Life of purpose

  The way you begin your day often determines the quality of the day. For this reason, throughout my adult Christian life, I’ve tried to spend some time focused on the God I love and trust. It truly does make a difference. I often encounter people, however, who want to begin a daily quiet time, but they aren’t sure how. They’ve perhaps tried before, but it didn’t last. It really isn’t as complicated as we often make it out to be. The main thing is simply to do something, but in case you are one of those still wanting to but not sure how, let me offer a few suggestions. Here are 5 easy steps to begin a daily quiet time: Find the right place Pick a place where you’ll be everyday for your quiet time. Obviously, if you travel frequently this is more difficult, but the more routine you can make this the better. It should be as free of distractions as possible. This place will soon become very comfortable to you. I realize too, you may feel your life is too busy. I get it – I’ve li...

When I was young, like most teenagers, I could be brash and blunt with little wisdom to guide my words. One particular night, I was out with a group of friends (guys and girls) when a female friend and I started to make fun of each other. The verbal jousting quickly got competitive, even heated. Finally I said something regrettably cutting, hurtful, and humiliating towards her. What I said is unimportant, but immediately after saying it, I wanted to grab it all back. The worst part about it was that before I said it, I thought about it, calculated its impact, and even then, I still said it. I cared more about winning than I did about her at that moment. Thinking about her running out of the room crying still makes my stomach sink. Words have a powerful impact, particularly in relationships. In marriage, the impact is even deeper because of the level of intimacy. Words are released at close range by the person in life whose opinion matters most. In the midst of a disagreement, we ...

We live in a time in history when it seems that happiness and personal fulfillment are the goals of every endeavor. When people are faced with challenges in life or marriage, the first question they often ask is: "What will make me the happiest?" If your job is not bringing you happiness, then quit. If your marriage is not making you happy, then you owe it to yourself to get a divorce. But there is a trap in this thinking that many of us never see; we focus on being happy more than we do on God's design for us. God designed us to live for Him and to live for others. When we are driven merely by happiness and self-fulfillment, we bring destructive behaviors and consequences into our lives and relationships. There is no place this is truer than in marriage. God wants your marriage relationship to make you and your wife more like Him. God wants to use your marriage to help make you not just happy but, more importantly, holy. As we learn to embrace God's plan for marri...

  It takes money to have fun in college, and it’s no secret that tuition and costs go up every year. But with classes scattered throughout the day and even at night, how can you add a job? That’s why more and more college students are opting to go into starting their own business to fit their skills and limited time. Here are 9 business ideas that cost little-to-no money that you can build while you’re still in college. 1. Residential cleaning service Image credit: heshphoto | Getty Images Startup costs: up to $50 In search of a part-time job that caters to your busy class schedule? A residential cleaning service can be a viable option. In 2009, 21-year-old Kristen Hadeed posted an online ad offering residential cleaning services. After successfully cleaning her first home, Hadeed was able to build her network of clients solely off referrals. “With cleaning, it’s a trust thing. When you trust someone, they’ll refer you,” explains Hadeed. Cleaning homes granted Hadeed the...

 One of the most important tasks of a leader is to identify potential new leaders. If a church or organization is to grow, finding new leaders is critical. Equally vital is the quality of leaders being discovered. Good leaders learn to look for qualities in people which are conducive to good leadership. If you want to have a culture which reproduces leaders, read THIS POST first. But, where do you find these people who can be future servant leaders? I find it helps to look for certain qualities, which all good leaders need or qualities which, consistently over time, seem to make good leaders. Of course, in context of the church, the Bible gives us clear guidance in selecting senior leaders (who will hopefully also be servants). But, my church is always in need of new servant leaders – from the parking lot to the hallways every Sunday. Where do we find a continual pool of new leaders? The following are traits I look for in leaders I hope to develop or with whom I want to work. ...

10 Best Practices for Making a Good Impression Do you want people to like you? Then make sure you do these things when you’re with them. Admit it: You judge people. Whether it’s the new guy in the cubicle next to you, the girl you always see on the phone in the hallway or the person at the coffee counter, we attach a fast glimpse at someone’s behavior to an impression, good or bad. And you’re lying to yourself if you think other people aren’t doing the same to you. So what do other people think of you ? Do they like you as soon as they meet you? We asked the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), “What is your No. 1 tip for making a great impression?” Here are their suggestions… and we suggest you try them: 1. Smile. Simply smiling can be one of the best ways to make a good impression on anyone. If you enter a situation without one, it could put a negative impression on a potentially difficult situation. And smiling just makes you feel happier and releases bad emotions. —John Rampto...

7 Ways to Earn and Keep Respect as a Husband I have written before about a man’s greatest need. It’s respect. We may not even admit it out loud, but I’d say it’s true most every time. You may even use another word – perhaps even the word love, but I suspect if we could trace how you’d prefer it be demonstrated to you we could easily translate it to respect. The song says “All you need is love”, but it’s not exactly true, is it? We need respect. It’s a man’s greatest need. I’m convinced. If I’m right – (And, I always wonder why else God would command it in Ephesians 5?) – then it makes sense you’d want to earn it and if you ever received it you’d want to do your best to keep it. How can you? Let me share a few suggestions. Here are 7 ways for a husband to earn and keep respect: Defend the family. Most every wife I know wants a husband who will defend the family. This not just against the bumps in the night, but against the blatant and subtle attacks against the family. Turn ...

5 Reasons It's OK To Cut Someone Out Of Your Life by T d jakes You've heard it said, "Everything happens for a reason." This simple concept not only applies to love and career, but it also speaks to our everyday relationships. Each person that has come into our life, whether for a period of days or years, arrived along our path to serve a purpose. Many times, we don't fully grasp when circumstances change and an individual no longer adds value to our lives. Most people have difficulty figuring out what to do once they realize this. While it may seem somewhat harsh or insensitive to break ties, it is perfectly fine, and in fact, very healthy to cut people off. Here are a few simple signs that it’s time to let someone go. 1. When You Are No Longer Happy To See Or Be Around Them If their presence becomes unsettling to your spirit, don’t ignore the signs. Your instincts only pick up on the truth and seek to guide you accordingly. There comes a time when things –...

5 Strategies for Overcoming Conflict Aand why avoiding conflict isn’t the solution. by Les Brown Speaker Les Brown says it’s time to stop avoiding conflict and instead look for ways to conflict more effectively. Here are some tips for resolving conflict in your workplace and professional life. 1. Don’t be afraid of conflict. Too many of us become agitated when we encounter conflict or disagreement out of concern and fear. It’s odd when you think about it because conflict is a part of nature, a part of life, and unless you are a hermit, odds are that it’s inescapable. You need to approach conflict calmly, as an expected part of dealing with others. Consider conflict as a way of learning to see things in a more clear way. 2. Abandon the concept of winning and losing when faced with conflict. Instead, adopt a strategy of resolution. Unless you are on a battlefield, chances are the person you come into conflict with is not the enemy, but instead someone whose goals are generally the...

No Reason To Be Broke! Twenty-Two Proven Ways To Make Money While You Are Asleep! Making money while you sleep. Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? David Bailey said “To get rich, you have to be making money while you’re asleep.” After reading books like “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and “4 Hour Work Week,” I became obsessed with making passive income Whenever someone needs additional income, the stereotypical suggestion offered is to “get a part-time job.” But what if you don’t have the time or energy to put in all those extra hours? I know I didn’t. Plus that wasn’t as appealing as making money while I was trading time for money. For that, you may need some passive income ideas — ways to make money with little investment of time and effort on your part. Here’s a list of quite a few passive income ideas, so it’s likely that you’ll be able to find at least two or three that will work in your situation. Earn interest on safe investments. 1. Try out index funds. Index funds provide y...

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY IF YOU EAT AVOCADOS REGULARLY! The avocado is believed to have originated in Puebla, Mexico. The oldest evidence of the avocado was found in a cave in Puebla, Mexico and dates back to around 10,000 BC. Native to Mexico and Central America, the avocado is classified in the same family as camphor and cinnamon. An avocado is botanically, a large berry that grows on a tree that can reach 6 feet tall. Just like a banana, the avocado ripens 1-2 weeks after being picked. Avocados are often referred to as the healthiest food due to its impressive nutritional value. An avocado contains these vitamins and minerals: Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B3 Vitamin B5 Vitamin B6 Vitamin B9 Vitamin C Vitamin E Vitamin K Calcium Iron Magnesium Manganese Phosphorus Sodium Zinc •An avocado contains more potassium than a banana. Avocados have 14% and a banana contains 10% potassium. •Folate for your hearts health. Avocados have 23% folate which lowers in...

If I Could Do One Thing Over A lot of people these days are professional worriers. They can multi-task: worry while taking a shower, worry while brushing their teeth, worry driving to work. It's easy to wake up in the middle of the night and find something to worry about. I wonder how many things you're worried about that are never going to come to pass? Somebody asked me if I could do anything over again, what would I do differently? I told them I would trust God more. I wouldn't lose sleep worried about the budgets, or worried if I was able to minister, or worried if people are going to like me. None of that worrying helped me to move one inch forward. When I look back over my life, most of the things I worried about never came to pass. I wasted a lot of time and energy being uptight. Remember this: worry is a thief. It will rob you of your sleep at night. It will rob you of your joy and your creativity. It's hard to make good decisions when you're worried. If...

You know that eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are important habits for a healthy heart . But did you know that you could still be undermining all your efforts with some surprisingly common bad habits? “A number of activities that people don’t think twice about can have a negative impact on heart health,” says Kevin R. Campbell, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist at North Carolina Heart and Vascular, UNC Health Care in Raleigh. Check out this list of heart-damaging habits to see if it’s time to make changes to your routine: 1. Sitting All Day Compared to people with an active lifestyle, those who don’t move enough and tend to sit for five hours or more each day have double the risk for heart failure, according to a study published in January 2014 in the American Heart Association (AHA) journal Circulation: Heart Failure . If your job requires sitting at a desk all day, get up and take a five-minute walk every hour. This small tweak in your routine can keep your arteri...

The Worst Government In The History Of Nigeria ( 2 ) – Femi Aribisala Jun 8 , 2016 George Santayana says: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it . ” If Nigerians were not so forgetful , we would not now be saddled with the burdensome presidency of Muhammadu Buhari In his first coming as military head - of - state in 1984 , Buhari took Nigeria ’s economy from bad to worse . Under him , our national debt rose from $ 14 billion to $ 18 billion in less than two years , with the result that Nigeria was no longer able to meet its financial obligations to global bankers . We had to queue for essential commodities , such as bread and milk , which were hard to find . Raw materials and spare parts needed to keep factories running were scarce . Rather than create jobs , tens of thousands of workers lost their jobs. Inflation rose to the astronomical level of 40 percent . When Buhari seized power, Nigeria ’ s GDP was $ 444 . When he was overthrown in 1985 , Nigeria ’ ...

Donald Trump Reflects on His Relationship With Muhammad Ali Donald J. Trump accepts an award from Muhammad Ali in 2007 at Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XIII in Phoenix, Ariz. JEFF CHIU / ASSOCIATED PRESS By STEVE EDER As he reflected on Saturday on  the death of Muhammad Ali ,  Donald J. Trump  gushed, calling him a “terrific guy,” “so generous,” and an “amazing poet.” “He was two people,” Mr. Trump said of Ali in an interview. “In the ring, he was fierce, and outside of the ring, he was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.” The presumptive Republican nominee’s kind words were not just an obligatory salute to an iconic figure. The two men had been friendly for many years, dating back at least to the 1980s. Ali attended Mr. Trump’s 2005 wedding to Melania Knauss in Palm Beach, Fla., and Mr. Trump appeared at Ali’s charity events. Late last year, though, there appeared to be a chill in their mutual admiration after Ali issued...