The Dream Factory

15 Minutes

I am presently engaged in a challenge with the folks in my church. I asked them and myself to identify 4 areeas of their lives where they really needed to work. All dimensions of life were legitimate areas of concern.

I then asked them for an hour a day in 4 - 15 minute slots to devote one of those slots to each of those areas.

It could be reading the scriptures or professional/personal development books, exercise, family time, or anything that just wasn't getting done - things most likely that need more than 15 minutes but areas where that would be a good start and a major improvement.

What difference could 15 minutes a day make in some area of your life?

I have been readjusting to changes in my life personally, in family responsibilities, and professionally and my posting activity has suffered.

Yet, this took about 5 minutes.

I still have 10 to go.

Topics on the Table

I grabbed some time this morning to think about reordering my life, reigniting my flames, and retooling my writing online.  I realized that I had some time and ideas that I was not aware of and I am pleased to announce the following topics are in the works and at work in my life:

The Coin Toss - How to make up your mind when you are not sure you have one.

SEEDS - It is not just about planting them. You have to pick them and plant them at the right time and in the right soils.

Spasms - They are everywhere - social, political, emotional, cultural, economic, and spiritual. Good things can come of spasms. As an example: Hawaii is the result of the earth spasming.

In the Cracks - How do you do the things that need to be done requiring time and thought when all you have are short time periods between the demands of life. Many people are building dreams in the cracks of their lives. We will offer some tips.

Patience - What do I need to do right now for survival so that I can take the time necessary to build my dreams slowly, deliberately, and with the adequate thought and care? What will free me up to be patient with myself?

Maybe just reading the topics will be enough to propel you, but the articles are coming.

New Blog for Parents

I call it The Parent Connection.

Archive Update

Mother Teresa and Faith Struggles - "Stirred, not shaken."
Other Thoughts on Mother Teresa's Faith Struggle - Still a hero of faith
More Dreamers - We see them everywhere
Lessons from Kaibian - My grandson is often my teacher
Fight, Flight, or Flow - Jonah 1 - Running from God
Running Toward God - Jonah 2
Running with God - Jonah 3
Running Ahead of God - Jonah 4
Toastmasters at Kaiser - Summer youth program
Leadership Summit Thoughts - excerpts from the 2007 Willow Creek meeting
Today - It is what we have.
Thanks for the NIV - A word to the translators
Demands and Dread - Both are real
A Tribute to D. James Kennedy - The lasting impact of Evangelism Explosion
Pavorati - A loving tribute
Wake Up! - It is time.
Starbucks Online - It was time.
Not in Vain  - Be encouraged.
Confidence and Affection - The Go Together
First Things First and Cute Kids - There is a connection.
Chaos - A ponder ....
Just Be - See you in church.
Henry Neufeld, Author of the Month - A CompuServe plug
Projects and Rejects - One implies the other.
Make a Decision - if you don't make it, it will be made for you.

Older Articles
Some Recent and Not So Recent Articles  - Listings
Before June 2 - In the interest of some sort of organization, I have posted a separate page of links to articles posted before June 2.  CLICK TO READ

New Sites That I Have Developed for My Interests

For a complete listing of my Blogger sites, View my Profile on Blogger.

Here are some current interests since the last time I posted my list:

Your Income for Life is devoted to the income opportunities with Global Domains International.
Affilate Buzz is actually old, but there are some great links to companies with affiliate marketing programs and some good information on affiliate marketing.
Fields of Bluegrass - I love Bluegrass music. So, I posted some.
ACT Now! is about the product and business possibilities of ACT energy drinks.
Folk Revival - I also love folk music. Some of my favorites are posted here.
Your Money Today is my newest blog with financial news, advice, information, and important links.
Motivation Invitation already has some good information and inspiration even though we've just started.
Picks from Tom is simply material that I had overflowing from my MySpace profile and did not want to lose.

I also have some new product pages for your shopping convenience with many more coming:

Prepaid Phone Cards as Gifts
Specialty Food Gifts - Life is good!
Pastor Tom's Table at Starbucks - all sorts of coffee and related products.
Kid Stuff - More is coming.
Discounts and Bargains - What everyone loves!
Organization Tools - For the organization person!
Shop and Share - An umbrella page.
Products for Your Business - Doba - a real find!

Some New Sites From Friends

It is a privilege to welcome some newcomers to our family of blogs and websites. These are sites we have helped to develop for friends:

Decorating with Wendy - Wendy is a very talented artist and writer and it is an honor to showcase her work.
Quality Landscape and Design - My friend, Mr. Stonehouse brings years of experience, integrity, skill, and creativity to the business of landscape design and maintenance. Contact Bill or Josh for insights. Visit them also, with some vital links and current news at Quality Landscape and Design on Blogger.
Feeding Those Who Feed Us - San Joaquin - Feeding Those Who Feed Us is an outreach that means a great deal to me and with which I am intimately involved in the Central Valley. plan your next mission trip by visiting this site.
Federal Toastmaster's Web Log - Not updated as often as possible, but this site points to a vital and friendly Toastmasters' club in downtown Fresno.
Skater Dude - My nephew, Kyle, AKA THEWOWFACE is a gifted videographer in the making. This site features one of his skating videos.
Christian Women's Job Corp - Fresno - It has been an honor to serve on the board of this fine organization. This is a site in the making, but there are some great pictures up of a recent class and some information on the organization.

Fon Home

I was amazed when I saw this idea. It is all about "fonning."

I pay a fortune for wireless Internet services to two different vendors. This is a growing concept/business whose effectiveness depends on that growth.

The October 15, Business Week article on Fon says, " Less than two years since its launch, FON has quietly built the world's largest Wi-Fi network--without the slow, expensive process of having to string up hotspots in light poles and coffee shops. Instead, the company is trying to capitalize on the community-minded ethos of the Web. To become a FON member, people either purchaseone of the company's $40 routers or install its software in their existing cable modems. The technology turns every "FONero" household into a Wi-Fi broadcasting station." 

The Fon phenomenon is escalating on the back of the proliferation of Wi-Fi Hotspots. Creating its own network, it sells no monthly service - only its equipment which, at less than $50 is a real head turner.

Fon has even entered the realm of affiliate marketing as evidenced by my own banner ad below.

You can check it out and make up your own mind.  A map function on the site will help you locate hot spots near you where the network will work. My zip code came up empty - for now.

Wikipedia simplifies the explanation by saying that "FON’s members or “Foneros” are consumers who agree to share their WiFi in return for free access to all other WiFi access points in the community."

The Internet continues to provide fertile ground for the tug-of-war between the free exchange of ideas and commerce. Perhaps both will ultimate win in the balance.

 

Thanks for the NIV

Scriptures quotes are most often from:

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright ©  1973, 1978, 1984  by International Bible Society

Archived Articles through June 2

In the interest of some sort of organization, I have posted a separate page of links to articles posted before June 2.  CLICK TO READ

Asked and Answered on AnswerBag.Com

I've been having a little fun today and answered a truckload of questions on Answerbag. Here are three that I had fun with:

What is the glue that sticks together a broken heart?

It is the glue of experience and compassion, of giving and receiving love. It is the glue of loving when love is not returned, of laughter, tears, and time. It is the glue of renewed purpose and passion for life itself. it is the glue of a dream and a mission. it is the grace of God and the friendship of good people. The glue that heals is a composite of all these things, but it is strong and flexible.

You have been offered the opportunity to "build" an ideal president of the United States as a composite of the best characteristics of all the candidates in the field. What will you take from each to construct your model president?

The charisma, freshness and good looks of Obama

The crusty credibility of Fred Thompson

The good common sense of Joe Biden

Wesley Clark's understanding of the military

Mitt Romney's business talents and understanding

The feisty courage of McCain

Howard Dean's outbursts - I liked that about him

The independence of Ron Paul

John Edwards' accent, likability, and wife

Dodd's intellect

Brownback's views on a couple of issues, especially pro-life

Giuliani's administrative skills

Gore's environmentalism

Ralph Nader's irrational perseverance and tenacity, with a touch of sarcasm and sassiness

Jerry Brown (who has neither chance nor interest) because he is not impressed by power

Clinton's campaign strategy and political savvy

Huckabee's integrity

Mike Bloomburg's ability to make and manage money

Gilmore's home state - The Mother of Presidents has been a little barren.

Kucinich for peace and freedom

Reagan's humor and compassion (something from the past)

Carter's understanding of world affairs and appreciation of the complexity of foreign policy (also from the past)

George Bush's aborted dream of utilizing faith based institutions to partner with communities for community development

George H.W. Bush's gracious spirit

Bill Clinton's speaking ability

LBJ's bear hug and humor

Nixon's diplomatic abilities

Truman's honesty and no-nonsense approach

Kennedy's ability to assemble the best people for his team

What is left?

Vulnerability - the ability to admit that you have changed your mind when presented with better facts and that is OK, that you have made some mistakes, that your record is not spotless, that you are human, that you may be wrong, that you have been wrong, that you can laugh at yourself, and that some special interest groups are really making fools of themselves even though you respect their humanity and right to petition their government.

Also missing quite often - respect for the opinions of others and a deep distrust of partisan politics.

Put all of that together with great leadership abilities and the ability to win an election and shazzzam, you've got a great president.

Remember, however, that most great presidents were rather unlikely candidates.

What lame excuse would you use to get out of jail?

Having sat through many court hearings as an observer, it has become my conviction that no excuse works. The best one seems to be, "I did it; I was wrong; How can i make this right?

If that doesn't work, try these:

The house was on fire when I arrived. I set another fire as a backfire in the hopes of saving the house.

The tree was moving toward my car at a rapid rate of speed.

Your honor, I was drunk, I had no idea I was behind the wheel of the car. if I had known, I would have never driven down the street.

What?!?! I have $100,000 in my account? Where did it come from? Is it mine? Can I spend it?

It wasn't me. It was my evil clone. You'd better catch him before he does some real damages. He has all my fantasies and none of my self-control. I can help if you will release me.

Your honor, I am an agent of the FBCIAI, an organization so top-secret that I cannot tell or even know what the initials stand for. I am on a vital mission for our government and the President has requested that you release me. The survival of humanity is at stake.

 I am not as think as you drunk I am.

This Tag Thing

One of my favorite readers and fellow bloggers, Kievas Fargo is always so encouraging to me and writes such wonderful posts. He sent me a tag. It is not my strong suit and I am not sure what to do with it, but I will do my best.

I've been tagged: Eight random facts    

                    

 Kievas has tagged me, and I have to find another eight victims. First, here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3.At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Okay, here are eight random facts about me:

1. I have developed a MySpace habit that has been growing every day.
2. I once sold a vacuum cleaner in a house without carpet.
3. I really hate these sorts of online games and usually ignore them - even from people I like.
4. I am wearing new shoes and shorts and that is a very satisfying experience.
5. There are two dogs, one cat, two skunks, and several other critters buried in my back yard.
6. I drive a Buick, which is not nearly as important as the fact that it runs and has air conditioning.
7. My 25 year old son just bought a car and that is very exciting because I have been demoted from the lofty job of being his driver and am now just his dad.
8. I have no idea who I will send this to. What is the penalty for being a total flake?

Now, there must be a point to this and I think I will invent an acronym and condition for it - TAG AVERSION  (I'll just do TAG).

T - Temperament transparently  tainted and totally  testy about such things. (No offense, my friend, i'm just a curmudgeon).

A - Actually - pretty fun - this time - don't tell anyone.

G  - Giant grunt  - No words to describe initial reaction and I am seldom without words.

I was beginning to feel that I was doing a lot of preaching here and very little self-disclosure, so this came at an opportune time. - not that anyone wants to know.

Pastor Tom's Journal

Just in case you haven't checked, here are some recent entries in Pastor Tom's Journal:

Videos:
A Concert with Rich Mullins
Awesome God
A Tribute to Billy Graham

And I have in the sidebar, all but three parts of "Homeless Man," A tribute to Rich Mullins. The rest is here: Homeless Man Part 3

Article:  Make Someone's DAY

________________________________________________________

Tom's Income Opportunities Business Principles
Tom's Blogsphere
Thumbing Through Pastor Tom's Bible
Getting Paid Daily

Links to Some Past Articles

As of today and this hour, I have posted 328 articles on this blog. Here are some highlights since September 2006:

Hand-Holding in Ministry 
 

Coffee and Honey

Remember the Life-Saving Station

Tools, Drools, and Fools 

Take Some Steps of FAITH
 

Seven "E" for a Christ-Centered Community
 

Going RADical 
 

FAST Thinking 
 

Taming the The Rhinoceros

What Does It Take to Get Good Contacts?   , 

Temporal Complexity  ,   

Scandals and Sandals   , 

Goodwill  ,   

What Are You Selling?  , 

How to Be Rigidly Flexible About Time   ,   

The Hands of Time  , 

What About Now? ,   

Long Dash   , 

Writing Your Own Ticket  , 

Humility and Confidence   , 

Decisions   ,   

These Are the Days  , 

Setting the Table   ,

Notes and Ideas  ,

Seven Tenths of a Pound  ,   

My New Hero   , 

People Meeting People  , 

Loving People  ,   

Spring Time in Fresno   ,

Losing Heart Is Not an Option   ,

God, the Entrepreneur  , 

Suze Orman on Self Employment , 

From "The Shoestring Conspiracy(Shoestrings Are Cheap"   ,

New Friends  ,

Fair Shakes and Residuals   ,

Triple Threat   ,   

Yes, the Sky Is Falling & It's OK  ,   

A Little Comic Relief for a Saturday   , 

Locals of Note  ,   

Bob Burg on Winning Without Intimidation   ,

Good Word for a Project Guy   ,   

Wendy Says You Need a PHD!   ,   

"Direct Selling Success in 2007" from"Direct Selling News"   , 

Gerald May 1940-2005  , 

Another quote from Gerald May   , 

Free Lunches and Networking  ,   

Sitting Here  ,    

The Entrepreneurial URGE   ,   

The Holiness of the Ordinary    , 

This Is Not Brain Surgery ... but It Makes Sense   ,   

Working Pastors   ,   

Time and Transformation  ,    

Lyn Perry and Thought Renewal    , 

Keep Your Widgets Polished    , 

Spelling SALES , 

H.B. London Has Been in My Mail    ,   

Thoughts on The Fellowship of Joy   , 

Sliding Between Parallel Dimensions  , 

Thinking Aloud (Allowed)   ,   

Honor and Horrows  ,

Anna Nicole  , 

Anne Lamott    , 

Entrepreneurial Education ,    

Zipper Down on the Highway to WELATH  ,

Motives   ,   

Proverbs 13 for Work, Wealth and Business   , 

Hi! A. Tuss   , 

Virgnina Tech in the News and In Our Prayers  ,   

Proverbs 12 for Work, Wealth, and Business  ,

More Proverbs on Money and Wealth , 

Wealth Words from Proverbs 10   ,   

Should You Consider Network Marketing?   ,   

Something  , 

Learning Curves Are for Exercise  ,   

From Fire to Abundance  ,   

Bullet Biting Behaviors ,   

Risk  ,   

GREATNESS ,      

Thoughts on Leadership   ,   

How Big?   ,   

Smile  , 

Becoming REAL ,    

What Counts? ,   \

Do SOMETHING! - Today's Proverb for Work and Wealth    

Money - Troubles or Treasures 

A Proverb for Anything 
 

Spelling M-O-N-E-Y Biblically      

How to Make Someone's Day! 

How To Make Someone's D-A-Y Part Two - Spell It!

The Power of Stories 

 Most Recent Rant on Fresno Famous 

Sliding Between Parallel Dimensions

More recent Entries

Let's Get to Church 

IVA - A Sweet and Real Lady
 

Musings - But Not Necessarily Amusing   

Differences and Commonalities   

PACE   

Flip the Greatness Switch,   

The FLOW of Grace  ,   

Nor the Memorial of Them Perish  ,   

Pentecost  ,   

Social Networks - Are they a FAD?

Take Charge and Win    

A Benediction 

The Towel Step

Blog Updates from March

Excerpts from Elsewhere in Tom's Cyber Realm

My Series on "The Secret"  - A Christian Perspective with care not to throw the baby out with the bath water):

The Secret    The Real Secret     The Open Secret               

 

Social Networks - Are they a FAD?

Social networks are only a fad if you have a very long memory.

In other words, there is nothing new about them. Humans have been networking for business and social interests for centuries,

Now the Internet has become a useful tool for what we have always done and we can have a broader and quicker impact on people.

Sure it is a FAD: Fast Actiion Dialogue.

It is also Frequent Activity Distributor or even a Friendship Acceleration Device.

It holds the potential of being a very positive force if we use it with wisdom, courtesy, and the right timing. It behooves us to learn as much as we can, learn from our successes and failures, and throw out as many test baloons as possible to experiment with new skills and strategies online.

For instnace, the other day, I was invited to join a new networking communtity: Apsense.

Watch the video and see what you thing:

Flash Presentation

If you prefer, you can follow this invitation straight to the site:

Want to build your own social network in less then 10 minutes?
Check Out HERE!

Here are a few other ideas for making a FAD something productive and profitable in business and in the Kingdom.

F - FIND FRIENDS and cultivate those friendships. There actual people online and it is as good a place as any to develop your essential people skills.

A - ADD VALUE - Give something of value to people on your site to make them want to return. Keep it fresh and keep it helpful. When you add value to people and their businesses, they appreciate it and you feel good about yourself.

D - DEVELOP your network and drive traffic from your network to your business and ministry sites. Bed DISTINCT and DIFFERENT and DIFFERENTIATE yourself from the pack while relating to them and communicating common interest.

Excerpts from Elsewhere in Tom's Cyber Realm

                       How Big Is Your God?                    

                  

The questions we must ask ourselves in evaluating our possibilities contain some of their own answers:

How big is my God?
How compelling is my dream?
How burning is my desire?
How deep is my commitment?

You must read my posting on healthy french toast at Healthy Foods:

                       French Toast                    

                  

Start with whole grain bread and soak it in a mixture of organic, omega 3 enriched eggs or egg whites with soy milk. READ MORE. You will not be sorry!

                       Mission Statements                    

                  

The assignment in Sunday School last week was for each member to write a mission statement for his or her life?  Read the Rest at Polcat Hollow.

Working Pastors

I have just launched a new blogging initiative to support and encourage bi-vocational pastors, church planters, and others who are called to Christian vocation. It is called Working Pastors and is a companion to this site. I have similar blog on Blogger called Tentmakers and Other Working Pastors.

There is already a great deal of valuable information posted on these and we are just going public today!

Answer Tips - New Feature

I just added a new feature called Answer Tips from Answers.com. Double click any word in any posting here for more information. It works!

Pay Your Way?

One assumes that most bloggers are aware of the advantages and potential of Google AdSense, but just in case some have missed it, I will make this referral.

If you are going to get serious about blogging, there are some simple non-offensive methods for creating a small (or large if you generate lots of traffic) income for your activity. It may even pay for your hobby. One of the ways people are consistently earning pennies is through Goodgle AdSense. These simple ads are targeted, tasteful, easy to configure, and very available.

It is worth investigation.

Blog Updates

I have updated some of my blogs with articles that may be of interest here:

 

Pastor Tom's Journal       

The ocassional journal of a pastor-writer-motivator observing the wonders and absurdities of life and celebrating the opportunities that abound every day.

• Builders or Destroyers - Proverbs 14
• It Seems to Me...
• Leaders are Readers
• Ation

        And the most recent until I write another entry today:
             For Those Who Take Life Too Seriously

Pastor Tom's Look at Luke

• Luke 5:12-15  Bible Study
• Catching Up
• Bible Study on Luke 5:1-11

Pastor Tom's Comments on Proverbs 

• Chapter 7       1 My son, keep my words and store ...
• Proverbs 6  -  Reflections   Proverbs 6:1-19 Warni...
• Proverbs 5 Summary Lessons 1.       Adultery and g...
• Proverbs 5 This chapter is about avoiding adultery...
• Proverbs 4 There is a bit of a pattern in these v...
• Here is another brother, Jaqua, blogging on Prover...
• Proverbs 3 1 My son, forget not my law; but let t...
• Proverbs 2: 7 -22 7He layeth up sound wisdom for...

Pastor Tom's Roman Road

• Romans 1:11-17:11 -For I long to see you, that I m...
• Romans 1:1-7 (NIV)  8First, I thank my God through...
• Notes from My Files How To Talk to Romans About...
• Rough Outline of Romans 1:24-32 Romans 1:24-32  ...
• Roman Road
• If God Gave Up on Us Entirely Romans 1:24-32 – Th...
• The Bogus Exchange - Romans 1:21-23 21 Because th...
• Romans 1:21 - What We Do with What We Know "Becau...
• My friend Henry Neufeld has posted a timely articl...
• Romans 1:18-20 18 - For the wrath of God is reveal...

Adventures in Polecat Hollow

• Update on the Leak
• Meter Matters
• Blogger Buzz: There are four lights
• The Dream
• Horses to Water
• Cold May in PCH
• Backing Up to go Forward
• Uncle Hinky was delighted to hear the news Buster ...
• Good News
• Introducing Uncle Hinky

Entrepreneur's Table

• I must admit I get a little perturbed when people ...
• My Health and Wellness Journal While I write abou...
• There is some wonderful and thoughtful material on...
• "Entrepreneur" comes from the French word for unde...
• It Takes Time We previously discussed the "EYE"s ...
• Novel Journey: It Takes Practice!: " Proverbs 13:4...
• Cravings Vs. Desire Below is an excerpt from my a...

The Shoestring Conspiracy

• Broken Shoestrings
• The Art of Amazement Blog
• When Things Don't Add Up
• Broken Shoestrings
• Loose Shoestrings
• Partner Blog
• Senior Adults
• If You Feed Them
• Brokering Minstries
• Empowering

Pastor Tom's Garden of Sermon Seeds & Sprouts

• I am really not sure who gets credit for these. So...
• Jesus’ Baptism and What It Means to Us.   (Mark 1:...
• I regularly receive good humar infusions by subscr...
•    Christianbook.com Home _______________________...
• Transforming Sermons Milton Stanley does a fine jo...

VAST Possibilities

• Valuing What Is Valuable
• Workshop Outline
• The Road to Success
• A New Pattern
• What Are VAST Possibilities?

Transformational Communities

• Paradox
• A Burning Bush
• URBANarmy: Lost Themes of Mission - Shalom...
• DURABLE DATA: "Transformation" Rebranding Reminds: All Denominations are Parachurch Organizations
• Culture Watch: Thoughts of a Constructive Curmudgeon: Os on Target--Again.
• ROOTS Church
• Building a Christ Centered Community for Transformation

The Clogger Blogger

• Jeremy Wright: Blog Marketing  Wright, whose per...
• The Ooze Annual Blog Tools Roundup is sort of old,...
• At the risk of putting myself out of busisness bef...
• I will be using this blog to write hints for navig...

Stream of Consciousness

• Ode to Traffic School
• D.E.A.D. #2
• D.E.A.D.
• Squint Speck
• Mercy, Lord

Pastor Tom’s Community

• Made for It

Tribe: Entrepreneur's Table -Throw out a question and help me get started here.

Give to the March of Dimes

 

My Son's Poetry Site

I am proud to introduce my son, Richard and his poetry site, "Into My Mind."

Richard has always been able to challenge and move me with his poetic imagination and depth of expression. I am so glad he is writing a posting again.

One quote  from XXVII:  "You cannot kill what is not filled with life."

Gleanings

It has been a week of surfing and researching in several areas. In coming weeks, I'll be quoting from these and tossing around ideas that I read here, but let me get them here in my journal for future reference for all of us.

Hot Spots of the Blogsphere and Cyberspace:

Brian McLaren's blog. - It goes without saying that McClaren is da-man.

Faith Maps - A new concept inspired by a new concept. More to come on this movement/trend/product.

Allelon has a fine web site, but also a unique way of communicating their statement of faith which leave me with the conviction that the message does not change as the mode of presentation adapts. Essentially, we are talking about the age old art of translation.

Nelson Searcy's Smart Leadership.com - Loads of valuable leadership information for emerging church leaders as well as business leaders.

Doug Paggit's Blog - Keep up with some key events.

Dan Kimball holds forth with Vintage Faith straight fromSanta Cruz, home of the banana slug and the best boardwalk in America.

Ethics Daily is another Baptist voice in the area of public morality in the same way that Baptists Today provides another take on the news among Baptists. While we are talking along those lines, I was intrigued to find a Southern Baptist Blog Aggregator. What will be thought of next?

Wkipedia's article on the Emerging Church is a pretty good one-stop information shop.

There are several insightful bloggers at Resurgeance. I'll be reading there some.

Back to Smart Leadership and Nelson Searcy, he has a great article on there by  Herb Rubenstein called, "What Leaders Do." Loving lists as I do, I find him very helpful. It is a checklist as a matter of fact and worth a look-see for any leader or those who perceive themselves to be such.

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We openned a new store for BT - Fellowship of Joy "stuff." Go to our Cafe Press shop for logo items.

New Stuff on Pastor Tom's Garden of Sermon Seeds & Sprouts

I've added some preaching/teaching material at Pastor Tom's Garden of Sermon Seeds and Sprouts . Most notable and enjoyable for me are a collection of Red Skelton quotes that I gleaned from Clown Ministry . Red's enduring contribution to the world is that you don't have to be crude to be funny. He also reminds us that being silly and laughing at oneself are virtues that keep us healthy.

I conversed with an lady on an ocassion about 20 years ago (or more) who told me about meeting Red in a mall in Palm Springs while his wife was shopping. Like many husbands, he could not keep up with her and had sat down to rest while she went relentlessly about her business.

He engaged freely in a friendly conversation with these two elederly ladies for some time.

I asked the story-teller what he said when they parted. I knew what the answer would be - or at least hoped. She told me that he said, "God bless." *

God bless you too, Red ... and God bless you Clown Ministry.

* "God bless" sounds like _ "Go-wad Bleaas."

Jess Has a Blog

No sooner had I reflected on Jess Moody than I discovered that he is now blogging. You can read him at Jessays. and Moody Blog. Read and enjoy!

Some Updated Blog Snippets

From the Shoestring Conspiracy: Our shoes are on our feet and ready to be tied. We are somewhere between desparately late and deeply enthused about what is to come of our days. The last thing we want to do is spend one more moment than necessary in the mundane tasks of tying strings or or buttoning shirts. Yet, they must be done and, when all goes well, life is good..  More

From Road to Success Ministries : We thought you'd like to meet our founder, Mike Lenhof. Mike has a vision to help people with disabilities like himself become independent, self-reliant, and productive in society.

He is a purpose-driven person who is devoted to Jesus Christ and deeply desires to follow God's call in this ministry. Mike is an entrepreneur who has years of experience in sales. He is married and about to celebrate the first anniversery of his marriage to Dianne, the love of his life.

More on Mike and Road to Success Ministries

From the Mangosteen Journal - Xango has come to Bermuda:

"A DIETARY supplement drink is being aggressively marketed in Bermuda, and its manufacturers are hoping residents will embrace its health benefits as eagerly as people have elsewhere.:

From The Entrepreneur's Table - It Takes Time

We previously discussed the "EYE"s of time but did not exhaust the topic by any means. Everything takes time - especially if they are important enough to deserve our attention and effort. Here is yet another acronym: TIME, with the "t" for temperance, tenacity and transience, the "i" for indeterminate, individual, and instantaneous, the "m" for mastery, magnification, and ministry, and the "e" for experience, expectation, and excitement. More at It Takes Time.

Sponsored by
Discover Mangosteen

Joining Frenzy

Lately I've been playing catch-up. I've been joining every free online community that I run across and starting blogs all over the place. Most of it is to learn what is available. If I am going to be a resource to my friends, I have to make wise recomendations. I joined MySpace, but I still don't quite "get it." Could it have something to do with being 51 years old?

So I joined Tribes. In fact, I started a discusion group to go with two of my blogs - this one and Entrepreneur's Table. The group is called Entrepreneur's Table and you are hereby invited.

One of the things that attracted me here was the chance to connect locally in my city. While I am an enthusiastic citizen of cyberspace, I know there is a real world here and I value it.

At any rate, I'll learn as I go along and report it here. Just be grateful I don't link EVERYTHING I do.

This is an exciting time in which we are living. While there is a danger of personal communication saturation, there are also wonderful opportunities to connect and grow. Thos are what I want to promote and encourage.

Organizing and Indexing

I can't put everything in the same place, so I have made a feeble attempt at some organization in my thinking. Here is a roadmap of some recent posts hither and yon that I have been publishing.

Becoming a ROOTS Church: M. Scott Peck introduced us to the concept of being a “radical conservative – namely a person who always wants to get back to the “radix” or root of the matter. What does that mean for the church? See ROOTS at Transformational Communities .

Transformational Communities – 7 “E” s . If the church is not a transformational community impacting individuals, communities, and society, it is nothing at all.

Soeaking of transformation. The spoken word remains one of the most effective tools for transformation that God has given us. Learning to speak effectively and inspirationally is one of the major stepping stones for transformational leadership and success. For those who want to kick it up a notch and take their speaking to the next level and are willing to spend the time and money for excellence, read this entry one more time. Marcia's workshop is a must for you.

The Road to Success is a workshop I have taught about 10 times in various locations. I decided to offer the outline at the Entrepreneur's Table

It is co-published at Vast Possibilities

What are VAST possibilities anyway?  See for yourself :http://vast-possibilities.blogspot.com

Here are some suggestions for those interested in developing New Life Patterns. So often, it is not an isolated behavior that is interferring with our goals, but a pattern that has become habitual and self-rewarding. We need a framework for change.
 

Recently, I broached the question, “What is spiritual entrepreneurship?"

So, what is it?

I have started publishing some sermon seeds, sprouts, and starters that I have been sitting on for a while. Enjoy and develop. Give credit wherever it is due.  http://pastortomsermons.blogspot.com/

For a number of years, 31 to be a bit more exact, I have been aware that most ministries, like my own, operate on a shoestring financially. But lack of funds is no excuse for not doing ministry. I have been collecting ideas and “starters” for all these years and have begun to publish them here. I call it the Shoestring Conspiracy. 

I have some other projects that continue:

Writing on Luke
Reflecting on Proverbs
Wandering down the Roman Road

Why these three? Because they are a part of my regular teaching/preaching/study schedule at this time. I am also still teaching Philippians and have my book almost ready for publication.

I have some wandering reflections that I have started posting at Streams of Consciousness  including a Father's Day reflection.

I have no intention of abandoning my friends in Polecat Hollow since they are often the lenses through which I perceive and the mouthpiece through which I communicate truth to children as well as adults.

Everyone needs a journal . I just do mine online and over the phone. If you want to have me actually talk to you and can play MP3 format, visit, Pastor Tom's Journal.

I try to keep some information flowing into my health and wellness site: Drink Xango: Mangosteen Journal.  I am not the world's greatest salesman, but I am thoroughly sold on this fruit and the way that Xango has packaged it with its patented process. At Discover Mangosteen, I have video and audio and you can order on your own if you like or start the process of starting your own Xango business. I will be happy to help you.

Recently, I ran out of juice and it was over a week before I got more. The difference in the way I felt was dramatic. My allergies got worse; I was more lethargic; I was starting to ache. What a difference when I got started drinking it again.

We must care for our whole selves - body - mind - spirit. We are integrated and interrelated.

Much is happening on the forums - great discussions you won't find anywhere else:

Christian Fellowship Forum
Religion Forum - recently listed as the second busiest of all the CompuServe / Netscape communities.

 

 

 

Complimentary Blogs

I have spent a good portion of the day setting up some additional blogs for which this will be home base. These deal with specific areas of interest. The point is to make it easier for my readers to browse and zero in on their own interests.

Here are the addresses:

http://readingsinromans.blogspot.com/ - These are my sermon notes, insights, and gleanings from the study of Romans.

http://proverbsnow.blogspot.com/ - These are the notes I make as I teach through the book of Proverbs.

http://drinkmangosteen.blogspot.com/ - I will be posting information about  mangosteen and Xango.

http://lukesermons.blogspot.com/ - My Bible studies on Luke.

http://pastortomsims.blogspot.com/ - I am not sure what this specialty is yet.

http://polecathollow.blogspot.com/ - Polecat Hollow stories. I am not sure how much of this I will be posting since I am working on the book. This can also be accessed from www.polecathollow.net .

http://entrepreneurstable.blogspot.com/ - More on the recent series I have been journaling on here. The URL for the discussion forum on Entrepreneur's Round Table will be  at Yahoo.

Have fun.

 

It's Monday

It's Monday.

The days are getting shorter, the nights longer, and I am wondering where they both have gone.

I'm waiting in my office for some students to finish a test. They are all adults and I want them all to do well. It's Old Testament and they started off with such a bang - almost like a "let there be light BIG bang."

Now we are a few weeks into the class and I have to hear confessions like, "I didn't do anything this week."

I should be able to know that on my own in a few minutes.

But I think they will be inspired by the end of class. After all, I'm excited.

Yesterday was Sunday - two sermons and an afternoon a sheer relaxation. And today, except for some snags in the system - relaxed study and just plain old fashioned relaxation.

Why am I doing this? Because someone told me that you just have to start - even if it is Monday and you don't have much to say.

- Tom