Cambridge SDA Network

"E-MALE"    # 7             October, 1997
        ...An electronic newsletter for Christian Men. Volume 1, Number 7
Prepared for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists
Dick Duerksen, editor 
duerksen@bigfoot.com

PURPOSE: TO ENCOURAGE AND CHALLENGE CHRISTIAN MEN IN SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND
SERVICE.

...INVITATION FOR INPUT and SUBSCRIPTIONS:
        This is your newsletter and we want it to grow more valuable with
each issue. If you have resource suggestions, devotional ideas, event
information or anything else that would be of value to Christian men,
please e-mail a note to Dick Duerksen at his web address:                
                                duerksen@bigfoot.com 

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM DICK O'FFILL
        Brothers:  I will never forget the impact of over one million men
on their faces confessing their sins at the Stand in the Gap Rally on Oct 4
on the Capital Mall in Washington. God is moving in a mighty way to prepare
his people for His soon coming. The majority of His people still do not go
to church on the Seventh day but He has promised that he will  lead them to
'all truth'.
        I wish we would speak about this significant event  in our churches
and call on our men to make the same committment that was made by so many
hundreds of thousands that day to be men of God. We must seize the moment.
It seems to me that this is a God-given opportunity. What do you think?
Were any of you there?
        What a difference our homes and churches and very lives will be
when there is reformation among us men.!
        - Dick O'Ffill, Chairman, Men's Ministry Task Force, North American
Division of SDA
        <74617.2666@compuserve.com>

CONTENTS, OCTOBER ISSUE:

...Devotional from Ray Dabrowski in Maryland
...Event Calendar
...Resources for Christian Men 
...Semi-useless Stuff
...Quotes Worth Remembering
...Stressbusters!!!
...The Last Laughs

DEVOTIONAL:
The Laughter Clubs
Our mouths were filled with laughter. - Psalm 126:2 NIV
        Are you stressed out? Do you feel a bit depressed when you are
going to work in the morning thinking all you have to do? Do the extra
pounds around your waist contribute to your daily gloom? Don't despair. No
need to give in to morbid thoughts. The cure has arrived. LAUGH!
        So, you're not sure that laughter is the best medicine? Before you
frown and reject the idea, consider morning in Bombay.
        For thirty minutes every morning hundreds of Bombay (now, Mumbai)
business people, teachers, housewives and physicians gather in numerous
city parks where they indulge in a feast of merriment. As the INDIA TIMES
put it, "laughter gurgles through the gardens" of Bombay. Twenty-five of
those parks have their own laughter clubs of 60+ citizens who immerse
themselves in laughter each day, RELIGIOUSLY.   
        They follow a "sacred" protocol. They stand in rows - men on one
side, women on the other - and start with a warn up chant: Ha-ha, ho-ho.
Then, at the group's leader's signal, they break into a cackle.The laughter
routines come in variations - Silent Laugh (internal), Executive Laugh
(funny faces, polite giggles), Belly Laugh (big and bouncy) and so on. 
        The India laughter movement started in 1995 when a doctor found he
felt better after laughing, and then went public with his prescription.
When interviewed, the laughers say, "I feel better." "I am renewed." One of
them wasn't overtly philosophical when saying, "Gradually laughter turns
into a natural habit. It has become my way of life." 
        I like the whole thing. Have you noticed how sad many of those
around us are?. No one seems to remember any belly-bouncing jokes anymore.
A general sense of unsmiling intensity seems to fill our world.
Unfortunately, many of the saddest are found in church pews. Perhaps their
lack of joy stresses them out. But we can change this.
        Pause a moment. Give yourself a dose of humor. Smile. Chuckle.
Laugh. You will feel better. You may even want to start a club!
        
EVENT CALENDAR:
October 31              It's been exactly 480 years since Martin Luther
nailed his messages of hope to the cathedral door. Are we free yet?
November 14-16  Men's retreat in the Central California Conference -
Yosemite!
November 21-23  Washington Conference Men's Retreat at Warm Beach Christian
                        Conference Center in Stanwood, WA. The theme of the
                        retreat is "He Holds the Keys - To Developing the Man 
                        Within".  The keynote speaker will be Jere Patzer. 
                        Contact Phil White at 74532.533@compuserve.com
November 20-23  SDA Creative Ministries Convention in Las Vegas
May 15-17, 1998         Kansas/Nebraska men at Broken Arrow Ranch,
                        featuring Marvin Wray
        (I am certain there are many additional men's activities in North
America. These are the ones I have on the calendar at the moment. Please
send dates for any additional events you are aware of.)
RESOURCES FOR CHRISTIAN MEN:
GOING BONKERS?  (The magazine for overcoming stress.) Great cartoons and
short articles filled with heart-warming stories and practical ideas. After
you read the current issue you'll want to order copies of the last 5.
You'll love the article on THE SIX MINDSETS OF MARRIAGE. Published
quarterly at $11 per year. No 800 number, you've got to write! Going
Bonkers, PO Box 189, Palm Beach, FL 33480-9875
MICROFLEECE HEADBAND. (Listen while you jog, walk or sit.) A funky new
headwarmer with high-quality stereo headphones hidden inside. Add a walkman
and your favorite tunes and you're warm and humming.  $25 to $35 at
303-494-0945.

SEMI-USELESS STUFF:
DRY BRUSH YOUR TEETH - FIRST.  Dry-brushing your teeth before a regular
brushing cuts tartar by 60%. It also cuts bleeding gums by 50%. Here's
how... Use a soft, dry brush and start by scrubbing the insides of your
bottom teeth. Then hit the insides of the top ones and work your way to the
outer surfaces. Rinse. Spit and brush again briefly. This time with
toothpaste.
        - MEN'S HEALTH, November
LOVE LETTER.  Write a last love letter and file it with your will. In it,
say and re-say all the things you have felt for your spouse over the years.
Update the letter whenever you wish. Objective: To overcome the guilt that
a spouse often feels over things left unsaid.
        - Caryl Krueger, 222 TERRIFIC TIPS FOR TWO, Abingdon Press
CURE HICCUPS.  Swallowing a teaspoon of sugar almost always does the trick.
At least 19 out of 20 times!
        - BOTTOM LINE PERSONAL
HIDE THE JEWELS.  Don't hide all the good stuff in the freezer, that's
right where the thief will look. Instead, use a sharp carpet knife to
hollow out an old phone book. Fill it with the goodies and then toss it in
a closet.
        - BOTTOM LINE PERSONAL
BEAR FACTS:  When confronted by a grizzly... Don't run, stand your ground,
use pepper spray into the bear's face, look to the side rather than into
the bear's eyes and talk calmly to the beast. "Hi there Yogi. You have a
beautiful coat but I'd really be pleased to have you keep it. You know, I
have a stuffed bear at home that looks a little like you..."
        - MEN'S JOURNAL, October, 1997
DOG FACTS: Dog's breed twice a year. In six years a single litter could
produce 67,000 offspring. In perhaps a hundred or maybe a thousand canine
generations, the distinctions we know as breeds would slowly meld back
toward the dog's prototype. The animal that emerged would be yellowish-tan,
weigh about 30 or 40 pounds, with ears erect or perhaps tippy at the top: a
marvelous sniffing machine ready at a moment's notice to mate, to eat, or
just to take a snooze.
        - MEN'S JOURNAL, October, 1997

QUOTES WORTH REMEMBERING:
"Anger often has a powerful effect. The angrier person gets his way more
often. And so to be always on the verge of anger would seem to be a key to
staying in control - except that because of this attitude there is no real
relationship, and the person is in control of nothing worth having."
        - Hugh Prather, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU
Estimated percentage of fatal car crashes in which rage plays a role: 66%
        - MEN'S HEALTH, November
"One thing is for certain. If you can laugh at your troubles, you will
always have something to laugh at."
        -macopier@theriver.com
"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.
        - Arthur Toynbee
"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend,
an acquaintance, or a stranger." 
        - Franklin P. Jones
"Dog. A kind of additional or subsidiary deity designed to catch the
overflow and surplus of the world's worship."
        - Ambrose Bierce, THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY

STRESSBUSTERS!!
        So, you'd like to turn off the jackhammers of stress? Here are some
        surefire ways:
        The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.        
                - Psalm 9:9
                
        I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right
        hand I will not be shaken.              - Psalm 16:8
        I call upon the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from
        my enemies.  - Psalm 18:3
        The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
                - Psalm 19:7
                
        The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear!
                - Psalm 27:1
                
        I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord
        in the land of the living.
                - Psalm 27:13
                
        I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.
                - Psalm 40:1
                
        Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob.
                - Psalm 81:1    
                
        I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and
        consider what you have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul 
        thirsts for you like a parched land.
                - Psalm 143:5

        After reviewing some of the "stressbuster" words written by David
the king, I wrote to several Davids whose names are in my Internet address
book. I asked each of them the following question: "When life really gets
rushed and packed with stress, what do you do to defeat the stress and
replace it with peace?"
        It depends on what is causing the stress.  But most often I can sit
back, smile, and recall that my stressors of the past have usually been
linked to unrealistic expectations of myself.  So I tell myself, "Get Real"
and make the appropriate adjustments. Sometimes I breath deeply, gaze out
my window, and with a song in my heart thank God for the ways that he has
blessed me in the past and pray for strength and courage for the present.
There are times I just turn out the lights, lock the office door, and go
for a "smell the roses" walk in the park. And finally, I remind myself that
stress is only stress if I let it be. It is something that I choose. So I
decide then and there that since I can't be everything to everyone, I will
choose my priorities and send my stressors packing.
        - David in Michigan
        If I'm brave enough, I force myself to sit down in a quiet place
and write.  In long hand with my favorite pen.  Three pages.  Write
whatever comes to my mind, one free association to the other.  No agenda.
When I get through I'm cleaned out, like one of my Grandfather's old
asphalt laden dumptrucks that just emptied its heavy steamy contents, and
now bouncing lightly down the highway, ready for another load.
        - David in Maryland
        Two options (King David got into a heap of trouble when he took the
first option too far!): (1) Clifton Beach, a world famous place for natural
beauty/beauties (!), is a great place to relax. (2) For me it is probably
safer to be at home restoring antique furniture - another way to discover
and appreciate beauty.
        - David in South Africa
        I let the Train take the Strain! I've always been an enthusiast of
railway travel. In England we have a great railway network. My favourite
route and favourite time is travelling to and from summer activity camps, a
five hour journey on the Cornish Riveira Express. I board the train, take
some reading material, have a cup of liquid refreshment in my hand (tea),
look out of the window travelling at 125mph - relax and praise God.
        - David in England
        I keep a CD player nearby and give myself 2 free songs during work
hours each day.         - Richard in MD
THE LAST LAUGHs:
Quick Thinker
        A customer asked a new clerk in a supermarket if she could buy half
grapefruit. Not knowing what to do, the clerk excused himself to ask the
manager.
        "Some nut out there wants to buy half a grapefruit--" he began, and
suddenly realized that the customer had entered the office behind him--"and
this lovely lady would like to buy the other half."
        The manager was impressed with the way the clerk amicably resolved
the problem and they later started chatting. "Where are you from?" asked
the store manager.
        "Lancaster, Pennsylvania," replied the clerk, "Home of ugly women
and great hockey teams."
        "Oh? My wife is from Lancaster!" challenged the manager.
        Without skipping a beat, the clerk asked, "What team was she on?"
P.S.  "Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I have
been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding
me."  (Bobby, 8)

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