June 23, 2015

Talents, Blessings and Skills - Oh My!!

So you're sitting there, at work..... at home..... or at church and you hear a co-worker or a preacher or a commercial talking about their skills, or maybe the blessings they've received or maybe how a person is talented at something.

Have you thought about the fact that YOU are talented, have and can be a blessing and that your skills are God-given?  It's true!  But so many times, we overlook or don't give ourselves enough credit that God is in control and has placed these talents/blessings/skills in our persona/dna/being.  As a generalized statement, when we say someone is talented - we mean that they have possibly spent hour after hour working to perfect a skill, such as playing a sport or a musical instrument.  If they are not a "professional" utilizing this ability, then we might say they are skilled at that ability.  We generally think of blessings in the sense that it is a blessing to have received or given something from/to someone, usually material in nature, not action.

I am here to say - WE ALL HAVE TALENTS and SKILLS and God can call these BLESSINGS!  I said it in the first post and I am saying it again now because SO MANY people ignore that God has a PURPOSE FOR THEIR LIFE!

Generally, the issue becomes - do we let others know or more importantly, DO WE SHARE/UTILIZE OUR TALENTS/SKILLS WITH THOSE AROUND US OR IN NEED?!  Again, I ask - Do we bury our talents or do we invest them and allow them to grow?

So, let's look at this a little closer.  Talents can be the ability to cook, build, clean, provide comfort, organize, drive...  Skills can be the same thing, but maybe include a little additional work - writing, singing, welding, hunting....  Blessings, ahh, the one that gets us!  All that I mentioned previously are Blessings - something that can be shared with those around us that may be in need, thereby a blessing to the person(s) that receive the resulting product.

I have rambled on, but know that this is will be brought up again as it may be one of the most hidden and overlooked areas that GOD has put in our lives that we often choose to ignore.

May you have a blessed and bountiful day!

Charging into the future Part 6 - "Other"!

June 9, 2015

OTHER!

This topic will be open and random.  If there is anything you would like to see discussed here, please feel free to comment.  I, however, have the right of not responding to the request.  Also, my views and opinions are mine, therefore I will not engage in "argumentative" discussions.  I believe we all have the right to "agree to disagree" regarding topics that may be deemed controversial.

Random things:

Summer is about here, be sure to wear sunscreen when outdoors!  Stay hydrated!

When swimming in natural water areas, be sure to not drink any of the water - never know what bacteria is lurking in them.

While out driving, sing out loud and smile at all the cars that pass you!


Have a great week!!

Charging into the future Part 5 - Family!

June 1, 2015

FAMILY

We all have them, some more than others, and sadly some, are possibly the last of their family.

We have different types of family - family family, school family, work family, social family and church family, just to name a few.  Some people, like myself, have multiple family families.  No matter what type of family, they all have one underlying thread - a common bond - whether it be our last name, our same school, our same civic group or our same church affiliation - we can and should belong somewhere.  It is vital to our well-being.  Even on the television show "Cheers", about a bar in Boston - the theme song stated, "...a place where everybody knows your name..."

The family should always be the strongest supporter of its family members - just like big

Thanks to myenglishpages.com

brother protecting little sister or elders looking after the church membership or a supervisor looking out for their direct reports.  That common bond is the thread that behaves like superglue - it is what holds us together even though we might see things differently.





I hope to have more posts regarding how families interact and possibly even some things about my own family.  I don't believe any of this information will be of the cosmic level, but hope that my perspective my get the audience to think about the topic.

Charging into the future Part 4 - Health and Fitness!

May 26, 2015

Health and Fitness!

God tells us in The Bible, that:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Therefore, we should only put good and wholesome things into our bodies.  While I am nowhere close to following this advice, it is a goal I am striving for.  That is the cool part about God - HE LOVES US!  He knows that we sin and is willing to forgive us those sins.

Part of my efforts to work towards having a healthy body is doing Crossfit at a local fitness location.  I do a rowing class two times a week and a WOD five times a week, taking Wednesday and Sunday's off to allow my body to recover.  While I am not the fittest one in the group, the folks that are there encourage me to do my best and to give it my all.  I hope to include comments about my training in future blog posts.

Currently, I have 3 goals that I am working on - 1) to do a pull up by the end of May 2015 (update - I can do more than 1 now!) 2) to be able to run a mile in 8 minutes or less by the end of September 2015 (still working on) and 3) to be able to bench press my current body weight (220lbs) by the end of December 2015 (currently able to do 145).  I have some good goals, I believe, set and ones that I can accomplish.  Part of setting goals when related to fitness, is to be reasonable and not to set such lofty goals that you end up getting frustrated and quitting.

My family also believes and sells a line of products called Shaklee!  The links in the pic do not work, but go to http:\\www.shaklee.com and you will be able to obtain additional information.  We are believers in this high-quality product.

If you are interested in purchasing, please let me know so we can get the credit.

We can count on one hand, the number of times they were sick and they are both now in high school and beyond.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will respond.

www.shaklee.com

Have a great day!

Charging into the future Part 3 - Story-Telling!

MAY 19, 2015

Story-Telling

Do you like telling stories?  While I am not a great story teller, I enjoy making up stories on the fly.  Generally, I like telling stories to young children that also have a lesson in them.  There are hundreds of stories in this genre out there already, but it amazes me that there is always room for more.  In the past, I have used woodland creatures, but have an idea that encompasses all animals, and no, it is not about the ark.

In the blog, I hope to write about books that I am working on and to share ideas for books looking for feedback from my viewers.  I am excited for this hobby to take root and flourish.

A friend of mine, Jeff Patrick, is also a writer and has published a series of books.  Learn more at http://www.jeffpatrickbooks.com/

Charging into the future Part 2 - Travel!

MAY 12, 2015

Travel

I don't know about you, but I like seeing new places, meeting new people and seeing different cultures.  Their history, their lifestyles, their food, their activities.  As Americans, we feel like we have the best lives, and in relation to most of the world, from a monetary stand point, we probably do.  But life isn't just about money.  There is so much more out there.  While the only travel I have done outside the USA has been to Canada and to Mexico, there is so much more I would like to see and let people know about.

OPPORTUNITY PLUG - I am a freelance writer and a top Tripadvisor.com contributor, so if you would like an everyday persons review of your facility, activities, food-stuffs, please feel free to contact me.

My goal is to provide information about locations from the perspective of an "everyday" citizen.  I strive to provide accurate information from a common sense standpoint.  The goods, the bads and anything else that helps to make an informed decision.  I would not be considered a business class traveler, but I do have to travel for business.  This has taken me to all parts of the SW United States to date.  I have been all over Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.  Personally, I have also traveled to Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

Anywhere I travel, I try to post reviews in TripAdvisor.  I will make every attempt to post my reviews here also.

Borrowed from whereintheworldcanyougo.com website

Charging into the future Part 1 - Talents!

Image from Internet site HealthyThoughts.in

May 7, 2015

As I am new to blogging, I shall be open to suggestions and/or comments from those of you who stop by as to the format and content.

Most pics will be grabbed off the internet and I will do what I can to give credit where credit is due and include what details I can, where appropriate.


As mentioned in the previous post, I believe I will stick to the following areas and the ideas included with them:  Talents, Travel, Story-Telling, Health and Fitness, Family and "Other".  Today, I will start with Talents.  I will post the others in the near future. 

Talents

We all have God-given talents - those things that we are good at/enjoy doing - teaching, talking, cooking, sewing, woodworking, mechanic, baby-sitting, coaching, listening, advising, writing, leading....  God related this concept in the Bible:

Matthew 25:14-35New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The bags of gold are our "Talents".  If we choose to allow God to work in our life, then our talents will multiply and consequently, our lives will be more fruitful to Him and as a result, we have a better life.  Discussions of what our talents are and how to use them will follow.

Internet image via www.unknownmami.com