Saturday
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Posted:Oct 3, 2009 4:55 am
Last Updated:Oct 22, 2009 3:56 pm 4511 Views
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My new job requires me to work some Saturdays.
This is my first one.
I'm not happy.
Martini tonight!
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Forgiveness
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Posted:Sep 27, 2009 4:45 am
Last Updated:Dec 21, 2009 12:20 pm 4211 Views
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I heard my pastor say a few weeks ago that there are a lot of people that believe forgiveness is required of all of us. When someone "wrongs" us, we must forgive them. My pastor says that's an untruth, that we as Christians are not commanded to forgive UNLESS the one who has wronged us requests our forgiveness. At that point, we must forgive them.
He then sited some examples of horrid situations: , murder, etc. IF the offender asks us to forgive them, we must. Outside of that, unforgiveness can remain.
I've been thinking about it for several weeks now, and I think I agree with this. What are your thoughts?
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Lonliness
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Posted:Sep 27, 2009 4:30 am
Last Updated:Sep 27, 2009 1:41 pm 2854 Views
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I got a call yesterday from a girlfriend who was on a long drive, and she said she was feeling very lonely. She had a boyfriend in her life for about 5 years, and 2 years ago he broke it off. She knew it was for the better that they be apart, and she's made comments to me that she's HAPPY being alone, and I believe she meant that she's "OK" being alone. When she called me yesterday, she admitted she misses being with someone. I explained that she was never designed to be alone, and that maybe it's time to get back out there dating again. It scares her so much. She thinks that at our age (she's a few years younger, but 50 ish is what I mean) that "all the good ones are taken". And that's such an untruth and so negative. I need her to realize that there are lots of good men that are looking for a good woman.
We all want to be loved, yes?
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I got in a bit of trouble with the boss today...
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Posted:Sep 24, 2009 3:15 pm
Last Updated:Oct 3, 2009 4:54 am 3532 Views
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I had a call from a man that was extremely rude and obnoxious - his wife and I had spoken about them becoming customers on Tuesday and on Wednesday I emailed her to see if a decision had been made and she wrote me back saying that her husband had taken care of everything the night before. Hmmm.... I looked up their address in our system and there was no new account set up. I told her that there seemed to be no account in their name associated with their address. She said she would find out from her husband who he had spoken to. The husband calls me, raving mad and starts yelling at me. I told him I wanted to investigate the reason I could not find the open account (assuming the reason the account didn't get opened was because the guy didn't pass our credit check, but of course, I can't SAY this to him...) He's yelling at me, "DO NOT BOTHER ME ANYMORE" and "IF I DON'T HAVE AN OPEN ACCOUNT, THEN I WANT TO OPEN ONE - MAYBE!" At that point, I very nicely said, "Perhaps you would be better off finding a different oil company to do business with".
Well, the guy apparently called back asking for my supervisor. I was taken aside by him and asked what had happened. I told him everything and he said that I can not do that - that a customer is a customer, even if they call and beat up our customer care reps or sales reps.
I disagree. I think that when you know you are going to be getting a "bad apple" customer, it's best to let them find another company to beat up. Having owned an oil company in the past, I knew that this kind of character wouldn't be one that I'd want to deal with.
Oh well. It's a living. "I love my job". 
The picture is my kitchen looking into my dining room. 720 square feet, all to myself!
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New Photo
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Posted:Sep 21, 2009 4:29 am
Last Updated:Sep 21, 2009 6:43 pm 3334 Views
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This was taken yesterday...Happy Last Day of Summer, 2009 everyone!
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It's all about your Heart
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Posted:Sep 14, 2009 4:08 pm
Last Updated:Sep 23, 2009 3:09 am 4199 Views
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I get The Way of the Master newsletters online and today this was in the newsletter. I thought I'd share it with you, my brothers and sisters. I loved what Kirk Cameron had to say...
Above all else, guard your heart, for it
is the wellspring of life!" Proverbs 4:23
See that your chief study is about your heart:
that there, God's image is planted;
that there, His interests are advanced;
that there, the world and flesh are subdued;
that there, the love of every sin is cast out;
that there, the love of holiness grows.
"I, the Lord, search the heart and examine
the mind!" Jeremiah 17:10
~ Jonathan Edwards
I found this quote interesting because it deals with the secret seat of deceit- the human heart. While you and I can fake our faith to the world (act religiously), to our fellow man (act kindly), and even to our own family (pray before meals and read the Bible), we cannot pull the wool over the all-seeing eyes of Almighty God. He sees the heart. Nothing is hidden from his sight, but all things are opened and bare before the eyes of the creator of the universe. If we want our Christianity to be authentic, attractive, and acceptable to Jesus, it must be lived out first in our own hearts. Think about that. It must be authentic first in your own heart. If your heart is not true; if you do not truly count Jesus precious and sin odious, you will never know what it is to be a genuine Christian. There are religious phonies all over the place. If you want a genuine love for Christ to grow in you, it will not happen by keeping any outward form of religion, it will happen in the secret place- the heart. If you want to be effective in advancing God's kingdom, first see to it that your heart is filled with true love and appreciation for Jesus. Fear nothing but God and sin. Lasting change in the world will not come about by persuasive words, trickery, or force. God's kingdom begins internally, in the heart, and then moves out into the world to bring about his purposes. So see to it that your chief study is about your heart.
~ Kirk Cameron
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Your choice!
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Posted:Sep 12, 2009 7:59 am
Last Updated:Sep 13, 2009 5:18 am 3258 Views
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LIFE IS SO SHORT, AND TO GO THROUGH IT BEING NEGATIVE ABOUT EVERYTHING IS SUCH A WASTE OF LIFE.
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'
He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!
You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'
He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or .. You can choose to be in a bad mood
I choose to be in a good mood..'
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.
'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations.. You choose how people affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back..
I saw him about six months after the accident.....
When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?'
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born ,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'
'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked
He continued, '..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'
'What did you do?' I asked.
'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John.. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.'
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live.. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
Attitude , after all, is everything.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34.
After all, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
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Today's Thoughts/Prayers
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Posted:Sep 10, 2009 3:25 am
Last Updated:Sep 26, 2009 4:36 am 3324 Views
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People Choices - by my pastor, Mark Evans, New Life Church, Trumbull, CT
I posted this in my blog today because I think that he wrote this with ME in mind! LOL! (Probably NOT, but that's the thought I had as I read this today). See if it speaks to you too.
When God wants to bless you, He puts a person in your life....When Satan wants to destroy you, he puts a person in your life.
Today's Word
Can two walk together, except they be agreed? ~Amos 3:3
Today's Thought
You can't partner successfully with somebody who doesn't share your goals. When you feel passionately about something, but the other person feels complacent, it's like you're dancing the Macarena with somebody who only wants to Waltz. You picked the wrong dance partner!
Never walk anywhere with anyone who doesn't share your passion for what you're doing together. Some issues can be corrected through teaching and leadership - but you can't teach somebody to care! And if they don't care, they'll affect your environment, ruin your productivity and break your rhythm, with constant criticism and complaints.
It's a mistake to use optimism or pressure to force somebody into accepting your goals. They can't run on your fuel or become what they're not, simply because you want them to or believe they can. They must have their own motivation or they'll drain you!
The key to recognizing the right relationships for your life is - listening! People know themselves better than you do, and they'll generally tell you who they are before you get involved with them.
But you've got to listen. If you fail to hear their self-assessments or their confessions because you're too busy giving them your positive-thinking, "Oh-no-that-can't-be-true" speech, you'll miss what you should be hearing. Listen to them - and to the Spirit of God that's within you - and you'll save yourself years and tears of secret disappointment.
Today's Prayer
Father In Heaven; Teach me to Listen to Your Guidance; Give me confidence to trust what "I" hear. I know that I am who I hang out with! So lead me to the "Right" relationships for me and Your plan. Direct me by Your Holy Spirit! In Jesus Name. ~Amen.
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The Miracle
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Posted:Sep 8, 2009 3:43 am
Last Updated:Sep 9, 2009 3:29 pm 2966 Views
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I have to tell you about baby Marcos. He is 18 months old. He was in the car with his dad - the car was sitting in the driveway at his house. He was in his little car seat. His dad was distracted, talking with someone who was not in the car. Baby Marcos somehow undid his seat belt and climbed out of his seat. He then climbed out of the car window. Dad didn't realize it. He backed up the car over the baby, who was under the car.
The baby was rushed up to Yale in New Haven. His prognosis was poor. They were trying to save him, but things didn't look good. Marco's dad is best friends with a guy that comes to my church, New Life church in Trumbull, CT. Lenny called the church to ask for prayer for the family. The church started praying. I don't think there was a dry eye in the church as our pastor told us about this situation. Last Sunday night during worship, Pastor Mark felt led to have everyone in the congregation pray. He stopped everything, said, "People, we need to lift up baby Marcos right now in prayer and ask God for a healing for this baby!" Everyone prayed.
Tuesday night one of the pastors went up to Yale to visit the baby, and the nurses told him "he's not in ICU - he's down the hall!" He went to the baby's room, and there he was, playing with his mother with his toys on the floor! No tubes, no monitors on him!!! The mother spoke first and here's what she said: "There must have been an awful lot of people praying for Marcos, because on Sunday night things changed. He started to get stronger and stronger and now it looks like he's going to make it!" The pastor snapped a picture of the baby and mom and they showed it to us this past Sunday morning on the overhead. You would never believe he had been thru this ordeal - he looked like a "normal" baby!!!
God's compassion was moved by our prayers. Bless God! Praise Him!!
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Choose Victory
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Posted:Sep 7, 2009 5:01 am
Last Updated:Sep 7, 2009 10:51 am 2738 Views
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Today's Thought (From my Pastor, Mark Evans, New Life Church, Trumbull, CT)
Every day we have the opportunity to choose thoughts of life and victory or choose thoughts of defeat and despair. God promises that when we choose His ways, we are choosing life and victory.
Imagine that you're holding a glass of dirty water. It's full of all kinds of particles, sand, and dirt. If you were to start pouring good, clean water into that glass and let it overflow, eventually, all the dirty water would be gone and you would have a glass of perfectly clear water.
Your life works the same way.
You are renewed by the washing of the water of the Word of God.
You may be carrying particles of dirt from the past. You may have old destructive habits or mindsets that you are trying to get rid of. But the more you pour God's Word into yourself, the more clean and alive everything becomes. Don't choose to sit around with that mucky, dirty water on the inside of you. Allow His Word to cleanse you by reading and applying it to your situation every day.
As you choose His Word, you choose His life, and you'll experience His hand of blessing in ways you never dreamed!
Today's Prayer
Father in heaven, thank You for Your promise of life and blessing. I choose life in You today and invite You to wash me with Your Word. Help me to stay close to You always. In Jesus Name. ~Amen.
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