<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/xsl/rss2html.xsl" type="text/xsl" media="screen"?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/scripts/wpcss/wiki/whatisthepurpose/skin/organic/rss" type="text/css" media="screen"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><channel><title>My Own Page - Recently Updated Pages</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/pageSearch/updated</link><description>Recently Updated Pages on http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com</description><language>en-us</language><webMaster>info@wetpaint.com</webMaster><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:52:46 CDT</pubDate><lastBuildDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:52:46 CDT</lastBuildDate><generator>wetpaint.com</generator><ttl>60</ttl><image><title>My Own Page</title><url>http://create.wetpaint.com/img/logo.gif</url><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com</link><description>it is all about Purpose of Life</description></image><item><title>My Contact and Information</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/My+Contact+and+Information</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/My+Contact+and+Information</guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2008 03:52:46 CDT</pubDate><description>&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;For More Information, Questions and Suggestions:&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Email Me:&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.commailto:james_gutierrez101@yahoo.com&quot; target=&quot;_self&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot; face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;james_gutierrez101@yahoo.com&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.commailto:james_gutierrez2007@yahoo.com&quot; target=&quot;_self&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot; face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;james_gutierrez2007@yahoo.com&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.commailto:james.gutierrez3000@gmail.com&quot; target=&quot;_self&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot; face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;james.gutierrez3000@gmail.com&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Or pm me at my YM:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Faith_Defender_07&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;princejamescrusader&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;young_people_07&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;James307&lt;br&gt;Sinner_Saved_By_Jesus_Christ&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;We are glad to hear from you...&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;My last and personal Message for you:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;[&amp;quot;1. We are sinners and going to hell 2. God Love us and He Sent His Son to Pay for our Sins 3. Believe on Him and Thou Shalt be Saved with Faith and Repentance 4. He Promise us Eternal Life and He will not Lie... Think of it before it&amp;#39;s too late. J.M.G&amp;quot;]&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;h3&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;My Life Verses:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;John 3:16 (King James Version)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;i&gt;16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. &lt;/i&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;h3&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;Ephesians 2:8-9 (King James Version)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;i&gt;8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: &lt;/i&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;9Not of works, lest any man should boast.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;h3&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;Titus 1:2 (King James Version)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;i&gt;2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; &lt;/i&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;My &amp;quot;World&amp;quot; survey and their contribution to us [100% fair percentage](People Choice, Life Mystery and Through History).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;God- 90%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Israel- 20%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Jesus Christ- 70%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Christianity- 70%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;KJV 1611 Bible- 30%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Baptist- 25%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Fundamentalism- 15%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Great Britain- 45%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;America- 55%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Federalism- 15%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Republicanism- 25%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Good People- 80%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;United Nation- 60%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Freedom- 90%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Equality and Fairness- 50%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Philippines- 20%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Pampanga- 5%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Computer- 40%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ragnarok- 10%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;H/B- 30%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Instinct- 50%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;   &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Thank for coming and Have a nice day!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt; &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot; size=&quot;6&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;OPEN DAILY 24 HRS.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;(For registration and questions)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Daily Living Purpose</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Daily+Living+Purpose</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Daily+Living+Purpose</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:42:35 CDT</pubDate><description>&lt;font face=&quot;Garamond&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Hi&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Garamond&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Welcome to &lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/&quot; target=&quot;_self&quot;&gt;whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt; we would like to thank you for visiting this site, joining and posting to this site, Our goal is to help other people building their lives and showing them some helpful tips in planning, experiences, communicating and moral values.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Garamond&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;And we would like to thank the sites for their resources and the article so that you can search their information and to find more helpful links below the article so that you can search their information and to find more helpful strategies in how can you handle your personal life and to share others you as good example being a successful individual person in this planet earth and with the help of other idea of successful people.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Garamond&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;That this site is about information and article gather together to support sites that promotes happy and moral living, giving idea to those people who really need informations.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Garamond&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Again we would like to you and those websites to make this possible.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Garamond&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God Bless you and Have a nice day!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Garamond&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;Fr: The Administrator.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.astro.ufl.edu/images/People/People.jpg&amp;imgrefurl=http://www.astro.ufl.edu/People.html&amp;h=757&amp;w=752&amp;sz=401&amp;hl=en&amp;start=3&amp;um=1&amp;tbnid=9OYWUsrlc1daBM:&amp;tbnh=142&amp;tbnw=141&amp;prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeople%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; &lt;/a&gt;   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;My Official Site:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.pinoysite.wetpaint.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;www.pinoysite.wetpaint.com&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;   &lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;For Questions and Suggestions:&lt;/b&gt;   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;Contact me:&lt;/font&gt; &lt;u&gt;09105902482&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Power by: Wetpaint.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;   &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Helpful Links</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Helpful+Links</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Helpful+Links</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:32:28 CDT</pubDate><description>&lt;div&gt;  &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;Helpful Links:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;(These are the supported sites.)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot; face=&quot;Georgia  [default]&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;For Christian Studies:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.christianstudy.wetpaint.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;www.christianstudy.wetpaint.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Georgia  [default]&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;Building Friendship with Christians:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.christianfriendster.wetpaint.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot; face=&quot;Georgia  [default]&quot;&gt;www.christianFriendster.wetpaint.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Georgia  [default]&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;Yahoo Chatters Organization:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.internationclan.wetpaint.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot; face=&quot;Georgia  [default]&quot;&gt;www.internationclan.wetpaint.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;The Life Purpose Study:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/&quot; target=&quot;_self&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;www.whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;Links and Fast Search Gateway:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.christianster.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.christianster.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.cbapyouth.org/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.cbapyouth.org/&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.christiandl.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.christiandl.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.friendster.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.friendster.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.youtube.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.youtube.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.photobucket.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.photobucket.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.myspace.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.myspace.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.imeem.com&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#3877cb&quot;&gt;www.imeem.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://groups.yahoo.com/&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://groups.yahoo.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Let us share the Gospel on this sites.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;You can add your own here.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;(&lt;i&gt;Remember this is an independent site you can advertise or suggest a site here&lt;/i&gt;)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Working for your future career toolbox</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Working+for+your+future+career+toolbox</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Working+for+your+future+career+toolbox</guid><comments>Lock this page</comments><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 23:02:43 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;b&gt;Create your Resume&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Step-by-Step&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Your r&amp;eacute;sum&amp;eacute; is a summary of your experiences in work and in school. Employers match your r&amp;eacute;sum&amp;eacute; against their job openings to discover if you&amp;#39;d be a good fit. As such, it&amp;#39;s important to make your r&amp;eacute;sum&amp;eacute; a good representation of yourself. Here&amp;#39;s how, step by step: &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;ol&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  Create a career objective&lt;br&gt;In one or two sentences, state the job type and organization type (or industry) you&amp;#39;re aiming for. Make it simple. Consider the type of work you enjoy and are looking for.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tips:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;90%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Think about the type of job and industry you&amp;#39;re interested in.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tailor the objective to describe that job, job type, or industry.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  If you aren&amp;#39;t sure what you want to do, or would be willing to accept a variety of jobs, consider leaving &amp;quot;objective&amp;quot; off your r&amp;eacute;sum&amp;eacute;. It only serves you if you&amp;#39;re aiming for something specific.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Examples:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;To obtain an entry-level editing position in a large publishing company.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br&gt;  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  List your experiences&lt;br&gt;Starting with your most recent or current job, list your previous work experiences.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tips:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;90%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  This section shows where you have worked and when. It also states specific accomplishments for each position or job.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Don&amp;#39;t worry if your experiences are &amp;quot;good enough.&amp;quot; Employers admire people who have worked hard in sometimes difficult jobs.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Always start each accomplishment with an accomplishment verb. Verbs are the movers and shakers of any language; let them work for you.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  When choosing experiences to list, pick those that seem most relevant to the position you seek. However, if you&amp;#39;ve had an interesting job unrelated to the field you are pursuing &amp;mdash; such as reading to blind children or teaching English as a second language (ESL) to foreign adults &amp;mdash; consider adding it on. Employers want interesting people working for them.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  As sources for your accomplishments, think of your full-time or part-time work, summer jobs, occasional jobs, internships, field work, and special projects.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Don&amp;#39;t worry if there are gaps in the timeline, but keep everything in chronological order, with most recent jobs at the top. Remember, you&amp;#39;ve been in school... people aren&amp;#39;t expecting you to have been employed all the time.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Examples:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Parker-Johnston Writing Center, Peer Writing Tutor, Oxford, NY&lt;br&gt;April 2004 - Present&lt;br&gt;Tutored students in writing for all disciplines. Critiqued peers&amp;#39; writing.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Camp Greystone, Area Director, Tuxedo, NC&lt;br&gt;June 2003 - September 2003&lt;br&gt;Directed staff of four while supervising 20 campers. Taught crafts, sports,&lt;br&gt;and cooking.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br&gt;  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  List your skills&lt;br&gt;Since you&amp;#39;ve just graduated from high school and haven&amp;#39;t had too much time for &amp;quot;real world&amp;quot; experience, the &amp;quot;Skills&amp;quot; section of your r&amp;eacute;sum&amp;eacute; is a place where you can show your strengths and individuality. Start by stating each skill. Then back it up with a two- to three-line explanation of how you learned that skill or why you believe you have it. Make these entries short, clear, and to the point.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tips:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;90%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  List skills that are most relevant to the job you seek. Think about what the employer might need in relation to what you&amp;#39;ve done and who you are as a person.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  When choosing experiences to list, pick those that seem most relevant to the position you seek. However, if you&amp;#39;ve had an interesting job unrelated to the field you are pursuing -- such as reading to blind children or teaching English as a second language (ESL) to foreign adults &amp;mdash; consider adding it on. Employers want interesting people working for them.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  As sources for your accomplishments, think of your full-time or part-time work, summer jobs, occasional jobs, internships, field work, and special projects.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Examples:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Team player: Four years on the Oldham Track Team has taught me the importance&lt;br&gt;of being a quality team member &amp;mdash; working cooperatively, watching out for my&lt;br&gt;teammates, offering a helping hand when needed.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Hard worker: Involvement in community service, extracurricular activities, and being&lt;br&gt;on the honor roll have taught me the importance of setting priorities in my work,&lt;br&gt;leisure, and studies so I can maintain quality performance in all areas.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  List your activities&lt;br&gt;List activities in which you have participated and include what your specific role was in each.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tips:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;90%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  This is the place to note membership or leadership positions in clubs, organizations of any kind, athletic teams, community organizations, and so on.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Examples:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Track Team: Team Captain, Senior year. Fall 2002-Spring 2004.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Drama Club: Played Lank in &amp;quot;Crazy for You&amp;quot; and Tony in &amp;quot;West Side Story.&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;Fall 2002 and 2003.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br&gt;  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  List your education&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tips:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;90%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  List your previous schools, starting with the most recent one.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Here&amp;#39;s your chance to list not only high school but other educational experiences, such as training programs, community college or summer courses, seminars, and so on.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Examples:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Oldham County High School, Oldham, PA. Anticipated graduation: June 2005.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Bellville Community College, Bellville, NY. Running Start Student, September 2002-Present. 36 credits earned. Grade average: B (upper 25% of class).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br&gt;  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  List any awards you&amp;#39;ve won, and when&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tips:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;90%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  When you&amp;#39;ve been recognized by someone else, employers like it. But don&amp;#39;t worry if you&amp;#39;ve not received any awards yet; simply skip this section.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Examples:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Richmond County National Essay Contest, Honorable Mention, May 2003.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Honor Roll, South Satchewan High School, Junior and Senior Years, 2001-2004.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br&gt;  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  List your personal interests&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Tips:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;90%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  This section is where to show that you are a well-rounded person; someone people would want to know and work with.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  This section is often used by the employer at the start of an interview to break the ice.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Examples:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ceramics, camping, reading, soccer, automotive repair, carpentry&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;  &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.myfuture.com/toolbox/createresume_all.html#top&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; &lt;/a&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;examples&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Examples&lt;br&gt;For comparison, you may want to take a look at these two fictional sample r&amp;eacute;sum&amp;eacute;:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;45%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Review Example One: &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.myfuture.com/toolbox/example1.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Bill Smith&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &amp;bull;&lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;   &lt;/td&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  Review Example Two: &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.myfuture.com/toolbox/example2.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Jane Wyman&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  &lt;b&gt;Source:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;bodytextregulargrey&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;steps&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ee&quot;&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.myfuture.com/toolbox/createresume_all.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://www.myfuture.com/toolbox/createresume_all.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;  &lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Helping People Today</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Helping+People+Today</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Helping+People+Today</guid><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:54:19 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;table cellpadding=&quot;10&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;540&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot; size=&quot;+2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Grade 6 Religion Project &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;table cellpadding=&quot;1&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;525&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  As a part of their Religion program, Mrs. Wdowiak asked her grade 6 students to consider the less fortunate people here in Canada and in other countries around the world. Each student wrote a caption about the difficulties faced by these underprivileged people, and then developed that caption in a few sentences with an accompanying drawing.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;   &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Source:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.ihms.mb.ca/Student+Projects/Student+projects+2004-05/Grade+6+-+Less+Fortunate/gr6_less_fortunate.htm&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://www.ihms.mb.ca/Student%20Projects/Student%20projects%202004-05/Grade%206%20-%20Less%20Fortunate/gr6_less_fortunate.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.ihms.mb.ca/Student+Projects/Student+projects+2004-05/Grade+6+-+Less+Fortunate/gr6_less_fortunate.htm&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#551a8b&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>The End to Life Cycle, Retirement and Physical Changes</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/The+End+to+Life+Cycle%2C+Retirement+and+Physical+Changes</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/The+End+to+Life+Cycle%2C+Retirement+and+Physical+Changes</guid><comments>Rename</comments><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:35:19 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;div&gt;  &lt;h3&gt;  &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;b&gt;Old age&lt;/b&gt; consists of ages nearing or surpassing the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_life_span&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Average life span&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;average life span&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; of &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_being&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Human being&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;human beings&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, and thus the end of the human &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_life_cycle&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Biological life cycle&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;life cycle&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Euphemism&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Euphemisms&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and terms for older people include &lt;b&gt;seniors&lt;/b&gt; &amp;mdash; chiefly an American usage &amp;mdash; or &lt;b&gt;elderly&lt;/b&gt;. As occurs with almost any definable group of humanity, some people will hold a prejudice against others; in this case, against older people. This is one form of &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageism&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Ageism&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;ageism&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.   &lt;br&gt;Older people have limited regenerative abilities and are more prone to disease, syndromes, and sickness than other &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Adult&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;adults&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. For the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Biology&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;biology&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; of &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Ageing&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;ageing&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, see &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senescence&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Senescence&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Senescence&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. The medical study of the aging process is &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerontology&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Gerontology&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;gerontology&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, and the study of diseases that afflict the elderly is &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geriatrics&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Geriatrics&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;geriatrics&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;Definition&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;h2&gt;  Definition&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br&gt;The boundary between &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_age&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Middle age&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;middle age&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and old age cannot be defined exactly because it does not have the same meaning in all societies. In many parts of the world, people are considered old because of certain changes in their activities or social roles. Examples: people may be considered old when they become &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandparent&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Grandparent&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;grandparents&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, or when they begin to do less or different work &amp;mdash; &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retirement&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Retirement&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;retirement&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. In North America and Europe, people are often considered old if they have lived a certain number of years.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Many Americans think of 65 as the beginning of old age because United States workers become eligible at this time to retire with full &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_%28United_States%29&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Social Security (United States)&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Social Security&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; benefits at age 65. People in the 65-and-over age group are often called &lt;i&gt;senior citizens&lt;/i&gt;. In &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;2003&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;2003&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, the age at which an American citizen becomes eligible for full Social Security benefits began to increase gradually until it reaches 67 in &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2027&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;2027&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;2027&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;Physical_manifestations&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;h2&gt;  Physical manifestations&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br&gt;Old age can cause wrinkles and liver spots on the skin, change of hair color to grey or white or loss of hair (or both), lessened hearing and sight abilities, loss of reaction time and agility or reduced ability to think or recall memories.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;Demographic_changes&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;h2&gt;  Demographic changes&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br&gt;Worldwide, the number of people 65 or older is increasing faster than ever before. Most of this increase is occurring in &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developed_countries&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Developed countries&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;developed countries&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. In the United States the percentage of people 65 or older increased from 4 percent in &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;1900&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;1900&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; to about 13 percent in the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;1998&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;late 1990s&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. In 1900, only about 3 million of the nation&amp;#39;s citizens had reached 65. By 1998, the number of senior citizens had increased to about 34 million. Population experts estimate that more than 50 million Americans &amp;mdash; about 17 percent of the population &amp;mdash; will be 65 or older in 2020. The number of old people is growing around the world chiefly because more children reach adulthood.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;Life_expectancy&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;h2&gt;  Life expectancy&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br&gt;In most parts of the world, women live, on average, longer than men. In the United States in the late 1990s, &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Life expectancy&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;life expectancy&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; at birth was 80 years for women and 77 years for men. American women who were age 65 in the late 1990s could expect to live about 19 additional years. Men who were 65 could expect to live about 16 additional years.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Source:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Preparing for your family and Family Meeting Tips.</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Preparing+for+your+family+and+Family+Meeting+Tips.</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Preparing+for+your+family+and+Family+Meeting+Tips.</guid><comments>Lock this page</comments><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:34:10 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#800000&quot; size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;font color=&quot;#88131f&quot; size=&quot;6&quot;&gt;FAMILY MEETING&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;font color=&quot;#88131f&quot; size=&quot;6&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Building a successful family is like building a home. Both need a plan. A successful family based on unity and love takes careful planning, but it&amp;#39;s worth every moment.   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The best way to be organized as a family is to hold weekly family meetings. By doing this, families enjoy a special closeness and stability. Choosing to spend time with your family sends a message more powerful than words. Memories made together during this time will bond and sustain your family through the years.&lt;br&gt;The family meeting should be an important part of every family&amp;#39;s weekly schedule. The family meeting can have three parts. These are suggestions only; your weekly meeting can be anything your family wants it to be.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot; size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Parts of the Family Meeting:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot; size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#800000&quot;&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Family Council&lt;/font&gt; - &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;The Family Council is a time to do three things: schedule activities, talk about family matters, and plan the next family meeting.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/ol&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  Schedule activities&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;.&lt;/font&gt; Coordinating schedules and planning family activities need to be done weekly. When everyone is present (with calendars or notepaper), discuss each day of the week. Try to plan a daily schedule that allows your family to eat at least one meal together each day-even if meal time is a little later or earlier than is most convenient for every per-son. Sometimes individual schedules need to be adjusted for the good of the family. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  &lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Talk about upcoming events&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;. Decide when family members can support one another by attending their activities. Then plan one family activity. Remember to talk about all the details of the activity. This will include the date, time, meeting place, money and food needed, special clothes to be worn, etc. When conflicts arise, this family activity has highest priority. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  Talk about family matters.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Discuss household chores, family problems, and anything a family member wants to talk about. A family discussion is the core of the family council. This is a valuable opportunity each week to gather around and share feelings about the family. Anything that needs to be discussed can be shared at this time. It is very important that 0 family members speak only positively, and allow the person talking to share his or her feelings in an atmosphere of empathy and caring. This is a time to voice concerns and suggestions for the good of the family.&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  Plan next week&amp;#39;s family meeting.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; To make sure that your next family meeting will be a success and each family member will be involved, talk about who will give the lesson, who will help with the activity, and who will prepare the treats.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#800000&quot;&gt;2. &lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Lesson&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  &lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The weekly family meeting&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt; is an excellent time to teach a lesson. This can be a discussion on correct behavior, good manners, or one of the important moral values which help shape children&amp;#39;s characters. The opportunity to meet together regularly as a family to learn &amp;quot;life lessons&amp;quot; is price-less. Parents, this is your stewardship. Unless you teach your children, how will they learn the principles and values you want them to know?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;Decide as parents &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;in advance what should be taught each week. A sample lesson on gratitude is included at the end of this section. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#800000&quot;&gt;3. &lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Activity&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;   &lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#800000&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;The activity is an important part&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; of the family meeting. Families need to have fun together! The activity should be something that everyone enjoys. It could be as simple as a fami4y walk in the neighborhood, or playing a board game. The activity could be watching a movie as a family, going to a sporting event, or doing a service for a friend or neighbor. The most important thing is that the family is all together, enjoying themselves. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;As a family, read &lt;font color=&quot;#000080&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Suggestions for The Family Meeting&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;. Then hold a family meeting using as many of the suggestions as possible. Don&amp;#39;t be discouraged if your meetings aren&amp;#39;t perfect--no family&amp;#39;s meetings are. Do your best and congratulate yourselves on participating in an activity that will bring your family closer together.   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Source:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.fww.org/solutions/familymeeting.htm&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://www.fww.org/solutions/familymeeting.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Knowing God More</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Knowing+God+More</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Knowing+God+More</guid><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:08:59 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot; size=&quot;6&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;The Truth about God&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Referring to non-believers, Paul said &amp;quot;they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator&amp;quot; (Romans 1:25 RSV). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;What is the truth about God?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God is.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The existence of God is evident from His works:&lt;/font&gt; &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The heavens declare the glory of God; &lt;br&gt;And the firmament shows His handiwork. &lt;br&gt;Day unto day utters speech, &lt;br&gt;And night unto night reveals knowledge. &lt;br&gt;There is no speech nor language &lt;br&gt;Where their voice is not heard.&lt;br&gt;Their line has gone out through all the earth, &lt;br&gt;And their words to the end of the world&amp;quot; &lt;br&gt;(Psalm 19:1-4). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things&amp;quot; (Romans 1:20-23).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The transcendence of God is evident &amp;quot;being understood by the things that are made.&amp;quot; Yet many have rejected the one true God, and adhere to some fake materialistic religion. Others choose to be completely irreligious: &amp;quot;The fool has said in his heart, &amp;#39;There is no God&amp;#39;&amp;quot; (Psalm 14:1).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God is Creator.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, &amp;#39;Let there be light&amp;#39;; and there was light&amp;quot; (Genesis 1:1-3). Notice that the Spirit of God and the Word of God were active in creation. God &lt;i&gt;spoke&lt;/i&gt; the universe into being by the power of His Spirit.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The creative Word of God later came as Savior in the person of Jesus Christ: &amp;quot;In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made&amp;quot; (John 1:1-3).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God is one.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The Lord our God, the Lord is one&amp;quot; (Mark 12:29).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live&amp;quot; (1 Corinthians 8:5,6).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;In Scripture the one true God is revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christians are baptized &amp;quot;in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit&amp;quot; (Matthew 28:19).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God reigns.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;God is sovereign. John testified: &amp;quot;And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, &amp;#39;Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!&amp;#39;&amp;quot; (Revelation 19:6).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God has spoken.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;God has made His will known to man:&lt;/font&gt; &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;He has shown you, O man, what is good;&lt;br&gt;And what does the Lord require of you&lt;br&gt;But to do justly,&lt;br&gt;To love mercy,&lt;br&gt;And to walk humbly with your God?&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;(Mica 6:8).&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;&lt;br&gt;The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;&lt;br&gt;The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;&lt;br&gt;The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;&lt;br&gt;The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;&lt;br&gt;The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.&lt;br&gt;More to be desired are they than gold,&lt;br&gt;Yea, than much fine gold;&lt;br&gt;Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.&lt;br&gt;Moreover by them your servant is warned,&lt;br&gt;And in keeping them there is great reward&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;(Psalm 19:7-11).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;God who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high&amp;quot; (Hebrews 1:1-3).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account&amp;quot; (Hebrews 4:12,13).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God will judge.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;God shall judge the righteous and the wicked&amp;quot; (Ecclesiastes 3:17).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness&amp;quot; (Psalm 9:8).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;So then each of us shall give account of himself to God&amp;quot; (Romans 14:12). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man&amp;#39;s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead&amp;quot; (Acts 17:29-31).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God is love &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;(1 John 4:8).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us&amp;quot; (Romans 5:8). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God saves.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The Lord lives!&lt;br&gt;Blessed be my Rock!&lt;br&gt;Let God be exalted,&lt;br&gt;The Rock of my salvation!&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;(2 Samuel 22:47).&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Truly my soul silently waits for God;&lt;br&gt;From Him comes my salvation.&lt;br&gt;He only is my rock and my salvation&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;(Psalm 62:1,2).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life&amp;quot; (Titus 3:4-7).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God sent His Son.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God&amp;quot; (John 3:16-18).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins&amp;quot; (1 John 4:9,10).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.&amp;quot; (1 John 4:14).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent&amp;quot; (John 17:3).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God sent His Spirit.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, &amp;#39;Abba, Father!&amp;#39;&amp;quot; (Galatians 4:4-6).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God calls.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord&amp;quot; (1 Corinthians 1:9).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;God &amp;quot;has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel&amp;quot; (2 Timothy 1:9,10).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust&amp;quot; (2 Peter 1:2-4).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen&amp;quot; (1 Peter 5:10,11).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;God is worthy to be praised.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain&amp;quot; (Psalm 48:1).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Praise the Lord!&lt;br&gt;Praise, O servants of the Lord,&lt;br&gt;Praise the name of the Lord!&lt;br&gt;Blessed be the name of the Lord&lt;br&gt;From this time forth and forevermore!&lt;br&gt;From the rising of the sun to its going down&lt;br&gt;The Lord&amp;#39;s name is to be praised&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;(Psalm 113:1-3).&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Oh, sing to the Lord a n&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;ew song!&lt;br&gt;Sing to the Lord, all the earth.&lt;br&gt;Sing to the Lord, bless his name;&lt;br&gt;Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.&lt;br&gt;Declare His glory among the nations,&lt;br&gt;His wonders among all peoples.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;&lt;br&gt;He is to be feared above all gods.&lt;br&gt;For all the gods of the peoples are idols,&lt;br&gt;But the Lord made the heavens.&lt;br&gt;Honor and majesty are before Him;&lt;br&gt;Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.&lt;br&gt;Give to the Lord, O kindreds of the peoples,&lt;br&gt;Give to the Lord glory and strength.&lt;br&gt;Give to the Lord the glory due His name;&lt;br&gt;Bring an offering, and come into His courts.&lt;br&gt;Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!&lt;br&gt;Tremble before Him, all the earth.&lt;br&gt;Say among the nations,&lt;br&gt;&amp;#39;The Lord reigns;&lt;br&gt;The world also is firmly established,&lt;br&gt;It shall not be moved;&lt;br&gt;He shall judge the peoples righteously.&amp;#39;&lt;br&gt;Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;&lt;br&gt;Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;&lt;br&gt;Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.&lt;br&gt;Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.&lt;br&gt;For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.&lt;br&gt;He shall judge the world with righteousness,&lt;br&gt;And the peoples with His truth&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;(Psalm 96:1-13).&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;I will extol You, my God, O King;&lt;br&gt;And I will bless Your name forever and ever.&lt;br&gt;Every day I will bless You,&lt;br&gt;And I will praise Your name forever and ever.&lt;br&gt;Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;&lt;br&gt;And His greatness is unsearchable&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;(Psalm 145:1-3).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised&amp;quot; (Psalm 18:3).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;What is the truth about God?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;God is. God is Creator. God is one. God reigns. God has spoken. God will judge. God is love. God saves. God sent His Son. God sent His Spirit. God calls. God is worthy to be praised.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Will you serve the one true God?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Believe in God. Believe in His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Confess His name. Repent. Be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of your sins. Rise from the waters of baptism, born anew to serve the one true God in spirit and truth. Serve Him faithfully until death and He will give you the crown of life.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Roy Davison&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;  &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Exept as indicated otherwise, the Scripture quotations in this article are from The New King James Version. &amp;copy;1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.   &lt;br&gt;Permission for reference use has been granted.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Published in &lt;i&gt;The Old Paths Archive&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br&gt;(http://www.oldpaths.com)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/home.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Self Development and Career</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Self+Development+and+Career</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Self+Development+and+Career</guid><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:48:36 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;div class=&quot;content-author&quot;&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;Developing Yourself&lt;/font&gt; &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-author&quot;&gt;  by Kay L. Cross, MEd&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-author&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-image-wrap&quot;&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  If you woke up tomorrow and your life was perfect, what would it look like? The intention of this article is to get you digging deeper to create richness in your life and business&amp;mdash;to perfect and develop the life you have. Do you have depth and width to your character and personality? Are you layer upon layer of quality, or all flash and no substance? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Enhancing Your Presence&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;Here are two ways to help you live more in the moment. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;Perfect the Present to Make the Most of Today&lt;/i&gt;. Be &amp;ldquo;present&amp;rdquo; in all you do. Utilize all your senses to enjoy and treasure the activities in your day: taste, touch, hear, feel and see. Maximizing the present is still a challenge for me. I have an ingrained habit of doing at least two things at once to &amp;ldquo;get things done.&amp;rdquo; I have an &amp;ldquo;accomplishment&amp;rdquo; issue&amp;mdash;I feel like I need to be &lt;i&gt;doing&lt;/i&gt; something. Thankfully, I am much better today than I was 10 years ago. But, I still find myself reading a magazine and watching TV at the same time. That&amp;rsquo;s crazy. I&amp;rsquo;m not really present for either event, so how could I possibly get maximum enjoyment out of that time? Many of us do the same thing to the people we love and care about. We only half-listen to our spouses, kids or clients because we are thinking of something else that needs to be done. We cheat ourselves of the beauty of life and love and cheat others by being physically present and mentally absent. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;Let Go of the Past, Accept the Present and Plan for the Future&lt;/i&gt;. Develop and perfect your present situation: Learn what you need from the past and let it go, accept what life has given you in the present and work with it and invest only 20% of your time planning for the future. The past, present and future represent three worlds that should intersect to create a strong person and business. The problems come when you invest the majority of your time and resources in the past or the future. If you come away with only one principle from this entire foundational series, let it be this one: &lt;i&gt;The present moment is the only reality you have&lt;/i&gt;. The past is over and cannot be rewritten. The future is not here. Today is all you have. Perfect the present to attract and prepare for a positive future. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Absent or Present?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;How present are you each day? Ask yourself the following questions to test your &amp;ldquo;presence&amp;rdquo; quotient:&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;1. When you spend time with clients and friends, how much are you &amp;ldquo;with&amp;rdquo; them?&lt;br&gt;2. How diluted is your energy and presence in every activity today?&lt;br&gt;3. Do you make your present life conditional on working on the future? (i.e., when I earn &amp;ldquo;x&amp;rdquo; I will be happy or when my studio is perfect, I&amp;rsquo;ll market my business)&lt;br&gt;4. Are you denying reality? Accept what you have in your present life and deal with it. Accepting the present situation doesn&amp;rsquo;t mean you have to like it. Acceptance opens the door to growth and change. &lt;br&gt;5. Are you perfecting everything you can to enhance your present life? List everything you are dissatisfied with and remedies you will apply to make them as perfect as possible. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Improving Physical Wellness&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;I focus on the following six components of physical wellness with my coaching clients: strength, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, nutrition, body weight and sleep. Each component is important to the longevity of our aging bodies and our ability to function in the present. I ask clients to score themselves in each area on a scale of 1-5, 1 being poor and 5 excellent. This simple visual reminder keeps clients focused on what needs work. As a wellness coach, it is vitally important that you apply the same standards in your own life. Be a model of what you teach. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;Physical presentation is an equally important component of physical wellness, especially as a wage-earning wellness professional. Physical presentation is the outward manifestation of your core growth, development and beliefs. How would you score your physical presentation in the following eight areas?&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;* hair - do you like the cut and color?&lt;br&gt;* nails - are they healthy?&lt;br&gt;* eyes - can you see well?&lt;br&gt;* skin - is it healthy?&lt;br&gt;* clothes - are they appropriate and do they look good on you?&lt;br&gt;* posture - what does your posture tell others about you?&lt;br&gt;* hygiene - are you clean?&lt;br&gt;* connection - is your mind connected with your body? Are you in tune with what is happening with your health and why it is happening? &lt;br&gt;Make sure you maintain all the components of physical wellness and upgrade your physical presentation. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;b&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;Developing Financial Skills&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/b&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;Money can be a more challenging topic than physical wellness. The basic truth is this: You either have control of your money or it has control over you. When it comes to money, most people have a problem with spending. They spend what they don&amp;rsquo;t have and fret over it later. The immediate gratification is just too tempting for them and they give in. The reality is that you earn a certain amount of money per month. What you spend must come out of that. It&amp;rsquo;s a shuffling game: If you spend more in one area, you will have to take some from another. Be present with your money&amp;mdash;spend what you possess today, not what you anticipate earning next month. I am reminded of a concept I learned in Economics 101 in college that made a lasting impact on me&amp;mdash;opportunity cost:&lt;br&gt;* Every opportunity has a cost. &lt;br&gt;* What exactly will that opportunity cost?&lt;br&gt;* What are you willing to sacrifice to get &amp;ldquo;x&amp;rdquo;?&lt;br&gt;* Is it worth the sacrifice? &lt;br&gt;* What exactly is it buying me? &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Develop yourself by taking control of your money in your personal life and your business. Make sure you know how to plan, budget and save money. Invest in your future through careful planning and work that plan every month. Hire a financial planner to assist you in accumulating what you need for retirement. Start saving monthly and place it in a separate account so that it is much less convenient to get to it to spend. Most of us are in the process of learning that we can spend money all day long, buying the greatest stuff. However, at the end of the month, we are no happier or better for the additional things we possess. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Growing Yourself&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;You are responsible for every decision, action and word you speak in your personal and professional life. Developing as an individual can be a painful, but liberating experience. Challenge yourself this month to enhance your personal foundation by addressing presence, physical wellness and money. Sleep on this information tonight and, when you wake up tomorrow, commit to making your present reality as perfect as possible. &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;b&gt;Source&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;content-text&quot;&gt;  &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.inneridea.com/library/developing-yourself&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://www.inneridea.com/library/developing-yourself&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Supporting Good Gov't.</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Supporting+Good+Gov%27t.</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Supporting+Good+Gov%27t.</guid><comments>Lock this page</comments><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:24:42 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;table align=&quot;left&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;  &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td class=&quot;ideEssay&quot; colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;  Good Government Movements   &lt;div align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;  &lt;table align=&quot;left&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; cellspacing=&quot;10&quot; class=&quot;ideCaption&quot; width=&quot;152&quot;&gt;Poster for Altgeld Meeting, 1894   &lt;tbody&gt;  &lt;tr&gt;  &lt;td&gt;  &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3737.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;Renowned for its Democratic &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/774.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;machine politics&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, twentieth-century Chicago has often seemed barren ground for good &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/532.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;government&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; reformers. Yet the good government movement has played a significant role in city &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/989.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;politics&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, occasionally exercising considerable influence. Dedicated to honesty and efficiency and strongly suspicious of local party organizations, good government groups have endeavored to cleanse city hall and offer an alternative to rule by venal politicians.   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The good government spirit, for example, manifested itself in the 1870s. Responding to the city fire department&amp;#39;s ineffectiveness in fighting a devastating blaze in 1874, a group of concerned Chicago businessmen organized the Citizens&amp;#39; Association. According to its constitution, this organization sought &amp;ldquo;to insure a more perfect administration in our municipal affairs&amp;rdquo; and &amp;ldquo;to protect citizens ... against the evils of careless or corrupt legislation.&amp;rdquo; An organ for businessmen who sought &amp;ldquo;businesslike&amp;rdquo; government, the Citizens&amp;#39; Association would remain an active civic watchdog, dedicated especially to protecting the city treasury from the profligate and corrupt. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;In the 1890s a new wave of disgust with Chicago city government spawned additional good government groups. A notorious band of aldermen known as the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/540.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Gray Wolves&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; were awarding public utility franchises in exchange for handsome bribes. Moreover, British reformer William Stead&amp;#39;s &lt;i&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/624.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;If Christ Came to Chicago&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;/i&gt; published in 1894, embarrassed Chicagoans by exposing their indifference to the political corruption and social injustice in their midst. Organized in 1894, the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/291.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Civic Federation&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; of Chicago at first was intended to spark a wide-ranging civic revival and improve the political, philanthropic, educational, and moral health of the city. It became, however, primarily another fiscal watchdog, dedicated to honest and efficient government. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Recognizing the need for further action, reformers in 1896 organized the Municipal Voters League with the specific purpose of ousting the Gray Wolves from power. Headed by the energetic George Cole, this organization published the credentials of aldermanic candidates and the voting records of incumbents. It endorsed candidates who pledged to support the merit system of civil service and who promised to grant public utility franchises only to companies willing to adequately compensate the city. In the municipal elections of the late 1890s and early 1900s, the Municipal Voters League proved so successful in electing its approved candidates to the city council that muckraker Lincoln Steffens could proclaim that Chicago had a lesson to teach cities throughout the nation. &lt;br&gt;Other good government groups appeared in the early 1900s, most notably the City Club founded in 1903 and the Bureau of Public Efficiency organized in 1910 and headed by Sears magnate Julius Rosenwald. In 1911 &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1289.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;University of Chicago&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; professor Charles Merriam rallied reform forces in an inspiring but unsuccessful race for the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/795.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;mayor&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;s office. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;By the early 1920s, however, &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1063.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Republican&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; Mayor William Hale Thompson had largely expunged the city&amp;#39;s reputation for good government and the Municipal Voters League was only a shadow of its former self. Good government forces rallied momentarily in 1923, endorsing the successful mayoral candidate, William Dever. Yet after four years of honest, effective rule, Dever failed to win reelection, losing to Thompson. In the 1920s as in earlier decades, the panaceas of sober upper-middle-class good government reformers did not appeal to many working-class ethnics, who trusted their local ward boss more than the Civic Federation business leaders, and who found more solace in the corner &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1110.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;saloon&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; than in the high-minded &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1135.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;settlement house&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. Moreover, the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/542.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Great Depression&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; of the 1930s took its toll on the good government movement. In 1932 the debt-ridden Bureau of Efficiency ceased its independent existence, merging with the still-solvent Civic Federation. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;In succeeding decades, the &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/371.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#0000ff&quot;&gt;Democratic party&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt; organization consolidated its grip on Chicago and was only periodically bothered by good government movements. From 1947 to 1955 Mayor Martin Kennelly served as an ineffectual good government front for the temporarily weakened Democratic organization, and in 1955 Charles Merriam&amp;#39;s son Robert ran unsuccessfully for mayor as a reform alternative to the Cook County Democratic chairman Richard J. Daley. Alderman Mathias &amp;ldquo;Paddy&amp;rdquo; Bauler summed up the prevailing political climate of the mid-twentieth century when he observed, &amp;ldquo;Chicago ain&amp;#39;t ready for reform yet.&amp;rdquo; From the sidelines, businessmen in the Civic Federation continued to comment on the city&amp;#39;s expenditures and urged a streamlined, efficient administration, but through the 1970s the Democratic organization ruled. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;Jon C. Teaford&lt;/i&gt;                     &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  &lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;Bibliography&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  Roberts, Sidney I. &amp;ldquo;The Municipal Voters&amp;#39; League and Chicago&amp;#39;s Boodlers.&amp;rdquo; &lt;i&gt;Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society&lt;/i&gt; 53 (Summer 1960): 117&amp;ndash;148. &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  Steffens, Lincoln. &lt;i&gt;The Shame of the Cities.&lt;/i&gt; 1904. &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  Sutherland, Douglas. &lt;i&gt;Fifty Years on the Civic Front.&lt;/i&gt; 1943. &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;entryBIBLIO&quot;&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Solving Big and Small Problems in Life</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Solving+Big+and+Small+Problems+in+Life</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Solving+Big+and+Small+Problems+in+Life</guid><comments>Lock this page</comments><pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:57:28 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;h2&gt;  &lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.alexandermarlin.com/blog/the-battle-of-problems-problem-solving&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Permanent Link to The Battle Of Problems - Problem Solving&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot; size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;The Battle Of Problems - Problem Solving&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;Written by Alex Marlin on December 3, 2007 &amp;ndash; 4:08 am - &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The biggest problem you face in life is how to deal with problems. On a daily basis we face problems and learning how to manage your problems is what separates winners from losers. The trouble with problems is new ones keep popping up, your life will never run out of problems, as one problem goes away up comes another one.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;To live a fulfilled and happy life you will have to become good at problem solving. How do you become a master at problem solving?&lt;br&gt;If at any time in your life you encounter a problem your first notion is to worry about the problem, but that is not the right way to go about this. Making the problem a daily ritual is what creates more stress on a day to day basis. To understand this process you will have to realize that what we think about all day long becomes a part of our life. If we focus on a problem, then our life will have nothing but more problems to deal with, because the more we worry about the problem the more problems will arise at that moment.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Problem solving involves a pattern of thinking, and this has nothing to do with education, but more to do with focusing on the solution. You have to actually see the solution before your eyes, and then take baby steps towards solving your problem.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Many people have problems and all they do is rant on and on about their problems and never actually sit down to face their problems. They run from the problem instead of dealing with the problem. I have never seen any problem solve it&amp;rsquo;s self, if that was possible the world would be a problem free place, unfortunately i&amp;rsquo;s not that way. you have to find your own method for solving your own problems, and no matter how bad you think your method is, it&amp;rsquo;s better than no method at all.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Don&amp;rsquo;t focus on the cause&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As you encounter a problem in your life, it could be a health problem, skin problem, a social problem or any problem for a matter of fact, you will have to learn to not focus on the problem. forget the cause and don&amp;rsquo;t keep blaming yourself. That problem exist because you made a bad choice, or it was something that was supposed to just happen (that is my simple version for not blaming myself, I just say it was to happen to me), whatever the case, it&amp;rsquo;s not important. What is really important now is how to change your mind from focusing on the problem and getting your mind to focus on a solution or many different solutions.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The most important point is to not do any finger pointing and try to blame what has happened on anyone else, and that also mean to not yourself. The problem came to life, because something went out of sync, and that means it is time for you to redesign, change and come up with new ideas to improve your life and get rid of this problem.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;That is why big thinkers are so great at solving problems, they can turn any problem into a solution, they don&amp;rsquo;t see problems, they tend to look for solutions within the problems. that is why it is so easy to spot great managers, they come up with ideas and try to get the ball rolling, they never try to pin the problem on anyone, they accept failure and don&amp;rsquo;t dwell on it.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;No problem just arise on a first come first off notice. It has been brewing for some time, one thing leads to another, but unaware to you, this problem has taken on a life of it&amp;rsquo;s own and when you least expect it is when it strikes. Just like how the problem manifested, so will the solution, but you have to start making small little preparations in your mind as to how you will deal with this problem.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Sometimes, certain problems are are not repairable, and in that case it is best to abandon and forget about that issue, it makes no sense trying to fix what is out of your league.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Let me give an example, a simple one to understand what I am trying to explain, let&amp;rsquo;s say a discussion takes place between two friends about another&amp;rsquo;s best friend. one says something that the other said, and then it gets back ot the other friend. That friend confronts their friend and the friendship gets destroyed because of a simple they say we say and no one actually said. This is common, but as you can see if no one takes the first step to say look what broke up our friendship and no one gives in, then that friendship will be lost forever.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Another example from a business standpoint that I have witnessed; Let&amp;rsquo;s say we have a problem with a system, and we need to come up with a solution fast. The easy way out is when everyone blames the guy that was making changes at that moment. When I arrived one the scene I asked each and everyone what the issue was and what they think, everyone points fingers at the other. At the same time, the problem would have been solved much easier if the persons involved spent the same energy looking for a solution instead of trying to blame each other at that moment. This is something I deal with daily, and I never ever get involved in the finger pointing game, I solve the problem, and seldom ever say who was at fault, especially if it was another employee who overlooked something.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;One more thing to remember is that not all problems have causes, not all causes can be corrected and fixed. So looking for causes is not wise, and won&amp;rsquo;t fix the problem.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;My way of solving problems&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As stated before, everyone has to find what works for them and continue to educate yourself and come up with better methods for doing things. I have learned a lot and continue to learn each and everyday of my life. I analyze what works and what doesn&amp;rsquo;t work. I have adapted many things in my life for better, and witness many issues in my past that affected my own performance. Life is about adjusting and improving what isn&amp;rsquo;t working on a day to day basis.&lt;br&gt;The first thing I noticed with people who can&amp;rsquo;t solve problems is that they are very unsure of themselves and have a hard time taking action, I should say they don&amp;rsquo;t know how to come up with taught producing patterns that caters towards the solution. To fix any problem, you will have to start by changing something, and I usually start with the changes in my mind. In simple words, forget about the cause, and just focus in your mind on what works, and what would be the best solution.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Whenever I am confronted with a problem, I usually analyze the situation by thinking about the cause, this is a brief analysis. I then just accept what happened and focus on a way out. I don&amp;rsquo;t ever blame myself or try to make anyone see it my way. My method is to ask myself a series of wise questions:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;ol&gt;  &lt;li&gt;  What could I have done to avoid this?   &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  What can I do now to better this situation?   &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  What have I been overlooking?   &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;  What will make this better right now? &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As you can see I am preparing in my mind the solution and at the same time a way to prevent this from happening again. You will also have to come up with your own winning questions, those are mines, use if you like, once you get good at this, you will come up with questions that brings solutions with the first question you ask yourself.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;No matter what you do from there, just follow your mind and the solution that was given to you at that moment. Just start with your own problem solving methods. No solution is the worse answer, just start with small improvements and the big picture will be drawn and before you know it you will have solved your own problem and your next problem will be in the making. Learn to deal with problems, life is filled with em, the better you are with problem solving the higher up the ladder you will get in society.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It will all become much easier, and you will get better and better at solving your own problems. Just take action&amp;hellip;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Source:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.alexandermarlin.com/blog/the-battle-of-problems-problem-solving&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://www.alexandermarlin.com/blog/the-battle-of-problems-problem-solving&lt;/a&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>Living a Christian Life</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Living+a+Christian+Life</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/Living+a+Christian+Life</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:47:22 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;h3&gt;  &lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot; face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot; size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;h2 align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#000000&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;C&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;hristian &lt;/font&gt;L&lt;font size=&quot;5&quot;&gt;iving&lt;/font&gt;&amp;quot;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;by &lt;b&gt;Michael S. Cole, M.D.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;quot;&lt;i&gt;And the disciples were first called Christians in &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;  &lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Antioch&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;quot;&lt;/b&gt; -- Acts 11:26. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Every opening of the New Testament contains information about Christian living. Only a small portion of scripture pertinent to this subject is included in the text that follows.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;By no means is the following information meant to represent any official religious doctrine. Any apparent conflicts should be resolved using the Bible as the only authoritative guide. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;CHRISTIANS&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;You can be a part of the church that Christ died for, only if you do what the Bible says to be saved. Whether one is a Christian or not depends on whether one has done what God has instructed. Not everyone who calls themselves &amp;quot;Christians&amp;quot; are truly following His instructions (I John 2:3-6).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The Bible indicates that a true Christian is one who is a follower of Christ in all things. Those who attempt less are not truly God&amp;#39;s children (I John 3:10).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Other terms that the New Testament uses for Christians include:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;disciples (Acts 11:26)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;brethren (Col. 1:2, James 1:2)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;children of God (I John 3:1)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;members of the body (the church) (I Cor. 12:12, Eph.1:22-23)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;saints (Acts 26:10, Rom. 1:7)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;priests (Rev. 1:6, I Pet. 2:9)&lt;/font&gt; &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God&amp;quot; (I Pet. 2:9-10). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Please consider some of the ways Christians are to be different from other people in the world. The &amp;quot;people of God&amp;quot; are to live in the world but to keep unspotted from the world (James 1:27, Rom. 12:2, I Tim. 5:22).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;quot;He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love&amp;quot; (Col. 1:13). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;RIGHTEOUSNESS&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit&amp;quot; (Rom. 14:17).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;Christ expects His followers to be righteous (Matt. 5:6, 10). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Righteousness means living rightly. &amp;quot;For they being ignorant of God&amp;#39;s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God&amp;quot; (Rom. 10:3). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;To be righteous before God requires that we obey ALL of His commands (Luke 1:6). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Anything else is self-righteousness. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age&amp;quot; (Titus 2:11-12). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;All unrighteousness is sin&amp;quot; (I John 5:17). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;STUDY&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;We must study God&amp;#39;s Word so that we may know His will (II Tim. 2:15, Acts 17:11). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;We also must study to be ready to tell others about the gospel (I Pet. 3:15, Rom. 1:16).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;We must have a love of the truth (II Thess. 2:10). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It is only through study and a devotion to God&amp;#39;s Word that we can increase in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:9-10, Rom. 15:14).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of God (Matt. 7:21). We must study the Bible so that we may know His will and do what He expects of us. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;FAITHFULNESS&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;God demands an active faith (James 2:14-19, 22; 1:22). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord&amp;quot; (I Cor. 15:58).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;We must not let our past sinful lives interfere with our present commitment (Phil. 3:13).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;God expects Christians to be obedient in everything He commands (II Cor. 2:9). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;God gave &amp;quot;commandments,&amp;quot; not &amp;quot;suggestions.&amp;quot; The Christian is expected to be faithful in church attendance (Heb. 10:25). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;We are told to never stop praying (I Thess. 5:17). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;quot;And you ... now He has reconciled ... to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight -- if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard&amp;quot; (Col. 1:21-23).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It is possible to fall away from God (Heb. 3:12, I Cor. 10:12, Gal. 5:4, Matt. 13:21). We must be &amp;quot;faithful until death to receive the crown of life&amp;quot; (Rev. 2:10, II Tim. 4:7). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;If we fall from grace, we must &amp;quot;repent and return to righteousness&amp;quot; (Rev. 2:5, Rom. 11:17-24, I John 1:9). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;LOVE&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The greatest commandment is: &amp;quot;You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind&amp;quot; (Mat. 22:37, I Jn 4:19).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;All God&amp;#39;s commandments are summed up in this saying: &amp;quot;You shall love your neighbor as yourself&amp;quot; (Rom. 13:8-10, Gal. 5:14, Matt. 22:39, Col. 3:14).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;We are expected to love even those who hate us (Matt. 5:43-47, Rom. 12:14). &amp;quot;Strive for peace with all men&amp;quot; (Heb. 12:14, Rom. 12:18). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Jesus said, &amp;quot;All men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another&amp;quot; (John 13:35). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Christians are to do good to all, but especially to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (Gal. 6:10, Rom. 12:10). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Love will cover a multitude of sins and permit us to be forgiving of one another (I Pet. 4:8, Col. 3:13). Let all that you do be done with love (I Cor. 16:14). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Husbands and wives are to love one another. Parents are to love their children.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;God prefers that Christians marry Christians (II Cor. 6:14, I Cor. 7:12-16).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;God demands that we be faithful to one mate (Matt. 5:31-32). Divorce is not acceptable (Rom. 7:2-3). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;He does not tolerate sexual immorality (adultery) (I Cor. 6:13, 18). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Even lust is condemned (Matt. 5:27-28). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Homosexuality is shameful in God&amp;#39;s eyes (Rom. 1:26-27, Lev. 18:22). For such sin were the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed (Gen. 19:4-9). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Christians are not to love worldly things (I John 2:15-17).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;We are not to love wealth, but are to be content with what we have (Heb. 13:5, I Tim. 6:8-10, I Cor. 4:11, Phil. 4:11, II Cor. 9:8). Love God and He will provide (Matt. 6:33).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;SERVICE&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Our love for others must be in deed and in truth (I John 3:18, I Cor. 13). &amp;quot;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Through love serve one another&amp;quot; (Gal. 5:13, Matt. 20:26-27). Christians are to bear one another&amp;#39;s burdens (Gal. 6:2).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;We must also be servants of God (I Pet. 2:16, Rom. 6:16).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;One way we serve God is to present our bodies as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1, Eph. 5:2). All that we do should be to the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Jesus Christ came to serve (Matt. 20:28). He taught us by His example. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;EXAMPLE&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Since Christ left us His example, Christians must follow in His steps (I Pet. 2:21, Matt. 16:24). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;When we consider whether something is right or wrong, we should ask ourselves: What would Jesus do in this situation? Where would He go? How would He behave? (etc.)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;br&gt;Also, we should follow the examples set by more mature Christians (II Thess. 3:7, 9; I Thess. 1:6, I Cor. 4:16, Phil. 3:17, Heb. 6:12). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;All Christians are expected to set an example for other Christians in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity (I Tim. 4:12, I Thess. 1:7). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;We must avoid doing things that would cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble (Rom. 14:13-21, I Cor. 8:7-13). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;A Christian, as described in the Ne&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;w Testament, does not act differently when in different company.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;As ambassadors for Christ we must also live honorably before the world (II Cor. 5:20, 8:21).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Christians must be examples for the sinful and shine as lights in a world of darkness (Phil. 2:15, Eph. 5:8). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;quot;Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven&amp;quot; (Matt. 5:14-16). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;We must remember that we have been instructed to obey the civil laws (Rom. 13:1-7, Matt. 22:21). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Children are going to make up their minds about Jesus based on what they see at home. We must be examples that our children should imitate.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;It is the Christian home where the world can really see a difference in life. From observing our family life, men and women are going to see the real meaning of Christian conversion. From what they see of how you live as a Christian, they are going to become more interested, or less interested, in this One you call the Christ. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;SELF-CONTROL&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control&amp;quot; (Gal. 5:22-23). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The most difficult, but most important, thing to control is the tongue (James 3:2-12).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;One&amp;#39;s religion is useless if one&amp;#39;s speech is not under control (James 1:26).&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;God has always expected His followers to be honest (truthful) about all things (Ex. 20:16, Prov. 12:17-22, Matt. 5:33-37, Eph. 4:25). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Gossip and abusive, insulting language are not to come from Christians (Matt. 5:22, I Tim. 5:13, Titus 3:2, James 4:11).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;Our speech is to be sound and good (Eph. 4:29, Titus 2:8). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Using God&amp;#39;s name in any form in vulgarity is clearly forbidden by God&amp;#39;s word (Ex. 20:7). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;A Christian&amp;#39;s speech is to be free of profanity and filthy language (Col. 3:8). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The Christian is expected to take care of his (or her) body because it is the &amp;quot;temple of God&amp;quot; (I Cor. 3:16-17). With this in mind, as Christians mature they usually understand that it is best to refrain from tobacco, alcohol, over-eating, and other things that may be unhealthful (Eph. 5:18, Rom. 14:21). &amp;quot;Abstain from all appearance of evil&amp;quot; (I Thess. 5:22, Rom. 12:9). &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Such things as gambling, pornography, and dancing are, therefore, best avoided by Christians.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;quot;Bad company ruins good morals&amp;quot; (I Cor. 15:33). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;CONCLUSIONS&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Christians must examine themselves regularly to see whether they are living as Christians (II Cor. 13:5, I Cor. 9:27).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;Whatever our task, we should work heartily (Col. 3:23). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Do not forget: &amp;quot;I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me&amp;quot; (Phil. 4:13). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;quot;Put on the whole armor of God&amp;quot; and be prepared to fight &amp;quot;the good fight&amp;quot; (Eph. 6:10-17, II Tim. 4:7). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;In spite of God&amp;#39;s help, many will suffer as Christians (I Pet. 4:16, Acts 14:22, II Tim. 3:12). We must learn to rejoice even in our tribulations (Acts 5:41, Rom. 5:3-5). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The Bible describes a Christian as one who is a &lt;i&gt;new creation&lt;/i&gt;, having put to death the former sinful self (II Cor. 5:17, Gal. 2:20, Rom. 6:6). Because of our love for and responsibility to God, we strive to follow the New Testament pattern for Christian living.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;However, because we all sin, we never reach the perfection for which we strive (Rom. 3:23, I John 1:8). If we will follow in Jesus&amp;#39; steps, His blood will continue to cleanse us of sins (I John 1:7, II Cor. 5:7). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Nevertheless, we are not saved because of any of these works of righteousness of ours, but through the grace of God (Acts 15:11, Tit. 3:5). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Let us please God and &amp;quot;walk worthy of the Lord&amp;quot; (Col. 1:10). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Let us be Christians that are known for our righteousness, study, faithfulness, love, service, example, and self-control. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;quot;Have no anxiety about anything&amp;quot; (Phil. 4:6).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;Only as Christians who are striving to serve and please God according to His will can we know and feel &amp;quot;the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding&amp;quot; (Phil. 4:7). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;  &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;  &lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;If you wish to discuss this information with someone, please e-mail &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.commailto:office@westarkchurchofchrist.org&quot; target=&quot;_self&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#800080&quot; face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;West-Ark Church of Christ&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;. Christians there will be happy to assist you in learning how Christ can improve your life. We appeal for a return to the New Testament pattern for Christian living. You are encouraged to open your Bible and study God&amp;#39;s word so that you will know His will for your life.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/font&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Recommendation and Review from this site (link below):&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;external&quot; href=&quot;http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.comhttp://www.thecolefamily.com/michael/church.htm&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://www.thecolefamily.com/michael/church.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item><item><title>About this page</title><link>http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/About+this+page</link><author>James307</author><guid isPermaLink="false">http://whatisthepurpose.wetpaint.com/page/About+this+page</guid><comments>Lock this page</comments><pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:55:57 CST</pubDate><description>&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;This site is created to help other people in need on how they can live their life according to their purpose with the studies that will give them idea.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;the daily life, experience and in the different stages of life they are living now.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;This site wants to help many people especially those in need of reading materials for their research and personal matter about daily living and the stages of life with the help of other helpful resources and sites.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;We would like to help other people every situation that we could, in different level of society and to every community with their environment on how can individual person handle his/her self and responsibility in different situation to each stages of life.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Living in a normal and successful life as it is needed in it&amp;#39;s purpose&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;learning more and sharing to other people what we have not only materially, &lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;many people in the world in need that we are hoping to help other them all if we can reach them all.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;(In achieving our goals and in communicating to people to people world wide, &lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;we would like to thank the those site and preferences that make this studies possible and to your supports.)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Fr: The Admin&lt;/b&gt;&lt;hr size=&quot;1&quot;&gt;&lt;br/&gt;</description></item></channel></rss>
