present, that besieges these nations in fulfillment of this Bible prophecy. It will be an altogether different group of nations, under one powerful leader. You can actually watch this whole scenario play out on your nightly news if you have proven the biblical identity of today’s modern nations and studied and proven the living prophecies of God for these times that your generation is living through!

Time to Hit the Books!

Have we piqued your appetite for more? Would you really like to be living the most exciting of lives, knowing what is going to happen on the world scene tomorrow, next week, next month and in the next few years ahead—knowing where today’s trends are really leading? If so, contact us immediately for a free subscription to the Philadelphia Trumpet newsmagazine. This monthly magazine will start you out on an exciting, stimulating, fulfilling study of the world around you, and prepare you for a rewarding future!

As a youth time seems to move slowly. It seems we’re always looking forward to the next stage in life: If only I was 16 and could drive; I can’t wait until I’m out of high school! We tend to think of the things we can do when we’re older and the things we can’t do because we’re too young. Rather than wait for the Earth orbiting the sun to stir you to action, you need to know you can do something worthwhile—no matter how old you are.

A Teenage Dream That Stirred a Nation

By K. Neil Earle (Excerpted from Youth 83, May)

March 1977. The cancer wing of the Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster, B.C., Canada. Terrance Stanley Fox, 18, is stirred by a compelling idea.

Ever since the operation that removed his right leg above the knee on March 8, Terry Fox knows his high hopes to play basketball for Simon Fraser University are shattered.

Now a far grander dream is forming in his sober, determined mind. A magazine article on Dick Traum, a one-legged New Englander who ran the New York marathon, perked his interest. “I can do that too,” Terry tells a visitor.

Painful chemotherapy and the agonized moans of fellow cancer patients harden his resolve. The 18-year-old, stamped with the clean, trim features and the bulldog determination of his father, pens a letter to the Canadian Cancer Society. “Somewhere the hurting must stop,” he writes.

The letter outlines an awesome proposal: to jog on an artificial leg across the entire 5,300-mile span of Canada in a spectacular bid to dramatize the plight of the handicapped and to raise money for research.

The Society is not impressed; his friends are mildly skeptical at the handicapped teenager’s grand scheme. So it would be up to Terry Fox to show it could be done. His parents support him. His basketball coach as well. He’d already had to eat his words when he told Terry years before that he was too short to play basketball.

The single-minded determination that propelled Terry to “Athlete of the Year” honors at Port Coquitlam High School energize his training. First he reinvents running: two hops on the left leg, one painful skip on his artificial limb. Over and over and over again.

February 1979. Half-mile daily runs begin. They seem an agony, but eight months later he is covering 13 and a half miles a day. His family—with little financial help coming from anywhere else—raises $3,000 in dances and garage sales. Slowly the trickle turns into a small stream of support from local businesses. After this tiny start, the Canadian Cancer Society belatedly pledges its support.

April 12, 1980. Terry Fox and a high school chum are in Newfoundland, Canada’s eastern-most province. He dips his artificial limb in the gray water of the St. John’s harbor. Vancouver, B.C., is 5,300 miles and six months away. The Marathon of Hope begins.

What would you have given for his chances? The solitary jogger was beginning with only $400 worth of pledges but had delirious hopes of raising $100,000.

For weeks he was only a minor celebrity. Even though he covered 28 to 30 miles a day through Nova Scotia, while the stump of his leg bled and blistered painfully, it wasn’t until he loped into Grand Falls, N.B., that he saw his first big crowd.

After this came sheer downhill disappointment. One police department called him a traffic hazard. Bleak. Depressing. Disheartening. Mental toughness counted now.  Intensity and sheer sincerity of purpose helped spur him along the St. Lawrence River section of the run.

Finally, outside La Chute, Quebec—after the usual daily marathon—a radio station from Seattle, Washington, interviewed him for an open-line show. Momentum began to build.

Slowly but surely, Canadians settling comfortably into their armchairs to watch the nightly news heard more and more about the solitary jogger, silhouetted against the immense wilderness.

Yet even in Ottawa, Ontario, the national capital, a meeting with the prime minister who’d been poorly briefed was disappointing. “It wasn’t what I hoped it would be,” Terry commented charitably, “but he’s a really nice man, and it was great meeting him.”

By now Terry’s own determination and intensity had hardened into granite as hard as the Canadian Shield he was entering. On he pegged, into the heartland of Canada. Sores and cysts still formed; the stump pounded painfully, but Terry refused to see a doctor. He knew he would be told to quit. No such option existed in the mind of this incredible young Canadian.

July 11, 1980. The turning point! Toronto, Ontario, one of Canada’s major cities, took him to her heart. About 10,000 people jammed Nathan Phillips Square to see him jog painfully in the stifling heat and to hear his compelling message, his crusade for funds for charity. “I’m not going to make a cent out of this, not now and not ever.”

That did it! The single-minded figure perched on the artificial leg, chest emblazoned with the Marathon of Hope T-shirt, penetrated the national consciousness like no one else in Canada’s recent history. By the time Terry Fox hop-skipped out of Toronto he was a folk hero. Canadians from coast to coast gasped at his sheer, naked grit.

Even those who doubted the value of his quest had to admit that the shy young man with the distinctive gait was something special. Crowds flocked to him now. Motorcycle toughs and jaded truckers stopped to contribute. Amputees and handicapped individuals proudly jogged beside him, no longer ashamed of their awkward mechanical limbs.

Even more, millions were elated at the thought that Terry Fox had proved he could complete his run. He was going to do it! An entire nation formed a cheering squad, watched for him intently on the nationally televised news. The intense, determined lad hop-skipping painfully into the Canadian Shield and inspired millions: the severely handicapped, the deathly ill, and the out-of-shape. His name was a household word when the climax came on September 2, 1980.

After entering a hospital in Thunder Bay, Ontario for a supposed chest cold, Terry announced to a stunned nation the awful verdict” Cancer was spreading into his lungs. A month past the halfway mark—3,336 miles out of St. John’s—Terry Fox’s personal marathon was over.

Yet the legend of Terry Fox was just beginning! The national media sponsored a mammoth telethon. $23 million poured in. Terry was awarded the Order of Canada, the country’s highest award for service; Canadian Press named him Canadian of the Year, the first nonpolitician since 1965; the United Nations featured him in a documentary on the International Year of Disabled People.

Terry Fox was now a national treasure. As his health worsened in the spring of 1981, reports of his condition counterpointed the nation’s usual summer buoyancy.

It was as if sensitive Canadians could feel a little of their collective folk history slipping from them.

When the end came, on June 28, 1981, flags hung limply at half-mast across a stricken Canada. A weeping prime minister lamented the passing of an unusual 22-year-old whose drive, self-sacrifice and sheer human decency propelled him into “the exceedingly thin ranks of the truly heroic.” Terry Fox was gone, but his name would inspire his country for years to come.

What made Terry Fox a hero? He practiced most of the laws that lead to success. (These laws are explained in our booklet, The Seven Laws of Success. Send for a free copy.)

Lorne Davies, Athletic Director of Simon Fraser University, knew Terry Fox well. He was one of the special friends invited to Terry’s funeral. His firsthand appraisal is interesting: “Attitude was the key,” says Mr. Davies, “He was in excellent spirits whenever I visited him.”

Terry’s basically serious and single-minded approach to life was evident from the fact that, soon after his leg amputation, Mr. Davies visited Terry and found him sitting up in bed, studying. Even the Bible. “He was very serious about his studies!”

Perhaps the real lesson of Terry Fox’s example is this: You’re never too young to set out and accomplish a selfless cause. Terry’s spirit was stirred by the sights he saw in the hospitals, the youths suffering from pain, the children who didn’t come back after operations. This helped galvanize his will to make an individual stand, a gallant gesture to rally people in the teeth of seemingly hopeless odds.

He didn’t dream he would write a shining page of heroism in his country’s history. Few real heroes ever do. Yet no one dramatized the unfortunate plight of people ravaged by disease more than Terry Fox. He proved that, in this age of bureaucracy and bewildering complexity, individual efforts still count. Teenage efforts count!

Terry Fox’s life proves that the sincere pursuit of youthful goals can stir a nation. For as a U.S. President once wrote: “One man with courage makes a majority!”

Remember Terry Fox. You’re never too young to stand up and be counted! Don’t join those who use the excuse: “I’m too young to make some serious decisions. I’ll have my fun now and think seriously about life later.”

Sooner or later you’ll have to stand up for your principles, the principles of God’s way of life. When that time comes, remember that lonely, selfless stands taken by determined people make up the essence of heroism.

Life daily gives us opportunities to display courage. No television cameras may be there to record it. No government official may give you a medal for valor. Yet we all face stress and temptation. Remember at that time: You are being evaluated for a higher award than the Order of Canada. God has fantastic opportunities in store for you if you stick with His way (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Maybe the quiet, solitary courage of someone like Terry Fox can help us steel our will and stiffen our resolve.

God wants you to succeed—He  will give you the help you  need. Remember Terry Fox’s youthful courage lighting up an entire nation. Dream your noble dreams, aim high and persevere. You can make a difference. One man with courage makes a majority.

With spring come new things. New buds on trees, new colors in the landscape, new life. In celebration of the new season, why not try a new thing? Or perhaps try to have a new perspective towards something you already do—but perhaps wish you didn’t. Sometimes all we need is a new outlook.

The Beast

By Adar Nice (Excerpted from the Spring 2006 True Education)

Sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, stomach in knots and electrocuting nerves. I walk up to the beast. Its ominous mouth is stretched wide open, taunting me to come closer. Its gleaming black surface shines in dark defiance, and its legs, rigid as stone, holds its stance. I sit down next to its looming presence and hear the dreaded words from off to the side, “E flat.”

The beast is a 9-foot Steinway piano at my college. The “E flat” order is from a judge requesting that I play a specific scale for my piano jury. Juries are final exams for music class in which I’m graded on what I’ve had learned during advanced piano instruction. In this jury, I’m required to perform a technical demonstration, proper technique, memorization, dynamic control, phrasing as well as other elements of performing— all this graded by a three-person panel of judges. It’s the climax of my piano lessons every semester.

Needless to say, this is a highly stressful situation, and it’s not easy, but these lessons have revealed a lot to me. Taking piano instruction has helped me evaluate my character and has shown me what I can change about it.

Tame Impatience

I’ve discovered I am not very patient. When my teacher gives me a new piece, I want to learn it immediately and play it perfectly within a couple of tries. When I’m learning a new technique, I hate that it takes me weeks to start conquering it. I get frustrated when I view a piece of music and I’m not yet at the skill level required to play it. But by taking lessons, I am learning to develop patience, because it is impossible to achieve all of my music goals immediately.

What “beast” is helping you develop patience? Is it baseball, where you can’t hit the grand slam right away? Is it art, when you can’t draw the perfect picture?

Slay Fear

I never have a problem playing for myself in a room alone, but when it comes to performing in front of people, all sorts of doubts enter my mind. Will they like it? Can they play this? If so, what are they thinking of how I’m playing it? Do they hear all the mistakes I’m making? When all these insecurities distract me, a snowball effect starts. The more mistakes I make, the more distracted I become.

Of course, this is just vanity. It’s being too worried about your image and not as willing to share what you have to give. I have learned through piano lessons to focus on what I have to offer and to think how much I want to share the talent I’ve been given.

What “beast” helps you to slay fear or overcome vanity? Is it singing at the concert or playing guitar for a group of friends? Is it trying a new sport?

Discipline

Many times, I don’t want to practice. I don’t want to work on scales 50 more times. I don’t want to drill those three measures into my head, or I don’t particularly like the piece I’ve been assigned to learn. These are just excuses for not having self-discipline. I’ve learned the more I submit to what my teacher is instructing and the more I listen to him and trust his method, the greater the results. If I put the time into it by practicing, I start playing better. When I put more effort into working on the problem instead of creating excuses, I’m actually happier because the problem shrinks.

What “beast” is helping you to develop self-discipline? Is it that job you don’t always like going to, but it gets you up in the morning? Maybe it’s the daily practices for a sport.

Triumph

I’ve debated quitting piano lessons many times, but I’ve also learned it helps me conquer other challenges in my life. Instead of becoming impatient, I’ve spent more time and effort working at the problem. I’ve learned that when I love what I’m playing and when I actively want to share a piece of music, I don’t fear the crowd or the critics as much. I’ve developed more self-discipline by taking one day at a time, every day, and working on whatever area needs help.

The Beast and I have come to terms. I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for those who can tame him, and he helps me develop character. Perhaps you have something in your life that looms over you like a beast, and you’ve wanted to quit. It could be music lessons, a sport, a hobby, a class or a project. Whatever it is, think of the positive yield from it. Realize the beast you wrestle with is producing fruits and character in you.

Face down your beast. It won’t be easy at first. It will take work. You might be looking at a gaping mouth full of teeth, but you can get through it. I challenge you to face your beast; they can really be quite agreeable.

Do You Have a Voluminous Vocabulary?

By Mark Jenkins (Excerpted from the Spring 2002 True Education)

Developing your vocabulary will help ensure your success. So, how can you develop a stronger, more varied, more powerful vocabulary?

Choose the Right Words

In his Autobiography, Herbert Armstrong said he once sought to acquire a huge vocabulary: “To be able to pour out a torrent of big words incomprehensible to any but the highly educated had appealed to intellectual vanity.”

His boss and mentor set him on the right path with the following admonition: “When 98 percent of the people do not understand your words, they do not receive your message. They only become confused and turn to something interesting. In advertising we must reach the 98 percent—not the 2 percent.”

The key is not how many syllables you can pack into a sentence; it is whether you can get your ideas across to others.

You already know a lot more words than you may realize. You have three different vocabularies: reading, writing and speaking. Your reading vocabulary is by far the largest of the three, while your speaking is the least developed. According to Dr. Mario Pei in The Story of Language, the average person uses only 1,000 to 1,200 workable words in his lifetime! But that figure doesn’t represent total vocabulary. Dr. Pei speculates the average person’s reading comprehension may be 10 times greater than his spoken vocabulary. Your goal should be to close that gap—speaking more of those expressive, exciting words that you already know and that everyone understands.

Read

Reading is the most important way to improve your communication skills. (It is also one of the best forms of entertainment.) The more you read, the more you will come into contact with the words that build a dynamic vocabulary.

But realize: The quality of the vocabulary you develop is directly related to the quality of what you read. You can read books about anything you can imagine—choose wisely.

Write

Writing is another important way to develop your vocabulary. Try something simple, like keeping a diary or journal of your day’s events. Make the words that you read a part of your writing vocabulary. No matter what you end up doing in life, developing your vocabulary skills through writing will prove invaluable.

Writing enables you to choose your words carefully. Unlike speaking, you can take the time to ensure every word has exactly the right meaning—that your ideas are vividly expressed.

Speak

Most people you come into contact with won’t see the words you write. Literally no one will hear the words you read. Everyone will hear what you say, and most will judge you based on the words you use. Your speaking vocabulary is the most important of all.

The only way to transfer your vocabulary from writing to speaking is through practice. But if you work at it—and have fun with it—you’ll develop a vocabulary filled with rich, vivid words, and you’ll set yourself up for success!

What I Never Knew About Dad

(Excerpted from the June-July issue of Youth 84)

“Dad, what’s this picture of?” I asked as I handed over a small black and-white snapshot. “Oh, that’s the first American military cemetery dug in France during World War II. I helped dig that with a bulldozer a few days after D-Day in June, 1944.”

He did? I’d never heard about that before, I thought, as I placed the wrinkled old photo back in the shoe box that contained dozens of old family pictures. Since boyhood, I had looked at that picture many times and had not known what it was. I had not asked.

That night, as my dad and I talked in to the late hours, I learned more about his experiences in the war. He also reflected on the 23 years he spent owning a small business, and the people he came to know during that time. He talked of his business decisions—some good, some bad. He talked about friendships that outlasted the business and are still strong today. He talked and I listened. Slowly my mental image of my father came into sharper focus.

After all those years, I was learning things about him that I had not known. I went to bed that evening with a new appreciation and respect for my father.

Discovering Your Parents

How well do you know your parents? Are there experiences from their lives that you don’t know about because you haven’t asked? The time to begin talking and learning from your parents is now. Communication with your parents can be a tremendous source of wisdom and guidance. Listening to and learning from them can give you a solid foundation to build a happy and successful future.

King Solomon, in the book of Proverbs, shows the benefits of talking to parents and following their instructions. Notice what he repeatedly says in the early chapters as he lays a foundation for the rest of his teachings. “My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you” (Proverbs 3:1-2).

A Wealth of Benefits

Solomon goes on to point out many more benefits: favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man (verse 4), health (verse 8), plenty (verse 10), riches and honor (verse 16). Solomon wrote these words from a wealth of personal experience. His own father, King David, had said the same. As David lay dying, he summoned the heir apparent to his bedside for some final instruction. After years of preparation, Solomon was about to inherit the throne of Israel.

His father admonished him to “keep the charge o the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn” (1 Kings 2:3). When he was young, Solomon followed his father’s advice and began the most prosperous reign in Israel’s history. For 40 years Israel was at peace with its neighbors and the people experienced the highest standard of living of the day. During his reign the country was able to support the building of the world’s most fabulous building—the Temple of God at Jerusalem.

Solomon also sought guidance from his spiritual father—God. God gave him the wisdom that made him a leader among world rulers. Kings, queens and other government leaders traveled to Jerusalem to hear his wise words (1 Kings 4:34).

While Solomon followed the advice of his father, David, he and his countrymen prospered and enjoyed the favor of God. That part of his reign is an example of the Fifth Commandment, which tells us: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 5:16).

Many o you reading this may feel your parents can’t relate to your friends and that they don’t understand the things that are important to you. You’re not the first ones to think that way. Youth 84 editor-in-chief Herbert W. Armstrong tells in his autobiography how he looked at his father the same way.

Knowing More Than Dad

Mr. Armstrong relates how, at age 20, he felt he knew far more than his father. He even felt sorry about his father’s lack of knowledge. This was at the time Mr. Armstrong left home to begin his own business career. After 12 years. Mr. Armstrong was reunited with his parents.

“I was simply amazed at how much my father had learned in those 12 years. It seems most young men know more than Dad, but they grow out of it later, I could see, now, that he knew more than I! Now I had to look up to my father with respect!” He continues, “How many young men, getting to ‘know it all’ from age 16 to 20, have to wait until in their middle 30s to learn how much they ought to respect their fathers!”

Why should it take that long to learn the value of counseling with our parents about the things that are really important to us?

Stop and consider that your parents have been through many of the same experiences as you while growing up. They also had friendships that produced peer pressure. They too faced difficult decision and suffered through embarrassing moments. The lessons they have learned by dealing with people can be a deep well of knowledge for you to draw from.

What about job experience? How did your father decide what he wanted to do for a living? As you think about your choice of a career, the guidance and advice of your parents could save you a frustrating trip into a dead-end job that provides you little fulfillment. Are you looking for that first job? Ask your parents what they did on their first job. How much did they earn? You’ll probably find the pay scale to be quite a bit higher today.

Love and Marriage

How did your parents meet each other? When they married, what did they expect from each other? What have they learned from their years of marriage? Your parents could provide some of the best marriage counseling available. Their advice can be tailored exactly to your needs. After all, who else better understands your character and personality than those who have raised you?

Sit down and talk to your parents. Find out about their high school days—what did they do on their first date? Don’t be surprised if you find some of their feelings and embarrassing situations are similar to yours. Before another year passes, decide you’re going to get better acquainted with your parents. Before you leave home, seek their advice and counsel on the important things in your life. And before you make an unnecessary mistake, listen to their experience.

You, too, may discover some things you never knew about your parents!

Hello! We’re going start a monthly contest here at TE. The first contest is simple. All you have to do is tweet @True_Education or retweet @True_Education for a chance to win a t-shirt. You can tweet your favorite post, or let us know what kind of things you’d like to see on the TE. The winner gets an “as seen on TE” t-shirt. The winner will be announced on April 25^th. Let’s start off True Education’s contest series right.