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John Bunyan beautifully portrays Christiana and Mercy coming up out of the bath of the interpreter’s house. They have had jewels put upon them, and when they are both washed, Mercy says to Christiana, “How comely and beautiful you look!” “No,” Christiana said, “My sister, I see no beauty in myself, but…

In his book, Bezonomics: How Amazon Is Changing Our Lives and What the World's Best Companies Are Learning from It, Brian Dumaine quotes Bezos as saying, “Even the best innovators always look a little clueless at the beginning because to get a great return you have to be doing something most people aren’t.…

You may have more in common with Priscilla Presley, who married Elvis in 1967 than you think. As she reflected on her marriage to the King, she said “I was hated for marrying him, hated for getting a divorce,” she said. “Having people being critical but not knowing what your life was and not knowing…

Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy that reached the top of the Box Office list. It is a fun comedy with all the elements that make up the genre. One thing that is not so funny is the criticism the characters receive. Some criticize them for not being American enough. Others criticize them for not…

A 4-year-old pre-K student in Oklahoma was forced to use his right hand while making his letters. The teacher sent a note home to the parents advising them of the reason. “There are numerous instances of left-handedness being associated with wickedness,” read the astounded parents. —Jim L. Wilson and…

Resident of the Dutch village of Jelsum said the idea of using a rumble strips in the highway to sound out the anthem of the Friesland region sounded like a good idea at first, but it quickly became an annoyance. As a novelty, authorities had strips placed in the road, so that when a vehicle drove over…

In The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen writes, "Complaining is self-perpetuating and counterproductive. Whenever I express my complaints in the hope of evoking pity and receiving the satisfaction I so much desire, the result is always the opposite of what I tried to get. A complainer is hard…

You may have more in common with Priscilla Presley, who married Elvis in 1967 than you think. As she reflected on her marriage to the King, she said “I was hated for marrying him, hated for getting a divorce,” she said. “Having people being critical but not knowing what your life was and not knowing…

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic say they have cracked the code to being happy. They have been studying this for decades, working with tens of thousands of patients. Now they think they have found it. They key parts of the code are 1) focus on the right things. 2) Learn to compartmentalize your life and…

Paul only gave a two star TripAdvisor review for his stay at the four-star Beech Hill Hotel, which overlooks Lake Windermere in Cumbria, UK. He wasn’t happy. As it turns out, his room didn’t have the view he thought it should have. Fair enough. Vacationers staying at a nice lakeside hotel want a room…

When a Pennsylvania town was forced to use a backup Christmas tree for the civic lighting ceremony, resident complained, demanding the city replace the tree. The city had planned to use a Christmas tree from a tree farm for the tree in the town center, but when crews went to get it, the owners would…

Los Angeles Clippers Forward Josh Smith will be taking a pay cut this year. “I do have a family, so it’s going to be a little harder on me this year. But I’m going to push through it.” You would find it difficult too, I am sure, if you had to get by on only $6.9 million this year. It doesn’t matter how…

CRITICISM Rotten Reviews, a book edited by Bill Henderson, contains some negative reviews some works of art including Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Henderson reports that “Children’s Books” called Alice in Wonderland…

GRASS "Dad, your grass needs mowing, let me do it for you." Dan said. Dan just wanted to make his Dad's life more comfortable in the final days of his life, but he wanted more than that, he wanted his father's affirmation. "No son, I'll hire someone to do it, you never did know how to mow a lawn." Once…

It is amazing to look back over the course of American history and see that with every conflict, there have existed heroes and scoffers simultaneously. On one hand, there are those who courageously lay their lives on the line to fight against tyranny. And on the other hand, there are those who mock the…

CRITICISM DEFINED Given the less than stellar models of criticism prevailing in society, we need a healthy definition of criticism along with practical guidance for giving and receiving it. In an April 1st article for BusinessWeek, Dr. Bruce Weinstein gives us exactly that. Here's how he describes the…

English evangelist George Whitefield knew that what he was doing was honoring to the Lord, which kept him from discouragement when his enemies falsely accused him. At one point in his ministry, Whitefield received a vicious letter accusing him of wrongdoing. His reply was brief and courteous: “I thank…

Have you ever heard of people critisizing one another? Do you remember feeling uncomfortable - or did you want to hear more? Critisizism can be a healthy thing if it done to actually help another person. But there is a kind of critisism that stings and bites. I suppose the master of this was Sir Winston…

A man starting in the fish business hung out a sign, “Fresh Fish for Sale Today,” and invited his friends to the opening. They all congratulated him on his enterprise, but one suggested that his sign might be improved. Said he, “Why the ‘Today’? Of course it’s today, not yesterday or tomorrow.” So the…

Rumblings "But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. . ." (Acts 6:1a NLT) After the church I was pastoring completed a building program in 1985, our attendance began to pick up and we became effective at reaching people in our community. That didn't surprise me. I knew…

COMPLAINING Nancy Singer and her sister, who did not want to be identified, say they have been loyal customers of Filene’s Basement for years but recently received a letter from the chain of stores asking them not to return. They acknowledge they have returned many items and occasionally complained about…

Regarding employee participation in decisions, Schultz (1958) warns managers that “success from participation stems from hard work and from willingness at all levels of the management organization to face criticism.” Gainsharing and Power, Denis Collins, page 26

Attitude Adjustment "Here you go, son. Here's the fries you wanted." The father handed his son a super sized container of french fries and a coke. He sat across the table from his son to sip his coffee and read his newspaper. His son was becoming quite the young man. It seems like just yesterday that…

By far the most difficult form of pursuit behavior to recognize is criticism. How can those who act adversarially be said to be in pursuit? We feel alienated, not close. But criticism is characterized by overfocus. The “stinger’ and the “stung” are emotionally connected. Whenever a gnawing critic gets…

Women don’t want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think—in a deeper voice. Reader’s Digest, September 2007, page 112