Most people will probably agree it includes one or all of them.
But where do they come from? Blessings randomly sprinkled from heaven? A successful enterprise? An enlighten state of being?
Or maybe something you do? Like giving back to the community or pampering yourself with a soothing hot tub after the kids are in bed?
Because if these words spoken by Jesus Christ are true, then why are so many people miserable? Why is Christmas saturated with sentimental feelings, and yet, the highest point of suicides during the year?
It’s often a time we turn to faith for answers. So as you reflect on life’s deeper meanings during this Christmas season and perhaps your own quest for the abundant life, here are some thoughts to consider.
To Find An Abundant Life Seek a Reliable Source of Faith
I believe happiness and joy are universal gifts from God that are available to everyone regardless of your belief system. Purpose you discover. Contentment you learn.
And we’re all turning to something in our search for them.
What is it for you? Is it proven? Reliable? Authentic? This is where you start.
And as you search, keep this principle in mind: Intangible rewards come from an intangible source. I think this is where many people go wrong.
They pursue the tangible—like money—to gain the intangible—like happiness. But it only leads to what king Solomon calls chasing after the wind. You can’t get there because the two run on parallel tracks.
Of course, there are many intangible paths to choose from. Which is the right one? And how can you know?
I’ve chosen Christianity as the most unique among all religions, paths to enlightenment and sources of happiness, peace, contentment and purpose. I talk more specifically about what makes it unique in my e-book, Christianity for the Average Joe. Check it out for a conversational explanation of what the Christian faith is all about.
Jesus Christ, its founder, claims to be God and the source of abundant life. Something only he offers. An exclusive claim and a big one at that.
Was he egotistical or self-delusional? And does he deliver?
Well, his path is not all that attractive to a contemporary mindset. It features denying yourself, following him and obeying his commands. So not only is he crazy, you’re a little crazy to follow him.
Which maybe explains why there’s not a bigger crowd following him today.
Even though I don’t think happiness, peace, joy, contentment and purpose are exclusive to following Jesus, he enhances them. Drives them deeper into my life. And builds in a resiliency that flourishes even through life’s ups and downs.
To Find An Abundant Life Embrace a Life Long Faith Journey
If you prefer something rational, materially rewarding or more inward and mystical, forget Jesus. Following him is the opposite of all that.
It’s a faith journey that’s outward focused—an approach radically different than every other religion and spiritual teaching. A formula that lives out his practical instructions in a community of believers.
Rather than a short-term fix, it’s a long term solution. And that’s what you should look for. Something that endures for a lifetime in the realities of a confusing world.
Contrary to some opinions, Christianity doesn’t have all the answers. There’s a daily struggle with doubts and your own, imperfect humanity. But there’s also an unexplainable, redemptive and personal presence that empowers and transforms you from the inside out.
And along with the other intangibles of happiness, joy, contentment and purpose, you find the most elusive, yet powerful expression on earth…hope. In this, Christianity stands alone.
To Find An Abundant Life Pursue a Faith that Keeps Pleasure in Proper Perspective
Ever watched a TV or movie scene where someone stumbles across the desert, dying of thirst and sees an oasis in the distance, but when they get there it’s a mirage?
That’s how pleasure is.
Like happiness and joy, I believe it’s a universal gift from God for our enjoyment. And when exercised and moderated within its design enhances joy, happiness, peace and contentment.
But ignore the instructions on proper use and what is intended as wholesome and sweet quickly turns unwholesome and sour. Followed by emptiness…longing…even bondage.
Pleasure seduces and allures with its charm. But when experienced only for its own sake, is a mirage. Another dead-end path to happiness and joy that leaves you feeling cheated and empty.
It contributes to and is part of an abundant life. But is unsatisfying by itself.
I guess, when you get down to it, the abundant life is so much of what so few of us want to pursue. And therefore, find it elusive. Always beckoning…and just out of reach. When it’s right in front of us all the time.
I wish you the best in your search. And hope you enjoy an abundant life and meaningful experience this Christmas season.
As a professional, freelance copywriter, one of my specialties is corporate blog writing.
I recently quoted a price to write a series of corporate blogs for the marketing director of a medium size corporation. I had written other marketing and public relations material for her so we had a working relationship.
But for the corporate blog, she’d been using a blog writing service and paying $50 per blog article. My quote, as a freelance copywriter, was considerably higher. And it created a dilemma. She liked the quality of my copywriting, but was unsure about paying a much higher rate than the blog writing service.
I explained that as a freelance copywriter, I could not compete at the rate the blog writing service offered. If price was the determining factor, I understood if she went with the blog writing service instead of me. It was and I lost the gig.
Oh, the trials and disappointments of the freelance copywriting life.
Since then I’ve acquired other corporate clients that gladly pay my rate to write their corporate blogs. And it raises the question: Why pay a freelance copywriter for your corporate blog when a blog writing service is so much cheaper?
In Corporate Blog Writing A Copywriter Writes for People and SEO Ranking
In corporate blog writing there are two audiences. The human audience the audience that reads it and the web spiders that crawl it for content to list in search engines. A freelance copywriter writes for both.
Your blog article should include 3% to 5% of the keywords you’re interested in along with F2 tags those spiders will pick up to rank your corporation higher in the search engine page results.
At the same time, the keywords must be artfully inserted and the article engaging for readers. It takes both time and effort to accomplish.
For the writer of a blog writing service making $30 to write a 500 word blog article, speed is essential because you have to write several articles a day to make money. You’ll likely focus on either SEO or content. To do both and do it well will slow you down considerably.
But as a freelance copywriter charging an hourly rate, my focus is on carefully balancing the two in a blog article that gains both page ranking and readership. I don’t pad my time, but I don’t let time determine the pace. It’s all about delivering a quality product.
In Corporate Blog Writing A Freelancer Writes Persuasively
A corporate blog should attract potential customers. So it should do more than simply provide information. It should persuade the audience your corporation has the solution they’re looking for. And this is where an experienced, freelance copywriter excels.
He’ll use a conversational tone of voice. An engaging story. Even, perhaps, a little humor to keep the audience’s attention. And he’ll address problem areas for the audience and subtly position his corporate client as the hero.
On one occasion, a persuasive story I wrote led to a $100,000 sale for the company. I think that corporate client will tell you my rate was an incredible value to them.
There’s a certain psychology to persuasive writing. A bit of Freudian psychoanalytical leveraging. And it comes naturally to freelance copywriters since we’re all slightly out of our minds to choose the profession in the first place.
In Corporate Blog Writing A Freelancer Provides Personal Service
When you contract a freelance copywriter, you deal directly with that writer. We’ll communicate by phone, Skype or e-mail. And we’ll respond quickly because we know that prompt, customer service is important.
Most of us have charming personalities too, but that’s another blog article.
Blog writing services keep you away from the writers. Your directions are filtered, which promotes misunderstanding and makes it harder to clearly communicate the message you want delivered.
A freelance copywriter will also personalize your message. I encourage client phone interviews because I often pick up emotional inflections that help me know what to emphasize in the copy. I also gain industry terms and often, corporate language that adds a unique voice to the corporate blog.
So if cost is the bottom line for your corporate blog, then a blog writing service is the way to go. But if you’re looking for balanced SEO and quality content, persuasion and personal service, a freelance copywriter is the right choice.
Corporations that choose freelance copywriters to write their corporate blogs consider value rather than cost. Because they know that value can have a big payoff.
Humor writing by exaggeration is a common writing technique in humor storytelling. Like when sharing about a funny incident you observed during the day with your friends or family.
And as you tell the story, you exaggerate in a few places, because, well, it’s more entertaining. And everyone laughs as expected.
So you tell it again to another group and it’s even funnier than before.
Why?
Because you increased the drama and embellished it more than the first time. Add some here, take away a little there. Or perhaps insert your own, humorous, color commentary. In essence…you exaggerate the truth.
Humor writing by exaggeration is based on a simple premise. Take the truth and stretch it. The humor comes from how creatively, and how much you’re able to stretch without going too far.
So here are three ways to use exaggeration in your pursuit of humor writing.
Writing Humor through One line Exaggeration Jokes
There are two parts to a one liner exaggeration joke. The set-up and punch line.
The one liner, exaggeration joke was a regular part of the comedy routine used by former Tonight Show host, Johnny Carson. In fact, he often used the audience to set-up the joke during his monologue.
Johnny: I visited a small town the other day.
Audience: How small was it?
Johnny: It was so small…
…you had to make a reservation to use the parking meter
…during snowstorms, salt was spread using a salad shooter
…the municipal water system’s pump was supplied by Water Pik
The set-up line leads you toward a general assumption and the punch line surprises you with a twist you didn’t expect. One that exaggerates the truth to a level of absurdity.
Writing Humor Through Exaggerated Anecdotes
Humorous, anecdotal stories—like the ones you tell about your day—are more than just a joke consisting of set-up and delivery. They’re universal in nature because they represent an average, everyday life. Funny stories that could happen to any of us.
Often it’s truth with an emotional aspect to it. Like an embarrassment, unpleasant experience or pain that everyone relates to in some fashion.
Like your last visit to the dentist who had an unhappy childhood and now takes sadistic delight in tooth extraction.
Dave Berry, Bill Cosby and Mark Twain all used exaggeration in anecdotal narratives.
Here’s Mark Twain describing the sour experience of eating his first tamarind.
They pursed my lips till they resembled the stem-end of a tomato, and I had to take my sustenance through a quill for twenty-four hours. They sharpened my teeth till I could have shaved with them, and gave them a wire edge that I was afraid would stay, but a citizen said, “no, it will come off when the enamel does” –which was comforting at any rate.
Writing Humor through Exaggerated Characters
When writing short, humorous skits, there’s not much time for character development. So I create exaggerated characters by using common stereotypes.
The vain, female Diva, the dumb jock, the shifty guy lurking in the shadows, the nerdy geek and the miserly accountant.
Stereotypes make funny characters because your audience already knows something of the character’s motivation and reasons behind what they say and do.
Of course, the stereotype is just the start. Next you exaggerate the stereotype to the Max.
The female Diva is not just vain. She’s so vain that whenever she sees her reflection, she pauses to appreciate it. The dumb jock is so clueless he doesn’t realize the football helmet he misplaced is on his head. And the nerdy geek is so socially awkward he talks to computers like they’re people.
People laugh at them because these exaggerated, stereotypes don’t represent anyone in real life. Even though everyone can probably think of someone that’s a close resemblance.
So when you need to add humor to your writing, start with exaggeration. You’re probably already better at it than you think.
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books on Amazon.com, articles on his blog, and writes copy for a variety of advertising and marketing communications clients.
Do you like reading books with humor?
Then check out my Christian detective novels Soul Pursuit and Finding Grace. You’ll enjoy engaging stories with a Christian message, fun characters, and witty dialogue.
A Church intramural sports league is a great way to engage young men and women in your church. Here are three advantages an intramural league offers over an inter-church sports league.
The Difference Between an Inter-Church & Intramural Sports League
Let’s be clear on the difference between an inter-church and intramural league.
In an inter-church league, you form a team—like basketball, softball, volleyball, etc.—from within your church and compete against teams from other churches in your community.
The league is a joint effort among participating churches and is led by representatives from each church.
An intramural league is formed by creating teams from within your congregation. It offers three advantages over an inter-church league.
A Church Intramural Sports League Engages More People
In an Inter-church league, you’ll engage 10 people on your basketball and volleyball team and around 15 for softball. And there’s competition on who makes the team roster and plays.
But in an intramural league, multiply 10 players per team times 4- 8 teams and you engage 40-80 people! So there’s room for everyone that wants to play.
The task of engaging that many people may even sound a bit daunting.
Competition releases the warrior side in men. Rather than discourage it, I plan for and even promote a competitive league environment. But it must be managed.
It’s difficult to exercise control over coaches and players from other churches in an inter-church league. But the players and coaches in an intramural league are your church members.
You recruit and direct the coaches, establish the direction and set expectations of behavior. And you’re the authority who enforces expectations and maintains accountability.
An Intramural Sports League Promotes Community
When different churches compete against one another, the “my church is better than your church” mentality is always present.
But in an intramural league, everyone is from the same church. You worship, pray, study, and serve together.
We also strategically plan fellowship opportunities during and at the end of the season to promote unity.
Even though you play hard, and perhaps, become a little testy in the heat of competition, it’s easier to let it go after the game because there is a greater sense of unity.
So now that you understand the advantages of an intramural sports league and the potential for engaging people in church life, why not start building your own intramural sports league?
About Chip Tudor:
Chip Tudor is an author, blogger and professional writer. He publishes books, humorous Christian drama, and thought provoking blogs from a Christian worldview.This blog is originally published here.
Want to build intramural sports leagues in your church?
I built an entire intramural sports league ministry that included basketball, volleyball, softball, golf, running, and aerobics classes that engaged several hundred people within our congregation qne reached into our local community. This book walks you through the entire process.
I use a strategic thinking discipline when I work-out to improve my professional success at work. While exercising my body, I exercise my mind too.
Call it cognitive calisthenics. Mental gymnastics. My daily smart time.
Other people working out at the gym listen to I-pods, watch wall mounted TVs, or scroll through smart phones. Nothing against that. I enjoy technology too.
But by using this regular block of time to strategically think through various work issues, I generate ideas and solutions that increase my work productivity in ways I never imagined.
Of course, imagining is an important part of the thinking discipline.
Maybe that’s because thinking…using the old noggin…as archaic as it sounds, taps into the most advanced technology ever invented—the human brain.
Its capacity to innovate, analyze, synthesize, conceptualize and organize is unsurpassed. But you have to actively use it. Intentionally engage it. Creatively exercise it. Regularly.
My strategic thinking routine begins with vision. I start by asking: What am I trying to accomplish? What’s the direction I’m going? The ultimate goal?
For me, vision is not a grand, idealistic notion. Eloquent words that look good on paper, but mean little. Rather, it’s a mental picture.
As I consider the outcome I’m trying to achieve. What does it look like in a real, practical sense? And what needs to happen to get there?
A better product, successful program, smoother workflow, improved communication?
As the mental picture forms, I map out a plan. The solution usually involves one or more of these areas:
Strategic Thinking About People
Who is the right person for a job? Who has the passion, experience, skills that are needed for a particular assignment, task or leadership position? Match people with their skill set, fit them in their sweet spot.
They will be more successful, productive and fulfilled in their work.
As I consider a particular job position, I am often surprised by who surfaces. It’s not always the one that initially comes to mind. But the one that, when thoughtfully considered, is the perfect fit.
Strategic Thinking About Technology
Sure, technology is cool. It improves your methods, processes, efficiencies and workflow. But it’s still only as effective as you make it. You define and direct how to apply it. Maximize it. And that takes thought.
So regularly evaluate applications for further improvement. Experiment with processes. Consider whether there’s a new or different method that works better.
Because just when you’ve mastered one technology, another one arrives on the scene. Is it really better? Maybe. But not always. Don’t let your thinking shift into automation mode. You might just automate yourself into obsolescence.
Strategic Thinking About Processes & Systems
What pieces and components need to come together so the systems and processes are smooth, seamless and efficient? How can they be organized to increase workflow? What timing is involved?
Thinking through is like assembling a giant picture puzzle. And it’s awesome when everything comes together and the vision in your mind springs to life.
So consider the available blocks of time in your schedule as an opportunity. And rather than de-activate your mind. Activate it. You’ll work smarter and achieve greater success by effectively using the most powerful tool ever invented.
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