Logic + Truth = 2 signs you won't win this

Yesterday I got into a confrontation with a member of my company's management team (I'm an hourly peon and proud of it). He was very upset with me for getting on him and another management person about not complying with a rule that HE created (aka doing my JOB!).

He was very rude and said something that was both inaccurate and offensive. Now if you know me very well at all, you know that normally I'd shred him verbally on the spot. However, God was very gracious and helped me instead express logically and rationally my point of view. I was very angry, but not once did I get disrespectful or otherwise let my emotions run my mouth. Even through my anger, I could see how effective logic and truth are. It's tough to argue with those two when they are used in a calm manner.

By the end of the conversation, he had apologized for what he said. I was still pondering about filing a written complaint with my boss but decided to hold off. I did of course document the event in my own notes. I'm not an HR nerd for nothing you know.

This morning this person came up to my desk. I asked how I could help him. I was genuinely sincere; though I'm still displeased with his actions, God is great, and I'm not boiling over with anger. He asked if I had a minute to talk to him in a meeting room (I work in a open office, so no privacy otherwise). I said sure. He started off with "I'm sure you're probably mad at me" and went on to APOLOGIZE. He said what he said to me yesterday bothered him all last night. He admitted he was wrong, said he was sorry, he's been stressed, etc.  I think he was sincerely sorry. Of course, part of me wonders how much is "I'm sorry I did it" versus "This could have some serious reprecussions for me", but still, I know it took a lot for him to say it. At the end he said that he hoped I could forgive him after some time had passed. I just said nothing. With God's help, yes, I will. In fact, I feel like I'm already pretty close, just not quite there yet. But woe be it unto him if he thinks he's ever talking crazy to me again.

This whole process illustrated to me how what we say impacts situations. Had I let anger rule, I wouldn't have said anything offensive, but my sarcasm definitely wouldn't have helped the situation. Sticking to facts and being logical, though difficult, was the right thing to do.

 On a larger scale, it shows that God will indeed go before us and fight our battles for us. We just have to get out of the way.

The Digital Story of the Nativity

This video was shown at my church this week. My family LOVED it. I hope you do too.

Why today is one of my favorite days of the year

Do you know what today is? Well, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, it's the winter solstice and the official first day of winter. Now I am not a fan of cold, so the start of winter isn't what makes my heart happy. Since this is shortest day of the year, it's all downhill from here. Slowly but surely the days start growing longer tomorrow. That is something worth celebrating in my book.

What are you doing with your 2011 pay raise?

What pay raise? you might be asking. Well, unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that the tax cut bill was signed into law today. Regardless of your feelings about it, it will impact you. Here's a great article with all the details, but I'll summarize why it's a pay raise for most folks for 2011. 

Let's assume you are single with no kids and make $50,000 a year, mostly because it results in nice round numbers. Your social security payroll withholding will be reduced by 2% for 2011 only, giving you an extra $1000 ($50,000*.02). The Making Work Pay tax credit expires at the end of this year, which in this scenario was $400. Thus, your net pay raise is $600 a year or $50 a month.

Big deal you might say. That's fine. If you don't want it, give it to me. Send me an e-mail, and I'll provide you an address so you can mail it to me.

If however you want to use it for something that benefits you personally, here are a few ideas:

* Need to beef up your retirement savings? Up your 401(k) contribution by 2%

* Emergency fund feeling a little anemic? Figure up how much additional money you are getting each check, and have that put directly into your savings account.

* Car going to need new tires by the end of 2011? Set the money aside for this purchase so you'll have all or most of it ready when the time comes.

* Want to blow it on something frivolous? If you don't have another pressing need, go for it!

The idea is that you need to PLAN where the money goes now. It's too easy to say "I'll think about it when I get the money", then find at the end of 2011 that you have no idea where it went. Granted, the government is pretty much hoping you'll do that, but as we all know, the government is not the best fiscal manager to emulate.

Favorite Work Phrase #6

"You get what you get" (short for "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit")

Expressed by my coworker's granddaughter Grace who was no more than kindergarten age, this phrase is great to use when people are complaining overly much (aka whining). Little kids have great wisdom.

Favorite Work Phrase #5

Purple Squirrel

Noun: the candidate with the perfect skill set, experience, personality, and salary requirements

Just as there are no purple squirrels in nature, there are none in the job world either. A list of job requirements for a position is really just a wish list. Companies (and hiring managers) often forget this. You have to prioritize and find the candidate who is the best fit, not the perfect fit.

Example: We have a position at work that has been open for 6 months. The hiring manager claims that no one from the hundreds of resumes is "the one". I think odds are there are several in the pool who would have done fine. He seems to be holding out for a candidate who doesn't exist.

Variant: "What did you think of that candidate" "(vague murmurs of discontent)" "Oh, not even a maroon squirrel huh?"

Another example: When my company hired me, they were looking for someone with several years of HR experience. I had none. I had been working in the department as a temp, mostly to answer phones, file, type, etc. The person who is now my coworker asked me if I was going to apply for the position. I said no as I had no experience. She told me to apply anyway. That was 10 years ago, and I believe I've been a very good employee for them. Was I a purple squirrel? Nope. Was I a maroon one? Maybe. Did it work out okay? I'd have to say yes.

Sounds Like An Episode of Jerry Springer

This article appeared in our local newspaper today. Where to begin? I started reading bits of it to my co-worker during lunch, and about every paragraph brought something else I had to tell him. Here are some of my favorite parts.

Carla Hartman called police to accompany her when she returned to the home Nov. 28, the reports said. While in the home, she became upset after discovering Douglas Hartman had taken her birth certificate, law degree and other documents, reports indicate. She then told officers her husband had been growing marijuana in the basement, the reports said.

Comment: She was following the axiom "don't get mad, get even". Of course, she probably should have thought it through a tad bit more. It's HER house too.

Douglas Hartman told officers he used the equipment to grow cactuses.

Comments: 1. Really? That's the best you've got? 2. I think the cops *probably* can tell the difference between pot and cacti (another plural of cactus). I seriously doubt that the suspected marijuana they found will turn out to be cacti.

He said he had not smoked marijuana since his wife purchased some for him two years ago, the reports said.

Carla Hartman told officers she gave her husband some marijuana two years ago as a birthday present, the reports said.

Comments: 1. You're a lawyer and you don't know when to stop talking? 2. You're a lawyer and you bought your husband pot for his birthday? Seriously?

Other thoughts:
1. This couple so deserves each other
2. I sent this article to some of my co-workers because I enjoyed it so much. I told them it read like an episode of Jerry Springer. When I went to Comments page of the paper that originally published the article, I saw that I wasn't the only person who held this opinion
3.  You're a lawyer and you only make $38,000? I think there's got to be some good background on why that's the case

Hope you enjoyed the article as much as I and my coworkers did.

Want Fries With That?

Click here for a free coupon for Wendy's new natural cut french fries with sea salt. I love Wendy's fries anyways, so I think these sound great.

Favorite Work Phrase #4

"To whom much is given, much is required"

Variants- "That's why you make the big bucks", "That's why we pay you all that money"

Sometimes work is not fun at all. It is after all called "work" and not "fun time". Your employer pays you for a reason, and it's not to sit around and look cute (unless you're a model) or to hang out and chit chat (unless you're a talk show host). Often it involves boring meetings and dealing with unpleasant issues. The higher you are up the food chain (and the more money you make), the more of this "unfun" you'll likely get. Face it and get over it.

Note: It's not nearly as entertaining to be on the receiving end of this wisdom as it is to be the person imparting it.

Favorite Work Phrase #3

NEWTD (pronounced "new-ted", short for Not Enough Work To Do)

Adjective- a state of being in which a person lacks sufficient work in his/her own job area, and thus starts bugging co-workers as a way to stay busy

Usage Examples
"Why does Jack (whose office is in another whole part of the building) keep showing up in our area and making dumb remarks?" "Newtd"

"Why does Janie keep butting into every conversation that doesn't involve her?" "Newtd"

I bet you'll soon find a situation at your job where you can use this phrase. It comes in very handy, especially if you only tell one other person what it means, then use it to describe other co-workers.

Favorite Work Phrase #2

"Roses are red" (short for "Roses are red, violets are blue, suck it up, you'll make it through")

A member of our Finance Team is the originator of this quote. It's very fun to use on people who are whining.

You're missing the point

This week there was an article in USA Today advocating celebrating Christmas in full force only every 5 years. The writer's theory is there is so much stress and hassle, this would be a welcome relief. If I could meet him face to face I'd tell him "you're missing point". The purpose of Christmas is not to "spend time you don't have to buy gifts you can't afford for people you don't like" or to "run yourself ragged trying to fit in every conceivable holiday activity under the sun".

A brief refresher- the purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. That's it. How we do it is up to us. There is great freedom in that. Freedom is the ability to do what we want, but often people forget it's also the ability to not do what doesn't work for us.

If the thought of the Christmas season makes you feel like Scrooge, now is the time to stop. Stop doing what you don't like, what makes you broke, what doesn't bring you joy. Take some time to figure out what Christmas traditions you do enjoy and/or what things you've always wanted to try but never done. Do those. As for the rest, ditch them. Yes, this activity may well create some stress, especially if it impacts your friends, family, etc. Be up front with them, and be willing to have an honest dialogue, even it's difficult. The author mentions encountering this phenomenon toward the end of the article. Sometimes we get stuck on doing things because they are "tradition", even if no one really likes doing them. Remember, it used to be "tradition" to bleed people for ailments, but they stopped doing that too.

Favorite Work Phrase #1

At work we have some catchphrases we use that I think you'll find amusing. Here's the first one:

TGG (short for Turn around, Get in the car, and Go Home)

Definition
Noun: A candidate who is so obviously ill-suited for a position that any more interaction with him/her is a waste of the candidate's and our time.

Usage Example
"What did you think of the applicant who just went in for an interview?" "He's a TGG"

Real Life Example
This summer my mom had a person show up for a job interview wearing a tank top and flip flops. My mom works at a hospital.

$4 for toothpaste?

I was amazed today at how much toothpaste costs. At the grocery I saw several in the $4 range. For toothpaste? These didn't even seem to contain gold flecks as an active ingredient. I haven't paid retail for toothpaste in ages. Most of the time it's free after I combine a store rebate/coupon offer with a manufacturer's coupon (Rite Aid has some of these very offers this week. I'm going tomorrow). I can't imagine paying $4 tube. Wonder what the manufacturer's cost is?

Crazy Credit Card Applications

How many credit card applications do you get in the mail? A couple a week? A couple a day? Congratulations, you have good credit! Unfortunately, this also means you're probably spending more time bonding with your shredder than you want. Did you know you can make most of them go away with just one easy call? Just dial 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) (you can also go here and fill out a request online if you'd rather). This will take care of the vast majority of the offers.

You'll probably still get the occasional offer because

Opting-Out will not end solicitations from all local merchants, religious and charitable associations, professional and alumni associations, politicians, and companies with which you conduct business.

However, there is even hope for these. What I didn't know until recently is you can call the organization offering you the card and make them stop. I learned this by chance. American Airlines was sending me probably 1 application a week since I'm a member of their frequent flier program. It was ridiculous. Out of sheer frustration I called the application phone number and asked them to stop sending these to me. I figured they'd say "we can't do that". Nope, they took my info, and the mailings STOPPED. Hallelujah! I just made the same type of call tonight to the Southwest Airline card number. It's a win win. Fewer trees die, and I spend less time at the shredder.

Mind Over Money (4th and Final in a Series)

Article

STEP 5: Recognize what you're doing right.

Just because a financial adviser wouldn't recommend your methods doesn't mean they're wrong. Does your system actually work for you? Then stick with it.

Perhaps you've tried to get ahold of your finances before, but it never works. It could be that your system is what's failing you. Want to know what the best system is for managing your money? It's the system that works for you. No two people are exactly alike, so why should there be a one-size-fits-all approach to handling your money?

My church has a financial ministry that teaches a basic financial budgeting class and offers one on one assistance to people who want in depth help figuring out a financial plan (the word "budget" engenders lots of bad feelings with many people, so I prefer this phrase instead). The people on the ministry team are all money nerds, but we don't see eye to eye on everything. Some ideas inspire universal agreement ("Payday loans are bad", "Emergency funds are good"), while others inspire debate ("Credit cards are evil", "Credit cards are a great tool"). Who's right? It's whatever works for each person. My personal system is somewhere convoluted, using 2 checking accounts and 2 savings accounts, with some spreadsheets thrown in for good measure. Would I recommend it for everyone? No. Does it work for me? Yes. Therefore, I use it.

Summary

As you learn more about money (see 3rd entry in this series), you'll come across many ways of managing your money. Combine what works and chuck what doesn't to create the perfect plan for you.

Mind Over Money (3rd in a Series)

Article

STEP 3: Get educated.

"A lot of times women think they are supposed to know through some kind of osmosis what they should do with their money," says Gail MarksJarvis, financial columnist for the Chicago Tribune and author of Saving for Retirement Without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery. "I find that really laughable. The reason we know how to cross the street without getting hit by a car is because at some point when we were young, someone told us that a green light means go and a red light means stop."

Most of us never got that kind of financial coaching. As my friend Emily puts it, "I realized at a certain point that I had never learned a lot of fundamentals: what a money market account is, when it makes sense to have savings bonds, those kinds of things." Indeed, they teach geometry in high school (for all those occasions when you need to figure out the area under a bridge) but not basic financial management. So you have to study it on your own.

My favorite part of this quote is probably the part of figuring the area under a bridge. It's so true. There was no financial education in my high school, and it wasn't part of my college's curriculum. I was fortunate that I did take an elective "Intro to Business" course in high school where part of the class was entering data into a checkbook register, so I knew how to handle that. But that was it. Before I started my present job, I didn't even know what a 401(k) was, though I worked at a job prior to my current one that probably should have asked me if I wanted to enroll in its plan.

The article suggests some good ways to increase your financial knowledge. The only thing I would add is this- share your knowledge with your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc. It's a great gift to give them.

Suggested Reads

Books
Women & Money- a great financial guide for both genders
The Millionaire Next Door & The Millionaire Women Next Door- both challenge lots of preconceptions about the rich
Nudge- Interesting info on how people respond to financial choices depending on how the decisions are framed

Magazines
Money- my favorite financial magazine
Smart Money- my mom's favorite
Kiplinger's Personal Finance- another good choice

A Moment of Awareness

Ever had a "moment of awareness"? You are doing an everyday task when suddenly you realize how profound it is. I had one yesterday. As I was voting, I was struck by how many people have paid such a high price for me to have the right to vote. Though our political system definitely has its issues, I feel so blessed to live in a time and place where I get to have say in how our government works.

"Using Your Degree" is not always a good thing

I was greatly entertained by this article that appeared in today's Evening News. This guy is a chemist, and he got arrested for using his degree. What's so bad about that you ask? Well, he was using it to make a key meth ingredient. Oops.

Here are my two favorite quotes from the article:

Brown’s attorney, Drew Adams, said his client testified during trial that he had sold red phosphorous but for the purpose of making fireworks. It was only later that he began to suspect it was being used to make meth, Adams said.

This guy is either incredibly stupid or the worst liar in history. His response under oath should have been "On the advice of counsel, I am taking the 5th".

Brown, who according to prosecutors had a chemistry degree from the University of Wisconsin and worked 20 years at a precision screw machine and plastic injection molding facility in Jeffersonville, told detectives that he had been fired and needed a way to earn money. He later admitted he was fired because he was caught using meth.

Employers sure are funny about things like that.

There's a reason you have to "swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". It is true he had been fired. The whole truth is he'd been fired because the was using meth. The whole story is much more illuminating.


My coworkers and I got many laughs from this article. I hope you did too.

P.S. I talked to our chemist at work, and she says she has no plans to follow in this guy's footsteps.

Mind Over Money (2nd in a series)

Article link

STEP 2: Face your fear.
It's like shining a light into the closet of a scared child: Whatever she sees in there is going to be less frightening than the scaly thing with all the heads that terrorizes her imagination.


On the other hand, I'm afraid that if I take a hard look at my finances I'll discover an unmitigated disaster. But no matter how bad it is (and it's rarely as bad as you think) there are concrete steps you can take to change your situation.

I was talking with someone about this the other day. She works for a financial planning company. She said so many people are afraid because of a lack of knowedge. I agreed and told her "Knowledge is the mortal enemy of fear". The example of the child above illustrates that so well. She's scared not because of what's in the closet but because she doesn't know what's in the closet. As humans it is so easy to let the "what ifs" turn to fear that rules our life.

As it says above, reality is rarely as bad as your fears. Even if it is that bad or worse, you now know how bad it is and can make a plan. Otherwise it's like a doctor making a diagnosis without asking you any questions about what's wrong or performing an exam. You would just walk into the office, the doctor says you have "x condition and we'll do y to treat it". You wouldn't trust your health to someone's random guess, and you owe your money the same respect.

Real Life Example
A few years ago Larry Winget had a show called "Big Spender". Each show was essentially a financial intervention for an individual or couple. I'll never forget the couple who never opened their bills. They just took the unopened envelopes and threw them in a basket. It was a BIG basket. One of their first assignments was, surprise!, they had to open all the bills and find out where they really were.

Summary
It's like taking a trip- You have to know where you are now to figure out how to get to your destination.

Some things to find out if you don't already know:

1. What's your credit report look like?

You can get your free reports here

Note: Most credit reports contain errors. Read over yours carefully, and follow the dispute process given to fix them. If you don't know your credit scores, purchase them AFTER you've fixed errors to your report.

2. What do you have in assets?
- Checking account(s)
- Savings account(s)
- Retirement account(s)
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Value of car(s)
- Value of real estate
- Anything other assets not mentioned

3. What do you have in debts?
- Mortgage
- Student loans
- Credit card debt
- Car loans
- Personal loans
- 401(k), 403(b), etc. loans (you borrowed it, it's a debt)
- Home equity loan
- Any other debts not mentioned

If you really want to go all out, subtract your debts from your assets to get your net worth.

Yes, I know it can be scary, but remember "knowledge is the mortal enemy of fear".

Mind Over Money (1st in a series)

This weekend I read this article about money in Ladies Home Journal. Yes, guys, I KNOW it says "ladies", but trust me, it's got great advice applicable to both genders. It hit on so many points about money that I agree with and/or have seen in real life. I liked it so much, I'm writing a series of entries about it. Let's get started!

"As my friend Kathleen puts it, "Once a week I say to my husband, 'Can you please not get hit by a truck? I don't even know the account passwords!'" (And this is a woman who owns her own wildly successful consulting business.)"

How many of you said "Do what?". How many of you said "So what?". Probably around 1/2 of each. Why do I say that? I read once that in each couple there is usually one money nerd who loves dealing with money, can talk all day about ways to manage money, etc. The other person is usually grateful for this because he or she HATES dealing with money, is thrilled not to have to be bothered, etc. (Guess which type of person I am? Hmm)

There is nothing wrong with one person being the lead person for the couple's finances, but there's something absolutely wrong with the other person being completely clueless, whether is is by choice or or by default. Life happens to us all. Let me give you some real life examples

Real Life Example #1
A friend of the family divorced after many years of marriage. My dad had to take him around and show him how to pay bills. The guy HAD NO IDEA how to do this as his wife had always handled it.

Real Life Example #2
I was talking to my mom about how unbelievable I found Real Life Example #1. She said "If something happened to Family Member X, Family Member Y would be the same way". Yep, Mom's right.

Real Life Example #3
I'm not sure how it came up, but one day my coworker and I were discussing the two examples above. She has been married many years, and she said it was crazy for one person to be so in the dark about how to handle the bills. A couple of weeks later, her husband was severely injured in a freak accident at work. She said she knew he wasn't feeling well when he didn't ask her to bring the checkbook to the hospital! She told me later "I thought about you" since we had discussed this very issue a few weeks prior. She knew where everything was and was able to care of it. She said she didn't do it "like he would have done it", but each person has his/her own money style. She handled everything just fine. I told her today about the magazine quote above, and again she said "that's crazy".

Take Away
If you are in a relationship, you both need to know what to do "just in case". Come up with a system that works for you. One of our VPs at work reconciles the bank statements while her hubby pays the bills. It's their system. Find one that works for you NOW. Not next week, NOW. You never know when you may need it.

A Tale of Two Sales Experiences

Recently I received a letter from the local Toyota dealership with a coupon for a free tool set and the possibility of other prizes. I thought "why not" and decided to go. I realized of course that they'd try to sell me something, but I had no idea the amount of high pressure sales tactics they would use before giving me my gift.

As soon as I stepped out of my car last night, the first question from a salesperson was "Do you want to buy a car?" This is a car dealership after all, so a fair question. I said "No, I'm here to redeem my voucher". I was taken inside, where the salesperson took down a few pieces of info, then again asked "Do you want to buy a car?" and began his spiel. I again firmly said "No". He continued his pitch for a minute or two, then stepped away. When I noticed he was out of view (the showroom is large and open, and even the side offices are floor to ceiling windows), and he was gone longer than it should reasonably take to grab a tool kit, I began to get that feeling. If you ever been around car dealerships, you know the old "disappearing to talk to a manager" routine.

Surely enough, a few minutes later here comes a guy in a suit. At my work we always say that people coming to the door in suits mean people trying to sell you something. The first words out of his mouth were "Hi, I''m X, and I'm one of the sales managers here". Below is a summary of the rest of the conversation.

SM= Sales manager
M= Me
(comments)

M "Do you have my gifts?"
SM "No, we have to register you"
(Then what was the first guy doing?)

M "Ok, let's go"
SM "Why are you in such a hurry to get your gifts?
M "I have things to do"
(I did, and they didn't include wasting my time there)

SM "We can make you a great deal", other random selling buzz phrases, etc.
M "No, my car is paid for, and I plan to drive it for a long time"
(Getting more frustrated by the minute here)

SM "What do you drive now and how many miles does it have?"
M "I drive an X with Y miles"
SM "How much do you think you could get for it"
M "I could sell it for at least Z"
SM "What if I gave you more than Z?"
(This whole process is a shell game. More money for a trade in means they charge you more for the car, DUH!)
M "No, I don't want any car payments"

SM "What if I made your payments for the first year?"
M "I don't want any car payments EVER"
(When I have to buy another car, I'm buying whatever I can purchase with my cash on hand)

SM "You could make a good investment-"
M "Anything that depreciates in value is not an investment"
(You could tell he didn't get that response often, and he had to agree with me. You know that had to hurt)

The conversation seemed to lose steam about then. Shortly thereafter he finally got up and left. I stood up too. It was time to use more forceful body language to show that I was done (should have already been obvious though by my tone) and wanted my stuff now. As I stood by the door (more body language) I saw an older couple who looked to be in the process of buying a car. The lady was on oxygen, and I felt so badly for her if they were being forced to put up with the intolerable high pressure tactics I did. I didn't stand at the door long before the first salesperson finally brought my gifts. I hopped in my car and was out of there.

 This was by far the most high pressure, most terrible customer treatment I have ever been subjected to at a car dealership in my life. Instead of using the opportunity to treat me well and make a good impression for later, they made me HATE their dealership and rant about it on my blog. Not smart at all.

Contrast that with my experience at Best Buy a day earlier. I need to buy an IPad for work. The person at the front of the store showed me exactly where to go. After waiting a minute or two for the salesperson to help the customer in front of me, he asked what I needed. I told him, he said "Ok", was gone about a minute, and brought it out to me. He said "Do you have any questions?" I said "no", and I was on my way to check out. No hard sell for accessories, warranty, etc. It was FANTASTIC. The cashier later told me he's their top computer sales person. I see why. He listened to both my questions and what my body language was saying. I just wanted the Ipad, no hard sell. That's how a great salesperson works.

In summary:
Jeff Wyler Toyota- AWFUL
Best Buy- AWESOME

Quote of the day

"It costs to be beautiful"
- My coworker to another coworker who was complaining (aka whining) about how much it cost to get some shirts embroidered with our logo. While I don't think the coworker to whom it was said enjoyed it much, I did and think everyone else in earshot did too.

Week of 9/27

Quote of the Week
"You can dress up garbage, but it's still garbage"
- A man describing the reason behind his divorce to me.

I loved this quote. So simple, says so much. I quoted it to a co-worker who is getting divorced. He absolutely loved it, plans to use it, wanted to credit it to me. I told him no, the originator's name is Chad, he deserves for it to be known as his.



Interesting Thing My Job Taught Me This Week
If you are in arrears on child support over a certain amount, you are prohibited from getting a passport. If you have one, it'll be confiscated. Moral of the story- Pay up



How to Begin the End of Your Career at Your Current Employer
When the Vice President of your area asks you a serious question in  a group meeting, laugh at him. Out loud. Yep, someone did that at my work. His days are numbered.



Favorite Bible Verse
I was reading the book of Judges last week, and I came across what is probably my favorite Bible verse of all time.

"But the hair on Sampson's head began to grow again after it was shaved" (Judges 16:22, NIV).

Probably never heard anyone ELSE quote that one as a favorite have you? If you aren't familiar with the story, Sampson was given the gift of great strength. However, Sampson made some poor life choices. He ended up being betrayed by the woman he loved. His head was shaved, causing him to lose his strength. His enemies captured him and gouged out his eyes. Then they put him in prison.

This verse is the next verse in the story. Why do I like it so much? Sampson was a guy who'd been given so much, but he seemingly lost it all by doing dumb things. In other words, his is just like you and me. But the story doesn't end there. God is a God of second, third, seven hundred and eighty-fourth chances. In the end God helps Sampson exact great revenge on those who had done such damage to him.

Life lesson: No matter what your past, God has a future for you.



Bonus verse from the Story of Sampson
"If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle" Judges 14:18

P.S. The heifer was his wife to be. Read the story. It's a good one.