don't forget to Read the fine Print!

I am realizing through several recent experiences that it pays to listen to instructions and read the fine print! Recently I have been trying to make a little extra money by putting some adds on my blog. I thought I had met all the requirements necessary but I didn't read the fine print! I knew that they required at least 20 blogs with no more than 20 days between each blog. But I didn't pay attention to the requirement that they also want the 20 blogs to be within 90 days of eachother! Shame on me!

Another fine print experience occurred when I payed a plane ticket using billmelater. This allows you time, up to several months to pay a plane ticket with no interest. If after those months are up and there is still a balance, you have to begin paying on the balance at this crazy interest rate...(20% or above). I thought this would be fine because I knew that I could pay the bill off before the last statement date of the "no interest" period. But, upon looking at the fine print, the date I needed to pay the balance off was not the same date as the statement date (the day they say a payment is due) it was before! If I hadn't read the fine print I would have thought I made the payment on time to avoid the interest when really I would not have!

So folks, please learn from me and take time to read the fine print! It will save you a lot of heart-ache and hassels.

Save Money on Insurance

I am a fairly active person...one of those people who enjoy staying busy...but not too busy. I love martial arts and am head instructor of Odyssey Dojo, part of the Cuong Nhu Oriental Martial Arts Association. I love God, and I love serving God, and I love teaching and therefore have been teaching 6th grade bible study at my church for about a year. I also enjoy dancing, swing dancing to be specific among others. I have loans and debts like most other people, and for all the youthful activity that is my life now, It could all be over in a second. That's why life insurance is so important. Thats why going to http://www.advantagetermlife can be so important. So we can know that our loved ones won't be burdened by choices we made during our life. Advantage term life sells all types of life insurance including universal, term, employer group policies, whole life policies, as well as others. Save money on insurance today by going to http://www.advantagetermlife.com/ and getting a quick quote. It is easy and well worth the few minutes it would take. I remember when my father first mentioned life insurance to me a couple years ago. I thought it was wierd because I was only 24! But it turns out that it is better to think about these things when you are young. The premiums cost less, and the policies are worth more. Family and corporate plans are available as well. So, whether a single young professional, a family man or woman, or in charge of a company, take advantage of Advantage Term Life's quoting insurance services and go to http://www.advantagetermlife.com/ to get your quote.

Poems from my past

Okay guys. I mentioned before that I would be posting some poetry that is used to write. Take not that this is from when I was in high school, a loooong time ago! Now that I think of it, I haven't written any poetry at all in about that long a time. Maybe I should start up again? I guess I will determine that by the comments left by the readers! So, here it is... I look up in the starry sky and lose myself in the many sparkles ... and the wonder I experience is given to me thourgh the magical way these far away dots of brilliance show me what beauty and mystery truly are. And all I have to do to feel this way is to look up on a black night, and let my imagination reach out to the stars and tell them all the things that they could be, to me.

Blogging for money. This is so easy!

Blogging doesn't come very natural to me. I actually began when a friend of mine from church mentioned that he did it all the time. He showed me several places where I could set up a free blog and start sharing with the world what was on my mind! At first I hadn't realized how much blogging could help me... that is until he took me to http://www.blogsvertise.com/. He told me this was a site which could help me earn money just by something as simple as blogging! That seemed very cool to me. I could already picture the things I could do if I saved the extra money I would be earning! Its really simple, just go to http://www.blogsvertise.com/ and register your blog. Blogsvertise matches you up with advertisers who want to pay you to advertise their product on your blog. Who or what you want to advertise is completely up to you! I am just getting started but you can bet that I will be taking advantage of this opportunity, and telling my friends to go to http://www.blogsvertise.com/ so they can get started making money as well. Also know that this service does not have to be limited to one blog. If someone has more than one blog, they can blogsvertise on every single one if they wanted to! Well folks, I hope you take advantage of this, and happy blogging!

The ministry of prosperity

I heard a news report on NPR saying that a senator was going to be investigating a few of the evangelical mega-churches who teach the prosperity ministry! I thought that it was amazing to see that even the government realizes there is something going wrong here. Mostly though, the government is simply responding to the lavish lifestyle displayed by the church and their ministers, and say they are concerned that the money is not being spent wisely, and they may be abusing their tax-exempt status. (Spending exhorbitant amounts of money on furniture and cars and private jets etc...) Now don't get me wrong, it isn't a sin to be rich, but neither is it a sin to be poor! The trouble comes when we put our pursuit of material things before our pursuit of God. (Mat 6:33) We may say God is first in our lives....but lets be honest with ourselves. What does our way of life reflect? What does our thinking reflect? How is the money being spent? Teaching that God wants to bless everyone monetarily is not biblical! God may bless you monetarily, and he may bless you in other ways. In fact, instead of encouragement to pursue material blessings, the bible encourages us to be content with having our needs fulfilled, and warns against the temtations of riches. (1 Tim 6:7-10, Mat 19:23-24)

Ever make a big change in your life...

Recently I made a career move from the engineering field to the teaching field. I have decided to go back to school to learn how to teach for a living about what really matters in life! That is our relationship with God! That is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Teaching is vital to being a christian, but one doesn't have to change careers to teach about Christ, he or she can do it in any area they are working in right now. I hope that if you are a christian and you are reading this, you are taking advantage of every opportunity you have to teach about Christ. If you are not a christian, I hope that you would take a serious look at the bible, the evidences for its validity as a historical document, and the path it lays out for us to take, to be reconciled to God through Christ.

"We are ambassadors of Christ. As if God were making his appeal through us. We beg you, on behalf of Chirst: be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20

The most important thing in the world

I am a 1st degree black belt in Cuong Nhu, a vietnamese style of martial art. For our black belt test we are evaluated on our communication skills as well as our physical skills. Writing a paper is one of the requirements as well as speaking to an audience about the subject of the paper that was submitted for our test. I chose to write about teaching because I believe it is the best way to make a difference in the world. Everything, and I mean everything, is based on teaching! Without it we would have no way to share our knowlege with eachother, no way to build off of what others previously learned. No technology, no art, no religion, no sports... And I could go on and on. Thank goodness we treat our teachers with so much respect nowadays! I mean what would happen if we didn't ourselves teach our children to respect teachers; if we didn't teach them to value learning and education; if we took our teachers for granted; if we... Wait a minute... Isn't this already happenning?

Life is made up of...

I am not sure who wrote what is posted below, but I really like it! Relationships are what is most important in our lives! Surpremely the relationship we have with God...which will improve every other relationship you have. Years ago I began teaching and proclaiming that "relationships are the essence of life." I came to that conclusion after thinking hard about the relationships in my life, the way I was raised and where I was at the time. I do not believe that we have anything that is more important than relationships. We (humans) were designed for community and fellowship. It is in relationships where we find love. Life without love is meaningless. Love without relationships is not possible. As important as relationships are, they are what we take for granted the most. We allow other things in life interfere and interrupt our relationships on a consistent basis. I was talking to a young lady the other day about the importance of relationships. She was telling me how she had too much going on for a relationship. Life is too hard and too full for "that" right now. This is the way a lot of people think. However, it is because life is so difficult and challenging that we NEED relationships. When life is seems to be too much you need someone who can help share your load, provide an escape and help you keep your sanity. Of course I understand that not everyone needs or desires a romantic relationship. I'm not advocating romance, I am advocating relationships in general. In the case of the young lady I was talking to I was trying to get her to see that now is when she should make time for friendship. Too often we allow life to rob us of the thing that God has provided for us to deal with life…relationships. Don't get so caught up in "making a living" that you forget to live. Even in the most severe and traumatic situations, our ancestors understood the importance of family and fellowship. We allow our jobs to rob us of valuable time with our children. We put growing and strengthening our friendships on the back burner while we try to provide a better life. At some point you have to realize that there is no "better life" without quality relationships. No amount of money or material possession can grow your children into emotionally whole adults. There is no job worth your marriage. There is no promotion or project that can replace the little league games you miss, the family dinners at night or the conversations at Starbucks with your best friend. If you are not careful, the thing that you work so hard to get will rob you of your joy. Real joy only exists in the confines of relationships. Joy is not the same as happiness. Joy is deep and is not affected by circumstance. Joy is what you look too when everything else seems to go wrong. You need quality relationships. Make the choice today to invest more of you into your relationships. Your children need you more than anything thing else. Your wife wants to know she has you whether you ever get that dream house or not. Don't let life steal your joy. Clifton E. Brantley

Oh, what JOY!

I am the kind of person who needs to be reminded of things! If you know me or anyone close to me they would tell you that sometimes I can forget things very easily! Very recently a prayer that I had been praying for a long time (about a year) was answered by God. Not only I was praying for this but many many others as well, especially my girlfriend. On October 31st my girlfriend's son received a kidney transplant! He is only 4 and had been on the transplant list for such a long time! I am writing because I want everyone to know what a blessing God has given us. I remember praying that God bring a kidney for jonathan and praying for the day where we could praise God specifically for the new kidney. That day has come! Praise God! I don't ever want to forget the blessing God has given. And so I remind myself everyday.

I forgot again...

This morning I was listening to NPR and they interviewed a doorman to a popular new york hotel. This was his first job and he has had the same job for decades. His job is to greet people who walk in front of the hotel and enter the hotel and to treat everyone like "a VIP". He told a story of how he helped a man who had a big meeting shine his shoes even when the barber shops were closed. So this doorman ran to his own locker, got his own shoe polish and rag and shined the man's shoes for him! The door man said his father always told him...Be the type of person and live the kind of life, that if everyone were to be like you...this world would be God's paradise. I was so thankful for those words because again, forgetful me... I had forgotten. I had the chance a few days ago to do a nice thing but stress from work and incovenience got in the way. I did help little, but my attitude was not altogether the right one and it was clear to see that. But this morning I was reminded...of what the doorman's father said and how I want to live by it. As a christian my goal is to live a godly life, share that life with others so they can live a godly life, and in following God and living a Godly life all of us can have the most fulfilling life possible, in this world and the next. So I continue to strive for what the doorman's father said to be more than just a saying to me. And I pray for the day when the doorman's saying can become a reality for more and more people.

Have you ever looked back...

Have you ever by chance come upon some writings or journal entries or poems that you wrote a long, long, time ago? Well I did that recently, and it was amazing to read those words and re-experience whatever I was going through and to get a perspective of the person I was, the way I thought and the person I have become and the way I now think. I have to smile as I think of what I used to worry about! I'm going to put myself out there a little and post some of my old poetry. Then you (whoever you are) can also catch a glimpse of the person I was and the person I have now become.

Memoirs of a Mission Trip IV

Finally! We arrived in Dominca. As we stepped out of the plane I was very excited to meet the members of the church there and to see the areas where we would be working to set up bible studies. But, as we waited... and waited... we realized that our luggage was not coming to meet us! So we piled into the vans and headed to Grand Bay, the town where we would be working. The vans we rode in were amazing! They were smaller than a normal SUV but each one was somehow able to hold 10 to 12 people! The road to Grand bay was very long and very hilly! I had heard those who had gone before talk about how the van ride there could make people sick, but I wasn't worried. After riding in the van and going back and forth and up and down for almost two hours, I was starting to wonder if I was going to make it! It was really late when we finally pulled up to the missionary's house. I was very happy and very thankfull we finally made it! Now it was time to get down to the business of teaching God's word! We waited to the morning of course! As I slept that night I wondered what amazing things God had planned for us. I would just have to wait and find out!

Finally! We arrived in Dominca. As we stepped out of the plane I was very excited to meet the members of the church there and to see the areas where we would be working to set up bible studies. But, as we waited... and waited... we realized that our luggage was not coming to meet us! So we piled into the vans and headed to Grand Bay, the town where we would be working. The vans we rode in were amazing! They were smaller than a normal SUV but each one was somehow able to hold 10 to 12 people! The road to Grand bay was very long and very hilly! I had heard those who had gone before talk about how the van ride there could make people sick, but I wasn't worried. After riding in the van and going back and forth and up and down for almost two hours, I was starting to wonder if I was going to make it! It was really late when we finally pulled up to the missionary's house. I was very happy and very thankfull we finally made it! Now it was time to get down to the business of teaching God's word! We waited to the morning of course! As I slept that night I wondered what amazing things God had planned for us. I would just have to wait and find out!

Memoirs of a Mission Trip III

When we landed in Antigua it turned out we had a little more layover time than we originally thought, so several of us went up the escalator and back down the concourse to buy something to eat. Eventually it started getting fairly close to time everyone should be boarding the plane, but there were 2 teenagers of our group missing! So I said they were probably still waiting in line at one of the restaraunts in the concourse and I would find them. I ran up the escalator and ran up and down the concourse shouting their names and looking in every souvenier store, magazine mart, and fast food place on the enitre concourse. I couldn't find them anywhere! I eventually came to the customs gate and turned around becaues I just knew they wouldn't have done something like go back outside the customs gate! No one would do that! So when I returned to the gate out plane were leaving from the flight assistant was insisting that we start boarding the plane. Our minister said that we should go on and that he would stay back, which made me a little nervous. Okay it made me very nervous. We boarded the 20 passenger twin-propeller airplane, the pilot started teh engines, and just as I was starting to complain in my mind about how this was not the best way to start a mission trip and wondering how long it would take them to meet up with us in Dominca, I saw our minister and the two missing of our group come towards our plane. I thought Praise God! I also thought I was really going to have to watch this complaining of mine. Because as we landed in Dominica what was there but, yep, you guessed it! Another opportunity to complain!

Forgetful Me!

Why is it so easy for us sometimes to forget? There are so many things that happen to us that make us think about ourselves in ways that help us grow. And then not a month later we are going on as if nothing ever happened! The book of James in the bible relates it to looking at yourself in the mirror and then turning away and forgetting what you saw.

I have already had the chance to tell the story of my car woes! For almost a month I was without a car and catching rides from friends and church family. It was very inconvenient and frustrating, and I had to relearn the value of the blessing of transportation. Not too long ago (about 6 months later) I was cruising around in my 'new to me' car when all of a sudden the engine stopped! I barely had a chance to coast into a gas station. At that moment images flashed in my mind of me without a car bumming rides, trying to raise money to pay for another car, and I moaned.
After sheepishly glancing at the gas gauge, remembering that I was riding past 'E', I I realized that I had simply run out of gas! I also realized that I could be more thankful for a car that had been working well for me, and had carried me for some time now without any needed repairs. I also remembered the importance of reminders. At that moment when I was at the gas station I was reminded of the blessing of personal transportation.

Reminders don't just have to be about the blessing of personal transportation. They can be about the blessing of people who love us. They can even be about the blessing of a God who loves us. Hopefully as I grow in life I can live remembering to be thankful, and to take advantage of those times when I am reminded to be thankful!

Memoirs of a mission trip II

So after rushing around the Miami airport we caught our flight to San Juan Peurto Rico! Here finding the right gate and flight was a little more challenging than at Miami because we didn't speak spanish! Also it looked like we would have to squeeze to the make the next flight because even though we had a substantial layover there were several steps we had to take before getting on the next flight. We needed to go through customs, pick up our luggage, find where our next flight was leaving from, carry our luggage to the liat airline (leeward island air transport) recheck our bags, go back through customs and then get to the gate where our next flight was leaving. I tried to remind myself not to complain. To think about Phil 2:14 where the bible tells us to do all things without complaining and disputing, but it was very very hard! And I found myself muttering complaints under my breath almost unconsciously. But after reminding myself of the reason I was on this trip I was better able to focus on the blessings. Like how we had made it safely and all together thus far. Though, I did have to redouble my efforts after we landed in Antigua...

The big Day!

My family is just as weird and funny as anybody's, and I would like to share some of those priceless experiences with you. "I hope I don't embarass anyone!" I remember when... my brother was about to be born. I was about 7 years old then and was very excited! I had even told my elementary school class and they were excited too! That day I was called out of class to go to the hospital where my mother had my little brother Travis. The coolest thing about it was that I was in the delivery room and was present during the birth. I got to see my brother's head peek out and I even (though I was deathly afraid of cutting something valuable) got to cut his umbilical chord! Well, I was so enthused that I went back to school and told the whole class about being there for the birth of my brother for show and tell. And I was sure not to leave out any details! I mean I told them EVERYTHING. (I had to compensate since I couldn't show, only tell) Well, I think the class enjoyed my talk and description of my brother's birth! I just know that I am always thankful that I was a part of that wonderful event. And, through my storytelling exploits, so was my whole second grade class!

Memoirs of a Mission Trip

Our first day of traveling went okay praise God! Of Course there were ‘hiccups’, but we all made it safely to Dominica and that is what matters most! Our luggage on the other hand is a different story…
I have been on trips out of the country before (France, Uruguay) that involve several connecting flights, and in situations like these one has to expect not everything will go as planned, but this one was definitely one of the more hectic times I have traveled!
Our trip involved 4 separate flights. From Houston to Miami, to San Juan, to Antigua, to Dominica. Our lay-over time was at most about 1 to 1 & ½ hrs between flights. This might seem like plenty of time, but for the first flight after we got to Miami, we couldn’t find a monitor screen with our connecting flight information on it. We had to hunt down a flight attendant to find out where our next flight left which gate! After we had the attendant confirm our next departure time and gate# we realized that the gate was actually 20 minutes away! (That’s 20 minutes running by the way) Yeah, Miami is a Huge airport! We made it in time though. After arriving at the new gate and using the bathroom it was only another 20 minutes before we were boarding again. But don’t let me fool you into thinking that that small ‘close call’ was even close to some of the other ‘hiccups’ we had during our travel over here…

Tricking Myself

I think its amazing how sometimes we can trick ourselves into thinking things don’t matter to us or don’t worry us when they really do. On occasion, I have actually been able to fool myself into thinking that I am not worried about a particular situation, and then later come to find that my worry was nonstop!

Recently I celebrated another year that God has given me on this earth. I was very blessed to have many people wish me a happy birthday and give me cards and gifts. Last year things were a little different because I had just recently moved to Texas and therefore didn’t know many people and I didn’t tell many people that it was my birthday. I convinced myself that it wasn’t a huge deal, but I realize now that it was a big deal for me, and I think it is for most people. Every person on this earth needs love, and needs love expressed to them, especially during important times. When I say expression of love it doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive gift. It can be a really good hug, or an encouraging word on a small card, or even an encouraging word from someone’s lips, or even a picture; the kind that expresses what we find hard to put into words. We should all take the time to tell those we love that we love them, and not only that, but to also tell them why. For loving is not a passive activity, it is an active one. And God leads the way in showing His love for us and provides the example that we should show our love for others by acting, not just feeling. For true love is shown by our actions.

“Let us not love in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth” 1 John 3:18

I thank all of those who have shown me their love on my birthday. I thank you and hope to show my love for you in return.

Have you ever?...Cont'd again and again

So...

There I was with no car because I wrecked it, and now with no bike because the tire went flat! All I could do was just walk my bike all the way back to my apartment, and that was quite a long way! As I walked in the black night with my bike beside me, I had time to fume over how bad my luck had been recently, especially concerning transportation. I can't believe this! I kept saying to myself. And as more time went by instead of looking at all the inconvenient things that happened to me, I began to look at the amazing things right in front of my face. Just the fact that I had already secured rides to every place i needed to be that week was such a blessing! I had a ride to work, I had a ride from work, I had a ride to bible study and from bible study. I had a ride to church and from church. I was even offered a car to drive around in until I could get another one! I was so blessed to be surrounded by people who would inconvenience themselves to help me! Well, I began to realize that maybe my situation wasn't so bad. That I was thankful for those times where we are forced to slow down and reflect and realize how truly blessed we are!

Isn't it funny when...

Isn't it funny when gross stuff happens unexpectedly to your family members and not to you? Well, I remember back in April I went to a botannical gardens at a place called Moody Gardens in Galveston TX. The botannical gardents held many trees, reptiles, and birds from the different rainforrest habitats around the world, and some of the animals were free to range and walk whereever they wanted to!

It just so happened that as my brother and I were looking at ducks and monkeys over a small pond some white gooey stuff landed on my brother's arm! It turned out to be bird doo from the colorful bird standing on the branch right above us. My brother made a gutteral sound conveying how disgusted he was and then turned to head for a bathroom. Frantically trying to pull my camera out of its case, I said "Travis," hoping he would turn around and I could get a good pic of it! But he knew what I was up to instantly and immediately said "NO" and started running! So I only got a picture of him running to the bathroom.

After we finished the tour I asked if he enjoyed the botannical gardens. He said "It's okay," When clearly it was better than okay, and it was also clear that he enjoyed himself! I said he didn't like it just because he got doo-dooed on! And to tell you the truth, if an event like that had happened to me I would have been traumatized as well!

But wait a minute, an event like that did happen to me! It was at a family vacation...

Every Day embarrassments

I have been involved in martial arts ever since I began college, which has been for about 8 years now. I was thrilled to be able to start a Cuong Nhu dojo (the style I train in) when I moved to Houston Texas because of an engineering job at the Johnson Space Center. As a head instructor I try to be dignified and respectful, and hardworking, and positive, so that I can set a good example for my students but also because that is the kind of person I aspire to be. But tonight, it just was not meant to be! I walked into the work-out building, passing some of my students and saying hello. Then proceeded to the locker room to change into my uniform. That is when I realized that I had packed two tops, and nooooo pants! Oh No! I imagined myself leading punching drills with a uniform top and only underwear on. That was a crazy image! How can I teach with a uniform top and no pants! Well, I couldn't. So, I had to put back on my civilian pants and let them know that I needed to run back to my apartment and why. They had a good laugh! Thankfully the other sensei (teacher) was there to warm up the class while I left to go get the rest of my uniform. I hope that they won't start teasing about this incident. I am already embarassed enough at what happened!

Have you ever? Continued

So... there I was with no car, and trying to find a way to get to work and church, not to mention my girlfriend's house! So, it was friday night and I decided to surprise my girlfriend by riding my bike over to her house! This was a great idea...except for the fact that it was getting dark outside and my bike had no reflectors, and that the road I lived on had a lot of construction and therefore no shoulder to ride on. And of course I should mention that it had just rained so there was mudd all over the place caking on and slowing down my road tires! The real biggie though, was the nice surprise I got when I finally arrived at my girlfriend's house and realized she wasn't even there! But wait, there is more!

TBC

Have you ever? Cont'd again...

So...

There I was feeling a little crusty since I had just rode/walked through 5 miles to visit my girlfriend who wasn't at her house, on a bike with no reflectors, on a street with no shoulders, in mudd that was caking up the tires and brakes, in the dark with cars whizzing by me! I was thinking to myself sarcastically,"This is just great!"

After standing in front of her house for a few minutes, I decided I had had enough of feeling crusty, and continued to ride my bike around the area. It was actually relaxing, when I wasn't scared one of the cars would run over me! I rode fairly far to the end of the main street, and was trying to take a circular route back to my apartment instead of just turning around and going back the way I came. As I was turning right, I cut a corner a little too sharply and my back wheel went off the paved sidewalk and then bumped up hard as it hit the paved sidewalk again. For some reason the last bump didn't feel too right, and a few seconds later I realized why. My back tire had gone flat!

So now not only didn't I have a car because I was in a wreck last week. I didn't even have a bike that I could ride!...

A million miles an hour!

Usually I am the type of person going a million miles an hour, that loves getting involved in doing different things and staying busy. Currently I am involved in teaching martial arts, teaching 6th grade bible study, attending a young adult bible study, swing dancing, and recently trying to train for the MS 150 bike ride for charity. Today I realized though that one of the most dangerous things we can do is to get too busy.

Becoming too busy can confuse our priorities and make us forget what is truly important in our lives. Love, relationships, and people. Being involved with programs and activities is good, but not to the point where we can't see anymore why we are in these programs and activities.

Today I had to remind myself of my priorities. To take some time and to be still, and to remember the love, relationships, and people in my life. I had to remember the love God has shown me in His action of becoming a man known as Jesus Christ and bearing my sins. I had to remember the right relationship God wants us to have with Him, so that we can have a fullfilling life in this life and the afterlife. I had to remember God wants us to love all people so much so that we would want them to experience the salvation found in Jesus Christ, and to help them if they are in need.

Have you ever?

Have you ever been pulled into something you kind of wanted to do but didn't really, but the peer pressure was so much that you just did it anyway? Well, that's how I got into blogging! Yep, this is my very first one. As a new blogger I would like to tell you a story of my life the past couple of weeks...

I recently was in a car accident because I was distracted trying to answer my phone while it was really wet outside. The truck that I rear-ended had a scratch on the bumber. My pristine state-of-the-art 1994 190,000 mile ford Escort though was a little worse for wear. So, since I only had liability insurance on the car, and it would have cost about 3 times its worth to fix it! So, there I was needing to get to work and to church and everyother place imaginable, with nothing...

tbc