Having A Lot Of Money Is Like Having A Lot Of Manure ...

... It Doesn't Smell Any Better The More You Pile It Up!

"There rarely is a conflict between a person’s strengths and the way that person performs. The two are complementary. But there is sometimes a conflict between a person’s values and that same person’s strengths. What one does well — even very well — and successfully may not fit with one’s value system... I, too, many years ago, had to decide between what I was doing well and successfully, and my values. I was doing extremely well as a young investment banker in London in the mid-1930s; it clearly fitted my strengths. Yet I did not see myself making a contribution as an asset manager of any kind. People, I realized, were my values. And I saw no point in being the richest man in the cemetery. I had no money, no other job in a deep Depression, and no prospects. But I quit — and it was the right thing. Values, in other words, are and should be the ultimate test.” –Peter F. Drucker

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

"Earning A Living" Guidelines to Abide By: 1) Everything is owned by God, not anything by us; 2) People are more important than things; so use things, not people; 3) Money is always subordinate to good; never let it rival God's foremost place in one's heart.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for He has said "I will never leave you or forsake you"  Hebrews 13:5

Remember, All We Can See Is A Fragment At A Time ...

The Woodcutter's Wisdom
by Max Lucado

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before—such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. "This horse is not a horse to me," he would tell them. "It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?" The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune."

The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I've been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"

The people contested, "Don't make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse."

The old man spoke again. "All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don't know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can't say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?"

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn't, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn't been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. "Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us."

The man responded, "Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don't judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?

"Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! Don't say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don't."

"Maybe the old man is right," they said to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit of work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.

"You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever."

The old man spoke again. "You people are obsessed with judging. Don't go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments."

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their sons again.

"You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son's accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever."

The old man spoke again. "It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows."

The old man was right. We only have a fragment. Life's mishaps and horrors are only a page out of a grand book. We must be slow about drawing conclusions. We must reserve judgment on life's storms until we know the whole story.

I don't know where the woodcutter learned his patience. Perhaps from another woodcutter in Galilee. For it was the Carpenter who said it best:

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." (Matthew 6:34)

He should know. He is the Author of our story. And he has already written the final chapter.

THE INSPIRATION OF SPIRITUAL INITIATIVE

By Oswald Chambers
All initiative is not inspired. A man may say to you - "Buck up, take your disinclination by the throat, throw it overboard, and walk out into the thing!" That is ordinary human initiative. But when the Spirit of God comes in and says, in effect, "Buck up," we find that the initiative is inspired.
We all have any number of visions and ideals when we are young, but sooner or later we find that we have no power to make them real. We cannot do the things we long to do, and we are apt to settle down to the visions and ideals as dead, and God has to come and say - "Arise from the dead." When the inspiration of God does come, it comes with such miraculous power that we are able to arise from the dead and do the impossible thing. The remarkable thing about spiritual initiative is that the life comes after we do the "bucking up." God does not give us overcoming life; He gives us life as we overcome. When the inspiration of God comes, and He says - "Arise from the dead," we have to get up; God does not lift us up. Our Lord said to the man with the withered hand - "Stretch forth thy hand," and as soon as the man did so, his hand was healed, but he had to take the initiative. If we will do the overcoming, we shall find we are inspired of God because He gives life immediately.

Sometimes, Just Gotta Make Do With What You Have Left ...

Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.

If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is a sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.

By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent while he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play. But this time, something went wrong.

Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap--it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do.

People who were there that night thought to themselves: "We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage - to either find another violin or else find another string for this one." But he didn't.

Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before.

Of course, everyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that.

You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before. When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room.

And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done.

He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone,"You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."

What a powerful line that is. It has stayed in my mind ever since I heard it. And who knows? Perhaps that is the way of life - not just for artists but for all of us.

Here is a man who has prepared all his life to make music on a violin of four strings, who, all of a sudden, in the middle of a concert, finds himself with only three strings. So he makes music with three strings, and the music he made that night with just three strings was more beautiful, more sacred, more memorable, than any that he had ever made before, when he had four strings.

Our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.

What A Small World We Live In

I just returned from Fairfield; a semi-small town located in southeast Iowa. I had been invited to go there this past weekend to train many other fellow laborers. We share in a common mission to effectively spread our personally experienced, compassionate message about how ionized, alkaline water can be truly health enabling for everyone. But what a delightful surprise was waiting for me!

When it came time for me to present, I began by sharing with my audience a thumbnail sketch of my story. About how I was initially very skeptical about ionized water, but fortunately remained open-minded. After witnessing what the water was doing for the health of several folks whom I personally knew, I had decided to take a closer look. When it came time for me to briefly mention to my listeners the personal impact that Dr. Ray Kurzweil's article about this water had on me, I heard a voice from the back of the room saying "this man personally knows Dr. Kurzweil". That surprised me, how could someone from this rural area be connected to a computer science "giant" like Dr. Kurzwel? Fortunately for me and everyone else in the audience, my presentation was followed up by this gentleman sitting in the back of the room coming forward - Dr. Jim Van Pelt.

So Dr. Jim, a wiry man in his early 70's, also shared his story with us. It turns out that my friend Phil, who hosted this meeting, first introduced the water to Dr. Jim; but frankly Jim didn't want to have anything to do with the water nor Phil for that matter. So as soon as Phil left, Jim poured the water out. Then Dr. Jim quickly found a website that justified his terse reaction, labelling folks like Phil as "scammers", pushing their quackery "pseudo-science" on unsuspecting others.

Thinking that this was all behind him, several months later Jim was surprised to greet Dennis at his home's front door. Dennis had something he wanted to share with Jim - yeah, you guess right, this water! But Dennis' attractive "genuineness" caught Jim and his wife's attention. Dennis shared with them his story, about how he was losing his battle with cancer until, after several rebuffs, he consented to try Phil's water and amazingly witnessed his body positively respond and restore itself to health. So this time when Dennis shared water with Jim, he did not pour it out because his wife insisted on trying it herself. But Dr. Jim was still reluctant to drink it himself.

After a few weeks went by, Jim's wife was very much enjoying the affects the water was having on her health. Dennis faithfully kept supplying her with fresh water twice weekly. Dr. Jim could not deny what was happening to his wife, so he went back to the internet to see if he could understand more about this water. Just like me, although quite skeptical, he opened his mind just enough to take a second look. And also just like me, he came across this very same Dr. Ray Kurzweil's article touting the legitimacy of the science behind this water. But, unlike me, Dr. Jim had an ace up his sleeve that he could play.

For you see, Dr. Jim personally knew Dr. Ray. In fact, Dr. Jim was Ray's first boss and mentor! Can you believe that? As a freshly minted PHD from MIT, Dr. Ray came to work at the National Science Foundation, where Dr. Jim, a dual PHD himself, was a managing director. Dr. Jim was launching a new research study at that time, exploring how computer technology could be harnessed to positively impact the deaf. Finding Dr. Ray both eager and available to join his team, their lifetime friendship and co-admiration was birthed.

So Dr. Jim picked up his phone and called Dr. Ray. "So this water is legitimate?" Jim asked. "Yes Jim, the science behind it is both sound and verifiable. I have personally verified all of it's properties, including it's molecular restructured property (micro-clustering) with an electron microscope. But Jim I know you well. Just trying and physically experiencing the benefits of this water for yourself will not fully satisfy your intellectually curiosity; so here are some scientific studies you can study".

Dr. Jim then proceeded to tell us how he joined his wife in drinking the water. Not only that, but how he then joined all of us over a year ago in "sharing" this water with others. Wow! At the conclusion of his talk, after praising what this water can do for everyone's health, he declared while waving his arms over his head and with a big grin on his face, that he felt 50 years old once again!

I must admit, this unexpected encounter was very refreshing for me. For you see, even veterans like myself in our quest to share the message about this water to everyone around us, get weary at times of others rolling their eyes at us upon hearing our message. But now having the image of Dr. Jim waving his arms in glee permanently imprinted in my mind along with so many experiences I have accumulated these past four years, gives me more fuel to press on in this mission to let others know how vital water is to our heath and that not all waters are created equal! I thank my God, my Provider for this encouraging "gift" from above.

Dr. Ray Kurzweil is one of the world’s leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists. He’s been awarded 19 honorary doctorates, honored by 3 US Presidents and is recipient of many of the nations highest awards for excellence. He has been called “the restless genius” by the Wall Street Journal and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes magazine and PBS included him as one of 16 “revolutionaries who made America,” along with other inventors of the past two centuries. Time magazine writes, “Kurzweil’s eclectic career and propensity of combining science with practical—often humanitarian—applications have inspired comparisons with Thomas Edison”. Among Kurzweil’s many honors, he is the recipient of the $500,000 MIT-Lemelson Prize, the world’s largest for innovation. In 1999, he received the National Medal of Technology, the nation’s highest honor in technology, from President Clinton in a White House ceremony. And in 2002, he was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, established by the US Patent Office. Author of several books Dr. Kurzweil second book in 1993, The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life, How to Eliminate Virtually All Risk of Heart Disease and Cancer, was published by Crown Publishers. The book stemmed from Ray’s successfully curing himself of type II Diabetes through a nutritional program he had researched himself.

A Prayer For When Life Gets Heavy

Heavenly Father, I release to You the burdens that I have been carrying,

burdens that You never intended for me to carry.

I cast all my cares upon You—all my worries, all my fears.

You have told me not be anxious about anything,

but rather to bring everything to You in prayer with thankfulness.

Father, calm my restless spirit, quiet my anxious heart,

still my troubling thoughts with the assurance that You are in control.

I let go of my grip upon the things I have been hanging onto,

with opened hands I come to You.

I release to Your will all that I am trying to manipulate;
I release to Your authority all that I am trying to control;

I release to Your timing all that I have been striving to make happen.

I thank You for Your promise to sustain me, preserve me,

and guard all that I have entrusted to Your keeping.
Protect my heart and mind with Your peace,

the peace that passes all understanding.
Father, may Your will be done in my life, in Your time, and in Your way.

Enthusiasm ~ The "Special Sauce" For Living Life Abundantly!

Just finished reading Norman Vincent Peale's classic book "Enthusiasm Makes The Difference".

If you haven't read this book or its been a while since you did, do yourself a favor - read it soon! I believe you will be blessed and encouraged by it as I was. This book features great stories about real, enthusiastic people overcoming life's challenges. And Peale makes a compelling case for everyone lacking enthusiasm for life, for their work, etc.; that they can find and grow enthusiasm within themselves through simple, daily physical and mental exercises, such as meditating on God's word; thinking and speaking positive, affirming thoughts and words to others and one's self; brisk walking to exercise and clear out one's mind; focusing on other's welfare instead of excessively on one's own interest; starting each day asking for and expecting God's direction & favor, etc.; ending each day prayerfully reflecting on that day's activities with gratitude and repentance, leaving tomorrow's problems in His hands until then.

According to Peale enthusiasm is no pollyannish, sweet, fortuitous concept. Instead, it is a rugged, mental attitude that is hard to achieve, difficult to maintain, but so very powerful when exhibited 24-7. The word "enthusiasm" comes from the Greek word enthos, meaning "God in you, full of God". So to be enthusiastic means that one is actually living out life by:

~ dreaming God's dreams for oneself;

~ envisioning & pursuing God's plans, one's life's purpose;

~ harnessing God's wisdom, courage, hope & faith to overcome life's obstacles;

~ relying upon God's strength to persevere, stay the course;

~ finding God's peace & rest to rise above the stresses of life;

~ receiving God's blessings of achieving success and fulfillment of one's needs;

~ returning God's gift of gratitude back to Him with praise and thanksgiving; and

~ living and loving life abundantly through and in Him.

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Success Is Just A Thought Away

Here's something we can all agree upon ~ now days the word "derivative" has most definitely taken on a very negative connotation. But I say that's not fair! After all, mankind has been "deriving" since the days of Adam & Eve by occasionally having a transformational thought; forming an idea about how to turn (evolve) something into something else thereby creating even greater worth.

For example, starting with God's personally created (i.e. derived) grape (Genesis 1 - which He thought and spoke into existence), an idea was later formed by man to turn that grape into grape juice, then into fermented wine, then into a vineyard business operation, and ultimately into a publicly-traded wine production & distribution company. Each derivation improved upon the overall value of what the grape offered for mankind's enjoyment. So just as God thought into creation our universe's raw materials, man in His created image can envision something new (e.g., products, services, systems, etc) by transforming from what already exists.

So the next time you feel "lacking", just stop and think - you're just a thought away from finding your success. The key is to rely on what He has already given you ~ an ability to ask for His blessing and then think and act yourself into a "state of plenty". He truly can give you that transforming idea to act upon in lieu of looking to others like employers and government officials to find your success. Just confidently ask and be expectantly ready to recieve!

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO ACHIEVE 100%???

"Let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!" (Ps. 90:17)

CAUTION: One of the biggest threats to our faith in God is the idea that He is sure to lead us to success.