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A batch of the best highlights from what Todd's read, .

Jesus is Lord, which means Caesar (or the modern nation-state) is not.

Making It Plain

Drew G.I. Hart

If you doubt the transformative power of gratitude, try this experiment. Pick anything in your life that is a source of dissatisfaction. Maybe it’s your old smartphone with its bad battery, your junky car, or a less-than-satisfying job. Now make it a practice over the next few days to express heartfelt thanks for your phone, car, job, or anything else in your life. Be thankful that you have a phone, or a car, or a job. Millions of people don’t have any of these things. So take time this week, as the old hymn exhorts, to “count your blessings.” Then sit back and watch the psychological magic do its work. Notice, when you count your blessings, how a source of dissatisfaction is transformed into a location of joy. Now imagine extending this thankfulness across every sphere of your life. Imagine what it would be like to experience everything in life—every moment, every possession, every task, every relationship—as gift and grace. It would be absolutely transformative. No wonder gratitude makes people happy.

Hunting Magic Eels

Richard Beck

When we are right, let’s try to win people gently and tactfully to our way of thinking, and when we are wrong—and that will be surprisingly often, if we are honest with ourselves—let’s admit our mistakes quickly and with enthusiasm. Not only will that technique produce astonishing results; but, believe it or not, it is a lot more fun, under the circumstances, than trying to defend oneself. Remember the old proverb: “By fighting you never get enough, but by yielding you get more than you expected.” PRINCIPLE 3 If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie

...catch up on these, and many more highlights