The Real Boss
September 6, 2010
Source: City Lights
 |
| Photo: Tom Denham |
The winner of the “worst boss in America” title was an unnamed New York dentist who had so many appointments cancelled following 9/11, that he deducted $100 from each of his employees paychecks to offset his lost income!
It would be pretty difficult to top that, but I’m sure each of us who has worked for any length of time has a “worst boss” story of our own to tell. When I was 21, I was hired as a waitress to serve food and beverages for the lunch crowd at a trendy café. I thought I was doing a good job but to my astonishment I was given my walking papers one day, out of the blue. When I tearfully inquired of my manager the reason for my termination, she flatly told me, “You hold the menu too close to your face when you are taking customer’s orders!”
How about the best boss; have you had one of them? One stands out in my mind, as well. When my mother was dying of cancer, he told me, “Take as much time off as you need; your job will be waiting for you when this is over.” For four months (with my bosses blessing) I worked only a couple of hours a day so I could take care of Mom.
Appreciated
When we have a great boss, it is not difficult to excel in our work, do our very best and go over and above the call of duty. We know we are appreciated and that motivates us. But when we have a lousy boss, it is so easy to slip into a mode of retaliation, slacking off, talking negatively, complaining and generally not doing our best.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul has some advice to help us with this tendency. He told some slaves, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).
Perhaps you are struggling just now, under a boss that is unreasonable, unkind, demanding or ungrateful. Your good efforts are not being appreciated. Keep in mind that earthly bosses come and go. But your real Boss is the King of Kings, the Creator of the Universe. In whatever work you do this day, do it to your very best. God sees and will reward you one day. Remember, it is the Lord Christ you are serving.
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By Kathy A. Lewis. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=1118
Second Life
August 30, 2010
Source: City Lights
 |
| Photo: Rodolfo Clix |
At secondlife.com one can attain, procure, and become whatever they choose. Members can take on the life of another being called an avatar, and choose the persona of their choice. Have you ever wanted to be a movie star, enjoying the accolades of adoring fans? You can put that fantasy into action on secondlife.com. Or how about becoming a world renowned adventurer that scuba dives, snowboards, and kayaks down whitewater rapids? It’s all possible on second life.
Members can own various sized chunks of property for their avatars to traverse, and thousands of fantasy junkies are having specially designed clothing, homes, and vehicles created for their cyber world “being” to use and enjoy.
Digital Utopia
Laugh if you want to, but millions in real currency is being funneled into the addictive lifestyle of creating and owning a digital utopia. Hard earned cash is being laid out by “second lifers” for new avatars, cyber real estate, homes, wardrobes, accessories, and even digital family members. This world is only limited by one’s imagination.
Secondlife.com is quickly growing to be the next big thing in real life entertainment. Thousands upon thousands of people all over the globe are turning off the television, and turning on their second life; a life where they are in control of everything.
There’s only one glaring glitch in the entire system as near as I can tell. When one is finished fantasizing for the day, they still have to go back to the real life; where bills need to be paid, and work needs to be done. There’s no getting around it; we can fantasize all we want about having a better life, but in the real world, it’s not for sale.
There is no second life here, but there is an opportunity to have a life that’s better by turning it over to the one who created us, and who ultimately knows what makes us happy. Jesus said it best:
“…I came so they could can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10).
By putting our Creator in charge of our real lives, perhaps the need to have another, better life would not exist. Come to think of it, if more people did that in the first place, secondlife.com would be an unpopulated planet.
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By Michael Temple. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the THE MESSAGE / REMIX ®.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=1073
Should You Commute?
August 23, 2010
Source: City Lights
 |
| Photo: Jenny Erickson |
The number of Americans spending 90 minutes or more commuting to work each day has nearly doubled in the last decade. About 9.4 million leave for work between 5 and 6 a.m. each morning. The average commute is 24 minutes each way.
The automobile is the key to all this going to and fro. Some 97 million Americans–up from 62 million 25 years ago–drive to work and back all alone in their cars. The number who carpool has actually dropped from 19 million to 16 million. Only 10 million walk or use mass transit. Consequently, the number of meals that American eat in the car while driving has more than doubled over the same period.
The cities with the largest numbers of long-distance commuters include Baltimore, New York, Newark, Riverside (Calif.), Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Miami. All of these are among America’s largest metropolitan areas.
Pressing Questions
With the current upsurge in gasoline prices, concerns about dependence on foreign oil and the out-of-control price of cars, one has to ask, Why do people do it? Is it worth all this commuting?
Better pay and benefits, better opportunities for career advancement, and the lack of work closer to home were the reasons most often cited in two recent studies in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC–by two-thirds of the commuters interviewed. Only 12% said they found their commute relaxing and only 8% claimed that the cost of living was lower where they lived, although 45% indicated that they already lived in their current home in the suburbs when they took their current job.
How much are you willing to give up in time and detachment from your family and neighbors in order to get ahead in your career and earnings? That is the real trade-off when people choose the commuter life. What do these choices reveal about suburban values?
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Center for Metropolitan Ministries. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=703
Should You Commute?
August 23, 2010
Source: City Lights
|
| Photo: Jenny Erickson |
The number of Americans spending 90 minutes or more commuting to work each day has nearly doubled in the last decade. About 9.4 million leave for work between 5 and 6 a.m. each morning. The average commute is 24 minutes each way.
The automobile is the key to all this going to and fro. Some 97 million Americans–up from 62 million 25 years ago–drive to work and back all alone in their cars. The number who carpool has actually dropped from 19 million to 16 million. Only 10 million walk or use mass transit. Consequently, the number of meals that American eat in the car while driving has more than doubled over the same period.
The cities with the largest numbers of long-distance commuters include Baltimore, New York, Newark, Riverside (Calif.), Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Miami. All of these are among America’s largest metropolitan areas.
Pressing Questions
With the current upsurge in gasoline prices, concerns about dependence on foreign oil and the out-of-control price of cars, one has to ask, Why do people do it? Is it worth all this commuting?
Better pay and benefits, better opportunities for career advancement, and the lack of work closer to home were the reasons most often cited in two recent studies in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC–by two-thirds of the commuters interviewed. Only 12% said they found their commute relaxing and only 8% claimed that the cost of living was lower where they lived, although 45% indicated that they already lived in their current home in the suburbs when they took their current job.
How much are you willing to give up in time and detachment from your family and neighbors in order to get ahead in your career and earnings? That is the real trade-off when people choose the commuter life. What do these choices reveal about suburban values?
Respond to this article View Reader Comments______________________________
Center for Metropolitan Ministries. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=703
The Layoff
August 16, 2010
Source: City Lights
 |
| Photo: Tamer Tatlici |
“A layoff is coming!” the walls seemed to shriek. The tense faces of management coupled with their whispered conversations convinced us it was true. At lunch time, I updated my resume.
It was 1998 and the bottom had fallen out of the computer chip market. Three upper level managers had suddenly been given their walking papers. The rest of the manufacturing plant waited for the other shoe to drop. And drop it did.
I well remember the date it happened – December 4, 1998, three weeks before Christmas! Managers began calling their subordinates into their offices one by one. Fifteen minutes later they filed out faces ashen, hands trembling.
Numbly, they returned to their desks and began loading photographs, plants and other mementos into cardboard boxes which they carried to their cars. Some were crying, others were angry but most were in shock.
A company layoff is similar to the death of a loved one with a terminal illness. You know it is coming but it always catches you off guard.
One hundred of us lost our jobs that day. “Three weeks before Christmas!” we kept moaning to each other as we loaded our boxes of personal belongings into our vehicles. Then, like a funeral procession, we slowly caravanned out of the parking lot past the guard gate for the last time.
God Spoke to Me
Being a single mother, I wondered what God had in store for me. I knew the Creator would provide but I was still a bit nervous. The morning following the layoff, as I trudged up a long hill on my daily walk, God spoke to me in a very unusual way. I looked down to find a $20 bill lying in the gutter. As I picked it up and stared at it in disbelief, I understood. God was saying to me, “Don’t worry; I will provide for you!”
And, that’s exactly what God did. Though I was unemployed for eight months, my family never went without food or anything else we really needed. And, eventually God led me into a new career that has been more rewarding in every way than the job I lost.
If you are without a job just now, or struggling financially in some other way, remember to put God first in your life. Focus on, and prioritize your relationship with your Creator and eventually everything else will fall into place.
The last paragraph of Matthew 6 tells us not to worry about what we are going to eat, or drink, or wear. For, God knows we need these things. Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you, as well.
Respond to this articleView Reader Comments______________________________
By Kathy A. Lewis. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=986
The Layoff
August 16, 2010
Source: City Lights
|
| Photo: Tamer Tatlici |
“A layoff is coming!” the walls seemed to shriek. The tense faces of management coupled with their whispered conversations convinced us it was true. At lunch time, I updated my resume.
It was 1998 and the bottom had fallen out of the computer chip market. Three upper level managers had suddenly been given their walking papers. The rest of the manufacturing plant waited for the other shoe to drop. And drop it did.
I well remember the date it happened – December 4, 1998, three weeks before Christmas! Managers began calling their subordinates into their offices one by one. Fifteen minutes later they filed out faces ashen, hands trembling.
Numbly, they returned to their desks and began loading photographs, plants and other mementos into cardboard boxes which they carried to their cars. Some were crying, others were angry but most were in shock.
A company layoff is similar to the death of a loved one with a terminal illness. You know it is coming but it always catches you off guard.
One hundred of us lost our jobs that day. “Three weeks before Christmas!” we kept moaning to each other as we loaded our boxes of personal belongings into our vehicles. Then, like a funeral procession, we slowly caravanned out of the parking lot past the guard gate for the last time.
God Spoke to Me
Being a single mother, I wondered what God had in store for me. I knew the Creator would provide but I was still a bit nervous. The morning following the layoff, as I trudged up a long hill on my daily walk, God spoke to me in a very unusual way. I looked down to find a $20 bill lying in the gutter. As I picked it up and stared at it in disbelief, I understood. God was saying to me, “Don’t worry; I will provide for you!”
And, that’s exactly what God did. Though I was unemployed for eight months, my family never went without food or anything else we really needed. And, eventually God led me into a new career that has been more rewarding in every way than the job I lost.
If you are without a job just now, or struggling financially in some other way, remember to put God first in your life. Focus on, and prioritize your relationship with your Creator and eventually everything else will fall into place.
The last paragraph of Matthew 6 tells us not to worry about what we are going to eat, or drink, or wear. For, God knows we need these things. Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you, as well.
Respond to this articleView Reader Comments______________________________
By Kathy A. Lewis. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=986
Neighborhood Renewal
August 9, 2010
Source: City Lights
 |
| Photo: Joseph Zlomek |
In the Introduction, authors Dan Chiras and Dave Wann outline their vision, “We believe most neighborhoods have the raw ingredients and resources to become sustainable, resilient, and healthy. We want to help make the transition happen because the potential economic, environmental and social benefits are huge! But it won’t happen automatically—it will take cooperation, vision, and strategy. The truth is, many neighborhoods are currently programmed for dysfunction.”
Menu of Ideas
Chiras and Wann share a variety of ideas ranging from remodeling a community’s physical attributes to a menu of ideas for bonding people together. Easy first steps include starting a community news sheet, planning gatherings where people eat and talk, organize work bees, and find ways to encourage discussion. Ideas for conservation include activities such as creating shared gardens (and composting centers), starting a food coop, organizing carpools, and promoting adoption of more energy efficient appliances. Every page with a suggested action has a sidebar that details the benefits of that particular idea. The most radical ideas expand the reader’s perspective, possibly fostering new ideas.
In this volume, New Society Publishers (NSP) has joined with “Mother Earth News” to provide “a book for wise living.” NSP expresses its mission “to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision.” It is reassuring to find out that the publisher follows its vision with action. Printed on acid-free paper that is 100% recycled and processed chlorine free, this book is printed with vegetable based, low VOC inks.
ISBN: 0-86571-490-8
Respond to this article______________________________
Center for Metropolitan Ministries. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=780
Neighborhood Renewal
August 9, 2010
Source: City Lights
|
| Photo: Joseph Zlomek |
In the Introduction, authors Dan Chiras and Dave Wann outline their vision, “We believe most neighborhoods have the raw ingredients and resources to become sustainable, resilient, and healthy. We want to help make the transition happen because the potential economic, environmental and social benefits are huge! But it won’t happen automatically—it will take cooperation, vision, and strategy. The truth is, many neighborhoods are currently programmed for dysfunction.”
Menu of Ideas
Chiras and Wann share a variety of ideas ranging from remodeling a community’s physical attributes to a menu of ideas for bonding people together. Easy first steps include starting a community news sheet, planning gatherings where people eat and talk, organize work bees, and find ways to encourage discussion. Ideas for conservation include activities such as creating shared gardens (and composting centers), starting a food coop, organizing carpools, and promoting adoption of more energy efficient appliances. Every page with a suggested action has a sidebar that details the benefits of that particular idea. The most radical ideas expand the reader’s perspective, possibly fostering new ideas.
In this volume, New Society Publishers (NSP) has joined with “Mother Earth News” to provide “a book for wise living.” NSP expresses its mission “to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision.” It is reassuring to find out that the publisher follows its vision with action. Printed on acid-free paper that is 100% recycled and processed chlorine free, this book is printed with vegetable based, low VOC inks.
ISBN: 0-86571-490-8
Respond to this article______________________________
Center for Metropolitan Ministries. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=780
No Place to Go
August 2, 2010
Source: City Lights
 |
| Photo: Studiomill |
No two ways about it! Jesus was among the homeless. “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). We stand with Jesus. He says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.” And, conversely, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:40, 45).
A report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors says that 71 percent of cities have an increased need for emergency shelters for the homeless, with an average of one third of homeless families finding no place to go. Instead of helping these people, politicians pass laws putting them in jail simply for sleeping in the park or sitting on the sidewalk. We find that very unChristlike.
A new survey by the National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty reveals that nearly half of cities (44 percent) have a law against camping in public parks and one in four (27 percent) will put you in jail for sitting or lying down in public places. There has been a significant increase in these laws compared to the last survey done in 2002.
Finding Solutions
Let’s find better solutions to homelessness than putting innocent people in jail or trying to collect fines from people who do not have enough to feed themselves. Christ's followers need to be part of the solution and invite the residents of their communities who are concerned about loitering or panhandling to join in efforts to give the homeless better options.
One approach that has been successful in many places is a “day shelter.” This is a place where the homeless can sit, read the newspaper, take a nap or look through employment opportunities. There are facilities for showers, to wash clothing and a message service where the homeless can receive mail or phone calls. It is not just a place to get off the streets, but to find help with the things in life that prevent them from having a home.
There are other solutions. In “Broward County, Florida, ... a nonprofit agency has partnered with the local police to form an outreach team to help the homeless and place them in shelters. ... Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati [Ohio, have] teams of trained workers to visit river encampments and help those ‘outside the system.’ ... Pasadena, California, police and health departments have formed the Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Evaluation Team to provide ‘compassionate assistance’ to those needing mental health services.”
Let’s do something creative and compassionate in our community! You'll find more information and ideas here.
Respond to this article
View Reader Comments______________________________
By the Center for Metropolitan Ministry. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Information supplied by the National Homeless Coalition
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=472
No Place to Go
August 2, 2010
Source: City Lights
|
| Photo: Studiomill |
No two ways about it! Jesus was among the homeless. “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). We stand with Jesus. He says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.” And, conversely, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:40, 45).
A report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors says that 71 percent of cities have an increased need for emergency shelters for the homeless, with an average of one third of homeless families finding no place to go. Instead of helping these people, politicians pass laws putting them in jail simply for sleeping in the park or sitting on the sidewalk. We find that very unChristlike.
A new survey by the National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty reveals that nearly half of cities (44 percent) have a law against camping in public parks and one in four (27 percent) will put you in jail for sitting or lying down in public places. There has been a significant increase in these laws compared to the last survey done in 2002.
Finding Solutions
Let’s find better solutions to homelessness than putting innocent people in jail or trying to collect fines from people who do not have enough to feed themselves. Christ's followers need to be part of the solution and invite the residents of their communities who are concerned about loitering or panhandling to join in efforts to give the homeless better options.
One approach that has been successful in many places is a “day shelter.” This is a place where the homeless can sit, read the newspaper, take a nap or look through employment opportunities. There are facilities for showers, to wash clothing and a message service where the homeless can receive mail or phone calls. It is not just a place to get off the streets, but to find help with the things in life that prevent them from having a home.
There are other solutions. In “Broward County, Florida, ... a nonprofit agency has partnered with the local police to form an outreach team to help the homeless and place them in shelters. ... Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati [Ohio, have] teams of trained workers to visit river encampments and help those ‘outside the system.’ ... Pasadena, California, police and health departments have formed the Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Evaluation Team to provide ‘compassionate assistance’ to those needing mental health services.”
Let’s do something creative and compassionate in our community! You'll find more information and ideas here.
Respond to this articleView Reader Comments______________________________
By the Center for Metropolitan Ministry. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.
Information supplied by the National Homeless Coalition
Original Post: http://e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=472
