Today I signed up for YouVersion.com at the suggestion of a friend.  It happened to be my second such suggestion recently, so I thought I would check it out.  I had already downloaded the Android app for the my phone, which I was using as a Bible resource, when I found out I could be using both the online and mobile apps for my Bible Reading Plan.
After browsing the many different reading plans I found one that is very similar to the one I have posted here from CBN.com.  The primary difference I have found between the plan I am currently on and the plan I signed up for (by BlueLetterBible.org) on YouVersion only has the user read from the New Testament once every couple days or so instead of every day.  This method requires the reader to read an entire chapter at a time instead of breaking up the longer chapters over a couple of days at a time.  I actually kind of like this better since it keeps you in the flow of the chapter instead of breaking it up.  I usually end up reading ahead (or catching up) when the chapters in the reading plan are broken up.

Top Features of YouVersion

There are several things I really like about YouVersion, including the following:

1. Mobile App – The integration of the reading plans and Bible versions with the Mobile app is fantastic.  Not only does the mobile phone sync your reading plan with the site, but there is access to many different translations, reading plans, a great Bible search, and the ability to share with most social networking sites.
2. Community – There is a very active community on YouVersion that allows bookmarking of your favorite passages, groups, contributions, tags, and YouVersion Live.  Live is a way of being able to participate in live events in real time.  You can follow along with message outlines, take notes, look up verses, vote on polls, ask questions, and again – all from your mobile phone!
3. Reading Plans – YouVersion offers many different Bible Reading plans, some original YouVersions, some from other places on the web (like the one I found from BlueLetterBible.org).  There has been major emphasis placed on easy of use, and simplicity.  They even have a progress meeter and an accountability feature you can turn on and off.

There are a couple things that I found a bit difficult.  In setting up my Bible reading plan I was able to pick my start and end dates – this wasn’t the problem.  What I found a little more difficult was updating all of the reading I have already done.  If you are changing or merging reading plans YouVersion is able to keep your progress meeter accurate.  However, since I started a reading plan offline I had to go in an update every day, no biggie, until I had to click complete on every chapter of every day for over 60+ days!  This could have been much easier.  In addition, there isn’t a simple way to print our the Bible reading plan you are working on.  If you are using a Bible reading plan that was done by someone else (for instance the one I picked from BlueLetterBible) I was able to click on the plan, then click on the plans website, find the plan, and print the pdf.  However, this may not always be the case.

Overall I think that YouVersion is a great tool for Bible reading plans and it eliminates obstacles that prevent us from becoming successful in completing them.  Let’s face it, many times we have don’t have our Bibles with us, but we almost always have our phones.  The ability to keep up to date on our reading plans on the go is the key.  The ability to interact with other users is a huge plus.

I would encourage you to check out YouVersion, especially if you are on a Bible Reading plan or are interested in trying one out.  While your there you can view my profile and friend me and we will go on this journey together.

Related posts:

1. Month 1 – Bible Reading Plan Update
2. Month 2 – Bible Reading Plan Update
3. Daily Bible Reading Plan

At the beginning of this year I made several goals, one of those goals was to read through the entire Bible in one year.  In order to complete this task I found an online One Year Bible Reading Plan that I wanted to follow.  In my opinion, reading through t

he entire Bible at least once is absolutely essential, especially for those who claim to believe the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, word of God.  How can you really know unless you have read it for yourself?  The beginning of the year was the perfect time to get started.

Month in Review

Throughout the month of February I found out that exactly what I thought was going to happen, happened.  It wasn’t so much that I didn’t have the time to read, I did, but it didn’t always happen.  I ended up reading several days at a time from the New Testament, and several days at a time from the Old Testament, and the same with Proverbs.  This was obviously less than ideal.

In an effort to adjust and make up for this I did decide to go through much of the New Testament by listening to it on CD while in my car.  I have many hour plus commutes were I am able to really go through a lot of chapters.  As a result I am way ahead of where I should be in the New Testament.  In addition, since I am no longer reading the New Testament, but instead I am listening to it, I am able to devote much more time to reading the Old Testament.  This really helped me get back on track with my reading.  At one point I was at least ten days behind on my Old Testament reading.  However, with my focus now primarily on Old Testament reading, I am now fully caught up with both my Old Testament reading and my Proverbs.

In some ways it may come across as cheating my way through the New Testament by only listening to it on CD, however I find that it’s not the case.  Sometimes while driving I will get distracted and not fully listen to the CD, but I can just replay that chapter and I am back into the flow of the CD.  Also, I can get distracted reading also, sometimes I will go a paragraph or two before I realize I am no longer focused and not sure what I am reading anymore.  In these situations I also try to go back and re-focus.   In addition, sometimes hearing the Word as opposed to reading it will trigger different responses.  This happens while reading also, but I find there are many things I have read, but when I hear them, they open my eyes to things I hadn’t thought of before.  It’s something I would encourage you to do, you can find the Bible on CD here.

Chapters Covered

In addition to finishing Exodus, I read all of Leviticus, some of Numbers, finished Matthew, and Mark.  One of the things that stood out to me this time around was in Leviticus.  When Leviticus talks about the laws, many times it seems legalistic.  However, this time around I was really struck by some of the laws.  For instance, when someone curses God they were to be stoned to death, the same with the sexually impure, and there are the eye for an eye laws.  It occurred to me in a way that it had never occurred before, that many of these laws were to instill Holiness into the people of God, since God is a Holy God.

Your Progress

Related posts:

1. Month 1 – Bible Reading Plan Update
2. Daily Bible Reading Plan
3. YouVersion Bible Reading Plans

At the beginning of this year I made several goals, one of those goals was to read through the entire Bible in one year.  In order to complete this task I found an online One Year Bible Reading Plan that I wanted to follow.  In my opinion, reading through the entire Bible at least once is absolutely essential, especially for those who claim to believe the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, word of God.  How can you really know unless you have read it for yourself?  The beginning of the year was the perfect time to get started.

Month in review

Throughout the month of January I had a decent amount of free time, more so than I can expect throughout the rest of the year.  As a result I was able to complete all the daily assignments – though not all on the specific day.  There were a few days were I forgot or I had other specific activities going on that day.  This was kept to a minimum, I found that for me, the hardest part was making sure I read a Proverb everyday.

In addition to the Bible in One Year I committed to reading one chapter in Proverbs every day.  In the months were there are less than 31 days I will be reading the additional chapters at the end of the month.  One of the themes of Proverbs is wisdom and seeking after it.  My goal is that by reading Proverbs everyday, keeping it fresh in my mind, that I will grow in wisdom.  I was able to get through all of Proverbs, but I did find myself reading 2-3 chapters a day, since I would get a little behind.

Chapters Covered

In addition to completing Proverbs, I also completed Genesis and half of Exodus in the Old Testament.  In the New Testament I am about two thirds of the way through Matthew.  One of the things that stuck out to me as I went through the Old Testament was how many plagues there were on Egypt.  Many times when reading the stories we hear  of the plagues, we talk about a couple, but there were 10 plagues in Egypt, 10!

Your Progress

Related posts:

1. Month 2 – Bible Reading Plan Update
2. Daily Bible Reading Plan
3. YouVersion Bible Reading Plans

Week four of the fitness challenges is done and in the books.  The two fitness challenges I have been doing are the one hundred push-ups challenge and the two hundred sit-ups challenge.  Both of these challenges are six weeks three days a week challenges.  Each of the three days have you do four sets of each with one max set.  Everyday during the challenge your reps increase slightly (or not so slightly) until after six weeks you can do one hundred consecutive push-ups and two hundred consecutive sit-ups.

The Fitness Challenge

Week fours’ fitness challenge increased by nearly twenty push-ups and thirty sit-ups per day if you includes your max sets.  Each day during week four you would have a set amount of push-ups or sit-ups for your first set, say twenty five, and a higher number of reps for your second set (maybe thirty).  Then the third and fourth sets would be the same number of reps as your first set (twenty five), until your max, which would be a little larger than your second set (say thirty five).

My Results

During week four I found that the jumps in both challenges were probably a little two large for me.  I was able to finish the sets and max, but only after significant rest periods and I had to alter the way I was doing my push-ups in order to finish my sets.  On day two of week four I almost quit, I am embarrassed to admit, because I was only able to finish two sets without significant rest.  I didn’t want to quit because I didn’t think I could do it, but rather because I didn’t think I could make the jump as fast as they were going.  The idea of doing a six week challenge was interesting to me, but it seemed as though my six weeks were going to turn into 8, 10, or more!

The good news here is that I did finish my workout, I finished the week, and I did experience a lot of muscle growth.  I found the challenge to be very beneficial - but I am putting it on hold.  I am going to pause for a few months and come back to the challenge and see if I can finish it.  I can’t tell you why I am putting in on pause for now, thats for another post.  I can tell you I won’t be losing any strength during my break.  I will probably finish the challenge in May, look for more update about the push-up and sit-up challenges then.

One final thought, the reason I am putting these particular challenges on hold, is because I want to try something else that I feel will help me accomplish my goals better.  One of my goals was to get fit, one of my goals was to lose weight, and to overall be healthier.  I think that the push-up and sit-up challenges were helping me in one of two of those categories.  I am trying a new challenge that will hopefully meet all three goals.

Your Results

How have you been working to accomplish your goals this year?  Are they working for you?  If they aren’t working, have you considered making adjustments to help you accomplish your goals?

Related posts:

1. Week 3 Fitness Update
2. Week 2 Fitness Update
3. Week 1 Fitness Update

On New Year’s I did what everyone else always does.  I made some New Year’s goals.  One of those goals was to get into shape and lose some weight.  I didn’t want to just do a short term fad diet, so instead I decided to join two fitness challenges.  The first challenge was the hundred push-ups challenge, the second challenge is the two hundred sit-ups challenge.  Saturday I finished week three of the fitness challenges, here is my overview of the week.

The Fitness Challenges

The hundred push-ups challenge has been very easy up until this week.  Every week I have completed all of my sets (four sets plus one max set) and met minimum requirements for the day’s max.

My Results

The hundred push-ups (and sit-ups) challenge has been very easy up until this week.  Every week I have completed all of my sets (four sets plus one max set) and met minimum requirements for the day’s max.  This week has been much different.  Day one went fine, day two…well that went differently.  Day two of week three in both challenges have significant jumps in the amount of reps that are in each set.  The jumps were so drastic that I was so exhausted that I was unable to do (or begin) the max set – for either challenge.  Day three went a little better, I was able to accomplish the max sets, however, I did have significant time to rest between set four and my max set.

After looking over the program again from start to finish, it looks like this steep adjustments in the number of reps is going to continue to happen every week from here on out.  It was a little curious as to why there were no steep adjustments from week one to week two, and not from week two to week three.  It was only during the middle of week three that there was a steep curve upwards.  It seems like the challenge could have moved a bit more steadily if there would have been regular large adjustments.

Your Results

What are you doing this year to accomplish your goals?  Are you still focusing on making the small choices to ensure your success for the long haul?  What can you do today to either get refocused or maintain your focus on your goals?

Related posts:

1. Week 4 Fitness Update
2. Week 2 Fitness Update
3. Week 1 Fitness Update

I have been a member of eBay since January of 2003, I signed up in order to sell some bobble head dolls I had received as part of a promotion at a football game.  My initial thoughts were that if I sold the bobble head dolls for enough, then I might be able to pay for my tickets to the game.  I was able to sell the two my wife and I received, along with another bobble head that someone left behind.   After paying all the fees, shipping, and tickets to the game, we had a profit after selling only two of the three bobble head dolls.

Selling on eBay can seem like a daunting task to some, but for the most part it’s pretty simple, and there isn’t a wrong way to do it (unless you lose money), and the main thing is to have fun.  There are several things you have to do before you start selling on eBay.  Here are your first steps to selling on eBay:

Getting Started Selling on eBay:

1. First things first, you must sign up for an eBay account.  You can register for a FREE eBay account by simply following the steps and creating a user-name.  This account allows you to buy and sell your products on eBay.
2. You must determine how you are going to take payments. There are several payment options that eBay allows, you can choose several different options, however, PayPal is considered the safest and easiest method to send and receive money on eBay.  PayPal can do a lot more than just sending and receiving payments however, we will get to that in a minute.  First you should go ahead and register for a FREE PayPal account.  There are three different account types, Personal, Premiere, and Business.  If you are just signing up as an individual who wants to buy and sell, you will want to sign up for a Premiere account. Once you have registered your going to want to take a minute to get PayPal Verified.
3. Next you will need to know how you are going to ship your products. There are three main companies to use for shipping.  You could use the United States Post Office (or USPS for short), United Parcel Service (or UPS for short), or FedEx.  I would recommend getting familiar with their shipping and handling rates.  Each company has it’s own positives and negatives.  The more you know about each company the more money you could potentially save.  Once you get into a regular habit of shipping items you will probably figure out which method is best for you.  I personally use USPS most of the time, for my products, Priority Mail is hard to beat.  It ships the fastest and cheapest most of the time.  Plus USPS will give you free Priority Mail envelopes and boxes.  You can even order them from their website and they will drop them off at your door for FREE!  This will save you tons of time at the post office.  USPS also will schedule pick-ups free right from your house.  Using USPS might be a great place to start for your shipping needs.
4. Selling on eBay isn’t free, figuring out how much eBay fees are will save you money in the long run.  Not knowing what the eBay fees are can quickly cut into your profits.   Understanding how eBay charges can help determine your pricing structure.  For instance, you don’t want to list something in an Auction Style Listing with a price of $200.00.  The insertion fee goes from $2 to $3 for items listed over $199.99.  If you listed a hundred or more listings this tip could save you over a $100 in fee’s alone.
5. Know the rules, play by the rules. Getting  to know all of the eBay Seller Policies and PayPal Buyer and Seller Policies will take a little bit of time, but DON’T skip it.  There are several reasons for this, in the case of a dispute, you will be prepared and protected from buyers filing false claims.  For instance, if your auction sells for over $250 PayPal requires the seller to get signature confirmation for delivery.  Without purchasing this option you could lose the dispute.  Knowing this allows you to adjust your shipping and handling fee’s if necessary and makes sure you aren’t the victim of fraud.

Once you have signed up for your eBay and PayPal accounts, read all the policies and procedures, know what shipping methods you want to use, now all you need to know is what your going to sell.  More importantly, how much are you going to make.  But first we need a little information.  Here are a few tips to know before you list your item for sale on eBay.

Knowing What and How to List Your Items on eBay:

1. Sell what your interested in, in the long term this will help you to become successful on eBay. Think about what your hobbies are and then make those items your primary items to sell – this is of course if it can make money!  If you are into computers or electronics find a way to buy these cheap and turn them over for a profit.  There are many ways to find items to sell, you can start by selling your own items or some of your friends items (this is a great way to build up your feedback), buy items using Craigslist (you can read my article on Buying and Selling on Craigslist) or you can find a drop shipper to purchase products from.
2. Research, Research, Research! Knowing what your product is worth is vastly important.  There is an old saying in real estate that goes something like this, ‘You make money when you buy…’ This is true when buying and re-selling on eBay.  If you buy to high your profit margins evaporate.  Know what your items are worth and make sure there is money to be made, after you include all your fees.
3. Create your own set of policies for people who bid on your auctions. Write your expectations for buyers.  Will you offer refunds on your items?  Will you offer or require insurance, signature confirmation, or express shipping?  Will you offer multiple item shipping discounts, or limit who can bid on auctions based on feedback?  These are all things you should consider before setting up your first auction.
4. Know when to list your auction.  Depending on the type of auction that you use (auction style or Buy it Now) you may want to list your items at different times so that they end at the correct time.  If you want your auction item to receive the most possible traffic, you are going to want to have you listing expire during a time where all time zones in the US have had a chance to view your auction.  Most people recommend ending your auctions on Sunday nights between 6PM and 12AM Pacific Time.  However, I would highly recommend that you experiment for yourself and find what works best for you.
5. Using eBay tools or third party services can increase your profits and make you more efficient. Using a template or theme for your auction can give your auction a more professional appearance.  A drop shipper can get you access to large amounts of product, you can use the eBay Turbo Seller to list multiple items at once, or tools such as Auctivia, Square Trade, or Auction Snipers (for buyers).  There are many extensions available for buyers or sellers that fit right into your Internet browsers, including the FireFox eBay Companion , the Chrome eBay Extension, or the Internet Explorer eBay Side Bar.  There are many, many more eBay tools out there for sellers.  A simple Google search will provide dozens more.

Creating a Top Notch eBay Listing

1. Create a winning title for your listing.  When you are listing an item, you should think of every word in the title of your auction as a keyword, just as you think of keyword in Google searches.  The more relevant keywords you use, the better chance you have of your auction item showing up in a potential buyers search list.
2. Using photos in your eBay listing.  Using photos can be a very important part of your auction.  Whenever possible use authentic pictures and not just stock photos.   Showing detailed photos with defects of your items will establish trust with your buyers.   Buyers want to see the condition of the item they are purchasing if you use stock photos it can appear as though the seller is trying to hide something.  In some auctions it will be worth paying the additional eBay fees to include multiple photos in your auction.
3. The difference between Buy it Now and Auction Style Listings. There are several different types of auctions that eBay allows.  The first, and most common, is the auction type listing.  Auction style listing start at a specified price and are bid up until time runs out and the highest bidder wins.  You can also choose how long to list your item for up to ten days.  You can choose to put a reserve on the item or not, which protects you in case your auction doesn’t sell for as much as you want it to.  Or, you can choose to use a Buy it Now auction.  This type of auction allows you to determine a set price for your item.  If a buyer uses Buy it Now then the buyer pays the full amount at the time that they choose Buy it Now.  The main benefit is that you don’t have to wait for the entire duration of your auction until you sell your item.  The downside is that you could be leaving money on the table if you don’t set your Buy it Now price high enough.  You can also choose to include a Best Offer with a Buy it Now auction.  This allows potential buyers to submit an offer less than your Buy it Now price.  This can come in really handy if you have priced your item to high.  For a more in-depth review you can read an eBay review and guide written by a member of the eBay Community.
4. Communicating with potential buyers. Communication is one of the most fundamental elements of any successful business.  If you want repeat business and positive feedback then you need to make sure you are clear, concise, and accurate with your auctions.  When someone asks you a question it’s important to reply fast and thoroughly.  In addition, you can incorporate Skype into your eBay listings.  This gives you the ability to to communicate with buyers immediately if you are online, without giving out your real phone number.
5. What to include in your auction.  There are many things you should incorporate into your auction, and you should always be as thorough  as possible.  Things to include in your auctions should be (if relevant) the quantity of items included in your auction, what it comes with, technical details or specifications, links to manufacturers or retail sites, reviews of your product, etc.  You can also set up your eBay account preferences to show your eBay auctions in Facebook by using this eBay Facebook Application.

Finalizing the Sale of your eBay Auction

1. Packing your item to ship. It’s important to make sure you pack your items carefully.  Make sure you pack your items accordingly, this means if it’s electronics then pack it in bubble wrap or something similar.
2. Ship your item intermediately. Buyers like getting their items fast.  When you meet or exceed buyers expectations you are more likely to get good feedback.  Since everything on eBay revolves around getting positive feedback, you should do everything in your power to ensure that every transaction goes smoothly.  The best way to do this is to ship it fast.
3. Include a personalized note for your buyer. This is one way you can increase buyer satisfaction.  It shows that you care and that you took the time to write something specifically for them.
4. Leave feedback for your buyer. I mentioned earlier that eBay revolves around buyer and seller feedback, so it’s important to leave accurate information.  However, as a seller I would precaution you to not leave feedback until after the buyer does.  Once you ship an item and the buyer receives the item it will usually take them a few days to leave feedback.  Once the buyer leaves feedback then it’s your turn.  However if you do this out of order and leave positive feedback just because a buyer bought something, the buyer could turn around and give you negative feedback and you won’t have the opportunity to leave accurate feedback for them.
5. Set up a spread sheet to keep track of your expenses for your eBay business. After selling nearly fifty items in just a few months I learned how important it was to know what items I had been selling and how much they were selling for.  In addition, I started tracking were I was buying my product from (Craigslist, friends, eBay, other classifieds, etc), this allowed me to make my business much more efficient and to know where all my money was going (read: eBay, PayPal, and shipping fees).

Final Thoughts

There are many, many ways to make money on eBay.  I have only briefly touched the surface of what is possible.  It’s true that knowledge is power and that they more time and effort you put into learning about your new eBay business, the more money you can make.  What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another person.  You will learn the most through trial and error.

For those of you who have made money on eBay, what works for you?  Where do you buy product, how do you ship, what tools do you use, and what has failed?

Related posts:

1. 10 Tips for Buying and Selling on Craigslist

At the beginning of the year I made a goal to get in to better shape and lose weight doing it.  One of the ways I decided to do this was to participate in the hundred push-ups challenge and the two hundred sit-ups challenge.  I have just completed the second week of both challenges.

The Fitness Challenges

Three times a week the challenge require 5 sets.  The first set is roughly 85 percent of the required max for the day.  The second set is roughly 90 percent of the days max.  The following two sets are roughly half of the number of the max for that day.  Finally, the fifth set of the day is your max.  Every day the sets are usually one to two reps higher than the day before.

My Experience

A little about my experience, so far I have been hitting all of the reps in each set, including the max set.  In addition, in the push-ups challenge I have been doing inverted push-ups with my legs on a chair (this is my attempt to make it harder).  At the end of the week the challenge has you do another fail set.  This enables you to see how much you have progressed over the course of the week and to also determine if you have progressed as much as the challenge has wanted you to.  The results of the tests also determine which column you will be basing your workouts on for the next week.

My Results

I haven’t had a scale to weigh myself this year (ironically enough), but I can tell that my arms, abs, back, shoulders, etc are all getting stronger.  I can feel myself push past boundaries that I couldn’t have in the past.

Your Results

The big question is how are your New Year’s goals going?  Have you started them?  If so, what are you doing to accomplish them?  What have been your successes or failures?

Related posts:

1. Week 3 Fitness Update
2. Week 4 Fitness Update
3. Week 1 Fitness Update

I completed my first week of the hundred push-up challenge and the two hundred sit-up challenge.  Both challenges were opportunities to focus on my personal health and fitness in the New Year.  While I want to lose weight (doesn’t everybody?) I am more concerned on long time health than just a couple pounds.  And, by focusing on fitness instead of weight, I can have the side effect of losing weight while I get in shape.

Both challenges presented aspects I wasn’t expecting.  For instance, I have had far more success with the push-up challenge than I initially expected.  I have been able to complete all of the expected sets and the quantity involved in each set.  Not only that, but I have been using a technique that is a bit more difficult than normal push-ups.  In addition I have been able to exceed my max by 5-7 each day.

The sit-up challenge on the other hand has proved to be more difficult.  Once again I have been able to complete all the sets in each of the challenges.  However, the first couple of days I was able to exceed the programs max.  However, on day 3 I was merely able to meet my max.  The reason for this could be one of several things:

1. My arms, shoulders and back are in better shape than my abs, or
2. The sit-ups challenge is a little bit more aggressive than the push-ups challenge.

Of course I prefer option two, regardless, I am going to need more work in this area.  On day two of the challenge I noticed that I may not have been doing the technique quite as well as I thought.  I made the necessary adjustments and this is when everything became a whole lot harder.  I am glad I found this out early however, this way I can ensure myself the best results possible.

How are you doing with your New Years goals?  Are you still on track, determined to follow through on your goals for the New Year?  Or have you already fallen and determined that your goals are to difficult to succeed?  Hopefully you are still on your path.  Since we are not yet two weeks into the New Year it’s not to late to get going and focus on small successes rather than minor set backs.  Share your journey and what it’s been like so far in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Week 4 Fitness Update
2. Week 3 Fitness Update
3. Week 2 Fitness Update

DiscipleLikeJesus wrote two blogs posts on how to Disciple your Children Like Jesus did.  You can read the original blog posts on there site, here are the first five reasons, and the last five reasons are on a separate post.  After reading those articles I was inspired to write my own post on the topic.  Here are 5 more ways you can disciple your children like Jesus did.

1. Don’t try to change their personality.  Children are in a constant state of learning, developing, and deciding who they are.  It’s important to celebrate who they are and what they like.  Accept who Christ made them to be and enjoy them.
2. Teach your children to ask forgiveness when they do something mean or offensive to someone.  This is a great way to teach your children from the start that asking forgiveness is very important.
3. One way you can teach your children to ask for forgiveness, and humility, is to ask forgiveness from your own children when you do something out of anger or selfishness.
4. Allow your children into your own life by  telling them what God is teaching you.  There are many opportunities to do this, when you are doing volunteer work, moving to a new job/ministries/cultures, the reasons for going to church, etc.
5. Encourage them to pray and spend time with the Lord on their own.  When they ask you questions about why things happened in the Bible, or why they need to ask forgiveness, or even about questions about life.  Encourage them to go before the Lord.

You can read more about how to disciple like Jesus by reading some of their practical ideas on what you can do.  You can also watch some of their video’s on the topic, or read their e-book.

For further reading on this topic you can read:

• How to Disciple Your Children – by The Navigators
• How to Disciple Your Children – by Relational Concepts

Both articles are excellent reads and I would encourage you to read them.  Do you have any more idea’s on how to Disciple your Children Like Jesus did?  Go ahead and leave them in the comments, we would love to hear them.

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1. 10 Ways to accomplish your new years goals

Over the past two years or so I have been using Craigslist to buy and sell many items, mostly electronics, but I have bought appliances, almost two thousand books and sold my Saturn Vue on Craigslist. Here I have compiled a list of the Top 5 Tips for Buying things on Craigslist, the Top 5 Tips for Selling on Craigslist PLUS 5 Bonus Tips!

5 Tips for Buying on Craigslist

1. Just because it’s on Craigslist doesn’t make it a good deal. Shop around, many times there are comparable deals on eBay, Amazon, or even your local stores. In addition, sometimes Craigslist deals are overpriced. You still need to do comparative shopping to know if your getting a good deal or not.
2. Many times you will get amuch better deal from someone if you place a Wanted To Buy (or WTB for short) add. If you place an add this way you are more likely to find someone who is just willing to get rid of something than if you purchase from someone that is specifically there placing an add to make money.
3. Just because an add says a price doesn’t mean that it has to be the price you pay. When I buy something I almost always start off by seeing if they are willing to negotiate or if they are firm on their price. Sometimes an add that starts out higher can end up being a better deal because someone is willing to negotiate.
4. Don’t rely solely on your city to give you the best deal. Sometimes it’s worth the effort to travel 30 min. or so to save $50-$150 on an item (depending on what your buying).
5. In sales, your taught to ask someone to buy three times before you accept no for an answer. Always ask for a discount, even if it’s uncomfortable. You may ask in the first email, then when you about ready to meet and arranging pick up, and again when you see them. If they say no make sure your prepared to give them the agreed upon price and pick it up all in one trip. This is the best way to insure you get the best deal possible. Sellers don’t want to tell you no, and they don’t want to give up the cash they see in your hand.

5 Tips for Selling on Craigslist

1. Be specific, give as much information as you can about your item and whether or not you will accept a best offer or if your price is firm. This should reduce the amount of emails you get. While you may limit your potential buyers by being specific, you will actually receive much more interested buyers. This makes it much more likely that each person who contacts you will actually purchase your item.
2. Make sure you include pictures of your actual item. Many times sellers will include a stock photo of an item they are selling but this causes doubt. What are they trying to hide? What is the condition of the phone? Do they actually have one? Seeing the actual photo of the item listed will also eliminate a lot of questions. They can see what color, the condition, whats included, and so on.
3. Only sell what makes sense to sell on Craigslist. Some items may do very well here, furniture, vehicles, or anything really that you want to see in person or that is to large to ship. Other sites (i.e. eBay, Amazon, etc.) will do better for smaller items that you want to get the most bang for your buck, but anything thing to large to ship should be sold via Craigslist.
4. If you are going to do this a lot, treat it as a business. Give someone a good deal, through in something they weren’t expecting and give them a business card or tell them to remember you. The next time they have something to sell, guess who they are going to think of? You!
5. ONLY deal in cash or verified funds. You have no idea if the check is good or not. Even if the check is good someone can put a stop on it after the item is acquired. Don’t try to pay with a check, it creates a feeling of uncertainty when you are talking with your seller.

5 Bonus Tips for using Craigslist.

1. When you meet your buyer/seller, always meet in a very public/visible location. For safeties sake you don’t want to meet out in the middle of nowhere with lots of cash on hand and no witnesses. If possible take someone with you to meet your buyer/seller.
2. Be careful using shipping. Craigslist was designed for dealing with people locally and that’s what it’s best for. If you are interested in buying an item with shipping eBay is probably a better method. That is not to say it won’t work, I have made several successful transaction buying from people in another city, however I have also been ripped off twice. My suggestion is to use Paypal if you are going to do it. Make sure they give you a tracking number. Craigslist can be a great tool, but if you are dealing with someone in another city who you have never met, there is not accountability system, and they don’t respond to your emails or won’t pick up the phone – YOU’RE STUCK!
3. There are many tools out there available for using Craigslist. You can use searching tools such as CraigsPal, SearchTempest, or Allofcraigs, which allows you to search all of Craigslist.
4. RSS Feeds are available at the bottom of every Craigslist page. You can even create a feed that is in a particular category with a specific search criteria. For instance, if you are in the cars section you can create a feed for a Ford Mustang with a specific year and even a price range. This limits the amount of auctions you will see, but it also makes sure you only see the auctions you are interested in.
5. Have Fun! Buying and selling on Craigslist can be a ton of fun. Make sure you enjoy the process, it will make your entire experience that much more rewarding!

In conclusion, Craigslist can be a great tool for buying or selling merchandise. However, if you are going to buy on Craigslist make sure you shop around, negotiate, check other cities, or place a wanted to buy listing. If your going to sell on Craigslist make sure you are specific, include pictures, sell things that make sense on Craigslist, and only accept certified funds. Leave your comments for any tips you may have that I left out!

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One of my goals for 2010 is to get in better shape and to lose weight (aren’t these everybody’s goals?). Today I took my first step towards these goals. Initially I had thought about doing the p90x workout, I didn’t (and still don’t) know much about it. I don’t own the DVD’s and I didn’t have any of the equipment your suppose to have, so in the mean time I found out about the 100 push-up challenge.

I have heard about the push-up challenge in the past, a couple of friends of mine had tried it. But it really got me thinking about it again when I saw another post about it on the Quicktofit website. After doing some more research, I found hundredpushups and read their 100 push-up challenge, you can find the complete program here. After reading their site I saw that they also have a sit-ups challenge, found here.

Reading about the sit-up and push-up challenges really struck a cord with me and I decided that I would rather do both of these challenges than the p90x. While I was They also have a logger program were you can keep track of your progress through their site. They make is easy to log-in with Facebook Connect, and if you chose, it will publish your updates as stories on your Facebook page so that your friends can do it with you.

The sit-ups challenge may be a little harder to complete, it is two hundred sit-ups! The sit-ups challenge program is found here. I really like the idea of doing both of these challenges, so tonight I signed up and did both of my initial tests. Both challenges are things I can do on my own, require no additional equipment, and will go a long way towards meeting my fitness goals.

I am really looking forward to going through this challenge and I hope that you would consider going through the challenges with me. I have signed up on the site as user parrott84 and my user number is 77923. You can even add me as your friend as we go through the challenges together.

There are two other things that I have been focusing on the past couple days. I have increased my water intake and have decreased the amount of food I am eating – especially after dinner. If you join the challenge leave your username in the comment section so we can go through the challenges together.

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The sermon at church yesterday was about materialism. The pastor brought up several points about how things get a hold of us, how we just feel this overwhelming need to have certain things. The pastor then went on to give several examples of times where he had felt the urge to purchase things different products and how they always broke or not being used. One way or another the things always let him down. This led me to reflect on my own life and the times that things have let me down. I have spent a bit of time pondering these times, so I thought I would share them with you.

Something you must know about me, I love gadgets. I worked in the cell phone industry for almost five years, so I have a weakness for the latest and greatest phones. On several occasions over the last three years I would find out about a new phone coming out and I would have to have it. I would read the reviews, watch the video’s, do my own critiques, and many times still, just have to have it. I noticed this was more so when things were going wrong. If work was stressful, family life was full of conflict, or spiritually I was going through a dry time, I would find myself more apt to feel the overwhelming NEED to have it. I just knew that if would make my life better. Have you ever had that feeling?

I have had this feeling, there have been several instances were I have spent a lot of money on cell phones trying to quench that feeling, have you ever done that? I can remember the last three phones that I purchased standing there looking at it, still gleaming with that brand new feeling. I remember setting up several of the features that I had looked forward to so much. I remember standing there looking at my phone and thinking ‘Now what?’ I had the brand new phone, I had integrated all the features that I had wanted to use, and now that I had accomplished everything I had wanted, I still had this empty/un-quenched feeling inside. It was almost as if it was a dark hole inside me, the kind that are in the movies were people fall in to but never land, and I keep trying to fill it up…Have you experienced this?

While the materialism seems to be this desire to solve life’s problems through stuff, the effects are many. Materialism can lead us into debt, increased stress in our lives, and more importantly our relationships and marriages. Materialism can also lead us to become a workaholic, and to constantly try to keep up with the Joneses. One last thing it can do, and possibly the most important, it can determine our self worth, which can be by far the most devastating. As we begin to place value on ourselves based on what we have, what we don’t have, and what someone else has. Once we base our self worth on our things, we find that we can’t ever be happy, because once we have our new cell phone, and we are standing in the store playing with it, and it’s finally yours, you realize it doesn’t mean anything. If your brand new item doesn’t mean anything, then you now don’t feel like you have much worth.

The answer to materialism is may sound obvious, it may sound simple, and it is, both. However, it’s not easy, and it’s not intended to be. The cure for materialism it total surrender and obedience to Christ. The cure calls for you to surrender your desires, goals, ambitions, and self worth to Him. He asks you to find your worth in Him, your desire for Him, and your surrender to Him. This is not an easy task, because it isn’t a task, it’s a series of choices that we make for the rest of our life. The only way this works, the only way that we can make these choices, is if we chose to find value in the same things that Christ has called us to, apart from Him, this is impossible.

What about you? How have you overcome the effects of materialism in your life?

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Here is the Daily Bible Reading Plan that I am going to be using this year. Are you up for the task? Just find the day listed by month below. If you don’t make it completely through the Bible this year, just continue on through the beginning of next year.

***UPDATE*** I have changed my reading plan to this  One Year Reading Plan at YouVersion.com, the plan is provided by Blue Letter Bible.  Note: this plan is very similar to the one found below.

January
1 Genesis 1-3; Matthew 1
2 Genesis 4-6; Matthew 2
3 Genesis 7-9; Matthew 3
4 Genesis 10-12; Matthew 4
5 Genesis 13-15; Matthew 5:1-26
6 Genesis 16-17; Matthew 5:27-48
7 Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6:1-18
8 Genesis 20-22; Matthew 6:19-34
9 Genesis 23-24; Matthew 7
10 Genesis 25-26; Matthew 8:1-17
11 Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-34
12 Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17
13 Genesis 31-32; Matthew 9:18-38
14 Genesis 33-35; Matthew 10:1-20
15 Genesis 36-38; Matthew 10:21-42
16 Genesis 39-40; Matthew 11
17 Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12:1-23
18 Genesis 43-45; Matthew 12:24-50
19 Genesis 46-48; Matthew 13:1-30
20 Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13:31-58
21 Exodus 1-3; Matthew 14:1-21
22 Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14:22-36
23 Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15:1-20
24 Exodus 9-11; Matthew 15:21-39
25 Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16
26 Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17
27 Exodus 16-18; Matthew 18:1-20
28 Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35
29 Exodus 21-22; Matthew 19
30 Exodus 23-24; Matthew 20:1-16
31 Exodus 25-26; Matthew 20:17-34
February
1 Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22
2 Exodus 29-30; Matthew 21:23-46
3 Exodus 31-33; Matthew 22:1-22
4 Exodus 34-35; Matthew 22:23-46
5 Exodus 36-38; Matthew 23:1-22
6 Exodus 39-40; Matthew 23:23-39
7 Leviticus 1-3; Matthew 24:1-28
8 Leviticus 4-5; Matthew 24:29-51
9 Leviticus 6-7; Matthew 25:1-30
10 Leviticus 8-10; Matthew 25:31-46
11 Leviticus 11-12; Matthew 26:1-25
12 Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50
13 Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75
14 Leviticus 15-16; Matthew 27:1-26
15 Leviticus 17-18; Matthew 27:27-50
16 Leviticus 19-20; Matthew 27:51-66
17 Leviticus 21-22; Matthew 28
18 Leviticus 23-24; Mark 1:1-22
19 Leviticus 25; Mark 1:23-45
20 Leviticus 26-27; Mark 2
21 Numbers 1-2; Mark 3:1-19
22 Numbers 3-4; Mark 3:20-35
23 Numbers 5-6; Mark 4:1-20
24 Numbers 7-8; Mark 4:21-41
25 Numbers 9-11; Mark 5:1-20
26 Numbers 12-14; Mark 5:21-43
27 Numbers 15-16; Mark 6:1-29
28 Numbers 17-19; Mark 6:30-56