Consulting arrangements can do wonders for a business. They
can provide a boost to your business by utilizing a consultant’s
focused expertise and their years of experience in similar
venues, and they can give a business a good old-fashioned
shot-in-the-arm.

Consultants are distanced from the daily politics of your
business. They can provide you with unbiased opinions and
fresh perspectives. The thing is, they can only do this if
you allow them to do it.

I’ve done the consulting gig for years.
In the process, I observed and experienced clients using
my services well and not using my services well. I have
listened to associates’ stories of how clients work with them,
too. Sometimes the clients get great value for their money,
and sometimes they get less than that.

How to Make the Most of Your Consultant Dollar

Isn’t the most important thing about working with a consultant
that you get valuable results for your money and build a
meaningful business relationship at the same time?

In order to do this, you must go into a relationship with
your consultant with ‘collaboration’ in mind. The two of
you must work together in order for the consulting relationship
to work. As the client, you must be a willing participant in
the business relationship with your consultant.

In order to get value for your consulting dollar, you must
allow your consultant to learn and know about many aspects
of your business.

If you go to a doctor with a pain in your side, but then
refuse to let the doctor look at it and test it because
you’re too modest or afraid of what he will tell you,
the doctor won’t be able to help you.

Several years ago I consulted at a company to help them
use software to create reports they needed. They did not
want to show me their existing reports, however. How could
I help them create the new reports if they refused to show
me the existing reports? Like a patient who was afraid to
show the doctor the pain in his side, this client was afraid
to show me their reports. Two people at this client actually
clutched the reports to themselves like patients holding
their hospital robes closely.

After some explanations and coaxing from me, they finally
let me see their pain and allowed me to help them.
(Just for fun, I’ll tell you that this company is an underwear
manufacturer, and leave it at that!)

A consultant’s role is to give you business information that
you need in order to make informed decisions. They do not
have the responsibility to make your business decisions, nor
do they have the control. The responsibility and control
(which go hand-in-hand) are yours.

Before You Decide to Work with a Consultant

First of all, know what you want. Define it before the consultant
agrees to work with you. Write it down. List quantifiable and/or
tangible objectives. Write out what you think you want the consultant
to do.

• What goals do you want to accomplish?
• What is the scope of work?
• What results do you want the consultant (and your business) to achieve?
• What do you think is the timeframe?
• What is your budget for this project?

As You and the Consultant Agree to Work Together

Discuss how the consultant works. For example, what methodology
does she use to gather information, process it, draw conclusions,
and make recommendations? There is no magic answer to this question.
Most consultants, over time, will develop their own methodology to
perform their work. Just make certain they have a plan that is the
basis for their methods.

State the scope of work: what the consultant will deliver, when
they will deliver it, and how they will deliver it.

State who will do the work (if there is a team of consultants).
Also state where the consultant(s) will perform the work.

Agree on the timeframe, money, and invoicing.

List points of time at which you and the consultant will
touch base to discuss where the project is at, how it is
coming along, and if adjustments need to be made. It’s a good
idea to schedule regular meetings or conference calls so that
issues do not become surprises.

What Else to Look For?

“The worst consultants believe their companies are smarter than
their clients, instead of recognizing that they’re extensions of
their clients’ resources. Junior consultants in several well-known
firms especially show this trait; it’s part of their firms’
core cultures,” writes Peter Keen of Computerworld. He continues,
“Arrogant cultures make lousy partners and are in the rip-off
business without realizing it. Because they believe they’re so
much smarter, they make many mistakes that the more collaborative
and respectful consulting firms don’t make.”

Look for consultants who want to form a collaborative effort with
you and your business. Likewise, you must collaborate with the
consultant in order to get the most bang for your buck.

Two More Do’s and Don’t’s

Treat consultants as consultants, not as employees.

If you treat consultants as insiders rather than as outsiders,
you will not receive the benefits of having them work with you.
This is more of a mind process for you as the client. If you
think of your consultants as an extension of your employee base,
you may not be able to hear them when they tell you important
information. Remember, as outsiders they are able to skip most
of the politics and inefficiencies of your company in order to
unearth diamonds in the rough. These are the hidden diamonds
you are paying them to find. If you treat them as if they are
employees, you will hinder that creative process for which you
are paying them.

Treat consultants as adults.

Believe it or not, sometimes clients treat consultants as if
they were children. This happens most often when consultants are
told to not contact certain people for information, even though
the contact and the information is important for the consultant’s
work. I’ve also heard about consultants being scolded as if they
were children.

On the surface, the reason that consultants should not be
treated like children is obvious; no one wants to be treated
like that. It’s humiliating. The deeper reasons are the same
as for not treating consultants like employees: clients who
treat their consultants like children will not get the benefits
out of the consultant that they are paying for.

In Conclusion

Working with a consultant can be rewarding for your business.
It’s up to you to define your goals, how you want a consultant
to help achieve those goals, participate in a collaborative
relationship, and let the consultant do their work in order
to give you value for your consultant dollar.

© 2006 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She works with two groups of people:
small business owners (with 500 employees or less) to help them increase
their Entrepreneurial IQ, which leads to increased profit and
decreased stress; and with executives in the
“honeymoon phase” of a new position (typically the first two years)
to coach them to success. Top athletes have a coach; why not you?

Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

This article was originally published in The Business Express, Borgeson’s
free monthly ezine. You may subscribe by clicking here:
Ezine

According to the US National Archives, “31% of PC users have lost all of their files to events beyond their control.” Look at the person on your left. Now look to the person on your right. If it’s not one of them – IT’S YOU. It hurt didn’t it!

And if its not you, you know a guy, right? While not all of us have lost an entire computer full of data we all play in a world where our data is increasingly valuable and increasingly vulnerable. Think of the value of your data – Word files, Excel spreadsheets, Quicken data, emails, contacts, appointments, accounting information, budgets, proposals, pictures, music, and on and on. If somebody held a gun to your computers figurative head what would you pay to not pull the trigger?

Before answering, remember that you pay for insurance in most every area of you life. That insurance provides you the luxury of calling an agent behind a desk somewhere to make problems go away. Ahem, “Allstate, it’s me. I just drove my car into a lake and I need a new one.” Or, “Geico, can you get the little green fella’ on the line. My house just went up in flames and I’m thinkin’ remodel.” Pay your deductible and you’re back in business.

But what about your computer? You’re at Starbucks sitting down to enjoy your freshly brewed Caffè Mocha when you realize they didn’t give you one of those cardboard finger saver sleeve things. While you’re at the counter trying to get the attention of the guy in the apron your laptop walks out of the place under the arm of some highly caffeinated punk who just scored big. You know the feeling you get when you can’t find your wallet? Multiply by 10. Your ENTIRE LIFE was in that computer.

Go ahead; call your friendly neighborhood State Farm agent. You’ll get your computer back. Pull some software CDs out of your desk. You’ll get your programs back. Now just reload the copies of all of your data (you know, the files you make with you computer hardware and software that is almost as unique to your life as your DNA).

Say what?

You don’t have copies?

Oh, I see. So let me get this straight. You know you should have made copies. You even know that you could have printed hard copies or backed them up on CD or to another form of “storage media” but you didn’t. And may I ask why not?

Hold on there; let me write these excuses down as you make them up so I can pass them on to my other friends who drop the ball on this one:

· I don’t have time.

· I don’t know how.

· I kind of know how but I’m not really sure its working so what’s the point?

· Not only do I not have time, but my backups are out of date a few minutes after I make them anyway.

All legitimate excuses. None of them, however, are going to bail you out.

This just in… there are now THREE things certain in life:

1. Death

2. Taxes

3. Data Loss

Maybe you’re not a coffee drinker, but your data is still susceptible to the four leading causes of data loss:

· Disaster – theft, fire, hurricane, earthquake, etc.

· Virus Attacks

· Computer Hardware Failure

· Human Error (oops!)

So how do you prevent data loss?

YOU DON’T. It’s going to happen. The real question isn’t, “How do I prevent it?” It’s, “When it happens, how do I get it back?” The answer is simple – THE INTERNET.

That’s assuming your have joined thousands and thousands of computer users who are subscribing to online data backup services. The concept is quite simple: load a small software utility onto your computer that constantly runs in the background and tell that utility where you keep your critical data files. From that point forward any time you create new files or make changes to existing files, the online backup utility sends copies of those critical files to its highly secure off-site data storage facility. WHEN you lose your data you simply retrieve your copies over the Internet.

Ta-da. Aren’t you smart?

With companies offering this service now for just a few dollars per month, this is indeed the cheapest insurance you can buy for any aspect of your life. So what do you say? The gun is at your computer’s head. The ransom is $3.00.

Your move.

About The Author: Andy Sperry is a freelance writer and CEO of online backup service provider The Backup Agent (http://www.thebackupagent.com).

I know you’ve heard this many times - “Drink more water!”. Yet, 99% of the people don’t heed this advice. Maybe if water was more expensive, people would pay more attention to consume enough of it on a daily basis. We are living in a dehydrated world of carbonated beverages, caffeine and alcohol.

I bet you don’t know how important is water for your health, figure and well-being. I didn’t know it until I found a book that literally opened my eyes. The book is titled “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” by Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj.

Reason 1: Water can cure many modern diseases

According to Dr. Batmanghelidj, a long list of modern diseases can be practically eliminated by just drinking more water. The list includes and is not limited to: asthma, hypertension, back and joint pain, arthritis, constipation, allergies, ulcers and the list goes on and on.

I know it sounds crazy. I have heard many weird health theories in my life, but what interests me is the “results of following this or that advice”. The “drink more water cure” has worked for so many of my friends and myself that I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.

I cured myself of a nagging skin allergy. I have much more energy, strength, endurance and sleep much better now.

I have had 100% success curing chronic constipation with my female clients. I don’t know a single person that didn’t benefit in some way by drinking more water.

Reason 2: Water can decrease your appetite

This is common sense. When you drink water, your stomach gets full and your appetite decreases. You end up eating fewer calories. If you drink water before each meal, you’ll prevent yourself from eating thousands of calories in the long run. This means you are going to be leaner.

Reason 3: Drinking water BURNS EXTRA calories

When you drink water, your body burns extra calories. Drinking 18 ounces of water increases your metabolic rate by about 30% for about 40 minutes. This phenomenon is called Water Induced Thermogenesis. The total amount of extra calories burned by drinking 18 ounces of water is about 25 calories. Drinking 72 ounces of water amounts to 100 extra calories. That is a lot of calories in the long run.

Reason 4: Water may help you burn more fat and build more muscle

It has been shown that dehydration decreases protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is what builds muscle. It is an energy costly process. When you suppress protein synthesis, fewer calories end up building proteins and more calories end up in your fat stores. It’s elementary: calories have two possible fates - they either get burned, or they get stored. When more of the calories you eat get burned, less will get stored.

Dehydration has been shown to decrease maximal strength. When you are stronger, you can lift more weight and that means you’ll build more muscle.

Reason 5: Your skin will look much better

Nothing will improve the appearance of your skin better than consuming enough water. It’s a pity women spend so much money on skin products, while neglecting the cheapest and most effective one - water.

How much water should I drink?

Dr. Batmanghelidj’s advice is simple: drink one ounce of water for every two pounds of bodyweight plus one and one half additional ounces of water for every ounce of beverage you consume containing caffeine, carbonation or alcohol. Do this every day.

As you increase your water intake you should also increase your salt intake. Don’t buy the “Sodium causes hypertension nonsense”. Restricting Sodium does not help the vast majority of people with hypertension. Clearly, Sodium is not the CAUSE of hypertension. Your body needs Sodium to hold its water stores. Even if you consume more than you need to, your body will get rid of the extra amount that you overconsumed.

Drink your water. Stay well hydrated. Stay healthy.

Hristo Hristov owns X3MSoftware, a company specializing in developing diet and fitness tracking software. Hristo has a degree in Computer Science and passion for strength training. Hristo has designed and written Fitness Assistant, X3MSoftware’s leading software product. Download your demo at Download Diet Software and Fitness Software by X3MSoftware

You’ve checked your bank account and found you have only $42
left in your savings account. You’ve received at least three
phone calls this morning from creditors who are wondering why
your payments are late. Your car payment is due in three days
and you’re not sure how you’ll pay the bill. Last month, your
landlord threatened to evict you when your rent check did not
arrive on the first of the month.

If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be experiencing
finance-induced stress. From time to time, all of us suffer from
it, to one degree or another. Financial stress is simply a fact
of modern life. No matter how hard we work, no matter how
diligent we are at trying to save our money, we may find that we
have great difficulty paying all of our bills. This can be
particularly true if we’ve been hit with a major traumatic
event, such as the death of a spouse, a divorce, or a serious
illness.

Financial stress can be felt in a number of ways. For example,
you might have difficulty sleeping at night because you are
worrying about your finances. You might find yourself
short-tempered and, as a result, you might be experiencing
conflict with your spouse. You may find yourself yelling at your
children for minor infractions, or you may even be hit with
panic attacks at work.

The fact is, financial stress can cause you tremendous physical
and psychological discomfort. It can lead to anxiety,
depression, high blood pressure–even stroke. As a result,
financial stress is actually a serious, though often
unrecognized, health concern. In essence, your financial
problems may be making you sick.

But how do you address what can seem to be an insurmountable
problem? To begin with, it is important that you go to your
doctor and have a complete physical. State your symptoms, and
note that you believe that financial stress may be the cause.
Your doctor might then refer you to a psychiatrist for
anti-anxiety medication, or to a therapist who can help you work
through your problems.

Next, consider consulting a certified financial planner. He or
she can help you to realize your short-term and long-term
financial goals. Don’t be embarrassed to let the planner know
the extent of your financial problems. Remember that the only
way to really attack finance-induced stress is to meet the
difficulty head-on. Trying to dodge the problem…pretending
that things are not as bad as they are…will only exacerbate
your troubles in the end.

Your financial planner will probably want you to come up with a
workable budget. It is important to be realistic when crunching
numbers. It does little good for you to come up with a budget
that looks fine on paper, but that doesn’t work in the real
world. Make sure that you budget for all the essentials–food,
shelter, clothing, medical care. And also try to budget for
long-term priorities, such as college savings or retirement.
Also, don’t forget to allot at least a small portion of your
budget to recreation and entertainment. You’ll need a few
diversions in order to be a less stressed individual.

In the beginning, you might want to track every single
expenditure that you make. This can be difficult, especially if
you’re not used to that kind of record-keeping. But it can be
quite instructive. You might not realize, for instance, just how
much money you’re spending each month on lattes, or how much
you’re devoting to the daily lottery drawing. By doing the
record-keeping, you might discover ways that you can trim your
budget without really feeling the pinch.

It is also highly important that you save a portion of your
money in order to pay for the unexpected. From time to time, all
of us are hit with bills that seem to come out of the blue. Your
savings will act as a kind of insurance policy against disaster.
With some money in the bank–even if it is a small amount in the
beginning–you’ll be better able to weather the financial storms
that come your way. And you might find those middle-of-the-night
worries disappearing, knowing that you are doing all you can to
get your finances under control.

That the hot pursuit of money can pull someone away from all other matters in life is now becoming more obvious in America. Some people who have made their first million and more are turning to something else for fulfillment. Some are becoming volunteers, others are joining religious movements and still others are giving their money away to help those less fortunate. Why is this happening?

I have traveled through a lot of the world and have developed an obvious bias when it comes to Americans. Besides being the most stubborn, silly and obstinate people on earth I am sure they are the kindest people as well. The level of caring for others here outshines anything I have seen worldwide. On the collective level Americans often raise more money and send more aid the people of foreign countries than their own governments raise to help. On the personal level the stories of generosity and kindness are countless. It is a matter of the heart I’m sure.

As a boy my mother drove me to the town square to do a few errands with her. She told me to go to the news stand and buy her daily paper while she went to do an errand. I wandered slowly down the street window shopping as I went with my imagination in high gear, it was Christmas time and I was dreaming of all the things I though Id like to have at that time when it was most likely I might get them.

I was within a block of the news stand clutching the fifteen cents tightly in my hand for the paper. I passed by the doorway of an unoccupied building and there sitting on a tiny wooded platform was a legless man. Shabbily dressed and unshaven he sat shivering in the cold with an old tin can in front of him stuffed with a few yellow pencils. He called out…pencils…five cents. I froze in my tracks and gazed at him. My emotions were a rock hitting the calm waters of a pool sending splashes and effects everywhere at once. I had not seen anything like that yet in my life.

A sense I could not explain or describe gripped my heart. I gave him the fifteen cents and stepped back as he tried to give me three pencils. I said …no, sell those to someone else, and then I ran. My mother scolded me when I explained what I had done but I couldn’t hear her very well. All I could do is to think about that man and his condition for hours, even days to come. Up to then I had paid little attention to higher morals, right and wrong or religious teachings. I was just too busy being a boy. What made me stop and give him the money puzzled me for years. I know now it was something I am made of and not something I learned.

That is what I mean about Americans although not all. They are made of something different. I can only guess that it the grace of God still lingering on a nation that hasn’t given up completely on things that are right and faith in a living God. When they do turn from these things it seems they don’t notice it too well because they do it by degrees. With the distraction of so much information and education along with the profusion of entertainment and recreational options it seems Americans are drifting. They aren’t just drifting from higher principles but from higher purpose. They are learning what everything is made of but forgetting what they are made of.

Some temptations are more universal than others. Most people will not become Presidents or statesmen and most will not become well known actors or performers. But many people realize that in today’s booming economy there is opportunity to become very rich. At the very least there is opportunity to get…just a little bit more.

If the unbridled pursuit of just a little more money can pull people away from God’s message to them, then it is reasonable to think that it can pull them away from many other things as well…even themselves or who they really are.

And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. Luke 8:14

Rev Bresciani is the author of two books and has many articles published both online and in print. Please visit his website at www.americanprophet.org

Qigong is a general name for the systems of hardening and
improvement of body and mind, treatment and health enhancement
created in China. They primarily based on the ability to control
your own consciousness, mentality and through them all the
physiological processes of the organism. Practicing Qigong you
can achieve stunning results some of which even the powerful
modern science cannot conceive and explain.

There are three main categories of Qigong: Health-improving,
Fighting and Mystical.

1. It was Chinese physicians who developed and evolved the
Health-improving Qigong during many centuries. They created
special exercises aimed to preserve and promote health as well
as to cure various diseases.

2. Fighting (or Hard) Qigong was developed by those
practitioners of Qigong who at the same time were masters of
martial arts. These exercises serve to enhance the energy
concentration in muscles and other parts of the body allowing to
hugely increase the bodily strength and its resistance against
the attempts to cause it a physical injury.

3. Mystical Qigong is a child of Buddhist monks and Taosian
anchorites. The goal of Mystical Qigong consists in achieving
the so called Enlightenment - a special psychophysical state of
the human being. Taosian anchorites also developed methods of
anti-aging based on Mystical Qigong. Mystical Qigong is the most
difficult to master.

Qigong is not only the art of Qi energy control; it trains the
mind and helps to work out the ability to control your
volitional impulse. Qigong techniques include a huge variety of
exercises but they all consist of the three main parts: control
of position, control of breath, and control of mind.

Controlling his position, a man can acquire some optimal posture
of body which would allow Qi to flow in the organism without
delays or blockages not causing any disturbing feelings and
removing diseases. The exercises are mostly performed in common
stands, for example, in the Rider’s stance.

You need to control your breath to let the external Qi (from the
air) not only to pass mechanically into the internal state but
to spread along energy channels, fully feeding all the organs.

Consciousness is crucial in breath control; it distributes Qi
along the body. At the highest stage, the breath is controlled
at the level of subconsciousness and do not require too much of
your attention.

Step by step learning to control his energy resources, a
practitioner will pass from using the physical strength (Li) to
the internal burst of effort (Tsin). This internal effort, as
Chinese masters believe, is produced not by muscles but in
tendons and marrow.

This is the reason why the most of Kung Fu exercises aimed not
to increase the mass of muscles but to strengthen tendons and
bones. While muscles tend to loose their strength (Li) as the
man grows older, masters preserve their internal effort (Tsin)
until great age. That’s why Chinese masters of Kung Fu say: “If
you do not practice Fighting Qigong but train only your physical
strength you’ll be left with nothing when you grow old enough.”

Qigong exercises advance “internal Qi” our organism contains.
“Internal Qi” is also called “true Qi”. The state of “true Qi”
depends on many factors: regular Fighting Qigong exercises,
nutrition, mental state, environment, etc. Every human being has
internal Qi but only few can use it properly, develop it. The Qi
of the vast majority of people is destabilized. The goal of
Fighting Qigong is to fill the organism with “true Qi”, calm it,
make Qi flow along channels freely without obstructions.

So what is Qi after all? According to Chinese notions, it is an
energetic substance which represents the foundation of all, i.
e. the energetic foundation of the Universe. Our body can be
compared to an electric appliance: if it is supplied with
electric power it works but if the power supply is cut down the
device operation stops. Likewise with the man: if Qi supply of
his body is insufficient or it gets stagnant in it, the man gets
sick or even dies.

To have a healthy robust body, one needs to learn how to keep
the Qi circulation smooth and to be able to accumulate
sufficient amount of Qi. To do so, it is necessary to understand
the system of circulation and storage of Qi in your organism.

The human body has twelve so called primary channels (meridians)
along which Qi is spread across the entire organism. There also
exist eight “miraculous” vessels serving as a kind of reservoirs
storing and regulating Qi. One end of each channel is attached
to one of twelve internal organs while the other end is
connected to one of fingers or toes.

These twelve channels supply with Qi energy twelve internal
organs. Besides, these channels also take the excessive energy
away from internal organs allowing us to through it out of the
body. When due to blockage or disease the circulation of Qi
along the channels is interrupted, one or several organs cannot
get enough Qi which leads to their functional disturbance.

To be healthy, you need to learn how to keep the circulation of
Qi in the twelve channels smooth and constantly replenish the
“miraculous vessels” with energy.

If you understand the theory of Qi circulation in the human body
you will be able to understand how Qi relates to martial arts as
well. Remember, your body is not simply a machine it is an
organism able to improve itself. The stronger Qi is, the
stronger the human body gets.

Fighting Qigong practice sessions serve to enhance the
capabilities of your body. We know that using our mind we can
control various parts of our own body. The process of control is
simple. Our mind generates a thought, and the thought leads Qi
to the corresponding parts of the body which perform the
requested action. The key thing about Fighting Qigong is in
learning to lead your Qi as efficient as it can be. In this case
you can increase you strength very much.

Chinese martial arts masters learn to focus their minds through
meditation or other kinds of training practice to make Qi obey
them easily. This can substantially enhance the strength of a
fighter and increase the efficiency of his technique.

I know I’m not alone in feeling as though I’m in the Dark Ages
when it comes to figuring out phone services and various calling
plans. I’m truly not a Luddite, but with the plethora of phones,
phone cards, calling cards, long distance phone service options,
and local phone service options available, how is the average
consumer supposed to make an informed decision? There are times
when I find myself longing for the old days, when AT&T was the
only game in town - or the country, for that matter.

I received a call from my phone company about a week ago. It
turns out that my DSL contract is up at the end of the month. To
be honest, I didn’t even know I had a contract for DSL. I
thought I just signed up for it - end of story. The sales rep on
the phone started asking rapid-fire questions about my current
phone service and rattled off different types of phone service
and rate plans. I was completely paralyzed. First, I didn’t
understand why, if she was from the phone company, she didn’t
already know my calling plan. Second, I have a deep distrust in
this phone company, and simply wanted to keep my service, and
for her to go away. I told her as much, though very politely, of
course. Needless to say, I’m dreading my next phone bill, just
in case she messed with my plan.

In the meantime, I decided to hold my breath and dive into the
world of telephony in an attempt to figure out what options are
out there. What I’ve discovered is that there are many new
technologies and plans available for virtually every need.

For example, dial around is a great option for people who want
to save money on domestic and international long distance while
still using their own phone (cell, home, or business) and not
changing companies. It combines the convenience of a calling
card with many of the features found with traditional long
distance.

VOIP is a great option for people with high speed Internet. They
can have low cost local and long distance phone without
sacrificing quality. They will also get very low international
call rates and many features not found with traditional phone
service.

International callback works well for people who live outside
the U.S. and want to make low cost international calls. They can
bypass their existing high cost long distance company and make
high quality, low cost calls throughout the U.S.

Pre-paid phone cards are great for people who are traveling or
who want to make occasional low cost domestic or international
calls. They can be used to make calls from 130 countries and
offer convenience because they can be used from any phone.

Right now, I’m deciding which option to use for low cost
international calls, since my mother-in-law lives in Europe and
I live in the U.S. Although my cell phone service touted low
international rates, my last bill was astronomical. I’ll
definitely never call her from my cell phone again.

Zechariah 14:1-14:12

Bang, Bang,Your Dead.

Preaching the Gospel is an exciting adventure into the past, present and future. Many believe that humanity will continue at its present rate and eventually come together in peace and love. I’m sorry to say that this is just another lie from the father of all lies, Satan. Man is destined to die, no matter what, age, race, color, weather they be rich or poor. Death will not be denighed. As a child, I believe that many of you played games with your friends, some played, Cops and Robbers, and others Cowboys and Indians. The game was always the same, when we came upon our opponent we said, Bang, Bang,Your Dead. Lets look at the reality of the truth.

This part of verse comes from Zec 14:12; “Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” This scripture is stating that the flesh of mankind, that refuse God, shall be obliterated as they stand, bang, bang, your dead for real. Gog & Magog, Armageddon, and the Last war with Satan, which follows the 1000 year reign of Christ, all have the same thing in common. Death and destruction of man-kinds way of life. We as ministers have just scratched the surface of the truth in scripture. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Remember how that God decided to destroy all because of the unrighteousness. How the people had forgotten about God and His laws and statutes. How they turned to false gods and idols, homo-sexuality and all manner of debochery? Gen 19:28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Jud 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Well my friends, look around you today? “Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,” No where to run ,no where to hide, no time to repent, no time to ask forgiveness nor say good by to this life. Consumed by fire as you stand upon your feet and at the next moment surrounded by everlasting fire, heat and smoke. Each day that we live brings us closer to death, for some the joy of death and others the shame of it. I am just an old country preacher, some call a Hell Fire and Brimstone Man. But as this world races closer to the end of times, we must warn them that are outside the will of God. Jude gives me the inspiration that I need to continue to preach. Jude 1:10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. As I have said before, I will say again, It doesn’t matter what you believe, what matters is what Gods word says. Many are going after, Scientology, Budism, Musleumism and many other isms. Science is the bigest false god that runs rampant in this world today. Christians are being attacked by scientist that are trying to prove the existance of some other way of evolution. Man has corrupted himself with, false doctrine, unrighteous laws and attrocities hand over fist. Christianity has been and will be blamed for all of mans woes. Jude 1:22-23, And of some have compassion, making a difference: There is still a place for compassion. Compassion among those that are willing to hear with their ears and for those that are willing see with their eyes. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; {The fire of Hell} hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. The garment, the false religion and attitude of man. Every man has religion, every man believes in something, Buda, Allah, False Prophets, Money, Power, Prestige, Government and even themselves. They all believe that what they are doing is right. But their path is leading to a death of all deaths. All of this is religion.

Psa 110:6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. When God says enough, then death will be reliesed, as it was in Egypt, but Death will strike quickly and with a vengeance, according to the will of God.
Isa 66:15- 16 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. Man will not listen to God, man has refused to listen to His ambasitors, prophets and even His own Son.
Isa 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. This earth is going to rock and real, like a drunkard. [Extremely important references; Eze_38:18-22, Eze_39:17-20] Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. Can you emagin, people , jumping from cliffs, shooting themselves, drinking poison and not being able to die? A Day of sadness and day of torment a Day of Vengeance.

Zec 14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem;{Who are these nations that have fought against Jerusalem? All Nations.} Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. As a Nuclear blast only worse. Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.

Eze 39:14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.

Eze 39:15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. Its time to stop playing around with space, its time to stop playing with scientology, its time to stop playing around with evolution, its time to stop condemning the Ten Commandments as being subversive to our Children. Coming soon will be, Bang, Bang, Your Dead, for real.

After dying of a massave heart attack in 1999, God raised me up to preach the word to the poor, I preach the word with the fire of the Holy Ghost and am not afraid to die. My life belongs to God. Let His will be done. My sermonds are the direct result of obedience to God and I wish I could preach more. Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

You have probably heard a lot about social bookmarking lately. As a matter of fact, you can spend hundreds of dollars right now just to find out what it’s all about. Well, not here. I am giving you this information. I did the research and found this to be a super way to get more traffic to your site. The best news is, it’s 100% FREE.

What is Social Bookmarking?

It’s a public list of your favorites. Not all your favorites, just the favorites you want to share with others. You can add any website to your public list and retrieve it from any computer. (This is done on someone else’s server, not your computer)

When you list a site in your bookmark list, anyone looking for that same type of information can do a search at the bookmark site and find the sites that you have bookmarked. It is like a search engine without all the trash.

When you do a search in a search engine, you get all the sites that have something to do with the keywords you typed into the search box. It is easy to get a bunch of garbage sites that are loaded up with keywords but have poor content on the actual site.

The great thing about social bookmarking sites is the only sites you will find there are sites that other people have looked at and decided were worth saving for future reference. Real people have decided to save (bookmark) the sites, not robots. Real people also monitor the sites so if trash does get added, it is soon deleted.

The more people who bookmark a site, the more popular it becomes. As an example, lets say you are selling widgets for a really great price. You bookmark your home page on many public bookmarking sites. When someone is looking for a widget, they do a search at the bookmarking site and your bookmark comes up. They go look at your site and decide your prices are so good, they might want to come back later when they need another widget. So they add your site to their bookmarks for future reference.

When someone goes to one of these sites and types widgets into the search box, your site listing will come up in the search. If many people have bookmarked your site, you will be listed high in the search results. It’s kind of like a voting system. If you site is good enough to bookmark, other people will want to see what all the fuss is about.

Unlike search engines where all you have to do is good seo, the sites you will find in the Social Bookmarking sites are quality sites that other people enjoyed enough to save. You don’t really have to have a good site to get listed in the search engines.

How do you get started?

Do a search for social bookmarking, many sites will come up. Go to each site and register for an account. It’s FREE! Once you have your account set up, start listing your site. Make sure you add proper tags to your listing.

Tags are the same as keywords with a twist. These sites will tell you what the most popular searches are on their site. You choose the tags that will work with your site or page and are also part of the popular list. Many of the sites will also offer a spot to write a small description of the site you are bookmarking. Add a description that uses some of your tag words for added benefit.

Building popularity

As with anything that is worth doing, this will take you a while to get it all set up and running smooth but the end result will be very well worth your effort.

Start with one bookmarking site and one page from your site. (Start with your squeeze page and build your newsletter list) Set up your account with the bookmarking site and add your page to the bookmarks. Make sure you use the best tags and description you can. (Check the popularity list on the site) Doing this in itself will help you get more traffic. Now you can go one step further and work both sides of the system.

Add a link to your site that will lead back to the bookmarking site that has your page bookmarked. Ask your visitors to bookmark your site on the social bookmarking site.

My example is below
Bookmark my site at Blinklist.com and access it from any computer, anytime. Create a link to the bookmarking site so your visitors only have to click.

You want to make sure the page opens in a new window so when your visitors are done setting up their account, they will still have your page handy to bookmark.

Next Page

Now move on to the next page. You will want to offer a different bookmarking site on each page. Why? So you can get as many bookmarks on as many sites as possible. Use the same information in the example above but change the social bookmarking site you are promoting.

Won’t this look odd to your visitors? No. Most people will ignore the suggestion once they have bookmarked your site. They won’t even notice that you have changed the name of the link. They will see, Bookmark my site, and think, “I already did that”, and they will move on.

Final Note:

Don’t SPAM the sites. Make sure what you are listing is relevant and useful. You don’t want to bring traffic to a page that has nothing but links, you will probably get banned form the bookmarking site. Only bookmark your pages that have actual content. Ask yourself if you would truly add this page to your own favorites list? If your answer is no then don’t list it.

Recently, I was trying to explain the reason why I made money in both the Real Estate and the Stock Markets between the years 2000 and 2005, yet the economy was not really doing that great. So I did some research and I found charts that show the Dow Jones industrial average over the last 10 years. I also found charts of the Fed Funds rate and Real Estate home sales over the same period. When I compared the charts I found some interesting correlations between the current real estate market, the fed funds rate and the stock market.

I saw that the last time the Real Estate market had so much inventory was in January of 1996. When I looked at the Fed funds rate in that same year, it was also rising between 4.75 and 5 percent and that is where they are now exactly 10 years later. So if we look at the stock market at that time it was also reacting the same way as it now. With all of this research, if you believe in the money movement strategy which stipulates that wealthy investors tend to move money between stocks, bonds, real estate and money markets. Where do you think the Stock market is heading? I strongly believe that we are going to see some very bullish activity in the stock market over the next 2 or 3 years.

For more information please visit my website.

Dave Perry