A Crisis With An Opportunity
How we should react when economy slows down.
When the financial market is in chaos all across the world, people consider clinging on to whatever they have and also reduce expenses. And they think that everybody does so, mainly because newspapers proclaim as such.
However, each and every person ISN’T doing so. There are sections of the society which prosper, come what may. Those, who feel surprised about this odd equation, can find the clue for it in a most obvious place where they might have missed it. It might be worthwhile to analyse it together.
Whenever there is a downward trend, whatever it is, the best way to overcome it is by rising higher than it. If we drift with the wind and go where it takes us, we might find ourselves in dire straits, waiting for the wind’s mercy for deliverance.
The truth is that when we know how to steer ourselves and be our own masters, we will able to stay afloat or swim against the current, come what may. Let us see how we can manage it.
‘Go-getters’ or ‘Go-contributors’
Imagine a scenario where we want to have more - better profits, a higher salary, more leave, better liberty, and wider chances.
When we yearn for a thing, our response is to try to get it. By that yardstick everybody is a ‘Go-getter’. And a ‘go-getter’ is understood as a dynamic, enterprising person with leadership qualities. Such an attitude is a prime requirement for succeeding in life as we understand it. Nevertheless, there is an innate conundrum. When these approaches are put into practice, there are certain unanticipated, though unavoidable upshots.
Because after ‘getting’ and ‘having’ it what tends to follow is ‘losing’ it. We either lose it physically or we lose interest in what it was we got.
And when we are tired of one thing we concentrate on getting something new. And these fresh cravings never end. The more we go in search of newer things, the wider the chain of desire that makes us continuously yearn for things. It simply becomes an addiction!
But what if we turned our ‘getting’ into giving?
You’ve probably noticed that giving always creates a great feeling. And it comes from gratitude rather than from fear or greed. We can continue to give more and receive more on our now, ever-fulfilling journey.
Our generous and giving attitude creates generous and giving customers and team members while our price consciousness and ‘getting attitude’ attracts precisely those types of customers and team members. And they’re the very ones we don’t want!
Creative capitalism
Many businesses see this now. They are now starting to give more and more in various ways. There’s a veritable ’sea-change’ going on as more people ‘get’ the role that giving can play in their business. Bill Gates is a class example. In a July 2008 lead article in TIME Magazine he referred to it as ‘Creative Capitalism’.
He said: “Doing good might be the tipping point that leads people to choose one product over another.”
What he’s actually saying is that when a company links its business to giving in some way, that company and its products become more attractive to customers. It takes us way, way above what’s been called ‘the sea of sameness’.
Creative Capitalism is the idea of taking things a step higher than the destination at which one would have originally chosen to make the compromise. When we can leverage our visions and initiatives in a way that helps and promotes the needs of the global society, we are conserving things, efforts and abilities in trying to win pro tem. Then we begin fashioning genuine success for us as well as for supporting our global financial system.
The appeal of effective giving
The initiative of bigger enterprises to contribute back to the society is known as Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. It is fast becoming mandatory for large corporations to do so. Still, when it is done for image building or as a mere compulsion, public may eventually realise the truth. Nevertheless, it is a face-saving mechanism.
Business ventures and people who ‘donate’ become popular. The zeal and sincerity that prods them to act is recognized by the people with whom they interact. This response is on top of what is spun by way of the company’s public relation efforts.
What is likely to be the upshot if some of the capital meant for marketing is apportioned for contributions?
From the act of giving rises something that transcends us. The act of contributing results in revelation. And this revelation ensues only when it reverberates across those whom we want to arouse. And we are aroused when we become part of the happening totally. We cannot be satisfied with the narratives that are passed on to us. Those tales have to be lived in. in the end it is human nature to yearn for the satisfaction of making our own donation - to our kith and kin and organizations and society.
Transaction-based giving makes it inevitable
A far better atmosphere for donating has become possible because of an idea (or we can call it a ‘phenomenon’) by the name Buy1GIVE1 (Buy One Give One). Buy1GIVE1 is the abode of transaction-based giving. Transaction-based giving overhauls everything. Let us put to use our resourcefulness and decide why.
For example, imagine if every time you had a cup of coffee at your favourite cafe, a child in Africa automatically got access to pure, clean water for one day?
Imagine if every time you subscribed to a magazine you love, a tree got planted automatically just because you bought the magazine? Or every time you dine out, you fed a child in need? Automatically again.
Consider the scenario of someone attending a coaching session. It would be commendable if someone who needs similar coaching would get it as a direct consequence (and just at the cost of not more than 60 cents for the day’s coaching).
Or if a conference sponsors has arranged a speaker, part of whose income goes to help kids who has speech impediments due to deformities, wouldn’t that be a matter to feel satisfied? Just by attending the conference and paying for it, you are becoming part of a noble cause.
Imagine now if you could apply transaction-based giving in your own unique way to match your main products/services to engage your customers and team members to be part of the giving story. Here’s how.
The economy where all benefits
Already, companies right around the world are ‘getting’ the power of this transaction-based giving. Just one example-the UK’s leading supermarket chain, TESCO now gives a school uniform to a child in Kenya whenever a customer buys a pair of school trousers.
Mineral Water Company Volvic also rolled out their transaction-based giving program successfully last year. For every 1 litre of Volvic people buy, Volvic gives funds to build wells in Africa in a program they call Buy1 GIVE 10 (since every 1 litre sold essentially creates a flow of 10 litres in the well.
Middle level and comparatively small enterprises are now in the forefront in widening this global giving phenomenon through Creative Capitalism. Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com), a Singapore-based Social Enterprise came up with an effective strategy which has turned this transaction-based giving into a movement that anyone who wants can participate in.
Buy1GIVE1 is the heart of a most powerfully persuasive transaction-based giving globally, correlating business ventures of all sizes to any noble cause anywhere. It is weaving a universal society of business givers and for SME`s, Buy1GIVE1 links up businesses, their clients AND charity requirements in a most passionate and mutually satisfactory manner. The whole thing is completely automated.
You can become a citizen of this global giving movement by simply getting a Buy1GIVE1 `VISA` directly off the Buy1GIVE1 site at www.b1g1.com. And if you own a business you can become a B1G1 Business through a simple online application and select your cause for your main product or service to kick-start you’re giving. Buy1GIVE1 forwards 100% of the contributions to their international Worthy Cause Partners (there are now over 528 projects you can select) making the giving even more effective.
Are you aware?
* One half of the world’s population -which is about three billion people-does not have a daily income of even two dollars.
* Even when the new millennium dawned there were still almost a billion people who were illiterate.
* Poverty and malnutrition robs the lives of 20 children every minute, 30,000 every day, and 210,000 children every week, as per UNICEF records.
* 85% of the world’s water resources are utilized by just 12% of its population. And of this, even 1% does not live in the Third World.
* Medical aid is not available for one billion people of the world population.
* Every year about 63,000 square miles of rainforests get decimated.
Figures From Global Issues
Buy1GIVE1 Businesses-check out these examples
* Buy1BUILD1 (www.sunsplashhomes.com, www.arkgroup.com.au)
* Instruction to Instruction (www.kipmcgrath.com.au)
* Medical treatment helping in medical aid (www.primanora.com)
* Phone card to human interaction (www.ultimatecomms.com)
* Mind Expansion to curing (www.meditate.com.au)
* Losing weight to feeding children (www.bodychain.com)
* Aesthetic blinds to lights to schools (www.blindscouture.com.au)
* Socks for comfort to feet free of frostbite (www.socksforhappypeople.com)
* Coaching to train social entrepreneurs (www.b1g1forcoaches.com)
* And for full details, just log on to www.b1g1.com.
Discovering what we are looking for-Nature has got the answer
So let’s come back to where we started-economic turmoil and getting what we want. What we all really want is actually very simple. You can sum it up with ‘C’ words - connection, collaboration and community.
When we can pool resources and not segregate and when we can divine a proper way to augment what everyone has got and not cut down from what each has got, we understand that there is a veritable cornucopia of sources to be had in the world. And when we bond, not just with our physical persona, but with our intrinsic selves, we discern something completely fascinating -that we’re all ONE. Then we comprehend how uncomplicated it is to form a universal community from something as ordinary as giving.
And the truth is there in all its glory in nature.
In earth’s natural workshop, beautiful butterflies fertilize flowers and help to produce gardens that continue generation after generation. It was there even before recorded history.
When a crisis hits the world, we can see an opportunity to get back to the simplicity. It is now actually time to be grateful for what we have in order for us all to keep thriving.
And when a person chooses to donate now itself, in spite of the financial crisis, he will feel more contended. And with this contentment he will find a hope that is rekindled anew, which will ring a bell on how the ebb and flow of things can change. Today’s charity might be that which will reverse the flow.
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categories: charity,cause marketing,society,motivation,giving,positive outlook,positive thinking,women’s ideas,crisis,challenges,personal development
Life-Awakening Quotes By Masami Sato: Solving The Mystery Of Life
Part One of Three
This collection of beautiful quotes that will inspire you to awaken your curiosity about the mystery of life is excerpted from “ONE”, a book by Masami Sato, the founder of Buy1GIVE which is a global giving organisation sharing the joy of giving. The quotes in this first edition include topics that are profoundly related to our everyday lives, such as mystery, judgment and connection. This article is the first part of the 3 “ONE Book Life-Changing Quotes Series”.
On transforming judgment
“Judgment often has very little relation to reality.”
“Actions and words don’t always accurately reflect who we are. Every single one of us has had the experience of wanting to undo what we did or said.”
On the mystery of life
“It’s very, very clear that we don’t need to know all of the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of life to keep living on this planet.”
“There are so many things we don’t understand in life. In spite of that lack of understanding though, we often enjoy experiencing those things.”
“Seeing is important but trying to figure out everything isn’t necessary.”
“The scientists are not here to reveal the ‘truth’ because we are here to seek it forever. They are actually here to complicate the game (of life) so that we can have more questions and enjoy the game longer.”
Connection
“Connection is the core of everything. That’s what life is. Connection.”
“Every single thing we do is to satisfy the need for connection.”
“We cannot feel unhappy when we are feeling totally connected. It’s impossible!”
“We are designed to constantly seek ways to connect to each other and to a greater purpose.”
“’solutions’ coming from fear and doubt may not be the most effective ways. We end up feeling more and more disconnected from each other.”
“We can only truly celebrate the victory with others when we win together. Then we feel connected.”
“This is the game called ONE. The aim of the game is to ‘connect’! We keep connecting until we all become ONE.
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categories: marketing,giving to charity,charity giving,Christian giving,society,women,children,education,BOGO,cause marketing
Steps On How To Successfully Give
A new experiment is completely changing lives in the rural areas of India by bringing luminosity where there used to be darkness.
The New York Times published an article titled, “Husk Power for India”. Electricity, which is prevalent in the lives of many in developed nations, is a pure luxury in remote areas of developing ones. What was once fed to animals now is used to generate electricity - rice husks.
Being brought up in the pastoral Bihar State, Manoj Sinha knew what it was like to be without light at night. Being an engineer with Intel Corporation he had all the competence to bring a lifelong idea to fruition. He led the creation of his power generation equipment from rice husks and other wastes from farms and now he sells power to rural areas across India.
Sinha is what could be called a reformative businessman because he feels business is the answer to major social problems. “Business leaders must realise that the world’s poor need investments more than handouts,” he says, adding, “these are customers, not victims.”
The article stimulated me to think about gifting in a different way prompting me to ask myself, “what is the most ideal form of giving?” Is it learning, business transaction or aid work? There are so many methods to make a difference. One way of gifting can appear to be more effectual or maintainable than other ways based on the way it is conveyed, seen or applied.
I then came to define there were eight parts to giving as a way to look at this. So, let me map out the eight distinctions; which in effect are often ’stages’ of giving as well.
Stage one: Necessity - saving and helping others who are afflicted by natural catastrophe, contagious diseases or other unmanageable conditions.
Phase two: Respite - providing respite from enduring need, poverty, ill-health, disadvantages or prejudice which otherwise would continue or deteriorate because of the lack of awareness, training or resources.
Stage three: Healing and protection - mentally, physically and emotionally. Many people carry traumas that may be invisible but severely limiting their lives. Giving the healing to release the deep-rooted pain creates more opportunities for them while giving suitable protection gives them a sense of security.
Phase four: Edification - giving better edification, awareness and skill imparting to create empowered and innovative solutions to generating resources while helping people to discover their exclusive talent to succeed.
Stage five: Inspired investment - giving a help, capital or resources to those who have great talent to alter the situation. This gets used many times as the resources become more and passed on to other people who again produce more out of the prospects given.
Stage six: Tenability - working together with the people in the local surroundings, creating tenable groups - ambiance-wise and reciprocally.
Stage seven: Empowerment - sanctioning and influencing the people to set free their true capability and drive to make a difference. In this group of offering, the aim of offering changes from ‘giving to those who are in need’ to ‘giving people an opening to give to others’ and to the whole group.
Stage eight: Loving - just doing whatever we feel to do to love and care for others. No strategy or expected outcome exists in this stage of giving. ‘Giving’ does not even exist here in the traditional sense of the word, as there is no sense of possession or judgment or desire to change anything. This is where we do not even have to think about anything, we give as a part of our own joyful experience.
What we also see is that at each of these eight phases of sharing there are many things that the giver gets in return.
One: Sense of connection
Two: Sense of well being
Three: Relief from pain (our own)
Four: Gratification for our own understanding, talents and situations
Five: Long-term sense of involvement and fulfillment for our own life
Six: Improved atmosphere for our own life and for the lives of all those we value and cherish
Seven: Soul rewarding stimulation and commitment to our own purpose
Eight: Love
Giving has many levels and experiences depending on the giver and the receiver. And the ’stages’ do not describe which one is more important than the other. All are necessary.
I was gifted with an experience early in 2008 while travelling with a group of dedicated entrepreneurs through India to see how we could be more effective in our giving. I was blessed to have one particular experience that made me think about what ‘effective giving’ really meant.
We were in a small town one day. Four of us had just called a taxi to take us to another town in the vicinities. We bargained with the driver with care as our hotel staff had told us beforehand that we could be duped since we were not local.
We stopped in front of the local train station for a short break on the way. While the others disappeared off to use the bathroom, I started a conversation with our taxi driver standing next to the taxi. With very limited English and a full smile exposing his blackened front teeth, he told me that he had a house on the outskirts of the town and he had a young wife and two children who went to the local school - I started to feel connected to him.
I patted him on the back for having an affectionate family and told him that I also had two kids of the same age as his. When the others came back the driver instantly asked us to come to his house for food. I thought it was just a formality he wanted to convey at first. However, after leaving us at the centre of the town, he was particular that he would wait for us till we were done with our traveling around the town. And he actually did. I was in fact quite taken aback to see him still standing by the side of the road next to his taxi even after an hour. We hopped back into the taxi and he whizzed off up the road to where his home was.
When we landed there we were quite surprised to see the way he was living. It was in fact quite similar (if not worse) to the existence of the slum dwellers we had visited before that. From the bright new taxi he was driving, who could have pictured this
As the car turned into the narrow unsealed road between the hut-like houses that were constructed with crudely made concrete blocks and painted mud walls, we felt contrite about having agreed to his invitation. For a brief moment I felt mortified. “How could I have exploited the generosity of a man who didn’t seem to have anything and I didn’t even get any edible stuff or presents for his family”, I thought.
As we walked into his house, we saw a pan and small stove on the mud floor. His very shy wife nodded blushing in surprise and disappeared into the small storeroom (a cupboard size) next to it. As I looked in, I saw the next-door neighbours handing over some teacups to his wife over the crumbled concrete fence. They didn’t even have extra teacups in their house. There was only one small room fitted out with one single bed and an old galvanised chest next to it.
The cab driver swiftly took out three hand-woven rugs from the galvanised box and placed it neatly on the small space of the mud floor keeping one on the bed.
Hot cups of tea came pretty fast and so did some snacks. His kids as well as all the little ones in the neighbourhood came to see us and stood around near the door. All six of us were totally wedged into the small room. I asked him with surprise where all his children slept. I thought they might be having another space somewhere. To my utter surprise, he pointed the chest and happily said that it was their sleeping space.
He gleefully told us that he was a dancing champion in town and pointed to some trophies on the shelf above the bed. Keen to show us his dancing skills he suddenly dashed outside. From nowhere music filled the tiny room. He didn’t have any music system in the house, it was coming from outside. I was curious so I stood up to see him reversing his taxi right against the back wall of his house with the doors wide open with car radio on full volume!
The time quickly passed (dancing together and having more cups of tea) and it was finally time to say thank you for their great hospitality and head on our way. As we stood up to leave and thank him and his wife, he reached to the best looking rug on the bed, rolled it up and handed it to us. It was one of the only few things he had. I could not believe he offered it to us.
We all respectfully refused his gift and came out saying goodbye to everyone waving at us. We got perplexed about this whole thing. Should we have offered some cash to the family as they obviously had limited means? Should we have agreed to take his wonderful gift?
As I was thinking about this awe-inspiring experience after a few days, I considered our begging off his gift. He looked crest-fallen that we didn’t accept the gift. It wasn’t only the rejecting of the gift that remained in my mind.
I realised that the feeling of restlessness I felt was in reality the result of seeing him as less privileged. I was feeling that I couldn’t probably receive anything from someone who owned too little.
But did he really have so little? Maybe he had more - a lot more.
Maybe the perfect gift we could have given him then was to accept his gift in total surrender and gratefulness.
Every act of sharing and taking are indispensable for us to fill our world with profusion and satisfaction in equal measure for both sharer and taker. We can start doing this instead of evaluating and validating one over another. The beautiful act of sharing and taking requires no additional elucidation.
Manoj Sinha’s words resound in my mind once again, “these are customers, not victims.” I can visualise the eager faces of the village people who are now thrilled to have current in their hamlets and their little ones who now can now read and write and learn even at night.
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21 Fun Questions To Ask A Guy
Questions, questions and more questions! They are the most amazing things that we can ask when we want to learn about someone else.
Dale Carnegie in his best selling ever book, “How to win friends and influence people” writes about the simple power of asking questions to show that we are interested in someone else.
Have you been to a party and been the one asking all the questions and doing all the listening? If you have, you will probably agree that the other person thought that the conversation was quite interesting. You probably did less that 20% of the speaking but you got 100% of the credit!
If you’re a guy and ask a lady some great questions, you will often find yourself leaping to last-base, saving a lot of legwork trying to build rapport with her. Asking questions and really listening to what a person says is one of the most naturally flattering things you can do with anyone.
If you’re a woman and want to pamper a guy’s ego and make him feel super good and wanted, then just ask him lots of questions and then really listen to the answers. You will have the guy on a dangling string in seconds!
Despite the ego-focused side of asking and listening there is a genuine side as well. Because the people who are genuinely interested in someone else and ask great questions are the people who are always popular and well liked. Faking interest is the worst thing you can do. And at the end of the day, if you are not a natural listener then put yourself to the test and practice. You will start to learn SO much about so many things and you will discover parts of people that are just SO interesting to learn about.
Here’s 21 questions to ask a guy or girl to get conversation jump-started. They have been written from a female perspective, however just switch them around if you are a guy and want to use them. If nothing else it will get you thinking about your own questions - which are always better.
Here’s 21 questions to ask a guy or a girl
1. If you’re a waiter and a customer was super rude, would you spill food accidentally on them or think about doing this?
2. What was your favourite Halloween dress up costume as a child and why?
3. If you could choose to have dinner with 5 people (real of fictional) who would you invite and why?
4. If in an instant you could become an invisible man, where would you go and what would you do?
5. If someone were to make a comedy show about part of your life, which part would they script and what would be found in the script?
6. What was your favourite television character when you were a child? What did you like about them?
7. If there was something that you missed doing in this lifetime what was it?
8. What was the funniest experience in your whole entire life?
9. Have you ever gone on a date with someone who is so much smaller or taller than you, and if so how did you get on kissing?
10. How old were you when you had your first proper date? Did you get to kiss them and if so was it a French kiss?
11. What was the worst lie you have ever told in your life? Did you get caught out?
12. If you were suddenly turned into a woman for a day, how would you spend that day?
13. When you meet someone for the first time and you do not like them what would you normally do?
14. What is more important to you in a woman - good looks or intelligence?
And now let’s get a little more risqu! You may have to have a few drinks before asking some of these questions!
15. Have you ever been caught stark naked in a public place - if so what were you doing?
16. What’s the difference between making love and having sex for you and which do you prefer?
17. If you could change the age that you lost your virginity, would you?
18. What’s your biggest sexual ‘turn-ons’ and ‘turn-offs’?
19. Have you ever been unfaithful to your partner and did they find out? If so, what happened?
20. Have you ever been caught touching yourself sexually? If you did, how old where you and who caught you?
21. Have you ever had sex with more than one woman at a time?
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From Thought to Logos
According to Isa. 57:15 he is the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity. He is above,
beyond and outside of time. Also he is omnipresent meaning he can dwell in as many places at
once as he desires to and that he is not limited to one body like humans are. He does not dwell in
a body, he is not a man. Jesus said, ‘God is a Spirit.’ John 4:24. A spirit hath not flesh and bones.
He is eternal Spirit. ” No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” John 1:18. I Timothy 6:16 tells us t hat no man has
seen nor can see God. He is an invisible Spirit. The same scripture also tells us that God alone has
immortality. To be immortal means that you cannot die nor can you be killed. God is a Spirit and
cannot be caught and killed. “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of
the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and [there was] under his feet as it were a
paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in [his] clearness. And upon
the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and
drink.” Exodus 24:9 -11. In one scripture it says ‘they saw the God of Israel’ and in another verse
it says ‘no man has seen God at any time.’ This seems like a direct contrad iction, but in reality it
is not. In God’s essential being he is an eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, invisible
Spirit and he is ONE. No man has ever seen him in his essential being neither can you see him,
but you are able to see the temporary ways he has made himself visible. Men have seen God in
his self-revelation. He came to Abraham in the form of Melchisidec, the priest without a father,
mother, beginning of days or end of life. Genesis 14:17-20, Hebrews 7:1-11. He also came to
Abraham in the form of a prophet in the plains of Mamre. Genesis 18. Jehovah appeared to
Moses in the form of an angel in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush that was not consumed
by the fire. Exodus 3:2. He led the children of Israel to the promised land by a pillar of fire during
the night and a pillar of cloud during the day. Exodus 13:21-22. He also came down and entered
into Solomon’s temple of God in the form of fire and it was said that ‘the glory of Jehovah filled
the temple.’ 2 Chronicles 7:1 -3. Many other ways did God appear unto men. They were all
temporary manifestations. God did not have a closet up in heaven where he kept different
costumes. The purpose of the manifestations were in order reveal himself to his elect. The
different attributes or (thoughts concerning himself) he expressed were a part of his being.
Therefore, we can certainly understand that John 1:1 is not speaking of a second person of God, but rather of God revealing his own thoughts. The logos is the self-revelation of the Almighty Invisible
God who is Spirit. Many interpret these verses to say ‘in the beginning was Jesus and Jesus was with God and Jesus was God.’ However, take this to 1 John 1:1 -2 in the light of the truth of the oneness of God.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was
manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which
was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;).” The word God in John 1:1 can be replaced
with the Father. We see it as saying this, ‘In the beginning was the word and the word was with
the Father and the word was the Father.’ If we replace the word with Jesus or Son we then get a
Jesus only doctrine of God. However, the truth of the matter is that the word or logos is God’s
self-revelation and not a second person of the Trinity. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out
of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it
shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11. The word of Go d is his revelation of
himself and not a second person of the Godhead. The Old and New Testaments do not speak of
several persons of God, but they speak of the one true God who moves and works in different
ways to reveal himself.
He worked through angels, temporary theophanies, spiritual manifestations like a fire and
a cloud, a whirlwind, prophets, kings, priests, even a hand that wrote on a wall in Babylon. He
also by supernatural intervention created a little embryo in the womb of virgin of Israel, of the
tribe of Judah and the seed of David. This child was born and named Jesus, he was the Son of
God. He was anointed of God and was the perfect man whom God used to express himself. Now,
he works through his Church, the body of Christ to manifest himself. All these manifestations are
the word/revelation of God being made known. It’s not thousands of words of God, but it’s the
word of God. It’s God’s plan, purpose, mind, thoughts and counsel revealed or expressed to
mankind. The word was God the Father’s rev elation not Jesus Christ, but the same word became
flesh and tabernacled among us in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the word made manifest in
flesh. The word was expressed temporarily through the different theophanies God used during in
the Old Testament Scriptures, but the word became a man in Jesus of Nazareth. He became the permanent tabernacle and manifestation of the word of God. Whatever means God uses to
express himself is the word or logos of God.
The LOGOS is not one for one with Jesus. ‘The word was God’ not the Son of God, but Jesus was the flesh and tabernacle of the LOGOS. I John 1:1 tells us that the LOGOS is ETERNAL LIFE. Jesus tells us that the Father has life IN himself and has GIVEN to the Son to have life in himself. He has given the same eternal life to all children of God. The LOGOS is the anointing that emanated from Yahweh in the beginning. It could take the form of the Spiritual or Word Body of the Almighty Spirit who covered all space and time. The LOGOS took other forms like the pillar of fire and cloud or the shekinah glory. That same LOGOS came in Spirit form, like a dove, and took up Its Tabernacle in Jesus when he was anointed at his baptism.
Though the LOGOS is not the Son the life/spirit of Sonship is in the LOGOS. Similar to a SEED, all other seeds that come forth will come from that one ORIGINAL SEED. The Son of God was typed/revealed in the OT times in the LOGOS; Melchisidec, the Angel of the Covenant, The PROPHET coming to Abraham in the days of Lot, etc. That spirit of Sonship was expressed in the LOGOS during the OT, but it was simply the manifestation of God and it ‘was God’, there was no distinct individual called the Son of God during t hose times. The Father-Son relationship was not yet in existence. The relationship was still a plan in the mind of the Father, but when Jesus was born the spirit of Sonship came forth from the LOGOS and was breathed into Jesus just as the breath or spirit of life was breathed into Adam. Then that Father-
Son relationship began to be fulfilled. If the ORIGINAL SEED is the LOGOS and all seeds come from the ORIGINAL then all of the Bride of Christ are predestinated seeds and come forth from that one ORIGINAL SEED, the LOGOS. We were all glorified with Christ Jesus in the
LOGOS before the foundation of the world.
How To Work And Achieve Distance Learning Education All Together
Consider the perks of a distance learning education: keep working and getting paid, forget a class attendance schedule, and have the flexibility of studying whenever convenient. In fact, students striving for an online degree seem to have the best of both worlds.
However, a distance learning education is not without certain challenges. Traditional students are spurred on by the interaction with others and attending the lectures. Without a lot of discipline and intrinsic motivation, distance learners can easily get sidetracked by life and fail to keep up with the coursework needed to pass the class. Enjoy the benefits, but do not forget the responsibilities.
So, how can a distance learner overcome the challenges of shuffling work, school, and family? Creating and sticking to a schedule is the only way to survive and succeed. The trick is to apportion a 24 hour day to include enough time for the family, work, and school responsibilities. Thus, it is very important to let the family in on the plan, and when you should not be disturbed. Again, do not give into the temptation to deviate from the plan.
Getting yourself motivated is also essential towards distance learning education success. One of the ways to do this is to stay in contact with your classmates. With the internet today, it is often easy to stay in touch through email, instant messenger as well as internet phone. Discussing projects or assignments with your teammates will help you stay on track and keeps you and your teammates accountable for one another.
Also, do not forget to give yourself a pat on the back once in a while. Set up a calendar of specific goals. When the milestone is reached, reward yourself. Thus, it will be a source of encouragement and help in facing the inevitable hurdles presented by a distance learning education. In essence, it is nice to see and acknowledge personal progress.
Finally, make sure to have a quiet, undisturbed place to study. It is extremely easy to be distracted by the television, a ringing phone, or normal family activities in the household. If necessary, lock yourself in a quiet room equipped with a comfortable chair, a good desk or table, and ample space to create a productive learning environment.
Although distance learning is a great and effective learning concept, much of its effectiveness is dependent on the habits and determination of the individual. The full advantages of distance learning can only be gained through hard work, discipline and determination for success.
Free Online dating Is The Positive Way To Make Friends
You must be concerned about your promises when you contact a person through free online dating process. The behavior from the other end may be full of misgivings. Expectations may vary which reflects the behavior you demonstrate to the person. This may incite dilemma in future relationship. To avoid this, you should be firm in your promises and explain unmistakably about your own feelings. The person at the other end should appreciate the behavior and must make due control in his behavior onwards.
Human behavior is apt to change in different environments and your partner should be permitted to rectify the behavior accordingly. An unpleasant behavior can be restrained if it is properly managed with patience and trustworthy guidance. You must have in your mind to expect some awful behavior from persons in free online dating. This is a way of allowing the advantage of indecision to a person to continue relationship.
The inside issue of the subject is that the abusive behavior originates from the fear of partnership loss and a low level of understanding in some people. They have never known prudence. They need proper counseling and it is time that you must make your mind up whether to prolong the relationship with the particular individual or not.
You are free to stride back once again to get a true partner through free online dating. You can reach a fresh partner through free dating sites and do not have to stick to the old contact any more when things did not work positively for you.
You should be able to place trust in a person’s aptitude to continue with the assurances to keep up the relationship going and reaching its maturity. In case, there is a bit of hesitation in the other person’s mind, offer support and your eagerness to put trust when the partner desires to respond the same feeling.
Both of you should be truthful in expressing mutual thoughts to each other and have trust to make it a matured relationship. Free online dating makes it simple to look at credentials and credibility of partners before you make decision through free dating sites. Choose the partner with an open mind and suspicion and make it possible through free dating.
How to Care for Your Flower Garden
Knowing how to care for your flower garden can make a big difference in the look and over-all health of your plants. Here are some simple hints to make your garden bloom with health
1. The essentials must always be given major consideration.
Your flower garden must have an adequate supply of water, sunlight, and fertile soil. Any lack of these basic necessities will greatly affect the health of plants. Water the flower garden more frequently during dry spells.
When planting bulbs, make sure they go at the correct depth. When planting out shrubs and perennials, make sure that you don’t heap soil or mulch up around the stem. If you do, water will drain off instead of sinking in, and the stem could develop rot through overheating.
2. Mix and match perennials with annuals.
Perennial flower bulbs need not to be replanted since they grow and bloom for several years while annuals grow and bloom for only one season. Mixing a few perennials with annuals ensures that you will always have blooms coming on.
3. Deadhead to encourage more blossoms.
Deadheading is simply snipping off the flower head after it wilts. This will make the plant produce more flowers. Just make sure that you don’t discard the deadhead on the garden or mildew and other plant disease will attack your plants.
4. Know the good from the bad bugs.
Most garden insects do more good than harm. Butterflies, beetles and bees are known pollinators. They fertilize plants through unintentional transfer of pollen from one plant to another. 80% of flowering plants rely on insects for survival.
Sowbugs and dung beetles together with fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms are necessary to help in the decomposition of dead plant material, thus enriching the soil and making more nutrients available to growing plants.
Other insects like lacewings and dragonflies are natural predators of those insects that do the real damage, like aphis.
An occasional application of liquid fertilizer when plants are flowering will keep them blooming for longer.
Always prune any dead or damaged branches. Fuchsias are particularly prone to snapping when you brush against them. The broken branch can be potted up to give you a new plant, so it won’t be wasted.
The Hunchback And Banana Boy—What The Chinese Miao Tell You Besides Their Silver Jewels
The Miao ethnic group living in southwestern China are famous for their handmade silver earrings and numerous interesting folktales. Here is a story about a boy born from a banana.
An old hunchbacked man planted dozens of bananas along a river. Everyday he carried his bananas to the market and sold them at a good price. He led an abundant life. However, without any children, he sometimes felt lonely. When he saw children of his neighbors playing outside, he always said to himself, How wonderful if I had a child. While watching bunches of bananas hanging from the plants, he comforted himself, Look, I have lots of bananas. They are my children.
One year a heavy snowstorm ruined all his banana plants. The hunchbacked man were so upset. The next spring he found there was only one plant growing a new bud. So he fertilized this plant carefully to expect a good harvest. However three months later the plant only had one banana. The old hunchbacked man was puzzled at this. As the banana grew bigger and bigger, it looked more and more like a large barrel.
One day a beautiful peacock came to give the banana a peck, and flied away. Immediately the peel of the banana broke and came off, and a baby jumped out of the banana. He ran to the old hunchbacked man and yelled, Dad, Dad!
The old man was surprised at what was happening. He held the baby in his arms, and lovely kissed his chubby face. The old man named the baby: Banana Boy.
Year by year, the banana boy grew up. He helped his father grow more banana plants, and every year they had an abundant harvest.
As the hunchback on the old man’s back was becoming bigger and bigger, he felt it was more difficult for him to work. The banana boy felt sorry for his dad, so he planned to seek for a medicine to cure the hunchback. Unfortunately everyone he met said there was no such medicine.
One day, the banana boy came to a mountain where he saw a lady with glistening silver earrings combing her long hair. The banana boy asked her, Madam, do you know where to find a medication to cure hunchback? The lady answered, To the east of the mountain, there is a cave where you can find a pearl inset onto a stone. Eat the pearl, and hunchback will disappear.”
The banana boy went to the cave and got the pearl. On his way home, he saw a child on the ground, crying, his hands full of blood. The banana boy asked what happened. The child said, ” Two bulls were fighting. I tried to stop them, but got badly hurt. ” The banana boy said to himself, ” Maybe my pearl cures the would on his hands. ” So he let the child eat the pearl. After eating it, the wound was gone.
The banana boy returned to the mountain and asked the lady again where to find another medicine to cure his father’s hunchback. The lady said, On the top of the west mountain, there is a red fungus. Eat the fungus, and a hunchback can soon walk straight. So the banana boy went to pick up this red fungus. On his way home, he came upon an old man lying on the ground groaning. The man got hurt by a fallen tree. The banana boy put the red fungus into the man’s mouth. In no time, the old man stood up, holding his long white beard and smiling at the banana boy.
Without the red fungus, the banana boy had to look for that lady again for help. The lady said, At the foot of the south mountain, there is a deep pond where a golden stone lies. Swallow this stone, and one can get rid of his hunchback. But remember this is the last medication I know for the hunchback. Don’t come back to me anymore.” After saying this, the lady vanished into the wood.
With the golden stone, the banana boy started to walk home. But while going through a bridge, he saw a woman lying under the bridge, with a baby sleeping aside. The woman said that she fell over from the bridge and hurt her back. The banana boy said to himself, If I give her the golden stone, how about my dad? But if I don’t give her the stone, both her and her baby won’t survive. Eventually the banana boy gave the stone to the woman, who immediately stood up and said to the banana boy, You are a good boy. I give you this peacock as a present.
The banana boy finally got home and told his experience to his father. The old hunchbacked man said, My son, you did it right! The little peacock has beautiful plumage and likes singing sweet songs everyday.
One day the old man felt pain on his back, so he took off his clothes and touched the hunchback. The peacock suddenly came to peck on his back. The old man fell over on the ground. The banana boy held a stick to beat the peacock, who jumped high and turned to be a beautiful girl. The banana boy was stunned.
The girl held a handful of water from the river to feed the old man. Immediately the old man could stand up straight and the hunch on his back disappeared.
Click here to see beautiful Miao silver necklaces and learn more about their culture.
Public Ohio Divorce Records Online Resources
Divorce is also known as annulment or dissolution of marriage. After the finalization of the divorce proceeding, the next step is to gather all the documents pertaining to the matter for filing at the respective county office. Where divorces are concerned, a court hearing by a judge is usually involved. In that way, it is unique when compared to the other vital records namely Marriage, Birth and Death.
It is recommended that searches for Ohio Divorce Records begin at the State level. The Vital Statistics Office under the Ohio Department of Health is responsible for their filing and to provide them as a public service, along with other state-level data and information. To conduct a search for their abstracts, a written request must be mailed and accompanied with the required supporting information and fees.
The Ohio Department of Health can only provide abstracts of divorces that occurred in Ohio from January 1, 1954 to the current index date. As such the information would be limited but their index register can point you to the particular Clerk of the Court office where the marriage dissolution was granted. That is also where the original Free Divorce Records and decrees and other documents would be filed.
The old ways of gathering information on public records may serve their purpose but they are certainly time-consuming compared to how it’s increasingly done these days. Log onto any major search engine for that and you’ll be spoilt for choice. There are numerous Online Divorce Records registries and private nationwide directories that are readily found to choose from.
If you have the skills and time, the process of finding free divorce records can be quite fulfilling, not to mention sparing your pockets too. The standard information are names of the couples and family members, time, place and reason of divorce, decree details and so forth. These are used in background checks, Genealogy studies, family tree research and compulsorily in subsequent marriage license application by divorcees.
Depending on the particular county of interest, it may be requested in various ways. The standard modes of retrieval are in-person, mail, telephone, fax, on-site terminals and over the internet. The most convenient and premium option is of course the commercial providers. They operate predominantly online and professional results are normally available within minutes.
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