Category: Lifestyle

  • The Year Our Marriage Grew

    The Year Our Marriage Grew

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    AT around our tenth wedding anniversary, we had a realisation.

    The realisation we had was this: despite all the quality marriage counselling we had received from our wonderfully gifted and skilled marriage counsellor early on, we were, at that time, still not enjoying satisfaction.

    We now knew the principles, but now we had to apply them. Knowledge of principles provides no satisfaction, only application provides satisfaction.

    The year our marriage grew coincided with application. Instead of believing in concepts and talking about them, we decided to commit to working the concepts out in our marriage. This inevitably meant adapting the marital wisdom we had learned so it worked for our unique coupling, for our inimitable family structure.

    We had had twenty counselling sessions, and I think our counsellor was at pains to say, ‘Go and do what we’ve been talking about; what I’ve been showing you’… initially it even got worse. It had nothing to do with the standard of our counsel – it was like growing pains in our marriage. Things tend to get worse before they get better.

    Inevitably, we as partners had to learn to commit to each other in ways we had never thought we would need to. Our covenant to each other was solid, but we now had to commit to love this other person in ways that worked for them, not simply ourselves. Without even recognising it at the time, we began to accept each other like we had never done before. That is true love: unconditional acceptance at the deepest level. And it takes time.

    The year our marriage grew was Year 4. Indeed, the previous three simply proved our commitment to each other. We hadn’t torn each other apart. But there were some horrible experiences. Whilst those first three years were unbelievably tough, they set us up as we pressed on into the hard work required in finding our way into the space of marital peace (which is punctuated with conflict that is managed well in the main).

    My wife and I are believers in marriage; that marriage is not only wonderful but hard work. We believe, as we experienced, that counselling works; but not only that, there’s a limit to what counselling can do. I say that as someone who gives marital counsel.

    It must be applied. There needs to be a time where a couple weighs anchor and begins the work of reconciling the problems on the high seas of their marriage. It can take years, but don’t be despondent. You learn to survive when it’s just you and your spouse. Sure, we all need tune-ups, prayer and support, but others’ help is limited.

    This is what we learned: marriage seems best when the foibles of one are acceptable to the other. What seems like an easy concept can demand years of work to arrive at.

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    Source by Steve Wickham

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  • Telecommuting: How It Supports A Green Lifestyle

    Telecommuting: How It Supports A Green Lifestyle

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    These days people are more interested in saving time energy, and ways to make their lives easier and more productive all at once.Our world is changing fast and sometimes it is hard to keep up.

    Being a Baby boomer in a world filled with so many technical challenges to learn and keep up with can be a little intimidating. It is important though to familiarize yourself and try to keep up to date with how to stay connected without losing yourself in the mix. But working from home has improved my overall attitude about work, and has helped me to be more productive, and creative while at the same time helping to do my part in working towards a Greener way of living.

    How I am benefiting from working at home

    First I am saving money on gas every week! And although the price of gas has gone down, I am taking that money that I saved, and putting it towards investing in my business. I choose my own hours to work and by working in blocks of time, I can manage to get many things accomplished in an allotted amount of time, and also take breaks and a walk or do some yoga stretches in between.

    Eating a healthy meal through the day is important to me being vegan, and health conscious of what I am feeding my body as well as my mind. I can eat at leisure setting a block of time, just for eating as well as for breaks and I still get everything accomplished in an efficient and timely manner. Still being professional and at the same time taking good care of myself, so I can work at my optimum best.

    Telecommuting can ease the stress of having to commute back and forth to work in bad weather. It will definitely save some wear and tear on your vehicle and tires and save the time it would take to get back and forth from work. It can also save you money on dry cleaning costs!

    Another great reason to work from home and help support a green lifestyle, because dry cleaning uses Perchloroethylene, a toxic chemical that is very harmful to our environment, and if you are concerned with helping reduce toxins you can look up where to find a green dry cleaner in your area instead.

    Working from home enables you to work for longer periods and more comfortably by being in surroundings that are stress-free and conducive to your overall benefit. Create a workspace free of clutter. Make sure you have some water to keep hydrated. Have all of the tools and implements you may need close by to help you work efficiently, and so you do not have to keep getting up and down. Turn off all distractions unless some soft music in the background helps. And enjoy creating those masterpieces!

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    Source by Debbie Frye

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  • The Difference Between Good Success and Bad Success

    The Difference Between Good Success and Bad Success

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    Do you desire to be a good success here on this beautiful earth?

    Do you need the secrets that can ensure you record good successes in everything you do?

    If you answer YES to these questions, then i believe you need to know the difference between good successes and bad successes

    “This book of the Law shall not depart out

    of your mouth, but you shall mediate therein

    day and night that you may observe to do

    according to all that is written therein: for

    then you shall make your way prosperous,

    and then you shall have good success” – Joshua 1: 8 (KJ2000).

    The first time I read the above portion of the bible, I was inspired to understand that, there is a good success and a bad success.

    Nothing support this fact other than the passage quoted above from the Scripture. The Word of God says if “you will hearken to the Voice of God, Obey His Commandments, Study and Meditate daily on His Word, you will have good success”.

    The Word of God qualifies the noun “Success” with the adjective “good”. This simply means you will not have a bad success if you follow God’s rules during your success journey in life.

    What then, are a good success and a bad success? How do you differentiate a good success from a bad success? How do you recognize someone with a bad success and someone with a good success?

    Good Success

    I have tried to carefully study the lives of people in the bible days and those of present times and I found out that there are actually some people with good successes.

    I was able to reach a conclusion using my definition of success stated earlier on as a basis of analysis.

    God

    God Almighty enjoyed good success during the creation of heaven and the earth. He actually set the pace at creation, showing us how to obtain good successes in whatever we do.

    “And God saw everything that He had

    made, and behold, it was very good.

    And the evening and the morning were

    the sixth day.

    -Gen 1:31 (KJ2000)

    There were lots of obstacles which stared HIM in the face when HE was creating heaven and the earth but HE never allowed them to stop HIM.

    “And the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”

    -Gen 1:2 (KJ2000)

    Yes, even a formless earth and the darkness would not prevent Him from achieving His aim.

    “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

    and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

    and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

    -Gen 1:26 (KJ2000)

    He also transferred His “breath of Life” into Adam for him (Adam) to become a living soul.

    What a loving and selfless God who strongly desired somebody to act like Him

    There are countless numbers of people in the Bible who had good successes: Jesus, Moses, Apostle Paul, King David, Joseph, John the Baptist, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob all had good successes.

    One thing is however, common with all these people and that is the fact that they fear God.

    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom:

    and the knowledge of the Holy one is understanding.

    -Prov 1:10 (KJ2000).

    You can become a child of God by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior and begin to live a life that has the fear of God.

    You can expect to record good number of good successes in your lifetime as you do this.

    Bad Success

    I may not need to bother you with the stories of people who recorded bad successes in the Bible or even in our societies today but you will observe with me that this set of people also have something in common – they lived a Godless life.

    You can study the stories of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt when the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt.

    Cain who killed his brother Abel (Gen 4:8)

    Herod the king who ordered the killing of all new born babies when Jesus was born (matt 2:13-23)

    Satan who fell from grace to grass because of pride (Luke 10:18)

    Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus ( Matt 26:36-46)

    These People all recorded bad successes. One thing is also common to these people: they lacked the fear of God.

    My dear reader, I want to believe you desire to be a good success. You need the fear of God in you to be successful in all you do.

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    Source by Sesan Oguntade

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  • Four Simple Steps to Control Your Scottie’s Chewing Habit

    Four Simple Steps to Control Your Scottie’s Chewing Habit

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    Are you getting desperate about your Scottish terrier’s new habit of chewing anything he can lay his paws on? Do you feel like falling on tears as you watch your shoes, your carpets, your sofa torn out by his destructive action?

    I’ve got good news for you: you can easily control the chewing habit by proper training your Scottish terrier.

    But first you need to understand that chewing, like barking, is a natural instinct of Scottish terriers, as it attends their need to sharpen their teeth. Puppies going through the teething process tend to chew everything because it alleviates the pain in their gums. This behavior should only last for a few months, during the teething period.

    If the chewing habit persists beyond one year, then your dog has a problem. And you too.

    And here’s where a good training program comes in. Your Scottie is unable to judge by himself what is valuable to you or not, it’s up to you to teach him what he can chew and what he cannot. He will not realize that everything cannot be chewed unless he is trained and the chewing habit corrected.

    Training can be somewhat costly but everything considered it is a lot cheaper to invest in training and in a few chew toys for your dog than to replace expensive furniture in your home.

    In the meantime, follow these four easy steps that will help you in controlling your Scottish Terrier’s chewing habit:

    1. Keep valuable things you do not want to be chewed out of reach.

    2. Keep your Scottie in a confined place like his crate, for example, while you are sleeping or not around. Provide him with chewing toys for him to entertain himself.

    3. Give him attention and physical activity to overcome boredom and loneliness. Walk and play with him whenever you can.

    4. Reprehend him with a firm “No” when you catch him chewing and replace whatever he’s chewing with a chew toy.

    By following these instructions it will not take long until the bad chewing habit is completely eliminated.

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    Source by Ari Weinrich

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  • Love One Another (A Sermon on John 13: 31-35)

    Love One Another (A Sermon on John 13: 31-35)

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    We are in the 13th chapter of the Gospel according to St John's this week, and I'm going to unpack our reading verse by verse as it is a difficult passage.

    "When he had gone out, Jesus said," Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. " (John 13:31)

    The person who had 'gone out' was Judas, and the sentence seems to suggest that Judas' leaving somewhat brought glory to Jesus, which sounds really odd.

    "If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once." (John 13:32)

    I really have no idea where to begin with that statement!

    "Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.'" (John 13:33 )

    That statement makes sense to us as Jesus speaking about his own impending suffering and death, though at the time it made no sense at all to His disciples.

    I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. "(John 13: 34-45)

    That concluding pronouncement, I suspect, is the most difficult to understand of all!

    "All you need is love!" – so said the Beatles.

    When I read statements like these from the lips of Jesus, I can almost hear the soundtrack of that well-known Beatles song playing in the background.

    "Love is all you need. Love is all you need …"

    It's not true, of course. Love isn't all we need – not in relationships, not in families, not in governments.

    We had an election yesterday. Did you vote for the most loving candidate? Should you have?

    I tried to give some thought after reading this passage as to who the most loving candidate for electoral office was. It wasn't obvious.

    It didn't take me long to come up with the names of politicians who were definitely NOT full of love and sweetness, but it seemed less obvious to me which candidates actually were.

    Did the candidate who loves us the most win? Do we care?

    In truth, in as much as we might say, "all we need is love" , I don't think we really care whether our political leaders love us, any more than we really care whether our boss at work truly loves us. Love is not all we need. A good capacity for management is probably far more important in cases like this than is love!

    Love is not all we need in government or in families, and it's not even all we need in a system of morality! This might sound counterintuitive. Is not all of morality – all our statements about what is right and what is wrong – really an extension of that basic ideal of love?

    Certainly, over the generations, scores of philosophers and other great thinkers have suggested that all of our moral intuitions can be reduced to one simple exhortation – if not 'to love' exactly, to something very akin to that.

    The British philosopher, John Stuart Mill, saw all of morality as a system of increasing pleasure for people and reducing harm. He is probably best remembered for his 'harm principle' :

    "That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."

    I have a feeling that if you'd asked Mill what the essence of morality was, he might not have said 'love one another' , but might well have said 'don't' harm one another ' , which is pretty similar.

    Likewise, the great 18th century German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, believed that morality could be reduced to a single maxim – the 'categorical imperative' :

    "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law."

    That's always sounded to me like a really complex way of saying 'love your neighbor as you would love yourself " , which, of course, was Jesus' 'golden rule' that many people see as being His one-line summary of the moral law , along with the first and great commandment, of course, that you have to love God:

    "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. " (Matthew 22: 37-40)

    We are familiar with these commandments. We hear them every week in church, and they do seem to suggest that everything in the law of God comes down to love, and that the rest is just commentary.

    Is that really what Jesus was saying? St Augustine thought so, and in my previous sermons on these passages, I have suggested exactly that – that there is really only one law of God – that we love – and that the rest is just application. My more recent reading though has suggested that it's actually a lot more complicated than that, at least if Jesus really was being true to His Hebraic tradition.

    The Hebraic law centers around the Ten Commandments – the ten words of God to the people of Israel – and while it seems straightforward to see commandments like "thou shalt not steal" and "thou shalt not murder" as being extensions of the commandment to love , other commandments like "honor thy father and thy mother" do not seem to be so easily reducible. Honoring your father and your mother seems to be more about respecting authority than it is about love .

    I've been reading a very interesting book lately by moral psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, called "the Righteous Mind" , in which he outlines what he calls 'moral foundation theory' .

    I'm not suggesting that everyone should rush out to get a copy of this book. It is not an easy read and could prove difficult if you don't have an academic background in the study of philosophical ethics (which, thankfully, I do).

    The author's key point, at any rate, is that our moral intuitions can't be reduced to any one simple maxim such as 'love one another' as morality is invariably more complex than that.

    Haidt suggests that there are five reasonably independent dimensions to our moral awareness, and 'caring' for others is just one of those dimensions. The others are:

    • Fairness (which is all about justice, rewards and punishments)
    • Loyalty (which is associated with values ​​such as faithfulness and patriotism )
    • Authority (where you honor your father and your mother, king and country)
    • Sanctity (which involves respecting your body and potentially embracing things like chastity, temperance and cleanliness)

    Forgive me if I'm now sounding more dry and esoteric than the book I mentioned. My point is actually a simple one – that 'all you need is love' is both simplistic and inadequate. We don't only need love – not if we are going to be successful in our relationships or in all of life. We actually need a lot of things – courage, self-discipline, wisdom, nurture and support and a good education, and more!

    Of course, Jesus didn't say "love is all you need". That was ' The Beatles' . What Jesus did say was "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" . In other words, Jesus didn't say that love is all we need to live a full and productive life. What He said was that it was all we needed in order to show the world that we are His disciples. That might sound like much the same thing but it's actually quite distinct.

    The life of love is not a strategy for success, despite what any number of tele-evangelists might have told you. Indeed, if it's right to consider it a strategy at all, the life of love could only be a strategy for getting yourself killed. That's certainly how it worked for Jesus.

    I'm sure I've mentioned before that friend who said to me "I'm sick of hearing people tell me about all the problems they had before they met Jesus and how He solved them all for them. till I met Jesus! "

    That's difficult to hear, I think. We don't want to think of Jesus as the one who leads us down a path of suffering and misery. We want to think of Jesus as one who elevates us to heavenly places.

    Isn't that what religion is for after all? Isn't good religion supposed to benefit our lives and help us live more fully and peacefully with a great sense of purpose and fulfillment? Surely, it's not just about suffering in this world so that we can enjoy a better life in the next? Surely there's more to it than that?

    I don't think Jesus is saying that discipleship is all about suffering any more than it is all about success. Discipleship, Jesus says, is all about love, and everything else depends on what Jesus means by love .

    Jesus says His command to love is a new commandment, and that's a surprise. Certainly, the commandment to love is as old as the Scriptures themselves, so it must be the latter part of the commandment – to love one another ' as I have loved you' – that makes it new.

    When we hear those words, I suspect most of us immediately think of the cross and Jesus laying down his life for us. That makes sense, and indeed the same Gospel writer, John, writes in his first letter "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). Even so, without wanting to press the issue of the timeline too heavily, the exhortation we have in today's Gospel reading -to love one another "as I have loved you" happens before the cross, suggesting that the model on view here may not be the death of Jesus but the life of Jesus!

    Further, as noted, today's reading begins with a reference to Judas – "when he had gone out" – and Jesus' exhortation to love each other as He has loved us comes immediately before the two terrible betrayals from disciples whom Jesus had just broken bread with and whose feet Jesus had just washed – the one betrayal being from Judas, of course, and the other one being from dear Peter!

    Jesus loved Peter, was betrayed by Peter, and would eventually be reconciled with Peter. Jesus loved Judas but would never be reconciled with him. Even perfect love does not guarantee a perfect ending to the story. Even so, love anyway – that's the new commandment .

    Yes, "greater love has no one than this – to lay down one's life for their friends" (John 15: 3). That is true, and bodily self-sacrifice is indeed the ultimate example of love, but most of the time love is not so grandiose and (thankfully) not quite so painful. The far more common (and in some ways more difficult) labor of love is the ongoing work of having to forgive those who fail us, and sometimes fail us very badly.

    This, I believe, is the love by which everyone will now that we are His disciples – it's the love that breaks bread with those who betray us and that washes the feet of those who turn their backs on us. It's the love that finds its ultimate inspiration in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, but which likewise finds daily encouragement in the simple acts of grace shown by Jesus towards those whom He knew would radically fail Him.

    I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. "(John 13: 34-45)

    It's not a strategy for success. It's not a means to a better life or more successful relationships. It's just the way that we demonstrate to the world that we are followers of Jesus. We break bread, we wash feet, we empathise, we forgive. We love one another just as He loved us.

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    Source by David B. Smith

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  • Sex Tips: Temperature Play Methods

    Sex Tips: Temperature Play Methods

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    Looking for sex tips to spice things up? There are many ways to do so, but one that many couples are unfamiliar with is incorporating hot and cold play in the bedroom. Altering the temperature can awaken the nerve endings and circulatory system in ways that deliver mind-blowing pleasure to both partners. The following examples, along with safety tips for maintaining vaginal and penis health, can help couples get their bearings in this exciting new world of sensation play.

    Cup of Water

    Keeping a cup of warm (not hot!) water near the bed can boost his oral sex enjoyment. A partner can take a sip, swallow, then take another sip and hold the warm water in his/her mouth, then take the man’s penis inside. Swashing the water around his penis for a few moments then swallowing it will give him a tantalizing experience.

    Breath Play

    Warm, moist breath is one of the body’s most pleasurable heat sources, and making use of this natural heat during foreplay and sex can bring both partners thrilling waves of enjoyment. Gently exhale on a lover’s sensitive spots, including the stomach, neck and ears. Gently breathing on the clitoris and testicles is also encouraged.

    Candle Wax

    Most people have heard of dripping hot candle wax on the skin as part of sex play, and many find this frightening. For good reason – most people don’t want to actually burn their skin. The trick to safely participating in wax play is to use candles made of soy, which don’t require as much heat to melt as those made of beeswax or regular wax, so they are less likely to deliver too much heat. Also, of course, if one has very sensitive skin concerning heat, this method should be avoided.

    Chilled Spoon

    Chill a metal spoon for a bit in a bowl of ice or cold water, then apply the back of the spoon to a lover’s neck, nipples, stomach, etc.

    Plain Old Ice

    An ice cube in the hand can go a long way. Trace a line extending from one side of a lover’s neck all the way down the side of the leg, them up the inside of the leg, down the inside of the other and back up the other side of his or her body. It’s best to avoid the penis and testicles.

    Ice Dildo/Hot Towel

    This is one of the more hardcore forms of temperature play, which should be pursued with caution. The idea is for the man to masturbate with a warm, wet towel around his member while a woman masturbates with a chilled dildo. Then, he enters her, and the sensation change for both is out of this world.

    There are several options for a chilled dildo. Some glass and metal dildos are made to be chilled, but caution should be taken. Glass that gets very cold and then undergoes a sudden temperature change, such as inside the body, can break – yikes! And cold metal may stick to a lady’s warm, wet inside – also no good. Use proper precautions. Let the glass or metal warm just a little; use lube; use condoms; always, always follow packaging instructions.

    Blindfold

    Any of the above techniques can be combined with one another, and all of them may be more enjoyable with a blindfold in place. This will leave a lover anticipating, eager and unaware of what sensation is to come. Sight deprivation may be most exciting when lovers are combining a form of heat play like candle wax with a form of cold play, like ice cubes or a cold spoon.

    Keeping it Safe

    Always check in to be sure that the skin is not being burned or losing sensation due to excessive cold or heat. Don’t freeze or heat toys that were not designed to withstand such temperatures. Ease into temperature play to get to know what one’s skin can tolerate.

    Maintaining skin health on the sexual organs can’t be overrated; one’s ability to sense pleasure depends on it. Men can take an extra step in the penis care department by using a quality penis health creme (health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil) daily. Shea butter and vitamin E keep the skin moisturized, protecting it from the frictions of a vigorous sex life. Show one’s sex life some excitement with temperature play, and one’s manhood some love with a penis health crème.

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    Source by John Dugan

    Views: 0

  • Wisdom For Living

    Wisdom For Living

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    Do you have wisdom? Wisdom is the key to successful living on earth. Lack of it is to be groping in the dark and be surrounded by great woes, wailing and destruction. Wisdom makes the difference between success and failure, life and death, poverty and prosperity, health and sickness. Possession of wisdom is to possess life.

    “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion… I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness… The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old… Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him… – Proverbs 8:12, 17-18, 22, 30 (NKJV).

    The Lord founded the earth by wisdom (Proverbs 3:19) and so man needs wisdom to be able to occupy her successfully. Wisdom is the principal thing to possess in order to enjoy living on earth. Every challenge in life is basically a wisdom problem and to have wisdom for any challenge is to have 50% of it solved.

    Wisdom was God’s master craftsman in creation. He utilized wisdom to successfully create all we see, use and enjoy. With wisdom you have prudence, knowledge and discretion; a complete package that will help you not to stumble or make mistakes in your words and action.

    The choices you make are measures of the wisdom available to you. The more the wisdom you acquire the better your choices and the outcomes you get. It is your responsibility to go for wisdom in all areas of your life. You need wisdom to live a victorious Christian life and also to live every phase of your life very well and remarkably: as a child, student, worker, spouse, parent, friend, leader, neighbour, colleague, group member, boss, employee and client. The list can go on and on. Your level of wisdom will affect your relationship with others and so is important that you possess it.

    Your tomorrow is a product of your application of wisdom today. The wisdom seeds you plant today grow and add up to give you a glorious future. The wisdom steps you take today will take you to your ultimate peak tomorrow. The prize you pay today to get wisdom cannot be compared to the returns that will come to you in future. The outcome of wisdom is worth all you have to put in or sacrifice to get it. The success of your life depends on it, so go for the wisdom for living.

    The word of God (The bible), which is the bag of wisdom seeds, has all the wisdom you need to live a triumphant life on this earth. Search the word for them, for whoever finds wisdom finds life and obtains favour from God.

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    Source by Ngozi Nwoke

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  • Simple Life Style Changes That Help You Lose Weight

    Simple Life Style Changes That Help You Lose Weight

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    There are a number of reasons many people in our society are over weight. Much of this has to do with life style. Your life style will affect you health and often your weight. So if your life style is adversely affecting you health and weight, you probably want to make some changes.

    Some changes that you could make are actually very simple, but will take some will power. These changes include proper exercise and a balanced diet. Exercise is very important and could just mean going out side and taking your dog for a walk. Having a balanced diet could mean including more vegetables and fruits in your diet and reducing your sugar intake.

    Exercise means including more physical activities in you daily routine. Many people think of their diet when trying to lose weight. This is appropriate but physical activity is an essential component in weight lose and improving your health, Exercise will help you to burn calories, the calories you take in from the food you eat. Take a walk in the morning before work. Include your dog in this activity as your fury friend also needs the activity. You could also develop a routine consisting of moves that will burn serious calories. These moves could include sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts and running on the spot. Of course these must be done correctly and at least three or four times a week. This could be done after work, before dinner and would be a great way to freshen up after a long day at work. Another thing is to consider walking or cycling to work during the warmer months. Walking or cycling to work will also save money when it come to the cost of running your car and make getting to work less frustrating. Also consider stretching before work especially if your job consists of is considered to be physical, Even if you sit at a desk all day long consider stretching before work and during breaks,

    Exercise is important, but you will still need a balanced diet which involves consuming food with proper nutrients. This could mean reducing the amount of fast food in your diet and increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you include in your diet. Include items such as carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, apple, oranges, peaches and blueberries with your daily lunch break. Items high in fiber should be included with breakfast and lunch. Use high fiber bread for your morning toast and your lunch-time sandwich. You could kidney beans and green beans into your soup. Reduce the amount of red meat you eat and replace it with seafood such as sole or salmon,

    The are many changes you can make in your daily routine to lose weight and become healthier, This means coming up with a plan and implementing it, So make your place pick a day to start. There are many excellent resources on the internet that can help you with this. But remember you need to stick to the plan.

    Best Regards

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    Source by Paul Luciw

    Views: 0

  • Learn How to Cultivate Self-Discipline As a Success Mindset

    Learn How to Cultivate Self-Discipline As a Success Mindset

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    Do you understand the connection between what you think and the success you experience, or do not experience, in your job or career? If you could learn to discipline your thoughts towards an attitude of success, do you believe it is possible you could in turn become successful?

    There is a well-known phrase that talks about the importance of working smarter and while there are many interpretations of what it can mean, overall it is meant to emphasize the benefits of being focused, disciplined, and working hard. Hard work is the backbone of any career but over time, and when routine work habits are established and set in, the effort that a person exerts may become conditionally based. It could be due to a person’s perception of a “bad” boss, poor working conditions, not receiving a pay increase or recognition for their effort, and the list continues. While there may certainly be merit to these feelings, it serves no real purpose to make working hard a conditional characteristic of your job performance.

    If you care about your career development then working hard needs to be a top priority every day. However, hard work may seem unjustified if a person’s expectations are not being met and that is where self-discipline comes into play. It is a matter of always being in control of your performance and responsible for the quality of your work. It also involves making a commitment to yourself and your career, one that is not dependent upon circumstances or influenced by circumstance no matter how challenging it may seem at the time. This will allow you to become disciplined and know that your best performance depends upon consistent effort, which establishes a mindset of career success.

    Why Self-Discipline Matters

    The development of a disciplined mindset allows you and your job performance to shine; whereas, the lack of intentional discipline sets you up for failure. Self-discipline is based upon a logical and rational perspective, is focused on being in control, and prompts the use of productive work habits. It is proactive with regards to job duties and career development, and it requires concentrated effort rather than striving to achieve absolute perfection.

    Without self-discipline a person is more likely to be impulsive and unfocused, act based upon emotional responses, and be reactive to circumstances. It is easy to begin to work on becoming self-disciplined, whether or not it is a habit now, if you start by establishing an intention and make it a goal to perform your best at all times. It does not require prolonged struggle, only career goals. You can make choices based upon what is best for your job and/or career. Self-discipline involves maintaining control over your attitude, mindset, emotions, and thoughts at all times.

    Discipline and Doing Your Best

    Your job has a specific description, or at least an expectation of what it is you are supposed to accomplish. Over time, and as you become familiar with the daily tasks, you can determine what the minimum amount of effort is needed to complete the required duties and that may be enough for you to feel good when the workday ends. Then there are circumstances that influence the amount of effort you put in. There may be too much work, an upcoming deadline, or person in authority who is pressuring you to take on more work. You may willingly or grudgingly do more as requested; however, when you stop to consider this job do you realize it is your career at stake?

    The attitude you develop about your job will also influence the attitude you have about your career development and progress. If your job performance involves putting in the minimal effort it is usually accompanied by feelings of job dissatisfaction and that may create a negative mindset about your career. It means you view your effort from the perspective of what you get from the job rather than what you can gain from it in the long term. When you are disciplined you maintain behaviors and an attitude that bolsters your daily productivity, which also provides you with the confidence needed to excel even when circumstances are less than perfect.

    Learn to Develop Purposeful Intent

    How do you feel good about a job and maintain that attitude, even when circumstances cause you to dislike it? You cannot force yourself to feel positive emotions when there are events or people who prompt negativity or feelings of frustration. What you can do is to change your perspective and that is where self-discipline matters. You can decide that you are going to feel good about yourself as a professional or as an employee despite the current conditions and anchor it to a position statement that is focused on your career goals. This allows you to create a disciplined mindset with purposeful intent and focus.

    Your career is a series of steps and progress will occur over time and for some it will be accomplished through more than one position or job. At the heart of this is you as a person, and it is you who has an ability to learn and grow. With purposeful intent you can view each job as a stepping stone, which provides skills, knowledge, and direction. If one job does not meet your expectations or provides difficult conditions to work in, itemize what you have gained from it, list this information on your resume, and decide upon your next step. But no matter what, always make certain you have a disciplined focus or you will venture off course in your job and career plans.

    Consider How an Employer Views Your Disposition

    Consider for a moment that you are a hiring manager. What is the type of candidate you would consider hiring, if you were looking at more than the job description? Is it someone whose tone displays obvious frustration and does not seem to have much to say that is positive about their current employer or existing job? That is not a likely candidate for an employer based upon their attitude alone.

    Now consider a candidate who comes along and has a professional presence, demonstrates a clear understanding of their career path or goals, and can articulate what they have gained from each of the jobs they’ve held throughout their career. That is a candidate who will likely gain your interest, even if they are not considered for the position, because they have demonstrated a disciplined mindset.

    The point of reviewing these scenarios is to show the contrast between someone who possesses an underlying feeling of career helplessness or career control, which also demonstrates the difference between a disciplined and undisciplined mindset. If would like to be the candidate who is likely to get hired, establish a goal to be highly disciplined and productive.

    Your disposition will carry over into the tone you convey when you speak with potential employers, along with your overall attitude about career development. As a professional resume writer I can spot a person’s disposition through their choice of words and how they describe their jobs when I talk to them. Someone who is disciplined and views all jobs as a learning experience has self-confidence about who they are and the talents they possess, regardless of job conditions or circumstances.

    How to Develop Self-Discipline and Focus

    Career Planning: You can begin to develop a hard-working, self-disciplined mindset right now by first examining your career plans. If you cannot articulate the specifics of your career, now is the time to get started. At the very least, decide upon a short-term and a long-term career goal. This will give you a sense of direction, one that can help you find what can be learned instead of focusing on existing working conditions.

    The purpose of developing a career plan is to provide you with an ability to create purposeful intent. When you walk into the workplace each day you can remind yourself you are able to learn from any situation, even if what you learn is that you are no longer growing or moving forward in your career.

    Learning and Growth: An important component of a disciplined mindset is maximizing your learning and growth potential. If you have developed a productive working relationship with your supervisor or manager, ask them if there is more that you can do. For example, perhaps you can take on an extra project that is based upon a departmental or business need. To some people this may seem to be counter-intuitive and an attempt to become the “teacher’s pet” – or some other type of negative phrasing.

    If you are asking from a perspective of having a genuine interest and seeking professional development, and the need is recognized, this will create a feeling of accomplishment within you. As you continue to work hard you may even extend the timeline that you work for this particular employer. You will also likely be viewed as valuable employee, although the ability to remain disciplined will matter most in the long term for your career.

    Self-Discipline as a Success Mindset

    Becoming disciplined can have a variety of descriptions, including working hard, attaining maximum productivity, or maintaining a focus on what must be accomplished every day. The most meaningful correlation between a focused mindset and effort is the development of peak performance. This working definition speaks to the heart of what working to the very best of your abilities should mean. It is striving to maximize your performance with your current skills and abilities while being open to learning and development, and putting in more than the minimum effort required.

    There are going to be times when you aren’t at the top of your game and that is certainly understandable. There will be some days that you find yourself working to the very best of your abilities and other days that find you putting in the best effort possible. The importance of being disciplined means that you do not allow job conditions be the reason why you are not functioning at peak productivity; whether there are new policies to adapt to, additional demands made of your job, or other circumstances.

    You can always be in control of your actions and strive for peak performance as a matter of your career development. Learn to develop self-discipline as a mindset and attitude about how you work every day and watch your career continue to evolve as this sense of self is reflected in the outcomes you experience, both personally and professionally. The most effective way to be in control of your career and establish a pattern of success is to control how you think and how you work. Self-discipline is a productive state of mind and focused attitude that you can implement starting now. When your attitude is honed on performing your best, you will find yourself mentally resistant to adverse conditions and ready for new career opportunities. You are mentally disciplined and both you and your career are transformed.

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    Source by Dr. Bruce A. Johnson

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  • My Husband Says He Doesn’t Care If I Stay Or Leave

    My Husband Says He Doesn’t Care If I Stay Or Leave

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    I sometimes hear from wives who have been telling their husband that they are considering leaving the home or the marriage. Some are sincere about this. They are unhappy and feel that taking a break by leaving may be the best thing at the time. Others are not exactly serious about leaving. They are threatening to leave in the hopes that their husband will ask them not to (or they will at least get a reaction out of him to show that he still cares.)

    Unfortunately, sometimes this backfires. The wife will announce her intention to leave and hope that her husband will try to stop her (or at the very least ask her not to leave.) Instead, her husband will tell her that he really doesn’t care if she stays or goes. This leaves her unsure of how to proceed. Does she go when she really doesn’t want to in order to save face or make a point? Or does she cave and simply tell him that she changed her mind? And what does her husband’s indifference say about the state of her marriage or her ability to save it?

    She might say, “my husband and I have been fighting pretty badly for almost four months. Things are definitely not happy at home. For a while, my husband was apartment hunting and was telling me that he was going to move out, but he never actually did. Still, he complained constantly. I got tired of hearing him complain all of the time, so I told him that I was going to leave so he wouldn’t have to be so unhappy. Now, I’m going to be honest. I really hoped that he would confess that he really doesn’t want for us to live apart, which is why he hadn’t actually signed a lease or moved out yet. Instead, his exact words to me were: ‘I really don’t care if you stay or go.’ He just sort of shrugged his shoulders and said that nothing really changes between us no matter what we do. Now, I am unsure about how to proceed. This hurts me. I had hoped that his not moving out meant that he was willing to save our marriage, but now he acts as if he is indifferent as to whether we live together or not. I don’t want to pack my stuff and leave, but what do I even say now? How do I avoid not having to leave my house? Do I just have to admit that I gambled and lost and that my marriage is over?”

    I don’t think so. If everyone who ever threatened to leave their marriage ended up divorced, the divorce rate would be much higher than it actually is. Many couples make these sorts of threats in the heat of the moment and nothing actually comes of them. The threats are understandable. They are usually made because things are bad, but nothing is changing. So one of the spouses decides to shake things up by threatening to leave. The hope is the other spouse will beg them not to go and will have to craft a plan to make things better. Frankly, your husband might have done exactly the same thing when he threatened to leave previously. He did not make good on the threat and I don’t believe that you have to, either, especially if you really don’t want to go.

    However, it goes without saying that in order for both of you to want to stay put, you’re going to need to dig in and really improve your marriage so that one or both of you do not get so frustrated that you just give up. I think it would be helpful if you could clear the air, if possible, so that you both know that no one is going anywhere immediately. Because if the living situation is up in the air, it becomes harder to commit to doing the work necessary to save your marriage. If you doubt that your spouse will stick around and work with you, there can be some uncertainty, which could hurt your progress. So you might try something like, “well, you may not care if I leave or stay, but I have decided that I care very much. I have calmed down and thought about it and, if I’m being honest, I really don’t want to leave. I said that I did because I was frustrated and didn’t know how to fix this. But I think of instead of us both getting angry and threatening to leave, we could turn our energy toward making things better between us so that no one has to go. I’d prefer not to leave and live alone. I am hopeful that if we work together, neither of us will need to live alone.”

    Yes, saying this will make you feel vulnerable, may feel awkward, and requires that you are the bigger person. But it will hopefully buy you some time. After you have cleared the air, hopefully no one will need to threaten to leave in the hopes that the other will ask them not to go. Because in essence, you will have accomplished what you are both hoping for – the reassurance that with work, no one will have to leave, because no one really wants to separate.

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    Source by Leslie Cane

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