April 25th CPí Closes at 72 Points
Back from vacation, this week’s Cruz Personal Index closed at 72 points.
Back from vacation, this week’s Cruz Personal Index closed at 72 points.
I was very impressed with Birmingham, Alabama’s Mayor Larry Langford address to the City Council - a call to prayer and repentance. This is an example of good leadership. I thought it was a very Christian approach.
I pray the Lord bless him and his city, and rids it from the disease of crime. The devil comes only to steal and kill and destroy, Jesus came so that we may have life, and have it to the fullest. (See John 10)
Mayor Langford said to the enemy and those who like to criticize, “If you don’t want to pray, fine. Just keep your evil self away from me. If you’ve got a problem with God take it up with Him. The destruction of all of us will come when we think we know so much that we’ve got all the answers.”
God bless the people of Alabama and its leadership. Make it a great day! 
Credit: Image courtesy of the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Update: City Turns to God in Face of Crime, from CBN News
I have no doubt that we are living in the Biblical last days. Basic necessities are demanding a major portion of our earnings, and that’s already in addition to the government taking as much as it can in taxes and companies trying to squeeze the innocent through fees, hidden charges and fine print. As you can imagine, the rising energy prices are a favorite topic of newscasters seeking to sprinkle fear on its loyal viewers.
But believers in Jesus Christ are not bound to this world’s economy. We know that gold and silver are the Lord’s, for He created all things. We need not live in worry, fear, or anxiety. Check this exhortation out, found in Matthew 6:25-34:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
That exhortation was from Jesus. Yes, God takes care of his children! Have faith, believe, and don’t be ashamed to ask God for wisdom. Seek the Lord, and surely he will provide for your household. For centuries He has taken care of his own little ones. 
After checking out the news stories on rising food and oil prices, I knew I had to be more diligent with my finances. I ask God for wisdom because I don’t know very much about managing my finances. What kind of changes have you had to make as the prices of food and gasoline increase?
I’ve been away from the blog for a couple of weeks now. A lot of good and bad things have been happening in my life, but I gotta thank the Lord for helping me through it all. I love my God, family, and friends. I’ve been blessed and that’s all I will chose to dwell on. In Philippians 4:8 we read Paul’s advice:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (NIV)
That’s something that requires training and discipline, but the rewards gotta be worth it. Here’s to a successful week for you! God bless.
I appreciate the inroads of technology in our local public libraries. Thank you to all those involved in this momentous transition. An example of modernization is my local library providing free wireless access (also known as Wi-Fi) to all that posses a free library card. All I do is bring my laptop, accept their terms, and I’m on the Internet.
I conduct some of my learning and research from the library. In fact, I often enjoy writing articles for this site at the library. What’s better than to sit down in air conditioning (I’m in Florida) in a quiet, smart, and thought provoking environment while listening to Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli playing in my headphones.
With that said, I look ahead to further inroads in the years ahead. One idea I have is for libraries to open a coffee shop, a la Barnes & Noble (BN). What’s better than a latte and a novel on one of the library’s comfy couches? Or you can take it to go. Hey, that’s one reason I enjoy going to BN.
How about a late night at the library? I would absolutely love if the library stayed open until 11 pm? Another thing I love about BN. If I feel like exploring books or connecting with people, I can do so at 8 or 9pm on a Thursday or Saturday and it would be perfectly alright.
I do believe that in order to implement these two ideas the environment of libraries, their objectives, and leadership will have to be transformed. With computers and the Internet becoming commonplace at many homes, the library cannot find itself irrelevant to culture, especially our youth. What innovative changes would you like to see take place at your local public library?
After giving my Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop a much-needed memory upgrade, I’m preparing to take my Windows Vista experience to another level by installing the first service pack.
From what I’ve read so far, people reported speed and battery life improvements. Those two are enough to prompt me to update to SP1. Are the negative reports true? I got a restore point in place just in case they are. 
Just to give you an idea, I’m running Windows Vista Ultimate on a Inspiron 9300 laptop with:
If everything goes to plan (meaning as long as Windows doesn’t crash or kill my laptop) I’ll use my Vista SP1 laptop this week to get work done. Then, later next week, I’ll report my experience. Stay tuned!
Images courtesy of Cruz Creative™.
Happy Tuesday! This week I have a lot on my mind. I want to accomplish a few things before the week is over, such as a project inventory for my business. I also want to work on my taxes since the filing deadline is just around the corner. In addition I’m starting an exercise routine at about three times a week. I have a bike with broken tires that I would like to get fixed. I love biking, how about you?
Tonight I attended the Cape Coral Toastmasters Club. Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their communication, public speaking and leadership skills.1
I’ve heard the good benefits of getting involved in this type of organization. Aside from the opportunity to socialize, meet potential business clients and partners, and build my list of contacts, I hope to learn and improve the art of speaking, listening, and thinking.
The members were friendly, receptive, smart, and fun. Though the meeting was professional, the feel around the room was relaxed, positive, and quite immersing. One definitely has to be interested in the art of public speaking to enjoy this type of meeting. There were several guests present tonight, and I think we all had a positive experience.
It was great to meet, chat, and briefly introduce myself to several members. I went in there with a positive attitude and even participated on my very first day! It has been a long time since I’ve been involved in any type of organization in the professional realm. Showing up to tonight’s Toastmasters meeting felt great. I felt like my good old self again.
Just to give you an idea, several years ago I was very involved in the community around me. Back then it was the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s student community. I served in the Senate, was Vice President of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, was a Resident Assistant several terms, wrote for the campus newsletter, and served in other organizations inside and outside of campus.
Since moving to Florida I sort of fell off the map. After a chain of disappointments, I sort of fell into a depression and lost touch of my talents. I even picked up on a little enemy called fear and self-doubt. Yuk!
But it’s all good now. I’m fighting back. This fisherman ain’t finished yet. With God all things are possible! Plus God will not be done with me until his work is accomplished in me. I look forward to joining the next Toastmaster session, and God willing, people can say once again… Look out world, here comes JCruz! as I work in my vocation and share with others the limitless love of God. Make it a wonderful week!
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
The MIX 2008 Internet presentation Advanced SEO for Web Developers, by Nathan Buggia, was Rated! 4 Stars.
Rated! Value Scores™ (5 being the highest)
The MIX 2008 Internet presentation Advanced Cross-Browser Layout with Internet Explorer 8, by Scott Dickens, was Rated! 3 Stars.
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