On a tous une écharpe dans sa penderie. A l’heure des premiers frimas, quand les perfides coups de vents nous prennent d’assaut, ou quand il nous faut lutter férocement contre la brise, ou pire, contre le glacial mistral, quoi de mieux que s’emmitoufler chaudement, bien à l’abri, dans une douce écharpe ?

 Mais voilà, avoir une écharpe, c’est d’un commun. C’est presque devenu une prescription préventive contre les engelures de la gorge, parce que la planète se réchauffe mais nous on est prête à affronter une nouvelle ère glaciaire. C’est aussi utile contre le rhume. Et je ne vous parle pas de la grippe A. Bref, tout le monde a une écharpe, et les plus chanceux l’ont en cachemire.

 A partir de ce postulat, comment s’extirper de ce panurgisme élémentaire ?

L’idée de génie de cette saison nous vient de la maison dont les écharpes nous rendent folles, la britannique Burberry. Christopher Bailey propose cet automne le Snood. Quésaco ? La révolution est simplicime, le Snood est une écharpe tubulaire à enfiler pour faire barrière aux souffles glacés. Un moyen agréable et efficace de se démarquer élégamment de ses congénères, car le Snood reprend bien sûr le célèbre tartan en cachemire de la maison. Pour ceux qui veulent faire encore mieux sur les pistes de Courchevel, la ligne Prorsum offre une version en vison doublé cachemire.

 On sent déjà l’engouement pour le produit puisque, mesdames et messieurs (le Snood est mixte, en effet), on est presque sur liste d’attente pour l’obtenir, même sur le parisien boulevard Malesherbes.

Il semblerait bien qu’on ai trouvé la nouvelle pièce exclusive de cet automne…

Flo.

crédits photos : Burberry.fr

Ya han sido capturados más de seiscientos de los mil visones americanos que en la madrugada del lunes soltaron radicales ecologistas de una granja de Lubia tras romper sus cercas.La preocupación del Servicio Territorial de Medio Ambiente es evitar que se asienten estos animales en el medio natural de la zona donde pueden ocasionar serios daños en la fauna de la zona y por ello siguen con el dispositivo de captura.

El propietario de la granja de visones, Manuel Almajano, explicaba que no es la primera vez que sufre ataques de estos radicales, pero si que es la primera vez que consiguen soltar a más de mil ejemplares. Lamenta el perjuicio económico que le va a suponer, ya que perderá el trabajo de más de un año.

Un acto coordinado a nivel internacional, ya que ha habido sabotajes tanto en Galicia como en Soria, pero también en varios países europeos.

Consideran el propietario de la granja que se deberían endurecer tanto la búsqueda como las sanciones a los culpables, ya que quedan impunes además de jactarse de sus hechos colgando videos en internet.

El grupo ecologista ASDEN se ha desmarcado de este acto violento y lo ha catalogado como de grave atentado ecológico. 

FUENTE: Cope

Deux mille cinq cent à trois mille visons d’élévage élevage se sont échappés autour du village de Saint Cybrannet, près de Domme en Dordogne.Il s’agirrait s’agirait d’un acte de malveillance. Ils se sont échappés de la seule ferme d’élévage d’élevage dans la nuit du jeudi au vendredi. Le problème est que Bien que ces animaux paraissent innofensifs et mignons ils sont en vérité très méchants et risquent de mordre la population. Un message de prudence à l’égard des habitants a été lancé. Pour les récupérés récupérer l’office de la faune et de la flore sauvage a été mobilisées mobilisée.

Sources:

nouvelobs.com

lepost.fr

Corrigé par C.J (14)

L’hiver approche, le froid commence à s’installer. Et c’est pas parce qu’on est couvert de  poils de la truffe aux coussinets qu’on a pas le droit à un petit nid douillet bien réchauffant pour l’hiver !

Cet élégant lit pour chien en imitation vison est parfait pour garantir à votre chien de douces nuits d’hiver. De plus, son coussin intérieur est amovible, ce qui facilite l’entretien.

Mariah Carey has recreated her first single cover for “Vision Of Love” for her mini-tour poster in Las Vegas. The show is set to happen in September and October in the midst of her promotion of the new album Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel. The Pearl will host the event. We hope that MC is not testing things out to embark on some sort of residency in the state of Nevada, a la Toni Braxton and Celine Dion. Click below to see the original artwork for her first single in 7″ form from our personal collection.

I was briefly thinking about the visual invariance problem, which is the question of how does the brain objects even when the same single object (a banana) looks very different from differing angles of view e.g. end on Vs side on.

My thought is somewhat separate which is how does the brain recognize 2D images? for example, you can if shown a picture of a banana (never having seen on before) and be told what it is, then go on to recognize a real one easily enough, but on pure based on visual data a 2D image has very different information than a 3D image yet the brain copes why? This matters too to those of us who run physiological experiment by showing 2D images if these are being processed differently for real 3D images then were not quite asking the question we though we were .

My suspicion is that what the brain is doing is when ever it is sees a 2D image is that it is constructing a 3D image from it, so when you see the image of  banana you make a 3D model of one which is (somehow) stored appropriately in memory and can then have the usual recognition methods applied to it to deal with problems such as visual invariance. This would after all make an evolutionary sort of sense as the brain evolved not to deal with pictures (which only existed incredibly recently) but to deal with real 3D objects.

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Edit: went away and had a cup of tea… sorted it out now. It occurred to me that in reality the brain never ever actually sees a 3D world, the eyes report data in a 2D form as that is all they can do by pure observation of the world. The brain then constructs a 3D world view from that 2D scene by the use of a large number of processes and mechanisms (e.g. shadow depth), and then uses that 3D model internally. So what is really happening in the brain when you see a 2D object is that it automatically deploys this same series of mechanisms to turn things into a 3D object. So i believe that for the brain (post visual processing) that this IS no such thing as a 2D object everything is processed into 3D automatically, thus solving the problem.

Edit 2: post another cup of tea (never under estimate the powers of tea), this ought to be experimentally testable, you should for example be able to fool the recognition system, by presenting an image of a novel object (say a banana) but with false perspective ques, which would make it say fatter than expected and the compare people perceptions of the different between their expectations and the real object.

Of course a problem to still to deal with here is that we can also recognise an object from someone giving as a verbal description and then us presumably constructing a 3D model from that, quite how a brain that has only faced this problem in the last 100,000 years or so (tiny in evolutionary terms) is able to cope with this is unknown. But is defiantly one of the reasons I remain fascinated with it!

Der größte Teil deines Erfolges hängt von einer guten Vorbereitung ab. Lasse nciht zu, dass dein leben ziel- und planlos verläuft, sondt stehst du am Ende deienr Tage vor einer Ansammlung von verpassten Gelegenheiten und bereust die vielen ungenutzten Chancen. Verlorene Tage kehren niemals zurück.

Eine gute Planung kostet ind er Regel auch nicht mehr Energie und Zeit als undefiniertes Träumen, Wünschen, Hoffen. Ein Traum bleibt so lange ein Traum bis du endlich an die Verwirklichung gehst. Deshalb schieben nichts mehr auf und beginne heute mit der Umsetzung.

“Wohin willst du?” “Was ist deine Vision?” “Welche Herzenswünsche hast du?” Das sind die elementaren Fragen, die du dir stellen solltest. Schreibe alles auf und dann entscheide, was zu tun ist, um deine Ziele Wirklichkeit werden zu lassen.

Eigne die das Wissen an, das du brauchst, um deinen Traum Realität werden zu lassen. Lasse sich durch Rückschläge nicht aus der Bahn werfen, sondern nimm sie als interessante Aufforderung, noch stärker zu werden.

Übernimm ganz bewusst Verantwortung für deine Lebensumstände und deinen Lebenserfolg. In dem Moment, in dem du aufhörst, äußeren Umständen oder anderen Menschen die Schuld zu geben, dass etwas nciht funktioniert, bist du zum Gestalter deines Lebens geworden. Habe Mut zu grossen Zielen und nutze den Tag, um ihnen einen Schritt weiter entgegen zu gehen.

“Der Erfolg kommt über die Brücke der Planung zu dir.” (Adolf Loos)

After he folded his last shirt, Jack opened his bag to put his shirt in and thought about how he had gotten here. He thought about the good and bad. He knew he had grown but he wondered exactly how much. Jack knew everything he had been through since he got the call and knew it was worth it. But as he packed his bag, he couldn’t help but think back to the day it started and wonder, “What if I hadn’t come?”

It was a typical winter day in the Midwest. Cold and blustery with snow covering everything. The day turned from typical to extraordinary though when his phone rang. Jack answered the phone and on the other line was a voice from his past. A person who he hadn’t talked to in a while but someone he missed greatly. And with one question, life as Jack knew it would change, no matter what his answer.

Jack was a good guy who had many friends but always felt something was missing in his life. He had tried going to school and working but just couldn’t find what he wanted to do. Jobs led him nowhere and his friends was all he had. He enjoyed life but knew there was more. More that he wanted to do and more he knew he was supposed to do.

Being an outdoors man, Jack always seemed confined in the city but the city is where he thought he would find his true life. He thought this was the only way he would ever be able to get back what he had lost so many years ago. Being in nature was his release but the pain from the past hindered what nature could now provide him. Nature was where he used to think about the past, present and future. It was a time to think about the meaning of life and about his friends. To think about his family, who he hadn’t seen in years and just wonder why things had turned out like this. But mainly, it was a time for him to get right with who he was and who he badly wanted to be. But Jack hadn’t allowed himself to be in nature for quite some time and he was in need of time in nature.

But when the call came in, Jack realized there was more. More to life, love and happiness. More than  just living. Finding out there is a calling.  His quest for a career wasn’t important any more. He just wanted to know why he was being called to this place at this time.

It wasn’t the first time this call had come in but it was the first time Jack acutally listened to the person on the other end. It was the first time he had acutally thought about the call in perspective to life. This time it was different and he wanted to know why.

To be continued………

El 14 de febrero, se realizó la celebración de la Semana Internacional de la Moda de Madrid, una feria que contaba con un stand exclusivo para la venta de pieles de animales.
Cuatro activistas defensores de los derechos de los animales se encadenaron a los escaparates y mostraron cadáveres reales de visones asesinados y despellejados para hacer abrigos de piel. Los cuerpos fueron extraídos de una granja peletera donde recientemente se hizo un rescate.
Los animalistas fueron arrestados por la policía acusados de “desorden público, resistencia y desobediencia a la autoridad” y permanecieron durante 8 horas detenidos.

Para ver las fotos del suceso, visita: http://www.flickr.com/photos/igualdadanimal/sets/72157613807758438/show/

Fuente: Igualdad Animal

K.

S’il y bien une chose que l’on peut remarquer cet hiver, c’est qu’avec la succession de vagues de froid et les tempêtes de neige qui ont balayé la France, la fourrure fait un retour en force magistral. Pendant que je m’baladais dans l’avenue, le cœur ouvert à de nouvelles tenues, je me suis mise à compter le nombre de manteaux en fourrure que je croisais, j’ai arrêté après avoir dépassé la trentaine. On peut l’essayer, puis l’adopter, en manteaux, en gilets, ou en boléros pour le soir sur une robe longue et, si vous recherchez le total look, Prada et Fendi en font des sacs à main (vison ou renard au choix), à ajouter à votre chapka et à vos bottes fourrées (attention quand même, le but c’est pas de ressembler au yéti).  

Vous me direz, la fourrure, une tendance à adopter d’urgence, oui mais à quel prix ?

Il y en a pour tous les budgets ! De la simple imitation en produits dérivés du plastique à la vraie fourrure : le lapin, le plus abordable et le plus répandu mais qui a tendance à perdre ses poils (moyen sur les sièges de la voiture…), le renard, le vison, le chinchilla (le plus doux, on a l’impression de caresser de l’air !)… Comptez quand même 200€ minimum pour une veste, et cela pendant les soldes.

La fourrure envahit de plus en plus la rue à mesure que la météo s’amuse à nous en faire voir de toutes les couleurs. Justement, la créativité colorée de la fourrure ne cesse de s’accroître. Sandro lui donne un ton  bleu électrique (voir ci-dessus), John Galliano nous propose des boléros en rose bonbon, Versace prêt à porter nous fait défiler des manteaux prunes, mais le top du top reste Fendi, le maître incontesté en la matière (saviez-vous que dans le mythique logo imaginé par Karl Lagerfeld, l’actuel directeur artistique, le double F provient de « Fancy Fur » ?) : la maison vient, après 20 ans de recherches, de commercialiser une vraie fourrure en or 24 carats. Imaginez-vous sortant d’une limousine, les flashes crépitent autour de vous, et sur vos épaules vous portez une authentique veste en agneau persan, chargé en particules d’or après un traitement spécial qui le rend réceptif à celles-ci tout en conservant l’aspect et la douceur de la « matière brute ». Sur ce coup J.Lo et Beyoncé ne vous arrivent pas à la cheville, croyez-moi.

Quand on vise le luxe à l’extrême, pourquoi ne pas faire d’une pierre deux coups et investir dans l’or et la fourrure en même temps ? Encore faut-il que votre penderie puisse supporter une telle pièce d’exception.

Fendi Fall 2008

Flo.

Mina träningstillfällen de senaste 30 dagarna och ungefärlig längd i minuter på dem.

Om ingen har fattat det ännu så berättar jag det igen:  Jag har förälskat mig i styrketräning. Igen.
Och eftersom det är ett rätt stort projekt så är det liksom det jag håller på med.

Jag har såklart en plan, det har jag berättat om förut. När jag skrev om en av mina förebilder/målbilder; Sofie Sundberg eftersom det funkar bättre för mig att ha en sådan. Det betyder inte att jag vill bli som henne eller att min “plan” ska gå i lås till 100%, nej – det handlar om motivation. En slags mentalt ställningstagande för att sinnes- och verklighetsförankra mitt projekt.

Under de senaste månaderna är träning ungefär det enda som det går att samtala med mig om. Och såklart det som hör till, tex hur man lägger upp en vettig kost eller oro för att skador ska kunna förebyggas och så vidare. Och jag har gjort det här förut (tränade fokuserat i två år men var tvungen att sluta pga av orsaker) så nu har jag passerat rätt många kunskapsluckor och idag tränar jag inte heller med samma mål som då, att enbart försöka lindra rygg och nackbesvär.

Till saken; Nu har det dykt upp en grej som jag märker börja irritera mig. Omgivningens känslomässiga reaktion på min träning. Inte allas så klart , eftersom jag mest snackar med andra tvärnördiga träningsfreaks, men en och annan och fler än väntat.

“Du har väl inte tänkt att träna så du ser ut som en sån där okvinnlig bodybuilder med jättemuskler, det är inte snyggt”

“Varför säger du så där? Jag tycker det är skitsnyggt” säger jag (som ser Sofie Sundberg i tävlingsform framför mig och som dessutom är en helvetes massa år yngre än jag med vad det skulle innebära om jag fick för mig att jag skulle satsa som bodyfitness-wannabe hahahahaha) och tycker förresten att det är oartigt att upplysa mig hur man INTE ska se ut av styrketräning och dessutom komma och påstå att jag skulle se mycket okvinnlig ut med en massa stora muskler. Jag kan läsa baktankar och torka golvet medan jag sitter på toa och kissar, det måste väl ändå räcka!

Jag antar att med ett okvinnligt utseende menas att jag skulle bli mycket oattraktiv på kärleksmarknaden då.
Men jag fattar inte varför jag skulle bry mig i det? Inte tänker då jag hångla med nån som har hakat upp sig på detaljer på min kroppstyp. Då kommer det inte att duga att jag blir äldre heller. Eller smällfet. Det skulle tom ett iq-befriat kvastskaft begripa!

Och när jag tänker efter… Det här är ju i så fall ett utmärkt sätt att sortera ut agnarna från vetet;
“Vadå pattar? Vafan äre för fel på mina bröstmuskler?”

Nope, detta är inte MIN vision.
Men det har inte med saken att göra faktiskt..

Näe, jag är för jävla less på att försvara min målvision.
Jag tar en sak i taget, ett pass i taget. Men jag har lik förbannat ett mål.
Och det är att bygga synliga muskler. Och bli av med lite gäddhäng om det går. Men vad är det för slags motiverande målbild? Det går ju att fixa bort med PHOTOSHOP! hahahaha

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Läs även andra bloggares intressanta åsikter om body building, miss bodybuilding america, sofie sundberg, styrketräning, ovkinnlig, kvinnliga muskler, rygg och nackbesvär, träningstillfällen, träningsprojekt, målbild, vison, mentalt ställningstagande

Vision. It’s such a small word but has so many meanings. Vision is what we see and it helps us get to where we are going. In the true sense, vision is needed, good and desired. As people, our vision tells us about the things around us and if it works properly, it opens our mind and challenges everything we know. But when vision isn’t working properly, we see it as a handicap, disability or something to complain about. Vision isn’t all we need; it’s just something we get used to having. There are thousands of people who have never had eyesight but they had a greater vision than us.

Vision can’t be brought down to such a small thing as eyesight but for some reason that’s all we do. We put vision in this box and we don’t let it out. Whether it’s at work, home, school or church. If given by God, the “vision” of our future should guide us and lead us to where we are called to be. Every leader should have a vision and should share it often with those they are leading.

Vision should be talked about but not set in stone. I once heard Emmitt Smith talk about being a running back. They asked him about his running style and how he can see the holes that don’t appear to be there. His response was amazing. He said that as a running back, you can’t lock in on one vision, the goal, and nothing else. You have to be able to see all around you and continue to see who’s helping you by expanding your vision. His linemen were in the trenches and if he continued looking behind them long enough, he could see a new way to his goal. His vision was expanded and he didn’t get tunnel vision. 

In our lives, I think it’s easy to get tunnel vision. We have our minds and hearts set on one goal, which is awesome, but we have to realize that the vision could be enhanced or helped by those in the trenches. We have to be willing to look around and expand our vision. You see, having vision is not only about what’s in front of you; it’s having the ability to have peripheral vision. We have to be able to see what coming from all areas of our life. We have to see what’s coming from in front, from the right, let and what’s behind us. Those things that sometimes “broadside” us are the ones that hurt the most. If we are not looking out for all sides, our vision may be broke. It’s not what you see in front, it’s what you see all around. 

In order to help clear up our vision and expand our vision, we must trust those around us and allow them to help. We must be willing to drop our pride and give things over to the people in the trenches. We must know we can’t do everything by ourselves and just because someone is seeing a different vision, don’t discount theirs. You might just get a hole opened enough from someone else to spring you for a long run toward your goal.

Just like when you are sick, you go to the doctor and sometimes a hospital visit may be required. Vision sickness is the same. There are times we must leave a situation in order to get healed. We must give ourselves the medicine needed to get our vision corrected.

We can’t allow our vision to be clouded too long. If it stays clouded too long, it could destroy the vision that we have. And when this happens, we might miss our true calling.  

Allow your vision to grow beyond what’s in front of you. Look around and see who’s there. See if they are willing and able to help you pursue your goal. And if they are willing but not able, begin pouring into them so together you can grow and work toward each other’s goal.

Don’t let vision stop you. Remember, our eyesight changes over the years and so will your vision. Allow it to change and don’t be so stubborn that you miss seeing the hole that will spring you for a long run! Don’t be stopped by vision, be great because of it! 

Love you all!

Es como si al mundo le hubieran dado al pause. Toda imagen congelada. El carnicero de “José y Emilio” con el cuchillo suspendido en el aire, rodeado de señoras que miran piezas de animales muertos. El perro en plena acción de levantar la pata, el administrativo calvo de Caja Madrid frente al ordenador con las cejas arqueadas y el gitano esperando enfrente, el policía bajando del coche con el zapato a punto de besar el suelo… Y la gente en sus casas, con la mano asiendo la plancha, el ordenador centelleando, el humo de un cigarro dibujando una “s” con vocación de acabar siendo una “i”, para luego desaparecer…

Todo está parado. La palabra crisis es un dedo gigante que ha decidido que ya está bien de play, y mucho menos de fdw. Se piensa el stop con el pause pulsado. Y el rew le seduce tanto… Nadie se atreve a tirarse un pedo. Como cuando empiezas a vivir con alguien. 

Creo que colgaré en varios post, cuando tenga ordenata en casa, el trabajo de la facultad en el que describí lo que nos comemos ahora mismo. Sólo que en el año 2000. Man que me joda la economía es una ciencia. Abría el texto con una cita de J. B. Y J. M.Clark que decía así “sólo con eso, el tamaño de las fusiones que se han producido recientemente tiene que alarmar a los que las han visto prepararse. Si regresásemos al período Carbonífero, cuando se repobló la Tierra por los dinosaurios, las modificaciones quese produjeron en la vida animal apenas serían más espectaculares que las provocadas por esas corporaciones monstruosas en elmundo de los negocios“

Esa cita no es reciente, es de 1.912, prefacio de la borrachera que derivó en la resaca del 29. Y estábamos en las mismas. Y ahora en pause. Mientras tanto siguen mandando colegas a esa gran empresa -que diría Javecas- que es el INEM, y suspendiendo cenas de empresa, cestas, y demás parafernalia filoyanki. Y esta noche cena en un sitio elegante en mi condición de alcalde de Darfur. Again. Estoy hasta lo huevos, pero resistiré. Lo que nacimos para disfrutar del dinero somos así: siempre nos apetece. Y verán.

En fin, pase lo que pase, siempre me quedará el recurso de pedir “unos centimicos pa un post“, y poder acercarme a escribirme/les. Seguro que la señora de abrigo de visón -¿A que el visón es anacrónico, joer?- me dirá “eso lo quieres tú pa drogaína” y me acompañará al locutorio para cerciorarse de que sus céntimos se invierten en volcar ideas en la red.

Y por último, ayer me enteré de la suerte de David, que la guapa la desea. Leonor Watling, ojo esto es un mensaje para Leonor Watling: si lees ésto, contacta conmigo, crees que no te conozco, pero te juro que te quiero y que no te va a faltar de ná. Y aburro menos que el Drexler. Y busco el play.

Chapter wise video presentation of his book -The art of Start – by Guy Kawasaki at the Stanford university. [youtube link via Michael Seidlitz, thx!]

What’s your mantra?

Hace algun tiempo recibi en la urgencia un anciano que había sido derivado por su oftalmólogo para descartar hipetensión. La tensión que tenia no era alta y hablando con El me contaba que sufria mucho porque notaba que cada vez tenia menos visión. Me contó que había sido sometido a múltiples intervenciones por una retinopatia hipertensiva y que lo más le molestaba era no poder leer. Me decia: “si tan solo pudiera leer que feliz sería”.

Poniéndome en el lugar de mi paciente, debe ser terrible no poder leer un libro, la correspondencia, el diario, o los anuncios, cuando muchas veces leer es algo habitual que no requiere ningún esfuerzo extraordinario mas que el estar plenamente motivado. Para un amante de la lectura leer un buen libro no tiene precio. Si pensamos mas profundamente en esta situación, descubrimos que la vejez no solo lleva a un estado de privaciones sino una dependencia a la que no se está acostumbrado.

En estas cortas vacaciones de padre he podido leer algunos libros en los pocos ratos libres. Como he disfrutado de estos momentos, interrumpidos solo por el llanto de nuestro hijo. Me imagino tener todo el tiempo para poder leer y al mismo tempo no poder hacerlo por no poder ver las letras. Es realmente una tragedia.

Mientas leía estos libros, pensaba en mi paciente y me decia a mi mismo: “si hubiera leido estos libros durante mi adolescencia me hubiera entretenido mucho leyendo con tranquilidad y tal vez ahora estaria leyendo otros libros.” Tal vez mi paciente diria algo parecido.

Conclusión: tiempo perdido, nunca recuperado.

PD: los libros que he leido: la muerte de Ivan Illich y otros cuentos de Leon Tolstoi, las confesiones de San Agustin, el diario de Ana Frank, el Perfume de Patrick Suskind, el niño con el pijama a rayas.

Kim and I traveled to Tema, Ghana in September 2001 to attend a conference concerning culture and the needs in Africa. It was set up to be a teleconference with additional conferences in Egypt, South Africa and Kenya. Teaching from each conference was shared at all locations and we gleaned much from these wonderful teachings. Each day was to be supplemented with outings to ministry locations. Kim had scheduled to be in outreach as a nurse and I was to be in street ministry and evangelical outreaches. The practical application never happened because the conference was so poorly organized; Kim and I were very frustrated. After coming so far, saving and planning for months, finding people to care for our four children, and praying for God’s outpouring into our lives…then half of the conference was just not there. To complicate matters we were missing Kim’s Mother’s birthday on September 11, 2001. Kim and I were picking up a few pieces of clothing we had made from a local tailor when we were directed to watch their TV. A child came running into the room and said something bad is happening in USA. We watched it happen on an African TV; the planes were crashing into the Trade Center buildings and the world was changing. We had an extended stay because the airports were shut down world wide. During this extended time Kim and I did our own outreach programs and discovered we had a perfect fit of giftings for ministry in the culture of Ghana. Pastor and a Nurse…both with managerial and leadership gifts, it was a perfect fit! We returned late to our children and our jobs, but everything was forgiven due to the circumstances of 9/11.

We prayed for months concerning what God had revealed to us while in Ghana, but our lives were hectic and our focus was back on family, friends, ministries, jobs and our busy lives. Kim saw I was uneasy with my current job, Chief Operations Officer of a software development company in central Ohio, and that I needed a time of solitude, prayer and fasting. We concluded that a trip with Team Extreme may be the perfect spiritual prescription. Late January 2002 I traveled to Scandinavia within the Arctic Circle. While speaking in churches and stadium events we were seeing thousands coming to Christ, personal decisions were being made and churches were being transformed. There is no greater feeling for me than to see so many hearing the Truth and being set free! On a day where there were no daytime activities I took the opportunity to fast and pray and this was the day I had a Spoken Word from God. I was in prayer, in the Arctic Circle Feb 2-2002 (2-2-2002), that an audible voice answered my prayer petition for discernment concerning my life’s ministry. Three separate occasions during this prayer time there was an audible voice that told me Ghana. Ghana. Ghana.

My final prayer request this day was for God to reveal this to Kim so she would go as a partner in Ministry, not just as a perfect wife. Kim’s confirmation came on June 2, 2002. God’s voice came to her while praying for Missionaries going to Honduras. A voice spoke to her while she was praying for others; she ended the prayer, looked at me and said “You know, don’t you?”  I laughed and said maybe, then I asked her to elaborate, she said we are going to Africa. She elaborated on the way home from Church; we compared my journal entries and it was confirmed. It was done, we were going to Africa. We met with Pastor Johnson two weeks later; he said we needed to do some more research, including attending the North American Christian Convention in June and the National Missionary Convention (NMC)in November. We did as he asked and made two more trips to Ghana for discovery and research. We returned to our pastor following NMC in late November saying we are sure, we are ready, but we need assistance in raising funds for such a great calling. Pastor shared some contact info and then shared a directory of all the churches affiliated with the Christian Church movement. We began contacting churches, missions committees, pastors, elders and all who would see us and hear about the call on our life. Pastor also said that statistics prove that many never make it to the missions field because of inadequate funding, those that do go to the field average 2 years through deputation (process of being commissioned to GO and raising funds). We were not deterred; our motivation was an audible voice from God. Kim and I made 2 more trips to Ghana within the next 6 months.

December 3, 2003 the Budd family sold everything in Ohio, and moved to Ghana West Africa. We have been in the same house since our initial move. Our home is known city wide as the house with scriptures written on the walls, some call it the “Jesus House” because on two sides of the exterior wall it says Jesus is Alive. When DSL delivers packages to my house the directions say “scripture house in East Legon”. From this ministry facility we have reached out to many areas of Ghana, now focusing on three specific areas. We have seen tens of thousands of people make life changing decisions for Christ, we have seen ministries grow and churches planted. It has been a wonderful ministry and we thank God for seven years of ministry that have been exceedingly abundantly more than we could have imagined. We are praying for what God has next for the Budd family. Are you asking God for what He has for you? We pray that you are listening for the answer.

Keep Praying

Pastor Charlie

I do a lot of things to reward myself for being in the world. Personally, this keeps me going because I pay attention to the others a lot and when I don’t forget to pay attention to myself too (which in the past I have done) my inner balance is firmly grounded.

1. Schedule a time for yourself

Just keep in mind that the things you schedule eat up the things you don’t schedule.

Every morning I wake up 30 min earlier than I am supposed to and I have 30 min to be lazy, to day dream (no more work related nightmare scenarios early in the morning), to lay down in bed and do absolutely nothing. What a great start! The next thing I know is – before I step outside my front door I already have tons and ton of hair and make up products on me. As a woman who values the inner Goddess I make sure that I express my inner beauty every day in a unique way. As soon as I get compliments on my style, my hair, my make up, I of course innocently say “Thank you”, meaning “I know (wink), I worked hard for it. I’m glad it show and glows”

2. Make it a practice

One of the things that excite me the most is to connect with people in a meaningful way. What I do is – every day I schedule a time to small talk with the people who support me and make me feel happy. Conversations where people are negative, blaming, complaining are not part of my life any more. I know better and I do better. If somebody wants to engage me into being their emotional trashcan all I do is say: No, thanks. I’ll pass this.

3. Reward yourself for your success even before you achieve it

What I do, and it had always worked for me, is when I want something very much to motivate myself with Starbucks coffee. What I do is, I tell myself – “Now, that I am going to celebrate my success with this coffee even though I don’t have it yet, the manifestation of my success I definitely on its fast track way. Of course, after I take my time to drink my coffee and enjoy the taste of my success, I summon all my strength and actually go for it.

How about you? What do you do to treat yourself?

I challenge you to do one thing for yourself this week and share it on the board. One thing just for you and nobody else!

Put YURSELF First! © 2008 Tsvetanka Petrova. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Tsvetanka (Sue) Petrova, the Life and Money Coach, is a successful young, fabulous and rich entrepreneur and coach who helps executives and self-employed professionals to effortlessly strengthen their talents and attract more revenue. She has a first-hand experience with overcoming impossible obstacles, surviving through all storms and attaining unimaginable financial and personal success as a result. Sue’s blog and web site are a valuable resource with free articles and success tools. You can visit them at tsvetankapetrova.wordpress.com and www.aheartsdesires.com

Author’s note: Please feel free to use this article for your own web site or newsletter. However, the “About the Author“ information and the copyright line need to be present in your reprint of this article. Also note, that this article is not to be altered or published incomplete and a copy of your reprint is sent to Sue@aheartsdesires.com

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