When Jesus ascended he gave us Two Valuable Commands:

by Pat Darnell
Sometimes attending Business school, a professor will go ahead and move outside the box. That is, she will say something not usually said in class. One time Professor X PhD/ Mrs, said: "Always Value Added first."

We were discussing Vision, Mission, Value Added statements of businesses. Most businesses do have those kinds of headers, that are descriptions of core competency. It is usually an overstatement of the obvious, but still very necessary for the company employees, agents and all the customers.

That said; Professor X PhD/ Mrs., was determined we all get this message... "1 -- 2 -- 3: Value Added Statement, Vision Statement, then Mission Statement." Most of us had in our minds that Vision is first. [VA--What it is; V--Why we got Here; M--This is our action]


After her HR course is long over, and I look around with new eyes, and this new professorial mandate, most all headers are visionary statements. It leads to this conclusion: the last is first, and if it isn't it should be, as il' Professore says.

It turns out one morning I'm reading a critical article in HR Magazine while waiting for the dentist. One editor explains that in a lunch meeting with his Mentor one day, this subject of Value Added came up.

The HRM Editor like all others had put it last in the triumvirate of boiler plate core competency statements. His Mentor had things to say about his Value Added statement that is two paragraphs long, also a no-no.

Mentor: "HRM Ed, you have it wrong."

HRM Ed: "Haaarummmph, what?"

Mentor: "You have misused the substance of your great company and made it weak."

HRM Ed: "Bu... bu... but,"

Mentor: "Value added is like this triple meat cheese bacon DQ Burger sitting here sizzling on the plate in front of us filling this whole area with aroma."

"Soon after I have a bite," biting, "now you have removed something of its value... the juiciness, the flavor, that is the vision part."

"Don't interrupt me; now I sip this blizzard, and have this salty fry... that is the mission of value added. And I get a hankering to come here once a month and indulge."

HRM Ed: "Uh... well... imagery, urgency, uh expectancy??"

Mentor: "You're confused. Understandably; look at it from the customer eye. This is ambiance, nostalgia, pre-meal humor, locale and color, ones little getaway, Ted Kennedy in a Speedo on his yacht. Yes?"

HRM Ed: Unable to eat, or respond: "Errr..."

[I hate it when he does this, like my dentist when he has my mouth all numb and held open while I gag on suction tubes, asks me: 'So, have you been flossing? Have you been going to Church? Did you now Jesus Loves You?']

So I nod, and stare like the sacrificial lamb.

Mentor: "Like the 99 cent store we passed on the way here: 'Everything 99 cents,' right out on the front sign. Value Added -- nothing is over 99 cents. You go in with 49 dollars and exit with about 41 things, tax is added of course. But if you have a tax number you can get all 49 things... no?"

HRM Ed: "Okay, I'm catching up now... so I have to put our Value added up front, or get a new job. I get it."

Mentor: "That's right; but that's not all. I want you to write on this napkin your Value Added Statement. I'd say about twelve words is all you need. If you cannot, then you might want to rethink your existence."

HRM Ed: "Twelve words? on this napkin..."

Mentor: "Yes, before we leave; before I finish my Blizzard."

Another Prayer by [Guess]... Thanks to Dr J!!

J has left a new comment on your post "Prayer of....":

Do you know this one?

"Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:

A Light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. "

What Measures a Church?

St. Oswald's, Paddlesworth is located next to the Cat and Custard Pot, at one of the highest points on the North Downs.

PHOTO: St. Oswald's Paddlesworth "The highest church in Kent."

Church services at St. Oswalds are every 2nd Sunday in the month, 11.00 a.m. Holy Communion, every 3rd Sunday in the month, 6.30 p.m. Evensong plus every 5th Sunday there is evensong at 6.30 p.m.

Paddlesworth services can be particularly noted when they are celebrating harvest festival or Christmas, as the church is always beautifully decorated.

In the cemetery around the church, the gravestones are a strong reminder of the farming communities in the area with family names such as the Claysons, Vincents and Goddens adourning the majority of the headstones.

Should you wish to view Paddlesworth church you can obtain the key from the Cat and Custard pot during opening hours. The key was originally kept on the board pictured ...and although the board can still be seen, the key itself has been moved to more secure lodgings.

The Cat and Custard Pot is situated in the Hamlet of Paddlesworth, near Hawkinge, nestled in the picturesque countryside of the North Downs. It is within 15 minutes drive from the seaside town of Folkestone and was the main public house used by pilots and other personnel who were stationed at the nearby Hawkinge Battle of Britain airfield. The pub itself contains a varied collection of aviation memorabilia and photographs that represent the history of the area during the last 100 years.
(Retrieved HERE for this review...)

The Nativity tells me this

Jesus wants us to be

Exceptional and giving like Kings

Protectors of the faith like shepherds

Humble like stepfathers

Fervent like John the Baptist

Interesting Things Going on...

WWJD (Hair Band Edition)

by Jack Pribek

Posted on 01 Aug 2008 in Category: Hunh?, Music, Spiritual

So, reality show star and Poison Guitarist, C.C. Deville, has found Jesus. Will this epiphany affect his rockin’? From Blabbermouth.

As previously reported, Pete Wilson, the pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee recently got a call from C.C. DeVille asking for advice and inviting him to POISON’s July 8 concert at the Sommet Center in Nashville. According to Pete, “C.C. has just become a Christian and was wondering if I would be willing to bring him some messages he could listen to on the road, as well as just encourage him, and answer a few questions.”…

…”After the concert we had a creative team meeting with him where we suggested a few different ways he could interweave the story of what God is doing in his life through his music.”

Hunh? Creative team meeting? Interweave?

Possible suggestions….

“Unskinny Praise”

“Look What God Dragged In”

“Talk Jesus To Me”

[Retrieved HERE Today by MooPig for review, without anyone's consent, of course]