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Flu Season

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I’ve always believed that the best defense to seasonal colds and the flu is a good offense. It’s the daily steps that we take before flu season arrives that give us our best chances for fighting off or lowering the severity of colds and flu. Proper diet, sunshine, exercise, fresh air, plenty of sleep, low stress levels, and proper amounts of water all help our bodies to be in the best of health, allowing us to more effectively fight sickness.

God created us with wondrous and complex bodies, able to fight off disease and stave off sickness, but it is up to each one of us to keep our bodies healthy so that it may work properly when sickness does strike.

Treat Symptoms

Many times we don’t take care of ourselves until sickness is upon us. We drag our haggard selves into the closest Rx for vitamins, drugs and various other cold and flu comforts. Many times these synthetic drugs treat the symptoms but really do nothing to make us get better any faster.

I recently read a newspaper poll conducted on health and sickness, where a high percentage of people polled claimed that diet, water, and sleep were not high priorities in there day to day lives, yet these same people also when polled said that they wished that there were some sort of “magic pill” that would help prevent them from getting sick at all. While we know that it’s impossible on this earth of sin to live without sickness at all, we also know that preventative health is the closest thing to a “magic pill” there is.

This year don’t let the flu sneak up on you, do the things today that will give you the strength you need when sickness rears it’s ugly head.

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By Benjamin DuBose. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Read more at the source: Flu Season

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Staying young.

Friends with God

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Photo: Christopher Bruno

If you aren’t a Christian, you may have asked yourself, “Why should I be a Christian?” You may wonder what it is about Christianity that causes so many people to “join up.” One benefit that Miguel Valdivia sees is that:

Christians Are Friends With God

The world is a marketplace, not only of consumer goods and living standards, but also of ideas. Ideologies drive wars and economies. They impact history and help shape our individual lives. Most of us have a primary ideology by which we live. I have chosen Christianity, and here are some of the basic spiritual truths I’ve discovered.

1. God is good. A careful reading of the Bible shows that God is involved in a cosmic  confrontation with an enemy who wants to harm you and me, and one of the ways he does that best is by getting us involved in doing bad things—what we call sin. The Bible says that “the wages of sin is death.” 1 But God doesn’t want us to die, so He came up with a plan to rescue us: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 2

2. God has a purpose for our lives. God has an eternal plan of salvation for humanity as a whole and for each of us as individuals. The biblical God is a personal God. He pleads, “My son [my daughter], give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways.” 3 The Holy Spirit has been promised to guide us and teach us God’s saving truths: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” 4

3. God wants to free us from guilt. One of Christianity’s greatest gifts is God’s free offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. An Old Testament prophet expressed God’s offer: “ ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ ” 5 The New Testament tells us this renewal is possible through Christ’s sacrifice. “In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according with the riches of God’s grace.” 6

4. God wants to be our Friend. The Bible teaches that God is not distant or disinterested in our affairs. He wants to be our Friend! Jesus said, “I have called you friends.” 7 Life isn’t perfect, but knowing we have a Friend in high places can help us to walk through life’s darkest passages without fear.

1 Romans 6:23. 2 John 3:16. 3 Proverbs 23:26. 4 John 16:13. 5 Isaiah 1:18. 6 Ephesians 1:7. 7 John 15:15.

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Miguel Valdivia is the managing editor of Signs of the Times ®. He writes from Nampa, Idaho. Reprinted with Permission. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®.

Read more at the source: Friends with God

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Bible Says.

Party Line

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When I was six years old, my parents had a telephone installed in our home for the first time. We resided in a very rural area, so a telephone was a luxury that we had never experienced before. Because private telephone lines were expensive, my parents opted for an option that kept us on the same cable as four other families.

The option was called a “party line,” and it was anything but a party! In order to make a phone call, the line had to be clear of other callers, and there was only one way that we knew of to check; pick up the receiver and listen in. If we heard talking, we simply hung up, waited a few minutes, and checked again.

It was the common practice of many people in those days to listen in on the telephone conversations of other neighbors, and thus learn more about their lives. It started many rumors in our area, and on more than one occasion I can recall a neighbor sharing a juicy tidbit that they had heard on the “party-line” while listening in, and whoever chose to listen, got an “ear full!”

Watch Your Tongue

Party lines are a thing of the past, but sadly, the issue of gossip is not. We have choices to make when it comes to sharing and receiving tales about other’s lives, and the scriptures call us to choose wisely.

“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies” (Psalm 34:13, NIV).

“The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble, the conversation of good people keeps them out of it” (Proverbs 12:13, Message/Remix).

God calls us to choose to speak only good words about others, and when we encounter someone who is trashing another person’s character, motives, or qualities, we have the same option of doing what we did when we were on the party line; “disconnecting” and choosing not to listen. With God’s help, we can maintain a “private line.”

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By Michael Temple. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® and THE MESSAGE / REMIX ®.

Read more at the source: Party Line

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Bible Says.

Use Your Personality

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When you look around at other people you readily notice that everyone has a different personality. One person may love to be the center of attention; that person talks a lot, enjoys other people, and has a bubbly personality. Another person seems to be bossy, makes quick correct judgments, and desires to be in control of everything. Another person likes to keep things organized, wants things done correctly, analyzes things, and is always setting goals. Still another person may go to great lengths to avoid a conflict, keep peace. They lack decisiveness and enthusiasm, but have a pleasing personality, and a dry sense of humor. You may fall into one or more of these categories, as I do.

Researchers and scientists devote their whole lives plus millions of dollars trying to figure out how personalities work, where they come from, and predicting what a person will do in a certain situation. They often ask, why are people different and why do people do the things they do? Many theories have been made from these questions. But does it really mean anything?

Why do we all need to be different anyway? Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say. Paul gives a list of spiritual gifts including wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy and more (1 Corinthians 12:8-11). Paul then goes on to explain that there are different parts of the church body that require members to do different things (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). God made us different in order to perform the whole workings of the church. One person can’t do everything. But when the people are brought together in the body of the church, all things can be done.

You Are Special

Don’t be discouraged when you see one person doing great things for the Lord that you can never see yourself doing. God made you specifically to do something special. Use what you know you are good at instead of dwelling on what you are not good at. Paul thought of himself as a timid man (2 Corinthians 10:1) and not a good public speaker (2 Corinthians 11:6). Yet the Lord still made him great and used his personality strengths to the fullest.

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By David Wolstenholm. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Read more at the source: Use Your Personality

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Family First.

Cheap Vacations

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Photo: Studiomill

Does your family desperately need a vacation? Is your bank account squeaking? You don’t need a key to Fort Knox to enjoy time with your loved ones. While many “all-inclusive” vacations can run into thousands of dollars, options that are big on family fun and easy on the pocketbook exist as well. Here are a number of ways to save money on your next family trip:

  • Do your homework. If you’re planning a vacation, make sure that you know where you are going, how you’re going to get there, and your itinerary along the vacation route. Forethought can help you stay on budget.
     
  • Look for the deals. The Internet is jam-packed with travel sites that offer low prices, incredible deals, and family-friendly fares on everything from hotels to restaurants, and airfare if needed.
     
  • Choose alternative accommodations on portions of your trip. Broaden your horizons, squeeze your spending, and have a great time by staying overnight in a tent or bunking at a hostel. (For more information about hostels, go to www.hostels.com). These low-priced alternatives can save your family plenty and help create great memories!
     
  • Eat on the cheap. With proper planning, you can enjoy great food along the way at a fraction of normal vacation cuisine cost. Decide ahead of time to keep convenience store purchases to a minimum, and buy plenty of fresh fruits like apples, bananas and oranges at grocery stores along the way. If you plan to eat in a restaurant, choose a time when menu prices are less expensive (breakfast and lunch) and eat light during the dinner hour. If each traveler has a water bottle, choose to purchase your water by the gallon and refill them. Buying new individual bottled waters can really add up.
     
  • Go on a series of day trips. Wherever you happen to live, there is a good chance that you are within driving distance of an enjoyable family outing. Museums and national parks are inexpensive and in abundance. Your family can enjoy all the amenities that delight tourists visiting the same area, and best of all, you get to sleep in your own bed. For more information on attractions near you, check out www.fodors.com and have a peek at a well-researched guidebook for your area.

Remember, the journey is just as important as the destination. Quality time with family is what memories are made of…no matter where you go. Seek togetherness, and you’ll discover a world of possibilities!

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By Michael Temple. Copyright © 2015 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Read more at the source: Cheap Vacations

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Family First.

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