Life

Getting Too Close

Lori Harding
9 Sep 2013
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As I sat by the pool during a recent sunny Saturday afternoon getaway, I noticed a young boy and his father playing the proverbial launch-me-into-the-deep-end game that resulted in the little guy exclaiming, “Do it again!” and, “Higher next time!” as he squealed with devilish delight. The father gladly complied, obviously enjoying his son’s pleasure. After a series of throws, the boy swam away from his dad. Immediately, the dad reached out, grabbed him and threw him up in the air with a smile, certain his son would love it. Well, not only did the son clearly dislike that spontaneous […]

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Social Security Insecurity

Jeff Masters
8 Sep 2013
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After paying into the Social Security system for their entire career, many Americans on the edge of retirement suddenly realize they don’t understand how the system works. They have heard conflicting strategies of when to start taking their benefits. Some say it is best to start collecting a reduced benefit at age 62, others recommend that it is best to delay collection as long as possible because the delayed benefit will be much larger. Other arguments exist about when couples and surviving spouses should claim benefits, and whether or not to take benefits while you are still working. Social Security […]

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9 Principles for Young Professionals

Rick Deal
4 Sep 2013
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It’s a tough and competitive world out there, and with unemployment statistics as they are, many of us in our 20s are happy to take work where we can find it. Others are already working in their desired fields but, in either case, we are all trying to move forward and build our futures as we go. With that in mind, here are a number of principles for young professionals that will help you grow and serve you well in any industry. Time management Many people have an idea that staying later than everyone else in the office will prove […]

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A Tale of Two Lunches

Tullian Tchividjian
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Below is an excerpt from my forthcoming book One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World (David C. Cook, October 2013) I was sixteen when my parents kicked me out of the house. What started out as run-of-the-mill adolescent rebellion in my early teens had, over the course of a few short years, blossomed into a black hole of disrespect and self-centeredness that was consuming the entire family. I would lie when I didn’t have to, push every envelope, pick fights with my siblings, carry on, and sneak around—at first in innocent ways; later in not-so-innocent ways. If someone […]

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The Davids and Goliaths

Chrissie Ferguson
6 Aug 2013
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Weird. Nerd. Fat. Ugly. Just words? Maybe. But when used to hurt someone else, words become devastating and painful. Words become objects thrown at a child, transforming his or her life forever. Bullying. It’s something that happens on the playground. It’s something that happens on the bus. It happens on the playing field and in the classroom. It happens through email, text messaging and social networks. It can even happen in a child’s home. Bullying has been around for as long as we can remember. It is recorded as far back as biblical times. Remember Goliath? He was a bully. […]

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The Psychology of Superiority

Dr. John Hawkins
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High school cliques, racial prejudice, and atrocities such as genocide all have one thing in common. They originate and exist because one group thinks they are superior to another group. This phenomenon could be called the “psychology of superiority,” and is the cause of much of the conflict in the world at various levels. A problem with a solution Psychology is the study of the human mind and emotions. A more literal translation of the word would be “a study of the human spirit or soul.” There seems to be something innate in all people that consider their group superior […]

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Investing 101 for Women

Jeff Masters
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It is a harsh truth that many women either leave money matters to the men in their lives or ignore the importance of financial planning altogether. Couple this with the fact that women face different challenges and financial risks than men, and it becomes clear why women must take charge of planning their financial futures. Women worry with good reason: they outlive men. According to the National Center for Women and Retirement Research, at age 60, a man has a life expectancy of 19 years, but a woman has a life expectancy of 24 years. Those 5 extra years of […]

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Fitness Accountability

Edwin Morales
5 Aug 2013
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Nearly everyone has dabbled in the world of health and fitness to some degree. It may be as small as the fitness-related New Year’s resolutions many of us make, or as intense as training for an Ironman competition. Some people choose to focus on the nutritional aspect of health, while others choose to spend time exercising; typically trying to burn unwanted calories. There are others still who have seemingly mastered the art of health and fitness and have conquered both the giants of eating to fuel their bodies correctly and training their bodies to peak physical performance. Some people prefer […]

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7 Steps to Save Your Marriage

Dabney Hedegard
1 Aug 2013
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Most people treat their pets better than their spouse. It’s true. The person we once adored quickly becomes the enemy once we tie the knot. So how do we beat the fifty-percent-of-Christian-marriages-end-in-divorce odds? What if I told you the greatest joy you could experience takes place at home, with your spouse? Before you disagree, hear me out. I’m not a counselor. I’m a survivor of a bad marriage that was heading towards divorce. It took battles with cancer, debt and other distractions before our hearts changed. Let me explain. Once married, I clung to my husband for emotional comfort, advice […]

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9 Million Dollar Wedding

Jerry Newcombe
13 Jul 2013
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  Facebook’s first president, Sean Parker, who was also the co-founder of NAPSTER, recently got married in Big Sur, California. The 300-guest wedding cost about $9 million. That is astounding. I was driving through Big Sur recently on vacation. (We just happened to have a mini-family vacation there). We stopped for gas, and I was pumping away before I looked at the price. It was more than $6.00 a gallon! That is high even for California. I stopped immediately – when I noticed the cost. At least it was a nice view. Writing for the Telegraph in the U.K. (6/3/13), […]

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