Well, in my post a couple days ago (here), I posted the 10 Commandments as given to us by God in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:2-17[show]Exodus 20:2-17
[2]"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
[3]"You shall have no other gods before(1) me.
[4]"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [5]You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, [6]but showing steadfast love to thousands(2) of those who love me and keep my commandments.
[7]"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
[8]"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9]Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10]but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [11]For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
[12]"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
[13]"You shall not murder.(3)
[14]"You shall not commit adultery.
[15]"You shall not steal.
[16]"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
[17]"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's." (ESV)
Footnotes
1. [20:3] Or 'besides'
2. [20:6] Or 'to the thousandth generation'
3. [20:13] The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
), and made reference under the 3rd Commandment (Exodus 20:8-10[show]Exodus 20:8-10
[8]"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9]Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10]but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. (ESV) ) about some issues I was having at work.
Today those issues blew up in my face (so to say). Our week at Crisp’s Dairy Treat (where I am cook, Ice Cream Man, Cleaner with the rest of the crew) goes from Thursday through Wednesday, and we get our schedules for the next week late on Wednesday. Today we got our schedule for tomorrow through next Wednesday. Each Monday, before 16:30 hours (4:30PM), we are required to post a note stating what time we need off. We do this weekly for the next weeks schedule.
At my interview, I informed the owners (Crisp be their last name) that I was a very devout Christian and that I tried to live by the Bible and Christian faith, which includes the aforementioned 3rd Commandment (as well as the rest), and that I also went to Church from 9 to 12 each Sunday (first to a Catholic Church, then to my wife’s Nazarene Church), but IF I had to, I could work in the evenings if really needed. Each Monday I turn in a note stating that I am requesting off Sunday for Religious beliefs and Religious reasons. So far, I had gotten them off.
Not this coming week. I work Sunday day… This does not have me happy and is against my belief system. I was told by Mr. Crisp that today’s society doesn’t allow for “not working on Sunday”. My response is, “that’s why there are problems in today’s society”. I was further told that he had wanted Sundays off for years after he converted to Christianity but that his company laughed at him and made him work on Sundays. This is a bad reason to make others work on Sunday if it is against their beliefs. (And what gets me is he is a Nazarene which is a Church that is trying to take their people back to Christ in a very pure way, and their by-laws very clear state, on page 41 of their manual dated 2005-2009, section 27.2.2 “Profaning of the Lord’s Day by participation in unnecessary secular activities, thereby indulging in practices that deny it’s sanctity.”) Mr. Crisp further went on to say that they stayed open because his son, who owns part of the business needed the money to pay off debt and Sunday was a busy day so they were going to stay open for that day.
Now, if I were Jewish or Muslim (and the day was Saturday) and I was told I had to work, there would be recourse. I feel that right now there is no recourse. Why is that?
I REALLY feel that I should not be made to work Sunday days. (Or evenings, but will give him that per our agreement at our initial interview.) I REALLY feel it is God’s wish that we not be working on the Sabbath, and I very much want to follow his ways.
Not that anyone was looking at it, I took down the E-Commerce store here that allowed you to buy Watkins products from me. The software was VERY buggy, and those bugs were pretty serious in many cases. If you are interested in great personal and house care product and/or great spices and flavorings, please go to http://www.watkinsonline.com and use my Associate ID of 335373 for your order. You will love the products!!
This past few weeks I have been looking at my actions, and how I profess my faith to the outside world… To be a Christian, one must accept God and His Son, Jesus into their heart and follow the Commandments of God (Exodus 20:2-17[show]Exodus 20:2-17
[2]"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
[3]"You shall have no other gods before(1) me.
[4]"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [5]You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, [6]but showing steadfast love to thousands(2) of those who love me and keep my commandments.
[7]"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
[8]"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9]Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10]but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [11]For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
[12]"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
[13]"You shall not murder.(3)
[14]"You shall not commit adultery.
[15]"You shall not steal.
[16]"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
[17]"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's." (ESV)
Footnotes
1. [20:3] Or 'besides'
2. [20:6] Or 'to the thousandth generation'
3. [20:13] The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
being the Commandments). The rules of faith are simple:
1. I am the Lord your God, you shall not have strange gods before me.
This one seems pretty easy to do. And for me it has been.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Again, this one is easy for me.
3. Keep the Sabbath (Sunday for Christians people, Saturday for Jewish people) holy.
This one goes on to say “No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you”. This commandment is proving hard for me these past few months. For the past few months I have been working at a place that is ran by Christians, but is open on Sundays and expects everyone (but them) to be there if scheduled to work. When I interviewed, I said that I was a devout Christian, and could not work on Sundays. So far, they haven’t made me do so, but this past week I was originally put on the schedule for Sunday, God intervened and changed it to another day.
It appears that many people that claim to be Christian do not take this part of their faith to heart, as there are way too many businesses open for business on Sundays (or Saturdays). I would be VERY happy to work Monday through Saturday, forgo over time pay, getting straight hourly pay, but I would like to be off from 0000 Sunday morning until 0000 Monday morning. It is part of my faith (and that of many of the employers out there!), and something I should be allowed to follow!?
4. Honor your father and mother.
This one I have not followed to well for the past 40ish years. (And I’m only 47 as I type this!!) I am working on honoring my parents better and trying to mend fences with them and become better with the whole family. Pray for me on this one!
5. You shall not kill.
Easy for me, I have no desire to kill anyone!
6. You should not commit adultery.
Not a problem for me. Many people fail in this area, and I have in the past, I have come to understand this commandment better, and have fixed this part of my life! May God forgive me for my past!
7. Do not steal.
Not a problem for me. Many people fail in this area, and I have in the past and have felt bad each time I did, often finding a way to pay for what I stole after the fact, I have come to understand this commandment better, and have fixed this part of my life! May God forgive me for my past!
8. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
I have some issues of not telling the whole truth, but endeavor to always tell the truth or try not to talk. I pray on this one daily!
9. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife.
Easy for me.
10. Do not covet your neighbor’s goods.
This one is hard as I like things I see and often want what others have. I need to go back to the time I began my Postulate stage with the Brothers and Sisters of Reconciliation and re-purge my items, keeping only what I need for day to day life and for work. I pray on this one daily as well.
And the 11th “new” commandment that Jesus gave us:
11. Love one another as I have loved you.
This one is hard for me. There are many people out there that do things or behave in such a way that it makes me hard to love them. This one I really need to dig down inside myself, trust in God and love everyone. Easier said than done though…
It is with sad heart that I announce the passing of David Carradine:
David Carradine
Mr. Carradine was, to me, a great actor and he became a great Martial Artist over the years as well. I enjoyed his TV series, movies and shows that he did. He was a key player in people going into martial arts in the 1970s as well.
Yesterday I posted on becoming a Watkins Associate. Today I will point you (since I forgot to yesterday) to a web site that will give you some information about being a Watkins Associate under me. Please click this link.
Watkins can be a great residual income stream if you run it right, and with as little or as much time as you want to spend on it. Granted, you get more if you spend more time.
You never need to store products, and, if you follow the Summit Group’s success, you basically spend your time USING those Watkins products you like, and sharing the concept of buying form yourself to others, who do the same once they join, use the products, and share the business opportunity with others. Each person that does this builds a VERY solid residual income.
As our economy continues to be pretty weak, and many people are without a job, it is time to look at history and see what one can do to make their life better and to help bring money in.
Over the last several years, I have have occasionally talked about working for yourself. Several years ago TDBell Enterprises, Inc, my company became a Watkins Independent Associate and opened that portion of my business. When I actively worked it, I had over 200 down line Associates (people under me) and had made Manager. I allowed life to get in my way and I pretty much let the business tank. I now have 25 Associates under me as I have not sponsored, or worked the business for almost 3 years for the most part.
First, what is Watkins? Watkins is a 141 year old Direct Sales company that can say they are the start of the Network Marketing system! Watkins is best known for their spices, especially their pepper and cinnamon, and their vanilla extracts!
Now, when I say Network Marketing, over half of you readers will probably run away screaming, and some of you may never come back. I hope not, I only have a couple of Readers! But, Network Marketing is not all bad folks. And this one is not a get rich quick scheme either. It takes time and patience, and a like of the products. Speaking of the products, with few exceptions, and there have been a couple of exceptions, the products are pretty dang good, and in most cases, they are “green” products (as the company is).
After some heavy review of my life and where I am in life, I have decided to get back fully into the Watkins business again. What does this mean? This means that I am looking for any of you that are interested in building a side income from using and selling great products as well as in building your own team of Independent Sales Associates.
I am going to add the next four people I sponsor into Watkins directly under me, and then as I sponsor more people into Watkins I will be placing the new people under these four and two others I already have directly under me. In doing this I build my team and yours, so one in every 6 people that I sponsor (and I use to be good at this, and am betting that I still am!) will end up on your direct team (which is still part of my team, so it is a win win situation), growing your team and your income levels.
Now, what does being an Associate entail? Well, first and foremost, it means you should be buying the spices, personal and home care products that Watkins has from yourself instead of the store down the road. This is the first step. You get a 25-39% discount of the listed prices up front. Next, you should begin selling product to others, via the catalog or on line (http://www.watkinsonline.com/ Associate 335373 if you just want to buy some product from me now to check it out, or if you want to see what is available), in which you get 25-39% commission, paid monthly if purchased on line, 25% paid immediately if your customer buys directly from you (you may be eligible for the remaining up to 14% more which will be paid monthly).
Now, to begin making even more money, you start sponsoring more people under you. Now, keep in mind, that I will be helping you build your down line, but you still need to do the same thing. As you build your team of self users and sellers, your total volume goes up and you make more money. Your goal is to have at least six people directly under you that each have at least six people directly under you that have at least six … and on.
Now, this can take some time. I had over 200 people under me in under two years, some of which I sponsored, and some of which others that I sponsored sponsored, and those sponsored, etc. *** NOTICE *** This is not typical for all teams. *** NOTICE *** It takes work, I worked about 30 hours a week on my Watkins business some weeks, 10 other, and 40 other weeks. It takes USING THE PRODUCTS! Which means it will take some money! Now, this money comes from not buying the same product types from your local store, and redirecting that money to “your own store”. Now, this can be a slow build up or a fast build up. YOU get to set the speed in which you build your business, income, and team.
If you are not interested in being an Associate, I would very much like it if you went to http://www.watkinsonline.com using Associate ID 335373 and check out the products and potentially buy some. For those that do I will send a $10.00 gift certificate on your next order, provided you spend at least $10.00 in the first order, excluding taxes/S&H.
Watkins is a long living, successful company based on Christian principles and one that can help you in making your ends meet.
If you would like to talk about it feel free to drop me a line here, or send me an email. (Drop me a line here, and I will send you my email address.)
One thing I like about the Catholic Church is that you can go to any Church, anywhere in the world on the same day and hear the same readings from the Bible. If you go to Mass every day of the year, you will have been read the Bible pretty much completely through.
One of the things that has been foremost on my mind for about three years, is the number of Christian based religions that all say they are the true Christian Church, yet most of them are less than 500 years old. The oldest Christian Church is the Catholic, or Universal Church. This Church has stated that it wants to bring all the Christian Churches “back home”, yet does many things to stop that from happening, based on comments, actions, and in some cases doctrine. (Priest not being able to marry being one such doctrine that has many outsiders, and some insiders not happy.)
Today’s Gospel reading is John 10:11-18[show]John 10:11-18
[11]I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12]He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13]He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14]I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15]just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16]And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. [17]For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. [18]No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father." (ESV) , which points even harder to merging the Christian Churches back into one Church, specifically: 16: “…and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
Actually many of my readings of late keep pointing to the need for the Christian Churches to merge again and become one in Christ, with one Shepherd.
From the Angel's Blackboard: The Best of Fulton J. Sheen
Author: Fulton J. Sheen
Rating: 3
Review: The message of Bishop Sheen continues to be that the Lord, Jesus Christ, will take you into His love provided you ask Him to, and that you devote your life to Him. This doesn't mean giving up your job, spouse, family, etc. Bishop Sheen tells us that you get to keep all that, but that you have to give up all aspects of sin. He talks about how to do that, and how not to do that, and he talks about the great love of God in the Trinity. This book got a low rating for only one reason. The first half of the book was a repeat of what was post in "The Electronic Christian" (by Bishop Sheen), but in an abridged and re-written form. The second half was "new" content, but I'm betting abridged and re-written as well.
Go in Peace: A Gift of Enduring Love
Author: John Paul II
Rating: 5
Review: This book is a must read for any "born again" Catholic/Christian, and for ANY Christian! Pope John Paul II's words are very awe inspiring and take you to the quick. He's review of Christianity is refreshing and open. The book is well written, easy to read, and very enlightning.
Hail, Holy Queen
Author: Scott Hahn
Rating: 2
Review: While the book was badly written it did have a great message imbedded in it. It may be hard for some to find though. Over all I guess everyone should try to read it, but should understand upon picking the book up it was written by a Theologian, and it is written like he is writing to other Theologians.
), and made reference under the 3rd Commandment (Exodus 20:8-10 [show]Exodus 20:8-10
[8]"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9]Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10]but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. (ESV)
But, Network Marketing is not all bad folks. And this one is not a get rich quick scheme either. It takes time and patience, and a like of the products. Speaking of the products, with few exceptions, and there have been a couple of exceptions, the products are pretty dang good, and in most cases, they are “green” products (as the company is).
