What do I do now?

Gift of a Giver
Originally uploaded by Pool Photo

This simple question runs through the mind of university grads, those laid off from their jobs, and even retiries. And the answer is so simple that it is often over looked and discarded.

"Do what you enjoy."

When you keep in mind the principle of "the giver", the answer to the question is to develop one's self in what they enjoy. In this way, as one enjoys themselves they are supporting the community and those around them.

This environment will produce success and fulfillment for the giver and the receiver, a like.

Whenever we live our life in a way to benefit others we will live satisfied, accomplished and blessed.

Vacation Oriented

I've lived in many countries and in the majority of them I have seen a disturbing work ethic. It is distructive, unhealthy and leads people in a sence of unsatisfaction all the while masked as a normal and acceptable practice. It is the vacation-oriented work ethic.

You can see it in a simple form as weekend-oriented work. You can hear it in the movies or on TV when the actor says somehing like "I can't wait for Saturday" or "It's Wednesday, it's 'hump' day." refering to the middle of the week.

The essence of this narsasistic "ethic" is to reduce work into the necessary stepping stones to a achieve a personal gratification in form of a vacation, in other words an escape from the work.

What this does is make work a chore or a series chores that need to be done for the promised pleasure at the end. The problem is two-fold. The pleasure is never as good as how we imagined it, causing us to feel unsatisfied and leading us to question if we are working in the right field or doing the right thing in order to get our prize. Secondly, since we are focused on the weekend or vacation, our work suffers, weakening our possibility for future success and not satisfying the needs of those who depend on us..

Our focus should be service oriented. This positive, outward force benefits all those around it. Our satisfaction in serving can never be destroyed, and those we serve will find satisfaction in working with us. This focus puts a principle taught by our teacher, Jesus, into practice. ~Give and it shall be given to you~

Check yourself. Are you vacation or service oriented?

-- Posted while on the move

Forgiveness is not an Option

Our future is tied to what you have done and are currently doing. Walk circumspectly (using a word my Dad uses all the time) so as not to fall into an emotional trap that may seem right at the time but will cause damaging repercussions.

It is unfortunate that, in our walk through life, we will have to face people that will want to do us harm. I’m not referring to those who accidentally hurt us. Although those events will no doubt bother us, they will not birth the same desire for revenge as those initiated out of the conscious effort to harm us.

You might be thinking that you don’t harbor a desire for revenge but simply believe that they (those who have harmed you) don’t deserve and will not get your forgiveness. This attitude will inflict self injury and future discomfort.

When we fail to forgive we set several things into motion. First of all we set the law of sowing and reaping into action, meaning that we will reap unforgiveness. And second, unforgiveness will bind that event to your future. You will not reach the success you desire. Unforgiveness acts as a weight and acts as a tether to your dreams.

Forgive, and cut yourself loose.

Meetings, a Necessary Evil (i.e. pain in the booty)

In working with or in any organization (i.e. a group of 2 or more) you will have to participate in or have to organize meetings. These can be very beneficial (which will strengthen the idea or proposal) or a great waste of time which will weaken the underlining purpose of the meeting.

For a positive result it's important to identify what outcome is desired. Do you want to plant an idea, present a plan, person, or object, or to agree on a common course of action or?

The number of people invited should be in direct relation to what your desired outcome is. Large crowds are great for dispersing an idea, product, plan, etc. Smaller groups are better for making a decision and taking action.

When you desire to get the voice out. Big is always better. So there is nothing difficult about that part. Try to pack as many as possible into where ever you are. Now, there are some tricks to this. Not only are you trying to get a large crowd, you also want to get the crowd to feel like it is larger than it really is. This will put into practice the principle of the Magnetic Crowd. That is why the physical size of the event is important. You need to fill it or pack it. If there are empty seats you will not take advantage of the principle.

The difficult meeting organize or plan is the meeting designed for action-taking. As the organizer you need to invite the people who have the authority to make a decision, but these people normally

have a support staff that advises the decision-maker on the pros and cons of any action taken. This posses a problem. If the staff is strong and opinionated the decision-maker will want to take some time before a decision is made, that is why these meetings should be planned in a series of gradually smaller meetings.

Take your time and plan for all contingencies knowing that correct and efficient action takes deliberate thought.

The Gift

Few people appreciate the power of the gift. And yet it has been helping people gain access to, otherwise, restricted areas for ages. In the book of proverbs the author writes that a gift given in secret opens doors, and if this principle is used properly it can make your life easier.

There are a few rules that must be followed first.

• -the gift must have meaning
• -the gift must meet a need (the need may or may not be initially apparant to the receiver)
• -the need must be apparant when receiving the gift
• -the gift must not be given as a second thought
• -the gift must be heartfelt
• -the gift mustn't be given with a condition
• -the gift mustn't be given with any strings attached
• -the gift must not be done in public or to the knowledge of anyone else except the giver and the receiver

Following these rules will garantee your sucess in applying this principle. The success of this principle is directly related to the meeting of the receiver's need. The better the need is filled, the better the power of the principle.

Give

And give
Often

Giving and Deposits

As I was mulling over a passage in the Bible where Jesus talks about the rich fool, (Luke 12:16-21) I made a connection that I am very excited about. These are verses I have heard since I was a child, but only until now did the light turn on and I could see a deeper meaning.


(Maybe to the average “Joe”, what I just said not only sounds like gibberish but gibberish with a side order of “crazy” mixed in!)


The parable of the rich fool says that a certain rich man received a plentiful yield on his field. (Please note that what made the man a fool wasn’t his wealth, but what he planned and why he planned it.) The point of the parable isn’t the rich man or his barns, or his wealth, it is that he was thinking about himself and how he was setting up his future. His plan was to build bigger barns to hold all his grain in order to retire. I don’t think that God is opposed to retirement, but I am sure He is opposed to thinking that we should supply our own needs and retire.




The passage “God will liberally supply-- fill to the full-- your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19) is not a hope declaration, it’s a faith declaration. Not only that, it’s a declaration of God’s will. God wants to supply our needs. He doesn’t want to share the stage with anyone, not even you. Even though the Word says that God is a jealous God, this way or method of supplying our needs is more in line with helping us live without fear. When we live thinking about building up our bank account, our 401K or something similar, we are talking about doing something with our own strength. And whatever we do on our own is bound to earthly terms and therefore corrupt and doomed to eventually decay and crumble.


This isn’t God’s will for us. He has nothing against money, things or property, but He has a big problem with covetousness and fear. The rich man wanted to place his faith in his goods and not in God. What was in the rich man’s heart was a desire to gather his goods and grain in one place for himself and his own happiness. In other words, he was setting himself up to be the sole supplier of his future and happiness. He was going to put himself in the “god” position of his life. He wouldn’t have to depend on anyone or anything. (i.e. “So is he who lays up treasure for himself.” Luke 12:21)This was his error and this was what made him the fool. Now, to what I learned.


In Luke 18:22, Jesus (in response to a question on how to obtain eternal life) tells a rich young ruler to sell all that he has, give it to the poor and follow Him. Jesus didn’t want this man to be poor or to suffer without, but He was telling this man a way to protect his investment that sounds foreign and strange to us. Jesus even said “so you will have treasure in Heaven.” The way to wealth, for this young man, was to invest, watch his money grow, reap a harvest or a return and repeat. In response to his question, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life”, Jesus was offering the man a business opportunity. By giving to the poor, the rich man would have put his money in the best bank in all of creation.




Matthew 6:19-20 tells us of the type of bank: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”(KJV) Jesus is talking about “laying up” in other words “storing up”, like the rich fool who wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger barns to store up/lay up his goods for the future. Jesus is saying that we should put our money & goods in a heavenly bank account.


I’m not proposing that we not use banks. Jesus talked about using banks in his parables and even the rich fool (before he started talking foolishly) had barns. I’m talking about the storehouses where we keep our treasure.


Think about this. We all have checking accounts, but our treasure isn’t really in the checking account, right? We may have a 401K, but it isn’t our treasure. Our treasure may be a special account, land holdings, or precious metals, or jewels, etc. that we hold on to because it represents our greatest holdings and the core of our monetary wealth. The Word is telling us that this method of thinking is a natural way and not a supernatural one. By selling it and giving it away, the person is depositing money in a heavenly bank account that no one can touch.


The natural man thinks that this method is ludicrous and means that the person who takes the supernatural path has no more wealth. But the supernatural man realizes that Proverbs 19:17 says, “…He who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord. And He will pay back what he has given.” He also knows that “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.” (Galatians 6:7)


The supernatural way gives the user a five-way return:
1. The money cannot be stolen or destroyed.
2.There is a 100-fold increase (Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:28, Luke 18:30)
3.The wealth is available no matter where you are (it’s not bound by international law or boundaries)
4.Where your treasure is where your heart is also
5.Eternal Life (See Note)


When I saw this I realized that every believer (emphasis on “believer”) is being offered the awesome opportunity of depositing their goods in a heavenly account with outstanding returns. Have you ever thought of giving as opportunities and not a thing you have to do? When the offering plate comes by, it is an opportunity. When a person with little or no means of support asks you for money, it is an opportunity. When there is a project in your church, it is an opportunity. When God asks you to bless someone, it is an opportunity to deposit in that account.


That is how giving with a cheerful heart is possible. The giver is giving out of, not only obedience, but of love and the knowledge that they are laying up treasure in their heavenly bank account. We shouldn’t shy away from the thought of laying up treasure, since these are the same terms that Jesus used and offered as He spoke.


Now, there are some that refuse to believe that this is for them or that it means a spiritual value and not a physical one. I have three things that I would point out:
1.Heaven doesn’t need money; this is an offering (in the banking sense) to the believer.
2.The Bible says whatsoever you sow you will reap. We believe that if we sow evil we will receive evil, if we sow death we will receive death, if we sow thievery we will receive thievery. Why do we believe this for the evil side but when it comes to the good things, we refuse to believe that it means what it says? We may feel more comfortable saying that it means a spiritual value, but that doesn’t take away from what the Word really says: WHATSOEVER you SOW you will REAP.
3.As with all things in the Word, this is for the believer. If you don’t believe, then this isn’t for you.


Happy deposits!


Eternal Life Note:
Jesus makes an interesting point in Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:28, and Luke 18:29-30. Jesus says that the person who does these things/ walks this way will receive Eternal Life. I believe this stems from the faith placed in God and not our physical strength or ability. The comparison of faith in God and our own strength is an essay for another day, but a great point to highlight.

The Law of Going the Extra Mile

An action that I had previously dismissed as a simple rule of thumb taught by my parents is a law of enormous importance. I had performed it without consciously doing it for many years but lately I had started to slack off ‘cause I thought I didn’t have the time and I should focus more on the things that directly supported me and my goals.

This is the Law of Going the Extra Mile.

The Boy Scouts say that they should always leave a place better than they found it. Jesus said that if we are asked to carry something one mile to take in another one without being asked. We tell each other that we should “do unto others what we would like others to do to us.” Wouldn’t you like that other person to do more than just make your fries, flip your burger, or sell you a roll of stamps? Wouldn’t you like that extra smile, that good attitude, that suggestion that another choice would be better for you and cost less at the same time?

This is the law of Going the Extra Mile.

This mind set will boost your potential and make you a valuable asset no matter where you are or what you do. It will promote you to the top of what ever group you are in and place you in places above where your formal education promised you would go. It will make you a desired individual, and make you stand out among the rest of your co-workers, family, students, friends.

This is the law of Going the Extra Mile

It requires you to go beyond what you have been asked to do and what you have been paid to do. It requires excellence or quality in your actions and a positive/happy mental attitude. I encourage you to practice this law on-purpose for the next 7-days on a constant basis, without telling any one of what you are doing. After this “test period” you will experience how powerful this law is and will not want to stop.

Your Eyes and Ears

Have you ever thought about your eyes and ears? I have thought about them when I see or hear of someone who doesn't have a working pair. But other than that, they don't even cross my mind.

I was going to a meeting the other day when I was thinking about the way I experience the world around me. And how that information might change the way I experience the rest of the day or the rest of my life. As long as I am awake I have my eyes open and am listening to the sounds around me. They don't have a filter but act as a funnel device. As long as the image is in front of me, it is recorded and as long as the sound is relatively close it is recorded as well. I can "pay attention" to a certain part of the image or sound to make a decision to continue, buy, reject, walk, duck, smile, turn away, run, get excited, be depressed, be full of hope, expect the divine, accept defeat, etc.

But the interesting thing is that when I come across an image or sound that I have seen or heard before I automatically remember how I reacted the first time I came across that situation. This makes my reaction time faster. But what I realized was that sometimes my initial reaction wasn't the correct one. This makes it difficult to "reprogram" my reactions.

This makes it very important to "pay attention" or realize what we are looking at and listening too. Since there is no built in filter on either of the input devices it is up to the user to "filter" by choosing wisely.

I remember a song my mother would sing to me that went "Cuidado los ojitos al mirar..." Translated (be careful what your eyes look at). It is important that we take care of what we put in our heart, mind, soul.

Whatever we look at stays with us for a loooooooong time. If I were to ask you, "What have you seen that you shouldn't have?" you will automatically remember the image. Impressive, right? It would be great if it worked that way for the Biology, Chemistry, Algebra and geometry formulae, but I haven't got it to work that way. In any case we should take to experiment to heart and realize how important we should apply our personal "filter" and guide our eyes and ears to see and listen to that which is uplifting kind, patient, loving, nobel, and uplifting.