Kindness...Givers Gain

     I was recently invited to a Business Networking International Meeting.  While I think it is an admirable program I don't think it is a good fit for me.  I am shocked at the cost of a membership, the small size of the group and it's platform.  I would recommend getting involved in a non-profit organization and begin networking from there.  This BNI organization is just like a Twitter Party, only in person.  Everyone walks around with their card and then at the end they "refer" each other to each other...all for only $350 per year, plus a $100 one-time processing fee and another $100 membership dues (I thought that was the $350 but apparently not).  Also you are required to do activities each month to accrue points.  You get points for referrals and one-on-one meetings with other members; bringing a guest gets points too.  Everyone in the room goes around and stands up for a 20 second "commercial" and I am not exaggerating.  I walked away with 2 things.  1.  People will pay for anything.  2.  Givers Gain.

     I say this because the premise of the idea is socially conscious and generous in spirit.  Basically it is built on the referrals.  So the more referrals you put out there for other people the more you gain by them sharing your name and area of expertise.  It is about working together to make a group of people successful.  The problem I have with it is that these people are motivated by money so they are charging money to make money.  If this motivated group of people focused on a charity and worked together for that cause, they would not only be helping the cause but also making the same connections and creating a sense of purpose and teamwork.  I feel like my $8 PTA membership and the contacts I make there and at scouts and anywhere else I volunteer are worth far more than a promise from 29 people that if they run into anyone wanting Scentsy they will give them my name.  I make these connections amidst a spirit of giving...not money but time, energy, intellect.  Giving for the improvement of the community.
     The director of the Kansas City area or district or region, said..."Givers Gain" and I like that.  I often remind myself how I want to live with tidbits of wisdom and this is one I will keep and reuse.  Givers do gain.  Another one I have picked up is..."Leave the woodpile a little higher than how you found it."  To me, this is a reminder to live above the line.  To be the person who picks up the trash in the parking lot instead of running over it.  The people who adopt pets from shelters instead of buying from a super-breeder.  The people who start businesses who are socially conscious and aim to leave this earth as intact as possible.  These are my people.  I want to be these people.
    

Accepting Christ as my Personal Savior

    When I was 13 I went to church camp at Camp Galilee in southern Missouri.  This was an intense experience and remains firm in my memory.  Every evening we would have a 'service' at The Slab.  We would have a short sermon and sing a bunch of songs designed to make the most of the hormone-ridden teen's emotional state.  We would cry and cling to each other, moved to tears.  I honestly felt as though God was there with us.  I experienced the spirit, but this was not the first time.
     There was a day when I was young, about 10, maybe a little younger.  I was in the field behind my house, bored.  I kicked back in the grass, looking at the sky.  As I lie there staring at the clouds they moved in front of the sun and I felt as though I was asleep but half-awake and the sun began shining between the clouds with distinct 'rays'.  I was frozen and then Jesus appeared to me.  He was Love.  He was Everything.  I got but a moment's taste of the entire universe in that vision.  All was clear and nothing else mattered.  But it was fleeting.  I tried to make it happen again, to no avail.
     There have been times since then, but not nearly as literal.  I think my young mind was so impressionable.  I dreamed my grandfather died the night he died.  But the most powerful surrender I have ever experienced was the last night of church camp when I was 13.  We were at the Slab.  We had a sermon and then there were to be some 'kids' bearing witness to how they received Jesus into their hearts.  I received Jesus into my heart that night.  For real.  I physically felt overwhelmed by the Presence of the Lord, the Spirit.  I proclaimed him my Lord and Savior and from there on my own Discovery of my Spirituality began.  Properly moved and exhausted I felt peaceful and full.  At that moment it was the Answer.  There were no questions.