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a Non-Profit 501 (C) (3) Organization Founded by Award-Winning Christian Author/Speaker Lisa Freeman "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal…" Ecclesiastes 3:1-3
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~AWARDS~
Best New Book of The Year 2007 Writer of the Year, 2000 & 2007 Honorable Mention Awkward Romance Contest May 2006 All Time Best Award Fanstory.com 2006 Finalist in Chicken Soup Contest 2005 Distinguished Achievement Award, 2005 2nd Place Photo Say More Contest 2005 Top Story in Obadiah Contest 2002 2 Top Stories in Obadiah Contest 2003 Diploma from Guideposts for Teens, 2002 Merit Certificate from Writer's Digest, 2000 & 2001
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"STAY PURE" A Monthly E-Zine For Those Recovering From Addictive Behaviors
August 2002 "Our Loss Is God’s Gain!" Hope you’re enjoying your summer! BE BLESSED!
A Special Thanks To Our Writers!!!
Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word."
Feature Article: "Our Loss Is God’s Gain" by Elisabeth FreemanCouples Forum: "Are You Listening?" by Elisabeth Freeman"Freedom From Fear" by Paul Cook @ www.porn-free.orgSingle Victory "My Child" a poem by Dominique Thom "Don’t Worry, Be Happy" Insight From Bill Bright The Laughing Corner: A few short jokes… Remember, laughter is the best medicine… A merry heart doeth good like a medicine! Prov. 17:22 Helpful Sites : http://www.porn-free.org; http://www.no-porn.com~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New E-Books Available!!! To Help All Who Are Affected By This Demon Of Pornography:
"Coming Out of Sexual Addiction" ~SAVE NOW~ Just $5 Get E-Copy Now! Also available in hard copy for $9.95 plus s/h ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "She Said, He Said, God Says" Marriage in Trouble? Porn got a grip on you or your spouse? Be set FREE today! Read More... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Other Helpful Books are available at porn-free.org!!! ***The Bible tells us that "people perish for lack of vision". Don’t perish, get a vision of healing and learn how to BREAK FREE FROM THIS STRANGLING ADDICTION! Here at STAY PURE, we’d like to hear from you. What are your comments and thoughts, how could we better serve your needs. Without your input, we may never know. After all, this is a service for YOU.
"Our Loss Is God’s Gain" by Elisabeth A. Freeman My jaw must have hit the floor when I got the call about a teenage girl in our youth group. Kim had cancer for 2 years, but she had only known for six months. Last February, she had the 3 foot tumor removed from her ovary and went through extensive chemo and radiation treatments. Although deathly sick, she never complained—In fact, she always smiled. Although she attended our church only a short while, she was committed. After only the second week in church, she gave her heart to Jesus. She attended youth, and contributed greatly with her bright smile and charming sense of humor. We prayed fervently for this young convert to be healed. Amazingly enough, after her chemo treatments were finished, she brought us the miraculous report—the cancer was GONE! There wasn’t a dry eye in our church service that morning. There was no doubt that our God had healed her! But none of us could have been prepared for that hazy afternoon, just three weeks later when Kim was innocently struck by a drunk driver and killed instantly… Just doesn’t make sense, does it? Me, as the youth pastor, mother of her best friend, and mature Christian, I still didn’t have an appropriate answer… It was definitely a huge loss. During this time, God reminded me of Job. He also knew what it was like to lose. In fact, he lost everything valuable to him: all of his children, his wealth, his health, and even his friends. His grief seemed too much to bear. It looked as though he and God were both defeated by the enemy. At least that’s how the beginning of the book of Job looks. But I want to take you on a journey to the end of the book, where it tells us that Job was rewarded double for his trouble. (Job 42:10) I still don’t have an answer for those who have lost much in this life, other than, it’s obvious by the passage in Job that our loss is actually our gain. By Job’s suffering without cause and complaining, the enemy was defeated. If we want to defeat the enemy in our lives we have to face loss. Whatever God is telling you to let go of, do it. Remember, He will never put on us more than we can bear—and that’s a promise! (I Cor. 10:13) Couples Forum: "Are You Listening?" by Elisabeth A. Freeman As I began explaining to John my newest publication, he pulled up to a red light. I kept talking, until I seen him roll down my window and blurt out to the guy next to us, "Hey, how’s it going man." Of course I smiled politely until the light turned green and we were on our way, then I closed myself up like a pressure cooker wanting to explode. "Now, what were you saying, honey?" John asked, acting as though everything was fine. When I didn’t answer, he looked at me and said, "What’s wrong? What did I do now?" He did what a lot of married couples do—he stopped listening. John and I used to have a lot of difficulty communicating. While one of us would be talking, the other would be off in some distant world, thinking about something entirely different. Does this sound familiar? If you’re like we were, you’re probably HEARING your partner, but you’re not really LISTENING. Listening is vital to a happy, healthy relationship. Even in the midst of Abram and Sarah’s marital dispute in the Bible, God told Abraham to listen to her. They weren’t getting along. He had a son by a different woman. Things were looking destitute, until he obeyed God and listened. (Gen. 21:12 NIV) Listening says "I care about you. You’re important to me." If I don’t listen to John and let him know that what he says is important, he will confide in someone else. I’m the same way. In the beginning of our relationship, when he would stop listening in the middle of my sentences, I stopped talking to him altogether. I felt unloved and unimportant. What kind of message are you sending to your partner? Is it one of love and devotion? Or is it more, "Can we talk about this later?" If communication is a struggle in your married life, I would ask you one simple question, "Are you listening?"
Freedom from Fear By Paul Cook Fear can be a potent force in our lives, especially when we have a sinful habit. For sex addicts, the fear of exposure often drives them to lead double lives. They believe they can hide their sin from God and somehow avoid the consequences. John 3:20-21 NIV explains, "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." Hebrews 2:14-15 helps us understand this fear of exposure: "he [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (NIV). The devil’s power over man was the power of death. He held people in "slavery by their fear of death." Jesus broke the devil’s power, but through habitual sin, we can give the devil a new foothold for fear. Fear of exposure is a form of the fear of death, because the truth brings the death of our façade, reputation, and the sin habit itself. We don’t want people to know who we really are and what we’ve done. We fear they will think differently of us and reject us. If we want to move into a closer relationship with God and enjoy his blessings on our lives, we will have to voluntarily bring our secret sin to the light through confession. Our potential love for our sin habit can be an obstacle to this. If we’re relishing the pleasure of the sin, we’re not going to want to surrender it to God. In that case, we can first ask God to help us die to the pleasure of the sin and be willing to surrender it to him. The Holy Spirit, working through us, will empower us to put our love of sin to death (Romans 8:13). The obvious question regarding confession is "Who should I tell?" The Bible instructs us to confess our sins to God and to each other (1 John 1:9, James 5:16). The decision about which people to tell should be weighed carefully in prayer. Some likely choices will include our spouse, pastor, small group leader and prayer/accountability partner. These persons may be the very ones we fear telling, but we must ask God to help us overcome the fear. Jesus died to free us from the power of fear. He can perfectly relate to everything we may be going through, because he was tempted in every way. He defeated the temptations and will show us how to do so as well! He will guide us in what to say, who to tell and when to tell. Confession opens the doors for God’s promises to work in our lives. 1 John 1:9 NIV says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." Confession brings healing, forgiveness and purification. We need each of these if we want to walk in freedom. With the power of fear broken in our lives, we will no longer need to live in the shadows. We won’t have to worry about what might happen if we are "found out," because we’ll have nothing to hide! We’ll begin to enjoy the peace that comes from God when we’re living by the truth and light. The truth sets us free from fear! For more info, please see our page Breaking Secrecy
MY CHILD By Dominique I watched you Sleeping last night Hardly could I believe How much I love you Your beauty Amazed even me As I looked upon you Sleeping peacefully I dreamt of all The plans I have Plans of love and joy If only, you will stay with me My child Never leave my side Draw close to me Stay by my side
Don't worry, be happy! From Dr. Bill Bright Founder and Chairman Campus Crusade for Christ International Dear friends: No one can have true happiness and peace unless they know their sins are forgiven and that they have assurance of eternal life with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But even some Christians are not as happy as they can be. Below are ten rules for happiness which may be of help to you: 1. Give something away to someone (with no strings attached). 2. Do a kindness to someone (and forget it). 3. Spend a few minutes with the aged (their experience is a priceless guidance). 4. Look intently into the face of a baby (and marvel). 5. Laugh often (it is life's lubricant). 6. Give thanks to the Lord (a thousand times a day is not enough). 7. Pray (or you will lose the way). 8. Work (with vim and vigor). 9. Plan as though you'll live forever (because you will). 10. Live as though you'll die tomorrow (because your body will on some tomorrow). Psalms 146:5 says, "Happy is the man who has the God of Jacob as his helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God -- the God who made both earth and heaven, the seas and everything in them" (Living Bible). Many times people are not happy because they forget who God is, how powerful He is, how much He loves us, and how capable He is to take care of us. In Proverbs 16:20, God says, "God blesses those who obey him; happy the man who puts his trust in the Lord." Obedience and trust -- two keys to successful Christian living. The old hymn says it so clearly: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." So true. Our Lord Jesus describes five different activities or types of people who are "happy" in Matthew 5:5-10 (LB). The popular secular song exhorts, "Don't worry, be happy." That should be true every day for the obedient and trusting Christian! A Chicken or an Eagle? From Dr. Bill Bright Founder and Chairman Campus Crusade for Christ International Dear friends: God wants His people to "mount up with wings as eagles" (Isaiah 40:31). Unfortunately, too many Christians live as chickens. The following interesting story is quoted in the Multnomah Message, Spring, 1993: While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle which had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens. One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. The eagle thought it was a chicken. "Still it has the heart of an eagle," replied the naturalist, "and can surely be taught to fly." He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again. The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly." But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food. Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens, never to return to the barnyard. May God help us to see the Son on high, better understand the eagles He wants us to be in His strength, and may we never return to the life of a spiritual chicken.
TOP TEN THINGS THAT MEN UNDERSTAND ABOUT WOMEN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. *'Boss' Sign* The boss was complaining in our staff meeting the other day that he wasn't getting any respect. Later that morning he went to a local card and novelty shop and bought a small sign that read, "I'm the Boss." He then taped it to his office door. Later that day when he returned from lunch, he found that someone had taped a note to the sign that said, "Your wife called, she wants her sign back!" *Bible Confusion* The little girl was sitting with her grandmother, who had presented her with her first little children's Bible, in an easy-to-read translation, when she was very young.
*Busy Doctors* One fella walked into a doctor's office and the receptionist asked him what he had. "Shingles," he said. So she took down his name, address and medical insurance number and told him to have a seat. Fifteen minutes later a nurse's aid came out and asked him what he had. "Shingles," he said. So she took down his height, weight, complete medical history and told him to wait in the examining room. A half-hour later a nurse came in and asked him what he had. "Shingles," he said. So she gave him a blood test, a blood pressure test and an electrocardiogram. Then she told him to take off all his clothes and wait for the doctor. An hour later the doctor came in and asked him what he had. "Shingles," he said. The doctor said, "Where?" He said, "Outside in the truck. Where do you want them?" *Zoo Mime* One day an out-of-work mime is visiting the zoo and attempts to earn some money as a street performer. Unfortunately, as soon as he starts to draw a crowd, a zookeeper grabs him and drags him into his office. The zookeeper explains to the mime that the zoo's most popular attraction, a gorilla, has died suddenly, and the keeper fears that attendance at the zoo will fall off. He offers the mime a job to dress up as the gorilla until they can get another one. The mime accepts. The next morning the mime puts on the gorilla suit and enters the cage before the crowd comes. He discovers it's a great job. He can sleep all he wants, play and make fun of people, and he draws bigger crowds than he ever did as a mime. However, eventually the crowds tire of him. He begins to notice that the people are paying more attention to the lion in the cage next to his. Not wanting to lose the attention of his audience, he climbs to the top of his cage, crawls across a partition and dangles from the top to the lion's cage. Of course, this makes the lion furious, but the crowd loves it. At the end of the day the zookeeper comes and gives the mime a raise for being such a good attraction. This goes on for some time. The crowds grow larger, and the mime's salary keeps going up. Then one terrible day, while dangling over the furious lion, the mime slips and falls. The mime is terrified. The lion gathers itself and prepares to pounce. The mime starts screaming and yelling, "Help! Help me!" but the lion is quick and pounces. The mime soon finds himself flat on his back looking up at the angry lion, and the lion says, "Shut up! Do you want to get us both fired?" *The Good Old Days* Grandpa and Grandpa were sitting in their porch rockers watching the beautiful sunset and reminiscing about "the good old days," when Grandma turned to Grandpa and said, "Honey, do you remember when we first started dating and you used to just casually reach over and take my hand?" Grandpa looked over at her, smiled and obligingly took her aged hand in his. With a wry little smile, Grandma pressed a little farther, "Honey, do you remember how after we were engaged, you'd sometimes lean over and suddenly kiss me on the cheek?" Grandpa leaned slowly toward Grandma and gave her a lingering kiss on her wrinkled cheek. Growing bolder still, Grandma said, "Honey, do you remember how, after we were first married, you'd kind of nibble on my ear?" Grandpa slowly got up from his rocker and headed into the house. Alarmed, Grandma said, "Honey, where are you going?" Grandpa replied, "To get my teeth!" *Hair Mission* In dire need of a beauty makeover, I went to my salon with a fashion magazine photo of a gorgeous, young, lustrous-haired model. I showed the stylist the trendy new cut I wanted and settled into the chair as he began humming a catchy tune and got to work on my thin, graying hair. I was delighted by his cheerful attitude until I recognized the melody. It was the theme from "Mission: Impossible." |
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