THE ONE YEAR ILLUSTRATIONS CLUB

 In order to uncover the processes that destroys marriages & relationships, marital researchers studied couples, over the course of years, and even decades, and retrace the star-crossed steps of those who have split up back to their wedding day. What they are discovering is unsettling. None of the factors one would guess might predict a couple's durability actually does: • It has nothing to do with how in love a newlywed couple say they are. • Has nothing to do with how much affection they exchange; • or how much they fight or what they fight about. When psychologists Cliff Notarius and Howard Markman of the University of Denver studied newlyweds over the first decade of marriage, they found a very subtle but telling difference at the beginning of the relationships. Among couples who would ultimately stay together, only 5 out of every 100 comments made about each other were putdowns. Among couples who would later split, 10 of every 100 comments were insults. Twice the amount. T...

 There's a story about a kindergarten teacher who asked little Jonnie what he was going to draw for his art project, he said, “I hate drawing, I’m not at drawing, why can’t I do something else?” The kindergarten teacher quickly responded and let the boy know who was in charge. She said, “listen here young man, you are going to pick a subject, you are going to write about your subject and then you are going to draw a picture to go along with your subject and you are not leaving until you do this assignment, you understand me!? “Yes", little Jonnie replied. Johnnie wrote briefly, put his pencil down and began to look around as if he was done. The teacher noticing Johnnie was still not writing while the other students where still drawing, asked him, "Jonnie, what did I tell you?" Jonnie replied, “I know, I did , I’m done already." “Really”, replied his teacher, let me see, what you have. She picked up the paper. “My subject that I want to write and draw about, is G...

  PARIS ,  France  -- An elderly man who was declared dead only to be found to be alive after his body had been sent to the mortuary, has died -- again. The unnamed 68-year-old Frenchman was mistakenly declared dead last week at a rest home near the southwest city of  Bordeaux . A doctor called to the home issued a death certificate and the 'body' was then sent to a funeral parlour in nearby  Macau , where it was refrigerated for five hours. An employee at the funeral parlor was preparing the body for burial when he discovered signs of life. "When I ... opened the cover, I saw that his stomach was moving," said Laurent Besson on France-2 television. "I don't deny that I jumped." The elderly man was transferred to the  Bordeaux   University   Hospital  and placed in intensive care. This elderly man is not the only to be buried by people and pronounced dead, when in fact He is "alive and well". Many want to declare that God is dead, but He is s...

 John Edwards found an enthusiastic following for his 2008 presidential bid, espousing a populist call for economic justice and the restoration of “ America ’s moral leadership.” To loyalists, it was more than political angle; Edwards campaigned at great personal sacrifice, traveling the country while his wife battled cancer. But scoops by a supermarket tabloid contrasted his high-mind rhetoric with base private behavior, the National Enquirer reported Edwards was having an affair with Rielle Hunter, (while his wife was struggling with cancer). Rielle Hunter was a former campaign worker, who was then pregnant. Sources told us Edwards was the father of the baby. Confronted with the report, Edwards lied, emphatically. He called the story “lies” and “tabloid trash.” He then engineered a cover-up, convincing an aide to publicly claim paternity of the baby. Six months later, the~Enquirer~caught Edwards in a Los Angeles area hotel visiting Hunter and the baby. Up to that point, political...

 The year was 1920. The scene was the examining board for selecting missionaries. Standing before the board was a young man named Oswald Smith. One dream dominated his heart. He wanted to be a missionary. Over and over again, he prayed, "Lord, I want to go as a missionary for you. Open a door of service for me." Now, at last, his prayer would be answered. When the examination was over, the board turned Oswald Smith down. He did not meet their qualifications. He failed the test. Oswald Smith had set his direction, but now life gave him a detour. What would he do? As Oswald Smith prayed, God planted another idea in his heart. If he could not go as a missionary, he would build a church which could send out missionaries. And that is what he did. Oswald Smith pastored The People's Church in Toronto, Canada, which sent out more missionaries than any other church at that time. Oswald Smith brought God into the situation, and God transformed his detour into a main thoroughfare of...

 David McCullough in his book Mornings on Horseback tells this story about young Teddy Roosevelt: "Mittie (his mother) had found he was so afraid of the Madison Square Church that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called the 'zeal.' It was crouched in the dark corners of the church ready to jump at him, he said. When she asked what a zeal might be, he said he was not sure, but thought it was probably a large animal like an alligator or a dragon. He had heard the minister read about if from the Bible. Using a concordance, she read him every passage she could find containing the word ZEAL, until suddenly, very excited, Teddy Roosevelt said, wait, stop, that’s the one, that’s the one! It was a verse from the Book of John, 2:17: 'And his disciples remembered that it was written, 'The ZEAL of thine house has eaten me up"'

 I was thinking of this the past few days and especially during the Christmas holidays, my family and I spent the whole day together! I mean from early morning to late at night.    A husband, a wife, a son and daughter. A united family, is a powerful thing. People have told us over and over the years, the Montreal church, the Toronto church, the Yuma church and I’m sure our present church here in Texas, would say the same if ever we were to leave… “That when you get the "Swifts", you get the family, it’s not one you get;  it’s 4 for the price of 1 . And as I was thinking about that, I flashed back, as I was praying at the church, in Yuma AZ when I was 27 years old, Shania was maybe 6 months old; after all, who prays for a 6 month old baby? What’s the use, what results will you see?    How will you know God is answering? Then I flashed back to when I was 29, after all …who prays for a one year old boy right??? Now I’m 30, with a...

“Why do today, what I can do tomorrow,” That’s right Jack said, “why do today, what you can do tomorrow” But a thought came to Jack that never occurred to him before, “Unless there’s no tomorrow…then that would be disastrous!” Troubled by this thought, Jack decided to pray, “Lord is tomorrow coming?” It’s not for you to know the future, the Lord responded, why do you want to know? Jack answered, “Because if I know tomorrow is coming then I will wait” And what if tomorrow is not coming? Then I will have to do it today, Jack said. Lord Responded, “Let me see your list of all that you would have to do today, if there’s no tomorrow, then I will let you know. Jack thought for a moment and began his list: Well first I would have to call my dad and tell him I forgive him because I know that whole scripture, you know, if I don’t forgive others you won’t forgive me, yadiyada…So I’d better do that! Then I would have to pay a visit to our church treasurer, Nancy what’s her name and hand over a bi...

 Jonathan Whitfield was preaching to coal miners in England. He asked one man, "What do you believe?" "Well, I believe the same as the church." Jonathan Whitfield paused for a moment, thinking…and then asked "And what does the church believe?" "Well, they believe the same as me." Seeing he was getting nowhere, Whitfield said, "Okay, then…. what is it that you both believe?" "Well, I suppose the same thing." Jonathan Whitfield.

Watch your thoughts; they become words Watch your words; they become actions Watch your actions; they become habits Watch your habits; they become character Watch your character; it becomes your destiny. Frank Outlaw

 While crossing the Atlantic on an ocean-liner, F.B. Meyer was asked to address the first class passengers. At the captain's request he spoke on "Answered Prayer." An agnostic who was present at the service was asked by his friends, "What did you think of Dr. Meyer's sermon?" He answered, "I didn't believe a word of it." That afternoon Meyer went to speak to the steerage passengers. Many of the listeners at his morning address went along, including the agnostic, who claimed he just wanted to hear "what the babbler had to say."    Before starting for the service, the agnostic put two oranges in his pocket. On his way he passed an elderly woman sitting in her deck chair fast asleep. Her hands were open. In the spirit of fun, the agnostic put the two oranges in her outstretched palms. After the meeting, he saw the old lady happily eating one of the pieces of fruit. "You seem to be enjoying that orange," he remarked with a smile...

 You will remember this plate of toothpaste for the rest of your life': Mom uses toothpaste to teach daughter simple but powerful lesson before she embarks on middle school. The image of a plate of spilled toothpaste became a powerful, viral metaphor for parents of new middle school students this week. One mom explained how she used the simple household item as a visual lesson to teach her daughter about the power of her words. Once they have been spoken, it is impossible to take them back. Amy Beth Gardner from Cleveland, Tennessee, took a tube of toothpaste and squirted all out onto a tube before instructing her to put it back inside. ''But I can't!' and 'It won't be like it was before!' her daughter protested.  Amy told her daughter, Breonna, to remember the plate of toothpaste for the rest of her life.  'Just like this toothpaste, once the words leave your mouth, you can't take them back,' she said.  She posted an image of the toothpaste ...

 James Brown, PASTOR of  Evangeline   Church ,  Wildsville ,  LA Decided to take flying lessons. On one particular lesson, he remembers the day, the instructor asked him to do an odd thing, he writes: My instructor told me to put the plane into a steep and extended dive. I was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. After a brief time the engine stalled, and the plane began to plunge out-of-control. It soon became evident that the instructor was not going to help me at all. After a few seconds, which seemed like eternity, my mind began to function again. I quickly corrected the situation. Immediately I turned to the instructor and began to vent my fearful frustrations on him. He very calmly said to me, "There is no position you can get this airplane into that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, go up there and do it again." At that moment God seemed to be saying to me, "Remember this. As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get ...

  Ever sinning, Ever judging Ever cursing Ever slandering, If I could count, My feet, my eyes and my hands combined, Cannot amount to the sin of my lips. If ever in life you ask me for a tip, The savvy and wise, Would quickly advise,  To get the scissors and clip and clip, clip, clip ‘till there’s nothing left...., o f my Red Shiny Lips!!! Richard P Swift

  It’s like the son who missed his curfew. Normally his son was always home by 10pm, 10:30pm the latest, it was now 11pm. The dad began to worry. Little did the father know, his son had taken the car, ended up drinking that night, got in a wreck, totaled his dad’s car, got a DUI and injured the other driver in the process.  T he father gets called to the police station, has to bail his son out of jail. It’s now 3am…..they pull in the driveway, walk in the house….his son walks in, hugs his dad, says “I’m sorry dad!” The father says, “That’s okay, at least you understand what you’ve done!”    “Yes, dad, I’m sorry, I won’t miss my curfew again” and goes to his room.

The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he'd received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he'd pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. "You were drunk last night weren't you!" "No, honey." "Well, if you weren't, then who put all the Band-Aids on the bathroom mirror?"  

  While very ill, John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church in  Scotland , called to his wife and said, "Read me that Scripture where I first cast my anchor." After he listened to the beautiful prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17, he seemed to forget his weakness. He began to pray: ·           Interceding earnestly for his fellowmen. ·           He prayed for the ungodly who had thus far rejected the gospel ·           He pleaded in behalf of people who had been recently converted ·           And he requested protection for the Lord's servants, many of whom were facing persecution. As Knox prayed, his spirit went Home to be with the Lord. John Know died praying.  This man John Knox, probably not known to many or any that would be reading this today, but of whom “The Queen of Scotland, at...

 We don't want to be out of touch with the way society is going," says NBC's Angela Bromstad. "At the same time, you have to be careful what you put on air." Says Doug Herzog, president of MTV Networks entertainment group: "The line moves every day, so you got to move with it. You can't put the genie back in the bottle."

  The  George   Washington   University   Hospital  offers some of the most technologically advanced patient care equipment in the country, including neonatal incubators designed to improve the physical and neurological development of premature infants. The incubators in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit are technologically superior and designed to mimic life in the womb. By keeping noise and light to a minimum, the child continues to develop as it would undisturbed in the womb. The incubator provides caregivers an opportunity to access the infant for procedures without modifying their position, by utilizing a “baby-susan,” which rotates the baby without disrupting their normal sleep patterns. An x-ray tray is built into the unit so that the infant can be x-rayed if necessary, without being re-positioned. In addition the incubator has superior capabilities for regulation of the temperature and humidity within the incubator, protecting the child’s ...

 As the story goes…..Tom turned to Mark and asked, “hey Mark, what on earth did you say to Paul yesterday, I saw him the day before and he was really down in the dumps, he said he spoke with you and Paul says you really helped him.  I tried talking to Paul too, but I didn't help him, apparently. I’m just wondering, what did you say that I didn't? I can’t think of anything you would have told him that I didn't, I mean I gave him every speech I knew, so what did you say, that I could not have already told him, I’m really curious to know?!! Mark turned around and said, “Actually, I didn't say anything, I just listened, that made all the difference. All Paul needed was someone…to listen.

 Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, is the most famous CEO that ever lived; he was also married/divorced 3 times, he said. In life there is a sacrifice for everything. Jack Welch said it best when he stated that you can have everything, but you can’t have it all at the same time. Be thankful for what you have, because there is a price for everything you do and if you don’t pay for it via time and energy, your kids will.  Jack Welch has since passed on.  I think I read one article attributed to this Corporate giant.  The world has barely given this man a 2nd glance after his passing. A few months ago a man passed away who used his celebrity status to help others and we are still talking about him.  Even the world recognizes those that have given themselves for others; as opposed to those that have sacrificed all and everyone; simply for their own selfish ambitions. Eternity will hold for us, what we have invested.

  The Rev. Ted Haggard took his leave of  New   Life   Church  acknowledging that his conduct had led him to be “appropriately and lovingly removed from ministry” at one of evangelical Christianity’s biggest and most powerful churches. In a letter read at two services — the first at the  Colorado Springs  mega-church in the five days since a  Denver  man came forward to say he and Haggard had a long term sexual relationship — Haggard apologized profusely, saying he alone was responsible. “I am guilty of sexual immorality, and I take responsibility for the entire problem,” Haggard wrote. “I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life.”

 Actor Jack Klugman recalls being devastated at age 12 when his father died. Struggling for decades with depression over that loss, Klugman finally sought counseling. “It was then that I remembered that my father was the only one in my family who ever hugged me. The rest of my family stayed away from touching or hugging—especially my mother. Only my father was unashamed to show affection. My father taught me that showing your affection was not a sign of weakness but instead a sign of love.” Klugman says he passed his father's legacy on to his own two sons as well as his granddaughters. “Whenever I see them, we kiss and hug and show how fond we are of each other. I love it!”

 A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The seminary professor noticed the boy was working on a Sunday School project with some word matching and cross-word puzzles and thought he would have some fun with the kid and asked him, “young man," said the professor, "If you can tell me something God can do, I’ll give you a coin and you can    get yourself a soda.” The boy thought for a moment and then replied, "Sir, I’m kinda hungry, how about if you can tell me something God can't do, then you don’t have to buy me lunch!" The Professor was caught and obliged to buy the young man lunch.

In recent years, politicians and pundits, professors and even Pulitzer Prize-winners have been caught dealing in deceit. One of the nation's most respected historians, Stephen Ambrose, plagiarized portions of other historians' works and—notwithstanding his public apology—seemed hardly disturbed by the resulting controversy. Historian Joseph Ellis, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Founding Brothers", was caught inventing a Vietnam War record for himself. Ex-conservative writer David Brock admitted he'd made up sordid details about Anita Hill. Gloria Steinem's claim about the number of women who die of eating disorders—supposedly 150,000 a year—turned out to be a huge feminist hoax. James Patterson and Peter Kim, authors of "The Day America Told the Truth", estimate that 91 percent of us regularly embroider the truth. "We lie and don't even think about it," Patterson and Kim write. We lie to others and worse we lie to ourselves...

 One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." The boy had not considered this, that his father could see him, at that point he put his faith in his father and the fear left him and the boy jumped and was caught by the net the fireman had set beneath him.

Animals born with crippling weaknesses will soon be the prey of others or left to the unmerciful whims of Mother Nature. The wild, has taught us, only the strong survive. The weak perish. The idea that a man should ever look with anything but contempt upon the weak should be violently torn from your mind, your body and your soul if you want to survive. There exists today many poisonous concepts that have degraded the western mind. Perhaps one of the most ugly is the idea that it is somehow righteous, loving and virtuous to praise weakness in others. To embody their cancerous ways of thinking and living. The only healthy response when the weak are praised is to savagely mock them. People despise weakness in others. People despise bums, desperate men and women, and anybody who displays signs of nervousness or anxiety. They avoid these people like the plague. Weak people let bad things happen to good people. Too many examples to list. Just think of the things that have happened that could...

  Viewers are about to see full-frontal male nudity, heterosexual, homosexual and group sex, and graphic scenes rarely — if ever — seen on mainstream TV. And that's just on pay-cable "You need to get eyeballs. You need to be loud," says Spike programming chief Kevin Kay, who is pairing  Blue   Mountain  with reruns of  HBO 's sex-centric  Entourage . "Our viewers are experiencing content on other cable channels or the Web. Movies and video games are going after this audience, too." TV's latest sexually charged offerings add to the current wave of attention-seeking — if less visually explicit — reality and scripted programs filled with frank themes and content, such as MTV's hookup-focused reality hit  Jersey   Shore Showtime's Secret Diary of a Call Girl returns Monday with hooker Belle ( Billie Piper ) looking for source material for another book through new sexual experiences with clients. Showtime's aptly titled Californication recently en...

 Garry Hoy was a Canadian lawyer that worked out of the 24th-floor story office in the Toronto Dominion Centre. From what we can ascertain, Hoy was pretty taken by his office views and window durability. So taken, in fact, that he claimed the windows were “unbreakable” – can you guess where this is going? Hoy then took a few seconds before rushing towards the aforementioned window at full pelt and slammed his body against the glass as hard as he could. Amazingly, the lawyer had proved his point and survived. There is a reason why Hoy is JOE’s number one dumbest death though – in his mind, he hadn’t quite proven his point. Perhaps not fully appreciative of the onlooking staff’s applause, or perhaps trying to impress a hot intern, Hoy took another run-up, safe in the integrity of his incomporable super-windows. On his second attempt, Hoy’s window finally gave way, hurling the lawyer through the air and causing him to plummet to his death. However, Hoy’s cause of death was not from cr...

 Richard Evan in his book, “Bits & Pieces” writes, “The tragedy of life is not that it’s too short, but that we wait too long to start living it!” We are the "One day" generation.  One day I'm gonna.....and of course days come and go, but we never do.  One day is some day in the not so near distant future.  One day is really no day at all. The day that matters is the one your living, the day where you're actually doing what you said you were gonna do.  Again, "The tragedy of life is not that it's too short, but that we wait too long to start living it!"