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2002/10/4

好書 Laugh Again 分享

I recently read a book called ' Laugh again' by Charles R. Swindoll (published by W. Publishing Group). This book is very inspiring and I underline many good points while reading it. In order to share the treasure , I type the underlined words for your reference. I hope that you can grasp the main points in it . However, without reading the book, you may not really absorb the teaching because there are so many other examples and elaboration written by the author. I just pick out the words I underlined. So, you may not really understand the points without looking at the context in the book. Nevertheless, I am confident that at least you may benefit much by looking at them.

May God bless you while reading it. May God bless you !

Laugh Again (C. Swindoll) *

2002/10/4

• Mother Teressa "my secret is to have the desire to work hard and a joyful attitude. "
• The happiest people are rarely the richest. The happy people enjoy the fundamental , often very simple things of life.
• Joy stealers: past that demoralizes you and fears in the future.
  The joyful: stay riveted to the present, not the then and never.
• It was up to me to choose how I responded to it. So I chose joy.
• Two kind of people: choose joy and those not choose joy.

• Essence in God's work: good sense of humor and no sense of smell.
• Joy is a choice: a matter of attitude that one's confidence in God.
• Paul: give Grace and Peace.
• 3 stealers of joy:
  1. worry (about something that may or may not occur)
  2. stress (over a situation that we cannot change or control)
  3. fear (usually makes things appear worse than they really are).
• Paul: felt a warm affection toward his fellow believers.
• Applications:
  1. Fix our attention on the things for which we are thankful
  2. Let God be God.
  3. Keep our love (to others) within proper limits.
• "It doesn't matter, really, how great the pressure is; it only maters where the pressure lies. See that it never come between you and the Lord , then the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast."(Hudson Taylor).

- Negative-mind set v.s. positive mind-set (P.51)

• to laugh again: is to learn to being broad-shouldered enough to let things be ….. to leave room for differences.
• His mind was firmly fixed on essentials.
• Pursuit of happiness is the cultivation of a Christ-centered, Christ-controlled life.
  1. He broadens the dimensions of our circumstances
  2. He delivers us from preoccupation with others. e.g. other's comment, criticism.
  3. He calms our fears regarding ourselves and our future.

1. Volitional dilemmas
2. Emotional
3. Geographical

• Many need the reminder that life is more than hard work and serious decisions and ultra-intense issues.
• Many live their lives too dependent on others.
• Maturity is accelerated when we learn to stand firm on our own. Codependent people are not joyful people. (med.: the core in DT)
• Making right decisions amidst dilemmas forces us to rethink our priorities.
• Choosing right priorities forces us to reconsider the importance of Christ in our lives.
• There are many voices these days. Some are loud, many are persuasive, and a few are downright convincing.
• Muggeridge: "Life is not about carnal things, or success, but is about eternity rather than time….I don't really belong here, I'm simply staying here"

• cultivating the right attitude is absolutely crucial.
• My view of others is a direct reflection of my own "mental set". Looking at the people around you is like looking in a mirror. You see a reflection of yourself.
• The most Christlike attitude on earth: Matt 11:28-30: gentle and humble in heart. (summed up in one word: unselfish).
• More interested in serving the needs of others than in having one's own needs met.
• Harmony is needed.
  There is difference between unity and uniformity. Unity comes from deep within.
• How to accomplish?
  1. Never let selfishness or conceit be your motive
  2. Always regard others as more important than yourself.
  3. Don't limit your attention to your own personal interests.
  Andrew Murray: " The humble person is not one who thinks meanly of himself; he simply does not think of himself at all. "
• In periods of crises and common need, all distinctions are forgotten and we suddenly become united.

• Admiration for a great person may inspire us, but it cannot enable us.
• Christ as our example
  He gives us His pattern to follow without while at the same time providing the needed power within. And guess what that makes us able to do? LAUGH AGAIN!
• 1. Balancing purpose and power
  God pours His power into us, we do the things that bring His pleasure (not ours), His wills (not ours), His glory (not ours): this make life meaningful.
  
  2. Balancing attitude and action
  Grumbling: not loud but rather low-toned.
  Disputing: vocal and ill-natured argumentation.
  All the above emphasized the bad side of everything.
  
  3. Balancing seriousness and joy.
  - Virtually everyday , I can find at least one thing to laugh about.
  - Experts tell us that laughter not only makes our serious lives lighter, but laughter also helps control pain in at least four ways:
  a. by distracting our attention
  b. reducing the tension we are living with.
  C. by changing our expectations.
  D. by increasing the production of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers.
  - Sometimes, our pain is not literal, but a too-serious mind-set.
  
• Self: our battle:
  1. Control self's urges to take the credit
  Talent is God-given, be humble
  Fame is man-given, be thankful,
  Conceit is self-given, be careful.
  
  2. Conquer self's tendency to take charge.
  Martin Luther " Greater than the pope and all his cardinals, I fear most that great pope, self. "
  

• The presence of other people is essential: caring people, helpful people, interesting people, friendly people, thoughtful people. People remain the essential ingredient of life.
• A strange thing happen: we start treating people like inconveniences instead of assets.
• God uses people in the process. God plus People equals accomplishment.
• E.g. Timothy had a unique kindred spirit with Paul. David enjoyed with Jonathan.

• It is the temptation to believe that earthly honors will automatically result in heavenly rewards.
• Why does it happen? PRIDE (we work and push and strive so that we can prove we are worthy, ..we are the best…..)
• The Western mind and culture leave little time for leisure, prayer, play and contemplation. (Even more serious in HK, right?)
• No body can rob people of joy quicker than a few narrow-minded legalists.
• A few questions to ask yourself: P. 137
• Q. Do you laugh-- I mean really laugh---now that you have "arrived"? Or are you still too driven to relax?

• Dreams are important, no question; yet they must be mixed with the patient discipline of staying at the tough tasks, regardless.
• Dr. Redpath: " When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an impossible man and crushes him. "
• Five philosophy of life by Paul:
  1. The plan is progress, not perfection.
  2. The past is over… forget it.
  3. The future holds out hope…reach for it.
  4. The secret is a determined attitude…maintain it.
  5. The need is keeping a high standard …together.
• Progress is maintained by:
  1. Forgetting yesterday's glory and grind
  2. Focusing on tomorrow's challenging opportunities
  3. Keep the right attitude and remember We are in it together.

• From Christ's crucifixion, I find at least three definitive statements that explain what we can expect as we are left on earth:

1. We can have inner peace in the midst of outer pressure and pain.
2. We are insulated by divine power, yet we are not to live an isolated existence.
3. We may be unique, but we must be unified.

• Purpose of Christians in the earth:
  we may be brought together into a unit--one powerful force for good--in a society weakened by independence and isolation. ….They will realize their own emptiness and seek to find out what makes the difference. What a strategy !!
• We are:
  peace in pressure and pain.
  Insulated not isolated.
  Unique but unified.
• Four specifics come to my mind as I read Paul's wise counsel:
  1. We need examples to follow
  Choose our mentors slowly.
  Study their private lives carefully.
  Spend time with them regularly.
  
  2. We live among many who are enemies of the cross.
  - Our mission is not to argue with them or put them down or make them feel ashamed; it is to reach out to them! To win them. To help them realize there is much more to life than they have ever known.
  - Ours may be a mad, bad, sad world, but it is not blind.
  
  3. We belong to those who are bound for heaven.
  4. We must stand firm, but not stand still.
  So, come on out of your shell and reach.
  " The rain falls on the just and also on the unjust, but chiefly on the just, because the unjust steals the just's umbrella. " by Barbara Jonhson.

• Standing firm in the Lord precedes relating well in the family.
• 1. Clashes will continue to occur.
  2. Not all conflicts are wrong.
  3. If the disagreement should be resolved and could be resolved but it is not, then stubbornness and selfishness are at the core.
  Then, give in.
  4. Should you be the comrade needed to assist in the reconciliation , remember the threefold objective:
  a. The ultimate goal: restoration (not discipline)
  b. The overall attitude: grace (not force)
  c. The common ground: Christ (Not logic, or the church , or tradition , or your will. )

• Americans did not invent the idea of freedom. It began with God, way back in the Garden of Eden when He made Adam and Eve:
  God made us with a mind….that we might think freely.
  God made us with a heart… that we might love freely.
  God made us with a will… that we might obey freely.
• That prison of our own (free) choosing : can hold us in such bondage that we are unable to escape. It is called addiction.
  Addiction is the tragic consequence of freedom… freedom out of control…freedom gone into seed.
• Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains.
• One addiction that tops all others-- WORRY . Anxiety addicts abound !
• Solution: taking God and His word much more seriously and myself a lot less seriously (we usually get those two reversed. )
• God's therapy: Philippians 4:4-7
  "Worry about Nothing. Pray about Everything "
  Switch your worry list to your prayer list.
• Rejoice….relax…rest.
• Application:
  - watch less television and start reading more books that bring a smile instead of a frown. Feed your mind more uplifting "thought food. "
  - locate a few acquaintances who will help you laugh more at life. Have fun together. Share funny stories with each other.
  I find that a spirit of cheer spreads rapidly. Choose joy !
• Correcting our perspective:
  1. Feed your mind positive thoughts
  2. Focus your attention on encouraging models
  3. Find the "God of peace" in every circumstance.
• A principle: Worry forces us to focus on the wrong things.

• The longer I live the more I become convince that our major battle in life is not with age but with maturity.
  Age is a matter of fact. Maturity , on the other hand, is a matter of choice.
• Our becoming more mature is toward the top of the list on God's agenda for us.
• God's specialty is bringing renewal to our strength, not reminders of our weakness.
• The elusive quality called maturity:
  We leave childish and adolescent habits and adopt a lifestyle where we are fully responsible for our own decisions, motives, actions, and consequences.
  When maturity is taking place, balance replaces extremes and a seasoned confidence replaces uneasy feeling of insecurity. Good choices replace bad ones.
• Marks of maturity: P. 214
• Maturity is the ability to do a job whether you are supervised or not; finish a job once it's started; carry money without spending it. And last, but not least, the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.
• If we maintain the right attitude we are able to rejoice while in the process of getting there.
• Paul's characteristics of maturity:
  1. He is affirming
  - We appreciate what people do. But we affirm who they are (in character, in motive, in heart). We affirm them personally.
  A mark of maturity is the ability to affirm, not just appreciate.
  
  2. He is contented.
  Some people are thermometers. They merely register what is around them.
  Others , however, are thermostats. They regulate the atmosphere. The are the mature change-agents who never let the situation to dictate them.
  Anything is bearable. Nothing is out of control.
  
  3. He is flexible.
  - For some strange reason, most Christians I know struggle more with having an abundance than with suffering great need. So, they criticize other believers who have wealth and lovely possessions.
  
  4. He is confident.
  - Our savior not only lives within each of His people, He also pours His power into us.
  
• The Christians in Philippi:

1. Personal compassion
2. Financial generosity
3. Sacrificial commitment

• Making maturity a personal matter:
  1. Look within….and release
  2. Look around… and respond
  3. Look up …. And rejoice.
  
• Among the happiest people are those who voluntarily serve others to the glory of God. Some of the saddest people who have ceased all contact with those in need.
• Laughter is definitely connected to staying involved with people.