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Abraham Lincoln avoided the extremes of his family's psychological deformities, but he still suffered from a dark, draining, despair-inducing force that seemed at times to bore into the center of his being. Shortly after Lincoln's death, Herndon described his slain friend as "a sad looking man: his melancholy dripped from him as he walked."17 Townspeople reported that he was indeed the saddest-looking man they had ever known. Lincoln's frie..
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Stephen Mansfield |
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So we forgive. We send away the wrongs done to us. We let people out of the little cages we keep them in while we enjoy our feelings of moral superiority. We hand the feelings of wrong to God and refuse to ever take them back. Then we shut up and never mention the matter again. When the time comes, we put our arm around the offender and we ask him how he is.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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Nonetheless, Lincoln's story is, in part, that of a man who beat back the spirits that came for him in the night. He might well have been crushed by his woes, by the death of the first son and then the second, by the madness of his wife, or the hatred of his foes--even by the devils in his thoughts. He did not yield, though, not ultimately. As important, he mined the valleys of depression for what riches he could find. He emerged to see lif..
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Stephen Mansfield |
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A second legacy from Nancy might seem more a curse than a gift, but it may have helped to give us the Lincoln our nation reveres. She would pass on to him her own struggle with depression, with that enveloping darkness that lurks, for some, ever at the soul's door. This would merge with a Lincoln family heritage of mental illness to become a force in Abraham that he fought to subdue all his days. It would leave him scarred, and it would eve..
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Stephen Mansfield |
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But running from emotional pain is never a good idea, as it only leaves us damaged of soul and hindered in our ability to fulfill our purpose. We have to turn and face our torturous seasons and the scars they try to leave on our hearts.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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It is a great art of living to be able to hear truth in the mouth of your enemies. Even those who hate you and mean to hurt you may still be right about what they see in your life. Though they shout their observations and probably intend them to wound you rather than help you, still they are giving you insight that can help you improve.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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The happy life is regarded as a life in conformity with virtue. It is a life which involves effort and is not spent in amusement." --Aristotle, from The Nicomachean Ethics"
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Stephen Mansfield |
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What we want and need in our bitter, rebellious times is God, but unwilling to turn fully to him, we reach for idols and forfeit his intended grace.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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A man is known by the company he keeps. We all know that we can tell a great deal about people by looking at those they call friends. It is also true that we can tell a great deal about ourselves by what our friends do when we hit hard times.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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Facing the reality of that painful season when it felt as though you were in a sandstorm with no skin is the key to becoming whole now.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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find it interesting, given the controversies over alcohol that would eventually erupt in the history of the Christian church, that the arrival of Christianity in the world and its eventual sway over the empire did not diminish the Roman love of beer. For the early Christians, drunkenness was the sin--as their apostles had repeatedly taught--and not the consumption of alcohol. After all, their Lord had miraculously created wine at a wedding ..
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Stephen Mansfield |
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Every Christian has a capacity for the most magnificent Christlikeness. Yet, every Christian also has the potential to commit the most disgusting and horrible acts of the flesh.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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To know gritty truth about life straight from the pages of Scripture is part of the grace of God and allows us to live safely and effectively in a fallen world.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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Far better to know people for the cruel creatures that they are, and to love them despite their flaws, than to love them as we wish them to be and constantly be disappointed and hurt.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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0f5e968
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John Wesley drank wine, was something of an ale expert, and often made sure that his Methodist preachers were paid in one of the vital currencies of the day--rum. His brother, Charles Wesley, was known for the fine port, Madeira, and sherry he often served in his home; the journals of George Whitefield are filled with references to his enjoyment of alcohol.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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Psalm 23:3 every day. Lord, please be my good shepherd and restore my soul.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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By doing rather than merely studying, we create a culture. Newcomers and the young feed on that culture. They watch. They do. They, too, are changed. Our culture expands. You Americans create a system of thought. The most you ask is that people contemplate new ideas. You might ask them to give or to sometimes attend meetings, but no contagious culture is created.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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Take all of this book upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a happier and better man.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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QUALITIES OF A GREAT GENERAL" 1. Tactically aggressive (loves a fight) 2. Strength of character 3. Steadiness of purpose 4. Acceptance of responsibility 5. Energy 6. Good health and strength George Patton Cadet"
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Stephen Mansfield |
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A NATION'S STRENGTH What makes a nation's pillars high And its foundations strong? What makes it mighty to defy The foes that round it throng? It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand Go down in battle shock; Its shafts are laid on sinking sand, Not on abiding rock. Is it the sword? Ask the red dust Of empires passed away; The blood has turned their stones to rust, Their glory to decay. And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown Has seemed to nati..
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Stephen Mansfield |
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True manliness is about the determination to act according to a noble definition of what it means to be a man. This is within the reach of every man, no matter how he looks or sounds.
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Stephen Mansfield |
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SOMEONE ONCE TRIED TO SUMMARIZE A PRINCIPLE IN Aristotle's epic work Poetics with these words: "Action is character." Now Aristotle was describing the elements of drama when he wrote his Poetics, so he didn't necessarily mean what I mean here. Still, his basic premise is true: we know what a person's character is by what he does."
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Stephen Mansfield |