They’re Better than Gold.

15. June 2009 by Karen in Los Angeles.

Yep, those Lakers are something else. But unbelievable as it is, they are not the “they” that I am referring to.

I’m referring to your employees. I’m referring to the people who help you do what you do. Make no mistake, Jesus is praying for us during these hard times and God is in control of this economic downturn. I want to tell you though that He is far more focused and concerned with how we are treating each other during this time. It’s the perfect time for you to take your faith to the next level. And if your faith is misplaced, it’s the perfect time for you to redirect it to a better Source.

I know that layoffs seem like the only option. I’m not blind, I know the money has not been tight, but you can still acquire new opportunities. The Bible says that there are rivers in dry places. You will have to look and you will have to give services or products for a different price, but you can maintain if you put your mind to it.

Our unwillingness or lack of desire to take on more responsibility is influencing our decision-making right now but we can do better. We can do much better. All of us have responsibilities. All of us. How we handle our current responsibilities determines if we are promoted in the next global phase. In other words, whether we will be up for the next promotion or if our business will cross over into the next threshold.

God cares about you and He believes in your ability to find and acquire a better opportunity, whether it’s another job or it is to find new clients while still managing your company. Before you are quick to release your people who need a little more guidance and a little more time to perform, remember that someone had to wait for you. It’s possible that God is still waiting on you. I’ll leave you with the Scripture in 1 Kings 9:26-28 and 1 Kings 10:22:

26: King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

27: Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon.

28: And they went to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.

22: For the king had merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.

Take a lesson from Solomon and his people, they hired people who knew their craft and sent them out to do their job and they received a big ROI. If you have the right people or a person with the right character willing to learn, keep them around. I understand that the salaries are a company’s biggest expense, but investing in people will allow you to reap the greatest reward we have…ourselves.

There is a report that China is selling off their US bonds and investing in gold. This is a sign that they believe that the US can’t make good on our “exports” or as I like to call it, us, and our services can be replaced. If you haven’t heard, we’re so popular that other cultures are producing our services and doing a pretty good job like India. If they deliver it cheaper for a variety of reasons, you can imagine the ending. We spend but can we find. Find new clients, go overseas. They buy stuff like we do.

Keep your talent. Train your talent. God can meet your faith.

Posted in CAREER | No Comments »

How’s Your Spot Lookin’?

1. June 2009 by Karen in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles. There are bleak days but then there are really great days like when the Great Lakes make it to the Finals (again — go Kobe and company).Los Angeles was a very unexpected gift given to me.

I’m from the east coast and it is just unsound practice for a east coaster to come to the west. The wild wild west. It’s a bit of a twilight zone that can last for years and years to come. But, nevertheless, this is where I’m supposed to be and I’m starting to love it.

Not the politics or the traffic or any of those horrible things but just the peace of being where I’m supposed to be.The real question is can you say the same? There are responsibilities that come with being in position. You are expected to hold your position and keep striving for the ultimate goal. Here’s a little piece of Heaven from the book of Joshua, 14th chapter and verses 8 - 13.

8: “Nevertheless my brethern who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.

9: “So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’

10: “And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.

11: “As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.

12:”Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

13: And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.”

How’s your inheritance looking? Mine’s finally starting to look up. :-)

Posted in SPIRIT | No Comments »

A Champion in the Making

17. May 2009 by Karen in Los Angeles.

Okay, so I try not to be one of those parents who pushes their kid to greatness in some sort of effort to fix my past mistakes or personal disappointments. But my son has shown a natural interest in competing so I support him. I guess putting him in a basketball league at 5, 6, 7 and 8 years old helped that interest a little.

Anyhow, I took my son to play miniature golf yesterday. There is a great spot on Sepulveda and Burbank Blvd. in Sherman Oaks. It’s got an arcade, batting cages and three miniature golf courses. It was hot as heck out there but a great day to play.

This is the second time [in a long time] that I took him to play and this was also the second time that I beat him terribly. I must tell you that his competitiveness may be inherited a bit. I don’t like to lose at anything and I consider everything work (the work-aholic in me says so). So I tend to put my best foot forward in all situations. He wasn’t too upset about losing but his energy shifted towards the end of the game when he realized he was going to lose.

That made me wonder about whether I should start letting him win. I don’t know. Would Tiger Wood’s father let him win? What about Jordan’s father? A-Rod? I just don’t know. I’m not a man so I don’t know how they think.

All I know is I felt a bit guilty. Maybe I should let him win. I beat him at Phase 10. I beat him at HORSE. Maybe I should pick on somebody my own size. ???

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Feels Good to Be Back

14. May 2009 by Karen in Los Angeles.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written. I hit a bit of a bump in the road and decided to take some time off. I’ve since then realized that the stories on the blog were going a tad bit off direction.

I want to refocus on the bigger picture and somehow make a contribution, no matter how small, to helping us place some of our priorities back in line.

I’m a Christian and it’s hard getting through this life with such a big responsibility but I’ve seen the light and realize that refocusing on the game plan is always the best bet.

Sure, I’ll have a gripe or two every now and then but the point of the site is to talk about the experiences we have in our cities. I’m looking forward to traveling to the other 30 cities on my roster but I’m happy to focus on the everyday life in good ole’ California.

The sun, the fun. Come visit us…and bring your wallet. We need it :-)

Posted in FRESH START | No Comments »

Figuring It Out

27. January 2009 by Karen in Los Angeles.

Posts coming soon…February 2009.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »