Hi again, after a long absence! Just a quick update on the Hartley household.

Tracy completed her first week last week at her new job. She finally got out of the nursing home cleaning rat race and took a job as a back office processor for ABCO Payroll Services. That's a small payroll company in Bradenton, just right down the street from our home. They were looking for an organized, detail-oriented person to help get payrolls out for companies in the area. If there was ever a job that Tracy is suited for, it's this one, because she is very detailed, organized and meticulous. She really likes the job and I think everyone there is very pleased with her work. The company had a dinner last night at Capalbos, a local pizza place, for its employees and their families to celebrate getting through the month of January and getting out all the W-2s on time. It was a very nice time and all the people seemed very friendly. The company has just 8 employees and Tracy says they try to keep a family-like atmosphere, and it was sure evident last night. And it was really nice that the company would pay for the food for everyone, including spouses and kids.

Enough for now. Later..............

Hi again, after a long absence! Just a quick update on the Hartley household.

Tracy completed her first week last week at her new job. She finally got out of the nursing home cleaning rat race and took a job as a back office processor for ABCO Payroll Services. That's a small payroll company in Bradenton, just right down the street from our home. They were looking for an organized, detail-oriented person to help get payrolls out for companies in the area. If there was ever a job that Tracy is suited for, it's this one, because she is very detailed, organized and meticulous. She really likes the job and I think everyone there is very pleased with her work. The company had a dinner last night at Capalbos, a local pizza place, for its employees and their families to celebrate getting through the month of January and getting out all the W-2s on time. It was a very nice time and all the people seemed very friendly. The company has just 8 employees and Tracy says they try to keep a family-like atmosphere, and it was sure evident last night. And it was really nice that the company would pay for the food for everyone, including spouses and kids.

Enough for now. Later..............

Put up the Christmas tree yesterday, then took a break and went to the beach for a relaxing afternoon. How's that for a great way to spend an afternoon in November!

OK, so it's been 3 weeks since I made a post to my blog.....I apologize to my millions of readers (yeah, right!). Anyway, here's another pearl from Charles Stanley.....

We all spend some time seeking the Lord, but to be truly successful at it, we must learn to adjust our focus. The reason focus is important is that what we behold, we become. If we fix our attention on the sensual and materialistic, it won’t be long before we ourselves start leaning in that direction. I challenge you not to sit in front of a television set and allow rubbish into your mind night after night. While you might think it has no influence, it actually has a subtle but terrible, gripping effect on you.

On the other hand, if you focus your love and attention on Jesus, you will become like Him. It is similar to osmosis—He just pours Himself into us. We can focus on Him when we pray, when we study the Scriptures, and when we meditate on God’s truths. But it involves more than that. We must go deeper, to the point that we are listening and sharing our hearts with Him. If we are open and transparent before Him, He will speak and pour Himself into us.

When we learn to do this, we will find that our hunger and thirst for everything else begins to diminish. It’s not that our desires will disappear; they instead become redirected. You will discover you have a growing hunger for God and a longing to know Him in a warm and personal way. And you will notice your joy bubbling up and overflowing so that it cannot be stopped or stifled. Why? Because once you have begun to seek the Lord, you will recognize Him as your all-in-all.

--Charles Stanley

Thought I would change the pace a bit today.......

I know this is not politically correct, but I can't help myself.....

Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

How to Be an Effective Listener

· Be comfortable with silence

· Practice active listening

· Allow people to express their emotions

· Paraphrase

· Be careful not to over-spiritualize

· Use common sense

· Give an emphatic response

· Formulate an “extended” response

· Be appropriate

· Be affirming

· Be Christlike

I think that too often we just allow life to happen to use and not through us. Sometimes we tend to see life coming at us and we feel like a worn out “dartboard.” Don’t you sometimes find yourself dodging the darts of life’s trials and activities?

Instead of being a dartboard, I would rather be a pipeline or a channel wich God can use to bless others. Life can happen through us and not to us.

This doesn’t mean we won’t sometimes revert to that “dartboard” feeling, but we can quickly get back to the real work of the Kingdom by grabbing onto the power of God.

--Curtis and Carole Clements, South Central Regional Evangelists, Christian Motorcyclists Assn.