You reap what you sow (Gal. 6:18)
why are you surprised when
you are lukewarm
apathetic
bitter
…

Others reap what you sow (Jn. 4:37)
why are you surprised when
they are lukewarm
apathetic
bitter
…

————————

READING: Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
LISTENING TO: Absence by Paper Route

Alpines can be sown from seed now: They need a period of cold to break the seed dormancy.

Somehow, I ended up on the e-mail list for Breakthrough with Pastor Rod Parsley.  Again.

I distinctly remember unsubscribing from that e-mail list earlier this year.  After all, why would I want to receive e-mail from an organization  I disagree with on almost every point. But once again, the e-mails are coming in and I think I know why.

According to the last e-mail I received from them, they are in a financial crisis.  They need $3 million dollars by the end of the year or they are going to close their doors forever.  Maybe.

And because of this, I am back on their mailing list so that I can “please give [my] very best seed faith gift.”

Now personally, I don’t support this ministry because of the distortion of the Scriptures they teach called the Prosperity Gospel. It goes something like this:  If I “sow a seed of faith” to their ministry and support them right now, God will give me back that “seed of faith” ten-fold, or twenty-fold, or fifty-fold or even a hundred-fold.  That means that I am not really supporting the ministry so much as I am investing in God’s stock market and it is about to go through the roof.  For every hundred dollars I invest, I will get back up to ten thousand dollars.

And God has to do this, or else He is a liar.

That’s the part that really bothers me.  Here is the created being calling his Sovereign Creator a liar because he doesn’t know how to read the Bible in context without adding his own ideas to it.

But God is sovereign and He controls all of His creation, including the words that go out in the e-mail asking me to support Breakthrough.  Here is what the e-mail says about the promise of God that they are claiming.   I have not altered this, I simply copied and pasted it as it was.

In this time of great crisis I need you to stand with me by sowing the very best seed faith love offering you can. And God makes this promise to you, “I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it,” says the LORD Almighty.

The Lord has spoken!!!  He will NOT throw open the floodgates of heaven if you sow a seed to this ministry.

That’s hilarious.  And a bit sobering.

We live in an age where people claim to speak for the Lord, but His Word is complete in the Bible.  Always look to the Scriptures to see if a man speaks for God or for himself.  If what he says is true, it will line up with the truth of the Bible.  If not, he is a false teacher and we need to identify him as such.

Pray for this man and this ministry.  God is powerful enough to reach down and take hold of this ministry and use it for His glory.  Pray that this time of crisis would be used to bring that about.

Hey everyone! One more day to go until its TGIF! While you’re counting down the hours until the weekend comes, check out this new post. Oh and as always commentary is always appreciated. Also, I might not be able to post tomorrow as I have an important engagement tomorrow, but I will be back on Monday if I don’t post tomorrow. “What goes around comes around, “you reap what you sow, “payback is a mutha—–” and so on, you get where I’m going. I’m talking about karma. There is a growing constituent in the society of today that is in my opinion self agenda driven, selfish at times and often on the minds of many, is their own agenda without the thought of how it affects others. This is seen through actions of people such as those involved in the Madoff scandal, the people whom vandalize religious symbols and places of worship, the people who mistreat and abuse children and countless other miscreants not deserving of mention. They get caught in the act and then all of a sudden they have remorse in their hearts when all they are truly sorry for is that they got caught. I’m not bitter or anything about this, but this is something that is quite disturbing to anyone of sound values when they consider this. I believe karma is universal regardless of whatever spiritual/religious beliefs one may have. It doesn’t come immediately all the time but it definitely makes its appearance at some point in time. So, my question to y’all is karma real or just something someone made up to keep society in line out of fear of a crazy, out of control society?

Islands – Vapours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A00-Iz_xoVk

some easy listening to suit my current nannahood – kc

Hello people! I hope your weekend went well a mines was pretty much typical and okay to say the least. Anyway, It’s Monday and I’m back with another question for the masses. Over the weekend myself, like many others were bombarded by the whole Tiger Woods(cheetah woods LMAO) cheating scandal news coverage. They talked about the prenuptial agreement, to the 4 women that all claim that he messed around with them. SMH. I don’t feel sorry for the dude as  we reap what we sow but at the same time I’m more than sure he didn’t see this one coming a mile away especially as a result of a minor car accident. Nowadays, this subject has come up on many occasions with people from different walks of life like the late Steve McNair, that governor from South Carolina and I’m sure you’ve all heard your fair share of stories from people that you may know yourself. These stories are quite entertaining without a shadow of a doubt, but at what cost to people’s perception of being true to the one you love and the value of simply doing the right thing? So my question is this, do you think Love and staying faithful to the one you’re with is still possible  these days or has everyone gone off the deep end cheating is a sign of the times? Comments are appreciated.

1 lap

Miata vs. Elise @ Streets of Willow Springs

photo by alex romo

>:3

~chean

Gas Leak Not What They Thought

Emergency responders in southern Australia rushed to a farm after reports of a gas leak.

More than a dozen firefighters and two trucks answered the call.

Fire Captain Peter Harkins recounts pulling onto the property and seeing a 250 lbs. sow, “…It was very obvious where the gas was coming from…We could not only smell it, but we heard it and it was quite funny.”

The farmer was mortified, and the fire crew tried to keep it professional until they got back to the station.

明後日11月26日（木曜日）は
SAWAGI主催パーティー” Parabola “に出演させていただきます。
グリーンレーザー×2のシンプルセット。SUNSUIではビームが強すぎる気もしてるが…

まぁ..別にいいでしょう。バンドものは時間が短いからインパクト重視でOKかと。それよりも平日なのでオープンまでに仕込みに行けるかが問題。

月一恒例行事らしいけど、来月はお休みのようで。2009最後の” Parabola “。
現場で友達居なくて寂しいので、是非皆様お越し下さいませ！

来年はSUNSUI脱出しよーぜ。

★★１１月２６日(木)★★

@鰻谷sunsui

19：30〜

Sawagi presents ” Parabola ”

LIVE：
Sawagi
K-106

DJ：
MATSUMOTO HISATAAKAA (VINYL7 RECORDS)
moonie man a.k.a FUNKY MIC (韻シスト/MMGSK)
社長 (WARAJI)
迷路 a.k.a 装苑

VJ：Spica Design

SPACE LASER：SENCE OF WONDER (SPECTRUM)

PHOTO：K.NITTA

FOOD：Nackle

DESSERT：Miw

GIRL：ALOHA（colorful cooking monoe/CULTURE CLUB）

SHOP：FUSS UPERS

ADV. 1500YEN ( DRINK代別 )
DOOR. 2000YEN ( DRINK代別 )

IBIZA original version
SAWAGI

SPECTRUM@ROCKETS 無事に終了。
ROMAN FLUGEL「今年いちばんのパーティーだ！」とのコメント。ご機嫌で帰って行ったみたい。
まぁ嘘でも嬉しいものです。

ROCKETSにはまたご迷惑掛けてしまったけど…まあ痛み分けってことで。
そんなに悪いイメージはなかったと思うよー。多分..。

mind-bendingクルーをはじめ、快く機材を貸してくれた..世界の山ちゃん aka ロボ山本さん、ケンゾー君、J de 犬にゃんにゃん女史、ダッチさん。 ありがとうございました！ + ODAくん..不甲斐なくて申し訳ないです…。どうか見捨てず、またよろしくお願いします！

ヒーローはいつの間にか居なくなってたけど…
おかげさまでREE-Kさんとも緊張することなく話ができました。どうも。
翌日の試験はうまくいったのか..？

グッチさん、見事に遅刻かましてくれました。
しかも終盤寝てるし。おかげで後半まぁまぁしんどかった。
撤収時には復活してくれて助かりました。その後僕は信号無視で捕まったのだけど＠長堀。

モチさん
遠路はるばるありがとうございました。
相変わらずの図太い低音に感激しました。ライブ以降からようやくパーティーっぽくなってきたような気がしましたわ。これやで！って感じで。
どうでもいいんですけどFL使ってるんですねー。今回初めて気付きました。フックアップ！

TEZさん
毎度。ありがとうございました。来月もROCKETSですね。

コイチ君 aka SAWAGI
わざわざ来てくれて感謝です！
次は11/26木曜日@SUNSUIやね！！盛り上がっていきましょー！！！！

最後にLoeさん、前半から最低のカラミをみせてくれたね。
想定外のめんどくささに、俺ちょっと泣きそうだったわ。。。冗談やで。
お疲れ様でした。
中村女史がすごい写真撮ってたで。ヒル教授ライクでウェブにはとてもアップできないけど。

ROMAN FLUGEL

ROMAN FLUGEL

REE-K

FLOOR

A.MOCHI

次回はいつになるのか全く不明ですが、2010でスペクトラムは10周年です。
ひとつの区切りには丁度良いタイミングかも知れないし。ぱーっとやっても良いかもね。
GODAプレゼンツで。

なんしか皆様に感謝です。ありがとう！

幕張から帰ってきました。
カチカチの床を歩き回っていたせいで、膝から下がパンパンになってます。
幕張に行っている最中、ムックは入院。膀胱炎みたいでおしっこが出なくなり、腎不全を起こしかけていた。緊急に手術して事なきを得たが、ほんとに危ないところだった。無事でよかったわー。今日退院するので後ほど迎えに行きます。 よかった…

そんで、いよいよ今週末です。
今回もフルカラーレーザーで攻めてみます。
mind-bendingとのカラミは丁度1年前のNOON以来なので超楽しみです。
A.mochiさんとは、早いもので5月以来ですね。
TEZさんいつもありがとうございます！

数量限定ですが、ディスカウントして欲しい方はご一報下さいませ。

今年最後のSPECTRUM　盛り上がっていきましょー！！

CLUB ROCKETS × SPECTRUM presents
SPECTRUM EXCLUSIVE PARTY

[ELECTRIC BEHAVIOR]

2009 11/21(SAT) 23:30 -
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ADV:2500 (with 1D)
DOOR:3500 (with1D)

◆GUEST DJz >>>
ROMAN FLUGEL (aka ALTER EGO / from BERLIN)
REE-K (THREAD / Hypnodisk / from TOKYO)
TEZ (RAFT TOKYO / Gemini Recordings / from TOKYO)

◆SPECIAL GUEST LIVE SET >>>
A.Mochi
(Figure / from TOKYO)

◆DJ >>>
MASAHIRO GODA (SPECTRUM)

◆SPACE DIRECTION >>>
mind-bending (unique)

◆SPACE LAZER WORKS>>>
SENCE OF WONDER (SPECTRUM)

and
J de 犬にゃんにゃん

more information… www.namba-rockets.com

Request for Proposals (RFPs) come in all shapes and sizes. Some are no more than a few pages, while others are thick binders that include everything (including the washroom sink). Regardless of the volume of information you choose to share, one thing is certain that you are sourcing experience, from solution to vendor selection, to contract negotiations and through transition, are directly related to the quality of your RFP.

Some of the benefits of creating a solid RFP include,

1. Receiving quality responses from service providers

2. Reducing the time it takes to negotiate the contract

3. No surprises further down the line

4. Documenting in-scope requirements early helps build internal consensus and organizational alignment

Listed below are tools and techniques to help solid RFPs for selecting the best service provider for your organization.

• Build an SOW first, and then build the RFP around it
• During a traditional sourcing lifecycle, organizations usually publish an RFP first, then select a sourcing partner second, and develop a Statement of Work (SOW) third. The problem with this sequence of events is that the real organizational requirements are revealed too late in the process. By then, you have already selected your partner and have lost your leverage.
• Instead, put your initial time and effort into building a solid and comprehensive SOW. Direct your team to document requirements, capture volume data, and identify service levels. In other words, build an SOW that you plan to use to negotiate the contract. Then build an RFP around this SOW.
• As a result, you gain a deeper understanding of your sourcing needs and are in a better position to pick the right sourcing partner. By publishing a highly customized RFP, you exponentially increase your chances of receiving a customized solution instead of the generic RFP responses. Most importantly, you avoid unpleasant surprises down the road and you know exactly what you are getting.
• Prioritize your service requirement as “must have” or “nice to have”
• Internally document your sourcing requirements as either “must have” or “nice to have”. This simple exercise alone will focus your team on what is absolutely important, reveal internal objections early in the process, and ultimately build alignment within the organization. In addition, knowing the difference between “must have” and “nice to have” allows you to quickly add / remove services when you are in the contract negotiations.

If done early in the competitive RFP process, you just might be pleasantly surprised at how eager service providers are to throw in “extra” services in order to win your business.

Pricing

Include a pricing template in your RFP, comparing service provider bids and pricing can be a challenge for anyone, especially if the bids come in different shapes, sizes, formats, and inconsistent definitions. Give to avoid this problem, include a blank pricing template along with the RFP. The template should include pricing line items, resource units, volume information, definitions, etc. The more direction you can provide the service provider, the better the response. The goal is to give specific guidance on how you would like to receive the pricing and to ensure consistency and uniformity in how the pricing is delivered. As a result, you get to control the level of detail in the pricing model. Since everyone is using the same template, the same line items, and the same definitions; comparing rival bids is a snap.

Document each party’s financial responsibilities,

In addition to adding the pricing template, I recommend that my clients add a Financial Responsibility Matrix (FRM) document to the RFP as well. As the name suggests, it is a document that outlines each party’s financial responsibilities. For example, if you are considering outsourcing your call centers, use the FRM to determine who is financially responsible for the services, the equipment, the scripts, and the T1 connection to the call center. In my opinion, it is always better to have an agreement on financial responsibilities early on. It gives you a good handle on your true costs and it prevents nasty surprises during contract negotiations.

Be upfront with your most important Terms & Conditions (T&Cs)

Now is the perfect time to include major Terms & Conditions (T&Cs) for the Master Services Agreement. Don’t be shy. Negotiating a Master Services Agreement is a time consuming activity. Including a list of your major T&Cs will help reduce this cycle time (as well as points of contention during negotiations).

Share with the service provider your preferred payment terms, intellectual property (IP) position, termination clause, at risk amount, etc. Document the most important terms and allow the service providers to respond. In a competitive bidding environment, you will be amazed at how open the providers are to your positions. Just by adding your term sheet you will not only pocket some big wins without a fight, but will also cut down the contract negotiations time.

Involve regional stakeholders early on

For scope of services that are global in nature, involve the regional stakeholders early on in the sourcing process. Getting regional executives to agree after the service provider has been selected or the contract has been negotiated is a political disaster waiting to happen. And, on a personal note, this is a sure fire way for you to get the short end of the stick. Bringing regional stakeholders on board early helps build consensus and buy in.

Inevitably, you will run into issues where services and SLAs will differ across regions. In such cases, it is best to create a global services baseline (SOW + SLAs), document the extra regional service requirements, and ask the service provider to price these requirements as uplifts (i.e. additional charge over the base fee). Then let the regions decide for themselves whether they would like to pay for the extra services. You will find that many regions, for both economical and political reasons, choose the global baseline.

Manage the people side of the sourcing equation

These days, mentioning the word outsourcing makes people nervous. If you are contemplating sourcing, don’t go talking about it to everyone. As a matter of fact, keep things under wraps during the early stages. Keep the sourcing team small and only involve the subject matter experts that need to be in the know.

When you are absolutely sure that sourcing is right for you, and then announce it to the general population. This needs to be done gently, carefully and with compassion. If some of your employees are going to be rebadged to the new service provider, share this with your organization. If you plan to redeploy your resources, share that as well. But not saying anything, especially when the cat is out of the bag, is what gets people nervous. It is always your best resources (the ones you would have liked to stay on and help you with the massive transition) that will leave first.

Keep the core team consistent

The team that has created the RFP, selected the vendor, and negotiated the contract, should be the same team that is responsible for transition and managing the day to day contract. In sourcing, continuity can work wonders. Information is not lost, minimal knowledge transfer is required, finger pointing is avoided, and the classic “it’s not my problem after tomorrow” syndrome is minimized.

Furthermore, since the team will ultimately be responsible for the daily management of the contract, they have a vested interest in structuring an optimal deal for themselves and the organization.

Adjust the business case

If you have not already built a preliminary business case, now is the time. If you have already built one, update it to reflect the specifics of the RFP. The goal is to keep adding granularity to the business case as you get further into the sourcing lifecycle. The business case should never be treated as a static document, but rather as a work in progress where information is continuously updated as new data is uncovered.

Eventually you can use your business case to track the actual benefits received. A word to the wise: try to build the business case model so that the pricing model (that you receive from the service providers) will integrate easily into the overall model. This saves you time, minimizes aggravation, and reduces chances of errors.

Pick a process and stick with it

My old boss used to say “Any process, even a bad one, is better than no process at all”. For RFP development, several processes are available in the market place. Some good, some not so good However, the key to a successful sourcing experience is not in what process you pick but rather that you pick one and then stick to it. I have seen organizations agonize over what process or approach to use and then midway into the project, change the rules of the games completely. This confuses your sourcing team, wastes time, and ultimately produces an inadequate RFP.

My advice: pick a process, customize it to your situation, and then stick to it. If minor changes need to be made, then by all means, do so. But keep the central theme the same and keep your team focused on developing a world class RFP.

Following these simple rules will greatly improve the quality of your next RFP. The more time you spend creating a solid RFP, the greater your chances of finding the right solution, with the right partners, and at the right price point.

Crate Expectations

By JAMES MCWILLIAMS

Photo: Olddanb

If you ever find yourself in a room full of pig farmers and want to start a fight, just ask about farrowing crates. A farrowing crate is a cage that confines a lactating sow. Its dimensions are tight — a typical crate enables a mother pig to move a few inches in any direction.

A crated pig can do little more than lie on her side, position her nipples in the right direction, and provide mother’s milk to her piglets on the other end of prison-like bars. Some farmers deem this confined arrangement the cruelest manifestation of factory farming.

It’s not hard to see why. Echoing a pervasive sentiment, the “Certified Humane Raised and Handled” label prohibits farrowing crates because they inhibit the pig’s “natural behavior.” Two weeks before giving birth, a mother pig experiences hormonal changes that urge her to build a nest. A crate prevents this instinctual behavior, not to mention rooting and socializing, which are also natural instincts to a pig.

Temple Grandin, the renowned animal scientist, likens the crate experience to being buckled into an airplane seat for six weeks. After several days in a conventional crate, sows begin to suffer painful lesions on their legs, start chewing on the iron bars, show a decreased appetite, and experience higher levels of stress (as measured by hormonal content).

Horrible as it all sounds, many pig farmers vehemently insist on the humaneness of the farrowing crate. Critics might condemn the crate as little more than a productivity maximizer. But consider why it maximizes productivity: farrowing crates prevent piglets from being crushed to death. As many conventional pig farmers note, the crate’s design is carefully engineered to discourage mothers from rolling over on their suckling or sleeping babies, something that happens with alarming regularity in open systems.

Many farmers are quite passionate on this point. Deanna Quan, a pig farmer in Dayton, Ohio, explained in a letter to the Rodale Institute:

I am a pig farmer and I have 95 sows. I use all the Animal Welfare Institute guidelines with one exception. I use farrowing crates. I did not use them for the first 10 years; I thought they might be cruel. Boy, was I wrong. Instead of carrying out buckets of dead baby pigs, I now have a 95 to 98 percent survival rate.

Quan isn’t alone. On Farms.com, a popular venue for sharing farming advice, a former pig farmer tells a newcomer, “I was a small producer not long ago. We had to use crates or we lost too many piglets when the sow flopped on a litter.”

Blake Hurst, a Missouri farmer and author of a widely noted article called “The Omnivore’s Delusion,” writes,

The crates protect the piglets from their mothers. Farmers do not cage their hogs because of sadism, but because dead pigs are a drag on the profit margin, and because being crushed by your mother really is an awful way to go.

Studies offer some evidence to back these anecdotal claims. An analysis undertaken by the Sustainable Livestock Systems Group, funded in part by the UK government, found that piglets were crushed in pens at more than twice the rate than they were in crates. (On the flip side, the crated pigs had more stillbirths — although there’s no way to be sure that confinement, as opposed to genetics, was the cause.)

Perhaps not surprisingly, crate manufacturers are attempting to design their way around the problem. A variety of less confined group-housing arrangements — “turn around” pens, “family” pens, and “kennel and run” systems — are becoming increasingly popular. The logic behind these arrangements is laudable. They aim to improve the welfare of both mothers and piglets. Still, the problem remains inescapable. In an article that strongly supports the use of these less confined options, two Australian livestock officers and an environmental engineer were obligated to note that, “Most of the pen designs that give sows more freedom to move result in higher piglet mortality than when conventional farrowing crates are used.”

Frankly, I’m bothered by the idea of dead piglets, perhaps more so than the idea of confined mothers. Thus I’m grappling with the possibility of humanely raised, confined pigs. At this point, I’m by no means ready to wholeheartedly defend the farrowing crate as humane. I am, however, eager to learn more about how ethically conscious consumers might respond to what appears to be an inescapable conundrum: that is, respect for the welfare of a sow is inversely related to the welfare of her piglets.

Those of us concerned with the ethics of eating meat tend to have strong opinions about raising pigs — one way is humane, the other is cruel; free range — good; confinement — bad. But, as is almost always the case when it comes to food, the matter isn’t so cut-and-dried. This time, moreover, the dilemma belongs to the carnivore.

Source

Do you want to grow trees or shrubs from seeds? Some of them must be sown fresh in the autumm.

What the recession taught me Pt 2

“I should have saved and sown”
Synopsis of Bible Study 11/04/09
Delivered by Bishop Walker III
We made up in our mind in our previous lesson that we will never go through the recession tithe-less. People of God, it is important to have a proper perspective of money. 1 Timothy 6:9-11: 9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.-This is Paul mentoring Timothy. Paul simply says that we are to follow after the things money cannot buy. Never get to a point where you worship money. Never let your whole life revolve around money, because means you have lost perspective. We have to learn to manage money as well. We are supposed to be a blessing to the Kingdom.
I. I. What does the bible say about our finances
a. It is an issue of ownership. 1Psalm 24:1: 1The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Another interesting scripture is Psalms 50:10: 10For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. – God says he has cattle on a thousand hills. God says you don’t have to worry about it, because it is all mines. He is in control of it. You don’t own it, God does.
b. Understanding the Lord’s viewpoint on our finances can prevent us from making costly mistakes. The two things Christians love the most, sex and money, we hate talking about in church.
c. The bible encourages positive use of our money. God wants us to do something with our blessings. God blessed us to multiply our blessings. We are to be fruitful and multiply. 14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver[b] to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. 16 “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money. 19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ 21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together![c]’22 “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ 23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ 24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ 26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ – First of all, in the King James Version, they use the word talents instead of bags of silver. In the scripture we have one servant that was given 5 talents, one was given 2 talents, and one was given one talent. The servant that was given 5 talents, double his. The servant with 2 talents doubled his. The servant that was given one talent dug a hole in the earth and buried his. In verse 19 the lord of the servants inquired about what they had done with their talents. We find out the following:
1. In verse 20, the servant that was given five talents told his master that he doubled his talents. As a result his master said well done.
2. In verse 22, the servant that was given two talents says to his master that he doubled his too. As a result, the lord of the servants said well done.
3. In verse 24, the servant that was given one talent made excuses and got nervous and admitted to hiding his talents away. The master says he blessed him so he could make something of what he gave him. He could have taken the principle and invested it and very least, he could have lived off of the interest. Instead the master said he would take his talent and give it to the other two, because he did nothing with the talent. In other words, his master could not trust him with money or with blessings. Money is put in your hands to be multiplied.
Ecclesiastes 5:19: 19Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.-Every blessing we have is a gift from God. We have to be a good steward of it.
d. Scripture warns us about the misuse of money. Lots of us misuse money, but how?
1. Stop trying to figure things out yourself. Proverbs 23:4-5: 4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. 5Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven-Verse 5-the problem is, we are working only to try and become rich. Now your focus is so much on money, you will forsake your family for overtime. As a result, you try to get ahead, and you lose your life. The wealth you get is so exclusive, it flies away. Your children then have to reintroduce themselves to you, because you spend all your time chasing money.
2. When we are righteous and doing what we are supposed to do, it will become our treasure. Proverbs 15:6: 6In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble-Make no mistake, the wicked will have treasures too, but their treasures always lead to trouble. God will bless us based on our integrity. Some people with low integrity want a high blessing. If your integrity is low, you will use the increase to support your sin. Rather than walking in the blessing God gave you, you walk in other things. Sin is expensive. Some of us don’t do the things we used to do simply because we can’t afford them any longer. For lots of us, if we could still afford our sins, we would still be in them. God gives us an opportunity to get our integrity right and to sustain the blessing. Beware of the debt trap.
3. You have to be careful about debt no matter where you are financially. We hate debt! Debt is not our friend and is an enemy to our destiny. Romans 13:8: 8Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.-The scripture says owe no man anything. The problem in the recession was that we wanted to give more, but we were in so much debt, we were prisoners to the debt. We were in debt before the recession and after the recession started, we got in incredible deeper. We were borrowing money from one card just to pay the minimum payment on another card.
a. We go into debt to try and impress people that don’t even like us. Ex-TSU’s homecoming is this week. People will go into debt to get stilettos and outfits just to walk around for 2 hours. Tennis shoes and jeans ain’t good enough for us. Proverbs 22:7: 7The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.-We have become slaves to debt.
b. There is a difference between good and bad debt too. Good debt increases in value. Lot’s of people made money off of our debt during the recession by buying houses that we lost for example. We have to look at good debt and bad debt. We have to buy things that will increase in value. You buy a car for $50,000 and it depreciates when you drive off of the lot. How do we set ourselves up for what’s coming up? In the recession we wish we could have cashed some of those experiences in. Good debt is student loans. Tithe off of what you live off of and job that you will get will give you more than enough money to pay off those loans. We have to cut those credit cards up. Going through airport, we have to decline buying those T-shirts. You get in debt and it takes years to get out of it.
II. God shows us how to acquire wealth
a. By working-2 Thessalonians 3:10:10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”- If a man doesn’t work, he shouldn’t eat according to this scripture. Many people lost good jobs during the recession. If you can’t find a job, you are supposed to take your gifts and get your hustle on (legitimate hustle)! Ex-Bishop explains that he sees healthy people on side of road with sign saying they want money for food or what not. He explains that it is a shame, because here is a healthy person on the side of the road that has just given up. He explains he may or may not bless that person with a hand out. The reason is, he explains that at least the person could have a squidgy or something and wash people’s windows. The difference is at least the person with a squidgy is willing to work for the hand out. God will bless you if you at least do something. You got to be doing something to get to something else. Learn to make it happen for you. If you don’t work, you don’t eat. Bishop says the work ethic he has today is largely because of the work ethic placed in him by his father.
b. By Investing-It is important for us, because we shout and holler favor, to have life insurance, wills, and etc… You got to learn how to multiply what God gives you and make wise investments. For example, Rule 72. -The rule says that to find the number of years required to double your money at a given interest rate; you just divide the interest rate into 72. For example, if you want to know how long it will take to double your money at eight percent interest, divide 8 into 72 and get 9 years . Ecclesiastes 11:1-6: 1 Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.[a] 2 But divide your investments among many places,[b]for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. 3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down.Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. 4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb,[c] so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. 6 Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both. –
1. Don’t put all your money in same place. Proverbs 22:7: 7The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
2. While you work, try to put back something. You don’t know what is going to happen to your money. Proverbs 22:3-4: 3 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. 4 True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life. – How many had loved ones die without insurance. The people at the church didn’t know if we were grieving or just mad. Proverbs 13:22: 22A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. – Leave an inheritance to your children. You have to leave something on record for this to happen. Our will and everything stating how we want things done when we leave here should be in place. You don’t know what is going to happen from one minute to the next. We could leave here in the next moment. Do you want a government official to tell what is going to happen to your children or your estate? You got to put something back and you have to put it in writing. People even leave diamonds for their church now days. If you can, leave something behind to bless your church too.
c. By Giving-This really challenges us. There are givers and their takers. Luke 6:38: 38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.-It’s like a person collecting leaves in a plastic bag. It looks full, but when you press the leaves down and shake the bag, you end up with more room. God says he will press it down to give you more room, so he can give more back to you. Give more of what you expect back. If you want more love, give more love. If you want more respect, give more respect. If you want more money, give more money.
d. By saving-Every dollars add up every day over time. Proverbs 21:20: 20There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up -Foolish people just spend money. Many of us struggle in this area, because we don’t save.
We need to save 3 months of income and put it aside for an emergency. What would you do if your tire blows s out? You have to have a budget. Get that brown bag principle and put it in place. Put the money you saved for each expense and a separate bag. When you get ready to going shopping for example, if there is no money in that bag, you can’t go. If you look at that bag marked entertainment and you don’t see much money, then you know you can just go to the movie, but you can’t buy anything. You might have to get creative and by a sprite and put it in your purse or your coat so you don’t have to buy anything. If you have $5 and you stop at Walgreens to get a sprite and some chips. Before you know it you are at $2. You have to put your money in your check. For some of us, if we gave you $50 tonight, you wouldn’t have anything to show for it this time next week. We have to start saving. You have to make your money account for what it does.
III. The Lord guides us to how to use our money
a. God promises to meet our personal needs. Philippians 4:19: 19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. – It is God’s desire to take care of us. Gods wants to do that, because we take care of his work.
b. To carry on God’s work. and scripture. When we talk about tithing, it is take care of God’s work. Our responsibility as Christians according to Mark 16:15 is to take the gospel in all the world. Mark 16:15: 15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. We have to have a passion in investing in that which changes the life of God’s people. The world invests millions of dollars to get their message out. They will spend 3 million dollars on a 30sec add so that you will drink more Bud Light. They will spend millions to get our children to wear certain things. We have to invest in the Kingdom like the world does so we can get the message out. We have to try and tell people that they don’t have to live like they do. God has a better plan for them. Truthfully, you have to think about your goal.
c. For God given goals. Our goals hold us accountable. Ex- In 3 years we want to be out of our apartment and in to a house. We want something to show for the money going through our hands. Our friends come over and ask us if we want to go on this road trip. We are facing a decision at this point. Do we want the road trip or do we want the house? At this point, the house is holding us accountable to our goal. Our decisions are prompted by our goals.
IV. God used money to accomplish a purpose
a. To train us. Samuel 2:6: 6The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. -God takes us thru extremes to see where our discipline is and see if we will be consistent.
b. To test us. Deuteronomy 8:11-18: 11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.- God made blessings out of stuff that we didn’t know was going to bless us. He was trying to do us good in our latter end. We sit up and talk about our skills (verses 17-18). God says, but we better remember that it was the Lord God that gave us this wealth. We don’t have anything unless God gives us the skill or power.
c. For our testimony-2 Corinthians 9:6-12 (MSG): 6 -7Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. 8 -11God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. 12 -15Carrying out this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. This relief offering is a prod to live at your very best, showing your gratitude to God by being openly obedient to the plain meaning of the Message of Christ. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters, and really toward everyone. Meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough! – The King James Version says God ministers seed to the sower. God gives us for a purpose. It is so we can be a blessing. When God blesses us, we should give praise to him. Every time God blesses us, we must be a blessing. When we tell God thank you, he turns around and says you are welcome.
This message tonight was simple. God wants to multiply, provide, and give seed for an assignment. You can blow it or do what he meant for you to do and that’s what multiplies it. We must be good stewards of our blessings.

St. Francis and the Sow

By Galway Kinnell

The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don’t flower,
for everything flowers from within, of self-blessing;

though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on the brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;

as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of the earth on the sow,

and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,

down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath them
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Brilliant*@ROCKETS

20:00にROCKES入りして設置開始。持ち込み機材はILDAグリーンレーザー×2、スモークマシン×1、FIREFLY×2、DMXコントローラー×1。22:00オープンだったので急いでFIREFLYを設置。ロケッツは照明ブースが2Ｆに有るため、デコレーションをしたフロアの場合、上からはステージがほとんど見えない。なので、事前にフロアの真ん中にテーブルを置き、Fiesta!2でメインレーザーのポジション調整が必要。結局1時間遅れの23:00オープン。Brilliant*らしいスローな選曲でスタートし、しばらくはすることがないのでキーマカレー食べたりビール吞んだりして、DJ KAZUMAさんあたりからレーザースタート。今回はVJがいないので、レーザー単体はかなり強烈に見えた。これでは間が持たないのでパーライトをつけて、空間に馴染ませるようにして和らげた。ついでにmind-bendingと今月末のSPECTRUMの打ち合わせ。 陰でキーマカレーを3杯食べてハットトリック達成。帰宅後死亡。起きたら夜中で一瞬パニックになった。

こんな感じ。照明弱めだとステージがまったく見えない。

帰りのタクシーの運転手が思いっきりヤクザ。後部座席の窓は真っ黒のスモーク入り。毛皮がふわふわで快適ではあります。「ヤクザじゃないよー」と言っておられました。

It’s All About Jesus!

Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin

THE TRUMPET by Bill Burns — Nov. 3, 2009:

If you can receive it, says the Lord, I am going to begin to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that you can even believe or expect in your life as I bring the blessings of the kingdom to you.  It is time for a new start, a new season, a regeneration of My purposes. For My people have indeed been hindered from the glory of My kingdom in the past.  But, that does not mean that the glory is not there it just means it has not been seen or experienced.  My kingdom is a kingdom of glory and My purpose is to change you from glory to glory into a kingdom child who can experience and live a supernatural life.  So, take heart today, My beloved, and allow Me to become the strength of your heart, the strength of your purpose, the strength of your joy, and the strength of your peace.  Allow Me to do My finest work in these last days among My people.  If you will decide that you are going to be Mine wholly and completely and become a doer of My word, the multiplicity of My blessings will abound in your life.  This is the day of regeneration; it is the day of the blessing, says the Lord God Almighty.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — Nov. 3, 2009:

I have sown My Word of promise in your heart, says the Lord. But, you will have to protect that seed from the enemy who will try to snatch it away. You will have to keep it alive in the ground of your heart by reminding yourself of what I am doing in this season. Otherwise, it will be business as usual, and you will become a hearer only and not a doer. Do not let this happen, or you will miss the blessing.

Matthew 13:3-9 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

One may have awakened very early this morning.  One may have written in one’s daily log and worked on one’s blog for 11/02/09.  The alarm may have gone off at 3:00 AM.  One turned off the alarm and kept working.

At 3:07 AM one felt tired and laid back down.  One may have gotten up again at 3:23 AM.  One may have logged onto the computer and read the Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin.

One went to the bathroom and began to clean it.  At 3:30 AM, one started praising the Lord.  While confessing, one may have been disheartened by the message from the prophecy.  One began to talk to the Lord about Satan being able to steal promises.  One wondered, “How could this be and if one was in danger.”  Please help, Lord Jesus!

One thanked the Lord for forgiving one of one’s sins and all that He has done in one’s life.  One prayed for the sick.  One spoke in tongues until the end of one’s prayer time.

One logged onto the website at 4:30 AM to pray for prayer requests.  One may have turned on the small space heater.  One began to get sleepy.  One turned it off and tried to stay awake.  One got through the prayers but it may have taken extra effort to try to stay focused.  Lord, I pray that each prayer was answered according to your perfect will, in Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

Tom Jones would be proud.

Now the reticulation is well and truly working and fixed, just have one duff sprinkler to change in the front, I can get on with the job is re-seeding the lawn

I’ve weeded and feeded until all I can taste is the ruddy granules up my nose. The weeds out the front are particularly stubborn and I’ve had to treat them 3 times and still they grow. Another few blitzes over the coming weeks will sort them I think.

I’ve dug in wetting agent to the dry bits, adjusted sprinklers till they cover just about every square inch of grass and yesterday, me and the little ‘un raked and turned and sieved the soil and liberally sowed the grass seed.

2 weeks, the packet says, before germination. Hopefully I put down enough that the birds dont steal it all before then. I’ll take some piccies and let you know how it goes.

Chinese meteorologists bring about Beijing’s earliest snowfall in a decade, after seeding rain clouds with silver iodide…. From BBC News. Full story

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