Do you need directions?

Who directs you?

Many many people nowadays own and use a GPS in order to get around in their motor vehicles. There are various makes and models on the market but the basic mechanism is the same, you plug in the address or the co-ordinates and hit 'go' and it calculates the route and proceeds to direct you to that destination.

Depending on the settings you set on the device, it may take on the shortest route in terms of time but it may be a little further in distance and vice versa. You can also choose to avoid high traffic areas or choose to go on freeways etc.

For various reasons, I do not use one. Having said that I used one successfully the other day to get to an appointment in an area that I do know well. Once I go somewhere - I can generally get home. Just for interests sake I used it to get home. What a nuisance. I will say that they are useless in a situation when you know where you are going. Anyway, I took its instructions to a point when it was taking me through some dangerous areas. All along I am spending a lot of time watching the little screen which takes my eyes off the road. Then I started taking a different route (to get into an area that I feel safer!).

At first it was fun to see how fast it would say 'recalculating' and where it would direct me next. It got to a point where I thought device was going to start steaming and explode. It was getting angry with me! Eventually the lady and the device gave up and just kept repeating 'recalculating' and 'if possible make a U-turn'. This device was not able to calculate another route even though I was only about 500 meters off its chosen path. While this is going, I was getting agitated and spending more time with my eyes on the small screen than the road!

Another thing that upset me about the experience was that the device was not able to be heard over the radio. It was not a built in model and the music had to be really quiet for it to be audible.

At the end if that journey, I was not relaxed at all and quite unsettled actually and consequently will only use a GPS device if I have to and only to a destination which I am unfamiliar with. Who directs you when you know where you are going in your motor vehicle? Next time you go for drive - engage your brain!

You have to do your part.

(I am a Christian and this post is written from that frame of reference. There is no bias in it and it is relevant to all religions and their 'gods')

I am amazed how many Christians rely on their God to make it through whatever it is they are going through. To see it is awesome and inspiring indeed. The problem to me is when they rely on God when they have not or are not prepared to do their side of the deal.

Let me paint a few pictures. They may not all apply to you, but I hope you get the overall point.

1) You are writing a big exam and you did not do any studying and you fail or do not get the mark that you think you 'deserve'. You blame God.

2) You are expecting to get the big raise and or promotion. You have done nothing more than usual or over and above what you normally do. You do not get the raise or promotion. You actually get a disciplinary reprimand for not doing your job. You blame God (or your boss).

3) You enter an athletic event but do not train as you should or hoped to. You land up doing a bad time or even drop out and do not finish. You blame God

The question is: how is God going to help you when you have not done your side? Yes he is all powerful and can do anything. I believe that and trust Him to do that. I will illustrate it another way: I register for a course in art with a local teacher. I do not go to classes and at the end of the course I pray and pray that God will get me through the exam with an awesome painting - sorry - not going to happen!

Stop blaming God for your shortfalls! I am to blame here - I can honestly say I do not blame God very often but I have asked the big questions of Him.

My theory to this is simple and it's an adaption of my mom’s old favourite saying before exams. She always says 'do your best and guess the rest'. Good advice. My saying is 'do your best and let God do the rest'.

He ALWAYS does his side of things - what’s your excuse for not doing your side?

The 10 rules for being human!

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

These rules are by Cherie Carter-Scott and I found them through Stumbleupon on this link: http://www.bluinc.com/free/human10.htm

Inspiring words!

I am Third Day fan! For those who are unfamiliar with them - they are a Christian rock band from the US.

Thet have won many awards over the years and have toured the world extensively. Their latest album "Move" was released last October and is really cool and encouraging.

One of the songs is call "What have you got to lose?" and is really thought provoking and really relevant to everybody of all religions! The lyrics are below.

I love the words and love the song too.
Have a read and see what you think. I will try and get the video on this blog soon.

"What Have You Got To Lose?"

Sin and shame
Guilt and pain
Pride and your conceit
Here and now
Lay them down
At the Savior's feet

What have you got to lose
What have you got to lose
And tell me why you're so afraid
What have you got to lose
What have you got to lose
Think of all you have to gain

Hope and dreams
And all the things
That you have ever made
It don't mean much
If in the end
You have lost your way

Let go of all you know
Only then can life be found
Surrender all you hold
Lay it down, lay it down, lay it down

Cheer up!

I am one of the fortunate people that enjoy my job and do not in anyway dread getting up in the morning and going to work. Sometimes , as everybody finds, it's difficult to get up but that's life and we all get through it. I am not professing to be Mr super energetic and positive all the time!


Having said this, there are obviously people who are in the awful state of the opposite of the above and hate work and every minute of it. 


There are other people who are just rude! Our local veggie shop that we frequent regularly is the prime example. Every time I go there (without fail) the cashiers are just rude and unhelpful. I have worked with people in that situation before where some people can be very rude and horrible at times but there is NEVER a reason to be rude EVER.


To those people - Please cheer up. Nothing can be so bad that you have to spread the misery to others. I understand that it's hard work to keep positive but its well worth the effort. If you are that unhappy rather leave the job and get someone who is happy to be there do it!

Grateful!

I would like to say a grateful thank you to all those who have visited my blog over the last month. The visits number is at 90 so far!

Thank you for coming to read it and please do come again!
Please leave comments and suggestions on how to make it better.

Remember your power!

Go and see what you can do!

I know its aimed at south africans but the principles are applicable to every country and every body in the world!

http://www.49million.co.za/

How does one become a "professional blogger"

I have now got that question properly entrenched in my head. How do you go from blogging  for "fun" to getting paid to write stuff on your blog? 
So I ask the question of you - How does one do it?

Thinking!

If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't,
If you like to win, but you think you can't
It is almost certain you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!


- Walter D. Wintle - 1905