The Lord revealed to me a few days ago that I'm like a Mirror.
I know that we shouldn't base our self-worth on what others think of us; we should base our self-worth on what God thinks of us. (read John 3:16, John 15:13, John 10:10) So, others shouldn't base their self-worth on what we think of them either.
Even still, what do people see as a reflection of themselves when they "see" me? Do I give a dull reflection, or do I give them a clear view of how God views them? Do I help them to see themselves truthfully? Do I help them to see themselves as God sees them? Do I build them up?
God says that we believers are the light of the world (see Philippians 2:15 and Matthew 5:14-16). So, when others see me, I provide God's light to them. I light up their lives with God's love, peace, and grace (his unconditional love for them). I can't do that on my own, but God does that through me. So, I pray.
Friday, May 09, 2014
Thursday, May 08, 2014
What I'm working on in 2014
The first three months on 2014 passed in a blink. I started to write this in April. Now, it's May and another month has passed.
I thought I would chronicle the items I'm working on this year.
I don't want to say these are goals, but they are things I'm working on:
I thought I would chronicle the items I'm working on this year.
I don't want to say these are goals, but they are things I'm working on:
- Spiritual
- I've given up doubting for Lent
- I'm working on being more thankful to the Lord for all things (here's a a helpful post that a friend recently shared - It applies to children, but also applies to me)
- Physical
- Recording my progress on the following:
- Stretching my legs
- Pushups and pop-ups so I can hopefully surf
- Exercising regularly, hopefully daily
- Eat more fruits and vegetables - buy more organic
- Loosing weight for health (and my sister's wedding)
- Emotional
- Giving up on the past and looking to the future
- Thanking folks for things
- Cognitive
- Trying not to fix everything
- Tasks
- Get a little bit done each day
- And, here's a big one I'm focusing on: Throwing something away every day (or recycling it)
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Alergies
I had an interesting visit with the allergist today. I had been tested and have a sensitivity to tree pollen and grass pollen. I had no allergies to food and weeds (he said weeks usually occur in the fall). I had a bit of allergies to dust, none to mold. I'm also allergic to cats, but he said not much. I have no allergies to dogs (hooray Toby)!
He answered some of my questions and gave me a few insights. I thought I'd share them here (and also so I can remember them).
Note: I'm only recording here what I remember which may not be accurate. Don't use this as any medical advice. Consult with your own doctor for your own situation.
He answered some of my questions and gave me a few insights. I thought I'd share them here (and also so I can remember them).
Note: I'm only recording here what I remember which may not be accurate. Don't use this as any medical advice. Consult with your own doctor for your own situation.
- Tree pollen peaks in New Jersey usually in May and lasts about 4 weeks. It's a very steep and high peak. Some years it's spread over more weeks so not quite so intense all at one (usually if there is a warm April). Usually after June 1st, the tree pollens go to zero.
- Grass pollen has a more broad peak that is not as high. It also starts in May and hits it's height toward then end of May and continues a slow decline through June. It's usually fairly low in July and August and peaks again in September for a little while. Of course, if you have grass pollen allergies and spend time in the grass, it will be aggravated.
- Are allergies hereditary? They believe the propensity to become sensitive to allergens is hereditary. It's the exposure to the allergens that develops it. For Example: people with a propensity to latex allergies will develop the allergy if exposed to a lot of latex. Nurses usually get it about 3 years into nursing school if they have the propensity.
- Why does it seem that I'm more sensitive some years than others: It may have to do with the temperatures and how the pollen season is spread out or more concentrated. It may also be according to how much time you spend outside.
- Sometimes people get injections of allergens to reduce their sensitivity. The course is usually injections once a week for 6 months, then 6 months every other week. Sometimes it gradually wears off after a few years
- Skin has layers. The top layer protects from allergens. The second layer is like the rest of your membranes (inside nose for example). When the top layer is compromised (like in the dry Fall and winter), then the allergens can get to the 2nd layer and exacerbate the allergy reaction.
- Eczema comes in two ways: one is from environmental allergies, the other from chemical allergies. Chemical allergies are usually due to something touching the skin and so is somewhat random: according to what touched you somewhere. Environmental Allergies (allergies to dust and pollen for example) usually occurs in the same place and lasts for days or weeks. It is more common in the hands, and inner elbows and areas where the top layer of the skin gets rubbed off.
- Prescription cortisone creams usually should be used for a few days (3 to 5 days) and don't help if only used 1 time. Also, if they are used for a prolonged period, they will thin the skin and cause wrinkles. So, since facial skin is thin, it's probably not best to use them there.
- Dust Allergies: They found that every house they took samples, they found the same insect materials, it's just more prevalent in some houses than others
- Antihistamines are only one type of allergic response, so an antihistamine may not work for all situations. Usually for skin itching, a cream is best (see above) rather than an antihistamine.
- Colds can become extended by allergies. Allergies can be exacerbated by colds.
- I mentioned that we already have covers for our mattress and pillow cases. He said the pillow case allergy cover is most important because that's where you put your head.
- I asked why my eczema seems to be aggravated by certain dogs when I was shown to have no dog allergies. He said it may be something else on the dog, like dust or something else which I am allergic to. Dogs go outside, so I'm thinking maybe they can collect allergens too.
- My allergies are mild to medium, so allergy shots are not really mandatory
Thursday, April 10, 2014
How to Make Social Business Contagious; How to Infect Your Team For a Viral Productivity Boost
I'm sharing a poster at the IBM Technical Leadership Exchange (TLE) in Palisades New York on Thursday April 17, 2014.
The topic I'm sharing is "Making Social Business Contagious; How to Infect Your Team For a Viral Productivity Boost"
I'm going to be pointing interested IBMers to this link for more information.
If you're reading this and you are attending the TLE,
please stop by and say hello. I'm also going to be asking folks who stop
by to "Ask me how to win 100 Grand"
The Main Points in my Presentation are:
- Social Business is about tools to get work done
- Using Social Is a Paradigm Shift
- Change is Primarily about People
- People will Use what helps them
- People will Share what they like
- Twitter: @henrywill tweet a message mentioning me with the tag #viralSocialBiz and include the link to this post https://ibm.biz/BdR86q
- Instagram: henryw4 Post a photo and mention me henryw4 with tag #viralSocialBiz and include a link to this post https://ibm.biz/BdR86q
- Linkedin: henrywill4 send me a message with tag #viralSocialBiz and include a link to this post https://ibm.biz/BdR86q
- Go Social. Stay Safe. Be Smart. http://www.ibm.com/securesocialsmart
- IBM Social Business http://www.ibm.com/social-business/us/en/
- IBM Social Business Blog: http://ibm.com/blogs/socialbusiness
- IBM Connections: IDC ranked IBM number one in worldwide market share for enterprise social software for the third consecutive year. http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/conn
- Compare IBM Collaboration Software: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/collaboration/why-ibm/
Help me to make this viral by using the suggestions above to spread the word right now!
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
You can save 15% in 15 minutes by looking twice at your Medical Bills
Well, maybe not 15%, but you can save a lot. Sometimes even more than 15%!
With our piles of paperwork we are doing lately, we have found that we shouldn't pay a medical bill right away until we thoroughly check into it.
We've found that they will often send a bill expecting you to pay when sometimes they've already collected the money from insurance. We wonder how many people pay these bills without questioning them.
You might say "Well, if you paid and they received the payment from insurance, they would refund you the overpayment." Ah, don't be so sure. Just in the past few days we found two bills where if we paid them, we probably wouldn't have ever received a refund.
So, check your bills folks. Think twice. Call them and question the charges. Check with your insurance company.
==================== ======== ===== ======== =======
Optional Details:
Note: for those who want some real life stories and more details, here are two recent cases we had:
1. We had a bill with two charges. One charge went through insurance and the other had not been sent by them to insurance. The bill expected us to pay the second charge in full. On first glance, it looked like the first charge was covered, but the second was not. Before paying, I called them. They looked at it and realized they hadn't put the second charge through insurance. If we would have paid, they would have probably just saw a zero balance and would never have submitted the second charge to insurance.
2. We had a bill where we realized that we had received an Explanation Of Benefits (EOB) from the insurance company that matched the amount on the bill. When I called the medical billing company, they said they had no record of being paid by insurance. Probably, if we hadn't called them, they would never have realized they were already reimbursed and continued to bill us the amount.
So, you can see, in both cases, if we would not have questioned the bill, we probably would never have received a refund.
So, question those medical bills folks. Save some money!
With our piles of paperwork we are doing lately, we have found that we shouldn't pay a medical bill right away until we thoroughly check into it.
We've found that they will often send a bill expecting you to pay when sometimes they've already collected the money from insurance. We wonder how many people pay these bills without questioning them.
You might say "Well, if you paid and they received the payment from insurance, they would refund you the overpayment." Ah, don't be so sure. Just in the past few days we found two bills where if we paid them, we probably wouldn't have ever received a refund.
So, check your bills folks. Think twice. Call them and question the charges. Check with your insurance company.
==================== ======== ===== ======== =======
Optional Details:
Note: for those who want some real life stories and more details, here are two recent cases we had:
1. We had a bill with two charges. One charge went through insurance and the other had not been sent by them to insurance. The bill expected us to pay the second charge in full. On first glance, it looked like the first charge was covered, but the second was not. Before paying, I called them. They looked at it and realized they hadn't put the second charge through insurance. If we would have paid, they would have probably just saw a zero balance and would never have submitted the second charge to insurance.
2. We had a bill where we realized that we had received an Explanation Of Benefits (EOB) from the insurance company that matched the amount on the bill. When I called the medical billing company, they said they had no record of being paid by insurance. Probably, if we hadn't called them, they would never have realized they were already reimbursed and continued to bill us the amount.
So, you can see, in both cases, if we would not have questioned the bill, we probably would never have received a refund.
So, question those medical bills folks. Save some money!
Friday, April 04, 2014
Is it backup time again?
What if your hard drive on your computer
crashed right now?
What if all the data was wiped out?
Would you be able to restore the files from your latest backup?
The first round of questioning is: how often have you done backups? When was your last backup?
The second round of questioning is: If you've done a backup, is it any good? Is it usable?
Time out for a story:
Years ago, back in the days of my developing video games on the Apple IIe computer, I had 3 backups: "Son, Father, and Grandfather" as we knew them: 3 generations of backups that we would cycle through.
My machine crashed and destroyed my work.
I went to the "son" backup, the most recent. The backup was not readable! Panic set in!
I went to the "Father" backup, the 2nd most recent backup. This one also was unreadable! Panic raised!
I only had one more backup: the "Grandfather" - with some help, we put it into a "good" machine and found out it was readable. We put the "father" in this "good" machine and found it unreadable, same story with the "son." It was then that we realized that the crashed machine was causing the backup media to be reformatted when we were trying to restore! What a mess!
I was then able to use the "grandfather" backup on a good machine and move it over to a new copy of the work. I had lost the work of several days, but it was better than loosing everything!
The "moral of the story" is that we need to test our backups regularly (and be careful about the machine we restore them to).
Please comment with your stories and tips on backup and restore solutions. Also, please click "like" if you liked this article.
What if all the data was wiped out?
Would you be able to restore the files from your latest backup?
The first round of questioning is: how often have you done backups? When was your last backup?
The second round of questioning is: If you've done a backup, is it any good? Is it usable?
Time out for a story:
Years ago, back in the days of my developing video games on the Apple IIe computer, I had 3 backups: "Son, Father, and Grandfather" as we knew them: 3 generations of backups that we would cycle through.
My machine crashed and destroyed my work.
I went to the "son" backup, the most recent. The backup was not readable! Panic set in!
I went to the "Father" backup, the 2nd most recent backup. This one also was unreadable! Panic raised!
I only had one more backup: the "Grandfather" - with some help, we put it into a "good" machine and found out it was readable. We put the "father" in this "good" machine and found it unreadable, same story with the "son." It was then that we realized that the crashed machine was causing the backup media to be reformatted when we were trying to restore! What a mess!
I was then able to use the "grandfather" backup on a good machine and move it over to a new copy of the work. I had lost the work of several days, but it was better than loosing everything!
The "moral of the story" is that we need to test our backups regularly (and be careful about the machine we restore them to).
Please comment with your stories and tips on backup and restore solutions. Also, please click "like" if you liked this article.
Thursday, April 03, 2014
Drums for Sale! Drums for Sale!
Drums for sale!
1. If you've heard me play my wooden cajon, I know someone selling one - contact me if you are interested.
2. I'm also selling a few parts still left from my drum kit:
- Sabian 20" Ride Cymbal (see photo above)
- Rototoms with mounting bar (no stand) 8" and 10" Great working condition
- Three (3) Chrome boom Cymbal stands - double braced - great quality
- Wuhan 10" Splash cymbal
- Wuhan 8" splash cymbal
- Remo O's - Drum Rings
- Cymbal silencers/mufflers (used to quiet while practicing)
- LP Double Sambago Bell
- Clamp for Double Sambago Bell
- Remo 14" drum head
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
The benefits of snow
It looks wonderful
It reminds me of the bible passage that says our sins will be made as white as snow
It gives us good exercise
We can help our neighbors
We see more of our neighbors outside
Sometimes the children get off from school and sometimes they help their exhausted parents and neighbors with shoveling
Some people get off from work. For those who work at home, they do still need to work, but it's a good time to thank God that you have a job.
It helps us appreciate warm weather all the more.
What do you like about snow? What are it's benefits?
See more photos on our dog Toby's post:
http://tobystails.blogspot.com/2014/02/snow-and-ice-not-too-nice.html
Sunday, February 02, 2014
Bring Potato Chips
Someone shared this story with me by email just recently. Then, in the Sunday School class I teach, we read this verse which I thought goes well with is:
Matthew 5:16 (NIV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Bring Potato Chips
Take
60 seconds to read this story. It will give you time to settle your
brain, gather your thoughts, calm down, and finish your week off on a
positive note.
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a big bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer, and started his journey.
When
he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in
the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and
opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer,
when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him some
chips. The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.
His
smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered
him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They
sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As
twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to
leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around,
ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest
smile ever..
When
the boy opened the door to his house a short time later, his mother was
surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you
do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God."
But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got
the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"
Meanwhile,
the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was
stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Dad, what did
you do today that made you so happy?"
He
replied "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before his
son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."
Too
often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a
listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all
of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our
lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!
Matthew 5:16 (NIV) In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Bring Potato Chips
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a big bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer, and started his journey.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
My Father's passing
Thank you to all of you who offered prayers for our family and sent us words of consolation on the recent passing of my father on January 9, 2014.
It was a rough road with many decisions to be made. Dad was well taken care of in the hospital and hospice. He was comfortable. John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
Scripture Verses for the New Year
Last night, Ruth and I were part of a team that restarted a New Year's Fellowship Gathering in our church. Apparently, years ago, it was done every year.
We shared refreshments, had some "Minute to Win It" type games, Wii, board games (mostly travel scrabble, sequence, and Uno), and dodgeball. We also shared in a nice time of worship for 30 minutes up until midnight. We shared some songs, testimonies, prayer, and scripture.
Here are a few scriptures that are noteworthy for a new year.
We shared refreshments, had some "Minute to Win It" type games, Wii, board games (mostly travel scrabble, sequence, and Uno), and dodgeball. We also shared in a nice time of worship for 30 minutes up until midnight. We shared some songs, testimonies, prayer, and scripture.
Here are a few scriptures that are noteworthy for a new year.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22, 23 ESV)
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19 ESV)
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21 ESV)
assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:21-24 ESV)
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (Revelation 21:5, 6 ESV)
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (Revelation 21:5, 6 ESV)
Here are a few other lists of scripture:
http://lynndove.com/2013/01/01/25-encouraging-scripture-verses-for-the-new-year/
http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/newyearbiblever.htm
http://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/new-year's-bible-verses/
Do you have any verses you like to meditate on in the new year? Please comment!
Saturday, December 07, 2013
Ukulele (Uke) Music Books
Here's a Christmas Gift to you!
I'm starting a list here in this post and will keep editing it with links to Ukulele Music Books.
There are many available online.
I'll start with a few and you can return to this post later as I add more.
You might also like my Original Post on Ukulele Resources or my later post on Ukulele Worship Music
I'm starting a list here in this post and will keep editing it with links to Ukulele Music Books.
There are many available online.
I'll start with a few and you can return to this post later as I add more.
You might also like my Original Post on Ukulele Resources or my later post on Ukulele Worship Music
- Ukulele Book of Christmas Music - 28 pages
- Tonya's Beginners Ukulele Songbook - (a few other files she has)
- "So, You Just Got Your First Ukulele" This is a book for beginners, but doesn't really have songs in it
- Caposastomusic - sheet music with notes and chords for Uke (also guitar and other instruments)
- Bytown Ukulele Songbook - a whole long list of songbooks to download, each book having lots of songs
- Ukulele Boogaloo songbooks (and their Christmas Songs)
- San Jose Songbooks
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Bible Verses When Teaching Children About Caring For Others
Bible Verses When Teaching Children About Caring For Others
Tomorrow, the Sunday School class that I teach is going to be packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Other classes have decided that they are also going to join in on the fun!
I wanted to have our class read some Bible verses for the other children. Our class is made up of Third and Fourth grade students, so they are about 8 to 10 years old. All the other classes that will be participating are younger children. So, I though it would be good to have our children set an example for the younger children and read some Bible verses to them about helping others.
I found two places on the internet (see the first and second ones) with ideas for Bible verses about helping others. Here are the ones I chose for tomorrow.
1 John 3:17- But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
Philippians 2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
John 15:12-13 - "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Matthew 25:35-40 - Words of Jesus Christ
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Matthew 5:13-16 - More words from Jesus
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Hebrews 13:16 - And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
Acts 20:35-36 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
I thought I'd post them here so I can use them again next year and because others may want to use them. Do you have any suggestions of verses to add?
Tomorrow, the Sunday School class that I teach is going to be packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Other classes have decided that they are also going to join in on the fun!
I wanted to have our class read some Bible verses for the other children. Our class is made up of Third and Fourth grade students, so they are about 8 to 10 years old. All the other classes that will be participating are younger children. So, I though it would be good to have our children set an example for the younger children and read some Bible verses to them about helping others.
I found two places on the internet (see the first and second ones) with ideas for Bible verses about helping others. Here are the ones I chose for tomorrow.
1 John 3:17- But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
Philippians 2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
John 15:12-13 - "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Matthew 25:35-40 - Words of Jesus Christ
'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Matthew 5:13-16 - More words from Jesus
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Hebrews 13:16 - And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
Acts 20:35-36 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
I thought I'd post them here so I can use them again next year and because others may want to use them. Do you have any suggestions of verses to add?
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Grandma's Swedish Pancakes for Breakfast
Once, Ruth's mom was making them and I asked for the recipe. She replied that it was easy: 1 egg, 1 cup of milk, and 1 cup of flour. Mix it up, put some in a pan and then roll the pan around to make it real thin. Non-stick pans work best.
Once they're done on one side (the top gets dry), flip it over to cook the other side. Because they're so thin, this goes quick.
When it's done, put it flat on a plate and put a little bit of jelly on it. Roll it up and you're done! Well, except you now need to eat them!
Depending on the size of your pan, this might make about a half-dozen pancakes. It's easy to double or triple the recipe because it's easy to remember: 1-1-1!
Let us know about your favorite recipes!
If you try this, let us know!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Airline reservation tools
Here are some helpful websites for making airline reservations
Before you buy a ticket, check out these sites to see average fares, price history, and if prices are rising or falling. Again, check these sites out before you start looking into airfares to get an idea of what you should expect to pay.
Farewatch (Shows average fares)
Kayak (after searching click on ‘show chart of fare history’ in left hand corner)
Farecast (for tickets in the next 30 days shows if prices are rising/falling)
Aggregators
The best search engines for searching for airline tickets. You don’t book through them, rather they redirect you to the airline’s homepage. (This is what makes them different from online travel agencies.)
Kayak or Sidestep (same company now)
TripAdvisor
Farecast
FareCompare
- Yapta - This website will track falling or rising prices on flights. This works well for JetBlue because if you make a reservation and then they have a sale, this will alert you and then you can call JetBlue to get a credit!
- Cheapoair - provides alternate dates for flying
- Kayak -
- Hotwire - shows you what you might save using alternate airports or alternate days
Before you buy a ticket, check out these sites to see average fares, price history, and if prices are rising or falling. Again, check these sites out before you start looking into airfares to get an idea of what you should expect to pay.
Farewatch (Shows average fares)
Kayak (after searching click on ‘show chart of fare history’ in left hand corner)
Farecast (for tickets in the next 30 days shows if prices are rising/falling)
Aggregators
The best search engines for searching for airline tickets. You don’t book through them, rather they redirect you to the airline’s homepage. (This is what makes them different from online travel agencies.)
Kayak or Sidestep (same company now)
TripAdvisor
Farecast
FareCompare
Friday, September 20, 2013
Toby Attempts to Talk Like a Pirate
Yesterday Sept 19,2013 was international talk like a pirate day (talklikeapirate.com). Toby took a try, but doesn't sound like a pirate! Better luck next year! Arrrr!
See his post here: Toby Attempts to Talk Like a Pirate
Saturday, September 07, 2013
How to Save Money on Gasoline
1. Driver Rewards
BP has a Driver Rewards card. It's not a credit card and free to join. Whenever you buy 20 gallons (and a minimum of two visits) you get a reward of 5 cents per gallon off your next visit (up to 20 gallons).
Note: for our family and friends living in NJ we have had pump attendants answer "no" when the screen on the pump asks if we want the reward. You have to tell them if you want them to answer yes or no.
I believe Shell also has a Rewards Card.
2. Credit card rewards
Several of our credit cards will periodically give 5% back on gasoline purchases, so we keep track of which card has the reward. For several if these cards you have to sign-up online and the reward usually goes for a few months. Even though prices for paying with cash are less at some stations, the 5% back on the credit price is often less per gallon. Do your math!
3. Cash back credit cards
Some credit cards will give you 5% ( or other percentages) on gasoline purchases all the time. We keep track of which cards have these too!
4. Driving methods
Of course, using cars as little as possible, combining errands, working from home when possible, and driving habits (e.g. Not always starting out like you're in a drag race) help too!
What ways do you save on gasoline?
Friday, August 09, 2013
2013 Global Leadership Summit notes
I am going to fill in this post later with my notes from the Global Leadership Summit (Aug. 8-9, 2013).
I am attending with 75,000 people from hundreds of satellite sites. Our local satellite location is in "God's Square Mile at the Jersey Shore" Ocean Grove New Jersey (OGCMA.org)
In the meantime, I've tagged a list of great places to find great notes on the Leadership Summit
Please check back here later for the remainder of my notes!
Here is the first part of my notes, I'll be posting more later:
Bill Hybels
We need to be courageous leaders to stick with the vision given us.
Joshua's prayer: be strong and courageous Joshua 1:9
There are many people with vision, but not many with the courage to carry it through
*Build a healthy culture
People join orgs, they leave managers
Staff cultures will only ever be as healthy as the org leader allows it to be
In US, only 30% workers engaged, large percentage not engaged and many actively disengaged.
* Establishment and enforcement of values
Social media: mobile growing, more cell phones in US than people in US
People under 30 yrs spend about half time on mobile
Leaders need courage to move a vision to a viable value
My Takeaways :
1. pray for a vision, one vision, and work on it
2. When something is "just not right" then say that to the leaders
3. can I have someone independent interview those who report to me?
Note: I missed Gen. Colin Powell because I was giving an internal presentation about Social Project Management" - 400+ people showed up
Patrick Lencioni
In order to make people valuable, give them a way to measure their own performance.
Qualitative vs quantitative measurement. How do you measure how you're doing. Are the things we're measuring, things we have control over?
Managers sometimes don't give their people a way to measure their own value because the manager wants to maintain control.
These are 3 signs of a miserable job: irrelevance, immeasurable, anonymity
People need to make enough money, but these are drivers
How can we be a servant leader without connecting and allowing them to feel value in their job?
* Management is a ministry
Liz Wiseman
Multipliers are people who make people smarter, they are amplifiers, intelligence multipliers
Diminishers make people feel unvalued, stupid, un-needed
There is more intelligence in our workers than we can see.
Diminishers believe that others need them to figure it out.
Multipliers believed you would figure it out
It takes 18 minutes to reboot brain after a stressor
Sometimes we are "accidental diminishers" despite our best intensions. We are following popular mgmt practices.
Instead of telling them what to do, ask them what needs to be done.
More notes will be posted here later
Other great notes: Www.timschraeder.com
Monday, July 15, 2013
Geocaching
I was recently introduced to the hobby of geocaching.
If you haven't heard of it, geocaching is a game or hobby where people hide a "cache" (usually a box with a paper log book and some "swag" or "trinkets" in it) in a public area for people to find. It's sort of like a scavenger hunt. Once hidden, the cache stays there for others to find. When someone discovers it, they are supposed sign the log book and hide it back in the same place.
The info about the "cache" is provided on a website (geocaching.com) that lists the item, it's GPS coordinates, a story behind it, and some hints to find it. People use the coordinates and the hints in the story to find the cache. They sign the log and then sometimes trade a trinket in the box for a more valuable one: something like a matchbox car, a wooden nickel, or a plastic bracelet, etc.
More info here:
Geocaching guide / Geocaching 101
http://www.geocaching.com/guide/
If you haven't heard of it, geocaching is a game or hobby where people hide a "cache" (usually a box with a paper log book and some "swag" or "trinkets" in it) in a public area for people to find. It's sort of like a scavenger hunt. Once hidden, the cache stays there for others to find. When someone discovers it, they are supposed sign the log book and hide it back in the same place.
The info about the "cache" is provided on a website (geocaching.com) that lists the item, it's GPS coordinates, a story behind it, and some hints to find it. People use the coordinates and the hints in the story to find the cache. They sign the log and then sometimes trade a trinket in the box for a more valuable one: something like a matchbox car, a wooden nickel, or a plastic bracelet, etc.
More info here:
Geocaching guide / Geocaching 101
http://www.geocaching.com/
There is also certain words and terms that geocachers use while writung about their finds (see the glossary http://www.geocaching.com/about/glossary.aspx). For example, they call non-geocachers "muggles." A geocacher might commonly be heard to say that while finding a cache we need to operate in "stealth" so that "muggles" don't see us.
Sunday, May 05, 2013
Countdown to a Marriage
To help the bride and groom center on The Lord as the wedding and marriage approached, we sent them (and the bride's parents) these messages each day. Feel free to reuse these! You can substitute the names of people you know!
T-30 days and counting! 1 John 4:8b ...God is love. Lord, help Jon and Abby to always know you.
T-29 days and counting! 1 John 4:7a Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God... Lord, help --- & ---- always to know that their love for each other comes from you
T-27 days and counting! 1 Corinthians 13:4a Love is patient, love is kind. Lord, please bless --- & ---'s marriage with lots of patience and kindness.
T-26 days! 1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Lord, may --- & --- grow in love, be strengthened in their faith, and always have hope.
T-25 days! May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1:2 Lord, please multiply your mercy, peace, and love to the marriage of --- & --- !
T-24 days! Jude 1:21 "...keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life." Lord Jesus, please keep - & - in you love and help them to watch and wait for you.
T-23! ...and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Eph 5:2 Lord, help - and - in their marriage to walk together in your love; let them give of themselves for you and for each other
T-22 days and counting! Romans 13:8 "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." Lord, help - & - to love each other and for their marriage to reach out in love to others.
T-21 Days! 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." Lord, we ask that you perfect - and -'s love for each other, you, and others in such a way that all fear will be cast away.
T-20D! 1 John 3:1a "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." Lord, may - & - know you and your love for each of us as your children. Bless their marriage that they will live in that love.
T-19 days! Ephesians 4:2 "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love," Lord, please help - & - to have humility, gentleness, and patience in their marriage. Help them to bear with each other in love.
T-18 days and counting! Galatians 5:13 "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Lord, give - & - an attitude of freely serving one another in their marriage.
T-17 days to the wedding! 1 Peter 1:22 "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart," Lord, give - & - your pure hearts to earnestly love each other.
T-16 days and counting! Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’" Lord, help - & - to put their love for you first in their marriage.
T-15 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31 NIV) Lord, Help - & - in their marriage to love each other as they do themselves and help them to love their neighbors too!
2 weeks to the wedding! Ecclesiastes 4:12 "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. " Lord, bind - & - together with you so that they will have strength to never be broken.
T-13 days to the wedding! "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT) Lord, help - & - to have these attributes of love throughout their marriage!
T-12 Days! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) Lord, please help - & - to grow in the fruit of the spirit in their marriage.
T-11 Days! Proverbs 17:17a "A friend loves at all times" Lord, help - & - to continue being the best friends for each other in their marriage.
T-10 Days! Psalm 63:3 "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." Lord, help - & - to know you and your steadfast love and praise you in their marriage.
T-9 Days! Philippians 2:2 "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." Lord, let - & - be of the same mind, same love and same accord as part of your church, your family.
T-8 Days! 1 John 3:18 "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." Lord, Let - & - love you, one another, and others in deed and truth.
T-7 Ephesians 5:25, 26 "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word," Lord, help --- to love --- with the same love!
T-6 days! Prov 31:11"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil." Lord, cause - & - to have a relationship built on trust!
T-5 days to the wedding! 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." Lord, help - & - to love each other earnestly and with forgiveness.
T-4 Days! John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Lord, Let Jon and Abby continue in a great love for each other, humbling themselves for each other.
T-3 Days! Song of Solomon 2:16 "My lover is mine, and I am his." Lord, Let Jon and Abby give themselves to each other on a daily basis in their marriage.
T-2 Days! Ephesians 4:1-3 "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. " Lord, let it be said of Jon and Abby that they would live a life worthy of your calling and to live these attributes for each other and for you.
One Day to the Wedding! Hebrews 13:4a Let marriage be held in honor among all..." Lord, Let them and all who know them, hold Jon and Abby's marriage in honor: honor to you, honor to them, and honor to others.
Today! Today is the wedding! Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Lord, let this marriage be one of your virtuous love. Give Jon and Abby your love for each other. Let them be a light for you in this world!
T-30 days and counting! 1 John 4:8b ...God is love. Lord, help Jon and Abby to always know you.
T-29 days and counting! 1 John 4:7a Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God... Lord, help --- & ---- always to know that their love for each other comes from you
T-27 days and counting! 1 Corinthians 13:4a Love is patient, love is kind. Lord, please bless --- & ---'s marriage with lots of patience and kindness.
T-26 days! 1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Lord, may --- & --- grow in love, be strengthened in their faith, and always have hope.
T-25 days! May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1:2 Lord, please multiply your mercy, peace, and love to the marriage of --- & --- !
T-24 days! Jude 1:21 "...keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life." Lord Jesus, please keep - & - in you love and help them to watch and wait for you.
T-23! ...and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Eph 5:2 Lord, help - and - in their marriage to walk together in your love; let them give of themselves for you and for each other
T-22 days and counting! Romans 13:8 "Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." Lord, help - & - to love each other and for their marriage to reach out in love to others.
T-21 Days! 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." Lord, we ask that you perfect - and -'s love for each other, you, and others in such a way that all fear will be cast away.
T-20D! 1 John 3:1a "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." Lord, may - & - know you and your love for each of us as your children. Bless their marriage that they will live in that love.
T-19 days! Ephesians 4:2 "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love," Lord, please help - & - to have humility, gentleness, and patience in their marriage. Help them to bear with each other in love.
T-18 days and counting! Galatians 5:13 "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Lord, give - & - an attitude of freely serving one another in their marriage.
T-17 days to the wedding! 1 Peter 1:22 "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart," Lord, give - & - your pure hearts to earnestly love each other.
T-16 days and counting! Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’" Lord, help - & - to put their love for you first in their marriage.
T-15 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31 NIV) Lord, Help - & - in their marriage to love each other as they do themselves and help them to love their neighbors too!
2 weeks to the wedding! Ecclesiastes 4:12 "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. " Lord, bind - & - together with you so that they will have strength to never be broken.
T-13 days to the wedding! "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT) Lord, help - & - to have these attributes of love throughout their marriage!
T-12 Days! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) Lord, please help - & - to grow in the fruit of the spirit in their marriage.
T-11 Days! Proverbs 17:17a "A friend loves at all times" Lord, help - & - to continue being the best friends for each other in their marriage.
T-10 Days! Psalm 63:3 "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." Lord, help - & - to know you and your steadfast love and praise you in their marriage.
T-9 Days! Philippians 2:2 "complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." Lord, let - & - be of the same mind, same love and same accord as part of your church, your family.
T-8 Days! 1 John 3:18 "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." Lord, Let - & - love you, one another, and others in deed and truth.
T-7 Ephesians 5:25, 26 "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word," Lord, help --- to love --- with the same love!
T-6 days! Prov 31:11"The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil." Lord, cause - & - to have a relationship built on trust!
T-5 days to the wedding! 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." Lord, help - & - to love each other earnestly and with forgiveness.
T-4 Days! John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Lord, Let Jon and Abby continue in a great love for each other, humbling themselves for each other.
T-3 Days! Song of Solomon 2:16 "My lover is mine, and I am his." Lord, Let Jon and Abby give themselves to each other on a daily basis in their marriage.
T-2 Days! Ephesians 4:1-3 "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. " Lord, let it be said of Jon and Abby that they would live a life worthy of your calling and to live these attributes for each other and for you.
One Day to the Wedding! Hebrews 13:4a Let marriage be held in honor among all..." Lord, Let them and all who know them, hold Jon and Abby's marriage in honor: honor to you, honor to them, and honor to others.
Today! Today is the wedding! Colossians 3:14 "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Lord, let this marriage be one of your virtuous love. Give Jon and Abby your love for each other. Let them be a light for you in this world!
The second day of Jon and Abby's eternity together as a married couple! (Romans 12:10) "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Lord, bless them as they start their new lives together. May they always love one another as friends and show honor to you, others, and each other.
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