AUGUST’S “FIRST of the MONTH” NEWSLETTER
As is the continued tradition, the first E-Mail Ministry message of the
month is my chance to talk to all of you about E-Mail Ministry and other
related items.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR TODAY’S MESSAGE:
[NEWSLETTER TITLE FINALISTS] [WHAT’S NEW AT E-MAIL MINISTRY] [THE A – Z
OF FRIENDSHIP] [MY FRIENDSHIP OATH TO YOU] [FRIENDS] [REMEMBER WHEN]
[NOT SO LONG AGO] [FEED THE HUNGRY FOR FREE]
* * *
NEWSLETTER TITLE FINALISTS
In last month’s newsletter I asked for title suggestions for these
“First of the Month” newsletters. I want to thank all who submitted
ideas. Several themes arose from the suggestions – obviously God’s hand
was at work! The suggestions were so good I couldn’t pick just one. So
I narrowed the list down to five and am asking you, the subscribers, to
pick the final name (See the poll questions below).
* * *
WHAT’S NEW AT E-MAIL MINISTRY
— iBelieve.com Affiliate: E-Mail Ministry is now an affiliate of
iBelieve.com. As an affiliate, E-Mail Ministry receives a sales
commission from products you purchase from iBelieve.com. E-Mail
Ministry also receives a donation if you register with
iBelieve.com (Registration is free and easy!). If you register with
iBelieve.com during August you will receive a FREE 8×10 color portrait
(from Olan Mills) and a FREE poetry photo frame when you register at
iBelieve.com. In addition to receiving the free gifts from the fastest
growing Christian website on the internet, iBelieve.com will also make a
donation to E-Mail Ministry. Click here and register today.
http://www.ibelieve.com/affiliates/af_emailministry.asp
NOTE: In order for E-Mail Ministry to receive credit for your
purchases, you must enter iBelieve.com from a link off our
site! I am sure you will enjoy this affiliation. This will help to
support E-Mail Ministry allowing it to continue to be a free ministry
for all who wish to subscribe.
Learn more about iBelieve.com on our website. Just click on the
“iBelieve.com Shopping & More!” link.
— eGroups.com Services web page: This page contains information on how
to change your e-mail address, suspend the messages, reactivate the
messages, and change your bouncing status.
If you suddenly stop receiving messages and you haven’t unsubscribed,
then your e-mail account status may be set to “bouncing” This occurs
if, for example, your inbox is full or your Internet Service Provider is
returning messages addressed to you. Bouncing status occurs after
eGroups has attempted and failed to deliver messages to your address for
3 consecutive days. Unless you reset your status, you will not receive
new messages. You can reset Bouncing status by clicking the Reset button
beneath Member Profile. See the eGroups.com Services web page on our
site for directions.
— No Ads! Starting with the 31-July messages, the messages will not
contain eGroups.com ads. However, we will be putting the iBelieve.com
information at the bottom of our messages to assist people in learning
more about this fantastic Christian site!
— Please Note: If you want to send me a submittal, please send it to
emailministry@emailministry.org You cannot send a message directly to
the whole group. If you attempt to do this, it will be sent back to you
by eGroups.com In eGroups.com’s terminology, this is a moderated group.
— Poll Questions: The July poll question results can viewed from a
link on the main page. Here are the August 2000 poll questions (Go the
web site and register your vote!! Please do NOT send me an e-mail with
your vote!)
Q1: Pick a name for the monthly newsletter:
Q2: If you were asked to go on a mission trip for 3 months to a
foreign country, would you do it?
PLEASE NOTE: The banners on the guest book, poll questions and
referral do NOT support E-Mail Ministry and E-Mail Ministry does not
support them.
— See the “Subscriber Countries” web page
(https://www.emailministry.org/countries.htm) for a list of countries.
If you are from a country other than those indicated with an “X”, please
let me know by sending an e-mail to emailministry@emailministry.org
— Usage of E-Mail Ministry messages: As always, feel free to send
these messages on to others as the Lord leads you. I do have one
request (and it is an optional request) if you use these messages in
your church bulletins, sermons, bible studies, etc. If you don’t mind,
it would be nice if you put “Message distributed by E-Mail Ministry
(https://www.emailministry.org)” at the bottom of any material you use.
That way more people will become aware of this ministry.
* * *
THE A – Z OF FRIENDSHIP
A Friend….
(A)ccepts you as you are
(B)elieves in “you”
(C)alls you just to say “HI”
(D)oesn’t give up on you
(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
(F)orgives your mistakes
(G)ives unconditionally
(H)elps you
(I)nvites you over
(J)ust “be” with you
(K)eeps you close at heart
(L)oves you for who you are
(M)akes a difference in your life
(N)ever judges
(O)ffers support
(P)icks you up
(Q)uiets your fears
(R)aises your spirits
(S)ays nice things about you
(T)ells you the truth when you need to hear it
(U)nderstands you
(V)alues you
(W)alks beside you
(X)-plain things you don’t understand
(Y)ells when you won’t listen and
(Z)aps you back to reality
A friend is someone we turn to
When our spirits need a lift,
A friend is someone we treasure
For our friendship is a gift,
A friend is someone who fills our lives
With beauty, joy, and grace
And makes the world we live in
A better and happier place.
* * *
MY FRIENDSHIP OATH TO YOU…
When you are sad,………….I will dry your tears.
When you are scared,……….I will comfort your fears.
When you are worried,………I will give you hope.
When you are confused,……..I will help you cope.
And when you are lost,……..And can’t see the light.
I shall be your beacon……..Shining ever so bright
This is my oath……………I pledge till the end.
Why you may ask?…………..Because you’re my friend.
* * *
FRIENDS…
“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one
day, so I never have to live without you.” * Winnie the Pooh
“True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known
until it be lost.” * Charles Caleb Colton
“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks
out.”
“Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I
may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.” * Albert Camus.
“Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.”
“Friends are the Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life.”
“Friendship is one mind in two bodies.” * Mencius
“Friends are God’s way of taking care of us.”
“If you should die before me, ask if you could bring a friend.” * Stone
Temple Pilots
“I’ll lean on you and you lean on me and we’ll be okay.” * Dave
Matthews Band
“If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn’t jump with them,
I’d be at the bottom to catch them.”
“Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best
friends listen to what you don’t say.”
“We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take
a little of each other everywhere.” * Tim McGraw
“My father always used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real
friends, then you’ve had a great life.” * Lee Iacocca
“Hold a true friend with both your hands.” * Nigerian Proverb
“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it
back to you when you have forgotten the words.” * unknown
* * *
REMEMBER WHEN
Decisions were made by going “eeny-meeny-miney-mo.”
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, “do over!”
“Race issue” meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in “Monopoly.”
Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.
It wasn’t odd to have two or three “best” friends.
Being old referred to anyone over 20.
The net on a tennis court was the perfect height to play volleyball and
rules didn’t matter.
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
It was magic when dad would “remove” his thumb.
It was unbelievable that dodgeball wasn’t an Olympic event.
Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.
Nobody was prettier than Mom.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the “big people”
rides at the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
Abilities were discovered because of a “double-dog-dare.”
Saturday morning cartoons weren’t 30-minute ads for action figures.
No shopping trip was complete, unless a new toy was brought home.
“Oly-oly-oxen-free” made perfect sense.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause For giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
War was a card game.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group.
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest
protectors.
* * *
NOT SO LONG AGO…
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano!
Memory was something that you lost with age A CD was a bank account
And if you had a 3 1/2 inch floppy you hoped nobody found out!
Compress was something you did to garbage not something you did to a
file.
And if you unzipped anything in public
You’d be in jail for awhile!
Log on was adding wood to a fire
Hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a backup happened to your commode!
Cut you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider’s home
And a virus was the flu!
{doug’s note: Just goes to show that the times they are a changing and
we, as Christians, need to always to look to new ways to spread the
Gospel.)
* * *
FEED THE HUNGRY FOR FREE (and do it every day!):
You can help feed hungry people, at no cost to you, by pointing your
internet browser to http://www.thehungersite.com Click the Donate Free
Food button to bring up a page of corporate sponsors, each of whom
contributes 1/2 cent per click, which translates to 1/4 cup of cooked
food. The food is distributed through the United Nations World Food
Program. Founded by an unnamed “private individual,” the site displays a
map that dims one country every 3.6 seconds, signifying a death from
hunger. Three quarters of those deaths are children under 5. A link has
been placed on the E-Mail Ministry main page and link page to this site
to make it easier for your to click it each day!
“When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of
John, do you truly love me more than these?’. ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said,
‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.'” – John 21, 15
* * *
I pray this finds you all growing in the understanding of how God loves
you.
— doug
The “Staff” of E-Mail Ministry