"We like predictability, and we are always satisfied when people behave as we think they will. It makes us feel . . well, powerful; the world is not as complex a place as some might think-at least it is not complex for US. She stopped herself. Nemesis stalked those who became pleased with themselves, and it was wrong,anyway, to indulge in self-congratulation. The line between having an adequate view of oneself and smugness was a thin one, and those who walked too close to it usually fell over the edge."
The Charming Quirks of Others
Alexander McCall Smith
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
A Friend's Insightful and Truly Uplifting Comment
"This organization is made up of imperfect people and no matter how you look at it - no matter how spiritual we all could possibly be, there will always be problems with one another because Satan wants it that way. We still move and exist and breathe in this world...he is trying his best to distract us and then pounce! He doesn't care how he gets us as long as he gets us. We could commit a major sin, we could just "go easy on ourselves", he could make our hearts hardened against someone and get us with not forgiving one another, he could make us apathetic and discouraged with the way things are handled in the congregation - he doesn't really care. He doesn't even care if we leave the truth - as long as we aren't doing what we're supposed to be doing or have thoughts weaving thru our minds that make us critical, despondent, unforgiving, etc ...he could make us just down on ourselves and make us think we can never do enough to make Jehovah happy and he could even trap us that way! I've always tried to remember that the people Jehovah has drawn are people that he sees something in...it doesn't mean they stay with him or with us, but it means that I don't ever want to be the person that had anything to do with them leaving - I've always wanted to be the kind of person that helped them to stay. After all that I've done, I realize I may have been someone who made people leave and I want to make up for that somehow by doing my best to be as forgiving and understanding as possible - to be a true sister to everyone Jehovah draws to him."
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Bro. Moreland
Bro. Moreland gave the public talk today which was "Who is Like Jehovah our God?" There were a couple things and scriptures he said I wanted to pass along.
1. No other god is like Jehovah because Jehovah describes himself as humble. The hundreds and thousands of other gods are many times described as "aloof" for instance.
"Who can be compared with God enthroned on high? Far below him are the heavens and the earth; he stoops to look." (he humbles himself) The Living Bible
2. No other god is like Jehovah in morality - for instance, the Greek deities are depicted as very immoral - they rape, murder, fight among themselves. Apollo was skinned alive by another god , for instance.
Because no other god is like Jehovah in morality, the people who worship the god that is different morally, Jehovah, have to be different morally.
3. No other god is like Jehovah in activity - 3 times his throne is likened to a chariot, on the move. He is the source of dynamic energy. If you took one pound of dirt and separated out the molecules you would actually have 1 to the 32nd power pounds of energy in every pound of dirt.
The people who worship the god who is full of activity should also be full of activity.
1. No other god is like Jehovah because Jehovah describes himself as humble. The hundreds and thousands of other gods are many times described as "aloof" for instance.
"Who can be compared with God enthroned on high? Far below him are the heavens and the earth; he stoops to look." (he humbles himself) The Living Bible
2. No other god is like Jehovah in morality - for instance, the Greek deities are depicted as very immoral - they rape, murder, fight among themselves. Apollo was skinned alive by another god , for instance.
Because no other god is like Jehovah in morality, the people who worship the god that is different morally, Jehovah, have to be different morally.
3. No other god is like Jehovah in activity - 3 times his throne is likened to a chariot, on the move. He is the source of dynamic energy. If you took one pound of dirt and separated out the molecules you would actually have 1 to the 32nd power pounds of energy in every pound of dirt.
The people who worship the god who is full of activity should also be full of activity.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Trip to Round Rock and Austin
We went to see the area, look at housing, be with William - some pictures of our trip:
W and B in the lobby of the Driskill - see below for more explanation
Devin resting in the lobby of the Driskill - see the next photo for more explanation.
The Driskill Hotel is an old historic hotel downtown and is very lavish - not my taste - but one can appreciate it's beauty. This is the enormous stained glass lighting at the base of the steps to the upper floors. There would not have been elevators when it was built of course, and this was certainly a beautiful start up the grand staircase.
What can I say? BBQ is huge down here . . . that history of ranching . . . after we ate here one afternoon and had delicious tenderloin and ribs, we just ate flatbread that night, we were SO "heavy" from lunch.
The Austin area is more "Ohio-like" because is has lakes, hills and trees - seems more "familiar". We went to Lake Travis which is a man-made dam and recreation area. The shore is very, very rocky, not sandy at all. The kids swam and we waded.
This is where W is now living since the 60 day company-paying-for-housing has run out . . . he is very near a train track, unfortunately, which is noisy but also lets us know to avoid the area for housing . .
W and B in the lobby of the Driskill - see below for more explanation
Devin resting in the lobby of the Driskill - see the next photo for more explanation.
The Driskill Hotel is an old historic hotel downtown and is very lavish - not my taste - but one can appreciate it's beauty. This is the enormous stained glass lighting at the base of the steps to the upper floors. There would not have been elevators when it was built of course, and this was certainly a beautiful start up the grand staircase.
What can I say? BBQ is huge down here . . . that history of ranching . . . after we ate here one afternoon and had delicious tenderloin and ribs, we just ate flatbread that night, we were SO "heavy" from lunch.
The Austin area is more "Ohio-like" because is has lakes, hills and trees - seems more "familiar". We went to Lake Travis which is a man-made dam and recreation area. The shore is very, very rocky, not sandy at all. The kids swam and we waded.
This is where W is now living since the 60 day company-paying-for-housing has run out . . . he is very near a train track, unfortunately, which is noisy but also lets us know to avoid the area for housing . .
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Trip to Austin
Just a few photos from our trip to Austin to see the area, look at housing, visit with William.
Eating Barbeque at Rudy's - we didn't get plates, just pieces of butcher paper and then a "crate" of our food - just spoon it on the paper, pick up the ribs or tenderloin with your hands, and dig in! The place was PACKED.
Bronwyn trying to walk in barefeet out of Lake Travis which is not sandy at all, just very rocky. Hurts the feet. Will need swim shoes.
We were waiting to eat at Ranch 616, Sallie's recommendation - and lots of stuffed bison, beavers, steers and even a snakeskin on display. Before it opened, Devin and I killed some time walking on the side streets around it. A pretty area of Austin away from the chaos on 6th Street.
Well, the photo says it all - sittin' with Dad. . . . in his apartment.
Eating Barbeque at Rudy's - we didn't get plates, just pieces of butcher paper and then a "crate" of our food - just spoon it on the paper, pick up the ribs or tenderloin with your hands, and dig in! The place was PACKED.
Bronwyn trying to walk in barefeet out of Lake Travis which is not sandy at all, just very rocky. Hurts the feet. Will need swim shoes.
We were waiting to eat at Ranch 616, Sallie's recommendation - and lots of stuffed bison, beavers, steers and even a snakeskin on display. Before it opened, Devin and I killed some time walking on the side streets around it. A pretty area of Austin away from the chaos on 6th Street.
Well, the photo says it all - sittin' with Dad. . . . in his apartment.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Jehovah "Draws" Us
For all of you who struggle with yourself spiritually, have someone in your life who has no spiritual commitment or has abandoned their spiritual commitment, my friend Heather reminded me of something said at the District Convention:
There is always hope for anyone and especially so for someone who truly loved (loves?) jehovah. . . jehovah is there waiting for him (her). it makes me think of the talk at the convention. do you remember the point about the greek word used for "draw" at james 4:8? it was only used one other time and it's interesting b/c it was when jesus had his disciples draw in their nets after a whole night of fishing and not catching anything...and the catch was so large that they had to pull with all of their strength to pull the nets into the boat. the brother made the point that that is how jehovah draws us today - that there might be resistance on our end for whatever reason, but he keeps "drawing" us that way. That is a new point for me, I think. you know you always hear how "you have to make the first step and then Jehovah will help you" which for many things I'm sure is true. however to draw us to him in the first place, he exerts tremendous energy even tho we resist b/c he sees something in us personally. i loved that point and it's heartwarming to know - nothing will keep jehovah from drawing us to him - but in the end, we have to get in the boat. he knows each of our situations and how they effect us personally. he knows what each person is going thru and has gone thru and only he knows - better than even the person - what his/her heart is capable of under better conditions.
There is always hope for anyone and especially so for someone who truly loved (loves?) jehovah. . . jehovah is there waiting for him (her). it makes me think of the talk at the convention. do you remember the point about the greek word used for "draw" at james 4:8? it was only used one other time and it's interesting b/c it was when jesus had his disciples draw in their nets after a whole night of fishing and not catching anything...and the catch was so large that they had to pull with all of their strength to pull the nets into the boat. the brother made the point that that is how jehovah draws us today - that there might be resistance on our end for whatever reason, but he keeps "drawing" us that way. That is a new point for me, I think. you know you always hear how "you have to make the first step and then Jehovah will help you" which for many things I'm sure is true. however to draw us to him in the first place, he exerts tremendous energy even tho we resist b/c he sees something in us personally. i loved that point and it's heartwarming to know - nothing will keep jehovah from drawing us to him - but in the end, we have to get in the boat. he knows each of our situations and how they effect us personally. he knows what each person is going thru and has gone thru and only he knows - better than even the person - what his/her heart is capable of under better conditions.
House for Sale
It's official . . 90 days and counting until the house has to be sold or the Relo company is buying it . . . and Carey and Willow's pictorial comment on this:
It's a frog! It's Julie! It's Susan's!!
We went to Athens County to visit Julie who is back from Thailand visiting. She was out at Susan's, so we dined on coffee marinated pork, fresh veggies with ginger wasabi dip, and homemade coconut curry ice cream which was amazing. Julie looks great and you can see all sorts of happiness and good energy surrounding her.
We picked raspberries - we must have been there about 15 minutes when I realized there was a teeny tiny frog perched on a raspberry leaf if you can imagine that. He had been so very quiet and still that we hadn't noticed him even though we had been bending the raspberry bushes this way and that way.
We picked raspberries - we must have been there about 15 minutes when I realized there was a teeny tiny frog perched on a raspberry leaf if you can imagine that. He had been so very quiet and still that we hadn't noticed him even though we had been bending the raspberry bushes this way and that way.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Olentangy Caverns
My brother, Chris, came for a visit. We went to Olentangy Caverns - natural caverns where the Wyandot Indians wintered. It is pretty amazing. And then we partook of some of the overpriced tourist activities - mining for gems and the climbing wall - but it was all great fun and we had a riot.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Saturday Afternoon Touring Wineries
Wow, did I feel indulged - Sharon and I toured some wineries in northeast Ohio this past Saturday. It was beautiful weather for it - just a nice, slow pace with lots of conversation. I learned some more about wine, too. I think I finally figured out why I do not like Chardonnays as a rule - I don't like "oak" taste, and that is a big thing with Chardonnays. Also, one other little tidbit - we tasted a Pinot Noir, I think, from "old vines" - if I got this right, the grapes are smaller, older, and don't get as big so they pack in the flavor. Does that sound right, anyone? Sharon bought a bunch of wine - go visit her, tee hee.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Franklin Conservatory
A couple of months ago we went to Franklin Park Conservatory with Carol, Carey and Willow. Carey sent a few pictures - it was a beautiful, warm visit, just as spring was arriving, so we were still shaking off winter and enjoying all the greenery . .
Bronwyn Goes Camping with Dad
Devin has been camping with Dad a couple times, and Bronwyn has been asking and asking to go. June was her time to go. W took the photos with his phone so they are a little grainy, but you get the idea, and you'll see that she had a terrific time. W took her to Slate Run Historical Farm the next day, and she was thrilled to pick beet tops to feed to the hogs and to "bend" onions.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Trip to Susan's
We went to visit Susan - here is a video of Susan falling over in her lawn chair into the water. Pretty funny. I've also posted a couple photos. We stopped at the pottery first, and then we had lunch at the house - all lettuce and asparagus and good stuff from Susan's garden, of course - she also had made her usual assortment of WONDERFUL breads, and a beautiful, tasty trifle. We got to see Gus too, and then we went down Marietta Run to the creek to mess around and "swim". It was a lovely, lovely day for us all. Wish you had been there!
Monday, June 14, 2010
My New Book On Cheese . . .
I am just warning y'all . . . remember the book Chocolate I read a month or so ago and then subjected everyone in my world to chocolate tasting and chocolate facts???? Well, I could not resist the book at the library, Cheesemonger. You know what this means . . . I have ALREADY been enslaving those of you around me to my raging goat cheese addiction . . this could get fattening.
Years ago William asked me what I wanted for my anniversary. I told him I wanted a 3 month subscription to a Cheese Club that I had seen. Each month they send you this fab, different cheese. I really wanted it. He said, "I am NOT going to get you a subscription to a Cheese Club for your anniversary!" I understood his point and reasoning, but I STILL would like a subscription to a Cheese Club if any of you get some ridiculous tax return or inheritance and on some sort of whim decide to indulge all of your friends.
This is an interesting quote from the Cheesemonger:
"Loving food can be a sensory experience that brings people together , so long as you don't use language or attitude to set up boundaries. . . some people can choose food as a lifestyle or as part of a belief system and be every bit as elitist or wall-building as any snarly teen punk rocker could hope to be."
I like to think - hope to think - I am not a food "snob". I have real HEALTH concerns that motivate me to avoid certain foods and want my loved ones to avoid too - but if you know me, you know I can relish a toasted, frosted Pop Tart as much as a free range turkey sandwich on Ezekiel bread with sprouts and havarti - it's just that I know when I am eating that Pop Tart my body is screaming "Stop making my job so hard!"
Years ago William asked me what I wanted for my anniversary. I told him I wanted a 3 month subscription to a Cheese Club that I had seen. Each month they send you this fab, different cheese. I really wanted it. He said, "I am NOT going to get you a subscription to a Cheese Club for your anniversary!" I understood his point and reasoning, but I STILL would like a subscription to a Cheese Club if any of you get some ridiculous tax return or inheritance and on some sort of whim decide to indulge all of your friends.
This is an interesting quote from the Cheesemonger:
"Loving food can be a sensory experience that brings people together , so long as you don't use language or attitude to set up boundaries. . . some people can choose food as a lifestyle or as part of a belief system and be every bit as elitist or wall-building as any snarly teen punk rocker could hope to be."
I like to think - hope to think - I am not a food "snob". I have real HEALTH concerns that motivate me to avoid certain foods and want my loved ones to avoid too - but if you know me, you know I can relish a toasted, frosted Pop Tart as much as a free range turkey sandwich on Ezekiel bread with sprouts and havarti - it's just that I know when I am eating that Pop Tart my body is screaming "Stop making my job so hard!"
Sunday, May 30, 2010
42 Tips for Personal Development
Andrea's brother-in-law sent this article to her - I thought it was terrific! Some of the things I do already - but there are a lot of other tidbits in here that I want to try. It IS fairly lengthy, and my brother pointed out that in itself can lead to stagnation, lol. But give it a whirl - there will be a nugget in it for you, I am sure of it. And if I put this in my blog, I will always have it to reference! Hope you find it as energizing as I did:
As a passionate advocate of growth, I’m continuously looking for ways to self-improve. I’ve compiled 42 of my best tips which might be helpful in your personal growth journey. Some of them are simple steps which you can engage in immediately. Some are bigger steps which takes conscious effort to act on. Here they are:
1. Read a book every day. Books are concentrated sources of wisdom. The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to. What are some books you can start reading to enrich yourself? Some books I’ve read and found useful are Think and Grow Rich, Who Moved My Cheese, 7 Habits, The Science of Getting Rich and Living the 80/20 Way. I’ve heard positive reviews for The Tipping Point, Outliers and The Difference Maker, so I’ll be checking them out soon.
2. Learn a new language. As a Singaporean Chinese, my main languages are English, Mandarin and Hokkien (a Chinese dialect). Out of interest, I took up language courses in the past few years such as Japanese and Bahasa Indonesian. I realized learning a language is a whole new skill altogether and the process of acquainting with a new language and culture is a totally a mind-opening experience.
3. Pick up a new hobby. Beyond just your usual favorite hobbies, is there something new you can pick up? Any new sport you can learn? Examples are fencing, golf, rock climbing, football, canoeing, or ice skating. Your new hobby can also be a recreational hobby. For example, pottery, Italian cooking, dancing, wine appreciation, web design, etc. Learning something new requires you to stretch yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.
4. Take up a new course. Is there any new course you can join? Courses are a great way to gain new knowledge and skills. It doesn’t have to be a long-term course – seminars or workshops serve their purpose too. I’ve been to a few workshops and they have helped me gain new insights which I had not considered before.
5. Create an inspirational room. Your environment sets the mood and tone for you. If you are living in an inspirational environment, you are going to be inspired every day. In the past, I didn’t like my room at all because I thought it was messy and dull. A few years ago, I decided this was the end of it – I started on a “Mega Room Revamp” project and overhauled my room. The end result? A room I totally relish being in and inspires me to be at my peak every day.
6. Overcome your fears. All of us have fears. Fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, fear of risk… All our fears keep us in the same position and prevent us from growing. Recognize that your fears reflect areas where you can grow. I always think of fears as the compass for growth. If I have a fear about something, it represents something I’ve yet to address, and addressing it helps me to grow.
7. Level up your skills. If you have played video games before especially RPGs, you’ll know the concept of leveling up – gaining experience so you can be better and stronger. As a blogger, I’m constantly leveling up my writing skills. As a speaker, I’m constantly leveling up my public engagement abilities. What skills can you level up?
8. Wake up early. Waking up early (say, 5-6am) has been acknowledged by many (Anthony Robbins, Robin Sharma, among other self-help gurus) to improve your productivity and your quality of life. I feel it’s because when you wake up early, your mindset is already set to continue the momentum and proactively live out the day.
9. Have a weekly exercise routine. A better you starts with being in better physical shape. I personally make it a point to jog at least 3 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time. You may want to mix it up with jogging, gym lessons and swimming for variation.
10. Start your life handbook. A life handbook is an idea I started 3 years ago. Basically, it’s a book which contains the essentials on how you can live your life to the fullest, such as your purpose, your values and goals. Sort of like your manual for your life. I started my life handbook since 2007 and it’s been a crucial enabler in my progress.
11. Write a letter to your future self. What do you see yourself as 5 years from now? Will you be the same? Different? What kind of person will you be? Write a letter to your future self – 1 year from now will be a good start – and seal it. Make a date in your calendar to open it 1 year from now. Then start working to become the person you want to open that letter.
12. Get out of your comfort zone. Real growth comes with hard work and sweat. Being too comfortable doesn’t help us grow – it makes us stagnate. What is your comfort zone? Do you stay in most of the time? Do you keep to your own space when out with other people? Shake your routine up. Do something different. By exposing yourself to a new context, you’re literally growing as you learn to act in new circumstances.
13. Put someone up to a challenge. Competition is one of the best ways to grow. Set a challenge (weight loss, exercise, financial challenge, etc) and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first. Through the process, both of you will gain more than if you were to set off on the target alone.
14. Identify your blind spots. Scientifically, blind spots refer to areas our eyes are not capable of seeing. In personal development terms, blind spots are things about ourselves we are unaware of. Discovering our blind spots help us discover our areas of improvement. One exercise I use to discover my blind spots is to identify all the things/events/people that trigger me in a day – trigger meaning making me feel annoyed/weird/affected. These represent my blind spots. It’s always fun to do the exercise because I discover new things about myself, even if I may already think I know my own blind spots (but then they wouldn’t be blind spots would they?). After that, I work on steps to address them.
15. Ask for feedback. As much as we try to improve, we will always have blind spots. Asking for feedback gives us an additional perspective. Some people to approach will be friends, family, colleagues, boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.
16. Stay focused with to-do lists. I start my day with a list of tasks I want to complete and this helps make me stay focused. In comparison, the days when I don’t do this end up being extremely unproductive. For example, part of my to-do list for today is to write a guest post at LifeHack.Org, and this is why I’m writing this now! Since my work requires me to use my computer all the time, I use Free Sticky Notes to manage my to-do lists. It’s really simple to use and it’s a freeware, so I recommend you check it out.
17. Set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). I’m a big fan of setting BHAGs. BHAGs stretch you beyond your normal capacity since they are big and audacious – you wouldn’t think of attempting them normally. What are BHAGs you can embark on, which you’ll feel absolutely on top of the world once you complete them? Set them and start working on them.
18. Acknowledge your flaws. Everyone has flaws. What’s most important is to understand them, acknowledge them, and address them. What do you think are your flaws? What are the flaws you can work on now? How do you want to address them?
19. Get into action. The best way to learn and improve is to take action. What is something you have been meaning to do? How can you take action on it immediately? Waiting doesn’t get anything done. Taking action gives you immediate results to learn from.
20. Learn from people who inspire you. Think about people you admire. People who inspire you. These people reflect certain qualities you want to have for yourself too. What are the qualities in them you want to have for yourself? How can you acquire these qualities?
21. Quit a bad habit. Are there any bad habits you can lose? Oversleeping? Not exercising? Being late? Slouching? Nail biting? Smoking?
22. Cultivate a new habit. Some good new habits to cultivate include reading books (#1), waking up early (#8), exercising (#9), reading a new personal development article a day (#40) and meditating. Is there any other new habit you can cultivate to improve yourself?
23. Avoid negative people. As Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. Wherever we go, there are bound to be negative people. Don’t spend too much of your time around them if you feel they drag you down.
24. Learn to deal with difficult people. There are times when there are difficult people you can’t avoid, such as at your workplace, or when the person is part of your inner circle of contacts. Learn how to deal with them. These people management skills will go a long way in working with people in the future.
25. Learn from your friends. Everyone has amazing qualities in them. It’s up to how we want to tap into them. With all the friends who surround you, they are going to have things you can learn from. Try thinking of a good friend right now. Think about just one quality they have which you want to adopt. How can you learn from them and adopt this skill for yourself? Speak to them if you need to – for sure, they will be more than happy to help!
26. Start a journal. Journaling is a great way to gain better self-awareness. It’s a self-reflection process. As you write, clarify your thought process and read what you wrote from a third person’s perspective, you gain more insights about yourself. Your journal can be private or an online blog. I use my personal development blog as a personal journal too and I’ve learned a lot about myself through the past year of blogging.
27. Start a blog about personal development. To help others grow, you need to first be walking the talk. There are expectations of you, both from yourself and from others, which you have to uphold. I run The Personal Excellence Blog, where I share my personal journey and insights on how to live a better life. Readers look toward my articles to improve themselves, which enforces to me that I need to keep improving, for myself and for the people I’m reaching out to.
28. Get a mentor or coach. There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone work with you on your goals. Many of my clients approach me to coach them in their goals and they achieve significantly more results than if they had worked alone.
29. Reduce the time you spend on chat programs. I realized having chat programs open at default result in a lot of wasted time. This time can be much better spent on other activities. The days when I don’t get on chat, I get a lot more done. I usually disable the auto start-up option in the chat programs and launch them when I do want to chat and really have the time for it.
30. Learn chess (or any strategy game). I found chess is a terrific game to learn strategy and hone your brainpower. Not only do you have fun, you also get to exercise your analytical skills. You can also learn strategy from other board games or computer games, such as Othello, Chinese Chess, and so on.
31. Stop watching TV. I’ve not been watching TV for pretty much 4 years and it’s been a very liberating experience. I realized most of the programs and advertisements on mainstream TV are usually of a lower consciousness and not very empowering. In return, the time I’ve freed up from not watching TV is now constructively used for other purposes, such as connecting with close friends, doing work I enjoy, exercising, etc.
32. Start a 30-day challenge. Set a goal and give yourself 30 days to achieve this. Your goal can be to stick with a new habit or something you’ve always wanted to do but have not. 30 days is just enough time to strategize, plan, get into action, review and nail the goal.
33. Meditate. Meditation helps to calm you and be more conscious. I also realized that during the nights when I meditate (before I sleep), I need lesser sleep. The clutter clearing process is very liberating.
34. Join Toastmasters (Learn public speaking). Interestingly, public speaking is the #1 fear in the world, with #2 being death. After I started public speaking as a personal development speaker/trainer, I’ve learned a lot about how to communicate better, present myself and engage people. Toastmasters is an international organization that trains people in public speaking.
35. Befriend top people in their fields. These people have achieved their results because they have the right attitudes, skill sets and know-how. How better to learn than from the people who have been there and done that? Gain new insights from them on how you can improve and achieve the same results for yourself.
36. Let go of the past. Is there any grievance or unhappiness from the past which you have been holding on? If so, it’s time to let it go. Holding on to them prevents you from moving on and becoming a better person. Break away from the past, forgive yourself, and move on. Just recently, I finally moved on from a past heartbreak of 5 years ago. The effect was liberating and very empowering, and I have never been happier.
37. Start a business venture. Is there anything you have an interest in? Why not turn it into a venture and make money while learning at the same time? Starting a new venture requires you to be learn business management skills, develop business acumen and have a competitive edge. The process of starting and developing my personal development business has equipped me with many skills, such as self-discipline, leadership, organization and management.
38. Show kindness to people around you. You can never be too kind to someone. In fact, most of us don’t show enough kindness to people around us. Being kind helps us to cultivate other qualities such as compassion, patience, and love. As you get back to your day after reading this article later on, start exuding more kindness to the people around you, and see how they react. Not only that, notice how you feel as you behave kindly to others. Chances are, you will feel even better than yourself.
39. Reach out to the people who hate you. If you ever stand for something, you are going to get haters. It’s easy to hate the people who hate us. It’s much more challenging to love them back. Being able to forgive, let go and show love to these people requires magnanimity and an open heart. Is there anyone who dislikes or hates you in your life? If so, reach out to them. Show them love. Seek a resolution and get closure on past grievances. Even if they refuses to reciprocate, love them all the same. It’s much more liberating than to hate them back.
40. Take a break. Have you been working too hard? Self-improvement is also about recognizing our need to take a break to walk the longer mile ahead. You can’t be driving a car if it has no petrol. Take some time off for yourself every week. Relax, rejuvenate and charge yourself up for what’s up ahead.
41. Read at least 1 personal development article a day. Some of my readers make it a point to read at least one personal development article every day, which I think is a great habit.
42. Commit to your personal growth. I can be writing list articles with 10 ways, 25 ways, 42 ways or even 1,000 ways to improve yourself, but if you’ve no intention to commit to your personal growth, it doesn’t matter what I write. Nothing is going to get through. We are responsible for our personal growth – not anyone else. Not your mom, your dad, your friend, me or LifeHack. Make the decision to commit to your personal growth and embrace yourself to a life-long journey of growth and change. Kick off your growth by picking a few of the steps above and working on them. The results may not be immediate, but I promise you that as long as you keep to it, you’ll start seeing positive changes in yourself and your life.
As a passionate advocate of growth, I’m continuously looking for ways to self-improve. I’ve compiled 42 of my best tips which might be helpful in your personal growth journey. Some of them are simple steps which you can engage in immediately. Some are bigger steps which takes conscious effort to act on. Here they are:
1. Read a book every day. Books are concentrated sources of wisdom. The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to. What are some books you can start reading to enrich yourself? Some books I’ve read and found useful are Think and Grow Rich, Who Moved My Cheese, 7 Habits, The Science of Getting Rich and Living the 80/20 Way. I’ve heard positive reviews for The Tipping Point, Outliers and The Difference Maker, so I’ll be checking them out soon.
2. Learn a new language. As a Singaporean Chinese, my main languages are English, Mandarin and Hokkien (a Chinese dialect). Out of interest, I took up language courses in the past few years such as Japanese and Bahasa Indonesian. I realized learning a language is a whole new skill altogether and the process of acquainting with a new language and culture is a totally a mind-opening experience.
3. Pick up a new hobby. Beyond just your usual favorite hobbies, is there something new you can pick up? Any new sport you can learn? Examples are fencing, golf, rock climbing, football, canoeing, or ice skating. Your new hobby can also be a recreational hobby. For example, pottery, Italian cooking, dancing, wine appreciation, web design, etc. Learning something new requires you to stretch yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.
4. Take up a new course. Is there any new course you can join? Courses are a great way to gain new knowledge and skills. It doesn’t have to be a long-term course – seminars or workshops serve their purpose too. I’ve been to a few workshops and they have helped me gain new insights which I had not considered before.
5. Create an inspirational room. Your environment sets the mood and tone for you. If you are living in an inspirational environment, you are going to be inspired every day. In the past, I didn’t like my room at all because I thought it was messy and dull. A few years ago, I decided this was the end of it – I started on a “Mega Room Revamp” project and overhauled my room. The end result? A room I totally relish being in and inspires me to be at my peak every day.
6. Overcome your fears. All of us have fears. Fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, fear of risk… All our fears keep us in the same position and prevent us from growing. Recognize that your fears reflect areas where you can grow. I always think of fears as the compass for growth. If I have a fear about something, it represents something I’ve yet to address, and addressing it helps me to grow.
7. Level up your skills. If you have played video games before especially RPGs, you’ll know the concept of leveling up – gaining experience so you can be better and stronger. As a blogger, I’m constantly leveling up my writing skills. As a speaker, I’m constantly leveling up my public engagement abilities. What skills can you level up?
8. Wake up early. Waking up early (say, 5-6am) has been acknowledged by many (Anthony Robbins, Robin Sharma, among other self-help gurus) to improve your productivity and your quality of life. I feel it’s because when you wake up early, your mindset is already set to continue the momentum and proactively live out the day.
9. Have a weekly exercise routine. A better you starts with being in better physical shape. I personally make it a point to jog at least 3 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time. You may want to mix it up with jogging, gym lessons and swimming for variation.
10. Start your life handbook. A life handbook is an idea I started 3 years ago. Basically, it’s a book which contains the essentials on how you can live your life to the fullest, such as your purpose, your values and goals. Sort of like your manual for your life. I started my life handbook since 2007 and it’s been a crucial enabler in my progress.
11. Write a letter to your future self. What do you see yourself as 5 years from now? Will you be the same? Different? What kind of person will you be? Write a letter to your future self – 1 year from now will be a good start – and seal it. Make a date in your calendar to open it 1 year from now. Then start working to become the person you want to open that letter.
12. Get out of your comfort zone. Real growth comes with hard work and sweat. Being too comfortable doesn’t help us grow – it makes us stagnate. What is your comfort zone? Do you stay in most of the time? Do you keep to your own space when out with other people? Shake your routine up. Do something different. By exposing yourself to a new context, you’re literally growing as you learn to act in new circumstances.
13. Put someone up to a challenge. Competition is one of the best ways to grow. Set a challenge (weight loss, exercise, financial challenge, etc) and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first. Through the process, both of you will gain more than if you were to set off on the target alone.
14. Identify your blind spots. Scientifically, blind spots refer to areas our eyes are not capable of seeing. In personal development terms, blind spots are things about ourselves we are unaware of. Discovering our blind spots help us discover our areas of improvement. One exercise I use to discover my blind spots is to identify all the things/events/people that trigger me in a day – trigger meaning making me feel annoyed/weird/affected. These represent my blind spots. It’s always fun to do the exercise because I discover new things about myself, even if I may already think I know my own blind spots (but then they wouldn’t be blind spots would they?). After that, I work on steps to address them.
15. Ask for feedback. As much as we try to improve, we will always have blind spots. Asking for feedback gives us an additional perspective. Some people to approach will be friends, family, colleagues, boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.
16. Stay focused with to-do lists. I start my day with a list of tasks I want to complete and this helps make me stay focused. In comparison, the days when I don’t do this end up being extremely unproductive. For example, part of my to-do list for today is to write a guest post at LifeHack.Org, and this is why I’m writing this now! Since my work requires me to use my computer all the time, I use Free Sticky Notes to manage my to-do lists. It’s really simple to use and it’s a freeware, so I recommend you check it out.
17. Set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). I’m a big fan of setting BHAGs. BHAGs stretch you beyond your normal capacity since they are big and audacious – you wouldn’t think of attempting them normally. What are BHAGs you can embark on, which you’ll feel absolutely on top of the world once you complete them? Set them and start working on them.
18. Acknowledge your flaws. Everyone has flaws. What’s most important is to understand them, acknowledge them, and address them. What do you think are your flaws? What are the flaws you can work on now? How do you want to address them?
19. Get into action. The best way to learn and improve is to take action. What is something you have been meaning to do? How can you take action on it immediately? Waiting doesn’t get anything done. Taking action gives you immediate results to learn from.
20. Learn from people who inspire you. Think about people you admire. People who inspire you. These people reflect certain qualities you want to have for yourself too. What are the qualities in them you want to have for yourself? How can you acquire these qualities?
21. Quit a bad habit. Are there any bad habits you can lose? Oversleeping? Not exercising? Being late? Slouching? Nail biting? Smoking?
22. Cultivate a new habit. Some good new habits to cultivate include reading books (#1), waking up early (#8), exercising (#9), reading a new personal development article a day (#40) and meditating. Is there any other new habit you can cultivate to improve yourself?
23. Avoid negative people. As Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. Wherever we go, there are bound to be negative people. Don’t spend too much of your time around them if you feel they drag you down.
24. Learn to deal with difficult people. There are times when there are difficult people you can’t avoid, such as at your workplace, or when the person is part of your inner circle of contacts. Learn how to deal with them. These people management skills will go a long way in working with people in the future.
25. Learn from your friends. Everyone has amazing qualities in them. It’s up to how we want to tap into them. With all the friends who surround you, they are going to have things you can learn from. Try thinking of a good friend right now. Think about just one quality they have which you want to adopt. How can you learn from them and adopt this skill for yourself? Speak to them if you need to – for sure, they will be more than happy to help!
26. Start a journal. Journaling is a great way to gain better self-awareness. It’s a self-reflection process. As you write, clarify your thought process and read what you wrote from a third person’s perspective, you gain more insights about yourself. Your journal can be private or an online blog. I use my personal development blog as a personal journal too and I’ve learned a lot about myself through the past year of blogging.
27. Start a blog about personal development. To help others grow, you need to first be walking the talk. There are expectations of you, both from yourself and from others, which you have to uphold. I run The Personal Excellence Blog, where I share my personal journey and insights on how to live a better life. Readers look toward my articles to improve themselves, which enforces to me that I need to keep improving, for myself and for the people I’m reaching out to.
28. Get a mentor or coach. There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone work with you on your goals. Many of my clients approach me to coach them in their goals and they achieve significantly more results than if they had worked alone.
29. Reduce the time you spend on chat programs. I realized having chat programs open at default result in a lot of wasted time. This time can be much better spent on other activities. The days when I don’t get on chat, I get a lot more done. I usually disable the auto start-up option in the chat programs and launch them when I do want to chat and really have the time for it.
30. Learn chess (or any strategy game). I found chess is a terrific game to learn strategy and hone your brainpower. Not only do you have fun, you also get to exercise your analytical skills. You can also learn strategy from other board games or computer games, such as Othello, Chinese Chess, and so on.
31. Stop watching TV. I’ve not been watching TV for pretty much 4 years and it’s been a very liberating experience. I realized most of the programs and advertisements on mainstream TV are usually of a lower consciousness and not very empowering. In return, the time I’ve freed up from not watching TV is now constructively used for other purposes, such as connecting with close friends, doing work I enjoy, exercising, etc.
32. Start a 30-day challenge. Set a goal and give yourself 30 days to achieve this. Your goal can be to stick with a new habit or something you’ve always wanted to do but have not. 30 days is just enough time to strategize, plan, get into action, review and nail the goal.
33. Meditate. Meditation helps to calm you and be more conscious. I also realized that during the nights when I meditate (before I sleep), I need lesser sleep. The clutter clearing process is very liberating.
34. Join Toastmasters (Learn public speaking). Interestingly, public speaking is the #1 fear in the world, with #2 being death. After I started public speaking as a personal development speaker/trainer, I’ve learned a lot about how to communicate better, present myself and engage people. Toastmasters is an international organization that trains people in public speaking.
35. Befriend top people in their fields. These people have achieved their results because they have the right attitudes, skill sets and know-how. How better to learn than from the people who have been there and done that? Gain new insights from them on how you can improve and achieve the same results for yourself.
36. Let go of the past. Is there any grievance or unhappiness from the past which you have been holding on? If so, it’s time to let it go. Holding on to them prevents you from moving on and becoming a better person. Break away from the past, forgive yourself, and move on. Just recently, I finally moved on from a past heartbreak of 5 years ago. The effect was liberating and very empowering, and I have never been happier.
37. Start a business venture. Is there anything you have an interest in? Why not turn it into a venture and make money while learning at the same time? Starting a new venture requires you to be learn business management skills, develop business acumen and have a competitive edge. The process of starting and developing my personal development business has equipped me with many skills, such as self-discipline, leadership, organization and management.
38. Show kindness to people around you. You can never be too kind to someone. In fact, most of us don’t show enough kindness to people around us. Being kind helps us to cultivate other qualities such as compassion, patience, and love. As you get back to your day after reading this article later on, start exuding more kindness to the people around you, and see how they react. Not only that, notice how you feel as you behave kindly to others. Chances are, you will feel even better than yourself.
39. Reach out to the people who hate you. If you ever stand for something, you are going to get haters. It’s easy to hate the people who hate us. It’s much more challenging to love them back. Being able to forgive, let go and show love to these people requires magnanimity and an open heart. Is there anyone who dislikes or hates you in your life? If so, reach out to them. Show them love. Seek a resolution and get closure on past grievances. Even if they refuses to reciprocate, love them all the same. It’s much more liberating than to hate them back.
40. Take a break. Have you been working too hard? Self-improvement is also about recognizing our need to take a break to walk the longer mile ahead. You can’t be driving a car if it has no petrol. Take some time off for yourself every week. Relax, rejuvenate and charge yourself up for what’s up ahead.
41. Read at least 1 personal development article a day. Some of my readers make it a point to read at least one personal development article every day, which I think is a great habit.
42. Commit to your personal growth. I can be writing list articles with 10 ways, 25 ways, 42 ways or even 1,000 ways to improve yourself, but if you’ve no intention to commit to your personal growth, it doesn’t matter what I write. Nothing is going to get through. We are responsible for our personal growth – not anyone else. Not your mom, your dad, your friend, me or LifeHack. Make the decision to commit to your personal growth and embrace yourself to a life-long journey of growth and change. Kick off your growth by picking a few of the steps above and working on them. The results may not be immediate, but I promise you that as long as you keep to it, you’ll start seeing positive changes in yourself and your life.
Friday, May 28, 2010
BPA free Tomato Can Liners
I heard that Muir Glen was going to start canning their tomatoes without the liner that has BPA in it so I wrote them to ask when -
Dear Valued Consumer:
Thank you for contacting Muir Glen about bisphenol-A or BPA.
Bisphenol-A is a component of protective coatings in metal food packaging, and provides an important food safety and quality function in canned foods. Scientific and governmental bodies worldwide have examined the science many times and have concluded that the weight of evidence supports the safety of BPA, including recent comprehensive assessments in Japan and in the European Union.
In January 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced another review of BPA. This review in expected to take 18-24 months, and Health Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO) will participate.
Most metal cans in the food industry utilize BPA in the can lining or can lid. Some of our products do, and many competitors′ products do as well.
Muir Glen continues to believe BPA is safe. However, we know that some of our consumers have wanted us to pursue alternatives. We have been working with our can suppliers and can manufacturers to develop and test alternative linings that do not use BPA for some time.
One alternative has proven safe and viable in our processing of tomatoes – and Muir Glen will transition to can linings that do not use BPA on our organic tomato products with the next tomato harvest. It is an approved non-epoxy alternative. Can coatings used by Muir Glen also comply fully with all applicable U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements for safe use in food contact applications.
Your views are important to us. Again, thank you for contacting Muir Glen, and thank you for your support of our products.
Sincerely,
LaVonne Flowers
Consumer Services
Dear Valued Consumer:
Thank you for contacting Muir Glen about bisphenol-A or BPA.
Bisphenol-A is a component of protective coatings in metal food packaging, and provides an important food safety and quality function in canned foods. Scientific and governmental bodies worldwide have examined the science many times and have concluded that the weight of evidence supports the safety of BPA, including recent comprehensive assessments in Japan and in the European Union.
In January 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced another review of BPA. This review in expected to take 18-24 months, and Health Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO) will participate.
Most metal cans in the food industry utilize BPA in the can lining or can lid. Some of our products do, and many competitors′ products do as well.
Muir Glen continues to believe BPA is safe. However, we know that some of our consumers have wanted us to pursue alternatives. We have been working with our can suppliers and can manufacturers to develop and test alternative linings that do not use BPA for some time.
One alternative has proven safe and viable in our processing of tomatoes – and Muir Glen will transition to can linings that do not use BPA on our organic tomato products with the next tomato harvest. It is an approved non-epoxy alternative. Can coatings used by Muir Glen also comply fully with all applicable U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements for safe use in food contact applications.
Your views are important to us. Again, thank you for contacting Muir Glen, and thank you for your support of our products.
Sincerely,
LaVonne Flowers
Consumer Services
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Lot's Lesson on Trusting Jehovah
I read the bible with B every night. We are in Genesis. Jehovah's angels told Lot to leave Sodom and Gomorrah and flee to the mountainous region. Lot is afraid to go there, so he asks to go to Zoar. So, as you know, Jehovah says, "Okay. "
I have never noticed this before, but Lot is in Zoar and is afraid to stay there, so guess what? He moves to the mountainous region -the very place Jehovah tried to send him to begin with.
There is the huge obvious lesson in there for me, for anyone - Jehovah really does know best, so listen to him the first time. Hmm.
I told Shonda the above, and I thought her reply was very insightful:
"Not always easy to implement.....it is interesting that a person with a good heart will eventually do what Jehovah suggests/asks, which is good. But, weakness can cause the road to be longer more difficult. Being able to develop our faith to the point of complete trust makes such a difference in our lives I think."
I have never noticed this before, but Lot is in Zoar and is afraid to stay there, so guess what? He moves to the mountainous region -the very place Jehovah tried to send him to begin with.
There is the huge obvious lesson in there for me, for anyone - Jehovah really does know best, so listen to him the first time. Hmm.
I told Shonda the above, and I thought her reply was very insightful:
"Not always easy to implement.....it is interesting that a person with a good heart will eventually do what Jehovah suggests/asks, which is good. But, weakness can cause the road to be longer more difficult. Being able to develop our faith to the point of complete trust makes such a difference in our lives I think."
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Studies Prove Importance of Books
On the radio the other day I heard public service announcement for Read Across America or some sort of literacy program. One of the statistics they threw out that I caught was that children from low income homes will have heard 32 million fewer words - thus a handicapped vocabulary - by the time they are 4 years old, and they "never" make it up. In fact, showing up with 32 million fewer words can make it difficult for the child to even understand what the teacher is trying to communicate! This astounded me. There was something said too about the correlation between the amount of books in the home and the ability to read/vocabulary. So I tried to look online for info on this. I found a couple studies, sources.
This first source is talking about kids getting "dumber" over the summer when they don't read, but the information resonates for the entire year:
" . . . the at-risk child's summer includes: a home without books, magazines or newspapers, and without adults who read avidly; no car by which to leave a dangerous neighborhood; no bookstores or a convenient library; a daily routine in which the child seldom meets new people, new experiences, or new vocabulary, thus no growth in background knowledge; and little likelihood that educational or informational TV or radio will be seen or heard.
The adage "If you don’t use it, you lose it," proves true for children who live these kinds of summers. Without printed material and without new experiences, the reading skills grow rusty and atrophy.
How to prevent the traditional summer reading gap? The research gives little support to traditional summer school, but a great deal to summer reading—reading to the child and reading by the child. Jimmy Kim's study of 1,600 sixth-graders in 18 schools showed that the reading of four to six books during the summer was enough to alleviate summer loss. He further noted that when schools required either a report/essay be written about a book read during the summer or that parents verify a student had read one summer book, this increased greatly the chances of it being read.21
Most libraries have summer reading incentive programs, so make sure your child is enrolled and participates. And take your child on field trips—even if you just visit local places like a fire station, the museum, or the zoo, and talk and listen. One of the most original solutions I've heard is this one from Paul E. Barton, senior associate in the Policy Evaluation and Research Center at ETS, and someone who has researched and written extensively on the subject of poverty and schooling, from preschool to prisons. Barton knows full well the scarcity of books in the lives of poor children and it provoked him to tell USA Today that at-risk communities should be making bookmobiles or traveling libraries "as ubiquitous as the Good Humor man."
It really made me think how fantastic it is that JW kids from the time they are conceived until they are 4 hear and read an amazing number of words because of the sheer amount of studying and prep we do for meetings, and then actually hearing information/vocabulary used AT the meetings. We are always, always, always encouraged by the Watchtower to read outloud and with our children. Our life as JWs also incorporates all the things the quote suggests - new experiences, new people, all the time, from field service to assemblies to conventions - to get togethers. We certainly have available a word rich and experience rich environment for our children.
If you want to read more and find the sources, this is a link to a Read-Aloud Handbook website that will give you footnotes to the sources. http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-ch1-pg3.html
This first source is talking about kids getting "dumber" over the summer when they don't read, but the information resonates for the entire year:
" . . . the at-risk child's summer includes: a home without books, magazines or newspapers, and without adults who read avidly; no car by which to leave a dangerous neighborhood; no bookstores or a convenient library; a daily routine in which the child seldom meets new people, new experiences, or new vocabulary, thus no growth in background knowledge; and little likelihood that educational or informational TV or radio will be seen or heard.
The adage "If you don’t use it, you lose it," proves true for children who live these kinds of summers. Without printed material and without new experiences, the reading skills grow rusty and atrophy.
How to prevent the traditional summer reading gap? The research gives little support to traditional summer school, but a great deal to summer reading—reading to the child and reading by the child. Jimmy Kim's study of 1,600 sixth-graders in 18 schools showed that the reading of four to six books during the summer was enough to alleviate summer loss. He further noted that when schools required either a report/essay be written about a book read during the summer or that parents verify a student had read one summer book, this increased greatly the chances of it being read.21
Most libraries have summer reading incentive programs, so make sure your child is enrolled and participates. And take your child on field trips—even if you just visit local places like a fire station, the museum, or the zoo, and talk and listen. One of the most original solutions I've heard is this one from Paul E. Barton, senior associate in the Policy Evaluation and Research Center at ETS, and someone who has researched and written extensively on the subject of poverty and schooling, from preschool to prisons. Barton knows full well the scarcity of books in the lives of poor children and it provoked him to tell USA Today that at-risk communities should be making bookmobiles or traveling libraries "as ubiquitous as the Good Humor man."
It really made me think how fantastic it is that JW kids from the time they are conceived until they are 4 hear and read an amazing number of words because of the sheer amount of studying and prep we do for meetings, and then actually hearing information/vocabulary used AT the meetings. We are always, always, always encouraged by the Watchtower to read outloud and with our children. Our life as JWs also incorporates all the things the quote suggests - new experiences, new people, all the time, from field service to assemblies to conventions - to get togethers. We certainly have available a word rich and experience rich environment for our children.
If you want to read more and find the sources, this is a link to a Read-Aloud Handbook website that will give you footnotes to the sources. http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-ch1-pg3.html
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Chocolate!!
Most of you know I have been reading a book all about chocolate entitled, Chocolate by Mort Rosenblum. Fascinating stuff. So yesterday Shonda came over for lunch and we had a chocolate tasting. Guess what? You are supposed to start out with the chocolate that has the highest sugar count first, and the proceed from there to the highest cocoa count. So we started with a Swiss-made bittersweet that must have been somewhere around 50% or so . . we moved up to a Peruvian bean made in Belgium chocolate that was 64%, then two different 70% - one of these was from Ghanian beans - and finished off with an 80% cocoa content bar from Ugandan beans. Interestingly, Shonda thought initially she was going to like the Ugandan bar the best because she likes a high cocoa content. But, we both agreed, we liked the 64% Peruvian the best. I have a theory on this.
In the book, I learned about the different types of cacao (pronounced ca-COW in case you didn't know, like me) plants - there are basically 4 or 5 - the taste of your chocolate bar is influenced by not only the cocao content, but also by the different combination of beans that are used as well as how the chocolate beans are roasted and the chocolate, when made, is cooled. When they combine the beans "right", you get layers of flavor/intensity. Also, depending on what plant, some beans are considered a better sort of beans. So the bar Shonda liked the best was in fact from 2 plants that were considered to be of the better sort, and however it was made, it was the one that had the most layers and was most enjoyable. Kinda like wine. The bar we liked the least was a mass manufactured bar - it was a Lindt. Lindt is explained in the book to be the best of the mass marketed chocolate - you can't have both - you can't have best price and best chocolate - it is impossible. But for those of use who cannot afford $65 a pound for chocolate . . well . . .
Did I tell you Godiva chocolates are owned by Campbell's soup? And Godiva is not really a very good chocolate? It is a good experience, from the packaging to diplays, but the chocolate is not really up there. Interesting.
My brother is going to Paris for work next week, and I have given him a list of some shops there that make chocolate by some of the masters . .He has lived in Paris and he knew exactly where the shops were and did declare that the chocolate in one of them was indeed very, very pricey. I am hoping he comes back with some samples, lol.
In the book, I learned about the different types of cacao (pronounced ca-COW in case you didn't know, like me) plants - there are basically 4 or 5 - the taste of your chocolate bar is influenced by not only the cocao content, but also by the different combination of beans that are used as well as how the chocolate beans are roasted and the chocolate, when made, is cooled. When they combine the beans "right", you get layers of flavor/intensity. Also, depending on what plant, some beans are considered a better sort of beans. So the bar Shonda liked the best was in fact from 2 plants that were considered to be of the better sort, and however it was made, it was the one that had the most layers and was most enjoyable. Kinda like wine. The bar we liked the least was a mass manufactured bar - it was a Lindt. Lindt is explained in the book to be the best of the mass marketed chocolate - you can't have both - you can't have best price and best chocolate - it is impossible. But for those of use who cannot afford $65 a pound for chocolate . . well . . .
Did I tell you Godiva chocolates are owned by Campbell's soup? And Godiva is not really a very good chocolate? It is a good experience, from the packaging to diplays, but the chocolate is not really up there. Interesting.
My brother is going to Paris for work next week, and I have given him a list of some shops there that make chocolate by some of the masters . .He has lived in Paris and he knew exactly where the shops were and did declare that the chocolate in one of them was indeed very, very pricey. I am hoping he comes back with some samples, lol.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Erin Willow
I find every year that I think about my firsborn daughter Erin Willow's death in May. She died and was born June 19 and 20th, but I think about her quite a bit in May in the weeks leading up to this anniversary of her death. Some of the years just have seemed to run into each other, and other years stand out because they would have been milestone years. This year is one of the milestone years. She would have been 18 this June and graduating from high school, getting ready to start her adult life. I see the girls at the kingdom hall that are around the age she would have been, and know she would have been doing things with them, laughing with them, planning things with them. I see the senior girls at Devin's high school when I go to pick him up everyday, and know she would have that lightness and happiness that they all have - it is the end of the their senior year, and in a few short weeks she'd be at her commencement.
I never forget about her. 18 years later, around the anniversary of her death and birth, she is on my mind with greater frequency. I never forget how she looked, what I felt and said the first time I saw her - she looked like William's mother I thought, she looked like William. I never forget what she felt like in my arms. I never forget giving her that last time to the nurse on staff to have her taken to be cremated. I never forget after the shock wore off that desperation I felt there should be someone or someplace I should have been able to go to make it right. That there was so much I didn't know about her. Even 18 years later, it is a deep sadness.
If I have never forgotten, neither has Jehovah. I don't know how it is actually going to happen that I get her back - he does say that the desire of our hearts will be satisfied, so however it actually happens, it will be satisfying I have no doubt. It is strange how it is - the longer the wait, the both easier and harder it gets at the same time.
I never forget about her. 18 years later, around the anniversary of her death and birth, she is on my mind with greater frequency. I never forget how she looked, what I felt and said the first time I saw her - she looked like William's mother I thought, she looked like William. I never forget what she felt like in my arms. I never forget giving her that last time to the nurse on staff to have her taken to be cremated. I never forget after the shock wore off that desperation I felt there should be someone or someplace I should have been able to go to make it right. That there was so much I didn't know about her. Even 18 years later, it is a deep sadness.
If I have never forgotten, neither has Jehovah. I don't know how it is actually going to happen that I get her back - he does say that the desire of our hearts will be satisfied, so however it actually happens, it will be satisfying I have no doubt. It is strange how it is - the longer the wait, the both easier and harder it gets at the same time.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Hannah and Olivia and Balloons
One more video - of a balloon stuffing game at B's party in February. In this clip, Hannah and Olivia C. have put on oversized clothes, and all the other girls are stuffing the clothes with balloons. Whoever had the most balloons won - I think maybe they tied. Cute. We sure have a great group of girls in our hall.
Dainty Olivia N.
This clip cracks me up - in this game at B's party, if you roll doubles on the dice, you get a "turn" to put on gloves, a hat and a scarf, and then eat a chocolate bar with a knife and fork. You have to hurry so you can get some chocolate before someone else rolls doubles and then have to give up your turn eating the chocolate. In this clip, Olivia N. gets doubles - but watch how s-l-o-w-l-y she puts on her outerwear and how daintily she then eats the chocolate.
Toilet Paper Brides at B's Party
We had a little girl's party in February with all kinds of games. One game was to make toilet paper brides - this is just a quick clip of 2 of the 3 Olivias each getting their dresses. Just funny.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Milton Hershey - I was Wrong, I was Surprised
I thought Milton Hershey who started the whole Hershey empire was just another entrepreneurial capitalist intent on amassing huge sums of money. I was so wrong.
I have been reading the book Chocolate by Mort Rosenblum. This is a nonfiction book that traces chocolate's origins and all things significant tied up with chocolate. I hit the chapter on Hershey. He had very, very humble beginnings and ends up having some success making caramels - most caramels at that time were made with wax and tallow, if you can imagine that, but he made his with fresh cream. He is in his mid 30's when he goes to an expo in Chicago and sees a man operating chocolate making equipment that he built. Hershey buys the man's entire display and machinery and begins making chocolate in his caramel factory. He gets married and sells his candy business to get away from his mother and father. He cruises around the world for a while, and then comes back -to build his magic kingdom.
But this is where I was so wrong about him - it wasn't about money- it was about making an Eden. Quoting from another book, The Emperors of Chocolate, this is what really happened: "His vision was an industrial utopia, a real-life Chocolate Town, where anyone who wanted a job could have one, where children would grow up in celery-crisp air, where mortgages would dwindle in perpetual prosperity. Clear water and clear consciences. This was Hershey's vision of home sweet home."
So that is what he did. He built "Hershey Park". He provided free medical care, subsidized electricity, trolley service, a theater, a dance hall, a swimming pool, a junior college and a hockey arena. He ran the towns department store, the pharmacy and newspaper. He built homes for executives and workers, each in a different design. He founded a school for troubled orphans on 485 acres along with their homestead.
The book I am reading, Chocolate, continues: "His wife died at 42, and so he gave his mansion to the Hershey Country Club, keeping only 2 rooms for himself. Three years after her death, he quietly signed over his entire fortune to the Hershey Trust to keep the school going. This gift included not only thousands more acres of land but also his stock in the company, worth more than $60 million. At sixty-one, with two and a half decades left to live, Hershey had given away everything he had."
This was one nice guy. In the book I am finding that the really nasty candy people are the Mars candy people. I have never thought about Milton Hershey - never gone to Hershey Park - never really had any desire - but after reading about him and the dream he tried to make reality - I am curious to see what he built, knowing the reasons why.
I have been reading the book Chocolate by Mort Rosenblum. This is a nonfiction book that traces chocolate's origins and all things significant tied up with chocolate. I hit the chapter on Hershey. He had very, very humble beginnings and ends up having some success making caramels - most caramels at that time were made with wax and tallow, if you can imagine that, but he made his with fresh cream. He is in his mid 30's when he goes to an expo in Chicago and sees a man operating chocolate making equipment that he built. Hershey buys the man's entire display and machinery and begins making chocolate in his caramel factory. He gets married and sells his candy business to get away from his mother and father. He cruises around the world for a while, and then comes back -to build his magic kingdom.
But this is where I was so wrong about him - it wasn't about money- it was about making an Eden. Quoting from another book, The Emperors of Chocolate, this is what really happened: "His vision was an industrial utopia, a real-life Chocolate Town, where anyone who wanted a job could have one, where children would grow up in celery-crisp air, where mortgages would dwindle in perpetual prosperity. Clear water and clear consciences. This was Hershey's vision of home sweet home."
So that is what he did. He built "Hershey Park". He provided free medical care, subsidized electricity, trolley service, a theater, a dance hall, a swimming pool, a junior college and a hockey arena. He ran the towns department store, the pharmacy and newspaper. He built homes for executives and workers, each in a different design. He founded a school for troubled orphans on 485 acres along with their homestead.
The book I am reading, Chocolate, continues: "His wife died at 42, and so he gave his mansion to the Hershey Country Club, keeping only 2 rooms for himself. Three years after her death, he quietly signed over his entire fortune to the Hershey Trust to keep the school going. This gift included not only thousands more acres of land but also his stock in the company, worth more than $60 million. At sixty-one, with two and a half decades left to live, Hershey had given away everything he had."
This was one nice guy. In the book I am finding that the really nasty candy people are the Mars candy people. I have never thought about Milton Hershey - never gone to Hershey Park - never really had any desire - but after reading about him and the dream he tried to make reality - I am curious to see what he built, knowing the reasons why.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Jesus would not be deceptive - Trinity illustration
The special mag we had on Jesus had an excellent illustration that addresses the claim that Jesus was God in the flesh:
"Some workers make a request of their supervisor, but he says that he does not have the authority to grant it. If his statement is true, the supervisor has wisely displayed an awareness of his limitations. If it is not true - if he can grant the request but chooses not to - he has been deceptive. Now, how did Jesus respond when two of his apostles desired positions of prominence? He told them, "This sitting down at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." If Jesus were really God, would that not have been a lie? Instead, by deferring to the One with greater authority, Jesus set a beautiful example in modesty - and he showed he was not equal to God."
"Some workers make a request of their supervisor, but he says that he does not have the authority to grant it. If his statement is true, the supervisor has wisely displayed an awareness of his limitations. If it is not true - if he can grant the request but chooses not to - he has been deceptive. Now, how did Jesus respond when two of his apostles desired positions of prominence? He told them, "This sitting down at my right hand and at my left is not mine to give, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." If Jesus were really God, would that not have been a lie? Instead, by deferring to the One with greater authority, Jesus set a beautiful example in modesty - and he showed he was not equal to God."
An Opinion is Valuable as a Contribution
Been thinking about this one - 1 glaring fault of mine is that I am opinionated. Something I heard made me think about when this is a fault - because obviously opinions are valuable in all kinds of settings. The statement I heard was that opinions are valuable when we offer them to someone and we offer them as a contribution to the other person. Otherwise, it is just me being "self-righteous". So I have been practicing this.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
What Really Is An Apology
I heard something interesting. When we hurt someone, the person is not looking for compensation - they are wanting to be healed. An honest, sincere apology is not a compensation, it is first aid - it heals. An insincere, forced apology is a "compensation". And a stiff apology is just another insult on top of the original insult.
Friday, April 16, 2010
3 Clever Stories
W had to attend a communications seminar at his work - and I have been listening to the audio CDs they gave to him. At one point there is a discussion about 3 Clever Stories that we start telling/using when we are having a problem with a person to justify our withdrawal from them/working things out. The purpose of our Clever Stories is to make us feel good about doing "bad" - about not getting to "dialogue" with them, about blaming someone else rather than taking responsibility for what we individually can do in the situation. And we assign motive.
The first is Victim. You know this one - "It's not my fault". The second is Villain - it's all YOUR fault, it's all YOUR vices." This one lets us feel no responsibility. It makes a "I'm a Victim" story more convincing. I contains certain elements of truth, but blows it out of proportion. The third and last is Helpless - "there are no alternatives", and we often become silent/withdraw from the person(s) or become or what the authors call violent - we hurl insults, bully, namecall, etc.
Sometimes we do all three at the same time. I thought it was an interesting way to sort it out, and of course was reminded of Matthew 18 - that when we have an issue with someone or know that someone has issue with us Jesus says to go do what? Have dialogue with them about it . . .
The first is Victim. You know this one - "It's not my fault". The second is Villain - it's all YOUR fault, it's all YOUR vices." This one lets us feel no responsibility. It makes a "I'm a Victim" story more convincing. I contains certain elements of truth, but blows it out of proportion. The third and last is Helpless - "there are no alternatives", and we often become silent/withdraw from the person(s) or become or what the authors call violent - we hurl insults, bully, namecall, etc.
Sometimes we do all three at the same time. I thought it was an interesting way to sort it out, and of course was reminded of Matthew 18 - that when we have an issue with someone or know that someone has issue with us Jesus says to go do what? Have dialogue with them about it . . .
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Slaughter Was Very Great
Our CO's final talk on Sunday was about the Last Days. He focused on 4 things - 1) events 2) attitudes 3) political circumstances 4) the situation among God's people.
In the "Events' section, at one point he focused in on Matt 24:7, "nation rising against nation", and asked, "But on what scale would this be?" He took us to Rev 6:4 (the four horsemen account) - there the fiery-colored horse was granted to "take peace away from the EARTH." Also, the scripture says that the slaughter would be great - and he pointed out the difference between a battle 200 years ago with a solider and a sword or a pike or a musket - that it is hard to kill someone with a sword, and in a battle, how many men could you kill in hand to hand combat - and then pointed out that when, for instance, the machine gun was used, the slaughter was great - think about the soldiers coming ashore at Normandy and being gunned down . . .or bombs - in Dresden, 100,000 killed, think about Hiroshima.
Was thought provoking and really evidence where we are in time.
In the "Events' section, at one point he focused in on Matt 24:7, "nation rising against nation", and asked, "But on what scale would this be?" He took us to Rev 6:4 (the four horsemen account) - there the fiery-colored horse was granted to "take peace away from the EARTH." Also, the scripture says that the slaughter would be great - and he pointed out the difference between a battle 200 years ago with a solider and a sword or a pike or a musket - that it is hard to kill someone with a sword, and in a battle, how many men could you kill in hand to hand combat - and then pointed out that when, for instance, the machine gun was used, the slaughter was great - think about the soldiers coming ashore at Normandy and being gunned down . . .or bombs - in Dresden, 100,000 killed, think about Hiroshima.
Was thought provoking and really evidence where we are in time.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Gaugin and "The Call"
I went to the Cleve Art Museum last weekend - there was one picture that amused Sharon - it was a Gaugin - "The Call" - well, look at it and remember, Gaugin moved to Fiji to basically be a hedonist with the village women, there was nothing "lofty" left about him, lol . . . anyway, on the placard, someone was trying to tell us that the village woman in the picture that Gaugin painted, the one with the "come hither" finger, was calling Destiny. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Sharon laughed and said any woman who is a mother will tell you that this woman is calling her child that you can't see in the illustration of the villagers, probably a boy,who is getting in some sort of trouble, to "GET OVER HERE NOW." I can only figure that the curator who wrote this, this "calling destiny" was a single male with no children. I haven't quite figured out how to make this link live - I know, I'm a sorry case - so you'll have to cut and past in another Tab.
www.abcgallery.com/G/gauguin/gauguin74.html
www.abcgallery.com/G/gauguin/gauguin74.html
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Window Shopping
From the book I am reading:
". . . in France window-shopping was called leche vitrine, the licking of the window; a wonderful expression that somehow conveyed the longing felt by those who wanted the goods within but could not buy them."
What a great explanation.
". . . in France window-shopping was called leche vitrine, the licking of the window; a wonderful expression that somehow conveyed the longing felt by those who wanted the goods within but could not buy them."
What a great explanation.
Interesting Insights from Weekend Conversation
I was in Cleveland this past weekend for a "Girl's Weekend" with Sharon, Heather and Susan S. I had such a nice, nice time, I felt like I was dreaming - we arrived on Friday afternoon, I was served good wine (there IS something about "You get what you pay for" and wine) and had a massage. Ahh. Somewhere in that evening, in that state of relaxing conversation, Sharon was telling us how she had been wrangling with either staying in the Spanish cong. or going back to an English cong. She and her husband had been in Spanish for 9 years, but he died last year, and she didn't know if she could continue going to Spanish without him, the reminders of him being gone were there every meeting . . .
She talked with a brother about it - I think she said her C.O. - and he said to her, "Would the hole that you would be leaving in the congregation be bigger than the hole you would be filling in the new congregation?" He told her that they needed brothers and sisters with years of history and experience in the truth, and now that her husband was gone, she was the person with the most years of experience in the truth in the congregation. . . that they needed her. She has decided to stay for now.
She says after 9 years it is still hard - she says she has to be very, very diligent in her personal study because there is still so much at the meetings she doesn't get - but that her comprehension of the language continues to get better - she says she'll plateau for a while and will feel like she isn't getting anywhere, and then she will grow with it. I add this comment for the both of you, Shonda and Julie.
She talked with a brother about it - I think she said her C.O. - and he said to her, "Would the hole that you would be leaving in the congregation be bigger than the hole you would be filling in the new congregation?" He told her that they needed brothers and sisters with years of history and experience in the truth, and now that her husband was gone, she was the person with the most years of experience in the truth in the congregation. . . that they needed her. She has decided to stay for now.
She says after 9 years it is still hard - she says she has to be very, very diligent in her personal study because there is still so much at the meetings she doesn't get - but that her comprehension of the language continues to get better - she says she'll plateau for a while and will feel like she isn't getting anywhere, and then she will grow with it. I add this comment for the both of you, Shonda and Julie.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Bumper Sticker
Well, this was an interesting bumper sticker:
"Religion is for people afraid of hell; Spirituality is for people who have already been there."
I know what they mean.
"Religion is for people afraid of hell; Spirituality is for people who have already been there."
I know what they mean.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Present Circumstances
I heard an interesting speech . . . that we can always be empowered, content and fulfilled no matter what our current circumstances, but most people do not WANT to be empowered, content and fulfilled with their current circumstances because they are afraid then they will always be in their current circumstances . . but the aim is to be empowered, content and fulfilled with your current circumstances while at the same time to remain open to possibility.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Disney on Ice
On Sunday evening I took B to see Disney on Ice. How was it you ask? Well, it was a Disney production, so it was pretty fabulous, of course - they know how to put on a show. They opened with Aladdin pretty much and incorporated all the princess/prince characters in pair figure skating - the other bigger productions were Finding Nemo - yes, with the sharks, Pinocchio with a whale, Mulan - Mulan was pretty spectacular -the ice was colored with red lights - at one point there was an "avalanche" of a huge white curtain that was drawn over the Huns, and Mulan even shot off a cannon with a flare.
The show right next to us was pretty interesting too. B and I were sitting in the last two seats of an entire row of 14. The rest of the seats were taken by several women and children who all knew each other. They had ALL the regalia - each of them wore crowns, including the women. The crowns had either Mickey Mouse ears, or the jewels in the crown lit up and flashed. The kids also all had flashing light wands. They were really having a good time. They also were all eating event food - mammoth cups of pop - I mean, is it possible to drink that much pop without your bladder exploding or going into insulin shock? Also, plastic trays with compartments of "nachos", which were really tortilla chips in one section, salsa in one section, and then Cheez Whiz or whatever in the last section. They were really enjoying that too. During the performance, they had their feet up on the wall in front of us, watched and ate. At the same time I was watching this, I was observing in general that there was not very much applause following each act, and I wondered why. I might be wrong about this, but while watching the group next to me and pondering the applause dilemma, I sort of thought for a lot of people there, it was simply "watching TV", only live. Know what I mean? The TV was just different. Hmm. They weren't really participating, just watching. Interesting.I am not making them "wrong", just thinking how different this was as opposed to an audience that would have seen a production like this even 10 or 20 years ago. And so I am pondering this in a lot of areas . . watching vs. participating . . .
The show right next to us was pretty interesting too. B and I were sitting in the last two seats of an entire row of 14. The rest of the seats were taken by several women and children who all knew each other. They had ALL the regalia - each of them wore crowns, including the women. The crowns had either Mickey Mouse ears, or the jewels in the crown lit up and flashed. The kids also all had flashing light wands. They were really having a good time. They also were all eating event food - mammoth cups of pop - I mean, is it possible to drink that much pop without your bladder exploding or going into insulin shock? Also, plastic trays with compartments of "nachos", which were really tortilla chips in one section, salsa in one section, and then Cheez Whiz or whatever in the last section. They were really enjoying that too. During the performance, they had their feet up on the wall in front of us, watched and ate. At the same time I was watching this, I was observing in general that there was not very much applause following each act, and I wondered why. I might be wrong about this, but while watching the group next to me and pondering the applause dilemma, I sort of thought for a lot of people there, it was simply "watching TV", only live. Know what I mean? The TV was just different. Hmm. They weren't really participating, just watching. Interesting.I am not making them "wrong", just thinking how different this was as opposed to an audience that would have seen a production like this even 10 or 20 years ago. And so I am pondering this in a lot of areas . . watching vs. participating . . .
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Food
Most of you know that I am on a pretty rigorous diet. I am losing weight and doing well - and I am having some insights about my relationship with food. Food is one of my hobbies - and I am thinking about that and how I am going to have to have a better perspective of food, be in balance so I don't become overweight again.
Yesterday I bought a french baguette, it was perfect, for the family - I was not eating any of it, of course, on this diet. I had to break a piece off for B, and the crust was just exquisite - I could imagine cold, salty butter slathered on a hunk of it; I could taste it; I could feel it. I wasn't physically hungry - but then wanted to eat it. It would have been a simple pleasure, and I would have enjoyed it. Also, earlier in the day, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for B - I could imagine the taste, the texture and the way I would feel full and satisfied.
All of this made me think of Jesus statement in a new way - you know when he said, "My food is for me to do the will of my Father who sent me"? I had an understanding that it was more than just "sustenance" which alone was significant - his very life - but, it was pleasurable for him, he enjoyed it.
Yesterday I bought a french baguette, it was perfect, for the family - I was not eating any of it, of course, on this diet. I had to break a piece off for B, and the crust was just exquisite - I could imagine cold, salty butter slathered on a hunk of it; I could taste it; I could feel it. I wasn't physically hungry - but then wanted to eat it. It would have been a simple pleasure, and I would have enjoyed it. Also, earlier in the day, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for B - I could imagine the taste, the texture and the way I would feel full and satisfied.
All of this made me think of Jesus statement in a new way - you know when he said, "My food is for me to do the will of my Father who sent me"? I had an understanding that it was more than just "sustenance" which alone was significant - his very life - but, it was pleasurable for him, he enjoyed it.
Friday, February 19, 2010
More Useless Nonsense - the term "Bookie"
Sadly, the beloved author, Dick Francis died last weekend - he was 89. I have read every one of his books, and was reading his most recent (his last book will be published posthumously) book called Even Money. All of his books are set somehow in the racing world, and this one is about bookies, the people who take the bets on horses at races. He explains where the term originated:
"In the good old days, when bookmaking was an art rather than a science, every transaction was written down in "the book" by an assistant. Nowadays, as in most things, it was on a computer that everything was recorded."
A Duh! moment for me. So there you go. Another brain cell fired and now you know this - how you will use it, I can NEVER IMAGINE, but it was fun, wasn't it?
Last spring I took the kids and several of their friends to a thoroughbred race track for an afternoon of racing - everyone should see a horse race at least once in their life.
"In the good old days, when bookmaking was an art rather than a science, every transaction was written down in "the book" by an assistant. Nowadays, as in most things, it was on a computer that everything was recorded."
A Duh! moment for me. So there you go. Another brain cell fired and now you know this - how you will use it, I can NEVER IMAGINE, but it was fun, wasn't it?
Last spring I took the kids and several of their friends to a thoroughbred race track for an afternoon of racing - everyone should see a horse race at least once in their life.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Way WE Think of Ourselves vs. God's
I heard a couple of things this week from 2 different people I wanted to relate - Do you think you are worthless in God's eyes or that he has decided you are not good enough?
"As regards whatever our hearts may condemn us in, ...God is greater than our hearts and knows all things." 1 John 3:20
That word, condemn, in the original Greek carries the meaning of "sentencing to death" -so while WE may in essence sentence ourselves to death because of the way WE are thinking about ourselves or the way WE have decided what Jehovah must think of us, Jehovah says he is greater than our hearts - that he sees or knows us differently.
Our feelings come from our thoughts. We would agree that our thoughts of ourselves, because of imperfection and many times because of the things we may have suffered and impacted us growing up, are not accurate - Jehovah's thoughts or perceptions of us, however, would always be accurate. So a short way of saying the same thing is that the way Jehovah perceives us is not the way WE perceive ourselves.
We are told that, "No man can come to me unless the Father draws him." John 6:44. The fact that you were drawn to the truth reveals that Jehovah looked at you and saw desirable, good things about you. Otherwise he would not have drawn you. The word drawn in this scripture carries the thought of there being resistance with it though. When the apostles were trying to catch fish all night and nothing happened, and then Jesus made the nets full, the scripture used that same word of "drawing" in the nets, that they were so heavy that there was resistance. So the idea is that Jehovah looked at YOU, saw/sees the good in you that you cannot even see and wants you, draws you, even if there is resistance - even if that resistance is because of the way WE think of ourselves.
And what if we fall, lose faith, take a misstep? Is is over? "For the righteous one may fall even seven times, and he will certainly get up . . " This point of seven times is an idiom in Hebrew for "often". The point is that the righteous fall. Often.
But you can get up. You can get up because even though you are lying there thinking, perceiving yourself as being condemned, sentenced to death - the way Jehovah perceives you is not that way.
In the bible reading this week, Samson compromises his faith and pays a very heavy price. Interestingly, he is listed in Hebrews 11 as a an example of faith. When we look at Samson or maybe when Samson looked at himself, all he could see was the negative. But that is not the way Jehovah looked at him. He is listed as a man of faith, not a man of compromise. Jehovah sees the good - just like you.
"As regards whatever our hearts may condemn us in, ...God is greater than our hearts and knows all things." 1 John 3:20
That word, condemn, in the original Greek carries the meaning of "sentencing to death" -so while WE may in essence sentence ourselves to death because of the way WE are thinking about ourselves or the way WE have decided what Jehovah must think of us, Jehovah says he is greater than our hearts - that he sees or knows us differently.
Our feelings come from our thoughts. We would agree that our thoughts of ourselves, because of imperfection and many times because of the things we may have suffered and impacted us growing up, are not accurate - Jehovah's thoughts or perceptions of us, however, would always be accurate. So a short way of saying the same thing is that the way Jehovah perceives us is not the way WE perceive ourselves.
We are told that, "No man can come to me unless the Father draws him." John 6:44. The fact that you were drawn to the truth reveals that Jehovah looked at you and saw desirable, good things about you. Otherwise he would not have drawn you. The word drawn in this scripture carries the thought of there being resistance with it though. When the apostles were trying to catch fish all night and nothing happened, and then Jesus made the nets full, the scripture used that same word of "drawing" in the nets, that they were so heavy that there was resistance. So the idea is that Jehovah looked at YOU, saw/sees the good in you that you cannot even see and wants you, draws you, even if there is resistance - even if that resistance is because of the way WE think of ourselves.
And what if we fall, lose faith, take a misstep? Is is over? "For the righteous one may fall even seven times, and he will certainly get up . . " This point of seven times is an idiom in Hebrew for "often". The point is that the righteous fall. Often.
But you can get up. You can get up because even though you are lying there thinking, perceiving yourself as being condemned, sentenced to death - the way Jehovah perceives you is not that way.
In the bible reading this week, Samson compromises his faith and pays a very heavy price. Interestingly, he is listed in Hebrews 11 as a an example of faith. When we look at Samson or maybe when Samson looked at himself, all he could see was the negative. But that is not the way Jehovah looked at him. He is listed as a man of faith, not a man of compromise. Jehovah sees the good - just like you.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Persuade your heavenly Father?
Briggs Crites delivered the Dedication and Baptism talk at the circuit assembly this weekend, and he said to the candidates:
"You cannot persuade your heavenly Father that you do not have time to read his word the Bible every day."
This quote really jumped out at me - it was actually the only thing I wrote down as "notes" during his talk, and at lunch I went over to talk with him about it, to tell him how much it resonated with me. He told me this quote was actually one he "borrowed" from Bro. Loesch's talk at the Delaware KH dedication. He also related that in that talk Bro. Loesch said that he used to smoke (surprise! I thought he was always a JW too.) He said that the 2 best cigarettes of the day were the 1st one in the morning and the last one before going to bed - and that if you were sitting on the edge of the bed, ready for that last smoke and found out you did not have any cigarettes, you would get dressed and go to the store to get more. Smile - kind of a funny way to relate the necessity we want to feel to read the bible every day, but it underlines the point, doesn't it?
I read the bible with Bronwyn before she goes to bed - there have been nights that she has said, "What about the bible reading?", and I have replied, "Not tonight, it is too late." But it is true, I really could not persuade our Heavenly Father that there isn't time to read his word . . . and so this is indeed a case of ME having to transform my thinking (and therefore my feelings too.)
"You cannot persuade your heavenly Father that you do not have time to read his word the Bible every day."
This quote really jumped out at me - it was actually the only thing I wrote down as "notes" during his talk, and at lunch I went over to talk with him about it, to tell him how much it resonated with me. He told me this quote was actually one he "borrowed" from Bro. Loesch's talk at the Delaware KH dedication. He also related that in that talk Bro. Loesch said that he used to smoke (surprise! I thought he was always a JW too.) He said that the 2 best cigarettes of the day were the 1st one in the morning and the last one before going to bed - and that if you were sitting on the edge of the bed, ready for that last smoke and found out you did not have any cigarettes, you would get dressed and go to the store to get more. Smile - kind of a funny way to relate the necessity we want to feel to read the bible every day, but it underlines the point, doesn't it?
I read the bible with Bronwyn before she goes to bed - there have been nights that she has said, "What about the bible reading?", and I have replied, "Not tonight, it is too late." But it is true, I really could not persuade our Heavenly Father that there isn't time to read his word . . . and so this is indeed a case of ME having to transform my thinking (and therefore my feelings too.)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Deborah, the woman
As a woman, Judges chapter 5 is just an amazing bible reading. You know already that I feel Jehovah's viewpoint of women has always been the same - it is people and culture on earth that demean or diminish women - but with the acknowledgment that Jehovah can only work with imperfect people because that is all there is, and so has had work within these cultures and tolerate wrong views of women (just as he also has to tolerate wrong views of other things, even wrong views cultures have perpetuated about males, until he steps in.) Anyway, Judges 5 is a song composed by Deborah, not only a woman - so a woman is contributing part of the bible - but a prophetess - so Jehovah is using her to convey his messages - and she also joins Barak when he goes to war, so she is in all the action and that is evident because of the details that she gives concerning the victory. On top of this, Deborah prophesied that the victory would come at the hands of a woman - in fact it is Jael who kills Sisera. Of course Deborah gives all credit to Jehovah and she truly is a spiritual person, she never makes any of this about her. But Jehovah dealt with and used her on the same plane as he would use, say, David in this instance. Women were not/are not lesser persons or lesser "males" to Jehovah, just different persons - "females". When Jehovah outlines a man, a husband, to be the head of a woman, I feel that was really to protect women because women were the gender to bear children, and because they would be consumed with children and their care Jehovah made it mandatory for the male, the father and husband, to be responsible to provide for them, thus the "head". It wasn't about a man or husband micromanaging his wife or children, it was about the family's big picture so to speak, that they were cared for financially, spiritually, emotionally. And then the woman wouldn't have to or be trying to do "everything". It would have both genders be together, helping each other.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Self Pitying Idiot
I heard a speech about a man named Colin Wilson - there was an article about him in the New York Times - he is a British philosopher who at the age of 16 decided he would be the next Albert Einstein. He was in college, and his parents ran out of money so he had to quit. This was very traumatic for him - he was just devastated - and so he decided he would kill himself with hydrocyonic acid. He then had two powerful insights. The first insight was that there were two people inside of him - one person was a self-pitying idiot - the other person was the real Colin Wilson. Then he had another powerful insight - the self pitying idiot was about to kill the real Colin Wilson.
I have been thinking about this all week - the self-pitying idiot inside us that tells me/us that, "You are not good enough. You are worthless. You mean nothing." That "It", that self-pitying idiot is that voice inside us trying to destroy us. Our imperfection. I have been catching myself this week when that idiot, that "It" has been trying to minimize me in all sorts of areas of my life. I keep having to restore my integrity.
Here is the link to the article about him - he operated on the belief that pessimism was at the root of all ills, an interesting viewpoint and the article touches on it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/books/17wils.html?pagewanted=all
I have been thinking about this all week - the self-pitying idiot inside us that tells me/us that, "You are not good enough. You are worthless. You mean nothing." That "It", that self-pitying idiot is that voice inside us trying to destroy us. Our imperfection. I have been catching myself this week when that idiot, that "It" has been trying to minimize me in all sorts of areas of my life. I keep having to restore my integrity.
Here is the link to the article about him - he operated on the belief that pessimism was at the root of all ills, an interesting viewpoint and the article touches on it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/17/books/17wils.html?pagewanted=all
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
What the Dog Saw
What the Dog Saw is the latest book by Malcolm Gladwell. He is an unusual writer on the staff of The New Yorker. The book is from a series of articles he wrote. Why the title? Well, Malcolm always wants to know what is in someone's head, and he got interested in a man named Cesar Milan, the dog whisperer. He can calm the angriest dog, and Malcolm wanted to know what goes on inside his head when he does this . . but then Malcolm realized what he REALLY wanted to know was, when Cesar Milan performs his magic, what goes on inside the dog's head or what the dog saw. So all of these articles are about subjects from not-the-obvious angle.
I could pretend to be super intellectual and tell you that the article about the Challenger or some other "important" topic was my favorite, but honestly, besides the article he wrote about the men/family that invented and pitched the Chop-o-matic, Veg-o-matic and Showtime Rotisserie (I actually cried at the end of it, I know, I could not believe it myself), my favorite one has been about haircoloring, and how Clairol and L'Oreal's ad campaigns for them evolved. Marketing fascinates me as equally as it repels me.
There were some pretty powerful, amazing women - who their male colleagues called "girls", this was 1956 to start with after all - behind these advertising campaigns that smacked of feminism. That part of the article was interesting - but it is the actual understanding of how to market this product - and how it has changed since 1956 - that was fascinating. Just like all that haircolor, there are shades of this, and the Clairol and L'Oreal users breakdown into categories . . . recall, L'Oreal's tag line ended up being, "Because I'm worth it" - Clairol's was "Does she or doesn't she?" L'Oreal vice president of marketing (a woman) will hold focus groups, and says she can instantly decipher the L'Oreal users vs. the Clairol users. How? She says, "The L'Oreal user always exhibits a greater air of confidence and usually looks better. Not just her hair color, but she has always spent a little more time putting on her makeup, styling her hair, and her clothing is a bit more fashionable." In contrast she says the Clairol user, "represents more the American beauty icon, more naturalness. But more of a beauty for "me", as opposed to a beauty for the external world. L'Oreal users tend to be a bit more aloof. There is a certain warmth you see in the Clairol people."
So . . . which brand do YOU use? I have actually used both at different points in my life. I currently go to a salon to have my hair colored - that probably says something about me - but given my precarious economic circumstances for a variety of reasons, when I can't afford to go to the salon anymore (and my early January visit might have been the last), which boxed product will I use? Clairol or L'Oreal? I didn't know I was going to fall into a category and be saying something about my self-esteem depending on which one I choose - and now I have a self-perception dilemma - tell me, which one should I use? (Cheshire Cat Smile)
I could pretend to be super intellectual and tell you that the article about the Challenger or some other "important" topic was my favorite, but honestly, besides the article he wrote about the men/family that invented and pitched the Chop-o-matic, Veg-o-matic and Showtime Rotisserie (I actually cried at the end of it, I know, I could not believe it myself), my favorite one has been about haircoloring, and how Clairol and L'Oreal's ad campaigns for them evolved. Marketing fascinates me as equally as it repels me.
There were some pretty powerful, amazing women - who their male colleagues called "girls", this was 1956 to start with after all - behind these advertising campaigns that smacked of feminism. That part of the article was interesting - but it is the actual understanding of how to market this product - and how it has changed since 1956 - that was fascinating. Just like all that haircolor, there are shades of this, and the Clairol and L'Oreal users breakdown into categories . . . recall, L'Oreal's tag line ended up being, "Because I'm worth it" - Clairol's was "Does she or doesn't she?" L'Oreal vice president of marketing (a woman) will hold focus groups, and says she can instantly decipher the L'Oreal users vs. the Clairol users. How? She says, "The L'Oreal user always exhibits a greater air of confidence and usually looks better. Not just her hair color, but she has always spent a little more time putting on her makeup, styling her hair, and her clothing is a bit more fashionable." In contrast she says the Clairol user, "represents more the American beauty icon, more naturalness. But more of a beauty for "me", as opposed to a beauty for the external world. L'Oreal users tend to be a bit more aloof. There is a certain warmth you see in the Clairol people."
So . . . which brand do YOU use? I have actually used both at different points in my life. I currently go to a salon to have my hair colored - that probably says something about me - but given my precarious economic circumstances for a variety of reasons, when I can't afford to go to the salon anymore (and my early January visit might have been the last), which boxed product will I use? Clairol or L'Oreal? I didn't know I was going to fall into a category and be saying something about my self-esteem depending on which one I choose - and now I have a self-perception dilemma - tell me, which one should I use? (Cheshire Cat Smile)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The Book Thief
So I finished reading The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. It is an interesting book, but just unbelievable. The man who loves books too much is a book thief, John Gilkey. The thief is a 30 something man in California who feels entitled to steal books he cannot afford - that the "system" which makes the books he loves unaffordable owes it to him. He doesn't read the books, he just collects them because he wants people to think a certain way about him. Like he is a rich person with all these valuable books and all that image. I just shake my head in disbelief. I could never be a book thief. I felt so enraged for the antiquarian book stores he was stealing from, and libraries. He operates on sheer greed. He finally gets busted - there is a rare book seller named Ken Sanders who just relentlessly tracks the thief -
The book has a lot of interesting things about rare books - that was interesting - dust jackets make a book valuable - if the book doesn't have the dust jacket, it goes down in value - the average book collector demographically is a white male 40+ years, $$$ - stuff like that.
The book has a lot of interesting things about rare books - that was interesting - dust jackets make a book valuable - if the book doesn't have the dust jacket, it goes down in value - the average book collector demographically is a white male 40+ years, $$$ - stuff like that.
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