The Finney School of Real Life

Ask a majority of adults what Christmas means to them, and they will most certainly say the birth of Jesus Christ. But did you know that Jesus Christ wasn’t even born on December 25? No one knows for sure when Jesus was really born, not even Biblical Scholars.

Did you know that the first three centuries of the Christian era Christians did not celebrate Christmas because they felt that celebrating birthdays was a pagan custom?

Many people will tell you today that Christmas is still a pagan custom simply because the idea of spending thousands of dollars and going into debt isn’t something to celebrate. How about decorating a pine tree with stuff, stringing popcorn on strings, receiving gifts from a bearded fat old man who comes strolling down the chimney? Where does Jesus fit into these customs?

Ask any child under the age of six and they will tell you that Christmas is about getting presents and Santa Claus coming down the chimney to deliver them toys, but only if they have been good. Parents have used the Santa fib for many years to get their children to behave while shopping and to get them to go to bed when they are told. If they have been naughty they can forget about Santa even coming to their house.

So why was December 25th chosen as the date to celebrate Christmas? According to the Collier’s Encyclopedia 1966 the choice of December 25th was influenced by the fact that on this day the Roman’s celebrated the feast of the Sun-god, and that the Saturnalia came at that time. Sun-god and Saturnalia?

Because of this pagan observance of the Sun-god by the Roman community, the Church took full advantage of this December 25th ritual and turned the people away from their Sun-god and made it a day to adore Christ the Lord.

My question is, do the children adore Christ the Lord, or Santa? Jesus doesn’t bring them any presents and he doesn’t come flying down the chimney every year either. In fact, they can’t even see Jesus except as a ceramic statue in a manger surrounded by some little sheep. I don’t think they adore that too much, what do you think?

Let’s suppose December 25th is the Birth of Jesus, where do all the presents, santa claus, reindeer, elf’s, and putting stuff on a tree fit into the Birth of our Lord and Savior? Through the years European customs and rituals have slowly wormed their way into the celebration of what is now called Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated around the globe a little different everywhere depending on where you live. But they all are based upon the same idea of gift giving and getting, putting stuff on a tree to make it look pretty, and santa coming down the chimney with a big red bag full of presents.

From what I have gathered in just the past several years, the biggest fans of Christmas are the retailers and the children, and in that order.

What do you think about this? If the “true” meaning of Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus then we should do something for Jesus, I mean it’s his birthday right? You wouldn’t give your Aunt Florence a bunch of presents if it were your husband’s birthday, would you?

Maybe we should try and be more like Jesus by helping a friend who is really in need, and giving up our presents, time and money and giving them to someone who is really in need of these things. I know this is what Jesus would want you to do and it’s his birthday.

Angie Lewis offers spiritual enlightenment tips for couples in marriage, and is the author of new release book JOURNEY ON THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED.

This unique book is about love, life, marriage, addiction, temptation, and understanding the power of spiritual awareness for your marriage.

In her book, Angie reveals her own journey of overcoming addiction and battling with her negative emotions that she allowed to embrace her life and marriage.

To find out more about this new book click here, http://www.spiritual.journeybooks.4t.com/
ISBN 1413788904
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Angie Lewis counsels couples and writes a monthly newsletter where she reveals her secrets on how YOU can stay happily married for life!

Subscribe to get your FREE monthly newsletter so you can stay happily and forever married!
http://www.heavenministries.com/

We’ve all heard about Einstein and his mind shattering theories that changed forever the way we look at the universe. One lesser-known caveat he spoke about applies particularly well in the trading area. Don’t worry, you won’t need to learn calculus here, but the theory is revelent to trading nonetheless. Einstein said that the definition of insanity is to try something over and over again and expect a different result. Ok, obvious enough. But what do you do in your trading? Do you repeat something over and over, expecting something different? Do you even know if you’re repeating the same technique each time?

There’s the rub. Few traders take the time to analyze what they do and what the results are of each action. This is a key element in your trading that you MUST do to survive long term.
So, here’s what you should do to get in touch with your insanity level.

1) You’ve heard that you should keep a record of each trade, but you must also keep a record of the reasons why you took the trade, what your thought process was behind it.

2) Be honest and don’t lie about what you did. (See my previous article “The One Thing You Must Know Before Making a Trade”)

3) List every trade, not just the winning one’s. List your emotional state each time. Try to determine if the trade was based on logic, or a result of an impulsive emotion (such as fear or greed).

4) Take the time to analyze your log. Compare your trades to the strategy your using. Are you following your planned trading method? Do you impulsively deviate from the plan? If you do follow the Trading plan, and it’s not showing a profit, them it’s time to change the system.

Sometimes we get involved in something and don’t take the time to step back and see if it’s the right path to take. Keeping a log and looking hard at your results will improve your trading results over the long run.

Paul Nickel has been trading successfully for years and has more information about trading at http://www.lowrisktrading.info and after years of trial and error uses the trading method outlined in the blogroll section under “low risk trading” at this site.
This article may not be used in part or in whole unless author name and link sites are provided with the copied atrticle.

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Some people say we live in the Information Age.

I call it the Distraction Age.

My new hometown is Distractionville. Everything and everybody shouts, “Hey, look at me!”: E-mail, Internet, TV, telephone, newspaper, radio, family and friends. The Distraction Faction is as bright as the midday sun and louder than a freight train in Distractionville.

I have had conversations lately with many small business owners about promoting their businesses for more sales. Traditional methods of advertising are more expensive than ever for the results they offer. Newspapers, magazines, radio,TV and Yellow Pages worked well in the past but due to the increasingly shortened attention spans in Distractionville, these methods for getting information to your customers aren’t getting results.

Business owners tell me they are often exasperated when their regular customers tell them about buying goods or services from another vendor that are readily available from their own businesses. The owners think what kind of customer loyalty is that for all of the service I offer to you? The owners say to the customers, “We offer that, too, you know”.

“I didn’t know you did that!” is the response from the customer.

Even if the customer should have known from your previous marketing efforts, it doesn’t matter. The sale is lost forever.

How can you get your message heard and seen in Distractionville? Consider increasing the decibel level of your business by using some of the following ideas adapted for your business:

-A florist offers to put bosses on a tickler list for advanced contact and products for secretary’s day for next year.

-The tire shop presents a coupon book of free tire rotations with every sale of new tires to get customers back for oil changes, brake inspections, etc.

-The dress shop calls its best customers to annouce the fall line is in with the customer’s size in stock.

-The computer repair service mails post cards to customers with older systems annoucing a special on systems upgrades and wireless networking.

-The coffee house offers coupons to each customer for a discount on its fresh baked blueberry muffins for the next visit.

-The lawn service puts door hangers on current customers’ doors with weeding and edging service information.

The solution for promoting all of your business goods and services to your existing customers is simple. Find new ways to tell them what you do. Then tell them again a different way. Then to be heard and seen above the roar of the crowd of Distractionville, tell them one more time.

Three easy steps:

1. Do it
2. Do it

3. Do it

Doug Emerson trains,consults and coaches small business owners daily about how to make more profit in less time.

He writes a FREE electronic newsletter filled with ideas about how you can improve your profits and create a life that balances work, rest and play. Go to this link and subscribe. http://www.douglasemerson.com/3Iwrotethis.htm

Or visit the website: http://www.douglasemerson.com

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warns that if you can’t get insurance for your house, you’re in big trouble. Mortgage lenders won’t lend on houses that are uninsurable and as a result its value could fall by up to 80%.

It’s a high flood risk that’s most likely to make your house uninsurable. According to a recent survey, 6.5 million homes are already at risk from flooding of which 1.5 million are in high risk areas. The government has completed flood defences in many such areas and protection for a further 80,000 homes is due this year. But concerns have also been expressed about a further 120,000 new homes planned for the Thames Gateway which are potentially in a high “at risk” zone. Yet many areas remain vulnerable. And if global warming continues, by 2030, the 1.5 million at risk could mushroom 3.5 million. Back in 2003 the Association of British Insurers (ABI) agreed the principles which committed UK insurers to offering home and contents insurance for properties in areas which are assessed to be at a flooding risk once in seventy five years or more. The rider was that the flood defences had to be already in place or would be completed by the end of 2007.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has the responsibility of developing and maintaining these flood defences but within the insurance industry there’s widespread concern that insufficient progress is being made. As a result the insurers have has warned the government that there could be widespread withdrawal of insurance cover if progress is stepped up.

In the mean time, those in areas threatened by flood water could find their insurance premiums soaring. Whilst the insurance industry agreed to provide insurance cover, their commitment was simply to maintain premiums at “reasonable” levels. But there was no definition of what “reasonable” means. As a result premium increases of 60% have been common with up 400% increases in bad areas. In a tiny number of cases, cover has been withdrawn altogether, mostly in country areas where DEFRA considers the cost of defending a cluster of a few homes to be uneconomic.

Environmentalists warn that unless DEFRA gets it’s skates on, the UK ’s current bill for flood damage could rise from £950 million a year, to £3.2 billion. After all, the average insurance claim for household flood damage is £30,000 - that’s even higher than fire damage. And localised events like the 2004 flood at Boscastle, Cornwall , can cost the insurers over £15 million.

If you are in any doubt whether your home or proposed home, is in a flood risk area, you should visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk. This is DEFRA’s web site where you can check whether they think your home is at risk of flooding. Their maps were originally designed for planning purposes and provide information on a post-code basis.

Whilst many insurers use the DEFRA information, others like More Than, have their own flood maps. These assess homes individually rather than post code areas. This means that if your existing insurer increases your premium for flood risk and uses the DEFRA information, you may still be able to get a cheaper rate from an insurer using it’s own flood data if its data identifies that your property is beyond the “at risk” zone.

The ABI has recently added to the pressure on DEFRA to accelerate the building and upgrading of flood defences. It has warned that unless the government increases its spending on flood defences, the insurance industry may not continue their commitment to the 2003 principles.

That would be bad news for many homeowners.

Michael Writes for Brokers Online who offer Life Insurance, Life Assurance and Home Insurance all online

Every real estate investing deal is an opportunity for both profit and education. Well my first deal was a good combination of both. When I decided I wanted to get involved in real estate investing it took me eight months to decide to do my first deal.

This particular deal came as a result of networking in my local real estate investor group. A local Memphis investor found a deal on a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home in a moderate to lower income area where people still like to buy homes. This was a wholesale deal for the other investor and he assigned his contract to me to close on the deal. I was buying the property for $58,000 and $5,000 of that went to the investor for assigning the contract to me and $53,000 went to the seller of the property. I had the cash available so I paid all cash for this deal and for $4,000 in repairs this property needed. The after repaired value of the property was approximately 95k.

I had decided I wanted to do a rent to own or lease option deal with this property. I put a yard sign out with property flyers and had links to a website with inside pictures of the property. At the time I was doing this a more experienced investor told me I should try to retail the property and take the quick cash and go on to the next deal. Well as a new investor I wasn’t sure how long it would take for me to find my next good deal so I wanted to get the maximum out of this property. After about a month(and about $800 in ads) I found a tenant I considered suitable and agreed to take a $2500 option fee plus $875 per month and a sales price of $99,000. If the tenant pays the rent by the first of the month then $100 counts as pay down towards the purchase price. If I had sold the property quickly I may have sold for $89k and paid $5k in selling fees and netted about $20k and would have paid about $7k in taxes on that income. Instead by going after lease option it may take 2-6 years to sell and I should get a $99k or better selling price with much less selling costs and should net about $35k of which about $5k will be taxed as capital gains. The lease option method will net me about double what retailing would have done, however it would have been nice to have access to that cash for doing more deals. I think the $15,000 profit quickly would have been better than $30,000 in a couple of years plus the things I could have done with the $62,000 in cash I put into the property.

The tenant I chose has not once in the first nine months paid the rent on time so he hasn’t earned the $100 monthly rent credit, and has on average had to pay an extra $100 each month in late charges. I don’t expect this tenant will be able to refinance, however his job status and income have been going up while he has been in the property, and the current market value is now $105k. The tenants father is a mortgage broker and if I get to the point of evicting the son the father has told me to let him catch up the sons rent before filing for eviction so that part is really in my favor.

From a humanitarian perspective I like lease option deals as I am really helping someone who could not rent otherwise. I will only do a lease option to someone I believe is improving their credit and job situation and should be able to buy the house within 24 months. With 12 months of on time payments verified by copies of checks many mortgage brokers can get your tenant financed as a refinance type of deal.

In the event the tenant doesn’t buy the property within the first 2 years I can either lease option to another tenant or just try to outright sell the property. Even though the property provides great cash flow I would rather sell it and get a big check and use the cash to go after the next deal.

Some things I learned on this deal that you can use: 1. We had a yard sign with flyers in a flyer tube plus links to view pictures on a website. Before we would show the inside of the property we insisted any prospects should view the pictures online first. We ran ads in the major local newspaper and we got 20 times as many calls from the yard sign than we did from the newspaper. However this street had decent traffic, other properties I have are more secluded. Always use a yard sign and flyer box and have pics online with good descriptions and always highlight the kitchen and bathrooms. 2. If I had the deal to do all over again I would have retailed the house and tried to sell it quickly. I could have rolled this deals cash into more and more deals and made much more money. My opinion now is that every investor who isn’t already financially well off needs to go for the quick income first and progress to long term deals second. 3. I probably should have waited a little longer for a stronger tenant. 4. You can not do this type of lease option transaction in Texas now due to some strange laws that got passed in 2005. However I live in Tennessee and we don’t have any anti-investor state wide laws yet. We do have a bad local one related to trash left over from evictions but that is minor in comparison.

David offers a free
E-course on quick start strategies for getting started in real estate investing that is delivered free via email and tele-clinic at:
www.FreeRealEstateInvestingCourses.com

Description of Calms Forte

Hyland’s Calms Forte provides natural relief of symptoms of
simple nervous tension and sleeplessness. Hyland’s Calms Forte
is all natural and works without contraindications or side
effects. Easy to swallow tablets are perfect for daytime or
nighttime use.

Ingredients of Calms Forte Passiflora Incarnata HPUS 1X
Triple Strength (Passion Flower), Avena Sativa HPUS 1X Double
Strength (Oat), Humulus Lupulus HPUS 1X Double Strength (Hops),
Chamomilla HPUS 2X (Chamomile), Calcarea Phosphorica HPUS 3X
(Calcium Phosphate), Ferrum Phosphorica HPUS 3X (Iron
phosphate), Kali Phosphoricum HPUS 3X (Potassium Phosphate),
Natrum Phosphoricum HPUS 3X (Sodium Phosphate), Magnesia
Phosphoricum HPUS 3X (Magnesium Phosphate), In a Base of
Lactose, N.F., Calcium Sulfate, Starch (Corn and Tapioca),
Magnesium Stearate.

Suggested Use for Calms Forte

As a relaxant: Swallow 1 to 2 tablets with water as needed three
times daily, preferably before meals. For insomnia: 1 to 3
tablets 1/2 to 1 hour before retiring. Children: 1/2 adult dose.

Additional Information for Calms Forte

Calms Forté is a homeopathic remedy to soothe and calm irritated
nerves and alleviate edginess while nourishing and strengthening
the nerves, encouraging the body to withstand daily stress and
strain. Provide temporary symptomatic relief of simple nervous
tension and insomnia (sleeplessness). 100% natural, no side
effects and non habit forming. For
more details click here!

This type of specialized medical insurance provides coverage for citizens of
a particular country who live overseas - commonly referred to as expatriates.
For those who do live or work overseas, obtaining comprehensive medical coverage
can be difficult and expensive - particularly so in an emergency.

Many people who move overseas experience one or two different problems: Their
employer’s existing health insurance may not cover them overseas, and they may
not be eligible to be covered under a medical plan that is administered in the
country of residence. Unless they take out health insurance specifically
designed for expatriates they may find themselves uninsured.

It’s also extremely important to make sure your insurance covers any family
members that may go overseas with you. This is especially important if you are
moving to a country with poor medical facilities. If you have what the insurance
companies call a “dangerous” occupation such as being employed by the army,
police or on a sports team, you may not be able to get expatriate insurance - or
you will pay a lot more for it. Participating in hazardous sports such as
mountaineering or skiing may also not be covered.

Check whether your policy includes coverage for emergency evacuation. This means
that if you are taken ill overseas and need to be treated back in the US, the
insurance company will fly you back home, by private air ambulance if necessary.
This procedure can cost upwards of $50,000 if paid for - a recent publicized
case concerned a traveler in Africa who became sick and incurred a bill of over
$120,000 for this service, as he had no insurance.

The policy may also include emergency reunion services - flying family members
to be with you if you are hospitalized. Again, the cost can be prohibitive if
not covered by your insurance. This type of coverage may also include the costs
of various extras such as meals, accommodation and phone calls.

And be sure to ask whether your expatriate insurance covers pre-existing
conditions and exactly how you would be covered in the event of giving birth
overseas, or a pregnancy complication.

Procrastinating is a very common problem in our society today. It seems to be more of a problem especially in the workplace. There are many factors that play a part in procrastination and why humans do it.

So how do we stop procrastinating?

We need to realize that we are doing it in the first place. Human nature allows us to do things and then disguise them as other issues. We tend to make excuses for our bad habits and usually end up blaming them onto other things or people. So the first step in learning to stop procrastinating is to identify that we are procrastinating.

So what exactly is procrastination? Procrastination is when a person literally avoids doing a task that they know they should be doing. It could be any task, from making a simple phone call to someone, or losing weight, to more important issues such as finishing a duty in the workplace that may cause you to lose your job if it isn’t completed.

Procrastination is a bad habit that usually has bad end results from doing it. If this sounds familiar, then it may be time for you to learn to stop procrastinating.

Why do People procrastinate? There are many, many reasons why we do it. A Study at a prominent University showed that 90% of the college students enrolled there were guilty of procrastination. The dropout rate of students that procrastinate is high, as well.

The reasons range from many different problems, however, Laziness is not one of them. We tend to think that people who procrastinate are lazy and that is just not the case. There is usually an underlying problem.

One of the most common reasons why people procrastinate is perfectionism. These people are so afraid of making a mistake that they avoid doing the task at all. Their way of thinking is that if they don’t do it, they won’t have to face any mistake that they have made.

Fear is another reason why people procrastinate. If someone is put outside their comfort zone, they avoid it. An example of this would be asking someone to write a speech to give in front of a group of people.

If this person is afraid of speaking in front of people, then they will more than likely put off writing a speech until the last minute. Little do they realize that it makes them feel unprepared and doesn’t probably go as smooth as they would like it to.

Another common reason why we procrastinate is out of anger. If someone is forced into doing something that they do not want to do, they rebel by avoiding the issue. This is so common during the teen years. The task is usually poorly done, if done at all.

So to stop procrastinating we must first set goals in our lives. We need to figure out what it is that we want to achieve, and then make a list of goals. They need to be realistic goals that we can achieve. If we set them too high we are setting ourselves up for a disaster.

After we set our goals we need to commit to doing them. That is the hard part, but if we can understand that we are procrastinating and why, it will be much easier to learn to stop procrastinating.

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report that reveals how to crush procrastination and sustain lasting motivation. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: stop procrastinating

No matter where you are within your business, just beginning or have been in business for many years, one thing remains the same; your business needs a banking institution that is solid and great for businesses. Within this article, we will look at some of the main items you should consider when looking for a bank account for your business. There are many things you should think about when opening a new bank account for your business, each one of them should work to benefit your company in all ways necessary.

For starters you should look at some of the basics, first consider what type of company you are, limited or sole trader. For a limited business, you will be required to obtain a business bank account, while a sole trader has the ability to use their personal bank accounts for any activity within their business. For those who insist or are required to have a business bank account, you should consider a institution that has a team in place specifically for businesses.

Consider any fee’s that are associated with the bank account for example, overdraft fees or transaction feeds. Also, consider if the bank offers a period of time that is fee free for new accounts, if they offer this it is wise to take advantage of this offer. You should also look at any incentive offers that the bank gives you, for example, charge cards, free statements, or credit cards. Always check the interest rates offered on these account and consider if the chosen bank has internet banking, this is important because it allows you to have up to the minute information regarding various aspects of your account. Businesses will benefit from internet banking because it allows you to do your banking at your convenience, which we know that many busy business owners frequently do not have the time to visit the bank.

When you have finally sorted out the proper banking institution for your business it is time to open your account. There are many things you will have to bring to the bank when you go, this documentation could include your business plan or other various details in regard to your business. Additionally, you will have to take along your incorporation certificate, any items necessary to prove your identity (Photo ID, utility bills, and perhaps your passport), and a list of those who are authorized to sign any company checks.

Jeff Lakie is a writer for the
Secured Personal
Loan website For further information visit our
site today.