If that were the end of the blessings that He had given me, it would still be more than some of our siblings have been given.

If that were the end of the blessings that He had given me, I would still count myself wealthy.

I could start writing a list of all that I have been blessed with and it would fill a book and yet be incomplete.

I honestly have nothing that I am worthy to complain about.

To throw out an unsubstantiated statistic, I would wager than at least 90% of Americans have nothing really worthwhile to complain about.

If you are reading this message right now, you are blessed with a computer, an internet connection, and the ability to read. If someone printed it out and gave it to you, then you are blessed with a friend, paper, and the ability to read. And still those 3 comparably small and overlooked blessings truckloads more than what some of our siblings have.

If you think you are having problems with your life right now, then you are a selfish ingrate. I bet my life that you have more at this very moment to be thankful for than you do to complain about.

You disagree with me?

You think you have a hard life?

You think you have been dealt an unjust hand?

Watch this video and just you reconsider your overly abundant and wealthy life.

Now tell me. What problems do you really have in your life?

I am a Child of God and so are you and so is everyone else on this little planet of ours. Who is your neighbor?

A real man must be prepared to support our liberty, our lands, our wives, and our children, and our peace, and that we might live unto the Lord our God, and that we might maintain our freedom to worship how, where, or what we may.

A real man must be a strong and a mighty man; a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that does not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul does joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

Yea, a man whose heart does swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which He does bestow upon his people; a man who does labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

Yea, and he is a man who is firm in the faith of Christ, and has sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

Now we have been taught to defend ourselves against our enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it is necessary; yea, and we are also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it is against an enemy, except it is to preserve our lives.

And this is our faith, that by so doing God will prosper us in the land, or in other words, if we are faithful in keeping the commandments of God that He will prosper us in the land; yea, warn us to flee, or to prepare for war, according to our danger;

And also, that God will make it known unto us whither we should go to defend ourselves against our enemies, and by so doing, the Lord will deliver us; and this iss the faith of a real man, and his heart does glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and are, and ever will be, like unto this definition of a real man, behold, the very powers of hell would be shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

Redistribution of wealth all sounds so warm and fuzzy until it comes time to actually do it. The waiter may have been willing to contribute to the poor of his own free will, but being forced to give charity was not very pleasant and much less meaningful.

This was a perfect analogy for how governmental welfare works. It is basically robbing the rich to feed the poor. Don’t get me wrong, I think the poor should be fed and clothed and cared for. However, I think it should be our choice to give that charitable service.

Forcing people to do good is worthless.

Acres of Diamonds
By Russell H. Conwell

Here are some excerpts:

“When that old guide had told me that very sad story, he stopped the camel I was riding and went back to fix the baggage on one of the other camels, and I remember thinking to myself, “Why did he reserve that for his particular friends?” There seemed to be no beginning, middle or end — nothing to it. That was the first story I ever heard told or read in which the hero was killed in the first chapter. I had but one chapter of that story and the hero was dead.”

“…and he said another thing I would not forget: he declared that a diamond is the last and highest of God’s mineral creations, as a woman is the last and highest of God’s animal creations. I suppose that is the reason why the two have such a liking for each other.”

Once you have read “Acres of Diamonds”, read this synopsis of How and why Russell H. Conwell founded Temple University.

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize — much less cultivate — the talents of many brilliant people. “We are educating people out of their creativity,” Robinson says.

(This video originated from here: Do schools kill creativity?)

Note: Whatever you do, please do not think I am anti-public schools or anti-education. I just want to see my children get an even better education than I did in a way that works best for them as individuals.

I have recently been introduced to a new podcast and web site. The podcast blog and web site were created to help people learn how to become more prosperous and “Live on Purpose”. The creator of these sites is Dr. Paul, who happens to be a friend of mine. He is an amazing teacher and a wonderful person. He is a successful business man who wants to help other people be successful also. I highly recommend looking into his web site and listening to his weekly podcast.

Web Site: Dr. Paul

Podcast Blog: Live on Purpose Radio

If you could listen to only one of his podcasts, I would listen to Making Cents Out Of Setbacks. In that podcast, Dr. Paul interviews the author of The Jackrabbit Factor. It is very worth taking the time to listen to.