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What To Do First to Make a Profit

The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat  ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're  not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director.  Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year.  God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
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Cocky? Or seeing things God's way?



"I am a thing of beauty."
Frank Sinatra


Yesterday I was reading AOL news and they had these quotes they called, "shockingly cocky quotes by celebrities." Some of them were extremely cocky like Madonna saying, "I won't be happy until I'm as famous as God," and John Lennon saying of the Beatles, "We're more popular than Jesus now." Yeah, right.


But when I got to this one quote by Frank Sinatra, "I am a thing of beauty," I thought, "wait a sec, I agree with that!"


No, not just because I love his music and Larry and I listen to it all the time.

No, not just because in his day he was a really hot looking guy.

I simply believe that every healthy person should believe that they have been created by God and they are beautiful. It takes so much for most people to come to that point. Most of us struggled at some point in our lives to say and really believe, "I am a thing of beauty." When someone told us (if we were so blessed to have someone verbalize it) we would say, "really?" and more than that we would think to ourselves "really?" and wonder, "could it be true? Am I really beautiful?"

I know the Bible warns against conceit or being "puffed up" but I also know the same Word of God says we have been fearfully and wonderfully made and yes, we are made in His image and we are all "things of beauty." It's a delicate balance between seeing yourself as a person of beauty yet not allowing your head to explode with conceit. Yet most people I know, especially women, don't struggle with the conceit-- they struggle with seeing themselves as beautiful.

Yesterday Larry and I went to make a hospital visit. The Powell's had their baby. It was our day off and so when we make visits or do anything on our day off we are very dressed down and everybody just expects it because it's Friday. I just had jeans and a t-shirt and flip flops on. When we got to the hospital the guard in the foyer area told us we would have to wait - Sheri was nursing for the first time and she'd call down when it was okay for us to come up. Larry and I took a seat on the couches in the waiting room and got comfortable. There are huge picture windows in there, comfy couches, and magazines. I kicked my flip flops off, turned sideways on the couch and stretched my legs out across Larry as he sat there and I picked up a Redbook and started reading. He watched Fox News which was on the screen across the room. While sitting there reading, Larry looked over at me and then suddenly says, "you're so beautiful, Deanna..."

I just smiled at him. Yes, I have come to a point my life where I believe I am. But it wasn't always that way.

Yesterday, we were shopping on our day off and Savanna was with us and we were all standing there looking through the racks of clothes. A lady commented on an outfit Savanna had pulled out to try on then she all of a sudden looked over at me and said, "and you Mom...you've got a great figure...some of these would look awesome on you..." Years ago I would have said, "what? Who are you kidding? Me?? No, that's not true...." but when she said it I just shot a look over at Larry - who was smiling - and I smiled back and said, "thank you."

AOL, don't be so hard on Frank. Maybe he just came to a point where he finally saw himself as a person of beauty and could bring himself to admit it out loud.

Have you come to the point where you see yourself as a person of beauty?

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