(Denis Waitley)
L—is for Listen. To love someone is to listen unconditionally to his or her needs without prejudice.

O—is for Overlook. To love someone is to overlook the flaws and faults in favor of looking for the good.

V—is for Voice. To love someone is to voice your approval on a regular basis. There is no substitute for honest encouragement, positive strokes, and praise.

E—is for Effort. To love someone is to make a constant effort to spend the time, to make the sacrifice, to show your interest.

(AP)

To get an extra 14 years of life, don’t smoke, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, and drink alcohol in moderation. That’s the finding of a study that tracked about 20,000 people in the United Kingdom. Kay-Tee Khaw of the University of Cambridge and colleagues calculated that people who adopted these four healthy habits lived an average of 14 years longer than those who didn’t. 

(Ann Hettinger, Prevention Magazine)

Slip on some socks: The instant warm-up widens blood vessels in your feet, allowing your body to transfer heat from its core to the extremities, cooling you slightly, which induces sleep. Wearing an old-fashioned nightcap achieves the same result.

Stay on schedule: People who follow regular daily routines—bedtimes and wake-up times, work hours and meals—report fewer sleep problems than those with more unpredictable lives. Recurring time cues synchronize your body rhythms and sleep-wake cycles.

Go dark: Any light signals the brain to wake up, but “blue light” from your cell phone and your clock’s digital display are the worst offenders. For a sound sleep, turn your clock around and banish lighted devices from the bedroom.

(AFP)

The adage that laughter is the best medicine has been backed by an investigation which says that people who seethe with anger take longer to recover from injury. Previous studies have linked ill-tempered behavior with a higher incidence of coronary heart disease, hypertension and stroke, especially among men. But the new study revealed that individuals who had trouble controlling expressions of anger were four times likelier to need more time for their wounds to heal, compared with counterparts who could master their anger. 

By Kate V. Bryant, Marriage Partnership
When it comes to arguing, my husband, Paul, and I have two different approaches: He wears his feelings on his sleeve; I hide mine up my sleeve. You know when Paul is angry or frustrated—it’s out there for the world to see.
On the other hand, I’ve made an art of hiding emotions.
“What’s the matter, Kate?”
“Nothing.”
“Something’s bugging you—are you mad at me?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Of course Paul became frustrated with that pattern. On rare occasions, the pressure inside blew my lid off, and I expressed my anger in no uncertain terms! I used every communication no-no there is: You always … you never … you’re so … Then I felt like a communication failure and shut up again.
So Paul tiptoed around my hidden emotions while trying to keep his from spilling all over the
floor, while I was uptight. Trying to defuse stress had become stressful for both of us.
And then came e-mail. The first time we “argued” online, it went something like this:
Paul: Kate, about last night—I’m really sorry I reacted like I did. I guess I was really tired, and when you said we had a commitment on Friday night, it just put me over the top. I’d been thinking about how glad I’d be when the work week is over, and now we have to do something on Friday night. I wasn’t really angry at you, but I took it out on you, and I’m sorry.
Kate: I realized that, but your strong response stunned me, and I did feel like you were blaming me. I don’t appreciate it when you take things out on me. I’m not your enemy. I’m your wife, and I love you. We can’t always have things go the way we want, but we can make the best of them. Let’s look at it as an opportunity to be together rather than a commitment we weren’t planning on.
Paul: You’re right. That’s a good way to look at it. But let’s try not to make it a late night. It’s been a long week, and I’m really worn out. Can we hold Saturday night as a family night and home-base it?
Kate: I agree. Maybe we can just rent a couple of DVDs and kick back with the kids and chill.
That was much better! I could reread what I’d written and delete and reword the phrases that just didn’t come out right.
Our exchange of words was calm, rational, and productive. When we arrived home from work that day, we had big warm hugs and I’m-sorry kisses for each other.
When Paul and I got married, we received lots of advice from experienced couples. More than once Ephesians 4:26 was quoted to us: “Don’t let the sun go down upon your wrath.”
But Scripture also says, “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” and “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 15:23; 25:11).
I’ve been married more than 20 years, and now I find myself in the position of passing on nuggets of marital wisdom to younger couples. I’d pass these two on right alongside the one about the sun not going down on your anger. In our marriage, they go hand in hand.
Although most of our arguments aren’t solved through e-mail, most are at least addressed online. We independently
take the time to pray and ask God to show each of us what part we played in igniting the argument or fanning
its flames. We repent to God, then we repent to each other when we get to the keyboard the next morning. By that time the Holy Spirit has usually dealt with each of us.
When we use e-mail to resolve an argument, we can take the time to put in words what we’re really feeling without the heat of the moment choosing our words or distracting us from really “hearing”
each other. As clearly as possible, we share our perspectives and make sure we’re understood. That lays the foundation for resolution.
While we may need to compromise and adjust our expectations, we always maintain respect for each other in the process. And when we take the time to listen to and understand each other’s perspective in the calmer, cooler setting of cyberspace, resolution comes quicker and more thoroughly.