Do You Really Know What You’re Buying?

June 22nd, 2008 by darellbruin

By Jameel Nolan Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a popular gift show in my local area. My purpose in attending this gift show was to scope out my competition and the quality of their soy candles compared to what I offer. I was truly surprised with the results of how many candle exhibitors were present and was more so surprised with the results of how well they didnt know their product. Now my results are in no way to badger the company in anyway, but to open the eyes of our consumers, the results are: Candle Exhibitor #1: This exhibitor stated that they’re soy candles were handmade. I was told that their soy candles burned great had no soot or mushroom build up and had an awesome scent throw. Well, fortunately the exhibitor had several candles burning and I notice on their candles that the wick that was chosen had a lot of mushrooming and a little bit of soot build up and no scent throw unless your nose was directly above the flame. Speaking of flame, the flame on these candles was high and had a wild burn, which can be a fire hazard. Candle Exhibitor #2: This exhibitor informed us that she handmade her candles as well, but honestly the candles appeared to be machine poured because every candle look the same and had no imperfections. When candles are handmade properly, there are imperfections that actually make the candle perfect because it gives it a unique design. With handmade candles no two are alike. My business associate was asking various questions to see if the soy wax was compatible with essential oils. This vendor kind off skated around the question and wasnt too sure. We were offered a sample of the candle where I later tested the candle. This particular votive candle was actually made using palm wax and then burned all the way down in 2 hours. Thats the fastest burning candle I have ever seen. When this vendor found out that I was a candle maker, her eyes had gotten wide and at that point wanted to end the conversation. Its interesting how one candle maker can be intimidated by another candle maker. Candle Exhibitor #3: Lastly, this exhibitor primarily advertised that their soy candles can also be used as body oil and that you can deep your finger in the candle while the candle is burning. Well, Kandle Indulgence highly suggests that you dont put her finger or anything near and open flame serious injuries can occur. Yet again, my business associate asked the question concerning essential oils and/or what type of essential oils did their company use. She kept saying the fragrances come from flowers, but the question was what type of flowers, are these essential oils? Finally, after the exhibitor couldnt fully explain the companys product and was getting caught up in lies she basically said I dont know. My question is if you make the candles why wouldnt the candle maker know where the fragrances come from and what type of fragrances is used? In the seven years that Ive been making candles I have received positive and negative feedback always concerning the scent throw of my candles and I took those negative comments and turned into positive feedback by constantly studying and researching my product also doing a lot of testing. Although other research was conducted from other exhibitors the three mentioned above sums up the most important part of a businessknow your products, business and to be honest to your consumers because you never know who you may meet. Jameel Nolan Kandle Indulgence Co. Handmade and Custom Designed Gel & Soy Wax Candles Website: http://www.kandleindulgence.com “The Creativity is within You” Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jameel_Nolan http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-You-Really-Know-What-Youre-Buying?&id=54965 a list of pay day advance loans in snellville georgia auto title personal loans in maryland faxless payday advance no fax payday loans no fax cash instant personal loan

Commoditizing Recruitment

June 19th, 2008 by darellbruin

By Paul Lalovich Few industries are poised to feel the winds of change as strongly as the Personnel Recruitment industry. A significant factor that will be a major influence on the change will be the commoditization of service brought by new technology. Compressions of service deliver time, peeling of recruitment process and industry standardization are three other chief factors with major impact on recruiting beside commoditization of service offerings. This will undoubtedly position certain players to prosper and others to suffer in this new paradigm, as globalized service practices become the norm. The prime drivers of these changes are new technologies, particularly those around the Internet. Its needless to say that the internet allowed us to achieve a degree of interconnection that has never been possible before. Todays inexpensive and reliable communications are allowing recruiters to access clients and candidates via VoIP or e-mail from any web enabled location. Physical proximity to the talent pool used to be a key advantage in the talent wars in the old days, but not any more. Outsourcing In this scenario, as you peel business processes into high and low talent pool co-location needs, the workforce needed to execute low talent pool co-location processes can be anywhere in the world. With the political storm now raging around outsourcing and off-shoring, one fact seems to be that outsourcing is inevitably the key driving force responsible for changing todays business landscape; whether we like it or not. Conventional wisdom teaches us that we should draw conclusions from IT Industry and find the way to embrace this trend. Several years ago, only very low customer co-location kind of work was sent to remote locations like software code development. With success stories building up, and wider availability of cheep communications, we are steadily moving towards the day when certain portions of recruitment process will be outsourced to more cost competitive labor markets. No one is immune, and soon enough recruiters in developed countries who have traditionally been insulated from global market forces will be faced with competition as they have never seen before: recruiting consultants from global outsourcing hot spots capable of offering comparable-quality service at perhaps a tenth the cost of their counterparts will get in the game. However, overall more likely than not, outsourcing will bring definite advantages. I am sure that most of us would appreciate help in meeting and greeting applicants so that they do not feel like their resumes have only been sucked into an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) black hole. But initial correspondence, introductory e-mails, first level of selection, test administration, preliminary interviews, only to name a few, could be purchased externally at more competitive costs than internal resources. If we disregard our feelings about major job boards and other technology based recruiting tools effectiveness for a moment, we will realize that every single recruiter who is serous about their business performance has access to those tools; and they dont come cheap. I guess where I am getting at is that recruiting technology vendors are going to be in the forefront of outsourcing and price reductions. There is no technological solution for recruiting problems, human touch is a necessity. That has to be achieved all the while cutting the cost of the service. It would be something like having a free job board like Google BASE and you would pay only for add-on services such as support call center where candidates would receive basic info about their job application status and hiring process, sort of live FAQ section. I am sure that simple Hello and thank you for applying at XYZ corp. from a live person would beat auto-reply (Dont call us well call you!!!) via e-mail any time of the day. This approach would definitely improve candidates experience and it would go a long way in building a relationship with applicants. Outsourcing will not reduce the number of jobs, it will create jobs. Since some of the functionalities of the technological recruiting solutions that were automated will have to go live. On top of everything, not since the Black Death has our society been facing the prospect of such magnitude in demographic shift as we will experience with retirement of baby boomers. This looming candidates market will put pressure on corporate world to reach for their bag of tricks in order to attract the best employees. This will just reinforce outsourcing and commoditizing of recruiting services as obvious choices. 600 hours of Candidate Sourcing & Resume Evaluation This climate in the industry will eventually call for the development of a trading platform for the job market where employees will be price tagged according to the current availability of their skill set. Basic laws of demand and offer will impact employers cost per hire more then ever. Fierce competition for top talent will also drive employers to expand their recruitment services vendor lists. The mechanics of this business approach will complete the process of commoditizing recruiting services. At that point employers will have the option to buy X hours of unbundled recruiting services from XYZ company at $X/h for run of the mill recruitment operations and, for more difficult assignments, paying premium fees for full cycle recruiting services. In order to gain buyers confidence, vendors will have to adhere to (for the sake of argument, let’s say) to ASA (American Staffing Association) standards and all employees will have to acquire CPC (Certified Placement Consultant) and AIRS designations. Outsourcing and commoditization will force the long overdue issue of standardizing the recruiting industry. Headhunters Lets step back for a moment and take a look at the things from the third party recruiters perspective. Commoditizing of recruiting services will certainly be a bad news for some. Same was the nuclear winter for dinosaurs. It is only natural that anyone who fails to evolve and adjust to a new environment will most likely perish in to obscurity. On the other hand, those embracing the changes will prosper. But third party recruiters should not look at commoditizing of recruiting services as a threat, rather as an opportunity. Peeling of the business process and outsourcing its menial components will create an increased need for recruiting experts who will provide those critical services like relationship building, negotiation, strategic evaluation and selling. That type of expertise will be available only at premium rates. Third party recruiters will improve their bottom line by taking advantage of next generation support tools and services that will be free or very inexpensive. This will enable them to focus on core aspects of recruiting process, where there is no low cost substitute. Outsourcing and commoditizing of recruiting services will certainly improve overall profitability of top performers in recruiting industry since they will be doing more business at lower overhead cost. RecruiterGenie.com Several centuries ago due to new technologies and discoveries, stock and commodities exchanges arose. Similar forces are currently inducing the commoditization of recruiting have created RecruiterGenie.com. This web based platform gives recruitment professionals and hiring managers the ability to work smarter and increase productivity. RecruiterGenie.com assists employers in the building of companies by streamlining talent acquisition through third party recruiters thus creating the trading platform for the job market we mentioned earlier. By taking an advantage of free market economics and adjusting the fee accordingly, hiring managers can control delivery turnaround time, quality of referrals and cost per hire. RecruiterGenie.com also enables third party recruiters to benefit from recruiter-to-recruiter exchanges that facilitate matching job orders and active candidates held by other recruiters within RecruiterGenie.com. By working together recruiters can increase their efficiency through building of strategic partnerships. This will ultimately result in expansion of their reach and increased quality of service. Recruiting firms and corporate recruiting departments should start thinking seriously about running their business by emulating Ciscos approach of network of alliances. The idea is to have employees responsible only for a set of core activities. Partner companies provide the rest and all parties thrive in such a model. Paul Lalovich is the Project Manager at ORIS Creative Solutions Inc. (http://www.orissolutions.ca), where his primary focus is to support his client’s efforts to build great organizations by hiring the very best employees and to teach others how to do the same. He is a personnel recruiting professional with a demonstrated ability to develop and implement recruiting strategies that support business objectives. Paul has a thorough understanding of the key recruitment success factors needed to hire top talent in a highly competitive industry. Paul’s expertise includes creative sourcing strategies, full end-to-end recruitment metrics, large account management, succession planning, and the development of recruitment solutions software. Paul specializes in contingent, retained and executive search work for the IT sector in US, Canada and Europe. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Lalovich http://EzineArticles.com/?Commoditizing-Recruitment&id=108250 payday loans with no fax in canada payday advance no fax pay day loans- washington state 1500 bad credit cash advance

Bachelor Of Arts Degrees

June 15th, 2008 by darellbruin

By Eric Morris The importance of a Bachelors degree, also called a Baccalaureate, lies in providing a foundation for a higher degree such as a Masters or PhD, and to meet the minimum requirements of some jobs and occupations. In accordance with commonly held standards in the USA, all Bachelor degrees, including Bachelor of Arts Degrees, should require the equivalent of at least four years of full-time study on a particular subject, course or major. With the advent of programs such as the Online Bachelor Degree, Accelerated Bachelor Degree, Distance Learning Bachelor Degree, full-time enrollment in a college is becoming less common. Therefore the standards for a Bachelors degree are usually expressed in terms of credits. Standard requirements of Bachelor of Arts or B.A. degree programs are a minimum of 60 quarter or 40 semester credits from four compulsory subjects: Communications, Natural Sciences/Mathematics, Humanities and Social Sciences. A minimum of 8 quarter or 5 semester credits in Communications, and a minimum of 12 quarter or 8 semester credits in each of the categories of Humanities, Social Sciences, Mathematics and Natural Sciences should be completed within the 60 quarter or 40 semester credits. The remaining general education credits should be chosen from one or more of the four compulsory categories. Introductory course work should provide diverse exposure to the concepts, principles, and substance of individual disciplines. Advanced course work should be able to provide an exhaustive investigation of the individual disciplines. Thirty per cent of the total number of credits required to complete the Bachelors degree should be made up of advanced level credits. Bachelor of Arts Degrees may be taken as a student enrolled in a college campus, or they may be taken at a distance. In theory, these ought to all conform to the minimum number of credits for the degree to be granted. Bachelors Degrees provides detailed information about bachelors degrees, accelerated bachelors degrees, bachelor of arts degrees, bachelor of science degrees and more. Bachelors Degrees is the sister site of Nursing Continuing Education Courses. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Morris http://EzineArticles.com/?Bachelor-Of-Arts-Degrees&id=137241 accounting for a personal loan for business purchase magnum payday loans i need direct links to payday lending sites bad credit personal loans uk secured

Six Ways to Decorate Your Wedding Arch

June 7th, 2008 by darellbruin

By Blake Kritzberg Sometimes a wedding arch is a no-brainer way to spruce up your ceremony site. No-brainer, at least, until you actually have one in your hands and ready to decorate. Then it gets a little more complicated. Thinking back to prom, you might recall something vaguely gauzy, but that doesn’t give you much to go on when you have that bare-looking eight foot metal structure in your living room. Plus, maybe you want an arch that doesn’t look like prom at all — and personalization is what’s going to make your wedding tick. Here are some ways to give that arch a touch of your wedding’s unique flavor. The Balloon Arch: Don’t forget this dramatic, pearly alternative to the wood or metal arch. A determined bride (or family member) can definitely do this herself; helium isn’t even required if you use PVC or can suspend microfilament from the ceiling. Just keep in mind it’s best to build the arch the day of the wedding, and essential to build it within hours of the ceremony if you use helium-filled balloons. The Classic Arch: Soften the hard bones of your arch by draping it in gauzy base material (tulle, organza) and silk garlands of ivy (or real grape vines). Now accent with a large silk bow, a pomander ball or “kissing ball” — which you can make yourself if you’re willing to use silk roses — or a traditional grouping of flowers at the top.Or for a little more oomph, use the rule of three: one flower arrangement for the top, and at least one at each base. DIY-ers are probably best off sticking to silk, or at least using potted flowers at the base. The Gothic Arch: Use a simple black arch that rises to a dramatic point and leave the lines clean and unadorned — or attach dried curly willow for a downright spooky touch. Hang an enormous floral kissing ball from the apex. The All-Floral Arch: Dripping from top to toe in greenery and roses, the all-floral arch is the kind of formal living sculpture seen in cavernous churches. The greens and blooms in this arch seem to float on air, with the flowers appearing immensely heavy (they are) and the arch insubstantial. The all-floral arch is definitely a job for the pro — grand and expensive. The Woodsy Arch: Add some unexpected texture by strapping young apple or willow branches to the sides of your arch. Or instead of a fabric or ivy base, attach garlands of ferns. The Tropical Palm Arch: Dressed entirely in palm tree fronds, the tropical arch creates a sharp, dramatic and slightly masculine silhouette. This simple but striking approach is perfect for the handy DIYer. Blake Kritzberg is editor of FavorIdeas. Stop by for continually-updated celebrity wedding news, remarkable beach wedding favors, exclusive hairstyling articles and gorgeous and unique wedding favors. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blake_Kritzberg http://EzineArticles.com/?Six-Ways-to-Decorate-Your-Wedding-Arch&id=67866 private money loans fast loan no credit personal car loan with bad credit score bad credit car loan hermiston

Use This Technique to Build Attraction within Five Minutes of Meeting a Woman

June 1st, 2008 by darellbruin

By Scott Patterson Would you consider yourself a nice guy or a ‘bad boy’? Well the answer to this question can mean all the difference when trying to attract a woman! What separates the two is their outlook on life and how to treat women. Because of this difference, the bad boy is the one who always seems to attract women and goes home with them. So what does the ‘bad boy’ do to attract a lot more woman? Well first off these guys have cultivated what is known as an ‘Alpha Male’ personality. When a guy has this type of attitude, he demonstrates a strong personality while giving off the appearance of not caring about succeeding with women. In short, they have a ‘take it or leave it’ type attitude! Before I talked about the major difference between the nice guy and bad boy. Whereas the bad boy has a strong personality, the nice guy is agreeable to everything a woman says. In essence the nice guy acts too boring and predictable. Now if you want to learn how to attract women from the moment you meet them, you have to learn how to cultivate the bad boy personality. But what if you’re a nice guy at heart and don’t know how to act this way? Well there is one technique you can use which doesn’t require you to act like too much of a jerk. All you have do is use the disconnector technique. A disconnector is a statement which purposely disagrees with a woman during a conversation. So why does it work? Well basically when you use a disconnector, you’re establishing yourself as an alpha male who isn’t afraid to go against what a woman is saying. Even if your statements create a bit of dissonance, you’ll create a bit of positive tension when you use a disconnector. Think of it this way- when you disagree with a woman, you’re demonstrating a strong and confident personality. She’ll be attracted to you because she’s probably used to nice guys who roll over and agree with everything she says. By using a disconnector you’re showing you know when to disagree and stand up for yourself. Now the important thing to remember is not be purposefully argumentative with a woman. In other words, don’t verbally attack a woman every time she opens her mouth. Instead look for topics where you have a strong opinionThen voice your opinion. If you can use a disconnector in a cocky/funny, interesting and playful manner then you’ll show that you have a strong personality. When you manage to perfect this technique, you’ll become a guy who can attract a woman within the first five minutes of meeting her. So the next time you’re in a conversation, don’t be afraid to voice your opinion. Instead use a disconnector and create some friendly tension. Want to know the secrets to seducing women? If so, take a look at Scott Patterson’s Free eBook where you’ll learn a guaranteed step-by-step system for approaching, attracting and seducing ANY woman. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Patterson http://EzineArticles.com/?Use-This-Technique-to-Build-Attraction-within-Five-Minutes-of-Meeting-a-Woman&id=478647 the last pay day paycheck advancement loans oklahoma minority sba loan guarantees picture of paycheck

Increase Sales With Targeted Marketing

May 29th, 2008 by darellbruin

By Sherif Ramadan Marketing is by no means a small game, and marketing your small business to big success will require some dire attention to detail. A hefty amount of work goes solely into marketing an organization’s goods and services each year. Billions are spent on things like advertising, promotions, consumer surveys, and quality control to assure the thorough-put of an organization’s reach to its most valuable asset - the consumer. The sunny side of this road is that we have come a long way in understanding the bridges between attracting consumers and making sales. This allows for a small business to learn from the previous failures and successes of its competitors. Outsourcing through more adept organizations, who are fervent in turning up qualitative and quantitative statistical research, is then a luxury to your small business. Many of those going into business for the first time tend to believe that the more people they market to, the more sales they’re bound to make. While this may only seem logical to the average mind it is quite far from the truth in the world of small business marketing. You shouldn’t try to compare your small business with that of a multi-billion-dollar corporation like Coca-Cola where, to them, everyone is considered a potential customer. For your small business to grow and make a name for itself you will need to do the opposite. This means eliminating unnecessary marketing expenses on those groups of people who are not very likely to benefit your small business. Finding Your Target Market You need to become successful in your marketing efforts and drive up your sales, without incurring additional expenses or furthering your business in debt. That requires finding your target market. A target market is a well defined set of present and potential customers that your small business attempts to satisfy. You will need to identify your target market and focus all of your marketing energy on that specific group. There are a number of analytical approaches to understanding and refining your target market depending, of course, on your product and business. However, it is important to be creative and open-minded when seeking out your target market. Many aspects of a target market may seem vague and obscured, at first, to the inexperienced marketer. In defining your target market you will need to create what is called a marketing mix. The marketing mix combines the four variables - product, place, promotion and price - that are controlled by your business, and uses them in a manner which aims to satisfy your target market. The product variable is made up of all the qualities that are perceived by the customer from your product and have the potential of satisfying their wants. The place variable determines time, place, and possession value. This means distributing the right product to the right place, at the right time, and in the right quantities. The promotion variable focuses on communication between the marketer and the customer. Is your message getting across to your target customers effectively? If so, how are they reacting and how fast? These are important variables to note when effectively trying to promote your product. Finally, the price variable notes the amount of money or resources your business seeks from the buyer in exchange for the goods or services being sold. All four of these variables are what make up your entire marketing mix and must be coordinated and developed so that they may both satisfy your market and result in a profit for your small business. Furthermore, you will need to understand the relevance of dividing your market in order to pursue effective targeted marketing for your small business. This is what we call Market Segmentation’. Every market can be segmented into a number of categories and subcategories. A few basic market segmentations, for example, would be geographic, demographic, psychographic, and product-related segmentation. The primary objective here is to identify all of the characteristics or traits your most promising customers have in common so that you may harness all of your business efforts on reaching those particular customers. This will involve nitpicking through the market and finding a market segment, or a smaller group of people or firms, that exists within a larger market and whose wants are currently not being filled by products already on the market. The Mass Market Strategy The mass market strategy assumes the target market to be any potential buyer of brands in a product category and offers a single marketing mix. The mass marketing strategy has been used by such large corporations as Ford, for example, even in the early 20th century to retain low production and distribution costs. Henry Ford offered only one marketing mix for all car buyers with the Model T automobile, which enabled him to become the lowest-cost mass producer of cars. Times have changed though and today’s consumers are more demanding and expectant than ever. Pursuing a mass market strategy proves unreeling to the ill-capitalized firm. Mass marketing draws a great deal of risk and uncertainty when inexperienced or underprivileged. Market Segmentation As your small business begins to better understand its market, it will become second nature to practice market segmentation. Offering one or more marketing mixes to just one segment of a market might prove more resourceful than trying to conquer the entire market share. In this case, agility becomes the tradeoff to muscle. Markets are often segmented based on geography. Geographic segmentation divides a mass market into such units as regions, nations, states, cities, and districts. For example, your small business may choose to target the sunny Florida state differently from the windy city of Chicago due to the climate for which their geographic locations afford them. This may result in two different market segments for a product category that holds a market in both geographic segments. Just as more stringent emissions laws in California cause auto makers to provide for a different market segment from the rest of the country, your small business too will become overpowered by geographic segmentation for all sorts of reasons. Markets are also segmented on the basis of demographic variables. Demographic segmentation pertains to statistical data as in age, gender, race, nationality, education, occupation, and purchasing power. Your products can not only be marketed depending on where a potential buyer is situated, but also based on who they are and to what they are associated with. Power drinks are targeted mainly to athletes and male fitness fanatics. Apple computers target the youthful and creative individual. Centrum Silver vitamins are targeted to people over the age of fifty. The demographic classifications of your target market can go miles long and stories high or they can be short and resolute depending on how well you know your product and market. Psychographic segmentation zeros in on social class, personality, and life-style. For example, the Oprah Winfrey show targets independent women. Harpo productions has committed a great deal of its marketing efforts in various psychographic segments by empowering female opinion. Also, the Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada caters to the high-roller gambler’s life-style. These market segmentations are subject to a great deal of scrutiny, however, and it can be hard to clearly predict the scope of a psychographic market segment. A firm may also divide a mass market based on the consumer’s amount of usage of a product or service, the type of usage involved, and what benefits the consumer is looking for. This is called Product-Related segmentation. For example Google AdWords, targets the direct marketer or low-budget small businesses looking to gain global, national, or even regional exposure for their business with the flexibility of controlling how much or how little they spend. Once you have clearly understood your target market and begun the process of eliminating unnecessary marketing expenses on groups or individuals outside the scope of your target market, you will inevitably see a much higher return on your investment and long-term growth in your business. Targeted marketing increases the chances of your small business for channeling more spectators into buyers. If you’re starting a small business and wish to learn more about small business startup, visit the Business-Geek.com website to find affordable small business services. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherif_Ramadan http://EzineArticles.com/?Increase-Sales-With-Targeted-Marketing&id=508312 low payment cash loans with no fax or credit check online payday alliance personal loans malta cash advance new york

Teaching Biblical Meditation

May 26th, 2008 by darellbruin

By Rebecca Livermore Glassy stares, monotonous chants, and the fragrance of burning incensethese are images that often come to mind when we hear the word meditation. Such negative associations have discouraged many from pursuing something the Bible exhorts us to do. If you’d like to teach the person you’re discipling how to meditate on Scripture, here are a few things to keep in mind. Benefits. Teach the scriptural benefits of meditation on God’s Word: success and prosperity (Josh. 1:8), fruitfulness (Ps. 1:13), joy (Ps. 63:16), victory over sin (Ps. 119:11), and wisdom and insight (Ps. 119:9899). Uniqueness. Point out the fundamental difference between biblical meditation and the meditation associated with Eastern mysticism. The latter entails emptying the mind. Biblical meditation involves filling the mind with scriptures that point to God. Logistics. Encourage them to find a set time to meditateduring morning quiet times, perhaps, or when drifting off to sleep at night. Make sure they start smalljust a minute or two in the beginning, then a gradual increase. Preparation. Teach them that meditation begins with asking God to guard their hearts and minds from any images that are not from Him. Confession and repentance of known sins should follow. To rein in wandering minds, they should ask God to help them focus on Him and His Word. Example. Make quiet reflection a part of the time you spend with the person you’re discipling. This will encourage the disciple who is hesitant to try meditation on his or her own. Method. Some people find it helpful to write a verse in their own words. Others use Scripture songs as springboards to meditation. In her book From the Heart of a Woman (NavPress, out of print), Carole Mayhall suggests using the letters AEIOU for systematic meditation. For example, if you were meditating on the verse “The Lord is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1), you would: Ask questions. (What is the function of a shepherd? In what way is the Lord my shepherd?) Emphasize words. (The Lord is my shepherd. Not a Lord, but the Lordthe only true God.) Illustrate. (Draw a picture of the verse or link it with a story you’ve heard.) Other scriptures. (What else does the Bible say about this?) Use. (How can I apply this verse to my life?) 2006 by Rebecca Livermore, a Christian speaker and writer from Denver, Colorado. Her passion is helping people grow spiritually. To read more of her articles on Christian living, and to check out her always growing selection of Christian resource materials, visit http://www.rebeccalivermore.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Livermore http://EzineArticles.com/?Teaching-Biblical-Meditation&id=320228 personal loan bad credit credit union payday yes credit card no credit check paycheck stub software

Anniversary Gifts - Forty-First Anniversary

May 9th, 2008 by darellbruin

By Michael Russell You may have lived through 40 anniversaries before this, but you have yet to see an anniversary gift anything like the one that you’re going to have to get for your forty-first anniversary. Most likely, the person who came up with this gem of an idea didn’t think anybody would be married long enough to have to actually go out and get it. What exactly is it? It’s something that you walk on everyday. It’s called land. No, you’re not seeing things and that’s not a typo. The modern day anniversary gift idea for anniversary number 40 is land. Now, you can take this as literally or as figuratively as you like, but the bottom line is this. When your spouse opens up his or her gift, there had better be some kind of terra firma attached to it. Okay, if you’re stumped as to what to get, you’re not alone. Hopefully, however, we can give you a couple of decent ideas, even if they are going to cost a pretty penny. The obvious thing to do is to literally go out there and get some land. No, you don’t have to get a lot big enough to put a baseball stadium in but it should at least be large enough to put up a little shack and have a small backyard to sit in during the summer. Yes, we’re talking about thousands of dollars. Hopefully though, by this time, you’ve saved up enough money and have paid off your mortgage that it won’t be too much of a hardship. Plus, imagine the surprise on your spouse’s face when you hand over the deed. For those of you who are right now laughing at the idea of getting a large chunk of land, there are alternatives. What you could do is buy the land with the intention of selling it and making a profit. Even if you have to take out a second mortgage to do this you’ll be able to pay that mortgage off as soon as the land is sold and still have some nice pocket change to play with in your golden years. For those of you who are still laughing, albeit not as hard as before, there are still other alternatives. What you could do is go to the back yard and dig up some dirt. Place it in a pot, get a plant or something that can grow in the dirt and plant it. Even some seeds will do fine. This way you can give your spouse a home made potted plant. Technically, it is land, though a bit of a stretch. One other thing you can do is simply add to the land that you already have. Ladies, does your husband like to play golf? Do you have a back yard? Why not put a putting green in the back yard? He will absolutely love you for it. Yes, it’s a lot of money and a big job but it’s something that you can both do together. At least it’s something to think about. Hey, I didn’t say getting an anniversary gift for this year was going to be easy. Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Anniversary Gifts Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell http://EzineArticles.com/?Anniversary-Gifts—Forty-First-Anniversary&id=306365 western union payday loans personal loans for 10 years payday cash link payday loan washington dc

What Gospel Did the Apostle Paul Preach?

May 1st, 2008 by darellbruin

By Alan D Campbell What gospel or good news did the apostle Paul preach? Jesus Christ came preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14). Did the apostle Paul preach a different gospel from the one that Jesus Christ preached? Here is what Paul’s companion Luke, the author of the book of Acts says that Paul preached as recorded in Acts 28:30-31: “30And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, “31Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” (KJV) Yes, the apostle Paul preached the same gospel or good news that Jesus Christ preached–the Kingdom of God. Paul preached the good news of the Kingdom of God, to all that came unto him while he was under house arrest by the Roman Empire. He also taught about the things he had learned from Jesus Christ. In I Corinthians 15:1, the apostle Paul is reminding the Church of God at Corinth of the gospel he had taught them with special emphasis on the resurrection of the dead. In verses 24 and 25, he describes how Christ will eventually deliver the Kingdom of God to the Father: 24Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” (KJV) Yes, Paul did not preach a different gospel from the one that Jesus Christ preached. They preached the same gospel, the gospel or good news of the Kingdom of God. Alan D. Campbell lives in Brandon, Florida. For more good news, please see his blog The Good News of the Kingdom of God at http://goodnewsofthekingdomofgod.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_D_Campbell http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Gospel-Did-the-Apostle-Paul-Preach?&id=183808 family bad credit crisis debt credit repair truth 1977 fair credit reporting act free credit report experian transunion

Winning Ways Of Waxing For Hair Removal

April 28th, 2008 by darellbruin

By Kathy Hammond Waxing is a popular hair removal process for both males and females these days. It’s a method that can be done at your convenience in your home or by a professional at select salons and spas. Depending on your particular skin, hair type and rate of hair growth, waxing has been known to provide smooth results as long as 3-8 weeks and is suggested as the longest lasting temporary hair removal method. While there are people who say this method of hair removal is not as painful as it sounds, basically, the waxing solution wraps around the hair and then is pulled. Pulling the hair and its roots out. If you’re concerned about pain, you can purchase a pain reducing gel or anesthetic numbing spray from your pharmacist, which needs to be applied thirty to sixty minutes before waxing. And if you have problems with acne, avoid any type of waxing until your skin is clear. If you’re not totally committed to following through the waxing process, no matter how much it hurts, you may just want to go to a salon and let a professional do it for you. But be aware that waxing at a salon can get pretty pricey, especially if you want to remove hair from large areas. Just to give you an idea, usually it’s about twenty five dollars for bikini line hair removal. Today, there are several kinds of waxing hair removal products available - With warm waxing being the most often used. Cold wax comes in a paste or gel that isn’t heated before applying it to the skin. Getting the wax from the container and controlling the thickness to the skin is what makes most cold waxes so messy. It’s not quite as effective and less preferred than a warm wax. But if you have sensitive skin, a cold wax causes less skin irritations. If you choose to use a waxing hair removal product at home, read all instructions that come with your kit carefully. Always test a small area of skin for sensitivity or an allergic reaction. Your hair needs to be a little bit long, about an 1/8″, for the best results with this type of hair removal product. So if your hairs are longer, trim them down. If shorter, allow them to grow in a bit. With this method of hair removal, you don’t want to bathe beforehand. Hair absorbs moisture which makes it soft and harder for the wax to adhere to. Dry hair is tough and/so easier to pull off. Lightly powder your skin to absorb moisture and natural oils. This will keep hairs easier to pull, which will limit inflammation. Some people exfoliate the area before waxing to remove dead skin cells that can contribute to ingrown hairs. Do not overheat the wax. You don’t want to burn your skin. Lower the temperature of the wax for facial hair and only use it on one small area at a time. The consistency of the wax should be soft, not runny. Hair removal by waxing can break the hair, which is a main cause of ingrown hairs. To avoid ingrown hairs, apply a thin layer of wax in the direction the hair grows. If you’re using a strip over the wax, rub it in the same direction. Leave about one third of the strip free so you can get a good grip for pulling it off fast. Pull your skin taut and then pull the strip back, not up or out, in one smooth movement. Don’t be timid - Slight pulls will only leave patchy areas as well as cause more pain. After waxing, remove any excess wax with a warm moist towel, being careful not to touch the skin with your hands, which might cause an infection. When skin is freshly waxed, limit creating ingrown hairs and other skin irritations by not wearing tight clothing around the area. Another way to limit severe skin problems after using a waxing hair removal product is to exfoliate the skin one to two days later. This will help prevent dead skin cells from building up. Be careful not to expose the newly waxed area to the sun for at least forty eight hours or the skin may darken, but not in a good way. And always use a good sun blocker thereafter. Be aware - Using a waxing hair removal product usually leaves a redness, so if you’re doing it for a special occasion, do it a couple of days beforehand. Now, if you decide waxing may not be for you, there are alternatives. Do some research and you’ll find other hair removal products that are not quite as, uh, “intense”. Bodworx International presents hair removal product tips and the latest data for removing hair from your entire body. Visit them at their hair removal product website at http://www.a1-hair-removal-product.com for more information. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Hammond http://EzineArticles.com/?Winning-Ways-Of-Waxing-For-Hair-Removal&id=122408 unsecured loans for bad credit how to build credit score house finance for bad credit online credit report dispute process