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?

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?