Growth Fund

If you will be given a chance to invest for yourself this year or next year what will it be and why?


One whole week in November, my morning devotions have been on finance and investment, Daily Hope by Rick Warren.

If OMF has – TSF, HSF, TFF, ILMF, etc. God has – GGF, GMF, GSF, GTF
*God’s growth fund (discipleship)
*God’s mutual fund (fellowship)
*God’s service fund (ministry)
*God’s global fund (mission)
*God’s treasury fund (worship)

That week, God spoke to me most about GGF.
I read Proverbs 23:23
“Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense—these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.” (TEV).
“Buy truth — don’t sell it for love or money; buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight” (MSG).

God wants me to take some of my money and invest it for myself – in personal and spiritual improvement (2 Peter 3:18, TLB)
God wants me to develop skills and educate myself so that I can become the kind of person HE has shaped me to be.


Here is my reflection about investing in my growth fund. Sure profitable.

FIRST INVESTMENT: Two books newly launched during the recent International Book Fair – September

*Hula, Multo, Faith Healing by Hiram Panganiban
Hindi ko sinadyang bilhin ang librong ito. Pero sa huli ay nagpapasalamat ako na binili ko ito. Bakit? Hmmn… Invest. Bili na.


*Meaningful Evangelism
I intended to buy this book. It ended as a gift to me by the author, may dedication pa. Thank you Andy Smith. It is VERY helpful. I had my first meaningful Gospel sharing this year the night of November 1. Kaya mo din. Invest. Bili na.
http://omflit.com/home/catalog.php?c=3&i=636
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUsnSgbLQHI

Both published by OMF Literature.

These 2 books are now being shared with my friends and neighbors. I also bought a copy for my family in Ilocos for circulation.

SECOND INVESTMENT: Together in Mission – November
What is so wonderful about God building his Kingdom around the world is that he wants us to be a part of that building. I got a taste on partnership development & mobilization and understood the modular communication (love it!). Thank you Marilyn S and Susan C.

THIRD INVESTMENT: Training of Trainers – December
The 4 days training revealed to me the secrets to improve trainer's abilities. Thank you Emo Y, Susan C and Doris N who excellently modeled adult learning in all the sessions. I am aiming to be like that:-) Thank you Sarah McK.

After TiM and ToT, I realized that these are double bonus from God. I did not invest in these two trainings. God provided it. Wow!


I pictured these three investments as rich mine field -- will greatly contribute towards my growth fund.
Would you consider investing in your growth fund? Sure no bankruptcy. Praise! I am blessed by my God whom I love and serve. I cannot contain it. So much I got to give it away. I will. Share. Multiply. Matthew 28:19-20.

The Pursuit of HappYness

On my 34th birthday, I watched a DVD "The Pursuit of HAPPYness".



Based on a true story about a man named Christopher Gardner (Wil Smith).
Gardner has invested heavily in a device known as a "Bone Density Scanner", an apparatus twice more expensive than x-ray with practically the same resolution. However, they do not sell as they are marginally better than the current technology at a much higher price. As Gardner tries to figure out how to sell them, his wife leaves him, he loses his house and his bank account. Forced to live out in the streets with his son, Gardner is now desperate to find a steady job; he takes on a job as a stockbroker, but before he can receive pay, he needs to go through 6 months of training, and to sell his devices. But Chris is determined to make it.

Some of the memorable quotes are:

Chris Gardner: Hey. Don't ever let somebody tell you... You can't do something. Not even me. All right?
Christopher Gardner: You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period.

Chris Gardner: It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?

Christopher: Hey dad, you wanna hear something funny? There was a man who was drowning, and a boat came, and the man on the boat said "Do you need help?" and the man said "God will save me". Then another boat came and he tried to help him, but he said "God will save me", then he drowned and went to Heaven. Then the man told God, "God, why didn't you save me?" and God said "I sent you two boats, you dummy!"

Reverend Williams: The important thing about that freedom train, is it's got to climb mountains. We ALL have to climb mountains, you know. Mountains that go way up high, and mountains that go deep and low. Yes, we know what those mountains are here at Glide. We sing about them.

Kung hindi mo pa napanood, hmmmn try mo:-)

Five Minutes!

Minsan, mahirap mo bang mahuli si Sweet Dreams?
I pray that you will be encouraged by this one. Read below.

Kaya nakakatulog ako ng mapayapa dahil binabantayan n’yo ako, O PANGINOON.
Awit 4:8


FIVE MINUTES!
If you wake up as weary as you were when you went to bed the night before, try to recall what you were thinking about the last five minutes before you went to sleep. What you think about in that five minutes impacts how well you sleep, which determines what kind of day tomorrow will be.

When you sleep, your conscious mind is at rest, but your subconscious mind remains active. Psychologists call the subconscious the “assistant manager of life.” When the conscious mind is “off duty,” the subconscious mind takes over. The subconscious carries out the orders that are given to it, even though you are not aware of it.

For example, if the last minutes before going to sleep are spent in worry, the subconscious records and categorizes that as fear and acts as if the fear is reality. Thus muscles remain tense, nerves are on edge, and the body’s organs are upset, which means the body is not really at rest.

However, if those last five minutes are spent contemplating some great idea, an inspiring verse, or a calm and reassuring thought, it will signal to the nervous system, “All is well,” and put the entire body in a relaxed, peaceful state. This helps you to wake up refreshed, strengthened, and confident.

Many of the days that begin badly started out that way because of the night before, during those critical last five minutes of conscious thought. You can input positive, healthy thoughts into your conscious mind and pave the way for quiet, restful sleep by simply meditating on God’s Word as you drop off to sleep. For example, Psalms 91:1-2 NKJV: “He who dwells in the secret places of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Sweet dreams!

--Quiet Moments with God for Mother
2002 by Honor Books

TRUST IN THE LORD

This song has been my favorite for two months already:-)
I do know that I trust HIM. And I have found time and again that he is trustworthy. Thank you Lord ha!



How about you?
Are you trusting Him?

I hope you will be blessed and encouraged with the lyrics.

You better sing with me...now! ;-)


Trust, trust in the Lord
Lean not on your own understanding
In all, all of your ways
Acknowledge him
He'll make your path straight

You'll be my God for life
I'll walk by Your side
With your hand in mine
I'll go where You lead me

My eyes can only see
The ground beneath my feet
your dreams are greater
Your ways are higher
O Lord please show me

Bless my thoughts
My dreams my imaginations
Step by step
Your delight, Your creation

Five Ways God Uses Problems

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you.
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways." Proverbs 20:30

2. God uses problems to INSPECT you.
People are like tea bags. If you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you? "When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith; and this will give you patience." James 1: 2-3.

3. God uses problems to CORRECT you.
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something...health, money, a relationship...by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws." Psalm: 119:71-72

4. God uses problems to PROTECT you.
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem-but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for the good. Genesis 50:20.

5. God uses problems to PERFECT you.
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity. "We can rejoice when we run into problems ....they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady." Romans 5:3-4

Here's the point:
God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with HIM.