Sacred Group Retreats to Make ChangeWritten by Douglas D. Germann, Sr.
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So question is, can you trust God? The answer is, Always! God works through people. God works through circumstances. God works through gatherings. God works through silence. God works through brook leaping and dancing outside meeting room window. How does this happen? When you give your people paper and markers and invite them in a spirit of openness and stillness, inspiration always comes. Most often it stampedes! Soon people are posting all sorts of topics: "What is beyond soup kitchens?;" "What do seniors need to tell their doctors?;" "Where could we raise funds for this?" People really are fingers of divine and are itching for a chance to expand and work! If you would like step-by-step instructions on how to make this happen, ask me to send you a free article. Let's move on to next stage: inviting action. You have people excited by possibilities. They have even created some great ideas to make it happen. How do you move from talk to action? The answer is simpler than you think: Ask and it will happen. People are more anxious than you to get on with it. They want to jump out of their chairs and do something. Your job is to invite it--and get out of their way. Why is this so? Because ideas came from inside them. They know validity and necessity of this calling. No one has dumped a project on them from a position of authority. Action sprouts from their core. So you bring whole gathering back into their circle to hear from each other and look at flip charts and reports that show all work that has sprung up among them. Then you simply ask "What are immediate next steps we need to take?" Get out of way as people post categories of work that needs doing and run off to smaller groups to devise their practical next steps. In an hour you will have everyone back in circle, almost too excited to sit in their chairs. Now that's how you make change... sacred! Prayer? Of course. Remember, whole event is a prayer.

About the author: Doug Germann facilitates sacred group retreats to make change. Need more ideas? You may contact Doug for the free step-by-step article, and to ask your questions.: 574/291-0022; mailto:Doug@FootprintsintheWind.com; Fax: 574/291-0024; Mail: P.O. Box 2796, South Bend, IN 46680-2796; http://www.FootprintsintheWind.com.
| | American Women Really Don’t Like YouWritten by Steve Eyes
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All above words, statements and my observations have their exceptions. There is no doubt, there are bad men in every country. There is no doubt that some women only are in it for money or to get a free pass to United States. These are exceptions and it is this minority that media and others will use to blanket a whole culture in a negative light. I’m sure most of you have seen in print or on news about “mail order bride” scandals or “mail order bride” mistreatment as if this defines all courtships and marriages that develop through internet. If a few instances defines standards, then just getting a marriage license in United States should have a warning imprinted in gold. No matter if a couple met through internet or at neighborhood church, you have your share of scandals and mistreatment. The last culture of experts that needs to be giving advise about how to meet and marry a women is United States – is there any other country whose divorce rate is higher? The Philippines does not condone online dating sites. For that matter, it is against law. I’m not going to quote their law here, but it has to do with moral issues. Again hypocrisy!. If Philippines are so worried about women rights, there are other issues they could concentrate on besides taking away a women’s right to find happiness, love and a better life for herself. She wouldn’t be looking elsewhere, if Philippine government took care of her needs. Should I complain? Probably not, or most Filipina women would not be joining online dating sites to meet American men. My objection to this law is how it is used in Philippines as a political vehicle rather then sincere concern for women’s rights. Hypocrisy, it is everywhere, isn’t it? I started this article to comment on why a lot of American women despise Asian women. Not all American women, but a lot. But discrimination doesn’t stop there. It is evident in media, politics and indeed in their own country. The people who are forgotten, are couples themselves. Why not just ask them? If two people who found each other are happy, in love and want to be together, why does media and politician think they know better. More then likely, it isn’t about what couple want, but more about politics and sensationalism to sell news. Take your hatred, your narrow minded views and negative publicity elsewhere and let us find love – even if we find it on internet.

Steve Eyes is the webmaster and owner of FilipinaEyes Association. His experience comes from finding love on the internet and helping others do the same. http://www.filipinaeyes.com http://www.filipinalady.biz http://www.filipina-lady.net http://www.filipina-lady.org
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