1 Peter 5:6-8 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (8/13/2014)...

General...

- Over 39,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year.

- In 2011 (latest available data), there were 39,518 reported suicide deaths.

- Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 15 and 64 years in the United States.

- Currently, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.

- A person dies by suicide about every 13.3 minutes in the United States.

Depression...

- Over 60 percent of all people who die by suicide suffer from major depression. If one includes alcoholics who are depressed, this figure rises to over 75 percent.

- Depression affects nearly 10 percent of Americans ages 18 and over in a given year, or more than 24 million people

- The best way to prevent suicide is through early detection, diagnosis and treatment of depression and other mood disorders.

- Depression is among the most treatable of psychiatric illnesses. Between 80 percent and 90 percent of people with depression respond positively to treatment, and almost all patients gain some relief from their symptoms. But first, depression has to be recognized.

Source: American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (theovernight.donordrive.com)

1 Peter 5:6-8 (NLT) So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (8/12/2014)...

I am Thankful : 

FOR THE WIFE WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT, 

BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE. 

FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO, 

BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS. 

FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES 

BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS. 

FOR THE TAXES I PAY 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED. 

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS. 

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT. 

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE 

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME. 

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT 

BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.. 

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION. 

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM. 

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR. 

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR. 

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD. 

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

- Unknown

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT) Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:12-13 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (8/11/2014)...

Don't Quit 

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow--

You may succeed with another blow,

Success is failure turned inside out--

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Edgar A. Guest

Philippians 4:12-13 (NLT) I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (8/8/2014)...

God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many people you drove home who didn't have transportation.

God won't ask how much overtime you worked, but will ask if you worked overtime for your family and loved ones.

God won't ask what you did to help yourself, but will ask what you did to help others.

God won't ask how many friends you had, but will ask how many people to whom you were a true friend.

God won't ask what you did to protect your rights, but will ask what you did to protect the rights of others

God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but will ask how many times they didn't.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NLT) Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. 

Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (8/7/2014)...

- Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when

you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?

- Isn't it strange how 90 minutes seem so long when you're at church, and how

short they seem when you're watching a good movie?

- Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

- Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?

Colossians 3:2-3 (NLT) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 

Proverbs 17:17; 18:24 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (8/6/2014).,,

"Many people walk in and out of your life, but true friends leave footprints in your heart."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Proverbs 17:17 (NLT) A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. 

Proverbs 18:24 (NLT) There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. 

Ephesians 5:25-33 (NLT)...

FROM TODAY'S READING (8/4/2014)...

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her."

- Max Lucado

Ephesians 5:25-33 (NLT) For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. 

As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.