Take Charge of Your Focus

I am currently reading a book entitled Take Charge, Give All by Bo Sanchez. I just finished one out of the seven sections of the book. The title of the first section is Take Charge of Your Focus.

The message of the first section is for us to focus on God and God's promise which is our dreams. Each person has their own unique dreams in life. I believe that dreams came from God. It was planted in our hearts eversince. Remember when we were young, we have dreamed unlimitedly? Life coaches teach us to go back to those days and recall the big dreams that we desired.  Whatever it is, that thing is our passion. That thing is our purpose. At a young age we desired things of our own choice. No one dictated us but we just felt it in our hearts. But as we grew older those dreams became blurred little by little until we totally forget about it.

Because we forget our dreams, we tend to be carried away by the flow of life. Or sometimes, we still know our dreams but we just disregard it and set it aside. We tend to let other people or circumstances dictate us what to do. We tend to only care about today and not the future. Then we feel exhausted, irritated, dissappointed, burned out because we no longer enjoy what we are doing. 

However, if we focus on God and His promise, no matter how difficult life is, we will be able to conquer all hurdles in life. Our dreams will motivate us to continue despite of hardship. Dreams tell us the destiny that we want to reach in the future. Dreams give us energy in doing tasks that will lead  us towards it.

Taking charge of focus means that we have to lead our selves to the direction that we truly desire. We have to focus on our passion. We have to live our life to the fullest by fulfilling our purpose through our passion. We have to always see the bright future waiting for us so that we can endure the challenges of life. Taking charge of focus means having the discipline to stay positive minded all the time.

To conclude, taking charge of our focus means always look at God and believe in His promise that we will make our dreams come true.

Money Matters

I found my little notebook that I used before when I attended a seminar entitled "Money Matters". The speaker was Jerome Gutierrez and the seminar happened on September 26, 2007. 

It was the day that my mind was introduced to a great idea. It widened my perspective about money. It was the day that led me to look further and seek more wisdom about wealth and success. 

According to this seminar, there are seven keys to wealth and success.

1. Pray

Jeremiah 33:3 New International Version (NIV)

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Just like anything that we ask our Lord God, we can also pray to Him for wealth and             success. Our God Almighty is a generous God so let us feel free to pray and ask Him. He     knows what is in our heart and in God's time, if it is His will, our prayer for richness and         success will be provided. 

2. Read

As per  Psalm 119:15 New International Version (NIV):

"I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways."

There is also a quote that says: "Leaders are readers."

Reading is one way way of teaching ourselves. Many great books have been written by great authors. These books are just waiting for us to discover them and utilize it for our success. 

The speaker gave recommended readings about the money. These are the top five books: 

              1.  Bible

              2.  Automatic Millionaire

              3.  Rich Dad, Poor Dad

              4.  Why We Want You to be Rich

              5.  The Storehouse Principle

3. Tithe

Tithing is about faith and obedience. In  the Bible, God is teaching us to offer the ten percent of our produce. It is also a way of thanking God for blessing us with the ability to produce or work. Our life comes from God and so let us praise Him, glorify Him and thank Him through our lifestyle and one way is tithe offering. Let us also not expect something of what we give God, but surely God will bless us more.

4. Save

This is the old formula: Income-Expenses= Savings
This is the new formula: Income-Savings= Expenses

The old formula is being used by poor people, while the new formula has been the discipline being used by the rich people. It is not too late. As long as we can still work and earn money, we can also do what the rich people are doing and someday we can be one of them. 

5. Give

We have to be a blessing. God is a giver and He wants us to be like Him. Most rich people gives to the poor through charity works because they can. We can allot a portion of our income or profit for charity purposes. 

6. Invest

The savings that we get out of our income which is recommended to be not less than ten percent as well, must be invested. Investing is letting our money work for us. Be careful though. Invest your money to someone or to a business that you know will give you a good return. You must also pray and do research before you invest your   

The savings that we get out of our income which is recommended to be not less than ten percent as well, must be invested. Investing is letting our             money work for us. Be careful though. Invest your money to someone or to a business that you know will give you a good return. You must also pray and do research before you invest your money. Study well and find a mentor     who is successful so that you will be guided. 

7. Work

We can't just sit down and pray. We have to work and be productive in the         marketplace. We can sell our service or our product so that we can have income or profits.  

These are the lessons that I have learned from that seminar. I hope that these ideas would also lead you into further search and study to seek wisdom and wealth. I have been influenced by these lessons in a positive way. I am sharing this lessons and may God bless you with these lessons as well. 

             

Chapter One of How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler 1966 Special Edition

I am a follower of Jim Rohn and one of the books that he recommended is the "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler. The first thing that came into my mind was that it is a book for English reading and comprehension. However,after reading the first chapter, I have realized that it is not only a reading and comprehension guide but also a book for Personal Development. It is one of the self-help books. According to Jim Rohn if a person wants to grow and improve himself/herself, he/she must be come a voracious reader. The author has explained very well in this chapter the reason why a person must keep on improving the reading skill. 

The first chapter is entitled "To the Average Reader". On this chapter, Mortimer Adler is educating us that majority of the readers do not know how to read well. He explains in this chapter that the activity of reading is not simple and it requires practice and time to master. He also explains that reading very well is a source of wealth specially if we read great books. One can maximize the benefit of reading a great book if he or she is skilled in reading. 

The author said that the education system is not able to train students on how to read a book. He said that reading does not end in memorizing information from the book. He himself confessed that he was not able to really learn how to read a book until he became a teacher who is teaching students on how to read. He clearly explains in this chapter the reason why this book was written. Majority of the readers need to improve their reading skills specially if their job has reading activities. 

Mortimer Adler is telling us that we have to exert effort and spend time in order to improve our reading skill. He is telling the readers how important it is for people to read very well. Most people only read a book as a way of getting information. However, he effectively explains how people do the above average manner of reading. In the last portion of the chapter, he mentions that people do the right way of reading whenever they read a love letter. 

What the author is trying to explain in this chapter is that reading is very important for self improvement and that we have to invest our time and energy in this activity. He is promoting reading as a valuable skill that could be our source of wealth. This chapter implies that it is possible to apply the manner on how we read love letters whenever we read great books. However, just to set our expectation, it will not be easy but once we have the skill, it is rewarding. 

My Maid Invests in the Stock Market...and Why You Should, Too! by Bo Sanchez

I have been hearing about stock market since I was in elementary. I usually see it in news. I could not comprehend it before. I heard that it is like a gamble and that it is a thing of rich people.It is only for those who can afford to pay large amount of money. So I did not bother to know more about it.

However, I saw Brother Bo Sanchez' book "My Maid Invest in Stock Market...and Why You Should, Too! I was intrigued so I bought and read it.

I was enlightened after reading the book. I have realized that the concept is just simple. Brother Bo easily explained it in the book that even a kid would be able to understand it. I am glad that Brother Bo wrote this book. The book educated me about stock market and gave me information on how I could start.

I highly recommend this book. Go and grab your copy now.

ROMANS 1

This chapter introduces the author Paul as the disciple assigned to spread the word of God about Jesus to the Gentiles. Paul was very thankful to God because of the faithfulness of the people in Rome. Here, he expresses his longingness to be with the people in Rome and to preach God's teachings. He said that it is his obligation to teach to all types of people. He said that he is proud of the gospel as it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. 

"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteousness will live by faith.' - Romans 1:17

In this chapter, Paul mentioned that some people are no longer recognizing the glory of God and instead they worshipped idols. He said that though they know that God made it easy for people to understand his commandments, some people chose not to follow Him. This is because in the first place, some people stopped recognizing God. Without God in people's lives, they will be led astray and will have more tendency to commit sin. They will no longer be able to determine whether what they are doing is against God's commandments. These people will commit sin and also agree to their fellowmen who also commit sin.

This chapter reminds to always go to God and ask for wisdom from Him. It reminds me to guard my mind and my heart. Just like what have been discussed in the Feast last May 4. We can see God in everything but not everything is good. We should filter the thoughts or ideas that we are getting specially in our media because not all of them are Godly. If we are not familiar with God's teaching, we might be led in the wrong direction. So one solution is that we need to have a strong foundation for our faith in God. Just like immunity system for our health. If we have a strong immunity system spiritually, nothing ungodly will destroy our spiritual health. We have to always be close to God through prayer, attending masses or prayer meetings and reading the Bible. Let us make God the center of our lives.

Acts 27-28

Acts 27  

This chapter describes the difficulty and danger that the sailing of Paul and his friends has to go through just to reach Rome. They boarded ship from Adramyttium. In the middle of their sailing they were caught by a storm. Paul told people who sailed with him to be courageous and have faith with God as an angel told him that they will reach Rome alive. 

            ..."Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has

              graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you."   - Acts 27:24

On the fourteenth night, they were still sailing on Adriatic Sea. On the dawn of that day, Paul convinced them to eat so that they could survive. They have not eaten in the fourteen days of their sailing. After eating, they threw the remaining grain into the sea so that their boat will become lighter. During the daylight, they saw the bay with a sandy beach and they swam to it. They left the ship and it was eventually broken by the pounding of the surf. All of them reached the land safely. 

Acts 28 

The land that they reached was called Malta. Natives of that place welcomed them and they thought that Paul was a god because a snake hanged on his hand and after he shook it off into the fire, Paul did not suffer any illness. Paul also treated the father of Publius who has fever and dysentery and other islander who were also sick. Because of these, people from Malta were thankful and they gave Paul and his people things that they needed.

After three months, they sailed to sea using an Alexandrian ship. They reached Syracuse first and stayed there for three days and then after that they reached Rhegium. Two days later they reached Puteoli. From Puteoli, they met some brothers and asked them to spend a week with them. After that they came to Rome. In Rome, Paul was allowed to live alone with a soldier to guard him. 

There in Rome, Paul preached the good news about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. He boldly preached about the Kingdom of God and about the Lord Jesus Christ. 

"Therefore, I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"

- Acts 28:28

I thought it was easy to read the Bible. But it is not. When I was reading these two chapters, I was just reading it because it is my goal of being able to read all the chapters of Bible. I know and I believe that I can get wisdom from this most wonderful and greatest book in the whole world. Indeed, it is very challenging for me. But I read it anyway. I read it lightly. I cannot comprehend it easily in one reading. I have to read it again. I think I have read it five to seven times before I was able to get the significance of these chapters. 

When I first read these chapters, what came to my mind was that Paul is just documenting the places that they went into before reaching their final destination which is Rome. I thought it was just for the purpose of like putting it in history. For giving information on the places or the trace of the sailing that they did before reaching Rome.

But after reading it several times, I have realized that Paul has to experienced hardship and he has to wait minimum of three months just to reached Rome. I have realized that it was a great challenged for Paul to go to Rome. It was like a trial as well. Other people would easily give up if that happens to them. But since Paul knows his mission and purpose, he pushed it through anyway. He was courageous and patient and he did his job excellently. When he reached Rome, he did not relax but he did his mission courageously and boldly. He spread the good news to people of Rome. He spread the good news about Jesus not only to the Jews in Rome but also to the Gentiles. 

What is the lesson that I got? I say that we just have to be persistent and disciplined in life specially in pursuing our dreams and goals. It would not be an easy sailing. We will be tested. But if we will only focus on our goals, dreams or missions and through our faith in God, then we will be victorious.

                    

Acts 24-26

These three chapters narrate the story of Paul when he was sued by some Jews who does not believe him. The accusers were lead by the high priest Ananias. They accused Paul as a troublemaker, stirring riots among the Jews all over the world. They brought their case to Governor Felix. During the time of Governor Felix, the Jews who hated Paul were not successful of putting Paul to death. When Felix finished his term, he turned over the case to the next governor Festus and left Paul in prison. Festus was also undecided about the case. Desperate to put Paul to death, the haters of Paul asked Festus for Paul to be sent to Jerusalem so that they would kill Paul by ambush. Paul pleaded Festus that his case be trialed to Caesar. Festus who seemed to be confused on how to handle the case asked the advice of King Agrippa while the king visited Festus. King Agrippa asked to hear Paul and after hearing him, the King gave a statement that favors Paul.

While reading these chapters, I remember that this is the same situation that Jesus experienced from the Jews before He was crucified. I admire Paul for his courage to face this trial. I can feel his passion in proclaiming the word about Jesus Christ as savior. I felt hatred to those people who are accusing Paul but I think that it was part of his destiny as prophet during his time. I realized that God chose him and that he has to experience prosecution as part of proclamation of Jesus Christ being risen from His death. I think that it is part of God’s plan that he will be brought to the government’s attention so that the officials would also know Jesus.

I am thankful that there is a Paul in the history of the Bible. Because he played an important role in spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ. If God did not use Paul, Gentiles would not know Jesus and I may not have known God as well. Paul shared Jesus to the non-Jews and so shared the blessings and the salvation to all nations.