“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.”  – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

Gratitude is a choice.

It is a mindset and a mentality that is fueled by our perspective. Gratitude is an attitude of the heart. We have a saying in our family that goes like this: “You choose your attitude.” You can’t control many things in life, but you can control your attitude!

Are you living with a mindset of gratitude? Are you rejoicing in all things? Did you know it is God’s will that you learn what it means to give thanks in all things and live with a heart of gratitude? So, how do you know if you are living in gratitude?

Do you see the power of God at work in the trials of life, or do you only see the challenges and trials?

Are you thankful for the blessings in your life, or are you bitter about the things that you don’t have?

Are you living a generous life, or are you trying to hold on to all you have?

Are you more focused on what you have to do than what Jesus has already done for you?

If you leave the gate open, the cow will wander off. So if you

intentionally leave the gate open, you want the cow to wander off.  You can’t blame stupidity or laziness. It was intentional.

If you cut police budgets, you will get more crime on the streets.

So if you intentionally cut police budgets, you wanted more crime on the streets.

If you cut back the supply of oil, gas prices will go up. So if you intentionally cut back the supply of oil, you wanted gas prices to go up.

If you print trillions of dollars without increasing the supply of goods, inflation will hit hard. So if you intentionally print trillions of dollars without more goods you wanted inflation to hit hard.

If you leave the southern border wide open, you get more drug trafficking and human trafficking.  So if you intentionally leave the border wide open, you wanted more drug trafficking and human trafficking.

If you shut down 40% of the supply of baby formula in February, you’ll get a huge shortage. When you KNOW a huge baby formula shortage is coming because of the FDA’s actions, and you purposefully do nothing to prevent it, month after month, until the crisis finally hits hard, you INTENDED this crisis.

It is time to recognize there are evil people. Some of those want a crisis. They want chaos.   Their stated purpose years ago with Obama was to “take the US down a few notches on the world stage.” You can feel the quality of your life being challenged. These are not foolish or misguided people. Always use common sense and please do your own fact checking to make sure you are not sold a bad bill of goods.

ANSWERS TO CYBER SECURITY QUESTIONS:

“Somehow my cellphone number got attached to a (person’s name), so now I am getting calls and texts addressed to her. I block and report it as spam. Is there anything else I can do to “unattach” my number from her name or do I just need to change my cellphone number?”

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It’s possible she has activated a feature on her phone called “conditional call forwarding.” When turned on, calls and texts will be forwarded to another number (yours). Contact your carrier to cancel the feature.

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“How do I close down an old email address that I no longer use?”

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A dormant email account (or any online account) can be a security risk. Do a web search for instructions about how to delete it. You’ll need to know the password or be able to use other recovery options to proceed. Once in, if there’s anything you want to save, download it first. If you’re concerned about an old job-related or educational institution email address, contact the organization’s IT department to have it deleted.

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“I have an old iPad — the 3rd generation from 2012. Is it still safe to connect to my Wi-Fi and use it for listening to podcasts?”

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Use it till it dies! You can also use it as an electronic picture frame, second monitor, alarm clock, read recipes, or many other simple tasks. Apply software updates when offered. Don’t store sensitive information on it or do banking but reading books or listening to audio should be fine.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

When we are unhappy, we usually blame it on someone or something else. It rarely occurs to us that we must be responsible for our own joy, but that is indeed what we must do. If our joy is based on having all the people in our lives do as we please and on always having pleasant circumstances, there is little hope of enjoying very many days. However, if we take responsibility for our joy and realize we can choose to be joyful regardless of our circumstances, then we can enjoy every day of our lives.

The longer we live, the more we realize that everything in life is a choice. Our enjoyment of life does not depend on what happens to us, but on how we RESPOND to it. We cant control what other people do, nor what our circumstances will be from day to day, but we can control ourselves, with God’s help. He has given us the gift of self-control as one of the fruit of the Holy Spirt. (Galatians 5:23). This fruit resides inside of us and is like a muscle: The more we use it, the stronger it becomes.

You can choose to blame your emotional state on someone or something, but God can teach you that your joy is your responsibility, not any one else’s. Blaming others for our problems, only puts off the inevitable. Sooner or later, we must take responsibility and stop making excuses for our ungodly behavior. We can take ownership and ask God to help us change for the better.

EMPLOYEE NAME	POSITION	BIRTHDAY
Tony Cooper	Service Director	6-4
Naylin Hernandez	Housekeeping	6-4
Chase Gaddy	Chevy Tech	6-4
Dominick Rios-Oquendo	Lube Tech	6-5
Erick Santiago	Kia Tech	6-5
Jonathan Mcguire	P/O Sales N	6-7
Pablo Moreira	Kia Sales	6-8
Ryan Campbell	Finance Closer	6-8
Darrious Wise	Kia Sales	6-9
Mark Brigham	Chevy Tech	6-11
Doug English	Chevy Tech	6-11
Austin Carrigan	GMC Sales	6-14
Patrick Jeune	Chevy Tech	6-16
Steve Chilton	Chevy Service Manager	6-18
Vickie Canady	BDC Receptionist	6-20
Christian Santiago	Body Shop Helper	6-21
Chayton Wodecki	Honda Sales	6-22
Alexis Rylott	North Cashier	6-23
Calvin Byrd	Detail	6-24
Kelli Woodside	Accounts Receivable	6-24
Maribel Rodriguez	Housekeeping	6-24
George White	Wholesaler	6-27
Mike Boswell	GMC Sales	6-27
Kayla Rodriguez	Internet Sales	6-28
Erin Harrison	JMA/Payables	6-29
Adrian Ramirez	BDC Reception	6-30

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

What are the traits of a good leader?

Well, believe it or not, a good leader does not think he or she has all the answers. (Imagine that!) In fact, a new study from the University of Buffalo has shown that compared to egotistical bosses, humble bosses…

1. …lead by example,
2. …admit their mistakes, and
3. …recognize their followers’ strengths.

A pretty good start, I’d say.

Obviously, leaders make things happen. They bring about change. And great leaders communicate clearly their vision and goals. They have clear direction and the ability to motivate others to join them. Sometimes this is for good, sometimes it is for evil. Real leaders delegate. They trust in others to get the job done. Micro-managers constantly destroy the morale of those they are called to lead.

All of these are key traits of leadership…

…but what separates good leaders from great leaders?

I believe it’s one thing – courage.

The courage to do what is right, to do what needs to be done, especially when the heat is on and people are grumbling and the times are hard. Great leaders have the courage to lead others to carry out their vision no matter what the cost.

Where does this kind of courage come from? This courage can be found in the Lord. Leaders, God’s Word says, “Be strong and courageous.”

Strength and courage – key factors to all great leadership.

How many great leaders do you know?