Christmas Trees?

We do not yet have our Christmas tree up. If it were up to me, I would break out from tradition and not put it up at all! Isn't it funny that the wise men brought their gift to Jesus in worship and now we present our gifts to a tree? Josh Johnson read this great verse to us the other day...

“ Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;

Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,

For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.

3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;

For one cuts a tree from the forest,

The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

4 They decorate it with silver and gold;

They fasten it with nails and hammers

So that it will not topple.

5 They are upright, like a palm tree,

And they cannot speak;

They must be carried,

Because they cannot go by themselves.

Do not be afraid of them,

For they cannot do evil,

Nor can they do any good.” (Jer. 10:1-5)

Chips and Salsa....

My last post was stirred up because I just read on of my dad's business books on customer service called "Raving Fans". I don't know why I read the whole thing right now, but I did. So it made me think about good and bad customer service I have encountered. Please add to my lists if you desire!


Good- Adalbertos in Pt. Loma: Free Chips and Salsa!!
Bad- Santana's- down the street from adals: Only three cups of salsa allowed.
Good- Los Primos in 4S: Horchata with free refills and carrots at the salsa bar!!
Bad- Islands: Makes you pay extra if you order off the kids menu and are not under 12. Fries are not included with your burger!
Good- Pat and Oscars: Gives you breadsticks while you wait to order. They are also very quick to make your meal free if they mess up on something.
Bad- Any restaurant which makes you think the refills are free but they are not and you get the bill and find out your drink cost you a fortune because you drank 10 cups.
Good- Any restaraunt that gives you free bread! (Sammy's, CPK...ect.)
Bad- Stores with exchange only policies.
Good- Norstroms. They'll take back anything!
Bad- Fitting room limits.
Good- Old Navy: They will go get another size for you.
Bad- Los Primos charging me extra to exchange rice for cheese in a been and cheese burrito. Last I checked you could make like 2 buckets of rice for a buck.
Good- In'n'Out: They pay their workers well and have a secret menu. They also have verses on the cups and a catalogue with In'n'Out sandals and towels. So fun.
Good- Places where people are friendly and actually help you.

Where are all the friendly people? Many are at starbucks, none are at gas stations...and you get a good mix everywhere else.

Really it's all about loving people and caring about your customers and your workers. I can do that!

I am a businesswoman

Back in October I went to the prosperity with a purpose conference and caught myself thinking this thought during the first session..."Yeah, this stuff is good, but I'm not a business person, I'm going to be a teacher." Then the Lord reminded me of all the stuff I'd done throughout my life to make some money. Here's a few:

1. I sold homemade paper cups in my front yard for a nickel. A neighbor gave us a dollar and told us to keep the change. We were rich!

2. Good old lemonade stand. But we (me and the neighborhood kids) were smart about it. We set up the stand at the busiest park around. We sold so much lemonade that we ran out of cups. We would not let a little set back slow us down. As any wise business person would do, we quickly solved the problem by finding cups people had discarded (only if they were on the top of the trash) and rinsing them out in the drinking fountain. A mom noticed and made us stop. Hey, 8 year olds are not worried about germs when they are making money!

3. Candy. The clubs at school (especially the Key Club) would always sell candy to fundraise. I went to costco and bought a bunch of candy in bulk and then sold it at school during other fundraisers. If people asked I was honest and told them it was for the "Deanna Fund". No one cared, they just wanted candy.

So the moral of the story is that I am a businesswoman. All I need is one good idea and I could make thousands...or millions! I could be a teacher and have a business on the side. Why? To build the kingdom of God. That's all. What could be more fun than to make money to give it away?