Where's George?

2 Years ago my wife discovered a fun web site called http://www.wheresgeorge.com/. It is a web site that is designed to track where your money has been. You enter the serial number and series number of any U.S. monetary bill; 1's, 2's, 5's 20's, 50's even 100's. You then enter the zip code where you are currently and release your bill back into circulation. Some people buy rubber stamps that have "Wheresgeorge.com" written on it and they stamp the bill before spending it again. This increases the chances that some one will re-enter the bill into the Where's George system. If some else does enter your bill into the system, you will get an e-mail telling you where your bill has gone to and how far it's traveled. If you enter a bill that once belonged to someone else, you will see where the bill has traveled before you "captured" it. They even have a note section, where you can tell something about the bill. Some just tell where they got the bill (Got it a Wal-Mart, or Got this bill as part of Birthday Gift, etc...) or something about the bill (Bill is torn on one corner, someone wrote something on the bill, or bill is crispy and new, etc...). It's a fun site that can get a little addicting. I was entering every bill I came across for a little while before I slowed down and started entering bills occasionally. But it is fun to get the occasional e-mail about someone finding one of your bills! Have fun!

Update: 3-9-2008 (as of today I have entered 1,547 bills with a monetary value of $13,114! When I first discovered this site my OCD and I had a blast...I had to work hard not to enter every bill that came across.

Feeling Small and A Little Scared

Today I started my new job! I am feeling a little overwhelmed from all the new information about my job duties and responsibilities. I am not sure where to find the resources I need to fulfill my job functions. AHHHHH! Don't run away, Don't run away. I know that God put me in this job for a reason and He will not fail to prepare me for what I need to do. I have been assured by my co-workers, and my wife, that it might take 3 months to feel "not so lost", and in about a year, I should feel comfortable with the job. The feelings I have right now remind me of a song I heard last night while watching an episode of Animaniacs with my family. The song is called "Yakko's Universe". Here are the lyrics:

Everybody lives on a street in a city

Or a village or a town for what it's worth.

And they're all inside a country which is part of a continent

That sits upon a planet known as Earth.

And the Earth is a ball full of oceans and some mountains

Which is out there spinning silently in space.

And living on that Earth are the plants and the animals

And also the entire human race.

It's a great big universe...And we're all really puny

We're just tiny little specks...About the size of Mickey Rooney.

It's big and black and inky...And we are small and dinky

It's a big universe and we're not.

And we're part of a vast interplanetary system

Stretching seven hundred billion miles long.

With nine planets and a sun; we think the Earth's the only one

That has life on it, although we could be wrong.

Across the interstellar voids are a billion asteroids

Including meteors and Halley's Comet too.

And there's over fifty moons floating out there like balloons

In a panoramic trillion-mile view.

And still it's all a speck amid a hundred billion stars

In a galaxy we call the Milky Way.

It's sixty thousand trillion miles from one end to the other

And still that's just a fraction of the way.

'Cause there's a hundred billion galaxies that stretch across the sky

Filled with constellations, planets, moons and stars.

And still the universe extends to a place that never ends

Which is maybe just inside a little jar!

It's a great big universe...And we're all really puny

We're just tiny little specks...About the size of Mickey Rooney.

Though we don't know how it got here...We're an important part here.

It's a big universe and it's ours!

It's funny sometimes how a kid's show can remind us big folks, just how small we are. We should never get "to big for our britches" and think we are more important than what we are. Although Yakko claims "we don't know how it got here" in the song, I know exactly where the Universe came from. It was created by GOD! And even though we are "about the size of Mickey Rooney" in comparison to the entire universe. God the Creator still cares for little old me. So don't be afraid to be afraid, and tell God that you are scared. He will comfort you. After all we are His children!

Learning How to Forgive

Many people are held up in their spiritual and relationship growth because they are still holding on to something from their past that they just can't seem to let go of. Someone has said something to them or hurt them in someway that caused pain and anger and although they have tried to forgive that person, they still hold on to bitter feelings, anger, and resentment. In the book Men Are Like Waffles and Women Are Like Spaghetti, there is a section about how to forgive and not let the past control your present life and relationship with your spouse and God. It gives you six statements or steps to follow to pattern your forgiveness in a practical way to help you work out the situation. They are:

1) I forgive (name of person) for (name of offense). This specifically names the offense and person who caused this offense so we can focus directly on that problem. Do not be vague about this.

2) I admit that what happened was wrong. It is not an admission of guilt for what we have done (unless we are trying to forgive ourselves), it is just an honest, non critical, confession that something wrong has happened. If nothing wrong has happened then there is nothing to forgive.

3) I do not expect (name the person) to make up for what he or she has done. A courageous statement of reality. No one can make up completely for the mistakes they have made. The pain will still be there. The memory will still linger. There is nothing you or the offender can do to "undo" it. You must forgive, offer repentance and try to start over.

4) I will use the offense to define who (name the person) is. When you define others by the things they have done wrong, it encourages a process of decay in your relationship with them. But if you define them as a person with a problem, or a person who has made a mistake, then you can define them as an "adopted child of God" who is in need of God's forgiveness. Rather than think negative about your offender, pray for them and turn them over to God.

5) I will not manipulate (name the person) with this offense. If you continue or try to emotionally blackmail the other person by bringing up the offense in an attempt to control their behavior, for positive, or negative, gain, then you are still letting the offense control your life. You are not fully enjoying the freedom of forgiveness and looking forward to the life ahead of you. Lucky for us Jesus does not constantly bring up our sins, He died for, to try to manipulate us.

6) I will not allow what has happened to stop my personal growth. This is very important. We too often allow the sinful offenses of others to dictate the course of our life. We become emotionally committed to behaviors that make us prone to depression, anger and resentment. Forgiveness allows us freedom to grow in our relationships. It releases the anchors that have been dragging us down. When we truly forgive we can love freely with nothing holding us back.

For more information go to: Farrel Communications and order a copy of the book.