Motivation For Life Tips

Tithing Education - Giving From Guilt

2009-10-02T08:48:00.001-07:00

If you're part of any organized religion and donate money on a regular basis, do you know where your money is going? Have you ever asked what they are spending the money on? Are you one of those people who feels that your pastor and church leaders know best and never even ask them, because you might feel inferior to them? Have you asked in the past and were told not to worry about it but still would like to know.

Before you give your hard earned money away, whether you're doing it out of guilt or pleasure, make sure you're supporting the right organization. You should never feel the need to donate money if you don't have it to give.

I went to a church that had funds for everything, building funds, starvation funds, church funds and even funds to fund of funds if they ran out of money. Okay I just threw that last part in their but all kidding aside, there's plenty of stuff to be done in our country, to help the starving, the poor and the needy. Why do we need to go to other countries?

I want to make a suggestion to people who can't afford to give their money away but feel guilty if they don't. In the Bible it tells you to give away 10% of your earnings to the church. The part that it doesn't tell you is what to do if you can't afford to give 10% to the church. I personally have known quite a few people who give money out of guilt and fear but will tell you that this is a requirement of their religion and its okay. God will take care of us and he always does.

I don't really believe God, the all powerful all-knowing and loving creator, wants us to suffer, if we just don't make enough money to survive. If you're planning on sending your child to a Christian private school and could only afford to send them to that school, using the money that you were going to tithe to the church, what will you do? Tithe the money to the church so that they can use it to feed hungry people in other countries or build a new church somewhere or help with your child's education.

Some of these decisions are made difficult by religious doctrine and these are the parts of organized religion that I have problems with. When do we use common sense, combined with a little education to seek the truth. Does your religion ask you to seek the truth but not to gather your information beyond their religious boundaries?

Only give what you can afford to give and feel good about it. If you don't feel good about giving your money away, don't do it. Take care of yourself, so that you can take care of others, if you choose to. Living a life of fear and guilt doesn't make sense.

Question Your Religion

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Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a religious help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Rocking the Foundation of Christianity

2009-10-01T21:22:00.001-07:00

Whatever you build a house, you start with the foundation, if you're writing a book, it might be an outline for the table of contacts, but when were talking about Christianity, rarely do any Christians ever research the origins or how Christianity began.

Most Christians assume that Jesus was the one who started Christianity, however, he was Jewish and there is a good chance that he never even thought about starting a new religion. I know, Jesus is God and he knows everything and he knew that he was going to start Christianity. Okay, but what if.

That might not be entirely true. We don't have any proof that Jesus was actually a superior god like being. We can speculate or assume all that we want to, however there is very little evidence to support, that Jesus did anything that the writers of the New Testament, suggested he had done.

I would like to challenge most Christians, to do a little research and quite possibly start rocking the foundation of Christianity. It's much more important to understand Christianity than to call yourself a Christian. Will a little bit of research help or hurt you, as you study Christianity.

You can start by looking at the origins of the Bible, the Council of Nicaea, the Emperor Constantine, the missing years of Jesus in the early Roman Catholic Church.

To understand anything, you must understand its origins. Take some time out of your busy life, to start studying the foundation of Christianity.

Do Christians Believe Everything
You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:
Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a Christian Article Library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.
Thanks

Good Christians Really Do Inspire Me

2009-10-01T08:59:00.001-07:00

One of the best Christians who I ever met, truly inspired me and everyone around him to become a better person. His son is now working at a church and his daughter is a teacher and they're not the only people who he inspired.

He inspired me to write this article, good Christians really do inspire me and others and he definitely was living his life, like Jesus did. He's the only person that I ever met, who didn't have anything bad to say about anyone, with the exception of one time. I actually heard him say that he hates that person, the person probably deserved it, but I still couldn't believe that the word came out of his mouth.

We all make mistakes, even he did, every once in a while. Whenever someone asked him about Christianity, he would try to avoid sharing his beliefs with them, unless they were persistent and then he would share all that he knew.

He never tried to convert anyone and never forced his opinions on anyone else. I asked him once," Did he actually read all of those books that he had in his library." He said that he actually did and I was shocked. He had three large library shelves that were each 4 foot wide and went almost all the way up to the ceiling, filled with books on Christianity and some on other religions.

He's the only man I ever met, that I would actually consider to be a good Christian. I don't know what it was about him, his honesty, compassion or simple kindness, but I valued his friendships and kept my ears open and my mouth shut... most of the time.

If you know someone like this in your life, I would advise you to take full advantage of their wisdom and let them inspire you to become a better Christian and if you don't believe in Christianity, these people can inspire you to become better person. A great life can be acquired, learning the wisdom from people who lead great lives.

Unbelievable Christian Bible Study Book

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Do you really know why you're a Christian, click on this way to get more information about Becoming Really Good Christians

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author and a inspiration to millions of people. He has been involved in religious research for almost 30 years, and his influence in the Christian community is growing. The Holy Bible, is the core to Christian beliefs and most Christians don't even question it. Was the Bible actually written by men?

His newest book," Did God Actually Say That?" Was written specifically for Christians who are interested in gaining additional knowledge about the Bible. This book provides Christians with advanced biblical knowledge, answer some tough questions and should be read by every faithful follower of Christ.

Thanks for reading my articles

Many Benefits of Meditation

2009-09-14T20:39:00.001-07:00

Meditation is a way of life. It leads one to the path of health and peace.

Meditation is not easy. One needs a mental discipline and dedication. It requires perseverance just like those who are dedicated to their sports, art or other field of endeavour. Over time, their performance is enhanced through their dedication and discipline. There is much to gain from learning to embrace the practice of meditation. It is not as awkward and uncomfortable as some may think.

Meditation works through the brain circuitry. Meditative practice helps people achieve different levels of awareness. Through meditation. the brain waves get organized and mental activities like focus, memory, learning and awareness are sharpened. Benefits of meditation touches on the physical, psychological and spiritual level. Many medical practitioners believe in the benefits of meditation.

PHYSICAL HEALING

Stress reduction

Today's world is stressful. Negative emotions invade our everyday life. These manifest as disappointments, regrets, overwhelming responsibilities, relationship issues, failure, feelings of rejection and a lot of other issues. There are many physical conditions triggered by stress such as hypertension, cardio-vascular disorders, ulcers, skin rash and insomnia, just to name a few.

Calm down, relax. These are words we hear when stress starts to take over. Meditation offers the promise of a tranquil and calm mind. Meditation is not a review of what could have been and other thoughts of uncertainty. It is not a rehash of unpleasant events. Meditation is a way to relax the mind and focus on the present moment. A calmer mind is empowering. Issues are not threatening.

Levels of cortisol and lactate are lowered through meditation. These chemicals are linked with stress. During deep meditation, the metabolic rate and heart rate are reduced. It is a process of slowing down. This state will not be achieved quickly.With patience and dedication, a meditator will get to this state.

PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALING

Meditation quietens the mind. This brings about coherence in the brain waves. When the brain wave activities are in harmony, this is associated with improved reasoning and greater creativity. The clutter in the mind is minimized.

Other psychological benefits are decreased anxiety, decreased depression and irritability. With a quieter mind, the power of concentration is improved, memory is enhanced, vigor and vitality is renewed, better emotional stability and self-awareness. A calmer person finds inner peace and happiness and projects this on the outside. Meditation makes one realize that problems people worry about are trivial.

SPIRITUAL

Meditation is a way to connect with inner feelings. It guides one to feel calm, love and peace. Acknowledge negative feelings and let these go.The goals of meditation is to replace these with positive feelings. Meditation helps one to go deeper into one's being and appreciate what a relief it is to be able to surrender negative thoughts, let go all negative feelings that cloud judgment and reason.

Meditation ushers one into a different world. There is an experience of feeling peaceful and general well-being. Intuitive capabilities are enhanced with a feeling of assurance and "knowingness." One embraces unconditional love and psychic abilities are sharpened.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

Breathing is very important in meditation. It is a way to calm down and quieten the clutter in the mind. Thoughts will come and go as one meditates, especially at the start. Don't let this discourage you. Even expert meditators experience fleeting thoughts that intrude into their meditation. Just let it go and continue meditating.

The proper way to breathe is to extend the stomach on inhale, and contract on exhale. The shoulders should not move. Focus on counting as you breathe in and out.

Sit in an upright position, on the floor, lotus or semi- lotus position or sit on a chair. It is important to be comfortable.

Focus on breathing and nothing else.

Start with count of four or five as you breathe in. Hold your breath

Count the same as you breathe out.

Thoughts will come and go, don't let this stop you, just keep counting and breathing.

As you practice, increase the count. Savor the calmness and relax. Slowly, you can adopt a mantra, this helps you to keep your focus. As you practise, you will be able to clear your mind of intrusive thoughts. As time moves on, so will you. Discover the surreal world of meditation. There is a lot of doors to open.

Bonnie Moss writes to inspire and to motivate her readers to explore the depths of their heart and soul and make a difference in this world. She draws from personal experience and her interest in spirituality.

Visit her website :

http://goldencupcafe.tripod.com

Outdoor Feng Shui

2009-09-14T07:36:00.001-07:00

Many homeowners pay careful attention to designing the inside of their homes and forget to take a good look at the outside. What does the exterior of your home look like? Does it convey a feeling of success and wealth, or does it suggest a feeling of poverty and misfortune?

I recommend you go outside and pretend you're seeing your house for the very first time. How does it look? Is there paint peeling? Are there things to be repaired, cleaned, planted, mulched or trimmed? If so, that's negative energy. It's important to create positive outdoor energy to allow new "opportunities to knock."

In Feng Shui, your front door is known as the "mouth of chi." It's the most important part of your home because this is where the energy enters. Your front entrance must be inviting. Is your front door clearly visible or is there confusion on where to go? Is there a clear pathway to your door? Is it well lit? If you gave me directions to your house can I find it easily? Is your house clearly numbered? If your pathway is blocked energy can't flow in. Since the front door is known as the "door to opportunity" if your front entrance is uninviting, cluttered or blocked you might be having financial difficulties, poor health, unhappy relationships, or constantly have obstacles get in your way.

Here are some Feng Shui Tips to get you started.

A painted front door can uplift the energy outside your home and also dazzle your entrance. A green door symbolizes money, a red door represents good fortune, a purple door signifies spirituality and a gold door welcomes prosperity.

Welcome mats are great for welcoming friends as well as new opportunities to come your way. Or if you prefer, you can even hang a welcome sign on your door at eye level.

Placing plants and flowers at your front entrance in beautiful, rich-looking containers can give your porch a facelift. Just be sure to stay away from unfriendly cactus or plants with pointed, spiky leaves.

Wind chimes are great for circulating the energy outside your home. You can place them anywhere on your property. I have one on my front porch to keep the positive energy ringing in.

Water fountains are considered to be lucky elements outside your home. They can be placed in your front or back yard. Since flowing water is associated with money, abundance and prosperity, the water should always flow towards your house. Just make sure that the water stays clean and flowing.

By now you have a few Feng Shui ideas to get you started on sprucing up your outdoors. It's important to beautifully "dress" the outside of your home and have fun in the process!

If you enjoyed this article, you'll love "Feng Shui Made Simple: Room By Room" ebook. Since your home mirrors your life it's important to create an environment that supports your goals and dreams. You have the power to create your best life yet and this book will give you the tools. Click this link to read more about this book: http://tinyurl.com/98rtkb

Setting Up Your First Fish Tank

2009-09-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

I still remember every minute of the day I got my first fish tank. Of course, I said I wanted to start small, so I got my 10 gallon tank with 3 small Goldfish...six months later, I had a 75 gallon tank with 9 Goldfish. So, if you don't want to repeat the whole process very soon, I would recommend getting the largest tank that you can accommodate. It's actually easier to clean a bigger tank than a smaller one. Small tanks and bowls require a lot more maintenance, believe it or not. You can find more information about all that throughout the site. For now, let's hope that this guideline can help you set up your fish tank. Like I said, you can start with a 10, 20, 30 gallon tank or bigger, made of glass or acrylic. Glass is traditional, but the advantages of an acrylic tank are many. It's a lot lighter, seamless, and the clarity is unbeatable. Just remember to buy cleaning tools for acrylic and not glass.

Get an under gravel filter, UGF, a plastic cover with a fluorescent light, one pound-per-gallon of aquarium gravel or sand, an air pump and a heater. If you have some extra change, get a power head instead of an air pump and replace the hanging heater with a submergible model.

You can buy a complete setup without ornaments for a low price, and this is a great beginning. You also need a stand that can hold the tank. Remember it'll be very heavy once you add the water. Start out with plastic plants, and plastic or resin, maybe wood, stone or ceramic decorations. Be careful, not every rock or toy is good for your tank. Some have toxins that can kill your fish. Remember, a larger tank is easier to maintain than a small one and it can hold many more fish, which will lead to a more pleasant experience of fish keeping.

Once you have the equipment, the rest is easy. Choose a stable place to set the tank in your home.

Once it's filled you won't be able to move it without emptying it first and you don't want to do that, and try no to put it under the direct sunlight of a window or a very hot area, since heat makes algae grow faster, which means, cleaning will be harder.

There are more complicated and expensive ways to filter the gravel, but I recommend using under gravel filters (UGF). These sit on top of the glass in the bottom of the aquarium. Lift tubes are inserted into the risers at the rear of the filter, and then the under gravel filter is covered with gravel.

Rinse the gravel well and spread it so you get an even layer. You always have to rinse everything very well before putting it in the tank.

Now add the heater and the water pumps if necessary. If you have a hanging heater, hang it off the back, where you can still see it and tell if it's on. A submersible heater should go near the bottom of the tank because the heat rises. Find a location for your air pump and put your air line and air stones in. You will also need a gang valve for the air line, which will let you run two lift tubes off of a single outlet air pump. Run a piece of air line from the air pump to the gang valve. Run another air line from the gang valve to each of your lift tubes. Read the instructions for your filter to see exactly how to attach the air line to your particular air stones.

Power heads are great for aquariums. They draw water from under the UGF and pump it out of the power head, creating water movement as well as delivering oxygen to the fish and the beneficial bacteria that live in the gravel (substrate).

There are also mechanical filters on the market. I prefer the ones with a Bio Wheel. The Bio Wheel is a paper like cylinder that rotates as the water is returned to the tank. Beneficial bacteria live on the wheel and helps increase the biological cycle.

Now place your ornaments in the tank and see where you want them before you get your hands wet. Expect some ceramic or plastic decorations to float or tip over as you put water in the tank.

Once your decorations are in place, you are ready to add water. You can just pour tap water into the tank and since you have no fish, plants, or a biological filter to worry about, add the treatment after the tank is full. Be careful that the water doesn't dig a hole in the gravel as you pour it in.

It's good to wait a couple of days before adding fish. Remember that patience is important to have long living, happy fish.

Then you'll be ready to start the biological cycling process.

If you want more information about setting up or maintaining a fish tank, visit me at: http://www.thefishtankplace.com.

8 Feng Shui Ways to Be a Grandparent

2009-09-13T04:49:00.001-07:00

You may ask what being a grandparent has to do with Feng Shui. My answer is, 'Feng Shui is our reaction to the environment.' Family is a piece of the puzzle.

Reflect back to when you heard you were becoming a grandparent, or fantasize about what it will be like. Did you or will you think, "I'm not ready for this?" Or, were you like (or will you be like) me ... so excited? The honor of a new life in our family meant many things, and I couldn't help but also daydream at the prospect of playing again, and freedoms I didn't feel I had as a parent. It is said that 'once a man, twice a child;' (Rabbis) -- meaning we are born and die with limited mental capabilities, yet live as adults once. While debatable, you get the concept.

Growing up, I did not want to hear how my parents walked a mile in snow to go to school. Certainly, our children don't want to hear the 'same old' from us. In most cases, they can't relate. Actually, my mother never went to school. She was in an Australian adoption home, never feeling wanted (and before education and 'school' was mandated). Dad left home at 16 to join the service because his father passed, and his Mother couldn't afford five children during the depression (one with a disability). As far as grandparents, I only knew one. She came to live with us following an auto accident, and on a good day she tolerated us.

Before both my parents passed, I asked each if we could go through pictures. Mom was an amateur photographer so she was delighted to dig the photos out. This endeavor was one of the most memorable times I had with them. Instead of asking what the pictures were ... I asked what they were going through at the time, who their support group was, and what their joys and fears were. After all, we all have heavy boots to wear (something to learn, ways that we suffer). My parents met during World War II and my uncles all served. The reality is that life doesn't come with an instruction manual (whether a parent, sibling, spouse, or parent). The questions I asked my parents were open ended, and invoked a bigger-picture explanation. Their answers provided a real glimpse into their lives.

So, this article is about children. We can ask ourselves how our lives would be different "if." We can't go back (at least not yet) so it is our duty to go forward. Learn from the past and don't make the same mistakes. My first pregnancy was an ectopic one so I never saw my child. My second born was my daughter (who eventually passed over). Keeping a long story short, decades later, my granddaughter was born. Gems that I have learned and want to share with you are listed below in a short list. It's not necessarily inclusive, and it is a place to start. Remember, our youth is our future. Help create it!

Eight Feng Shui ways to Be a Grandparent:

1. When viewing a picture of your grandchild, ask them what is going on in their life (friends, bullies, teachers they like, teachers they don't (and why to both), etc.) rather than about the picture itself.

2. Encourage them to be all they can be. Limitations will reveal themselves as your grandchild grows. Remember to include lost arts such as manners, and contributions such as chores.

3. Teach them that money is a tool, not an end to a means. That being said, also teach them how to manage money -- balance a checkbook, save, and avoid debt.

4. Set an example of acceptance. This might be an act of kindness every day to a stranger or neighbor. Let them see that everyone deserves respect.

5. Actions speak louder than words.

a. When you help others, take your grandchild with you.
b. When you volunteer (soup kitchen, food bank, clothing drive, picking up trash, etc.), take them with you.
c. When you vote, take them with you.
d. Let them know their action and words make a difference. Complaining isn't productive-instead, action discloses ways that work (or are discoveries in and of themselves). Coach them that wounds may heal but unkind words last forever-what we put into the world comes back to us.
e. Consider a change of perspective (make another city or country available). A change of environment can be eye opening.

6. Educate them that instant gratification is temporary.

a. Each person needs to learn their own truth and purpose. That means reading, processing, problem solving, and learning.
b. Technology (TV, the internet, iPods, etc.) occupies us but what has it really made better? Information can be controlled and manipulated. Take your grandchildren into nature and explore the wonders there. Seek other people to expand your horizons.
c. Enroll your grandchildren in growing, cooking, and shopping for healthy food.
d. Tutor them on what is good for Mother Earth (what is meant by sustainable, renewable, and attuning to the environment). It is rewarding to reuse, renew, and recycle.

7. Persuade them to write their own legacy-begin with the end in mind. Each one of us has an innate desire to make a difference. Ask your grandchild how they want to be remembered, and be supportive when the story changes.

8. Love them unconditionally. Let them know that no matter what happens, you are there for them.

There are wonderful books these days that offer more ideas, but I hope this has provided tips on 'being' with a grandchild. It is easy to get caught up in doing and buying, but 'being' means sharing ourselves.

Have you ever heard, "I'll be a better parent than you were!"? A great response to that is, "Good, you got it! We're supposed to learn as we grow." As you've heard before, 'We did not inherit the Earth of our forefathers, we inherited it from our children' (Crazy Horse). It reinforces the notion that we need to do things differently.

In conclusion, when people want to know what Feng Shui is, to me it is ultimately feeling safe and secure in my environment. My husband and I collect our granddaughter a couple times a month for an extended visit. We play, read, explore, and talk. It is a sacred time and an absolute joy. Hope for the future depends on what we make of today. It isn't up to one leader, one nation, or one relationship. It is up to us!

Diana Garber is a classic Feng Shui practitioner with nearly 30 years experience in energy and risk management. Her extensive corporate background and work with Fortune 100 companies sets her apart as an international consultant, speaker, author, and seasoned program manager. She utilizes over a dozen sciences to evaluate influences such as electromagnetic currents, geopathic stress, and other factors internal and external to one's living or work environments to improve clients' lives. Please visit our Web site at http://www.intuitiveconcepts.com for information, testimonies, and much more.

Chinese Proverbs

2009-09-12T15:39:00.001-07:00

Nearly every society boasts of a high-quality collection of proverbs which denote life experiences along with the materialistic and intellectual depths of that culture. Humans are humans and by and large our understanding of the universe differs between every individual. Indisputably, each culture is one of a kind in a number of ways, and proverbs offer us a window to see the difference and the similarity between various cultures. Chinese proverbs could easily be termed as a living history as they unite the distant past with the present. They present a window through which Chinese people have traditionally and even presently view and understand their lives.

These proverbs are admired for their simplicity and wisdom, and the simple sheer number of them. You might derive a sense of gratification by going through this ancient heritage and will equally recognize the significance of these sayings. Chinese proverbs have the ability to take you back to the traditional Chinese way of life. With a 4,000-year record of civilization and culture, the Chinese have produced countless proverbs and you will find a proverb for almost any modern-day situation. In China, the well thought-out use of Chinese proverbs in writing is regarded as a symbol of higher learning and knowledge rather than a general knowledge of folklore or cliches.

A number of these proverbs and simply profound, having been crafted with the purpose of alleviating the sometimes unconventional thoughts and myths which permeated Chinese society at the time. These proverbs provide insight and tidbits of wisdom about Chinese society. Structurally, all proverbs can be further grouped into established phrases, proverbial sayings, admired sayings and two-part symbolic sayings. These are all incomparable to each other in the Chinese language, and are all vibrant with metaphors and layered meanings. Whilst most Chinese proverbs consist of only a few characters (words), when joined together they represent a tremendous amount of cultural depth, history and backstory.

An example of a Chinese proverb translated into English is: "A single ant may wipe out an entire dam, and be only afraid of standing still rather than to work slowly" which symbolizes at a surface level the power of every single individual in this universe. The proverb "Behind an able man, there are always other able men" signifies that being a leader will inspire others to follow. "Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one" shows that man is a rational creature. "Better a good deed done close to home than a journey far away to burn incense" shows that people should be modest and stay away from pompous displays of fluff. "It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness" sums up the Chinese Confucian philosophy to life - do something to alleviate your idleness, don't just complain about it.

Jackie Tan is a Feng Shui writer and enthusiast, and part of the team behind BeingBlissful.com

Types of Salt in the Market

2009-09-12T02:11:00.001-07:00

If you pay some attention on the health issues today, there are many articles discussed about the effect of salt in our diet. In the market today, we can find it in many forms and each carries different contents depend on the application, flavor and place of origin. Some is claimed to be better than the other in terms of mineral contents and processes, so we need to know what we consume everyday and do we have better options?

Table salt
It is what we buy from the shops and consume in our food everyday. We use it for cooking most of the time because it is the cheapest and easily available. It contains mostly sodium chloride with additional of iodine. It is currently produced by evaporation of sea water or brine. Usually it is obtained from brine wells and making use of energy from sunlight. Other than cooking, it is also used in manufacturing of pulp and paper, produce soap and so on. Recently there are many health issue associate with it especially high blood pressure.

Kosher
It has a much larger grain size, and a more open granular structure. It is coarse-grained and free of additives that tend to cause pickling solutions to cloud.

Sea salt
It is believed to be better in taste and texture. It is also the coarse and unrefined sea salt that contains many minerals, such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sulfate. It generally lacks high concentrations of iodine an element essential for human health, it is not necessarily a healthful substitute for regular iodized table salt

Black salt
It is usually found in Indian markets and sounds uncommon to people in other locations. The characteristic is that it is strong in flavor. The structure is unrefined, and it is actually pinkish gray and has a strong sulfuric flavor. In traditional medicine, it is considered as a cooling spice in Ayurvedic medicine.

Bamboo salt
It is roasted in bamboo and contains more types of minerals balance that is suitable for our body. It is originated from Korean traditional medicine practice. It is believed that it contains the benefit of salt, bamboo and yellow clay that mixed together during the burning process. In order to enhance the benefits, it is repeatedly roasted in bamboo for 3-9 times before it is good for consumption.

Rock salt
It is also called halite and it is inedible. It is the mineral form of Sodium Chloride (NaCl), typically is colorless to yellow, sometime may also in light blue, dark blue, and pink depending on the amount and type of impurities. The primary use is to make ice cream. It is also used to clear highway from icing during winter.

Understanding salt can help us a lot and it is the basic to our health, the reason is simple, because everybody needs it. Our body needs it to stay healthy and nutritionally balanced provided we take the correct type. We need more mineral balanced type of salt to maintain the proper function in our body and stay in good health.

by Steven Chai, a purchasing manager in metal scrap industry, affected by financial crisis and go into home business. He started up a new website for Bamboo Salt.

Grandparents As Primary Caregivers - Paradise Lost

2009-09-11T12:07:00.001-07:00

The true definition of a grandparent is the parent of a child's parent. In today's society, more and more grandparents are stepping in as parents because their son or daughter is unwilling or unable to give their child proper care. While this situation may be better off for the well being of the child, both the grandparent and the child lose something in the process

Children can learn quite a lot from their grandparent if both parties are in their traditional roles. They can spend quality time together and form a deep and lasting bond because the grandparent is able to treat the grandchild as an equal. But this equation changes as the grandparent becomes the parent. He is now the authority figure in the child' s life and may even had to come out of retirement to provide for the child. As for spending quality time with the child, there is a good reason that as human beings we have our children when we are younger. The grandparent may not have the stamina to work and spend time with the child. The chance to form that special bond between the grandparent and the grand child has disappeared.

Psychologically speaking, returning to being a parent figure after so many years can also put extra stress on the grandparent. These older people do not have the patience or the tolerance to raise another child, and may be dealing with feelings of guilt because of the anger that they feel towards their own child for placing them in this position. The child may also be dealing with feelings of abandonment, which the grandparent is trying to cope with also. Basically, it is an emotional time bomb that could explode at any moment and the grandparent may not have the strength to defuse the situation. All these volatile feelings can also block the way to the grandparent and grandchild having a normal relationship.

If as a grandparent you find yourself in the position as parent to your grandchild, there are several things that you can do to make the situation as easy as possible. First, you should take care of your health. You have someone else depending on you now and you can't afford to end up sick or in the hospital.

You may also want to take some parenting courses at a local school or online. It may have been quite a few years since you were a parent and the issues faced by today's youth may have you at a loss. You can also check for support groups for grandparents in the role of parents. These other older adults may give you some insight into the child's feelings and reactions.

You may also want to consider counseling for both you and your grandchild. You are both dealing with a lot of strong emotions, you towards your child and your grandchild towards his parent. By going through therapy together, you may find that it will create a bond between you and your grandchild. It may also make him feel better to know that you are just as confused as he is.

Finally, you should see an attorney to discover how you can obtain any legal documentation that your grandchild may need as well as starting permanent custody arrangements.

Transforming from a grandparent to a parent is not an easy situation for any of the parties concerned. You should keep talking to your grandchild and show him that you love and support him while both of you are making the transition. After all, the two of you are in it together and you may be surprised to discover that you both make a pretty good team.

Find helpful and creative ideas for parents and grandparents while you shop our affordable kids furniture. For more information, visit this article on wooden toy boxes

Lighting a Charcoal BBQ Grill Fast and Easy

2009-09-10T22:29:00.001-07:00

The best as well as the easiest way to light charcoal briquettes is by using a charcoal chimney starter. This is an aluminum cylinder with a wooden handle on the outside and a metal shelf on the inside that separates the cylinder into to sections. The top section is about 2/3 the length of the cylinder and the bottom section is 1/3 the length of the cylinder. There are round holes surrounding the bottom 1/3 of the cylinder as well as holes inside on the shelf that separates the two sections.

To use the charcoal chimney starter, you need 2 to 3 sheets of newspaper. Wad or roll the sheets together loosely into a long cylinder. I don't wrap it too tight so that air can circulate while it is burning. Curl the the sheets into a donut shape with a hole in the center. Fit the paper donut into the bottom of the chimney starter. Try to have a few stray pieces of paper sticking out of the holes. This makes it easier to light. If you want you can use paraffin cubes either bought in the store or made out of something like a cardboard egg crate you buy your eggs in.

Fill the top section of the cylinder with charcoal. I prefer to use briquettes in the chimney starter. Lump charcoal burns too quickly. Place the chimney starter on the floor or charcoal shelf of your bbq grill and light the newspaper through the holes on the bottom of the charcoal chimney starter. The charcoal lights fairly fast and should be ready in about 15 minutes. Lump charcoal is a lot faster to start but also burns out faster, so I don't use it in the chimney starter. The charcoal is ready when you see a coating of white ash over almost all of the charcoals.

When the coals are ready, carefully poor the coals into the grill and spread them evenly around the grill bed. Remember to safely place the very hot charcoal chimney starter away from pets and children so they don't get burned. Also, don't put the hot chimney starter on the grass because it can cause a fire.

A second method to light the charcoals is with paraffin cubes bought at a store or made at home with cardboard egg crates. Place a few paraffin cubes in the middle of your grill bed or charcoal grate. Then build a pyramid of charcoal briquettes over and around the paraffin cubes. Light the cube and when all the briquettes are evenly lit and covered with ash spread them evenly out around the grill bed.

I don't like or recommend starter fluid readily available in stores. These fluids can impart a taste to the charcoal that I don't like and I prefer a more natural non chemical way to start my fire.

A chimney starter holds about 90 to 100 briquettes. This should cover 2/3 of the area of a standard 22 1/2 inch standard charcoal kettle grill like the commonly used Webber kettle grill. It is important to use the right amount of briquettes so that you get an even heat. The charcoal briquettes should extend a minimum of 4 inches in every direction beyond whatever food you are cooking. This will allow an even heat and let your food cook evenly.

For more tips and great information to make your next barbecue memorable visit the bbq-expert.com We show you what to look for in your next bbq grill, how to light a charcoal bbq grill properly and everything in between.

Numbers in Feng Shui and the Fortunate Number 8

2009-09-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

There has been so much discussion about feng shui with the Olympic Games in Beijing and in particular the symbolism and meaning of numbers. It was interesting to hear western broadcasters repeatedly refer to the fortunate number "8". So Let's talk about the number 8 in feng shui terms. Presently, we are in what is called a period 8 cycle.

Cycles in feng shui are 20 years in length and the period 8 cycle began in 2004. The number 8 is associated with the northeast mountain, the earth element and the life aspiration of knowledge. We are careful not to place a water feature in the northeastern area of the home or property during period 8 because the water element competes with the earth element and in feng shui we are seeking to harmonize the elements. The numbers 1 through 9 are associated with the compass directions and their corresponding elements (fire, wood, earth, metal and water) plus the center of the home.

Because we are in period 8, the numbers 9 and 1 also having increasing energy. One aspect of the feng shui assessment is to analyze the numbers in each area of the home and harmonize the elements associated with them. For example, let's say the bedroom has a 3/8 combination. 3 = wood and 8 = earth; wood controls earth. In this 3/8 combination, the 8 is in the wealth/ career position and can be interpreted as 3 wood controlling or dominating the 8 earth wealth/career energy in the bedroom. As a consultant I would recommend to my client to place a red accent (perhaps a red candle) in this area of the home. The red candle or red accent serves to burn up the 3 wood and add to the 8 earth alleviating the dominating cycle of the elements and releasing the wealth/career position of the 8 earth.

This is one feng shui factor I always address when I am on a consultation. What is the number combination based on? It is based on the home's year of construction and the compass direction. On my website there are step by step instructions on how to take a compass reading (see Feng Shui Compass Instructions ). These are considered the "permanent" numbers and are part of the home's energy matrix. If you are able to supply me with the compass reading according to the instructions given and the year of construction I will send you a Customized 1 Page Report recommending which elements will harmonize the number combinations in the 8 areas plus the center of your home. The cost is $10.00.

To summarize, the fortunate number 8 being highlighted in the mainstream media is associated with the present 20 year cycle, known in feng shui circles as Period 8. The northeast part of the home is where the mountain 8 resides and your feng shui placement should include objects of art and accents that are gold. The idea is that you are unlocking the gold from the mountain! It has been a challenging economic year for so many people, particularly in the housing market, but I have to say by giving attention to the feng shui basics you can add to your own stability and support. Many of the powerful things in life are subtle.

MaryAnn Russell is an expert in the field of environmental energy. For over a decade the focus of her research and practice has been on the feng shui factors that truly influence the quality of people's lives. "The focus of my practice is to make feng shui relevant, practical and useful so that people can gain the greatest possible benefit from their living spaces." MaryAnn is the author of The Feng Shui Factor Modern Homes Ancient Blueprint. ISBN: 978-1-4218-9965-7 - Available at 1stworldpublishing.com and Amazon.com

For more tips, video presentation, purchase book go to:
http://www.fengshuifactor.com
MaryAnn Russell
714.842.7728

Why You Shouldn't Hate Math

2009-09-08T06:26:00.001-07:00

People hate math, at least that's what they're always telling me. Of course, being the way that I am, I have to make converts of everyone. I don't know what my passion is exactly, that drives me to convert the "math haters," but I simply cannot overcome the compulsion to do so. To me, there is not just beauty in mathematics but something else which is spiritual. It's as though God speaks to us through this strange and mysterious language. For this reason, I always approach the subject with a certain degree of humility and reverence, knowing that I can be both abased and exalted by its magnificence.

But why try to make math converts? Why not simply preach to the choir of that rare group of math lovers? Well firstly, the latter group is minuscule in comparison to the former, and secondly, there has always been something noble in trying to make a "believer" out of a "doubter." Moreover, I have this firm belief that our society advances or stands still according to the progress of its children. If the children of society are reared properly, then the future success of such a society is strongly enhanced. If the children are adulterated, ill-educated, and poorly motivated........well, then guess what? Do you really expect a brighter future for mankind? Hardly.

It is for this reason that I go around preaching the importance of mathematics, particularly the foundations of arithmetic. To this day, when I work with a student and see him or her struggling with the topic at hand-whether it be algebra, geometry, or even a higher branch such as calculus-I come to observe that invariably a weak foundation is the root cause of the struggle. In addition, the student's lack of confidence makes the fight even more challenging. The struggle having increased without remedy, the student eventually succumbs and adopts an "I hate math" attitude.

What is encouraging for such cases and certainly worth stressing is that all of mathematics hinges on the basics of arithmetic. It is unfortunate that much of a student's frustration in his studies later on is the result of poor mastery of arithmetic. For this reason I say, "Soundly drill this discipline into the minds of our children and the chances of success in higher mathematics is dramatically increased." A good analogy to make would be with sports and professional athletes. Expert athletes master the basics. The Tiger Woods of the world spent countless hours practicing the fundamentals of golf swinging. The ace pitchers of baseball worked on mastering the mechanics of certain pitches. In both cases, these athletes practiced endless rounds with a keen focus on both speed and accuracy. Even great coaches understand the importance of the fundamentals: this is why athletes spend countless hours in training camp going over the basic exercises and drills. This same concept applies to mathematics. Master the basics and the chances of success later on are increased dramatically.

Consequently, in mathematics, once the foundations are mastered, success comes in this discipline as easily as it does in others. Okay. Maybe not as easily, but certainly success will come nonetheless. And as mathematics is so powerful in helping us march forward as a society-indeed mathematics unfolds to us mysteries of the very universe itself-there really is no need to hate this most awesome subject, but rather love it.

See more at Math Ebook Online Bookstore

Joe is a prolific writer of self-help and educational material and an award-winning former teacher of both college and high school mathematics. Under the penname, JC Page, Joe authored Arithmetic Magic, the little classic on the ABC's of arithmetic. Joe is also author of the charming self-help ebook, Making a Good Impression Every Time: The Secret to Instant Popularity; the original collection of poetry, Poems for the Mathematically Insecure, and the short but highly effective fraction troubleshooter Fractions for the Faint of Heart. The diverse genre of his writings (novel, short story, essay, script, and poetry)-particularly in regard to its educational flavor- continues to captivate readers and to earn him recognition.

Joe propagates his teaching philosophy through his articles and books and is dedicated to helping educate children living in impoverished countries. Toward this end, he donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every ebook. For more information go to http://www.mathbyjoe.com

Finding Homes Using the Internet - Home Shopping

2009-09-08T04:23:00.001-07:00

You can simply type the words real estate or homebuying into any search engine on the World Wide Web and you will come up with hundreds, maybe even thousands of websites that are extremely helpful and full of great information. Like the one you're on right now.

Finding homes with the internet, combined with a skilled real estate salesperson, provides you with the most effective technology available today. Most websites start out, having you select a state you would like to search in and then, select a city, with your price range.

By answering their questions, this narrows the search down to all of the homes available in the area. The internet has made home shopping very simple. Considering what you had to go through in the 1970s. You found a realtor or by looking in the yellow pages, sometimes you found a good realtor and if you are lucky, maybe you would find you a good home.

Most of the time, the first homes you would look at, were owned by the real estate professional you were working with.

There are however a couple of problems with using the internet to find your dream home. Some of the verbage used and photographs taken can create a wonderful illusion of a tropical paradise but the reality, it's a regular home in a decent neighborhood.

Some of these photos are taken by skilled photographers who take advantage of every angle and tend to give an illusion of grander. When you actually start driving around and looking at these homes, only then will you get a reality check, of what the home actually looks like. You'll get used to it.

After you've looked at a few of your future dream homes, you will get a better idea of what I'm talking about with these wonderful pictures and the extraordinary home descriptions like "Beautiful Three Bedroom House with an Ocean View." When reality it's a two-bedroom house with an extra closet for the third bedroom and the ocean is 45 miles away, but you can see it on a clear day if you actually climb to the top of the largest tree on the property.

Take your time when searching for your dream home and don't let any one push you into making a decision if you're not ready. If you find your real estate professional a little too aggressive or pushy, get out of your contract, if you've signed one and find another, more helpful real estate salesperson to help you with your home purchase.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a home buyers guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

Find other real estate tips and great advice, from another one of the Internet's best website creators.

What Happens To Nonbelieving

Time Management in the Workplace - Slow Down and Still Get More Done

2009-09-07T22:46:00.001-07:00

Do you know what an overworked machine looks like? It functions at its optimum level right before it finally breaks down.

Does this seem like you?

Has your life turned into one big race to beat the clock? Does it feel like no matter what you do, you can never seem to catch up? Has this pressure to catch up caused you to go into overdrive - working faster and harder - fearing that one day you too might just break down?

Being on overdrive leads us to belief that we are being more productive. However, the reality is, it can be the quite opposite. When you are on overdrive, you are in a "do, do, do!" mode, without being able to slow down and step back.

As a Result, Time Management in the Workplace Suffers.

Instead, step back and slow down. Doing this can be very beneficial to your overall productivity in the workplace. Slowing down allows you to plan so you can do more with less effort and time. It also allows you to think more clearly and strategize better as you are less stressed and have more energy.

So, if you seem to be caught running on all cylinders, yet can't seem to get anything accomplished, it's time to step on the brakes and slow down.

Listed below are useful strategies for time management in the workplace, which you can use to ease yourself out of overdrive, yet still be as productive as you want to be.

Time Management Strategy #1 - Learn to delegate tasks. Whenever possible, delegate less important errands, especially repetitive tasks that can be done by a lower level staff member or assistant. Assigning minor tasks to others gives you extra time to take care of the more important projects and assignments, especially those that are critical for decision making and those that impact the bottom line.

Delegation not only saves you time, but money as well. The less time you waste on petty errands, the more time and money you can save by focusing on the bigger goals. Of course, there will always be tasks that require your attention and personal touch, so focus on those tasks yourself.

Time Management Strategy #2 - Brainstorm. Hold meetings with your staff to brainstorm better time management in the workplace techniques. They may have fantastic ideas that they have not voiced because they were never given the opportunity. Their specific skills and experience puts them in a good position to make thoughtful recommendations on use of time, ease of work, and improving job efficiency. This will encourage your staff to work together as a group to become a more effective, time efficient unit.

Remember, heed smart ideas and give credit where it is due. Otherwise employees will be unwilling to share their ideas in the future.

Time Management Strategy #3 - Go for a Walk. Slowing down means clearing your mind from the cluttering effects of your office. The best way to do this is go outside, walk around, and get some fresh air. This may sound like a waste of time, but it is very effective in de-stressing which plays a big part in easing you out of overdrive.

Also, talking a nice relaxing walk helps you remove all the ancillary worries from your mind that can get in the way of important obligations you have to focus on. By eliminating these distractions, your mind can be freed to better focus on these obligations, be more creative, and hence, be more productive.

In the workplace, it is easy to find ourselves falling into a fast track routine. However, the fast track might not be the right track. Meaning, it might not be the best pace for you to do the things you need to get done. Instead of the fast track, focus on the smart track.

The smart track is to slow down, relax, and plan ahead on ways you can save time. Doing so will allow you to do more without burning out like our overworked machine we mentioned in the first paragraph.

To learn more time management in the workplace strategies and how to achieve a work life balance, visit http://www.selfmadeeasy.com, a self help and personal development company.

Bathroom Moisture Problems - Home Repair

2009-09-07T20:56:00.001-07:00

Right above my bathtub in my master bathroom the paint is peeling off the wall. The area is peeling above the tile in my bathtub and shower combination. I tried to glue the peeling paint back and only made the situation worst.

First things first. The paint is peeling because there is to much moisture in the bathroom while you are using it. Do you have any windows you can open or a ventilating bathroom fan. If you have a window crack it open part way while you are showering.

The water droplets will accumulate on the walls and drip into any cracks. Right above the tile grout is a great place for moisture to accumulate. Oh yeah moisture loves grout and drywall. If you have any unpainted areas or an area that has cracked. Guess what you have now.

Your paint is peeling because the bathroom gets hot and cold. Moist and dry. If you have the door and windows shut. You just created a moisture trap. Most people prefer their privacy and will closes the door when using the shower. Well then open the window and let some cold air in while you are taking a nice warn shower. I don't think so. Most showering fools don't like that idea either.

Ok one more idea keep the windows shut so you don't let the cold air in. Then lock the door so no on barges in on you. If you have a ventilation fan turn it on. This will at least pull fresh air in from under the door and send the moist air out of the house.

But the fan is so noisy and I can't enjoy my nice warm vapor producing shower that will eventually cause me to get sick from mold particles floating around in the air while I am using my bathroom.
Does this about sum it up for you and don't we all do this from time to time. We want to enjoy our shower time, so we close up everything and when we are in our bath sauna environment relaxing our house is getting some damaging moisture that could cause mold and mildew.

Open a window or door a little when you shower. Get some air circulating through the bathroom and prevent damage to your nice house.

Put up with a little inconvenience for you homes sake and your pocket book.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business in California for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building in North San Diego Home Remodeling Carlsbad Home Remodeling

Visit us now for Bathroom Ideas

Religion Articles

What You Need to Know to Improve Your Study Skills

2009-09-07T15:08:00.001-07:00

Improving your study skills will make you a better student when taking tests and exams for any subject. Students who struggle to perform on tests do so for a variety of reasons. A big reason why certain students struggle is a failure to prepare properly. Students may be studying but not fully using their time wisely. This article will talk about how motivation and a desire to be great is the fundamental building block to success.

Tiger Woods is a classic example of motivation and a desire to be great, having that motivation and desire means going to the driving range and hitting 1000 golf balls everyday. But how do you get motivated or if you perceive to not have motivation how do you develop it. The answer is to find what motivates you. What I mean by that is what do you want to accomplish. Not knowing what you want to achieve makes it very difficult to get motivated.

Motivation and desire are often not always the difference between a great student and a good student. Its the difference the majority of times between a good student and a student who just gets by. Improving your study skills takes commitment and a desire to want to change. In essence you have to be motivated to make that change. Motivation can happen very quickly if you make the conscience decision to embrace it. That is the point of this article and how it relates to improving your study skills. To improve you must focus on it, set goals and get motivated to learn new study skills and then apply them. If you do you will see results in the classroom and exams guaranteed.

I have written a ton of articles on tips and study suggestions but without goals, desire and motivation all these tips will not help you. Students who graduate Magna Cum Laude have the desire to be great in school. They have a focus, they make sacrifices and they are motivated to complete a task to the best of their ability. If you want to be great at whatever you do strive for it and don't stop until you reach your goals.

My motivation was to become a better student by learning how to improve my study skills and also learning how to increase my study speed. Motivation will help you become a better student guaranteed but you have to find it and use it. As mentioned before becoming a better student is learning how to increase your study speed. A website you can go to to learn the benefits of speed studying is here SpeedStudyMethod.com Imagine how well of a test taker you will be when you can study twice the material in half the time. My motivation was because I had more time to focus on other things. There are many benefits to using this method of studying. I used this method and was able to finish my undergrad in 3 and half years and currently I carry a 3.79 in my MBA program. If you want to be a better student follow these tips and check the website out you won't regret it.

Bathroom Faucet Leaks

2009-09-07T13:37:00.001-07:00

Faucet leaks can waste more water than you think. Have you ever put a cup or bowl underneath a leaky faucet and actually seen how much water is wasted. Leaky faucets should be repaired as soon as possible to prevent the waste of water in your home. Water is a precious resource and should be used wisely.

One slow drip from the faucet can waste over 5 gallons of water per day. If you think that's not a big deal, let me put it in perspective for you. 5 gallons of water per day equals 35 gallons per week, times 52 weeks in a year, that equals over 1800 gallons of water, and that's a lot of water.

The problem with a faucet leak isn't just the amount of water it waste, it will soon start to deteriorate your sinks, bathtubs and showers and could damage other sections of the home, like the wood framing. I've seen a water drip in a steel kitchen sink, in just a few years, wear a hole right through it. Keep in mind water and wind formed the Grand Canyon, water can be extremely erosive.

Faucet leaks can attract house pests, like mice, flies, ants and a wide variety of other insects.

Most faucets can usually be repaired for under $20. Most of the time the problem will be in the valves or handles that turn the water on and on. If you're not familiar with plumbing parts, you could pick up a do-it-yourself home repair manual or go online and look up the manufacturer of your faucet, for more information.

Usually the manufacturer has a diagram of the faucet, broken down into sections and you could get a pretty good idea, what parts you will need to remove, in order to replace the damaged part or parts that are creating the water leak.

Calling a plumber seems to be most homeowners last resort. They only do it if they absolutely have to. If you don't understand how a faucet works and have no desire to learn how, I would suggest you call a plumber or contact someone who can help you with your faucet leak, but get the faucet leak fixed and quit wasting water.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.
If your looking for some more bathroom remodeling or home building ideas.

Does God Make Mistakes

Jay McGraw's Life Strategies For Dealing With Bullies

2009-09-07T07:39:00.001-07:00

My little girl is only four years old, so bullies have not yet been much of a problem. (Except for one bigger boy at the park one day who made her cry, but we never did find out just what he said) However, as someone who also teaches martial arts and self-defense, I recognize the problem of bullies. In fact, I agree with Dr. Phil McGraw's first line of the foreword he wrote, "Bullies have been a huge problem for as long as there has been any kind of society." Therefore, I enjoyed Jay McGraw's "Life Strategies For Dealing With Bullies" very much. I provided me with further information for my teaching and writing, and I also have this great book on the shelf when my daughter gets a bit older. It will be a book we read and discuss together.

I like that this book teaches the reader how to help themselves, but also how to get help when bullied. No one should be intimidated, harassed, and especially physically abused, and those doing such things need to be stopped. This book has plenty of good advice on how to do just that.

The book is written so a younger person can understand it, but due to the serious topic, it is a good read for adults as well, especially those of us that are parents or work with kids. I especially liked that Jay McGraw emphasized that we must put a stop to bullying, and that starts with the reader.

The first chapter starts with a description of what bullying is. I was surprised to see that a year 2000 source claimed that more than five million students in grades six through eleven were affected by bullying. Readers will also find out there are many ways to bully, and in chapter two the focus is on e-bullying, something not around when I was a kid. Computers and technology have changed the way things are done, including bullying.

Chapter three discusses the whys of bullying and why people do it. I think this is important to know as one starts to confront bullying. Chapter four goes into the damage bullies can do, up to kids killing themselves. Reading this chapter I sure don't want any of these things to ever happen to my little girl. Chapter five helps the reader recognize when they are being bullied. Believe it or not, but some bullying is not as recognizable and obvious, but can still have harmful effects.

Chapter six is a great chapter if you think your child might be bullying others. It focuses on if you are a bully. With so many people being bullied, that means a lot are bullying. This is a good chapter to help recognize that and cut it off before it gets worse.

Chapter seven got into what I was really looking for, taking on bullies and what kids can do. This chapter is very good at helping the reader realize they have worth, and then it provides strategies to deal with bullies. When I grew up the advice for facing bullies was to stand up to them and pop them one and they would then leave you alone. This in fact does work, and has worked for people. However, I much prefer McGraw's "Fight Back Without Fighting" methods. The remind me of Bruce Lee in "Enter the Dragon," the art of fighting without fighting. With that said, I still believe there are times when physically fighting is appropriate. McGraw does not agree with me, but then he is not a martial artist and self-defense instructor. And there are times when someone must be able to stand up to bullies physically too.

The eighth chapter deals with bystanders. You might not be the victim of bullying, but as the title of chapter eight says, there are no innocent bystanders. This is a good chapter for anyone who knows of someone being bullied. Remember, this book is aimed at a younger audience, to actually help kids being bullied. So chapter nine focuses on educating parents. It tells kids how to ask for help. Chapter ten lets kids know what they can ask schools to do. And finally, chapter eleven discusses forgiving a bully.

I feel this is a very important book on a very important topic. I like that it is aimed at the younger audience, and would be very good for 9-13 year olds to read. Each chapter includes journal exercises that kids can at least think about and figure out for themselves what they can do, and what they will do.

This is a timely and much needed book. Five stars because he is addressing a very important topic. It provides tools to deal with bullies in a very direct no-nonsense approach. I recommend it for anyone who has kids that are being bullied, or for those kids who are bullies. It should also be read by those that work with kids and are in positions to help stop bullies and bullying. Stop bullying in its tracks, and start with Jay McGraw's "Life Strategies For Dealing With Bullies."

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He teaches people to live with the warrior's edge through his writing and speaking on a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com and http://bennettlawofficepc.com

Cost Effective Stair Building

2009-09-07T06:14:00.001-07:00

What is the most cost effective way of building stairs? Why do the tract homes use on site methods of construction? When you think of a factory assembling a product on a assembly line you think why not a home. Why do they still build homes on lots or residential home sites?

If homes could be built in a factory cheaper than on site that is exactly what every home builder would be doing. They just haven't quite figured it out yet. When dealing with the large amounts of materials required to build a house and of course the expense of shipping. It is not cost effective to build a conventional home in a factory and ship it over long distances.

This is the biggest problem with cost effective stair construction. Most prefabricated stairs you will notice are spiral stairs. These stairs are smaller than most stairs that are used for multi level construction.

Spiral stairs are hard for your average carpenter to build. These stairs can be purchased from a factory easily and quite inexpensive.

The stairs in your average two story house are going to weigh about 3 times the amount of a spiral set of stairs that could be shipped in a cost effective way. Spiral stairs are not going to be the main stairway in a home and normally go up to a loft or an attic. Most spiral stairs don't meet the minimum building requirements for the main stairway in your home.

When building tract homes the lumber is shipped in bulk directly to the house site where it will be assembled. The lumber and other building materials will be shipped once. If it went to a factory and then assembled it would also have to be sent to the site on which the house was to be built. This added expense in shipping the materials twice is the problem for such a large and heavy item such as a set of stairs.

There are other prefabricated types of stairs that are built locally and the shipping usually is not a major expense. If you are building a stairway that is not to difficult to build for the average carpenter it will normally be cost effective to build the stairs on site. This would require having the carpenter build the stairs as part of the rough framing and then after drywall have the finish carpenter build the stair handrail system.

Visit us now for easy Home Constuction Help

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

When Do We Get To Meet God

Questioning Your Religion - Movie Video

2009-09-07T00:12:00.001-07:00

Are you one of those who believed in your religion wholeheartedly and never has doubted it. Watch this video to gather some more information about questioning your religion.

Start Living Your Dreams Today and Create a Wonderful Life For Yourself And Your Family. Greg Vanden Berge is one of the best inspirations on the planet. You will be hearing a lot about this guy in the future. You can count on it.

Attic Odors and Strange Smells

2009-09-06T22:49:00.001-07:00

If you've ever opened up your attic access hole, only to find one of the worst odors you have ever smelled in your whole life, I've been there too. What causes these horrible smells and what can you do about them?

Let's start with the cause of these smells, moisture, dirt, mold, mildew, dead animals, animals that make their home in your attic and the biggest problem of all is normally poor ventilation.

Poor ventilation is the biggest problem with musty smells in the attic. These smells are often caused from moisture accumulating in the building materials over time. If there is enough moisture in the attic, the wood will start to rot but this wouldn't be a normal situation, unless there was a roof or water leak.

Roof leaks can cause a constant supply of water to one part of the attic. This constant supply of water will eventually rot the wood and damage the ceiling. Water leaks from pipes can provide a steady supply of water and the situation can attracts termites and mold. Not a good thing.

One of the worst possible smells or odors in your attic would be a dead animal. Don't under estimate the size of some of these animals, they have found dead raccoons, cats, snakes, large birds, squirrels, rats and mice in some attics. These animals usually enter through damaged access holes or vent blocks, roof vents, large gaps, holes and even fireplace chimneys.

Once these animals die, their bodies start to decompose and produce one horrible odor. Once the body is completely decomposed, the smell usually goes away if the attic is ventilated properly. These smells can seep into the homes living area, often creating a room that no one wants to enter.

Home peststhat make their home in your attics, often create smells from urinating and defecating in the areas around their nest. Large birds like owls can become a problem over time.

Now that we've figured out some of the causes for attic odors and strange smells, what can we do to prevent this from happening and if it's already happened, how can we get rid of the smell.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your having problems in your attic, find out more at pest control books and home building ideas.

If I Hate My Brother

The Good People Get to Go to Heaven

2009-09-06T16:54:00.001-07:00

I found a website that was recommended to me and it had the comment, is Jesus the only way to heaven at, Gotquestions, seems like your typical Christian website that replies with biblical quotes and simple to follow information. If I was lost, they will help me find a way. There's even a button at the bottom that states, I have accepted Christ today. I guess if I was to push that button, I get to go to heaven and be with Jesus. Hard to imagine, avoiding a life of burning in hell could be as simple as pushing a button and uttering a few simple words.

I found this question and began reading their comment. The first comment is from somebody answering as a nonbeliever in Christianity. It states something like, if I'm basically a good person and live a moral life, I get to go to heaven, right, only the bad people like murderers go to hell.

Now the answer that the website gives, seems to create fear if you do not belong to Christianity and provide you with hope if you join the group.

It mentioned Satan as the ruler of the world, and he can plant these thoughts into your head if you're not a Christian. He also controls your mind and let's you believe, that it would only make sense to any rational person, they get to go to heaven if they're good.

Now this is what makes sense to me but according to this information, I am doomed to rot in hell for eternity, even if I am a pretty good person. All I have to do is accept Christ as God and I get to go to heaven. That seems pretty easy and I wonder why more people don't do it. Just push the button.

I wonder if Satan is controlling, non-Christians minds and that's why there's brutality and war throughout the world. If everyone was a Christian, would our world be better.

Here's a quote from Wikipedia The Crusades were a series of religion-driven military campaigns waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents. Crusades were fought mainly against Muslims, though campaigns were also directed against pagan Slavs, Jews, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, Waldensians, Old Prussians, and political enemies of the popes.

These Christian Crusades killed thousands of people. To give you an idea how many people were killed, all I had to do was type the word crusades into a search engine and it took me to the Christian Crusades.

I guess that rules that out, it seems like the Christians a long time ago were pretty aggressive towards their enemies, I wonder if most Christians would refer to these people as enemies today or are they just being controlled by Satan. Do these Christians from the Crusades get to go to heaven? If people like this get to go to heaven, may be hell is a better place anyway.

Here's something to think about, go to heaven

Advantages of Framing With Steel Studs

2009-09-06T15:08:00.001-07:00

I have heard all sorts of stories over the years of the advantages in framing with steel versus wood studs. One time I even heard you could build an entire house with the amount of recycled steel from a large automobile such as a Cadillac. I find this hard to believe unless you're building a very small home.

My personal favorite for framing with steel studs is that they are extremely straight. I have built nonbearing partition walls using 12 foot 3 1/2 inch wide steel studs and after the drywall you can lay an 8 foot level to check it for straightness on the wall with amazing results.

If you use 3 1/2 inch wide steel studs with 5/8 of an inch drywall you will get an extremely durable and sturdy wall. Framing was steel studs is common in office renovations or remodeling. Most of the steel stud framing is done via the drywall contractors.

Steel studs and termites do not mix. You'll never have to worry about these little buggers or other uninvited house pests damaging your walls.

Over the years I have heard stories that steel framed buildings are earthquake and fire proof. They might be more resistant to fire than wood but keep in mind when metal is hot enough it will bend and warp making it unusable.

When I hear people talking about a fireproof building built with metal framing components my first thought is all of the other materials used in building the house that are not fire resistant. Don't get a false illusion when buying a house framed with steel studs and think it is 100% fire proof.

As far as steel framed buildings being earthquake proof this is another story. I really can't comment too much on earthquake damage to a steel building. The problem with earthquakes is they seem to create fires. So even if you're building does survive an earthquake it could get damaged by a fire in the area.

I have framed more wood homes than steel homes over the years and my steel stud construction is limited to nonbearing partition walls usually located in office buildings. I love framing with metal because of its light weight and ease of construction.

I still love framing with wood. There is something about what framing that I have always loved and always will.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as

well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on House Framing Ideas

Ask And You Might Receive Or Ask

Good Communication Makes All the Difference

2009-09-06T09:09:00.001-07:00

Have you ever heard the phrase "we just can't communicate?" We just don't get along anymore and we never did anyway or what about, she just doesn't understand me. Most people identify communication with the ability to read or write well. This might not be the case as you will soon find out.

How many times have you been to the doctor's office and listen to an educated professional explain something to you that just doesn't make any sense. These people keep asking you, "Do you understand," Am I making myself clear and sometimes out of embarrassment because you don't want to look like an idiot you tell them yes I do understand. This isn't a good way to communicate either.

How do we communicate in a positive way to get our point across? I'm going to share a secret that works time and time again and some very successful communicators use this often. Ask the person you are communicating with if they understand what you just said, if someone is talking to you then use the statement, "Just to Make Sure That I Understand What You Just Said" and then repeat back your understanding of their conversation.

Sometimes just asking a view simple questions and clarifying your understanding can bring great benefits to any communication.

In some countries like Japan for instance you might find them reading your body language more than the words you are communicating with. Sometimes just by the way someone stands or reacts to something you said can give you a valuable insight to what can be understood in the conversation.

Don't forget however this could lead to a misunderstanding also. Again if you think someone understands how you are communicating with their body language, try not to assume that you know for a fact how they are reacting. Always ask them if they understand what you're talking about.

A person is responsible for what he says and to make sure that the other person understands completely the point he is trying to get across. I don't know how many times I have mentioned something to someone only later to find out there was a problem with my communication.

One of the greatest problems in business, marriage and most relationships are poor communication skills. Why not start using some of the simple skills used in this article to help with communication. You will start to see the benefits within a short period.

How do we do it? Why do we do it? And when are we going to change? How do we change our lives to become fulfilling sources of extreme happiness and joy. What is it going to take to open your eyes and finally seek the information you need.

If you're looking for a secret to happiness or a missing piece to the puzzle you quite possibly could find what you're looking for but no guarantees at spiritual books.

Check out Greg Vanden Berge.

Finding Homes Using the Internet - Home Shopping

2009-09-06T07:37:00.001-07:00

Most of the time, the first homes you would look at, were owned by the real estate professional you were working with.

Find other real estate tips and great advice, from another one of the Internet's best website creators.

Effects Of False Prophets

Yoga Isn't Stretching

2009-09-06T01:30:00.001-07:00

If we look at the purpose of yoga and understand it in its spiritual context, we could distill itas 'opening the body, at the physical and subtle levels'. In this process of opening what is held within these different levels, the holding and in fact what creates the holding itself, is released. This process of the release through openingis in yogic terms purification. There is no way shape or form by which this process can beequated withstretching.

Stretching does not transform. As the word implies implicitly it is simply a forced lengthening. If we look at asana practice in this way the consequence of stretching will of course result in greater flexibility. This type of flexibility however requires perpetual stretching to be maintained. Because there is a force in stretching the natural response of the body is to retract again once that forces is removed with the same amount of force as was applied. This is a basic law of physics.

It is possible that through stretching, the body can be reshaped, the muscles and tendons lengthened. But if we compare this affect to the purpose of yoga, then the purpose is not achieved. Doing yoga by stretching will also have benefits, but they will be limited and short term. Yoga classes where you are exhorted to pushed to the limit, and then some, might leave you in a state of sweaty exhilaration, but like any high you come down. If this was what yoga was really about, then gymnasts and ballerinas, would be yogis and yoginis.

My yoga teacher in Rishikesh continually warned a naturally flexible student that her flexibility was a barrier to her practice. He also used to say that there were two ways to we could do asana practice. One way was the way of force, in which I am including stretching. He described the way of force as using a sledgehammer. The second way he described as using a chisel, and a hammer. He said the chisel was awareness the hammer was intelligence. Awareness takes consciousness into the body and intelligence follows it and directs it. As I have written elsewhere what the body holds is the contents of our subconscious. Obviously this means that we do not have conscious awareness of what is held. Yoga as a process of opening and releasing is then the discovery and making conscious what our subconscious holds in our body.

We live in a fast paced got to have it now culture. Sledgehammer yoga might elicit fast results, but the possibility of injury can be attested to by many. If conscious awareness was there could injury occur? I think not.

What then is opening and how do we do it? Well first of all, as what is held in the body is not conscious, it must become conscious, which essentially means we have to discover it. This discovery requires us paying a lot of attention while doing asana, the first 'union' is between awareness and body, then awareness body and breath.

Holding is by definition a contracting. Opening then is a letting go of the holding/contracting that is unconsciously occurring. It is the creation of spaciousness in the body. On a practical level it looks like this. We must in any asana find and not pass the boundary of our bodies capacity. Then we slightly withdraw from that boundary - just a little. Then we breath into the area where we find our boundary. Inhalation is definition expansion, so we breath space into the boundary of holding. Then as we exhale we direct awareness into the space we have just breathed open, and we keep doing this over an dover again.

This is asana as a meditation practice. This is yoga as an ongoing relationship of discovery with yourself. To practice this way takes patience, perseverance and courage. Courage because sooner or later you will start to meet parts of yourself you probably didn't even remember or know where there. Parts in pain, in darkness. In practicing this way, it is slower in terms of 'results' from the external view, but the results will last forever and you are fulfilling the age old addage to all spiritual practitioners "know yourself".

Ray Baskerville is a healer, meditation teacher, certified hypnotherapist, yogi and proud father. He has taught in worldwide. Ray is also the creator and editor of http://www.lifedivine.net an online magazine for yoga, meditation, spirituality and personal development. Please visit for more free quality articles like this.

Surviving As A Contractor In California

2009-09-05T23:55:00.001-07:00

So you want to make big money making a living as a contractor in the state of California. Well now I bet you have seen contractors on TV or maybe you know someone who is a contractor. You see these men and women playing the part as Mr. or Mrs. Money bags. If you have the slightest thought that becoming a contractor will provide you with a life of riches think again.

Most contractors that I know and have worked with over the years don't think of there jobs as easy. They have to work everyday and a lot into the night doing estimates or meeting with potential clients because they are to busy during the day. The life of most contractors in the beginning will be difficult to say the least. But if successful you will make a great living for yourself and your family.

Now that we got the false illusion of the contractor answering his cell phone all day at some nice golf course having lunch talking about the money that he just made selling his oil stocks. We can start on reality. If being a contractor was that easy everyone would be a contractor. Right..... Well maybe not everyone.

I have been a contractor for over 22 years and in construction for 30 year. I have seen a lot of changes over the years. I remember when a few contractors that I worked for made a lot of money during the late 1970's. These guys had Ferraris and money to burn with one exception they had no idea how to save any of it. These guys went on vacations and bought extravagant toys for them selves. Out of most of the big framing contractors I worked for about 10 percent are still in business or actually saved their money during the good times so that they could make it through the bad times.

These contractors never thought it was going to end. Life on easy street that is. But it did and most went by the way side. I guess that is the nature of business. Especially the current economic business cycles that we seem to go through over the years. If you don't have the money to advertise or carry a payroll. Your business is going to suffer during the bad times. Sure there is credit and bank loans but you still have to pay that money back. IF you can't save your money stash some away for advertising.

Some of the best advice I can give a contractor anywhere especially in the state of California is " Don't Think The Great Times Of Easy Money Will Last Forever". Save some of the money you make just in case you need to get through the bad times. You will thank me for this latter, Some time down the road. Take this advice and put it into action starting right now.

Greg Vanden Berge has over 30 years of experience in residential home building and remodeling. This provides you with the comfort of knowing that you have a professional with the knowledge and skills to complete your construction projects in a timely manner.

Our low overhead along with our new online estimating system will provide you with the most competitive construction pricing in the area. We continue to educate ourselves about the new home improvement books and building systems in the construction industry. If we have any doubt that something might not work we don't use it. We have found some of these products to be the root of some major home building problems.

Click on the Home Remodeling Ideas to get more information and a possible online estimate for your home improvement project.

Religion Articles

A Positive Attitude - It's Not the Only Answer

2009-09-05T17:39:00.001-07:00

There are many people who would lead you to believe that just having a positive attitude is the answer to all of life's problems. There is one huge problem with that line of thinking. We do not live in a world that is only filled with thoughts. We live in a physical world where action is a necessary ingredient.

Think about it like this. How many times have you had a good attitude and all of a sudden money just comes flying at you? Probably never.

The real juice comes from your actions and your thoughts. Thought alone is not a means of creating what you want in your life. Instead, you have to be able to couple your thoughts with actions as well. That is the only way you will materialize what you want in your life. People who believe in just using their thoughts are not going to see what they want happen to them. How many fortune 500 companies were built solely on thought? NONE!

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TAKE ACTION...

Believing that thought alone will create the life that you want exposes a truth about yourself. The fear of taking real and concrete action. And this fear will reinforce a limiting belief that you do not have the power to create the life you want. Don't fall for the hype. There is no one on this earth who can manifest material things simply through thought. But, there are numerous examples of people changing their lives when they couple positive thought with positive action.

Do not use just half of the equation. Think and act positively. Create a real and tangible life that you desire!

Learn how to attract love, money, or happiness or all three in YOUR LIFE NOW! Go to http://www.successfulfather.com and SIGN up for the FREE newsletter and BOOKMARK the site and return as often as you can!

You can attract the life that you truly desire! All you have to do is learn HOW!

Law of Attraction Secrets

Bryan Appleton is an investor/entrepreneuer who has dedicated himself to teaching others how to achieve their dream life. He is also a proud single father with one son.

You can publish this article as long as you leave it intact and in full as well as keeping the url link clickable.

Nailing Or Screwing Drywall

2009-09-05T16:22:00.001-07:00

Nails versus screws who will become the winner. When drywall first came out the installers used everything from regular steel nails to galvanized roofing nails. After a short amount of time they started to develop major problems from nails popping out of the finished drywall.

Nail popping results when the nail is driven into moist lumber and as the lumber shrinks the house settles and nail can actually pop out to the walls. Hard to imagine the nail could actually pop out of the drywall as the wood was drying out.

How far the nail would actually pop out was determined by how far it was driven in to the framing studs or ceiling joists. Well pretty soon drywall installers started to use ring shank nails to eliminate this problem. This worked great but these nails were hard to drive in and would often break.

As time went on the nails improved and were made out of galvanized metal with cupped shaped heads and came in a few different sizes. The size of the nail used was determined by the thickness of the drywall. These new nails worked great and had good holding power and eliminated a lot of nail popping.

Using nails means driving them in with a hammer. If you miss the nail you damage the drywall. This seemed to be a big problem and was virtually eliminated with the screws.

Well pretty soon people started using screws which had greater holding power and pretty much nail popping. Another advantage to using screws over nails is the simple fact you need less screws than you do nails to attach the drywall to the metal or wood framing.

This means less labor installing and finishing the drywall.

There is one problem with the screws and that is they have to be set perfectly. They can not break the paper surface on the drywall but have to be set enough into the drywall so that it can be finished properly. Most screw guns have an adjustable setting used to get just the right depth for the screws installed in the drywall. But this also was a problem when screwing into a hard piece of wood you can actually snapped the screw head off, strip the screw head or break the screw.

Nails on the other hand can bend while driving them into a hard surface.

Who wins the nails versus screws while installing drywall? I have got to give it to the screws. That doesn't mean the nails just got screwed or the screws just got nailed.

I couldn't resist. I actually preferred the screws over the nails except for when nailing the drywall corner bead on. Some drywall professionals use nails to hang the drywall and go back with a screw gun and some screws to finish the job. The nails sometimes seem handier than the screws when installing the drywall.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Carlsbad Home Improvement

When Do We Get To Meet God

Self Help Books - Do They Help?

2009-09-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

I recall seeing a study somewhere that suggested self help books don't really help. I believe it looked at financial self help books. If I remember correctly, three or ten years after reading various "get rich quick" and other money-related books, the readers were generally making more money, but so was everyone else (on average) that didn't read the books. The conclusion was that the books didn't help.

Now that is jumping to conclusions! Consider the assumption implicit in it. Researchers assumed those who didn't read books did nothing special. This seems unlikely, to say the least. From what we see of people, we might wonder if most really want to work on general self development, but we also can see that almost everyone regularly tries to better their financial situation.

In other words, people in the control group were doing things other than reading self help books, and those efforts got them further ahead also. Think about this for a moment. How does this show that the books didn't help? It's like "proving" that a car can't get you across the city because walking and biking and taking a bus can also get you there. They are just different ways to the same goal!

In other words, the books may have helped (on average), just like the other things people tried. Perhaps people choose the things that work best for them. Based on this hypothesis, a better test might be to have one group choose their self help methods while another is forced to use methods chosen by the researchers. If the first group shows more improvement, it suggests that many methods work, and that each person intuitively knows which will be more helpful.

It might show the opposite too. It is difficult to design such research. It is also difficult to have a proper "control," and to start with the best hypothesis. One lesson from this is to be skeptical of research where things are hard to define and measure.

Self Help Books Clearly Can Help

There are those of us who don't need research to prove that a good book can help. We clearly recall a book that changed the course of our lives, or that obviously helped us in our relationships, or even boosted our income. Yes, of course self help books can help us.

Now, there is the question of why they don't always help. You may have a friend who has told you all about a great new self help book or theory, yet doesn't seem to be much affected by it in the end. You may have read some books yourself that got you excited, but didn't seem to "stick" in our mind or change your subsequent behavior or life.

One reason for this apparent ineffectiveness may be that you need to read each book more than once, and that self help books in general help most if they are read regularly. (It is also possible that the effects of such books can be powerful, yet too subtle to notice right away.)

This reminds me of some research on eating I read about once. Researchers had people eat a meal. They then concluded that eating didn't increase the odds of survival, since everyone died of starvation two months later. Okay, I made that up, but do you see the point? Just like you have to eat regularly to get the maximum survival benefit, perhaps you need to get those self help books out again and feed your mind from time to time to get the most out of them.

Copyright Steve Gillman. For more on Self Improvement, and to get the Brainpower Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

2009-09-05T08:48:00.001-07:00

I am not one to feel sorry for most people. They seem to have a unique ability to cause themselves the most damage during certain parts of their lives. I have met some pretty self destructive people in my life. Being raised by a mother that lived in misery and love.

My mother had a difficult childhood. It seemed as if every corner she turned there was a obstacle either right in front of here or waiting just around the corner. Her father died when she was 12 year old. He was a farm laborer and didn't make much money. In other words they were poor...... She got sent to live with a few foster families and according to her she was molested by one of the fathers she lived with.

Soon her older sister invited her to live with her. My aunt was married to the owner of a pottery business and had 2 children about 10 years younger than my mother. My aunt soon realized she had a live in baby sitter that allowed her to stay out drinking most of the day.

My Uncle was what you would call a drunk back then, now we call these people alcoholics. Well any way I think you are starting to get a picture of my mothers life up to this point. It is probably safe to assume that this isn't the ideal life for a young woman.

The next event to happen in my moms life was for my uncle to fall in the shower one night after tying one on that night. He died soon after but my aunt seemed to make a another good choice and ended up marring the owner of the bar that they spent most of their time in.
The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. Allan K. Chalmers

By this time my mom was in High School and met my future father. It wasn't exactly a marriage made in heaven. My dad was always an easy going man. He seemed to let most stuff go in one ear and out the other.

As you guessed it they had a few children. Nice one Dad and Mom. According to the books I have read on Angelic beings. People that believe in the after life and angels. They tell me I had a choice and was able to choose my parents....... What was I thinking...... I should have choose someone with some money and a couple of parents that were deeply in love .

How did I end up here in this situation.

I ended up loving my parents like most of us. They seemed to be doing the best that they could possibly do raising me, my bother and my sister. My mom and dad ended up getting a divorce and I went to live with my father.

My Father is remarried to a wonderful woman that seems to bring him a lot of happiness.
I haven't seen my mother for a while now. She lives with a life of excuses and misery. Her childhood was not the greatest but that doesn't give her the right to bring misery into other peoples lives. She has made a conscious choice to live what seems to be a painful life. Maybe her choices in life have made me choose happiness over misery.

I have always wondered what it is that motivates someone to live a life of true unhappiness when it takes the same amount of energy to live a life of joy. Life is meant to be full of joy and happiness so start today by making the right choices to live a fulfilling life of happiness.

If you are reading this and can't make up your mind what kind of life you truly want to live visit me at http://live.spiritualideas.com/ . Change your thinking and change your life.

Greg Vanden Berge will help you create a new approach to life and discover talents you never knew you had. We can help you get the most out of yourself all the time. Start developing your innate strengths and abilities to start enriching your life TODAY !

Does God Make Mistakes

5 Ways to Quit Smoking

2009-09-05T02:32:00.001-07:00

The smoking is dangerous to health, many of the experts says that the smoke is more harmful than the nicotine. There are more than 40 chemicals which are found in the cigarette smoke. Some of them are very dangerous as Benzene (used as a petrol additive), Formaldehyde (it is an embalming fluid), Ammonia (used as a toilet cleaner), Acetone (contained in nail polish remover) and many more. These chemicals are very harmful for the body and health.

So, If you want to quit smoking then I think these 40 chemicals should give you 40 reasons to quit smoking. If you will think that you are inhaling a toilet cleaner (ammonia) with the smoke of the cigarette then it will help you to quit smoking. Think about bad effects of the smoking and start following practices on the daily basis. I am sure if you will apply these things in your routine then you will be able to save your health and life by quiting smoking.

1. Start The Day With Positive Thinking: The people who wants to quit smoking they must always thinking about it. Some of the people think that they can not quit smoking so they fail in the attempt of it. Start your day with a positive thinking as "I can quit smoking". This thinking will keep energize you whole day. As possible you should avoid the presence of any smoker because the presence of any smoker at your work place may deviate your attention towards quit smoking.

2.Use Healthy Diet (Such as Fruits) on Regular Basis: If your diet will be good and healthy then it may help you to quit smoking. Take a healthy meal and some of the fruits which can neglect the previous harms by smoking. Use fruits in your diet, juice and the products with more liquid may help you. Eating fruit like apple, carrot, sticks, celery, etc. may lower the harms by the cigarette. You may go for the vitamin C- rich foods because they contain more antioxidants.

3. Keep away from Liquor and Coffee: Liquor and coffee are liquid but it dose not mean that you should use it. The liquor lower the water level inside the body and it can throw your mind towards the smoking. Same with the coffee, It contains caffeine some times it helps in quit smoking (If you want to smoke then take cup of coffee, it will kill your temptation towards the smoking) but, if you will take the coffee in the large amount then it will harm you more than the cigarette.

4. Take More liquid During Day: If you want to smoke then drink one liter of water, you will see that you have no need to smoke that time. And also when you take more liquid it will help to quit out the nicotine from your body.

5. Get Exercising and Look Fit : Exercise is always helpful your body and health. If you will exercise everyday them some of the nicotine will also out from body with the sweat. If you exercise in morning it will also keep you energize whole day and help you in quit smoking.

I thinks there are many smokers who want to quit smoking but due to not proper guidance and "will power" they fail to do so. If you have a great eager to quit smoking then you will quit smoking with a strong will power.

Author is a member of the India News and has a great experience in providing latest Breaking News there. Here on Ezinearticles he shares his personal thinking and knowledge on the different Issues.

Creating Your Electricity

2009-09-05T01:12:00.001-07:00

Creating your own electricity and generating your own power has always been one of my dreams. Having a self sufficient home, not only a house that takes care of itself by generating its own electricity through windmills or solar panels but the satisfaction knowing that no matter what happens to the electrical companies you will always have electricity at your home.

What a wonderful feeling it would be to get a check back from the utility company instead of paying them every single month. I don't know about you but my utility bills are ridiculous and seemed to be going up in price constantly. I can't believe all the fees they have been charging for years to all of their customers. If you add all the fees for every person in the city or county this comes to a large, a very large number and it's getting worse not better.

Generating your own electricity with solar or wind power is definitely green thinking. This is going to be the wave of the future as fuel used to create electricity continues to rise in price. I really can't imagine what the price of electricity is going to be like in 10 years as the mass consumption continues to rise in developing countries.

We have got to start taking care of our own needs through solar or wind power. We have got to start creating our own electricity to become self reliant. The more self reliant we become as a nation the less dependent we will be on major corporations, especially large power conglomerates.

Creating our own electricity can also be used for electrical cars that can be purchased in the future. Think of the money you will say in fuel costs as the price of gasoline continues to increase as well as less pollution into our environment.

This is definitely the wave of the future and common sense tells us this. I suggest you read this article again if you haven't figured out some of the problems coming our way in the future.

Think green and together we can start saving the planet.

While searching for new alternatives and trying to get some advice on creating your own electricity I came across a book you can purchase in digital format. This book seems to have quite a bit of information on creating your own electricity for a totally self sufficient home.

This book has been created in digital format to reduce the consumption of trees and the waste involved in creating a regular book. What a wonderful idea for helping our environment in quite a few ways.

For more information visit http://www.gregvan.com and look for Get Earth4Energy Here Create your own electricity! Save 1000's with Earth4Energy

Ask And You Might Receive Or Ask

Developing a Positive Attitude by Pretending

2009-09-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

Developing a positive attitude creates a positive attitude, just as energy produces more energy. Developing a positive attitude affects your own way of thinking, as well as the thinking of other people that surrounds you. In effect, no matter how bad or rotten a situation may look like, you can make it seem or appear better by at least pretending to have that kind of outlook-even if you yourself do not feel optimistic at all. In this case, even if you are just feigning to have a constructive outlook, the people around you would sense an optimistic energy and would be influenced to the point where they are developing a positive attitude relative to a given situation.

This feigned positive attitude would also have a huge deal of favorable response and influence on anybody that you have to encounter with which can be an answer to your problem as well-even if they're not exactly included in the solution to the problem. If for example, your company is on the edge of bankruptcy, and you really need to visit the bank manager in how to get a loan to rebuild and continue your business despite the financial crisis no matter what. Now, how do you approach him? Of course, you do not want to walk right inside his office with tears welling in your eyes, begging and complaining about how terrible and unforgiving the business is.

Preferably, you would want to walk in with a hopeful smile pasted on your face and telling him optimistic and bright things about the company and your future plans, so he could see that you haven't given up hope on life, and that he could sense that there is a practicable plan in store. The point here is trying to depict or represent a positive attitude that a solution would be found in the offing that you simply refuse to believe the situation is beyond hope, and to let the team understand that you are carrying on and not calling it quits-even if you don't truly believe any of those yourself.

Pretending in possessing a positive attitude is not permitting to telling lies, however. The persons who are involved in trying to help resolve a problem must be told the truth of the situation though. This perception would clean their minds, and help them create good decision in connection to the problem at hand-which helps you also, and makes you believe as if your false positive attitude becomes real as well. In addition, you could fool yourself into possessing a positive attitude also. By feigning that you already have that positive attitude, you play it for so long that little by little, it becomes habitual-a learned stimulus.

This encouraging outlook that you get to portray each and every single day becomes real, even without you being aware of it all. If ever this happens, some people don't even recall or recognize that they were just pretending in the first place! They may begin to think it was for real all along.

The author of this article Amy Twain is a Self Improvement Coach who has been successfully coaching and guiding clients for many years. Amy recently decided to go public and share her knowledge and experience through her website http://www.innerzine.com You can sign up for her free newsletter and join her coaching program.

Success Starting in Your 40s

2009-09-04T17:42:00.001-07:00

You're going to find it hard to believe, but very seldom does an individual peak with creativity until they reach the age of 40. The average individual usually makes the most money between the age of 40 and 60. This doesn't have anything to do with retirement. Most highly creative people keep producing until they die.

If you're 55 years old and looking for a new career or can't seem to find a job in the profession you have worked at your whole life, don't be alarmed or fearful. Do you think you could start your own business? Is there something, you have always wanted to do but have put it off until retirement, or until you had enough time to do it?

Why wait, if you can't find a job in a business you never truly enjoyed, maybe you can find a new job doing something you love.

I have worked in construction for 30 years and at 44 years old started to pursue a career in writing and plan to create award winning websites and best selling books, for the rest of my life. This doesn't mean, I won't work in construction ever again, but I will become a best selling author within the next 20 years.

Most people don't take the time required to learn a new profession. If you're sincerely interested in another career, and you're 50 years old, there is plenty of people out there to give you hope and inspiration.

If you would like some proof, here's a couple successful American businessman who succeeded after the age of 40. Henry Ford is probably one of the most popular and became extremely successful after the age of 40. Andrew Carnegie, an American industrialists who transformed the steel business and did not start reaping the rewards of his efforts until he was well past the age of 40.

I gathered this information from the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. There is a section in the book where he talks about people after the age of 40 with phenomenal success. Anyone who's interested in gaining wealth through spirituality or finances should read this book.

I've often heard the statement, "People Often Over Estimate What They Can Do in a Year and Often Underestimate What They Can Do in a Decade." If you want to accomplish something after the age of 40, I would advise you to start with a plan and then put that plan and the action. Your plan could take five to 15 years to achieve or longer but think about the rewards, whether spiritual or financial.

Gregory Vanden Berge is working to promote personal development ideas and spiritual reform. He has started a web site for videos and articles based on current information about subject he is very familiar with.

"Education has freed me, to pursue other ideas and release me from the bondage and fear of organized religion."

Gregory Vanden Berge

Ask And You Might Receive Or Ask

Say What You Mean, and Mean What You Say!

2009-09-04T11:44:00.001-07:00

"If you can't be direct, why be?" - Lily Tomlin

When I read this quote, I immediately thought of all the women I coach. I'm constantly saying, "Quit beating around the bush trying to be a nice girl. If you want to be heard, you have to "say what you mean and mean what you say." Then low and behold, I saw this little nugget of wisdom, from Lily Tomlin no less, one of the greatest women comediennes of our time. She really must be into liberating women from the old stereotypical molds if she writes statements like this!

Beating around the bush and never coming straight out and asking for what you want only serves one purpose - it flushes out any stray animals that might be lurking in that certain piece of shrubbery! I know I've said it often enough, but it bears repeating. "Say what you mean, and mean what you say."

There are at least two current generations of us women who have been trained in the art of sugar coating and what I like to call verbal dancing. We 'dance' around the subject we most want to discuss, thinking that the other person will get what we are alluding to and eventually we will get what we want. NOT! The only thing you get from a conversation like that is frustration. It doesn't matter that the other person might be our partner or business associate; we still camouflage our words with honey so they can slide into the ears of the listener more easily. Heaven forbid we rock the status quo by actually saying what we REALLY want to! After all, how could we survive should that other person not like us after they find out what we REALLY think? Here's a better question for you. How's that sugar coating working for you?

Listen up ladies because I've got something to say to you here! Every time you sugar coat or dance around an issue, you diminish your capacity and self worth. You give away your power, your integrity, and your dignity. And most of all, you wind up being frustrated, resentful, and resigned because you're not getting what you want. You don't have to be and act like the 'good ole boys' to get where you want to go. You can be yourself. Be the feminine woman that you are, be direct, and be taken seriously when you say what you mean and mean what you say.

I have another newsflash for you ladies! This is 2008, not 1898! Our role in society has changed from being that subservient, co-dependent, clinging vine that our mothers and grandmothers were expected to be. It is time for us to claim our birthright - to one of being an empowered woman, stand in our dignity, own our power, and have our opinions matter. Instead of being filled with anger and resentment because we feel we haven't gotten our fair shake in the world, why not stand up and stake our own claim to greatness? And I'm not just talking about becoming the President or CEO of a huge corporation here. I'm talking about standing up and 'being' important in our own lives - of mattering to ourselves!

It is up to us to make the choice to quit spinning our words out of fear of repercussion, to calmly and clearly stating our wants and desires without fear of rejection from others. I know it can be done. I learned how to be direct and say what I mean, and so can you.

This week, I want you to ask yourself these 2 questions:

1. What is the price I pay for sugar coating my conversations?

2. Is that how I really want to spend the rest of my life?

Simply being you may not always be the easiest road to travel, but it is whole lot less exhausting!

Sign up to receive my FREE Report, '50 Ways to Take Back Your Power Right NOW', my FREE ezine 'Monday Morning Coffee with Cookie', at http://www.SuccessSource.biz all brought to you by Cookie Tuminello, Your Personal Power Mentor! Visit People Pleaser No More today to get your copy and check out my "People Pleaser No More" program.

Inerrancy of the Bible - Are There Mistakes in the Bible

2009-09-04T10:07:00.001-07:00

What does the word inerrancy main? Inerrancy would refer to text that is accurate and totally free of any errors or without any mistakes. Does this sound like any book that you have ever read or have knowledge of. Maybe there is a one sentence book that could fall into this category.

Most books however and even this article has mistakes. If I made a decision to base my life, my entire life and that of my children and grandchildren, I would want to make sure that it was accurate as possible.

Is the Bible, 100%, 90%, or even 50% accurate. Are these stories that were written by people many years ago and the lessons have been helpful but now need to be rewritten.

Does the Bible actually contain the will of God? Some scholars believe that certain sections of the Bible meet this criteria while others do not. How can these people judge if they are not God and how can we believe in this stuff is not true.

If the Bible was inspired by God but written by men, this could actually mean that God had complete control over writing the Bible or does this mean that the man wrote the Bible with gods inspiration. I'm inspired by God daily and often write about it, but don't seem to have enough followers to make it into the biblical Hall of Fame. I'm writing with inspired beliefs right now.

If there are errors in the Bible, how extensive or how many errors are there actually. There are actual stories that can be documented as historical facts. This doesn't mean the rest of the Bible is factual, nor does it mean it is historically inaccurate.

The Bible has some errors in it and some facts that we can prove but leaves us with the question, is this a book from the Creator of the universe or a book written by men, to make us believe, it was written by God and if so why are we still believe being in it. Why do some people read this book and other religious text daily? What motivates them to read holy Scripture regularly but doesn't seem to allow them enough time to find out if they are reading accurate information.

The biggest problem I have with the inerrancy of the Bible is the fact that most people tend to ignore certain truths and cling to their childhood beliefs about religion. If this is not the way or the truth, I would want to start looking for it, instead of following someone else's dreams or religious doctrine.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion. Religious Education And Fear

Questions To Ask Your Pastor

Religious Freedom For Life

2009-09-04T04:03:00.001-07:00

In the United States of America, we believe that we have this freedom, and it gives us the choice to belong to any religious organization in the country. We can even make up our own religions, if we want to. I have the right, in this country to start a new religious movement, without any persecution from the government. The government might choose not to persecute me but I would imagine, that other religious organizations will.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Freedom of Religion, of Speech, of the Press, to Petition, and to Assemble.

This must have been very important to our founding fathers. A lot of people left England to come to America, before the United States Constitution was ever thought of. Before there was even a United States of America. People have been coming to the English colonies for over 150 years before the First Amendment was even signed. Often escaping religious persecution.

Religious freedom was very important to America's ancestors and founding fathers. We can only study history to find out how important religious freedom actually was. In the United States today, we really don't give it much thought. What religious freedom really means and the hardships and battles throughout history. They sacrificed, so that we could reap the benefits today.

Freedom of religion isn't the same today as it was 300 years ago. The country's leaders often dictated what religion you could belong to. This was the end of your religious freedom but today things are different. Organized religions have become extremely influential and powerful in today's world, often influencing governments and world leaders. When will these large religious organizations become powerful enough to take away our religious freedom. Do you honestly think things are getting better, or are we soon going to have one or even a few religions throughout the world.

How many Christians do you know that do most of their business with other Christians? How many Jewish people choose to do the same thing? I don't consider this religious freedom. In the State of Utah, it's well known, that if you're not part of the Mormon Church or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you're probably not going to prosper, unless you convert to their religion. This might sound like, something you would expect back in the stone ages, but it still goes on today.

Religious freedom is a lot more than just being able to choose your own religion. It's becoming a choice economically, politically and of course socially. At what point do you financially make a decision to become part of a large religious organization, out of necessity. The simple need to feed your family. I believe religion is going to become a bigger problem in the future than it ever was in the past as we see more financial and political power forming in these religious organizations.

I'm not trying to scare anyone, I'm simply suggesting that we start associating with people from other religions or spiritual beliefs. We could learn a lot if we just open our ears and close our mouth. Become part of the solution and not the problem.

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

Dog Creates Remodeling Nightmare

2009-09-04T02:31:00.001-07:00

How many homeowners normally leave their dog in the backyard or they have full time access to the backyard through a doggie door. You're probably wondering how can a little dog create a remodeling nightmare for any contractor.

This wasn't the case this dog was a large Labrador retriever and tore up everything in the backyard constantly. The house remodel we were working on was a two story room addition over a single story house. This job lasted around six months and the dog was a daily reminder of how much attention a large dog actually needs.

Let's start with the first item of value the dog actually destroyed. It was my favorite tool bags of course that I have taken care of for over five years and deeply appreciated the fact that they were broke in just the way I wanted them to be. Kind of like a baseball mitt that doesn't quite fit right because of how stiff it is until you break it in.

While the homeowner of course apologized and never even offered to replace them. Oh but after that he did mention never to leave anything lying around in the backyard. Lesson learned of course and never forgotten. Well to make a long story short this large dog could chew up tools, lumber, plumbing pipes, electrical wire and was even able to destroyed the plywood fencing we would use to keep him away.

I'm going to stop right there with the remodeling nightmare created from this dog in hopes that other contractors can learn from my valuable lesson. As a contractor you should never assume that a homeowner will replace any damaged or broken tools and materials.

As a homeowner with a dog reading this article, think about having a place to enclose the dog if necessary while remodeling work is done on your home.

I love being around dogs and other animals but sometimes a problem like this can make life extremely miserable for both parties.

Greg Vanden Berge has been building and remodeling for over 30 years and his information has proven valuable to most contractors and homeowners all over the world. He usually tries to write at least two articles a day on home improvement or remodeling problems.

Greg is in the process right now of working on a home inspection website that will revolutionize the home inspection business. He is also working on a book to help homeowners and contractors as well as other home related professions in dealing with the home inspection process.

You can visit the home inspection website currently under construction at Home Inspection Help

Personal Development

Making Rejection Work for You in Your Creative Life

2009-09-03T20:20:00.001-07:00

No matter what your art form or field of expression: visual arts, performing arts, or writing--one thing is for certain: you will encounter rejection. When you do, what is the most healthy and useful way to respond? Eden Maxwell, author of "An Artist Empowered" offers these suggestions:

1. Know why you are an artist.

2. Know your purpose and the value of your process.

3. View rejection as a mirror that reveals truth about your dedication.

4. Confront yourself and this moment of awareness.

5. Use rejection as a moment of awareness, not a pool in which to drown.

6. Stay focused on results, but unattached to the results of your efforts.

7. A daily spiritual practice helps you keep life, art, and rejection in perspective.

Eden expands here on these seven suggestions.

Janet: Eden, talk about your approach to rejection in the arts. How does this relate to your spiritual practice?

Eden: As a writer and a painter, I have been on the receiving end of both acceptance and rejection and each has its own set of issues. It all comes back full circle to the core question: Why am I an artist?

If you know your purpose and the value of your process, then nothing will deter you from your mission, your dharma.

Janet: What is the true purpose of rejection, in your view?

Eden: Rejection, as it turns out, isn't the bane most artists believe it is; rejection is a mirror that reveals truth about your dedication; you are compelled to confront your own self and that is a moment of awareness.

Janet: How can the creative person learn from rejection?

Eden: If you are to learn from rejection, use the experience as a moment of reflection, not a pool in which to drown.

Should my art be rejected, I understand that if they could see it, could appreciate it, then they would. Also, a rejection from an anonymous party is no cause for faltering. I have seen great art ignored, and mediocre embraced.

Janet: How can the artist balance the need to have goals and yet to hold these goals lightly?

Eden: Having goals is good; wanting to share your unique gift is good; making art is good. Keeping these desires in mind, I also realize that getting attached to any outcome is a self-made prison. Releasing your attachment to an outcome frees you to see other opportunities.

I strive to have no attachment in how a particular outcome manifests. I work; I create; I have faith in fulfilling my dharma; and my evolving strength tells me the Universe is handling the details.

So, no matter what is happening, I focus on the true goal, and the goal is this: understanding.

Visit Janet Grace Riehl's blog "Riehl Life: Village Wisdom for the 21st Century" at http://www.riehlife.com for more thoughts and information about making connections through the arts, across cultures, generations, and within the family. You can also read sample poems and other background information from "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary" on Janet's website.

Finding Homes Using the Internet - Home Shopping

2009-09-03T18:59:00.001-07:00

Most of the time, the first homes you would look at, were owned by the real estate professional you were working with.

Find other real estate tips and great advice, from another one of the Internet's best website creators.

If I Hate My Brother

Live with High Energy Drive Successfully

2009-09-03T12:36:00.001-07:00

Imagine a world where what you do is enjoy life and work is simply a part of your enjoyment? Can you see it yet?

I woke up this morning to cloudy gray skies and drizzling rain, chilling the atmosphere. After I prepared a lovely breakfast of rye muffins, eggs, and grape juice I settled in front of my computer with a nice hot cup of tea. This is my favorite place to write.

Im not rushing, Im just enjoying my life, and youre reading what I love to do.

You can do what you love to do and earn a living doing it too. It doesnt have to be writing, it can be anything. Ill show you how.

1. Take a vacation.

Have you ever noticed, the most successful people take time to have fun? They plan vacations into their lives, the keep family time separate from work time, and they enjoy what they do. Its a choice. Take time out for fun and enjoy your life.

2. Give generously.

Donate to charity. Give to the poor. Tithe to your church. Give generously from your heart. What you have comes from God, it was given to you - give it back. God is your Provider, and He provides plenty. When you see someone in need, give.

3. Forgive those who trespass against you.

Forgive those who owe you a debt so you may be forgiven. When you hold a grudge against your neighbor, you prevent the gift of forgiveness from being given to you. You cant open your heart and accept the gift of love until you learn to let go of the grudges and forgive.

4. Love without fear.

The love you give comes from an endless storehouse of love. You can love without fear, without worry. Theres more love to give. Youre not limited to a specific amount of love in your life, theres always more available. Give it away freely.

5. Take care of yourself.

Youre important. Youre a valuable being, created in the image of God. You deserve to be cared for, loved, and provided well, because you are precious and wonderful.

6. Save something for tomorrow.

Because planning ahead is important, keep something for tomorrow. Invest in your future and show good stewardship with your finances. Follow the old principle of owing no-one. Live a life free of debts and encumbrances by planning ahead for any emergency.

7. Do what you love.

Learn to do well that which you love and do it expecting to earn good wages for what you do. Charge what you deserve and always give more than you get. Your value is far above jewels and precious metals, because you are worthy of your pay.

So, where are you at today? Are you feeling low and down, wondering how to get out of the hole, or are you climbing close to the mountain top, hoping you can find a pentacle to rest upon?

Or are you enjoying life?

Claim your FREE 3-Part Traffic Report and more http://secret2prosperity.com

2007 - J.D. Verhoeff

Planning Your Bathroom Remodel Budget - Home Improvement Ideas

2009-09-03T11:24:00.001-07:00

As a bathroom remodeling contractor, I get calls from people, that have no idea what they want or how much anything is going to cost. Here's some simple tips that can be very helpful when planning a bathroom remodel budget.

Bathroom Remodeling Investment

In 2008, the average mid-range bathroom cost around $16,000 and you could recoup around $12,000 of your original investment upon the sale of your home. According to a popular remodeling magazine, larger bathrooms using expensive fixtures, tile, bathtubs, woodworking, toilets and showers had an average of $52,000. Upon the sale of a home, you could recoup around $36,000 of your original investment.

Finding out How Much Things Cost

My first suggestion, would be to visit your local home improvement center, lumber yard or plumbing supply warehouse. Larger stores like Home Depot and Lowe's, seemed to provide you with value pricing but don't have a large selection. While doing some research on the Internet I noticed that some of their pricing is outrageously, outrageous. Some plumbing supply warehouses can provide value but beware others won't.

Create a List of Bathroom Remodeling Parts

You can get a good idea of your bathroom remodel costs for your budget by making a list of bathroom parts with pricing and then adding them up for a grand total. If you're a total bathroom remodel budget is $15,000 and you have a $6,000 bathtub with $4000 worth of tile, you could have a budget problem.

Figuring out the Labor

You will have to contact a contractor to get an actual cost for the labor. Sometimes you can double the cost of your bathroom remodeling parts to get a rough idea. If you have a list or a couple of lists and a few pictures of some sample bathrooms, this will make the contractor's job easier and often they can give you a labor price within a few days.

Give Yourself a Cushion

I would suggest leaving yourself a small financial cushion for any additional remodeling items. For example, you could see a different toilet, or instead of painting the walls, you now choose to wallpaper, you could incur additional expenses that you haven't planned for. If you know exactly what you want and stick to the original bathroom remodeling plan, you shouldn't need the cushion.

Financial problems often transfer into construction problems, so spend some time figuring out, how much money you want to spend on the bathroom remodel and try not to go overboard on the budget. I hate to see homeowners struggling with home improvement loan payments. Try to create a bathroom remodeling budget that is realistic and will not create a financial burden upon you or your family.

If your looking for some more bathroom remodeling or home building ideas.

Religion Articles

What Skills Are Required To Be A Good Translator?

2009-09-03T05:14:00.001-07:00

These days, people all across the globe generally believe that translation is just the involuntary substitution of languages, and therefore anybody can be a translator if she or he knows a foreign language. This perception is completely wrong, just having a good knowledge of foreign languages does not give any 100% assurance that a translation will be rendered reasonably well. In simple words translation requires skill to make the right and good analysis of the meaning in the target language. Moreover, a translator must be aware of the essence of the subject besides having a fine awareness of the language, including language rules, and spelling rules.

However, as the world is getting more globalize, in the past couple of years we are coming across the greatest challenge of text conversion and that is how to find the proper equilibrium between conveying the sense and beauty of the initial text and making the target conversion more efficient and effective. Only talented translators are competent of finding this sense of balance. So having a superior knowledge of the translation subject is just a part of the translation process.

A skilled text converter has something else and it is his/her talent. He or she must have the ability to make a virtual world where the source language author and the target language reader can network with one another. A talented text converter makes the best use of the nuance present in the source text in order to develop a fresh and effective target text.

The service that translators provide to enhance cultures and nurture languages has been noteworthy throughout history. Translators are transferring messages from one language to another, while preserving the underlying cultural ideas and values. Focusing on these facts, today some questions are being raised: what expertise is needed to encourage translating ability? How can someone turn into a good translator? If you are serious about becoming a successful translator, you must be able to fulfill or follow the following criteria:

1: The first and most important step is reading of different translations of different types of texts. An effective translating requires first-class knowledge, so approachable skills should be developed before performing any text conversion. An excellent translator has a complete knowledge of both source and target speech, so you must understand the diverse genres in both source and target verbal communication. It helps in improving reading aptitude in general, and gives insights, which can be subconsciously useful.

2: The second most vital talent required is the potential to write appropriately in both source and target languages. Writing is the chief work of a text converter. You should be well aware of different styles of writing and morals of editing in both source and target language. Factors like editing and proper punctuation usage increase the value and readability of the translation.

3. You should have listening ability to understand and alertness to grasp various expressions, idioms, and specific vocabulary and their uses. This talent is like an intuition and can't be developed easily, so to a certain extent it requires regular practice. Language intuition is like a necessity for all those who want to be proficient translators.

4. The act of translating is like accepting the significance of the source text within the framework of the source-language discourse. Now in order to enlarge this understanding, you must make yourself aware with cultural divergence and the diverse strategies present in the source and target verbal communication.

5. You should also be well aware of diverse registers, styles of speaking, and social stratification of both source and target languages. This socio-cultural awareness, helps in improving the quality of translations to a large level. It is very important to understand that the work of translating takes place in the socio-cultural framework; as a result it is very vital to evaluate translating activity only within a social perspective.

6. In order to develop excellent translation proficiency, you have to become yourself attentive of different knowledge-providing sources like bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias and learn how to utilize them. Now using dictionaries requires a very technical proficiency. Words have diverse meanings in different circumstance, and therefore you have to perform a repetitive exercise to know the projected meaning of words in a specific situation.

7. In addition to this you should know the sentence structure of indirect speech and different figures of speech in the source language like hyperbole, irony, and meiosis. Having detail knowledge of these figures of speech will further help in changing your flaccid knowledge into active talent.

Finally, you should know that it takes much more to be a good and skilled translator. Talented translators are not made overnight, it definitely requires a significant investment in both source and target speech. For every talented text converter, switching simultaneously between two universes is one of the most demanding tasks. Consequently refined and systematic practice can lead to the development of skills that can further help in being a good translator.

Goihata a language translation company provides language translation services in Japanese, Spanish and English languages in Europe

Cost Effective Stair Building

2009-09-03T04:06:00.001-07:00

Spiral stairs are hard for your average carpenter to build. These stairs can be purchased from a factory easily and quite inexpensive.

Visit us now for easy Home Constuction Help

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Spiritual Dictionary

Life is a Short Rant

2009-09-02T21:48:00.001-07:00

Life is short, don't sell your soul, life, and time for money for too long of a period. Don't let little things get in your way of what you really want to do. Stop making excuses about why you can't do something. If you really want something, change it from a "should" and make it a "must".

Life is to be experience and enjoyed. Life is not meant to be spent doing something you don't want to do your whole life. Plan out your life so that you can soon do what you want, and work because you want to not because you have to, that is, if you even decide to work. Everyone is looking for one thing in life: Happiness. So why is it that most people want to cling to things that make them unhappy? The answer is FEAR. Fear of losing that sense of security, which for most of us, is a false sense of security.

Quit doing what the average person does or you will end up living a life that average people live. Be a kid again and dream big. Don't let the limitations of your income bring your dreams down. Plan your life in a way that will let you experience those dreams. By doing so you will inspire those around you. Don't get caught up in making a living instead of designing your life. Don't be one of those people who wake up one day when they're old and say to themselves "what happened to my life?" Letting the little things in life get in the way of big things in life is foolish.

You're probably thinking one of three things at this point (that is if you've read this far). One is "blah blah blah, easy for this guy to say, he doesn't know me, he doesn't know how complicated and hard my life is". Two: "Eh, I'm cool where I am right now, I might not being living my dreams, but I'm comfortable". Three: "I understand where he's getting at, but even if I wanted to live out my dreams, I wouldn't know where to start".

1. Whatever you're facing or going through, there are millions of people who have it worse than you. Stop complaining about circumstances. Circumstances happen to everyone, it's what you do about it that matters. If you keep complaining, you will only end up living a life worth complaining about.

2. Being in the middle is probably the worse place to be. You're not living the life you want to live but your life is not bad enough for you to do anything about it. This is where most dreams are destroyed and lives are ruined. We get comfortable. We start rationalizing "it's not that bad, I have it better than a lot of the people I know". If you want to be average, keep rationalizing. If you want to live your dreams, be honest with yourself. Don't be like the dog that whines because he's lying on a nail but doesn't do anything about it because it doesn't hurt enough. Jump on that damn nail as hard as you can so that it will wake you up and get you moving towards the life you really want to live.

3. Everything starts with you. For things to change, you must change. As long as you have strong enough reasons why you MUST live the life you dream of, the "how-to" will eventually come to you. That determination and undeniable belief that you WILL live your dreams will soon attract people into your life who can help you get to where you want to be. Start surrounding yourself with people who will encourage you and who can see you for who you can become instead of just who you are today. Negative people are energy drainers, dream stealers, life destroyers and you should get as far away from them as possible. Your life will never far exceed the expectations from your peer group. Want to know how your life will turn out, look at your friends. If you don't like what you see, get new friends.

In closing, life really is short. Tomorrow was never promised. No one ever said you will still be alive 5 years from now, or even 3 months from now. The more time you spend on doing things you don't like, the less time you will have doing the things you enjoy. What ever it is you want to do in life, start today, don't delay, make a plan and start right now!

Kevin Ngo is the creator of motivational-well-being.com - a motivational resource website that provides free tools to help people stay motivated long enough to create successful habits in order to obtain their goals. Ready to get back on track? You're one click away.

http://www.motivational-well-being.com

DIY Bathroom Remodeling Or Hiring a Contractor

2009-09-02T20:44:00.001-07:00

The first question you need to ask yourself when remodeling a bathroom is can you actually do the work yourself or do you have someone that can help you with the remodeling. If you don't know anyone and can't do the work yourself, I would suggest hiring a contractor with experience remodeling bathrooms.

If you can do the work yourself or think you could do the work yourself, why not give it a shot. Any experience you have in construction or home remodeling, is going to be beneficial to your bathroom remodeling project. There is plenty of information on the internet or in your local libraries on bathroom remodeling and these often prove to be great resources for do it yourselfers.

As an experienced contractor I have gathered a great deal of information through books, at work and watching local home improvement shows. The biggest problem with the show's and quite a few of these books, is they don't provide enough information. Most of the time they provide you with the basics of bathroom remodeling and you could soon find yourself in trouble or seeking the advice from a home improvement professional.

The largest benefit for doing the bathroom remodeling project yourself, could be the money you save, along with the satisfaction of completing the project. It makes homeowners feel good when they've completed a large home remodeling project, like a bathroom remodel.

If you don't have the time, lack the experience or a combination of both, I would suggest hiring a contractor to relieve you from the stress and frustration of your bath remodeling project. The more complex your bathroom remodeling project is, the greater the degree of difficulty, the longer it will take to complete the project. Some of these projects can take up a lot of your time.

If you're working on galvanized water supply pipes or old cast iron waste pipes, you could find yourself hiring a plumber to install your bathtub and fixtures. These old pipes create problems for most do it yourselfers and I would suggest hiring a professional, whenever you run into a problem you don't feel comfortable with.

Choosing to tackle some of these difficult problems yourself, could lead to water leaks and more damage to the home eventually costing you even more money than the original cost of hiring an experienced plumber in the first place. When it comes to water, structural framing and electricity, think twice, especially if you're not experienced in these areas.

My advice to do it yourselfers is to hire a professional if you're not comfortable or seek the advice from a contractor or someone with considerable experience bathroom remodeling.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more House Remodeling Pictures or home building ideas.

Religion Articles

Defending God by Offending Satan

2009-09-02T14:28:00.001-07:00

Did you ever have rules as a child, or even at work that were just never really enforced? The kind that at first you followed, but as time went on and you saw other people not really paying attention to it and you noticed that no one really cared, so then you thought , "well, it must not really be any big deal"? Do we, as Christians, let our morals and beliefs become justified in the same way? 4 Reasons that I believe may be impacting Christians in how they establish and maintain moral value systems for daily life.

Cultural Confusion - "He who is a slave to the compass has the freedom of the seas"

- Morals are considered being old-fashioned, and that having morals just adds unnecessary baggage to our already complicated lives.

- Many beliefs and doctrines exist in our society to accommodate every lifestyle and help people justify their behaviors... which confuses most people into believing that there is No Absolute Truth, but rather what truth for you is truth for you, not necessarily for me - & vice versa.

- Our society in schools and workplaces is teaching "respect the individual" and accept "diversity", such as same sex marriage (homosexuality), and even the legal system is supporting this with the introduction of new "diversity" laws.

- Being politically correct in our speech is helping to mask the ugliness of the truth.

- Special Interest groups minorities are "squeaking the loudest" in Washington and across our nation in schools and courts.

Cultural Fears - Acceptance

- If we don't conform, or if we actually stand up for what we believe in we fear rejection

- Job Loss or no advancement, etc.

- We want to be accepted, we want to fit in, and peer pressure is stronger than ever

- We don't want to be put down

- Possible legal consequences like discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment

Denial & Justification -

- It's not really that bad

- I can control it if it ever does get that bad

- "It's just a necessary evil" to fit in, for my career sake; part of the territory

- I haven't seen it or heard it, so it can't be true (while we intentionally look the other way to avoid it)

- Everyone else, even others at church aren't saying anything... or think it's ok... or watch it, listen to it, play it, etc.

- My spouse / kids / I would never be sucked into thinking / believing like that

Desensitization - Cogs on a gear or bicycle chain/sprocket wear down, and we don't seem to notice until the chain starts slipping and we're no longer moving forward.

- Look at our Movies and TV programs, and our...

- Music

- "Literature" books in the schools

- Magazines

- Ads

- Video & Computer Games

- Internet

- Even News stories

We have become reactive instead of proactive...

- We have become more involved with justifying ourselves, instead of proclaiming Christ
- Debating our faith, rather than practices our works and standing on our faith and defending it
- Arguing to convince Satan and others of our beliefs and values instead of preaching the Gospel of Christ to a dying confused world
- We need to actively stand up and Offend Satan

- Offense marches on, moves forward, finds a way over-under-around-through an obstacle...
- Defend is an action word - it means to DO something to correct, protect, & serve
- Face the opposition, and stop looking the other way hoping that they will just go away
- Pick up the Sword, the Shield, the Armor, and trust in God to win the battle through you... you see, this one step takes all of the pressure off of us.

God knows that we can't win without Him, and He loves us anyway. If you trust Him to work through you, then it's not any personal risk no matter what happens, because you know that it's God, not you!
- The cup isn't at fault if the coffee is cold, it's only job is to hold the coffee and provide drinking access to it; not make it, not pour it, not make it taste better... and neither are you at fault or risk if someone rejects the Word... your only job is to hold it and share it, provide access to it for others. You are the vessel.
- Would you expect a paycheck without a job?
- Would you expect a Medal of Honor for hiding and avoiding the draft?
- Then don't expect Heaven as a reward for accepting the world, not even for accepting it through remaining silent.

We are saved by Grace... yet we must have faith after hearing... and we must have enough faith to do something about it and demonstrate our acceptance of Christ in our lives by being baptized as we are commanded... and then we coast into cruise control and grace saves us, right?

NO, of course not! How can we know Him, and not speak about Him? Yet faith without works is dead... where are your works? Where are your values made and maintained? Where is your head, your heart, your soul... in Him, or in the world?

If you have an interest in the Bible, missions work, or religious matters, you will most likely enjoy and learn much from these sites: http://www.missionsworks.org You may also want to visit my blog: http://360.yahoo.com/brantdeth

The sites are designed to teach, but also to provide numerous resources on the Restoration Movement that took place in America's early history. There are several resources that you can access from the site, as well as some very basic biblical teaching that may enlighten you or others about just what the Bible tells us, without interjection of man's creeds or opinions

Keep your eyes open for my new book "In Pursuit..", schedule for release later this year. The book briefly addresses some of man's theories (Darwin, Uniformitarianism, Existentialism, and others), the age of our earth (and universe as a whole) by genealogical and secular historical perspectives, and other interesting aspects of our being. You will follow through to self-discovery, using the Bible as the focal point of the Truth, Peace, and Hope that questions your pursuit, and promises attainment. Your will laugh, learn, and be enlightened

At some point, though not ready yet, MissionsWorks.org will also provide an interactive living map of where missions works are being performed globally

Any thoughts, comments, or feedback is always appreciated! What would you like to see me write about? Let me know! God Bless You!

Dr. D

Luck is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity

2009-09-02T13:24:00.001-07:00

You must be ready when an opportunity comes before you, opportunity often comes in the form of work and that's why most people seem to miss it. Most people are too busy looking for the easy path through life. They seem to lay around waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime,... to simply fall at your feet.

Why would you want to spend so much time complaining about something, or someone? Other people can help you along the way, if you let them, but it's up to you, ultimately, to become the most you can possibly be. I have had plenty of opportunities in my life and have took advantage of some, while letting most of them pass by.

I'm no different than most people but now seem to be aware of my surrounding opportunities, all the time.

How many times do you wish for an opportunity to come along? It's probably one that you missed already, at some point during your life. Are you going to be prepared for the next opportunity when it comes along? These opportunities seem to repeat themselves throughout our lives and if we're not in the right state of mind, we often overlook them and let them pass by, time and time again.

You need to prepare yourself in advance for the next opportunity. If you are prepared and have your eyes open, you will be able to see the next opportunity that comes your way. Preparation will increase your chances for success and good fortune always.

Opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Be on the lookout, when you're walking to the grocery store, taking a break at work, reading the newspaper, talking to your neighbor, walking down the street or even while you are sitting alone, letting your mind wander away. Your chances for success could come while your in your quiet places, or relaxing. Be prepared.

If I Hate My Brother

The Aging of Relationships

2009-09-02T06:53:00.001-07:00

"Yes, I will marry you.....and they rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after." If only it were that simple. Most of us have visions of our relationships turning out this way, but that is often not the case. Somewhere between the "I do" and "happily ever after" problems arise. Over half of all marriages end in divorce. Of those marriages that stay together, a large percentage are not necessarily happy. What happens? Why do the majority of couples find it so difficult to stay together and remain happy? Just as individuals go through identifiable stages (infancy, childhood, adulthood, old age) so to do relationships pass through distinguishable stages. There are many different ways to name the stages of relationship. We prefer to use the following three stages: Romantic Love (also known as the honeymoon stage), the Power Struggle Stage, and Mature Love.

Many people are familiar with the romantic stage. This is where our lover is in our thoughts 24 hours a day and every moment apart seems like an eternity. We live for the moments that we can be together. We are aglow with love. Everything in our life seems to go well. Colors are brighter, sounds more distinct, foods tastier. We find that we need less sleep. We can stay out with our loved one dancing the night away and still be up early the next morning, energized and ready to tackle the day ahead. If we have disagreements with our partner, we are willing to listen and even let them win. We are in a state of bliss. Then something happens. Instead of continuing along happily in this state, our eyes (and our hearts) begin to shift their focus and we enter Stage 2.

Stage 2 is the power struggle. Most of us are familiar with this stage as the majority of relationships stay here a long time. It is the stage in a relationship where two individuals try to live together harmoniously while still standing up for their individual differences. This is the time when we try to combine two different ways of being and two different backgrounds into one workable relationship. It includes but is not limited to such things as combining two distinct ways of handling money, keeping house, and juggling time schedules with regard to work, hobbies, family, recreation, etc. It involves consideration of differing personal habits and parenting skills, varying degrees of sexual desire, different ways of communication, and more. Is it any wonder that Stage 2 brings to light what we perceive as flaws in our partner's character? She/he charges too much on the credit cards, puts recreation before chores, does not understand why I need to spend so much time with my parents, or has little desire for sex. Differences are difficult to live with, especially when we assume that we are right and our partner is wrong. Our reasoning is: "I've done it this way all my life; can't you see that this is the way it should be done?" Learning how to collaborate with a partner while at the same time maintaining our individuality is the lesson of Stage 2. It can be a lengthy undertaking and usually makes or breaks the relationship.

Some relationships will never go beyond the second stage. The power struggles that occur during this time put the "relating" in relationships to the test. Just as a teenager learns how to become an individual and relate to a world outside himself and his family, an adult learns how to become a partner and be in a relationship. We learn how to get along with others at work, in our community, our state, and in our ever expanding world. Most of us learn skills to go out into the workplace and perform at a job, but few of us learn the skills to communicate and be in relationship. Basic relationship skills can go a long way to move us through this difficult stage of power struggle. Tools such as "I" messages, reflective listening, and a basic understanding of the differences between men and women are an important start. We feel it is equally important to have an awareness and understanding of two basic concepts about relationship: 1) that we alone are responsible for our feelings as well as our actions; and 2) relationships can be used to either heal or rewound the individuals in that relationship.

Marilyn: Having been in a twenty year relationship that I now recognize was one continual power struggle, I can appreciate the flow of my present relationship. Chuck and I both have an uncompromising desire to be in a relationship that works, a relationship that we can use as a path to our spiritual growth. Dr. Wayne Dyer in his tape series Freedom Through Higher Awareness comments: if you have a choice between being right and being kind, always choose to be kind." This is a choice Chuck and I are consciously trying to make in our relationship. When we disagree, we make every effort to deal with those conflicts in the moment. We try our best to go inside and discover how we feel and what our part was in the upset. This is not an easy task, especially since we have been programmed to value being right over being loving. We are used to looking outside of ourselves and blaming the other party. My automatic response to an upset used to be "why can't he understand this, it's so simple!" For the life of me, I could not understand why my partner was so dense; why he could not appreciate that this was the way it was for me. What a world of difference it makes when I can take responsibility for myself. All the blame and frustration disappears. I no longer feel that sinking feeling of disappointment and frustration that I used to feel.....that hole in pit in my stomach that asked the same questions over and over: "why am I in this relationship," and "is it as hopeless as I feel it is at this moment?" In contrast, when I can come from the understanding that I alone am responsible for the emotions that well up within me, then I can look inside and examine those feelings. This is usually easier said than done, especially when those emotions remind me of unpleasant memories about how I was treated in the past. I try very hard to share those feelings with Chuck. Sometimes, the only word I can get out is "ouch," but that is enough to get us started. This effort pays big dividends. It allows us to come to a resolution about our misunderstandings and prevents the build-up of resentments. It is also a path to healing the old wounds and building a new relationship based upon the trust of self and each other.

Chuck: The difference between my relationship with Marilyn and my previous relationships is my willingness to look at what parts I play in our upsets. It wasn't long ago that I felt I was right during most of my arguments with women. I can even remember the times that I knew I wasn't right but still couldn't give in. This power struggle was a pattern I had followed for over 30 years and I don't really know how it started. It has been a slow progression of small realizations that has led me to the point where my relationship is usually more important than my being right. Notice I said usually. There are still times when I know I'm not right or realize that I am hurting Marilyn and our relationship by staying mad, but cannot break out of the old pattern. Fortunately these times are diminishing.

How did I begin on my road to recovery? It began with very intelligent women calmly questioning me about my reasons for staying angry. They wanted to understand what kind of benefits or rewards I received for this behavior. Even when they questioned me during a fight, it was done in such a way that I felt their concern. It was clear that they truly wanted to understand what was happening within me. There was no blaming or ill will.

This process led me to begin to question myself. I went to therapy. I learned techniques I could use during a fight such as active listening, taking responsibility by using "I" statements, fair fighting rules, active listening and more. Finally I decided that I wanted to have a GREAT relationship. Now I work on trying to let go of my need to be right and consciously make the choice to be loving. Believe me, it takes a constant effort within the relationship to maintain that awareness, but it is worth it.....and so is Marilyn!

Marilyn and Chuck: The final stage of relationship is mature love. We have traveled the long road of power struggles to get here and learned what we need to learn from that path. We have completed a 180 degree turn, back to the peace and harmony that we felt with our partner when we first met. Our heart (and mind) has shifted away from finding fault and instead is focused on the specialness of our partner.....the uniqueness that attracted us to them in the first place. We have come full circle. We started out in the Romantic Stage seeing only the good, went through the Power Struggle Stage seeing mostly the negative, and now we are able to hold both. This is an expansive state. It is at this time that we make the conscious choice to put our relationship first and give up the need to always be right. This does not mean that we become less of an individual. It is at this stage that we become comfortable with who we are as individuals so that we no longer feel that we are losing a part of ourselves or our needs in order to have our relationships flow smoothly. In reality, we become more fully alive as we have expanded within ourselves to accept both the positive and the negative in another person.

Many of us have had the privilege of experiencing the rare couple who just seem to flow together. Their love and appreciation for one another glows from their very being. They fit together and feel right and everyone can see it. There is a calm and radiance about them that makes others want to be in their presence. This state of being did not happen over night. This couple has done a lot of work to get where they are. There is a deep level of commitment and understanding between them. For us, knowing that this depth of relationship exists gives us hope for our own relationship. When the power struggles seem overwhelming, we let the vision of this couple give us the strength to stay on our path and just let go. It is our belief that it is within all of us to have this type of relationship. It is a merely matter of choice.

Great relationships don't happen by accident. Learn the secrets to having successful one. Marilyn Hough and Chuck Schmitt, the Relationship Specialists, are licensed Marriage and Family therapists in the Portland, Oregon area. Visit their website at http://www.relationshipspecialists.com for tools and tips on how to improve your relationships. You can also sign up for free bi-monthly relationship hints.

Repairing a Leaking Toilet

2009-09-02T05:58:00.001-07:00

Let me explain how a toilet works. First when you go to flush the toilet a little arm pulls a rubber flapper up and lets the water drain into the toilet bowl. The water draining into the toilet bowl forces the old water out along with the number two or number one waste and extremities.

If the toilet sounds like it is running there is a good chance that the seal between the rubber flapper and the plastic rain at the bottom of the toilet is broken somehow. The sound you are hearing is water running around this ring and in to the toilet bowl.

This leak is actually causing no damage to the toilet itself but is wasting water. Hence the water bill will be a little higher if you don't fix the leaking toilet. The best way to find out if this is actually your problem is to take the toilet tank lid off. Then stick your hand down into the toilet bowl and press gently on the rubber flap.

If the water stops leaking or starts running faster this is your problem. Turn the water off to the toilet. There will be a shut off valve on the wall under your toilet bowl in the bathroom. After you turn the water off removed the plastic flap and examine it.

You will be looking for a warped toilet flap or of some sort or grooves on the flapper itself. Take the toilet flapper down to your local home improvement store and buy a new one. Go home and replace the new toilet flapper and this should solve 90% of your leaking toilet problems.

There is one more thing it could be. With the toilet tank lid off, check to see if water is overflowing into the little round plastic pipe. This plastic pipe should have a small hose running from the float valve assembly into it.

If the water is over flowing from the toilet tank into this little plastic pipe you will need to adjust the float.

First thing you will need to do is while the toilet is running lift up on the float lever arm. If the water stops you can simply bend the metal arm of the float lever. The purpose of bending the arm will force the float deeper into the water there for stopping the water from rising over the small tube in the center of your toilet.

There are few parts to a toilet and most parts can be purchased at your local hardware or home improvement centers. Toilet repairs like this can be made simple and the parts used to replace are inexpensive.

Happy Toilet Repairing.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more House Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Some Great Plumbing Ideas

Impact Of Christian Mentors

Natural Laws of Success

2009-09-01T23:13:00.001-07:00

Jim Rohn wrote in his book The Five Major Pieces To The Life Puzzle, it is by an intricate design of nature that success is a condition that must be attracted and not pursued. We achieve rewards and we make progress not by our intense pursuits, but by what we become, for it is what we are that finally determines the result we attract. "To have more we must first become more" is the essence of his personal development philosophy.

Today when the lopsided model of personal development where the stress is more on techniques, the words of wisdom culled from all that have been written about success and happiness from times immemorial brings into stark contrast everything that is wrong in the personal development philosophy. The quick fixes taught by innumerable institutions reflect the growing confusion about Personality Development aimed at symptoms than any attempt on cause. It is no wonder that in the knowledge millennium when knowledge is said to be doubling every eighteen month we see more unhappiness and frustration than light of knowledge and wisdom.

The natural law is that of Character Ethic. What we are intrinsically. Success and happiness is achieved by becoming more, more of love, honesty, justice, courage, integrity, humaneness, feelings for the community, public good and for the fellow human. What we see instead is a stress on the outer personality, public image, public speaking, outward cheerfulness and pretended positive attitudes. Whatever we might be inside, we are taught to put a facade of manners, looks, gestures and language.

Imagine a situation where you meet an unreasonable customer and you put out the most positive outward expressions while you are fuming inside. It does not communicate the best of sincerity and you lose the customer anyway. On the other hand if we exercise the character ethic of being good to a fellow human being, we may try to understand his unreasonableness and show more sympathy towards his views.

When the inside feeling is one of sympathy we may even point out his unreasonableness without rancor or animosity and customer is more likely to understand our viewpoint. The character ethic being strong there would be certain equanimity and pleasantness and the customer has to respond positively to the natural and open negotiation with him.

It is not that techniques are not important. The various personal skills and techniques do have its value in bringing a system and projection of our natural personal traits more effectively. What ever our character should naturally reflect in every act of ours. Whereas being focused only on techniques will be seen as manipulative and whatever gains, will be short term and eventually be seen as failures.

Emerson has brilliantly explained the character ethic "What you are shouts so loudly in my ears that I cannot hear what you say."

R.G. Srinivasan is a managerial professional, Writer and Author. He writes a regular blog on home business with interesting articles, resources, personal experiences and links useful for work at home professionals at http://www.homebusinessresourcesonline.com/

Structural Framing Beams

2009-09-01T22:35:00.001-07:00

Let's start with the beams. They can be Glulam, Parallam, Microlam or even wood beams. What are all of these and why do I need them in my house. The beams are used to hold up parts of the house and are located in your walls, roofs and floors. Beams are used to transfer a load from one point to another.

Structural framing beams allow the architect to create large openings, floors and roofs in your house. The beams are also used to support the weight over the doors, windows and other openings in your home. These beams support massive amounts of weight in some cases and are even made of steel if needed.

Another growing problem is the lack of old growth trees in the forest. If we just used wood beams with out using the new engineered beams we would have to cut down a lot more of the bigger trees. So you can add these guys to your Christmas list. The lumber or wood engineers have come up with all sorts of alternatives for new building products. These new beams are just some of them. Keep up the good work guys...

Glulam is a engineered wood product comprised of wood laminations, or 2 x 4s that are bonded together with strong, waterproof adhesives. If you use a Glulam beam on the buildings exterior you will have to order a exterior Glulam beam. In this case the manufacture will use special exterior rated glues for the beam.

When ordering any wood engineered beams specify to the lumber yard what you are using the beam for. Exterior or Interior of the building. If you use a interior glulam over time there is a good chance of the beam delaminating or cracking apart.

Parallam is made from almost all of the wood on the log using veneer strands that are aligned parallel for maximum strength. The end product is a rectangular beam; which is longer, thicker, and stronger than solid-sawn lumber. They are often used as beams, headers, columns, and posts, among others uses.

Microllam is an engineered wood product that uses multiple layers of thin wood assembled with adhesives. It offers several advantages over typical milled lumber: it is stronger, straighter, and more uniform. It is much less likely than conventional lumber to warp, twist, bow, or shrink due to its composite nature. Made in a factory under controlled specifications, Microllam products allow users to reduce the onsite labor. They are typically used for headers, beams, rim board, and edge-forming material.

These beams come in all sorts of different lengths, widths and heights. They are engineered to hold amazing amounts of weight. They really are great engineering marvels.

Tip: I have had to replace almost all of these types of beams over the years due to some form of damage. Like anything else in your home if it is used improperly there is a good chance your are going to have some sort of failure. I have seen people add weight to these structural beams with no thought of them ever failing.

If you are planning on building a room addition, rebuilding your roof, adding a floor or any other type of construction where you are adding a addition load to your house. You might want to consult with a building contractor or structural engineer.

Thanks Greg For Another Super Article On Home Building. For more great articles visit Greg at http://gregvan.com/

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry. Causes of Structural Failure

Impact Of Christian Mentors

The Truth About Gossip

2009-09-01T15:42:00.001-07:00

Connecting with others is one of the most rewarding things about college. The times sitting around the dorm rooms swapping stories are some of the most memorable times for me.

As any woman knows, the gift of gab is KEY to your success if you want to survive dorm life. The chat sessions that we held in the dorm at all hours in the morning were some of the most fun and interesting times in college. We would order pizza and pig out while talking about who had lost or gained weight, and all of the interesting things that had gone on in our life, like our past romances or who we were dating at the time, or what good looking guy was our next ambition. But, often, when one of the regulars werent there, wed start gabbing about them, and what awful thing they had done this week. Since I was usually there during the sessions, it never occurred to me that I would be the subject of such talk. It just never crossed my mind. After all, I was so well liked, or so I thought!

After a run one day I came out of the shower to hear my name mentioned by one of my suite mates. To my horror, it wasn't just my suite mates, but my roommate and a whole room full of girls from the hall. As I stood in the bathroom listening to the talk and laughter in the room next to me, I quietly steamed. I heard about how often my boyfriend would let the phone ring 1000 times, how messy I was, how I was too loud and so on and so on. I couldnt believe that these were the same girls with whom I had confided my entire existence. I was in SHOCK that I was the subject of so many peoples disgust! They had been so nice to me in person, and now this?

I had no other choice than to confront them, head on. So, with my towel around my hair, and one around my dripping wet body, I quietly walked in the room during their lets talk about Mary gossip hour. The gasps of horror filled the room and now it was THEIR time to be shocked. And rather than yell and scream, I simply said: You know, Im really sorry that I have offended all of you like I have. And it is hard to believe that I had to sit here and hear all of the things that I have done wrong. But do you all realize that yesterday, Anne, you were talking about Kathryn? And Kathryn, the other day, you were talking bad about Lynn? And Lynn, you were dissing Elaine? And Elaine you were in disgust with Liz? So cant you see, all of us are sitting here right now, talking bad about ME, because Im the one that wasnt the room? But, if one of you left, that YOUR name would quickly be smeared all over the place? Is this how we want to be? Is this how we want to treat one another?

No one said a thing, but the words lingered stiffly in the air as everyone looked uncomfortably around the room. I quietly left as everyone was left with their own embarrassment of being exposed.

After that, things changed for me. Any time a gossip session started creeping up into the conversation, I remembered the time when I had been talked about so horribly. I remembered how bad I felt finding out that my friends were really disgusted with me and rather than tell me to my face, they opted to talk to others about it. I learned that I would always find people who were different from me, and it didnt matter that I understood what they did or not, that they were entitled to think and to act like they wanted to. I learned that even with our best friends, that we would sometimes disagree. I learned how important that loyalty was and what a great quality it was to develop. I learned that others would respect an individual who chose NOT to gossip and chose to stand apart from the people who do. And I learned, that I wanted to be that kind of person.

That day of gossip changed my life. I cant say that Im perfect now, but I do try to remember those lessons that I learned that day. I realize that I cant change or control anyone else, but I am in control of how I conduct myself. I also now have living proof that the words my mom told me so long ago were ones that I would want to live by: if you cant say anything nice, then dont say anything at all.

Mary Gardner, The Charisma Coach! is an Executive Communications Consultant and Trainer. She works with, coaches and trains individuals, sales teams, executives, and celebrities. She owned and operated one of the first coaching institutions on the east coast, CCI, in NYC, Philly and NJ. Mary has appeared on ABCs 20/20 and has self published a book on public speaking. Mary is married to Sway and is mommy to Jeremy 5, and lives in Orlando, FL.

Contact: http://www.marygardner.com

Removing Interior Walls

2009-09-01T15:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a word of advice for any contractor, Carpenter, handyman or homeowner that is planning to remove an interior wall from your home or someone else's. Beware of removing interior walls, to eliminate your fears of the house collapsing. Some of the interior walls inside of the house are important structural components of the building.

Some of these walls hold up floors, roofs and other loadbearing sections that could create safety problems within the structure of the house itself. This is an area where an expert with framing skills should be consulted. What is the definition of someone with excellent framing skills? Some one with at least 10 years as a master framing carpenter.

My home building experience consists of three decades for over 30 years of assembling some of the most difficult sections of a home. During these years I have seen damage done to houses from removing structural interior walls. Most of this damage could be repaired with a little structural engineering. Some of the damage could not be repaired and caused other damage to different sections of the house. The damage caused in some cases to the floor and the roof framing had to be completely rebuilt.

I'm not telling you about every single thing I have ran into but you would be surprised if I started to make a list of all the homeowners and professionals in the building industry or home selling and buying business that contacted me to remove a structural component of a building. There have even been a few of these people that told me everything was going to be okay just go ahead and remove the structural building component.

Needless to say I would leave these people very irritated but I'm sure they found someone to do the job. The bad news is I was normally the person they would hire to go back and repair the damaged building after these people were gone and out of business. There have been cases where people have removed an interior walls against my better judgment and over the years of driving by in these homes I personally got to witness the structural damage that was occurring on the outside of the house.

I have no idea what the inside of the house looked like but could only imagine. My advice again when removing interior walls is to hire an experienced contractor or at least get some advice from an experienced framing carpenter. This does not include your basic know it all that has basic construction experience like your father in law, parents, friends, golfing associates or people you work with that tell you not to worry about it, just do it, everything will work out just fine.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and What Does A Shear Wall Do

Should The Bible Be Edited

Say What You Mean, and Mean What You Say!

2009-09-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

"If you can't be direct, why be?" - Lily Tomlin

This week, I want you to ask yourself these 2 questions:

1. What is the price I pay for sugar coating my conversations?

2. Is that how I really want to spend the rest of my life?

Simply being you may not always be the easiest road to travel, but it is whole lot less exhausting!

Is Money a Big Part of Organized Religion?

2009-09-01T07:40:00.001-07:00

Where do you think most modern day religious organizations would be without money? Is money really a big part of modern day organized religion or is that something in the past. Why do certain scriptures require their believers to donate a portion of their earnings?

Does this money improve the lives of religious believers? I'm asking these questions because most people won't. Most people don't even no where the money they earn is going. If you donate money to a religious organization and they choose to hire someone to install stained glass windows throughout the sanctuary, is this really going to help the congregation. Is this a want or a need?

When does a religious group become too powerful for its own good. Do you think the Catholic religion, which at the time of me writing this article, is the largest organized religion in the world, by itself, is very powerful or driven by finances. This organization has seeked wealth and power for centuries, creating an establishment that has its hands in everything all over the world.

Is it fair to have religious leaders living a life of luxury, while some of their followers suffer and go without food or shelter. Should some of this money go towards the aid of others who choose not to believe in the religious culture of their patrons?

Why do some people give money to their religious organization, even though they can barely survive. Are these people driven to contribute money because someone makes them feel guilty? Some of these people give money and time, even at the expense of their own family. It's just not fair, when I see people who are barely scraping by but give faithfully to an organization that promises them a better life after they die.

Your rewards for living a good life on Earth will be received after you die and are allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. Does anyone have any proof of this? If you choose to base your life entirely on faith instead of seeking knowledge and wisdom, or even questioning your religious doctrine, you're not doing yourself any favors.

Money plays a big part in organized religion and honestly does a lot of good throughout the world. Christianity has had a large impact on the United States of America but only time will tell if it was a good thing or not.

If you have extra money and desire to give it to a religious organization of your choice, feel free, but if you're giving 10% of the money you've earned and really can't afford to, I wish you would take the time to research what your church actually spends it's money on. If your church is building another church in Mexico but you don't have enough money for food, clothes or other necessities, I would suggest that you let other people donate their extra money instead.

It might not be mentioned anywhere in your religion, but I'm sure your God or the ultimate Almighty power of the universe you believe in, does not want anyone to suffer or go without, because your religious organization chooses to make you feel guilty if you do not contribute a certain amount of money, for whatever reasons they can possibly come up with.

If everyone that believes in this interpretation has the keys to the kingdom of heaven, wouldn't Jesus be suggesting a life kind of like Mother Teresa but without any money. She wouldn't be allowed to ask any wealthy people for money, let alone use it if she acquired it somehow.

Have you ever ask yourself is there any Hope in Religion .

Would it be safe to a sound that by asking for money from a wealthy person would mean I would not be going to happen. Does it say anything in the Bible about using money from a wealthy person for great earthly deeds and you get to go to heaven but he does not. If this is starting to sound a little confusing, welcome to my world. There are very few people that follow organized religion, that even ask these questions, let alone seek the answers and find the truth and keeping an open mind to future information that possibly could change the old answer that they accepted as a truth but now realize, the possibility that the old information could be wrong.

If you were a religious leader and could not answer some of the major questions that you yourself had, would you continue living a life of confusion or seek relentlessly to find the answers until you are satisfied. Knowing that if you were satisfied with the answers to your questions and now your religious beliefs have changed considerably, would you retire or quit working with the religious organization you were involved with.

This is one of the biggest obstacles for most people that seem to get comfortable in their religious environments. If the interpretations of a you Bible verses are incorrect and can be proven, either scientifically or through translation errors, does this mean that there are more verses in the Bible that could be incorrect or misleading.

Personal Development

Five Ways to Stay Motivated and Achieve Your Goals

2009-09-01T01:05:00.001-07:00

Are you having one of those days when nothing seems to go right? Is every task you try to do harder than you thought it would be, and do you seem to encounter problem after problem along the way? We all have stressful times during our lives when everything seems to be going wrong, but it's crucial to stay positive as giving in will usually make the situation worse. Here are five ways to stay motivated and achieve your dreams:

1. Think less and act more

Stop putting off that difficult job because you're worried it will be too much for you, or you won't be able to do it. The more you worry about something you have to do, the less you will want to do it, so just making yourself get started is one of the best ways to stay motivated. You may have all sorts of excuses for mot doing something, but once you make a start you'll feel so much more motivated to continue.

2. Plan your time and stick to the plan

Having a large task ahead of you, or a big project to complete, can be very daunting, and without a clear view of how much you have to do and when you are going to do it, it can be easy to get sidetracked and put things off until the last minute.

If you have a large project at work, set aside two hours at the same time each day to work on that particular job. Be clear about which tasks you want to complete during that two hours. If you are trying to get fit or lose weight, decide on two evenings a week when you are going to do an exercise class, or go to the gym, and stick to that.

3. Set yourself targets and treat yourself when you reach them

One of the easiest ways to stay motivated is to set yourself achievable targets. If you are setting up your own business, saying that you want to be earning $40k in five years time is a far away target. Break that five years down into periods of six months and decide how much you aim to be earning in each six month period, building up to the five years.

When you reach your targets, you will feel a great sense of achievement, and if you don't quite make it you can evaluate where you could improve to make sure you are on track for the next six months.

4. Mix things up a little

Boredom with the same routine can easily cause us to become unmotivated, so if you are feeling that you need a change then make one. If you are tired of going to the gym, start running in the park instead. If you always work in your home office, try relocating to the deck for a few hours. Even small changes in your routine can be great ways to stay motivated.

5. Make time to relax and avoid burnout

Many people go head on into a project or business venture, and give it all their time and energy, only to collapse with exhaustion after six months and give it all up. One of the most important ways to stay motivated is to take time out to rest and enjoy yourself. Step back and appreciate what you have achieved, make time for a hobby, and spend a few hours with friends and family.

Perhaps some days you have planned to work, but you wake up feeling totally unmotivated. Don't take a whole day off as this will set a precedent, but it's ok to reduce the amount of work you do. Maybe decide just to work until lunchtime and take the afternoon off, but make sure you accomplish something tangible in the morning that you can be proud of to keep you motivated.

Wondering how do you change yourself? Join us now! Improve your self confidence and learn ways to love yourself. Sign up for your free course now at Rediscovery Women.

When We Choose Misery Over Happiness

2009-09-01T00:09:00.001-07:00

How did I end up here in this situation.

If you are reading this and can't make up your mind what kind of life you truly want to live visit me at http://live.spiritualideas.com/ . Change your thinking and change your life.

Another Crappy Rule In The Bible

The Cultural Significance of Symbolic Art

2009-08-31T17:36:00.001-07:00

Symbolic art is a universal cultural phenomenon. The symbolic significance that man assigns to external objects may reflect more about him than about objective reality. Ultimately all visual objects can have symbolic significance. Symbolic art can remind the viewer of resolutions or goals, inspire particular feelings and emotions, and harmonize attitudes and relationships. Carl Jung writes in Man and His Symbols, "The history of symbolism shows that everything can assume symbolic significance.... In fact, the whole cosmos is a potential symbol."

The meaning of symbolic imagery may depend on the age and gender of the viewer as well as the cultural context. Art can be chosen based on its symbolic significance with the intention of invoking particular feelings or emotions in the viewer. Art can also be chosen to remind the viewer of resolutions or goals.

Landscape symbolism is probably the most universal visual language in art. The sun or circle is the most basic symbol in existence. The sun is the source of warmth and life. Plato viewed the sun as symbolic of the psyche. Many religions have used the image of the sun as a symbol of spiritual illumination and wholeness. Other cultures view the sun as a symbol of the masculine principle or God Himself.

The moon is usually representative of the hidden aspects of life such as the unconscious or the dream world. The earth is often considered to be symbolic of matter and the feminine. Like the sun, water is often representative of the source of life or highest good. Similarly, mountains, rocks, trees and flowers all have symbolic meaning.

Other images replete with symbolic meaning include geometric forms and colors. More sophisticated levels of symbology are inherent in most traditional religious works and icons. Understanding artistic symbolism can deepen your experience of the visual world and greatly enhance your enjoyment of art.

Kathleen Karlsen is a professional artist, writer and design consultant residing in Bozeman, Montana. Kathleen is best known for her contemporary impressionism style and her colorful forest, landscape and flower paintings. Kathleen's original art and fine art gifts can be seen at http://www.livingartsoriginals.com

For an extensive article about flower symbolism see http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/infoflowersymbolism.htm - To see a selection of Kathleen's flower paintings, please visit http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/originalfloralart.htm

Finding Homes Using the Internet - Home Shopping

2009-08-31T16:42:00.001-07:00

Most of the time, the first homes you would look at, were owned by the real estate professional you were working with.

Find other real estate tips and great advice, from another one of the Internet's best website creators.

Meditating On Religious Scriptur

Qualities That You Need to Achieve Your Goals

2009-08-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

We all have our own heroes; people that we admire, ones who achieved something significant despite all the odds stacked against them. For some reasons, we feel attracted to their lives, what they did exactly to achieve their goals, what kind of character they have, what is their driving force in life. We are attracted to all the articles about them, all the books written by them or about them in search of the answers.

If you are not a kind of person who reads everything about any celebrity you might be wondering why you are so attached to these people. People who are attracted to us or who we feel to be attracted to usually show us our own negative aspects that we need to get rid of or positive traits that we need to develop to realize our full potential.

You are attracted to particular people; you admire them because they possess the qualities you need to develop to be able to live the life of your dreams.

Write down the names of five to ten people you admire. What traits do they have that attract you?
Prepare a list of at least five traits for each of them. Do they have some traits in common? What are they? Write them down. These are the traits that you need to develop yourself.

Prepare a plan how you will show the new qualities in your daily life. What habits do you need to develop to support the new you? Reinforce these new habits daily. In about two months your new habits will become automatic and will steer your life into a new direction, direction of your dreams.

Do you need help to make your dreams come true? Visit http://www.pathstopower.net for a free book and more details

Are you interested in natural health, weight loss, energy secrets? Visit http://www.nutrifitpower.com/ezine.html for free reports and more details

Lynn Alex is a Life-Skills Coach, Yoga Teacher and an American Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner

Finding Homes Using the Internet - Home Shopping

2009-08-31T09:07:00.001-07:00

Most of the time, the first homes you would look at, were owned by the real estate professional you were working with.

Find other real estate tips and great advice, from another one of the Internet's best website creators.

Using Words In The Bible Effecti

Walk With Norse God Odin - Become a Rune Wizard

2009-08-31T02:35:00.001-07:00

Rune - Wizard - Odin

As an aspiring Rune Wizard, it is important that you connect with the energies of Odin, the All-Father. He is the master Norse Sorcerer, Wizard, Shaman, and Magician.

When I say connect, I mean you must build resonant frequencies within your own Aura to Odin. What energies we carry in our Aura attracts people, places and events into our lives.

We don't want to use out dated Asatru and Viking Rituals that bring us back into the time of Odin and the Vikings. We want to bring Odin into the 21st Century so he can walk with us and guide us into the NOW.

Speaking of the 21st Century, we are now in the galactic space called the Age of Aquarius. Our whole Solar System has rotated around the Galactic Sun. We need a new paradigm for contacting and attracting the wisdom and energies of the Runes and Norse Gods/Goddesses.

The Age of Aquarius has given us the Laws of Quantum Physics. The Laws of Quantum Physics have given us the language we can use to build our new paradigm.

Simply stated: the Laws of Quantum Physics tell us that there exists an infinite ocean of thinking, intelligent energy called the Quantum Ocean. It is for all intents and purposes the Mind of God.

Everything that ever was, is or will be exists in the Quantum Ocean. There is no time, no past, present nor future. There is only the NOW. There is no space only the HERE. That is a good definition for the Creator God, an infinite point called the HERE-NOW.

The runes and Gods/Goddesses of the North all exist in the Quantum Ocean in the Here-Now. As a Rune Wizard, you will want to contact and connect with the energies of the Runes and Odin in the HERE-NOW OF TODAY. You don't want to go backwards. You want to bring the energies of Odin and the Runes to you, in the now.

How do you get the energies within your Aura so that you can use and communicate with Odin and the Runes?

The Laws of Quantum Physics tell us that what you think upon you will attract. Thoughts and symbols are all tools that you can use to connect with Odin and the Runes.

Therefore, on a daily basis, have thoughts of Odin, meditate on his image, inhale his Runes into your Aura.

You can simply start by holding the print of Odin in your hands and looking at it. Do this in your favorite chair every morning, before leaving the house to go to work.

Now, mentally inhale and intone, "I am now making contact with Odin and I am bringing him and his wisdom out of the Quantum Ocean and into my Aura where I can talk with him and use his energies.

Do this three times. Talk to Odin in your mind. Visualize him sitting in the room with you. When you leave your home bring him with you in your car and take him to work with you.

Befriend him. Talk to him. Feel him. Soon you will know him and you will feel him in your every day life. Ask him Rune Wizard questions. Keep a notebook with you at all times and record your impressions, thoughts and intuitions.

You want Odin and his wisdom in your life? Build resonant linkages. I did and I met him on a snowy evening in the mountains of Pennsylvania. I wrote about it in my book "Conversations with Odin."

Ellis Peterson AKA Ragnar Storyteller is a retired math professor and electronics engineer. He has been studying astrology, runes, radionics, metaphysics and alternate healing treatments for over 30 years. He is 70+, in very good health and lives in the boonies of the Pocono mountains with his wife Lory. His writings are unique and refreshing. To see more of his writings visit his websites.

http://www.olevikingshop.com/

and

http://www.runes-for-health-wealth-love-now.com/

Or go to goggle and type in his pen name RAGNAR STORYTELLER for his listings. He is also a ghost writer and will write and article for you. Email Ragnar for his FREE 10 PART MINI-COURSE, "How-To use Quantum Physics in Your Every Day Life to Attract More Wealth, Health and Love, Now." You can contact him by email.

epete@ptd.net

Window Header Framing Problems

2009-08-31T01:44:00.001-07:00

As a building contractor it is my job to assemble the house to meet the specifications from the architect and the structural engineer. I do this by looking at the building plans and installing the specified lumber sizes. I can take it upon myself to install a larger size wood beam or window header adding an additional cost to the job of course. I don't think so.

It's not uncommon for a framing contractor that has an additional 5 foot scrap piece of 4 x 8 left over that he now has no use for. He can then choose to use the 4 x 8 instead of a 4 x 6 for the window header. This type of building is common and acceptable.

If the structural engineer calls out for 4 x 6 window and door headers do not take it upon yourself to replace the 4 x 6 with a 4 x 4. I have seen too many framing contractors or carpenters make an on-the-job judgment like this.

A good example would be a single story house with 2 foot wide windows that require a 4 x 6 window header. As the carpenter builds homes over the years he can come to his own conclusion that a 4x4 will work fine for this application. Again keep this in mind as a framing contractor and a carpenter you are assembling the home not designing it.

Do not change the sizes of any headers or beams.

A long time ago carpenters used a standard rule of thumb, you could go up two sizes larger than the window opening for your header. Let me give you an example of what I'm trying to explain.

A 4 foot wide window opening would require a 4 x 6 window header. A 6 foot window opening would require a 4 x 8 window header. This should give you an idea of what I mean by going up two sizes larger than the window opening to figure out the lumber necessary to use for your window header.

This rule of thumb does not necessarily apply in today's building industry. The reason for this is structural changes from earthquake damage. The structural requirements that are required for building a home require a lot more metal bracing and strapping. Therefore some of the lumber requirements for beam sizes and window headers will be different.

This message is for general contractors, framing contractors and carpenters. When installing a window header and you take it upon yourself to change the size you also assume the responsibility if the building fails. This type of mistake is common and you guys know what I'm talking about.

It's not worth it. Keep in mind you are the assembler and not the designer of the building you are working on.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and House Framing Structural Repairs

Are Christians Really Interested

One Self Help Technique That You Need to Know

2009-08-30T19:21:00.001-07:00

If you wish to get along with others better so that you can improve your marriage, career, relationships or achieve your goals and dreams, then you are not alone. One of the biggest reasons folks fail is that they cannot hold their tongue and spout off their opinions and demand that others see their point of view. Unfortunately, this also prevents them from learning anything new and surprise, surprise they never change their personal point of view.

Okay, so here is something for you, it's a self-help technique one, which you can use. I am going to give you a clue. Rather than, turning away from those who see things differently, ask them about their views, experiences, observations and then continue to engage them in this line of questioning. Then perhaps, give them an alternative hypothesis or explain your observations and thoughts, now you have engaged your counterpart in a friendly discourse and dialogue and not a drop dead, "I am right, you are wrong" debate.

Does, this technique work all the time, no, not always, as occasionally you meet someone like yourself, so opinionated that they fail to see the real world for what it is. You will learn a lot about yourself and a lot about the world and your place in it. After using this technique myself for some 32-years, I am often amazed at how much I know and how easy it is to engage just about anyone in conversation and get into deep and interesting dialogues in minutes. Indeed, it helps me write cool articles too, like this one.

"Lance Winslow" - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Slow Market Home Pricing Advice

2009-08-30T18:14:00.001-07:00

Homes are going to be sold in good markets and bad. When times are good, people often forget that bad times will be coming eventually. During good times, people often get caught up in the hype of the real estate boom. During tough times, houses will be sold eventually, or taken off the market and sold later. If you need to sell the home as soon as possible, for financial or other reasons, you will have to adjust your price with the current market and don't get greedy.

This is the hardest thing for most people to do, lower the price of their home in order to sell it in a slow real estate market. Don't get caught up in the value of your home, six months or even a year ago. Last year's prices are not going to be this year's prices and you need to get that through your thick skull. If the average homes in your neighborhood are selling for $250,000 and you have a swimming pool or done some upgrades, maybe a room addition. Your home is going to be worth more than the average selling price.

Most real estate professionals will price your home according to the length of time you have to sell it. If you're in a hurry to sell, they don't have time to test the market. The price of your home would need to be competitive or lower than homes selling in the area. Whether homes are selling fast in a good market for selling slow in a bad market, if you have time, you can ask a little bit more for your home. If the market hasn't reached the bottom, waiting could actually hurt you, because the prices of the homes in the area would still be dropping.

Listen to your real estate professionals advice when pricing your home. That's what you're hiring them for, they are in the real estate business. Your neighbors, relatives, friends and people you work with, will probably be guessing if you asked for their opinion on pricing your house.

Your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Finding that person is the key to selling your home, finding that person as soon as possible could give you the illusion that you sold your home to cheap. Don't worry about it, your final objective is to sell the house.

If you really think your home is safe, check out these pictures about home water damage.

Another Crappy Rule In The Bible

A Season For Thankfulness

2009-08-30T11:56:00.001-07:00

It's nearly that time of year when Harvest Themes arrive in the stores, so whether you're looking forward to a harvest feast or you're simply thinking about this year's workouts, here are some quotations to provoke your thinking about 'gratitude' and 'self-restraint' to nudge you forward.

At the very least, if you pick one of the following quotes to ponder over the coming few days it will send you into your Thanksgiving celebration with a new attitude, perhaps one of kindness, acceptance, and yes, appreciation. Let go of any mishaps of the past. This is a brand new celebration.

Gratitude

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. Albert Schweitzer

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. Buddha

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Cicero

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. William James

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. Henry Ward Beecher

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more. Brother David Steindl-Rast

Self-Restraint

I have always repented speaking, but never of holding my tongue. Xenocrates Self-control is the chief element in self-respect and the chief element in courage. Thucydides

Remember, there is always a limit to self indulgence, but none to self- restraint. Mahatma Gandhi Some people are molded by their admiration, others by their hostilities. Elizabeth Bowen

There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself. Louis XIV

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants them to do, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. Theodore Roosevelt

I wish you a safe and enjoyable celebration of the rewards you've earned through the 'planting and plowing' you've done all year. Be thankful for your 'harvest' - the results of a year of great work. It's my warmest hope that your own sense of gratitude and of self-restraint have a fuller sense within you also. Enjoy your discoveries!

Keeping your skills fresh for your career will help you accelerate your success. Enjoy Master Certified Coach Ann Golden Egl's weekly Success Thought for the Week as an aid to success. You can sign up here: http://www.GVAsuccess.com or email: info@GVAsuccess.com.

Bathroom Moisture Problems - Home Repair

2009-08-30T10:40:00.001-07:00

Open a window or door a little when you shower. Get some air circulating through the bathroom and prevent damage to your nice house.

Put up with a little inconvenience for you homes sake and your pocket book.

His website provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building in North San Diego Home Remodeling Carlsbad Home Remodeling

Visit us now for Bathroom Ideas

Was Jesus A Good Example

Qualities That You Need to Achieve Your Goals

2009-08-30T04:30:00.001-07:00

You are attracted to particular people; you admire them because they possess the qualities you need to develop to be able to live the life of your dreams.

Do you need help to make your dreams come true? Visit http://www.pathstopower.net for a free book and more details

Are you interested in natural health, weight loss, energy secrets? Visit http://www.nutrifitpower.com/ezine.html for free reports and more details

Lynn Alex is a Life-Skills Coach, Yoga Teacher and an American Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner

Removing Interior Walls

2009-08-30T03:20:00.001-07:00

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and What Does A Shear Wall Do

Effects Of False Prophets

Life is a Short Rant

2009-08-29T21:07:00.001-07:00

http://www.motivational-well-being.com

Home Improvement Tip - Fixing a Squeaky Floor

2009-08-29T19:56:00.001-07:00

Question: I have a floor that every single time I step on it I get the most annoying sound. I don't know what it does to me or why it bothers me so much. My kitchen floor squeaks and actually moves up and down if you are standing on it. The whole floor moves. How do I stop it from moving and squeaking. Help Me Greg!

Answer: It sounds like you have a broken floor joist. You are going to have to go under your house. If you have a basement this will be a little easier to fix. It is my guess that you don't have a basement or you would have seen the broken floor joist by now.

Have someone stand on the floor in the spot that squeaks and have them move up and down while you are under the house. Don't have them jump up and down while you are under the house. This could cause more damage to the structural framing of the floor. Once you are in the right position under the floor you can have them start moving slowly. What you are looking for is one of the floor joist that are moving.

If you see one of them moving. Look to see where the damage is. Is it a split, crack, wood rot or a big knot in the wood that has loosened up and fell out. Once you find the damaged floor joist you can now think about repairing it.

If you don't see any floor joist moving. Have the person on top start moving a little bit more and you can even have them jump on it a few times until you see something out of place. If you still don't see any broken floor joist. Start looking at the sub-floor, this will be plywood of some form, 1 x 6 or 2 x 6 materials.

What you are looking for is movement of any kind. Is there a separation or movement between the sub-floor and the floor joist. If you still can't find the problem maybe it is time to call in a professional.

The main thing you are going to be looking for is movement of any kind.

Most squeaky floors are caused from the sub-floor rubbing up and down on a nail. If you have carpeting and you have a squeaky floor you can do your best to locate a floor joist and screw right through your carpeting into the floor joist.

For more help on fixing squeaky floors visit http://gregvan.com/wood_repair.htm

Thanks for the great question. I hope it helps.

Greg Vanden Berge has been in the home building and remodeling business for over 30 years. With this knowledge he has created a few websites that provide useful information for home owners as well as contractors. His main goal is to educate professionals in the home related businesses, dealing with problems that can easily be avoided with just a little bit of information.

His website http://gregvan.com provides all kinds of answers to remodeling and new house building issues that could create major damage as well as possible damage to your pocket book.

Visit us now for Home Improvement Tips

Personal Development

Christian Thinking

2009-08-29T13:32:00.001-07:00

There is a popular saying from Mark Twain about Christianity. Mark Twain - "If Christ Were Here Now, There Is One Thing He Would Not Be, a Christian."

Giving this some thought and looking around at the people that view themselves as Christians got me to thinking. Do you think, if Mark Twain were alive today, he would have the same view towards Christians and Christianity as a whole? I wonder if Christ's vision of a better world or society is what's going on today. I read somewhere, where this over 33,000 different types of Christian religions, is this what Jesus had in mind over 2000 years ago.

I don't think Mark Twain was referring to Jesus as being a bad person and Christians not wanting to associate with him. I believe it's the other way around, Jesus was an exceptional person and believed in living a life as an example towards others with kindness, forgiveness and love.

Sometimes Christians get a little carried away when they start talking about loving their neighbors like they would themselves or asking for forgiveness while choosing not to forgive others. It's hard to imagine what Jesus would actually think of modern day Christians or even what he would think about Christianity over a hundred years ago.

I wonder what Jesus would have thought a thousand years ago about Christians. Mark Twain brings up a very good point, if Christ was here today, would he be happy. If you're living a life as a Christian and following in the footsteps of Jesus, you should be proud of yourself. If not, maybe you should start thinking about changing your ways.

If you are following the path of Christ, are you following a path that has been changed and manipulated to benefit organized religion and the advancement of Christianity, or are you following the true path of Jesus. Something to think about if you're planning on spending the rest of your life in the Christian religion.

Greg is currently working on a self help video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Stair Lighting Problems

2009-08-29T12:40:00.001-07:00

Walking up and down the stairs in the dark could become a safety issue. If the stairs in the house are not that old, there should be a light switch at the top and a light switch at the bottom of the stairway. This is a three way switch and is designed to allow you to turn the stair lighting on as you walk up the stairs and then turn the stair lighting off, once you've safely reached the top of the stairway. And vice versa as she walked down the stairs.

If you don't have a light switch, there are motion sensor lights that are battery operated and can be installed easily in the stairway. These lights can provide you with peace of mind, while protecting your family from accidents.

Stairway accidents are nothing to joke about, I lived in a two-story house with four other people and was the last one to fall down the stairway. None of us got seriously injured and the stairway was built to meet local building codes and was inspected by a building and safety inspector. The stairs were built correctly and the stair lighting was no problem, but people still fell down the stairway and it always happens in the evening.

During the day time there were two windows that let plenty of light into the stairway and in the evening the stairway became quite dark, rarely was the stair lightning ever turned on. This could have been outright laziness but nevertheless, it was rarely used and eventually became a safety issue.

Lighting your stairway might not end all of your problems but it can and some of your problems. There are plenty of stair lighting systems available on the market today and some of the battery operated stair lighting systems can be installed by most homeowners.

Think safety always and do your best to solve your stair lighting problems as soon as possible to prevent injuries or accidents.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your looking for some more building stairs or home building ideas.

Should The Bible Be Edited

Mental Fitness - Social Stress - Contributory Factors

2009-08-29T06:12:00.001-07:00

In relation to mental health, it was estimated ten years ago in our country, that one in six people in the community suffered from anxiety, depression and other symptoms. Now in 2008 the proportion has risen to one in four.

Statistics also tell us that one in four will get cancer, one in four will suffer heart disease, and another one in four will suffer from kidney disease, leaving a small quarter of the population to contract and die from other complaints!

Faced with this, it is difficult for us to have an attitude other than that of real concern. We are all affected by a social climate where such information increases our disease awareness and strengthens the evidence that we are living in a very unhappy society under stress.

We would all like to avoid suffering. But it is the increase of mental diseases that causes us real pessimism about our own chances to avoid not only physical disease but the possibility that we may need psychotherapy and treatment for mental disorders.

We are wise to be cautious about this relatively uncharted field of healing. Although earlier, primitive methods have been replaced by chemical drugs, but this method that produces side effects, incurs the additional risk of addiction.

Through the press we hear of many serious health concerns in the community including the general lack of mental fitness. Our anxiety is intensified by hearing of all the disasters, violence and unnatural crimes committed in environments that are suffering mental pollution.

Our young people have an unfortunate example before them, of their potential future if they live expecting to suffer the same with a final loss of dignity should they lose their mental faculties or suffer mental disease in their last years.

There is a need to focus upon building health naturally. We need to eradicate the poisonous ingredients and pollutants in the environment. We need also to re-constitute our ideas and principles of our culture to exemplify a civilized way of life, else all of us are likely to be deprived of any joyful anticipation of a future as a happy, healthy and stress-free society where mental fitness is the norm.

Sally Janssen is an writer and educator who from an early age trained in Raja Yoga--that branch of the ancient science that deals with the mind and its complexities. She subsequently gained an international reputation for her skills and her wisdom in the training of the mind.

In her wonderfully readable book entitled Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-help Guide she presents simple, self-help practices that help to generate and maintain mental fitness just as the natural principles for physical fitness can be personally applied by us all.. The book may be found here: http://www.mentalhealthandfitness.com This is a must-read book for us all. You can also visit her blog at http://www.mentalhealthandfitness.com/blog

Old Versus New Construction Adhesives

2009-08-29T05:18:00.001-07:00

When I first started building in 1978 as a young carpenter and an apprentice to my father. I had the grand illusions of becoming what they call on the east coast a master carpenter and on the West Coast a journeyman carpenter.

Part of my training in construction was learning to use the proper adhesive and caulking for different parts of the building project. We used to use a standard solvent-based construction adhesive when we were building our stairs and they would also use this adhesive on the floors to eliminate squeaks.

This glue dried extremely hard and everyone thought the harder the better. This construction adhesive was great when I started using it in 1978. There wasn't the polyethylene super elastic expandable multi-use glue and caulking construction adhesives at that time.

We used this brittle glue and it always seemed like a waste of time. As the wood dried and started to shrink the brittle hard glue would crack and break away from the wood it was glued to. Normally the glue was breaking away from plywood floor sheeting. I have seen 2 x 12 shrink 3/8 of an inch before in as little as a few months during the summer.

Now as time went on the old construction adhesives were replaced with a new window sealant made by a company called TOPS. This stuff was the hottest and best product of the decade to me. I used this stuff for everything.

This new urethane glue was now being used for sub floors, stair treads, sealing the windows flashing and siding. This stuff is still in use today and is a great choice for all of the uses I mentioned above. The price for this sealant is about double that of most water-based or solvent-based glues. But it's worth it.

So there you have it I like the urethane glues because of their flexibility, elasticity, their ability to adhere to wood concrete or metal and their performance in the years ahead.

There is one thing to keep in mind when using construction adhesives. Most construction workers seem to ignore the fact that the wood needs to be dry and clean before applying the construction adhesive. There have been quite a few times I have witnessed carpenters working with me and ignoring my advice.

Don't put yourself into this category. Doing quality work and following the manufacturers recommended installation instructions for their product will decrease your liability if there is ever a problem. Read the instructions carefully on all of the building products you use.

The manufacturers of these construction adhesives have thoroughly tested them. So use them properly and follow all safety warnings.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more Building and Remodeling Library and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Visit us and get more information on building and remodeling your homes and Carlsbad Structural Repairs

Religion Articles

Creating and Using a Victory Journal

2009-08-28T22:43:00.001-07:00

During an interview with Sandi Givens, the discussion lead to how women sometimes have a difficult time disassociating themselves from the things that they do. In other words, when a woman presents an idea to someone, and the idea is rejected or she's told it's not a very good idea; many women find it difficult to remember that it was the idea itself that was rejected and not the "woman". In other words, women become so closely attached to their ideas and the work that they do, that if something they've brought up is put down, it's often seen by the woman as a put down or reflection of themselves.

In order to help encourage "disassociation" between yourself and your work; or between yourself and your ideas; Sandi recommends creating and using a victory journal. You should purchase a nice notebook or blank journal - the nicer the better because you want to look forward to holding it in your hands and writing and reading from it!

On the very front page of your journal, the "cover page", you'll want to nicely write "Victory Journal". You could handwrite it, or you could make it fancier and use scrapbooking supplies or stickers. Whatever makes you feel good when you look at it.

In this "Victory Journal", you are going to write down your victories, wins, successes of each day. Do not ever write something and belittle it; in other words- don't say "I just had a good meeting today". The word "just" dismisses the victory and that is what we are attempting to overcome with a victory journal.

The other important thing to remember when writing in your victory journal, is your victories do not have to be earth shattering. In fact, it's about all the little things that make up your day that are considered successful. You could write that you met a deadline. You could include that you got your little ones off to school on time and without complications or arguments.

If you're not a big writer, there is no reason to write long winded explanations or anything. A victory journal is actually just as effective if you write your successes and wins for each day in a bulleted list - just short phrases that tell you what the success was.

When someone rejects a proposal or idea that you have come up with, you will immediately pull out your victory journal and read some of the successes you've had. You'll be able to see that you are not your idea; that the idea is not you - and that you have so many victories and successes that having one rejection cannot dismiss all of that goodness about you.

Janet Beckers is the host and founder of Wonderful Web Women
An award winning on-line community recognized for generous and honest marketing advice for women on the internet
To learn from the most successful women on the internet through live webinars, masterminds and forums absolutely free, visit http://www.WonderfulWebWomen.com and join today

Success Starting in Your 40s

2009-08-28T21:37:00.001-07:00

Why wait, if you can't find a job in a business you never truly enjoyed, maybe you can find a new job doing something you love.

"Education has freed me, to pursue other ideas and release me from the bondage and fear of organized religion."

Gregory Vanden Berge

Religion Articles

Thought Vibration by William Walker Atkinson - Book Review

2009-08-28T15:04:00.001-07:00

Written in 1906, Thought Vibration by William Walker Atkinson, is as current and relevant today as it was a century ago. Atkinson, a somewhat forgotten New Thought pioneer, was also an attorney, merchant, publisher, editor and author of more than 100 books, many under pseudonyms.

Without being preachy, Atkinson explores the ideas of increasing willpower, mastering the real self, living fully, ridding the mind of negative thought, training habits, harnessing emotions, and developing new brain power. His older writing style is still lively and surprisingly refreshing 100 years later.

I love Atkinson's "in your face" attitude about will power. (If you don't have any, you're mentally lazy!) And his thoughts on what he calls "asserting the life-force" or really living and experiencing each moment of every day, call us to stop doing things half-hearted. Take an interest, man!

Atkinson spends a lot of time discussing fear and how it affects our attitudes and, eventually, our ability to succeed. Fear, he says, is an expectancy of the feared thing. To banish fear, start to do some of the things you could do if you were not afraid to try. Assert courage and, eventually, the fear will recede.

Atkinson leaves us with some thoughts on our views of successful people. We imagine successful people to be superior. And if we ever get the chance to meet someone we deem as superior, many times we are disappointed to find that they are the same as ourselves! The difference, Atkinson asserts, is the successful person's belief in themselves and their ability to concentrate. Resist the urge to undervalue ourselves and overvalue others.

Amazing how the world around us is so different yet the human element remains the same!

Annette Greco is co-owner of a successful home remodeling business, author of The Kitchen Remodeling Cookbook: The Survival Guide to Cooking When Your Kitchen Can't and co-founder of On The Level Consulting. The remodeling business requires a successful combination of sales, marketing, administration and production. It is even more important for the small remodeling company to execute all areas well and in the right combination. Find out how to maximize profits while minimizing time and stress. Sign up for On The Level Consulting's FREE online newsletter to find out how. Visit http://www.onthelevelconsulting.com

Hiring a Contractor For Bathroom Remodeling - Remodeling Contractors

2009-08-28T14:03:00.001-07:00

Well here's the age old question, how do we go about finding a decent bathroom remodeling contractor.

Here's some things you will be looking for in a contractor.

1. Is Your Contractor Fair and Honest?

2. Does Your Contractor Have Experience Remodeling and Designing Bathrooms?

3. Can You Actually Find a Contractor Who Will Complete the Job in a Timely Manner?

4. Do You Think the Workers Will Be Able to Clean the Job up Daily?

5. Will the Contractor Show up on Time?

6. Is the Contractor Going to Work At Least Eight Hours a Day?

7. Does the Contractor's Crew Have Experience?

8. Is Your Contractor and His Crew Courteous?

If you find a contractor for your bathroom remodeling project that has answered yes to all questions above, hire that person immediately. Most contractors can sincerely answer yes to half of the questions above. If you're looking for the ultimate bathroom remodeling contractor, you could be searching for quite a while, you're looking for some one that is competent and you feel comfortable with.

When hiring a contractor, look for someone who has your interest in mind first and not theirs. Find someone who is willing to help with the designed process of your bathroom and the remodeling. If you find a contractor to be arrogant or controlling, there is a good chance, your bathroom might not turn out the way you envision it.

When hiring a contractor for your bathroom remodeling project or any home improvement project, the most important thing to keep in mind is, whether or not you feel comfortable with this person or not. Never hire a contractor you're not comfortable with.

If a contractor is referred to you by someone you trust, this does not guarantee you will be happy with the bathroom remodel. Most referrals that I have gotten over the years are like rolling the dice, I believe I would have done just as good picking a name out of a hat.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

When Do We Get To Meet God

A One Minute Meditation

2009-08-28T07:32:00.001-07:00

Maybe learning to meditate intimidates you, and in any case it's tough to find the time for daily meditation. The solution to both problems is an easy meditation you can learn right now, that will only take a minute to do each day.

An Easy Meditation Technique

Breathing through your mouth expands your chest, but if you breath through your nose you'll notice how your abdomen extends. You see, nose-breathing causes the diaphram to pull air to the bottom of your lungs. This delivers a good dose of oxygen into your bloodstream and brain. It also tends to relax you.

Breathing through your nose is healthier, and it's the basis of this one-minute meditation. You simply close your eyes, let the tension go out of your muscles, let go of your thoughts (to the extent possible), and take four slow, deep breaths through your nose, paying attention to your breathing.

Is Meditation This Easy?

You're not likey to get you into a deep meditative state with this simple exercise. You will get benefits, though. These will almost certainly include a clearer mind and a reduction in stress.

Try to develop a "trigger" for your meditation. You can do your four breaths when you get into the car, for example, or right after lunch each day. A trigger is a place or time that reminds you, so your meditation becomes a habit.

Some may say this isn't "real" meditation, but there's nothing wrong with enjoying the relaxation you'll get from this technique. You can always pursue deeper meditation later, if you wish. In the meantime, remember that not everything has to be difficult to be of value. Why not do an easy one-minute meditation right now?

Steve Gillman writes on many self help topics including boosting brainpower, losing weight, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, learning gratitude, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. You'll find more at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.com

Checking the Building For Square

2009-08-28T06:36:00.001-07:00

The most important thing when building a home is the ability to keep everything as square, plumb and level as possible. Starting with the foundation, if the foundation is not square or level, the rest of the house is going to be out of alignment.

You've probably heard the saying, start with a good foundation. This applies to the building industry as well. There are quite a few ways to build a square foundation, it all depends on what kind of tools you have, to build it with.

Some of these tools can be quite expensive but it used every day can save you a lot of time and of course time is money.

You don't need expensive tools to build a square foundation. You could actually build a square foundation with less than $100 worth of tools. It might take you a little longer but could be done.

Let's start with the 3 - 4 - 5 rule.

Okay lets see if I can explain this in layman's terms. If no West side of the foundation is 3 foot and the north side of the foundation is for foot, then the diagonal measurement from the southwest corner to the northeast corner would be 5 foot. Out of square building can create foundation problems

This can also be done using 30' x 40' should equal 50 foot. You can use this if the building is large and you need to check it for square.

By measuring the foundation diagonally from each corner, the measurement should be exactly the same. If it isn't, the building is out of square and should be adjusted before the concrete is poured. This measurement should always be checked before you get too far along in the form building process.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

If your having problems in your attic, find out more at concrete contractor basics and home building ideas.

Ask And You Might Receive Or Ask

Keeping a Positive Attitude During the Financial Crisis

2009-08-27T22:58:00.001-07:00

The President tells us we have staved off a Great Depression with the giant mortgage crisis bail out. The Democratic Candidates tell us that the middle class is dying, people are losing their homes and jobs and the economy is in shambles. We all know that fuel prices are too high and the costs of nearly everything we buy are on the rise.

Treasury Secretary Paulson warns us we are not out of the woods yet and former FED Chairmen Greenspan tells us that this is a one in a century emergency and the 700 billion dollar bail out is the only plausible option. The Commercial Real Estate Industry says they might be next and the retail sector along with car sales are in trouble. GM may need a bail out and the Airlines are all on the verge of stalling out. Corporate America has announced massive lay-offs and huge consolidations, all bad news, very bad news.

So, with all this doom and gloom how on Earth is anyone going to keep a positive attitude? Well, they need too, as "consumer confidence" can often be the difference between economic collapse and a short recession. It's up to all of us now, our leaders have spoken and are taking action, this can work, but not without our help.

It's up to all Americans to think past the mass media hysteria, to believe in our financial system, and to allow it to work through this crisis. After all if you allow yourself to dip into negativity, all you are going to do is cause yourself stress and health issues. And in doing so, you will not be helping yourself, your family or our nation through these turbulent times.

"Lance Winslow" - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Slow Market Home Pricing Advice

2009-08-18T22:57:00.001-07:00

If you really think your home is safe, check out these pictures about home water damage.

Structuring Your 24 Hour Day

Change Your Thinking About Life

2009-08-18T09:55:00.001-07:00

What do I do when I get down and out. Well that use to happen to me often and I seemed to suffer with some minor depression. It would seem like time would stand still. I would look at the clock and notice the time. Let's say 2:23 in the afternoon. I would look back to see what time it was about fifteen minutes latter and it would be 2:26. Wow what in the heck is going on with this clock.

I just couldn't believe it seemed like the day would never end. I would just sit there and think about all the stuff going on in my life, good and bad of course. This seemed to last until I was in my early twenties. I just didn't want to feel like this any more. I made a Conscious design not to get depressed period. I never wanted to feel like that again.

I read a book on ESP and in the book it described visualizing a rose as you went to sleep. I started doing this every night and while I was doing the exercise it seemed to make me feel relaxed in a way I never had felt before. The reason for the exercise was to teach you to visualize something peaceful. This in turn would put you in a peaceful state of mind.

Then a thought came into my noggin. What if when ever I start to feel bad or seem to be going into a sort of depressive state of mind I change my thoughts. It worked... I would start to visualize something else that made me feel comfortable and give me a peaceful feeling. Man was I surprised with my results.

Keep in mind I didn't think of this all on my own but I did put the pieces of the puzzle I needed to together that I needed to change my life. It seemed like I could use this form of self control in different parts of my life. If I was at work and someone made me mad.... Well this didn't work all the time... I still got mad. Let's pick something else OK.

I would worry about something on the job that wasn't going right. Then I would get irritated over something else that wasn't even related to what I was worrying about. Why did I take it out on the other person when what I was really mad about was something else. We do this all the time in our lives. We seem to get mad, get even or give up. Why do we do this and what can we do to stop it.

My main point to all of this is we can change our thinking and change our lives. We can learn new things to change our thinking. We don't need to give up hope that we will always be like this. Change the things you don't like about yourself. Do it today. If you need some help there is a great book that will help you change your life for the better.

You can find it at http://www.live.spiritualideas.com This book has a lot of tools to create the change in your life you want to have a more full filling life.

Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown. Ross Perot.

Is The Bible Historically Accura

Brain Fitness

2009-08-17T10:56:00.001-07:00

STEP ONE:Do you know when to stop?Do you know how much is enough?Especially with brain injury and age related brain fitness decline, overwhelm defeats motivation every time.Do you get overwhelmed?

Okay, here is the solution.Decide exactly how much you are going to do and how you are going to measure it.For example, if you are going to do some gardening or walking, decide on 20 minutes.Then set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes.When the bell rings, stop.

Now, when you know you can stop after 20 minutes, do you feel more encouraged?It's just 20 minutes!Feeling like you can do it creates the MOTIVATION WHEEL.This is step one.

Know when to stop.Decide on how much you are going to do.When the timer rings, stop.

COACHING TIP:If you still don't feel like doing it, cut your effort/time in half and try again.Keep cutting the effort/time in half until you it's so easy that you laugh as you get into action!For example:20 minutes too much?Set timer for 10 minutes. Just get that motivation wheel moving!

STEP TWO:Do you count your effort like coins of gold?Do you easily forget what you did yesterday or last week?When you look at your effort today, you kill motivation by thinking that 20 minutes will do no good.

The solution is to get fun stickers.Put a sticker on your calendar or chart every time you put in your measured amount of effort from step one.
Now count the stickers on your calendar like they were coins of gold!Congratulate yourself because your stack of golden effort is growing.Fall in love with growing your stack of gold.

When you count and congratulate yourself daily for growing that stack of golden effort, you are CREATING MOMENTUM.Momentum means that your wheel is picking up speed.When you create momentum, motivation isn't an issue.

Stack your effort.Count it like coins of gold.Create momentum.

STEP THREE:Do you know exactly how far you have travelled?Everyone knows where they want to go.Motivation is often killed when you look forward at the distance left to travel to your goal.It seems so far...impossible!

However, when you look back to SEE HOW FAR YOU HAVE COME that is a powerful motivator.Dwell on the facts of what you have done.

This is where a BEFORE TEST is so important.Many people ignore creating a before test because they are embarrassed by this information.Stop what you are doing, and take those appropriate measurements right now.Take a photo of your weedy garden or unpainted room, stand on that scale, wrap the tape around your waist, time the minutes it takes to walk to the mall.You need that BEFORE DATA.Put it in the drawer.

Now every month, take the same measurements, pull the BEFORE DATA out of the drawer, and celebrate how far you have come.SEEING PROOF OF SUCCESS KEEPS THAT WHEEL ROLLING for another month.Inch by inch, life's a cinch.

Keep records so you can't forget. Review monthly how your stack of effort is changing your data.Dwell on your proof of success.Remember, every step, no matter how small, counts.

WHEN YOU USE THESE 3 STUNNINGLY SIMPLE STEPS YOUR MOTIVATION WILL GROW INTO YOUR POWERFUL ALLY.Soon you will be leaping buildings in a single stride! Celebrate.

Linda Schaumleffel, Olympian and head injury survivor, guides people worldwide with faltering memory or head injuries, by teaching them how to thrive again, strive for peak productivity, and build a hedge against dementia. Get a jump on your own brain health with "Brain Fitness: The Top 17 Activities That Will Revive Your Brain at Any Age!" special report at http://www.PowerBrainFitness.com

Do You Actually Get to Go to Heaven - Christian Thinking

2009-08-17T10:45:00.001-07:00

Feeling Alive Teenage Problems
Fighting In Gods Name

Good Communication Makes All the Difference

2009-08-16T21:49:00.001-07:00

Sometimes just asking a view simple questions and clarifying your understanding can bring great benefits to any communication.

If you're looking for a secret to happiness or a missing piece to the puzzle you quite possibly could find what you're looking for but no guarantees at spiritual books.

Check out Greg Vanden Berge.

Thomas Paine

Moral Leadership of The Christian Community

2009-08-15T13:42:00.001-07:00

The presidential election of 1992 introduced the discussion of
family values as a political issue. Apparently the populous
did not accept this issue as being significant. Christian
organizations were reluctant to enter political activities so
they did not push the concept of family values as being a
religious imperative.

Do some of these issues seem too "political" for the Christian
community to become involved? Are not, however, some of these
issues important enough to be hammered home by the clergy of
this country? When is sin significant enough to talk about
it?

ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT

"Amazing Grace" was written by a slave trader who came to know
Jesus and his life changed dramatically. John Newton was a
sailor on a slave ship. After his conversion, he became an
Anglican minister and influenced Wilberforce against Slavery.

William Wilberforce, along with John Newton and Granville
Sharp lived in England in the late 1700's. These three men
stopped slavery in England and throughout the British Empire.
Sharp's work led to the emancipation of slaves in England in
1772 while the work of Wilberforce led to the abolition of
slave trade and the emancipation of slaves throughout the
British Empire.

Key Evangelical Christian leaders in the United States
included Samuel Hopkins, Lyman Beecher, Charles G Finney, John
Brown, Theodore Weld, Jonathan Blanchard, and Harriet Beecher
Stowe. These individuals preach Christ for the salvation of
the individual but also saw the total injustice of slavery in
the "land of the free". Abolition was not a hobby with them.
It was also not all they did. They were also Evangelical
Christians. Their efforts led to the abolition of slavery in
the United States and the emancipation of the slaves of
America.

AND NOW

The involvement of Christian leaders throughout modern church
history demonstrates the historical basis of involvement of
the church in secular affairs. Social reform is the business
of the church. Social reform is not "socialism". Social
reform is not "government handouts" or "entitlement". Social
reform is moral leadership.

Christian lifestyle is a moral lifestyle. Moral leadership is
not the imposing of "blue laws" or "religious fanaticism".
Moral leadership deals with life and death issues. It deals
with freedom under God. Christian morals protect life and
property, things that even non-Christians cherish. Decisions
concerning morality must not be left to the atheists and to
the anti-Christians.

Christian leaders must take the initiative in developing a
corporate moral character for the country and the world. We
Christians are the "salt of the earth and if that salt loses
its taste, just what is it good for." These words in quotes
are not my words but Jesus's words. Perhaps we better start
applying the "salt".

Doug Johnson has been writing and online publishing Christian and Social Conservative articles since the 1990's on http://www.IndependentChristian.org/

Doug has been a Bible believing Evangelical Christian since childhood. He has been received into fellowship with the Evangelical Free Church, the Plymouth Brethern, the Assembly of God, the American Baptist, and the Southern Baptist.

In the early 2000's, he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church after careful study of the Catholic Catechism and the Bible. He believes Catholics and Bible believing Protestants should build on what they have in common rather than looking at what is different.

He is presently helping to establish the Independent Christian On-Line Academy at: http://www.ICOLA.us

Doug has an online retail wallpaper business at: http://www.TheWallpaperPirate.com/

Doug is available as a consultant and or speaker. To reach him, use the Contact Us page at any of the above websites.

Reverse The Population To Prove

New Trick For Christians Who Believe Without Any Doubt

2009-08-15T10:38:00.001-07:00

My Parents Motivation Using Fear
How Do I Know What The Universe

The Purpose of Dreams

2009-08-14T03:33:00.001-07:00

Dreams have been somewhat of a mystery to man for a long time. Dreams hold many captive at night wondering if it is reality or simply the imagination working overtime. We have all awoke from dreams upset that it wasnt reality and on the same hand, we have woke up thanking God that a terrible nightmare wasnt a reality.

There are many different theories about the meaning, origin, or purpose of dreams. Some believe that dreams are an extension of our subconscious. In other words, we may dream about things that we think about, whether we are aware of our subconscious thoughts or not. Others believe that dreams are a part of REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep, which helps to restore our minds and bodies while we sleep. Finally, some people believe that dreams are one mode of communication that God uses to send us messages.

I believe that there is some truth to each of these theories of dreams, but I will focus on the theory about God using dreams as a mode of communication with us and what I believe his purpose in communicating with us through dreams is. Although I do believe that God communicates with us through dreams, I dont believe that every dream that we have is from God or even God attempting to communicate with us. Since I believe that some dreams are from God and others arent, this poses the question, How do you know which dreams are from God and which ones arent?. This is a difficult question to answer because there is no scientific answer to this question. My answer to this question is that you will know in your spirit. In other words, the inner voice will say this dream meant something.

Your spirit may even be troubled when you wake up like Nebuchednezzar was in the Bible after he had a dream from God. In the Bible, in Daniel 2:1, it says Nebuchednezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. I believe that this was his spirit communicating to him that there was a message in the dreams for him and maybe others. Also, in the Bible, in the book of Daniel 7:15, Daniel states that after having a dream, that he was troubled in spirit and the visions that passed through his mind disturbed him. When I have had dreams that I believe are from God, the same thing has happened to me when I have awoken from a dream from God. I usually will first remember the dream or many parts of it very vividly. Next, I feel unsettled in my spirit, as if something needs to be resolved or settled.

After establishing that God does in fact, communicate with us through our dreams just as he did with Daniel and Nebuchednezzar, and Joseph in their dreams, you may have been wondering why. Why would God choose to communicate with us through our dreams? I believe that God has 6 purposes for communicating to us through our dreams and it is up to us along with our communication with the Holy Spirit to discern which purpose he has for communication with us.

The first purpose that I believe God uses dreams for is to call us to pray or intercede for ourselves and/or others. Sometimes God gives us dreams to call on us to pray about a situation or for a person. If we have a dream about someone or something that we know is not positive, even if we dont know the interpretation of the dream, we can pray and intercede about the situation or for the individual(s). Prayer changes things, so if we are obedient, we can change someones outcome for the better.

The second purpose for our dreams may be to warn us. God may want to warn us about a direction we are headed in or a decision that we are about to make that may be outside of his will and that may lead to destruction. In the Bible, in the book of Daniel, chapter 4, God gave Nebuchednezzar a dream to warn him. King Nebuchednezzar was warned in his dream, that if he didnt acknowledge that God is more powerful than man and things, his power and riches would be taken away from him. Nebuchednezzars warning was to acknowledge and turn to God or lose his earthly privileges. Having this dream and having it interpreted by Daniel, a Godly man, gave Nebuchednezzar the opportunity to take action to avoid disaster and calamity in his life. God gives us this same opportunity if we heed and are obedient to God.

The third purpose for God give us dreams is to give us hope. The Bible says in the Book of Proverbs 13:12 that "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." You may be experiencing a dark time in your life and you may be tempted to throw in the towel and give up. God may give you a dream to show you the light that lies ahead and to give you hope in your future. Having a visual image of a dream that he births in us gives us the opportunity to think about and hold onto that vision when things arent going the way we hoped or planned.

The fourth purpose for dreams is to encourage us and encourage others. This goes along with hope, but it may be a bit more subtle. God may want us to share a positive dream with the person we dreamed about to encourage them, or he may just want to encourage us that he is with us and hasnt forsaken us.

The fifth purpose may be to give us confirmation about something that he has either already tried to communicate to us either through our spirit or through someone else. Also, if we asked God for confirmation for something, he may give it to us through our dreams.

Finally, I believe that God communicates with us through our dreams sometimes to let us know that he is God. It is hard to forget or disbelieve in the power of God when he is using something like dreams to communicate with people and ordinary people like Daniel and I to interpret dreams.

If you believe that God has been communicating to you through your dreams, do the following : 1. Pay close attention to them; 2. Write them down in a dream journal as soon as you wake up from the dream, so that you capture all of the important details; 3. Obey his instructions and heed to his warnings, in other words, pray for yourself and others immediately when he calls on you, act when he gives you confirmations that require action, always hold onto hope, and always give God all of the Glory!

If you are interested in having a dream interpreted, sharing your dreams with others, or simply being a part of a discussion group and learning more about dreams, please visit my website at www.dreamsinterpret.com. Try it out for free.

Written by : Lisa M. Kohut

Smiles Are Free So Give Them Awa

Who Really Wrote The Bible

2009-08-13T09:00:00.001-07:00

Magic Of Believing Book
Planting The Seeds Of Suggestion

Wishing For Riches - Self Help Tips

2009-08-12T18:42:00.001-07:00

Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth, are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth.

This statement is at the beginning of Chapter 13 from the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.

There are so many different methods, from so many different people, but most people don't know where to start, or plan their way to success.

I have heard some people mention the hardest part is actually starting, while others say you have to start somewhere, anywhere but start. Starting is usually the hardest part for most people, they get defeated by their own beliefs and of course never even start.

Fear of failure and fear of success, seem to be at the top of the list when thinking about starting a business. It's always been hard to imagine people being afraid to succeed, when this is what they seem to desire the most.

Wishing for riches can motivate you to start, thinking about the many different ways to succeed can motivate you to plan. A burning dire to succeed well often motivate you to start and create a plan eventually.

The key to creating wealth is developing habits and good daily habits performed over a lifetime, most of the time, will lead you to wealth beyond your wildest dream's. Sometimes this wealth is going to have nothing to do with money.

Get some books, talk to some people, watch some biographies about successful people throughout history, find out what they did and start paving your own trail. But you're going to have to start somewhere.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

George S Clason

11 Easy Ways to Manage Anger

2009-08-12T02:53:00.001-07:00

The first step in being able to learn effective anger management techniques is to recognize the situations that make you angry and your body's warning signs of anger.

List things that can trigger your anger

Make a list of the things that often set off your anger (for example, running late for work and getting stuck in a traffic jam, your teenager leaving not helping out around the house or a co-worker blaming you for something you didn't do). If you know ahead of time what makes you angry, you may be able to avoid these things or do something different when they happen.

Pay attention to the warning signs of anger in your body

Notice the things that happen to your body that tell you when you are getting angry (for example, a pounding heart, flushed face, sweating, tense jaw, tightness in your chest or gritting your teeth).The earlier you can recognize these warning signs of anger, the more successful you will probably be at calming yourself down before your anger gets out of control.

Find anger management techniques that work for you

There are a number of different ways of managing anger and some strategies will suit you better than others. Here's some simple ways to put an end to the vicious cycle of stress that anger can bring:

Control your thinking

When you're angry, your thinking can get exaggerated and irrational. Try replacing these kinds of thoughts with more useful, rational ones and you should find that this has an affect on the way you feel. For example, instead of telling yourself "I can't stand it, it's awful and everything's ruined," tell yourself "It's frustrating, and it's understandable that I'm upset about it, but it's not the end of the world and getting angry is not going to fix it." Psychologists call this type of thinking "self talk."

Develop a list of things to say to yourself before, during and after situations in which you may get angry. It is more helpful if these things focus on how you are managing the situation rather than what other people should be doing.

Before:

"I'll be able to handle this. It could be rough, but I have a plan."

"If I feel myself getting angry, I'll know what to do."

During:

"Stay calm, relax, and breathe easy."

"Stay calm, I'm okay, s/he's not attacking me personally."

"I can look and act calm."

After:

"I managed that well. I can do this. I'm getting better at this."

"I felt angry, but I didn't lose my cool."

Take time out

If you feel your anger getting out of control, take time out from a situation or an argument. Try stepping outside the room, or going for a walk. Before you go, remember to make a time to talk about the situation later when everyone involved has calmed down. During time out, plan how you are going to stay calm when your conversation resumes.

Use distraction

A familiar strategy for managing anger is to distract your mind from the situation that is making you angry. Try counting to ten, playing soothing music, talking to a good friend, or focusing on a simple task like polishing the car, doing the dishes, folding laundry or walking the dog.

Use relaxation techniques

Relaxation strategies can reduce the feelings of tension and stress in your body. Practice strategies such as taking long deep breaths and focusing on your breathing, or progressively working around your body and relaxing your muscles as you go.

Learn assertiveness skills

Assertiveness skills can be learnt through self-help books or by attending courses. These skills ensure that anger is channelled and expressed in clear and respectful ways. Being assertive means being clear with others about what your needs and wants are, feeling okay about asking for them, but respecting the other person's needs and concerns as well and being prepared to negotiate.

Avoid using words like "never" or "always" (for example, "You're always late!"), as these statements are usually inaccurate, make you feel as though your anger is justified, and don't leave much possibility for the problem to be solved.

Try to acknowledge what is making you angry

Acknowledge that a particular issue has made you angry by admitting it to yourself and others. Telling someone that you felt angry when they did or said something is more helpful than just acting out the anger.

Make sure you think about who you express your anger to, and take care that you aren't just dumping your anger on the people closest to you, or on people who are less powerful than you. For example, don't yell at your partner, children, or dog when you are really angry with your boss.

Sometimes it can help to write things down. What is happening in your life? How do you feel about the things that are happening? Writing about these topics can sometimes help give you some distance and perspective and help you understand your feelings. Work out some options for changing your situation.

Rehearsing anger management techniques

Use your imagination to practice anger management strategies. Imagine yourself in a situation that usually sets off your anger. Imagine how you could behave in that situation without getting angry. Think about a situation where you did get angry. Replay the situation in your mind and imagine resolving the situation without anger.

Try rehearsing some anger management strategies with a friend. Ask them to help you act out a situation where you get angry, so that you can practice other ways to think and behave. Practice saying things in an assertive way.

How are thousand of people learning simple anger management techniques while enjoying a calmer, confident and more productive life? Michael Atma has created the ultimate anger management program for busy people!

Do You Ever Loose Your Keys - Planning Advice

2009-08-10T18:50:00.001-07:00

You obviously don't need to read this article if you rarely lose your car keys. However if you misplace your car keys often and have a pretty good relationship with your locksmith, it's time to change these bad habits into good ones.

One of my friends, recently lost their car keys. I would like you to listen to what I'm about to say and see if it makes sense to you. Most people get two keys when they buy a car. This means, if they lose one key, they now have a spare key. When they lose their first key, this should give them a pretty good clue that the second key is now the only key, if they wish to drive their car.

Does that make sense? If you lose your first key, you don't have a second or spare key anymore. Now is a good time to purchase a spare key or have one made. Don't wait until you lose the second one, unless you are planning to change your bad habit into a good one.

Now let me get back to my friends who recently lost their car's key. The car they were driving was a new Honda and you can't go to the locksmith to get another key made. You have to order one from the Honda dealer and this key cost them over $200. That's a lot of money for one key.

Now my friends lost both of their original keys and now have one key to operate the vehicle and this key cost them over $200. Now if I had to pay this amount of money, I would make sure that I never lost this key ever again. I would do whatever it to to change my old habits and create some new ones.

How hard is it to get in the habit of placing your keys inside of your purse. Placing your keys in your pockets and then only removing them when you are going to place them inside of a drawer, container, cup, bowl or on a shelf in your bedroom. If you place your keys in a drawer, this will keep them out of other people's temptation.

If you choose to lay your keys in a bowl, in the kitchen, there's a good chance someone will take them or another member of your family could lose them. Place your keys in a protected area, do not leave them out in the open ever.

If you want some tips to prevent you from losing your keys, simply talk to someone who rarely if ever loses their keys. Most of these people have simple and easy to follow tips. You can consciously create a habit that can save you money and frustration in the future.

Greg is currently working on a spiritual video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

A College Party Changed My Life Forever

2009-08-09T09:25:00.001-07:00

Excitement immediately exploded as one person after another was asked to the Toga party at the elite sorority house surrounding the pristine college campus. To be invited to this occasion was like finally arriving at the top! Now you would be forever associated with the 'in crowd' who set the highest bar to the most elaborate parties around.

I couldn't believe how lucky I felt! What was I going to wear to the Toga party? Quickly I text messaged my friend telling the news and together we planned my entrance. I wanted to be noticed and invited back again and again.

I arrived at the sorority house filled with anticipation. Entering the house, I walked through two Roman like columns with white cascading draperies across the top and long flowing white sheers on either side. My hostess handed me a beer. Looking around I saw a tent with more sheers and drapes and skimpily dressed girls standing by the entrance beckoning everyone to come in. There were pillows and mattresses spread all over the floor.

Music flooded my ears and the smell of tobacco and marijuana wafted through the air. There was a group of girls all wearing olive leaves in the shape of bikinis and they were dancing and enticing others to join them. One girl grabbed my hand and encouraged me to let go and have fun.

I was from a small town and I was raised by a very conservative family. This was the first time I had attended any kind of toga party with my friends. I had to admit I was a little shy about letting go and enjoying myself. I took a puff from a joint that a friend handed me and before long everything I was taught about faith and obedience to God was pushed aside.

I wanted to have fun. I didn't want to think about whether it was right or wrong. Before long the girls and guys began disrobing and it was no longer about drinking, but about hooking up with as many people as you desired. I was feeling so free and they were so enticing! Why shouldn't I join them?

Not many people understand that we live in a teaching world. It all began when Satan entered into the snake and tempted Adam and Eve to eating the apple from the tree of knowledge. In order to attain knowledge you must be presented with right and wrong choices. Now the once perfect world God created was instantly changed because Satan entered into the world bringing the full force of evil with him.

Satan became man's greatest adversary and he corrupted the souls of men by luring them away from the right teachings of God. Satan does this by attacking man's human desires. He uses sex and the feelings of desire that awaken within a man at the sight of a beautiful woman to lure him into giving into lust. He uses feelings of not being accepted to trap us into drinking until we are drunk and taking drugs so we can feel totally free. He knows just what to say even using our very friends to get us to think with our emotions and not with our heads.

This is the reason why there are orgies because young men and women become so filled with lust, they can't control there desires. This is the reason why there are rapes that lead men into taking sex by force. This is why, young people especially, fall prey to pornography that stimulates there desires to an explosive energy that makes them fall prey to giving into their desires without thinking about the consequences.

During the time of Moses, God separated the Israelites from evil by taking them into the Promised Land. But the people were so corrupted by the teachings of the Egyptians that they wandered in the desert for forty years until he could get them to understand the difference between following Him or Satan. He did this by teaching Laws that gave them the key to resisting evil.

The Ten Commandments taught them how important it was to believe in God. The Commandments taught them how to resist Satan by not committing adultery, murder, stealing, lying and many others that were meant to give them an upper hand against the very things that Satan would use to tempt them into doing evil.

Because Israel was the chosen people they also became the world's example of what happens when you give into sin. They wrote hundreds of stories of their experiences in the Bible so the entire world would understand the consequences for giving into sin and how it can ruin your life for an entire lifetime. One such story was when they were about to enter into the Promised land and they came into the country of Moab. Moab had an evil King named Balak. He found out through a corrupt evil soothsayer named Balaam how to defeat Israel and keep them from taking over their land.

Balaam had a donkey who spoke to him. The donkey saw an Angel of God standing in the road and he stopped Balaam from cursing Israel. As the story unfolds we find that Balaam blessed Israel instead and this made King Balak very mad. So Balaam manipulated the circumstance and encouraged the king to lure the men away and trap them by instructing beautiful Moab women to have sex with the Israelites. (Numbers 31: 16)

Once the Israelites gave into their lust then they would invite them to parties in order to get them to worship their god Baal. When they were no longer serving God then they would be under a curse and the Moabites would easily defeat Israel.

Numbers 25: 1-3a, "When the Israelites were camped at Acacia Valley, the men began to have sexual intercourse with the Moabite women who were there. These women invited them to sacrificial feasts, where the god of Moab was worshiped. The Israelites ate the food and worshiped the god Baal of Peor. So the Lord was angry with them."

In the Old Testament every sin had a sentence that had to be followed in order for God to bless them. This was a sin that could only be rectified with death. Immediately an epidemic spread through Israel killing 24,000 Israelites that committed a sexual sin and were led into worshiping Baal. Remember, this may have seemed like a very harsh punishment, but it had to be like this so we could see what happens when sin enters into a person's life.

The Old Testament clearly illustrates what happens when you give into sin. It tells stories of what happens when God isn't first in your life. It presents stories of real people who allowed Satan to come in and use the very weaknesses found in man to lead them away from God and trap them into living there lives for evil.

If you are not on God's side then you are on the side of Satan and evil. Satan uses lust to tempt the men into turning their backs on God. He uses parties as a means to corrupt your thinking through the use of alcohol and drugs. He uses the desire to fit in as a means to get us to let go of our moral values and give into sin.

2 Peter 2: 13-19, "Pleasure for them is to do anything in broad daylight that will satisfy their bodily appetites; they are a shame and a disgrace as they join you in your meals, all the while enjoying their deceitful ways? They want to look at nothing but immoral women; their appetite for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into a trap. Their hearts are trained to be greedy. They are under God's curse! They have left the straight path and have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor, who loved the money he would get for doing wrong and was rebuked for his sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's insane action.

These men are like dried-up springs, like clouds blown along by a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness. They make proud and stupid statements, and use immoral bodily lusts to trap those who are just beginning to escape from among people who live in error. They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits-for a person is a slave of anything that has conquered him."

When you are in a huge multi-faceted world game of good versus evil you must understand the rules of engagement. Believing in God is the difference between winning and losing your game of life. Understanding sin and temptation is the difference between following God or giving into your desires.

The excitement of the toga party faded when the doctor told me that I had contracted Aids. I couldn't believe how stupid I was to have allowed the pressure of being accepted to lead me into having sex with someone I didn't even know. Now I was under a death sentence for the rest of my life. Who would want a person who could infect them and destroy their life too?

The Old Testament taught us about sin and the consequences. The New Testament tells us about the saving power of grace and how believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior can bring about forgiveness of sin. Jesus' can take a hopeless situation and turn it into good if you will give your life to Him!

Linda C Dipman author of THE GAME OF LIFE IT'S ALMOST OVER http://outskirtspress.com/gameoflife presents AND HIS LOVE SHONE DOWN my true life story! It describes all the persecutions I endured. It will put you on the edge of your seat as you read each vivid detail. You will feel terror and experience love like nothing you have ever read before. http://lovinghandsministry.com