4 Habits Of Punctual People

By Stephanie Vozza, Fast Company, Jan. 20, 2014

Plan any event and chances are one in five of the people you invite will be late.

A study done at San Francisco State University found that about 20% of the U.S. population is chronically late—but it’s not because they don’t value others’ time. It’s more complicated than that, says lead researcher Diana DeLonzor.

“Repetitive lateness is more often related to personality characteristics such as anxiety or a penchant for thrill-seeking,” she says. “Some people are drawn to the adrenaline rush of that last-minute sprint to the finish line, while others receive an ego boost from over-scheduling and filling each moment with activity.”

In her book Never Be Late Again: 7 Cures for the Punctually Challenged, DeLonzor says our relationship with time often starts in childhood and becomes an ingrained habit.

“Looking back, you were probably late or early all of your life—it’s part physiological and part psychological,” she says. “Most chronically late people truly dislike being late, but it’s a surprisingly difficult habit to overcome. Telling a late person to be on time is a little like telling a dieter to simply stop eating so much.”

DeLonzor says the majority of people have a combination of late and punctual habits—usually on time, but with a frantic rush at the last minute—but we can all learn from those who are chronically punctual. DeLonzor shares four traits that always on time share:

1. They’re realistic thinkers. Punctual people know how long things take. Chronically late people, however, engage in what DeLonzor calls “magical thinking.”

“If once, 10 years ago, they made it to work in 20 minutes, they believe that’s how long it should take,” she says. “They forget about the 99% of the times that took 30 minutes.”

To develop realistic habits, DeLonzor suggests relearning to tell time. Write down how long you think it takes to shower, get ready in the morning and drive to work. Then for a week, track how long those things really take. Chronically late people are often off of their time estimates by 25% to 30%, says DeLonzor.

2. They give themselves buffer time. Punctual people are usually early, says DeLonzor. “Being late makes them stressed out and they don’t like feeling rushed,” she says. “Late people get stressed out from being late, too, but they don’t strive to be early; they tend to time things to the minute.”

For a 9 a.m. meeting, for example, a punctual person would try to arrive by 8:45 a.m. or 8:50 a.m., allowing enough time for an unexpected delay, such as traffic or a full parking garage. A punctual person reviews directions online, checks traffic reports before leaving, and some will even drive to an new location the day before to understand the route. To be punctual, plan to arrive early.

3. They’re organized. DeLonzor says that 45% of everything we do on a daily basis is automatic: “Our lives are filled with habits—from the way you brush teeth to how you get dressed and leave for work,” she says, adding that they’re necessary. “If we didn’t do things automatically, it would take us forever to get through our day.”

The habits of people who are always on time are highly structured. They analyze their daily activities, set routines, and stick to them on regular basis. Chronically late people, however, don’t have structure and often fall on the attention deficit disorder spectrum, says DeLonzor.

“Instead of thinking about why their routines don’t work and trying something different next time, chronically late people simply hope that tomorrow will be better,” she says.

To become punctual, DeLonzor suggests putting more routines and structure into your life. For example, do everything you can to prepare for the morning the night before.

4. They’re comfortable with downtime. Being punctual often means getting to meeting or an appointment early. Punctual people use the extra five or 10 minutes as a chance to catch up on emails, read over notes, or simply enjoy the solitude.

Chronically late people, however, hate downtime. They enjoy the thrill of that last-minute sprint to the finish line and crave stimulation. To be more comfortable with downtime, bring along something to fill those spare moments.

“Knowing that you have something to occupy your time will help,” says DeLonzor.

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Lean Harder on Me

Jesus, speaking in prophecy

It’s not as if you can or should ignore pressing matters regarding your work and pretend that they don’t concern you in order to stay stress-free. However, when there is more than normal on your to-do list, you’d do well to follow the advice of many great men of God who have gone before you, who, throughout their lives of service for Me, learned the secret of effective leadership: lean harder on Me. The key at such times is to draw closer to Me and spend time with Me. With so much to do, the key is in relying more on Me, trusting in Me, spending time with Me, and praising Me—not in trying to handle more in your own strength.

When circumstances require you to take on more responsibility or a bigger workload, do not neglect your relationship with Me. That still comes first; nothing should change in that regard. This priority should always remain the same.

Rather than pushing yourself harder to accomplish more, push to lean harder on Me. If you commit the added work to Me and ask for My Spirit to empower you, rather than trying to take it all on in your natural strength, it can help you to stretch and grow. It can cause you to draw closer to Me and become more dependent on Me.

Keep your appointments with Me. Don’t try to squeeze too much into your days. Don’t let yourself become so rushed or pressured or pushed by circumstances or by the needs of your work or ministry that you forgo your time with Me.

Hear from Me about your priorities. If you concentrate on the majors and commit the rest to Me in prayer, then you will be able to focus on the most important matters and avoid feeling overly burdened or pressured.

*

When work is pressing, the problem with taking the demands on your own shoulders—aside from you feeling unnecessarily stressed and pressured—is that you may end up doing things that you think are most important but neglecting things that I know are most important. At such busy times, there is only so much you are physically capable of doing. So in order to know your priorities and do first things first, to get the most essential things taken care of in the time you have, you need to lean on Me and My wisdom as you go. Otherwise you risk not only burnout and undue stress and pressure, but also forgetting or not being able to fit in things that I know are most important.

Of course, the temptation is to just go, go, go! After all, there’s so little time and so much to do. But remember that the busier things get, the more important it is to be connected with Me. That doesn’t always mean that you need to take more hours reading My Word—although I might occasionally ask that of you. It means that your focus should be more on Me as you go about your work, making sure that your priorities are right, your goals are defined as I want them defined, and your schedule is in sync with My plans for you. It doesn’t take more time to do this; it just takes availing yourself of the power of My Spirit that is available to you, rather than leaning solely on your own strength and power.

As you depend on Me, look to Me, and commit your work to Me, I promise that I will help you and anoint you. If you’re depending on Me, then you’ll be able to handle your work without feeling frazzled. You’ll have a perfect peace in your heart, knowing that you did what you could, and you’ll have the trust in Me to know that I’m going to provide all that you need.

When there’s so much to do, it’s a human tendency to try to do it all yourself and not cast it on Me. But remember that when you cast your burdens on Me, your load will grow lighter, and when you take on My yoke, it will make things easier for you to bear. Your work is not going to disappear and your yoke is not going to be effortless—but the burden will be lighter and the yoke will be easier to bear if you are casting your cares, burdens, and to-dos on My shoulders.

My shoulders are broad enough to carry any load. My Spirit can empower and guide you with any task. As you do things My way, you’ll have success and peace of mind, knowing you’ve done the best you could and accomplished all that was possible with My anointing, and you’ll be able to trust Me for the rest.

Call on Me and I will give you My peace, which will lift you above the stress and pressure and bring you to the place where My will is known, My plan is clear, My priorities are your guidelines, and My strength and power are available to you.

Originally published October 2003. Adapted and republished January 2014. Copyright@TFI.

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I LOOK TO YOU (Whitney Houston) By Aldrich & James

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Iran's military nuclear bid 'will be stopped': Israel

By John Davison


.

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Iran's atomic drive "will be stopped", a day after an interim agreement bringing sanctions relief for Tehran took effect.


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"Iran's military nuclear programme must be stopped, and Iran's military nuclear programme will be stopped," Netanyahu said at a joint news conference with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper, without saying how.

Israel has long warned that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to the Jewish state, and has refused to rule out a military strike to prevent that from happening.

Netanyahu fought a major diplomatic campaign against the so-called Geneva Agreement which was hammered out in November between world powers and Iran, and on Monday he said the agreement would not succeed in stopping Tehran.

"The interim agreement which went into force today does not prevent Iran from realising its intention to develop nuclear weapons," he told the Israeli parliament.

His remarks came just hours after the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Iran had halted production of 20 percent enriched uranium, marking the entry into force of the landmark deal with the P5+1 group of world powers.

Unidentified IAEA inspectors and Iranian technicians disconnect the connections between the twin cas …

The international community also kept its part of the deal, with both the European Union and United States separately announcing they were easing crippling sanctions on Iran.

The deal, which was signed in Geneva, came about after nearly a decade of failed negotiations over its disputed nuclear programme, which the West believes is a front for building a military capability.

Tehran has denied the charge.

"A nuclear armed Iran would not just endanger Israel -- it would threaten the peace and security of our region," Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

"It would give Iran's terrorist proxies a nuclear umbrella.

"It would launch a multilateral nuclear arms race in the Middle East, it could turn the Middle East into a nuclear tinderbox," he said.

Netanyahu said the Iran nuclear issue, and the rise of Islamism across the Middle East, had united Israel and many Arab countries in their efforts to face these "twin challenges".

"Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and the aggressive designs of the Muslim Brotherhood is what shapes many of the Arab world's leading countries today," he said.

"In meeting those twin challenges, these countries do not see Israel as their enemy but as being on the same side of a difficult conflict," he said.

Commentators say the diplomatic effect of direct talks between Israel's sworn enemy Iran and Western powers could see the Jewish state finding more in common with traditional Arab allies of the US, particularly Sunni Gulf kingdom Saudi Arabia.

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A importância da eternidade

Uma compilação

A eternidade é importante porque somos seres eternos (apenas temporariamente operando com base no relógio). Não surpreende que a eternidade esteja presente em quase tudo que Jesus tinha a dizer sobre a vida na terra. Como nós, aqueles agricultores, pescadores e donas de casa que O escutavam perto do lago estavam obcecados com o agora —com justiça, cura e felicidade agora. Mas para ajudá-los a entender o presente, Jesus lhes falou do no futuro.

Bem-aventurados são vocês, Jesus disse, quando perseveram e buscam desfazer o mal de todos os tipos, porque, então, em Meu reino, sua vida será bela e eterna. Você pode até saltar de alegria agora, Ele disse, “porque grande é sua recompense no céu.”

Lembra como era quando você estava lutando na faculdade ou no Ensino Médio, almejando a graduação? Você ralou nas aulas, fez um monte de deveres de casa, ficou acordado até tarde se preparando para exames. Mas, às vezes, seu pensamento se desviava para uma paisagem que enchia você com esperança. Nessa imagem, você está na passarela toda bonita, com um sorriso bobo no rosto, os flashes das câmeras disparando sem parar e sua mão se entendendo para receber seu diploma. Todo o trabalho concluído e sua recompensa à sua frente.

Se você for um seguidor de Cristo, o céu é a imagem de sua recompensa futura. É o que por fim vai fazer tudo fazer sentido. E é real —tão real quanto a luta que você trava diariamente. O céu é o que você pode esperar com cada fibra do seu ser, porque então todo o trabalho terá acabado e toda a recompensa estará diante de você. —Rick McKinley[1]

*

Mesmo nas piores situações, que parecem além das nossas capacidades, Deus sabe quanto nossos corações podem suportar. Creio que nossa vida aqui é temporária e nos prepara para a eternidade. Quer a vida seja boa ou má, a promessa do céu permanece. Nos momentos difíceis, alimento a esperança que Ele me dará a força para suportar os desafios e as dores de coração, e que dias melhores aguardam, se não nesta terra, certamente no céu. —Nick Vujicic[2]

*

David Livingstone, chamado o Apóstolo da África, nasceu na pobreza e lutou desde a infância para estudar, enquanto se sustentava e à sua família. Quando decidiu, ainda jovem, dedicar a vida ao trabalho missionário, sofreu zombarias, foi ridicularizado e até os que o amavam tentaram dissuadi-lo. Quando finalmente chegou à África, deparou-se com uma dificuldade após a outra-não só as típicas da vida diária e os perigos naturais, mas também muitas provas espirituais.

Livingstone, entretanto, viu além das circunstâncias em que se encontrava, conforme escreveu em seu diário no final de sua vida: "A ansiedade, a doença, o sofrimento e o perigo, de agora e de antes, assim como a privação de alguns confortos desta vida podem nos fazer vacilar, perturbar o nosso espírito e deprimir a nossa alma, mas que seja apenas por um momento. Tudo isso não é nada em comparação com a glória que em nós há de ser revelada [no Céu]. Jamais fiz um sacrifício!” —David Brandt Berg[3]

*

“Combati o bom combate, acabei a carreira, guardei a fé.”[4] Paulo pensa em sua vida … como uma corrida: “Acabei a carreira.” A meta está à frente e o juiz espera com uma coroa para o vencedor. Ao longo da pista estão as testemunhas, assistindo à competição, torcendo pelos seus favoritos. Paulo estava prestes a terminar o circuito. E bem próximo da linha de chegada viu a coroa brilhando, pronta para ser assentada sobre sua cabeça. O corredor força cada músculo e põe toda sua força na corrida. Assim Paulo havia vivido. Devemos fazer o melhor ao nosso alcance se quisermos vencer na corrida da vida.

A vida também é um depósito feito em confiança, algo que alguém nos deu para proteger, guardar, usar e levar para casa em ordem. “Guardei a fé.” Cada um de nós foi confiado com a vida —algo do que daremos conta. Tudo que Deus nos dá é um depósito feito em confiança. A parábola dos talentos ilustra isso. Os jovens devem pensar na vida e seus privilégios não como propriedades deles. Tudo que têm receberam das mãos de Deus, não para ser consumido em seus prazeres, mas para abençoar os outros. E cada dará conta disso —não dos talentos em si, tais como os recebeu, mas dos talentos aumentados pelo uso. A história do homem com um talento é uma advertência permanente para todos que não fazem o máximo possível com seus dons e oportunidades.

“Desde agora, a coroa da justiça me está guardada.” Os antigos corredores recebiam uma coroa de louros quanto cruzava a linha de chegada, mas, os cristãos receberão uma coroa eterna e imaculada. Por isso, a vida é mais que o prazer do sucesso neste mundo. Os que escolhem a vida de fé receberão a coroa. Uma pessoa pode até falhar nas lutas desta vida, sem atingir o sucesso, segundo a visão de vida dos homens, mas ser maravilhosamente exitosa no verdadeiro sentido e ganhar uma recompensa eterna. Vivamos bem no tempo presente e acumulemos para nós mesmos tesouros no céu. —J. R. Miller[5]

*

Moisés considerou o desprezo de Cristo superior às riquezas no Egito, que poderiam ter sido suas. Isso fez porque buscava a recompensa.[6] Ele olhava além dos seus dias, seus problemas, tentações e via Jesus. Estava atento à eternidade, suas grandes recompensas e considerava as riquezas de Cristo superiores a todas do Egito, a nação mais rica e ponderosa na Terra naquela época, sobre a qual ele poderia ter sido faraó.[7] —David Brandt Berg[8]

*

Jesus disse que onde estiver seu tesouro, aí estará também seu coração.[9] Algumas pessoas costumam citar de outra forma: “Onde estiver seu coração, aí estará o seu tesouro.” Mas não é assim. O Senhor disse que onde estiver seu tesouro, aí estará também o seu coração.

Esta é outra passagem bem conhecida: “Não se turbe o vosso coração. Credes em Deus, crede também em mim. Na casa de meu Pai há muitas moradas. Se não fosse assim, eu vo-lo teria dito. Vou preparar-vos lugar.” Isso está em João 14:2. E em Mateus 6:19–21 lemos: “Não ajunteis tesouros na terra, onde a traça e a ferrugem destroem” —poderíamos acrescentar aqui “e o fogo queima”— “e onde os ladrões arrombam e roubam. Mas ajuntai tesouros no céu, onde nem a traça nem a ferrugem destroem e onde os ladrões não arrombam nem roubam. Pois onde estiver o vosso tesouro, aí estará também o vosso coração.”

O que você mais valoriza? Você tem acumulado tesouros no céu? Você pode ser pobre aqui e não ter nenhum tesouro no céu. Não é uma questão de pobreza e riqueza, mas de você acumular seu tesouro no céu. —Virginia Brandt Berg[10]

Publicado em Âncora em janeiro de 2014.


[1] This Beautiful Mess (Multnomah Books, 2006).

[2] Life Without Limits (Doubleday, 2010).

[3] Superando Obstáculos (Aurora Produções, 2010).

[4] 2 Timóteo 4:7.

[5] Paul's Message for Today (Hodder and Stoughton, 1904), adaptação.

[6] Hebreus 11:26.

[7] Hebreus 11:24–27.

[8] Força Diária (Aurora Produções, 2004).

[9] Mateus 6:21.

[10] http://virginiabrandtberg.org/meditation-moments/mm132_the-mansion-just-over-the-hill.html.

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Trazendo o Amor à Vida

De Maria Fontaine

O outro dia ouvi algo que me emocionou. Uma jovem disse que tinha economizado para fazer um curso que a ajudaria no seu trabalho na missão e também seria rentável, mas o Senhor lhe disse para dar parte do dinheiro para uma outra missionária. Esta última não tinha lhe pedido nada, mas a moça sabia que ela precisava. E não só isso, ela sabia que os missionários precisavam do encorajamento que essa atitude lhes daria.

Todos já ficamos profundamente desencorajados em alguma ocasião em nossas vidas. E por acaso alguma vez o desencorajamento se dissipou por causa de um bilhete de alguém lhe dizendo que se importava, estava orando por você ou iria fazer o possível para ajudá-lo? Ou talvez, em uma grande provação, de repente sentiu uma luz e, inexplicavelmente, aquele sentimento de desespero foi puxado para fora, sua fé foi restaurada e sentiu que o Senhor ia resolver tudo?— Será que foi porque alguém orou por você?

Há pessoas ao nosso redor que estão tendo grandes batalhas e precisando de ânimo, de encorajamento por parte de um amigo ou de alguém com quem trabalha. Será que Jesus está esperando que vocêajude, escreva, seja amigo ou ore por alguém que Ele colocar no seu coração? Faz-me lembrar daquele corinho: “Senhor, traga alguém à minha lembrança e ame essa pessoa através de mim. E que eu sempre faça a minha parte para ganhar essa alma para Você.” Se fizermos o que o Senhor nos pedir, poderemos animar, encorajar e ajudar outros. Não precisa ser muita coisa, pois um pouco com Deus e o Seu amor é muito.

Às vezes podemos nos sentir avassalados pela necessidade ao nosso redor. Logicamente nenhum de nós pode ajudar a todos que gostaríamos. Mas uma coisa que eu, você e todosnós podemos fazer é orar.

A maioria de nós está totalmente ocupada com os desafios do cotidiano. Há muito no que pensar e pelo qual orar. Há muito a ser feito. A pessoa talvez esteja mudando de lugar ou começando um novo empreendimento relacionado à missão; ou procurando emprego; ou matriculando as crianças na escola; batalhando para cuidar de todos os detalhes do dia a dia, ou tentando encontrar tempo para passar com seu cônjuge ou família. Talvez a pressão já seja demais para você, tanto que fique difícil pensar em algo mais além do trabalho que tem a fazer no momento.

Talvez se pergunte como você vai conseguir ajudar se sente que precisa de tanta ajuda! Pode ser que se sinta como a viúva de Sarepta, que nem tem o suficiente para si e os seus. Ver as necessidades de outros e saber que você mal tem o suficiente para si pode ser muito difícil, como quando Elias pediu para a viúva lhe dar o pouquinho que ela tinha.[1]

Muitas vezes eu já pensei nessa viúva e a fé que precisou ter para dar prioridade às necessidades de uma outra pessoa sendo que ela e seu filho estavam passando falta. O pedido de Elias deve ter-lhe parecido absurdo e surreal. No entanto, fico inspirada quando penso na imensa bondade de Deus com as pessoas que dão passos de fé como ela deu. O princípio de dar o que se pode, mesmo tendo pouco, e as recompensas que se recebe de Deus continua tão verdadeiro como sempre foi.

O Senhor não pede o impossível. Ele só quer que façamos o que estiver ao nosso alcance para amar, cuidar e apoiar os outros, mesmo quando exige muita fé e amor. O Senhor vai nos abençoar se passarmos alguns minutos orando por alguém, ou encorajando a pessoa ou ajudando alguém em necessidade. Ele não pede para dedicarmos um tempão ou doarmos uma grande quantia de dinheiro. Fica feliz quando damos o que podemos. Podemos não ter muito, mas o coração cheio do amor de Jesus sempre tem algo para dar.

Temos o privilégio de cumprir a Sua missão, que, na realidade, está totalmente relacionada a colocar o amor em ação. A missão é em parte ensinar as pessoas a viverem segundo as palavras de Jesus e refletirem o Seu amor. Sabemos que uma das maneiras mais eficientes de ensinar alguém a amar é sendo um exemplo de amor. Como diz o velho ditado, a caridade começa em casa. Podemos provar que é possível viver o que Jesus disse e que o Seu amor pode estar vivo no nosso coração e na nossa vida por meio de nossas decisões de apoiar outros, ajudar e de levar as cargas uns dos outros.

Teremos deixado Jesus viver em nós se ajudarmos alguém necessitado que talvez tenha a saúde fraca, e outros verão uma manifestação do amor de Jesus. Se tivermos um certo dom, podemos manifestar o nosso amor ensinando o que sabemos a outros. Se estivermos atentos à orientação de Jesus com relação às necessidades dos outros, creio que Ele derramará Suas bênçãos e, por Sua vez, suprirá o que precisamos na nossa situação.

Imagine o que pode ser realizado se cada um de nós parar para dar atenção aos outros presentes em nossas vidas e que estão precisando de algo, e perguntarmos ao Senhor o que podemos fazer para ajudá-los. Talvez possamos orar por aqueles que precisam de ajuda, seja ela qual for, ou escrever um bilhete ou dizer algo que encoraje os que estão desanimados. Podemos talvez ensinar algo para ajudar a pessoa no seu trabalho missionário. Talvez alguém precise de um lugar para ficar e temos um quarto extra para oferecer. Ou uma família talvez precise de ajuda com as crianças para poder arrumar sua mudança. Este tipo de ajuda vai longe.

Se fizermos o que estiver ao nosso alcance nossas necessidades também serão supridas. O Senhor prometeu, “Dai, e ser-vos-á dado; boa medida, recalcada, sacudida e transbordando vos darão; porque com a mesma medida com que medirdes também vos medirão de novo.”[2] “Porquanto qualquer que vos der a beber um copo de água em Meu nome, porque sois discípulos de Cristo, em verdade vos digo que não perderá o seu galardão.”[3]

Sei que Deus é fiel e cuida dos Seus. Ele nos deu o privilégio e a bênção de ajudá-lO a cuidar dos outros sendo Seus representantes no físico, Seus olhos, pés e mãos. Que tal pedir a Ele para lhe mostrar hoje o que pode fazer para cuidar dos outros em necessidade, como transmitir o amor e encorajamento de Jesus para essas pessoas?

Publicado originalmente em outubro de 2010. Adaptado e republicado em janeiro de 2014. Tradução Denise Oliveira. Revisão H.R. Flandoli.


[1] 1 Reis 17:10–16.

[2] Lucas 6:38.

[3] Marcos 9:41.

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The Spiritual Disciplines: Bible Intake

by Peter Amsterdam

Christians who desire a flourishing relationship with God and who are interested in spiritual growth recognize that spending time taking in and absorbing God’s Word is of utmost importance. It is within the pages of the Bible that we learn about God and His love for humanity, about Jesus and His message, about how to live in harmony with God and our fellow human beings.

God is the Creator, and He wants to be in relationship with His creation. In order to make that possible, He has revealed Himself to us through the Bible. In it, He tells of His love for us and of the actions He has taken to make it possible for us as imperfect and finite beings to be in relationship with Him. The more we abide in His Word and let His Word abide in us, the more we understand how to live our lives in alignment with Him, in accordance with His will, and in a manner that reflects Him and His love, especially in our interactions with others.
Reading God’s Word

Setting aside time daily to read the Bible provides the opportunity to connect with God each day. It opens us up to letting Him speak to us through what we read, to His instruction and guidance, to His help through life’s problems and difficulties. Regular reading of God’s revelation to us reminds us of the moral code which we are meant to fashion our lives around, and provides us with guidance when we are faced with decisions. It is a key element for those who seek to be like Jesus, because it is in the Bible that we hear His teaching, see the example of His love, and are introduced to the relationship with His Father that His sacrifice has opened up for us. As we abide in His Word, we become more and more aware of the value He places on each individual, and the love and compassion He has for every human being. As we begin to absorb the truth contained within these pages, as we ponder and pray about those truths, and as we apply them to our daily living, we begin to anchor both our inner and outer lives on the foundation of Christlikeness, on godliness, and on the truth of God.

Each day we are flooded with a barrage of input from a wide variety of delivery systems which influences us in one way or another. Taking time daily to read what God has said to us provides a way to navigate through the maelstrom of information and input that we are faced with. It enhances our spiritual ability to discern truth and falsehood. It makes it easier to keep our hearts centered on those things which are important to living lives of true happiness, inner peace, and alignment with God and His will. It helps us to survive and overcome all that life brings our way. As Jesus said: Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.[1]Abiding in God’s Word brings us in regular contact with His Spirit. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.[2] Part of having that contact with the Lord, of having that promised peace, is spending time reading His Word.

Carving out the time to read daily is no easy task—it requires self-discipline, as does each Spiritual Discipline. Like the workouts and training that athletes must do daily to maintain their conditioning and excel in their performance, taking regular time to read Scripture will strengthen your spirit and make you a stronger Christian—one who is grounded in God’s truth and love. The connection with God, that savoring of His Word, helps you to be Spirit-led in your daily interactions with others, in your decision making, and in your ability to stay strong in the face of daily temptations.

There is no specific formula for how much you need to read daily or what portions of the Bible you should read. The key is setting aside the time to do it and then sticking to it. It helps to have a good contemporary translation. The English Standard Version (ESV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the New International Version (NIV) are known to be good and accurate contemporary English translations.

It helps to commit to reading a certain number of chapters per day, as having a realistic goal can motivate you to stick with your reading even on busy days. The book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life makes the observations that reading 15 minutes a day will take you through the entire Bible within a year, and that reading three chapters a day and five chapters on Sunday will accomplish the same. It also points out that since the Bible contains 66 different books, for variety’s sake you might want to consider starting to read in three places—Genesis, Job, and Matthew—as this divides the Bible into three sections that are equal in length, so by reading the same number of chapters in each section each day you will finish the three sections, and thus the entire Bible, at roughly the same time.

Finding and following a Bible reading plan of some kind can help you stick with your reading and forge ahead when you find yourself in the more difficult portions of Scripture. There are a variety of apps for electronic devices which can help you design your reading plan, including some that provide the reading program and the text. Some people prefer to read from the pages of their Bible in book form. Whether you read from a Bible or on your computer or use a mobile app, what’s important is that you read it.

Information about apps:

http://thecripplegate.com/three-must-have-bible-apps/

http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/best-bible-apps-for-the-ipad

http://rachelwojo.com/4-fabulous-bible-apps-i-recommend/

Information about Bible reading programs:

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/

http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138

Ideally, you should read in a situation free from distractions, perhaps in a quiet spot early in the morning before your day begins or late at night when all is winding down. The quietness and absence of activity around you facilitates meditating on what you are reading. If early morning is not possible, try to find another time of day when it is. But even if you can’t carve out some quiet time, then read on the run, in whatever time opens up for you—or listen to it in audio form as you go. It’s a fight to keep your commitment to read/study the Bible, but doing so will make a difference in your life.
Hearing about God’s Word

Along with personally reading God’s Word, it can be beneficial to hear His Word spokenabout as well. This would entail reading, listening to, or watching sermons, talks, discussions, and posts which pertain to the Word and godly principles. Anchor, Directors’ Corner and Just One Thing can help with this, and there are other very good sites where men and women of God speak about and teach God’s Word.

I’ve found that there are some teachers I like to hear, whose style and what they speak about resonates with me more than others. But other people I know love to listen to someone who doesn’t appeal to me. We’re each different, but the point is that it can be helpful to watch or listen to those who share God’s words in a manner which speaks to you and helps strengthen your connection and relationship with the Lord.

It’s often much easier to listen to someone else speak about the principles and teachings of God’s Word than it is to take the time to read the Word yourself and to think about and meditate on what you have read. While it’s spiritually feeding and beneficial to listen to sermons and read articles about the Word, it shouldn’t replace your time reading the Bible and benefiting from what the Lord Himself has to say to you personally through His Word.
Meditating on the Word

When you read the Bible or listen to others expound on it, it’s important to ask yourself what God is speaking to you about through what you’re reading or hearing. Take time to think about what you’re reading. If a passage stands out to you, read it again. Think about it; ask yourself why it stood out to you and what the Lord might be trying to tell you through it. If a part of a sermon you listen to speaks to your heart, listen to it again, and think and pray about it. Remember, the reason for reading or listening isn’t to get through the material as quickly as possible, or to cram in as much as you can in the allotted time, but rather to absorb it, and to let it speak to you and become part of you. It’s a time to let the Lord communicate with you through His Word.

Focusing on what you read or hear, and thinking more deeply about it, is part of meditating on God’s Word. Our lives are so busy, and we often feel we need to rush from one thing to the next, so it’s difficult to take the time to truly think about what we’ve read and how to apply it, but it’s important to do so if we want it to affect us.

In the Psalms we hear David speak of meditating on God and His Word:

I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.[3]

Hundreds of years earlier, God spoke to Joshua about the importance of continually meditating on the Word of God.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.[4]

The great prayer warrior George Mueller wrote regarding meditating on God’s Word:

What is food for the inner man? The Word of God, and here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water passes through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it and applying it to our hearts.[5]

Donald Whitney wrote:

The tree of your spiritual life thrives best with meditation because it helps you absorb the water of God’s Word. Merely hearing or reading the Bible, for example, can be like a short rainfall on hard ground. Regardless of the amount or intensity of the rain, most runs off and little sinks in. Meditation opens the soil of the soul and lets the water of God’s Word percolate in deeply. The result is an extraordinary fruitfulness and spiritual prosperity.[6]

Reading, listening to, and meditating on the Word of God brings His blessings into our lives. As Psalm 1 says: Blessed is the man … [whose] delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.[7]

Reading God’s Word and meditating on it brings us into personal communication with God. As we meditate on what we’ve read, we create the opportunity for His Word to speak to our hearts because we put ourselves in the position of being willing to listen to Him. In meditating on His Word, we enter into His presence, hungering to learn, to grow, to change, to draw close to Him, to do His will. He desires to speak to each of us directly. However, if we aren’t listening or meditating on Him and His Word, if we are so busy reading what He’s said that we don’t give Him room to speak to us personally about what we’re reading, then we are truly missing something important.

Many Christians are happy to listen to what this or that speaker or preacher has to share, to be inspired by someone’s sermon, yet are much less inclined to have that one-on-one communication with the Almighty that comes when we discipline ourselves to read, study, and meditate on Scripture. Richard Foster addresses this point:

Human beings seem to have a perpetual tendency to have somebody else talk to God for them. The history of religion is the story of an almost desperate scramble to have a king, a mediator, a priest, a pastor, a go-between. In this way we do not need to go to God ourselves. Such an approach saves us from the need to change, for to be in the presence of God is to change. That is why meditation is so threatening to us. It boldly calls us to enter into the living presence of God for ourselves. It tells us that God is speaking in the continuous present and wants to address us … All who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord are the universal priesthood of God, and as such can enter the Holy of Holies and converse with the living God.[8]

Of course, meditating on what you’ve read or listened to takes time, and if you find you don’t have the time to stop and listen, then you might want to consider reading a little less to free up time to meditate on what you’ve read. Author Maurice Roberts wrote:

It is not the busy skimming over religious books or the careless hastening through religious duties which makes for a strong Christian faith. Rather, it is unhurried meditation on the gospel truths and the exposing of our minds to these truths that yields the fruit of sanctified character.[9]

If we want godliness in our lives, if our desire is to emulate our Savior, if we want the light which shines through us to be the light of God and His love, then we need to take time with Him and His Word. Disciplining ourselves to take this time daily is a key component of Christlikeness. Of all the Spiritual Disciplines, this is the most important, as God’s Word—the Bible—is His revelation of Himself to humanity. Reading and meditating on it, applying it to our inner being and to our outer actions is vital to being like Jesus. It is through the regular deep absorption of the water of His Word in our hearts that we are gradually renewed and transformed to become more like Him. It is through the application of what we read and meditate on that we have the grace to live lives that are in alignment with His will. For His Word is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path.[10]

Take the time to commune deeply with God through His Word. It will change your life.

[Jesus] said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”[11]

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”[12]

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.[13]

You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word.[14]

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word.[15]

I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.[16]

I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.[17]

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.[18]
Note

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Matthew 7:24–25.


[2] John 6:63.


[3] Psalm 119:15–16.


[4] Joshua 1:8.


[5] Roger Steer, Spiritual Secrets of George Mueller (Wheaton: Harold Shaw, 1985), 62, quoted in Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1991), 76.


[6] Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, 49–50.


[7] Psalm 1:1–3.


[8] Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline (New York: HarperOne, 1998), 24.


[9] Maurice Roberts, “O the Depth!” The Banner of Truth, July 1990, 2, quoted in Whitney,Spiritual Disciplines, 55.


[10] Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).


[11] Luke 11:28.


[12] John 14:23.


[13] John 15:7.


[14] Psalm 138:2.


[15] Psalm 119:9 NIV.


[16] Psalm 119:11.


[17] Psalm 119:15–16.


[18] John 17:17.

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How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves

By Francis L. Thompson, Quartz, January 12, 2014

My wife and I had 12 children over the course of 15 1/2 years. Today, our oldest is 37 and our youngest is 22. I have always had a very prosperous job and enough money to give my kids almost anything. But my wife and I decided not to.

I will share with you the things that we did, but first let me tell you the results: All 12 of my children have college degrees (or are in school), and we as parents did not pay for it. Most have graduate degrees. Those who are married have wonderful spouses with the same ethics and college degrees, too. We have 18 grandchildren who are learning the same things that our kids learned—self respect, gratitude, and a desire to give back to society.

We raised our family in Utah, Florida, and California; my wife and I now live in Colorado. In March, we will have been married 40 years. I attribute the love between us as a part of our success with the children. They see a stable home life with a commitment that does not have compromises.

Here’s what we did right (we got plenty wrong, too, but that’s another list):

Chores. Kids had to perform chores from age 3. A 3-year-old does not clean toilets very well but by the time he is 4, it’s a reasonably good job.

They got allowances based on how they did the chores for the week.

We had the children wash their own clothes by the time they turned 8. We assigned them a wash day.

When they started reading, they had to make dinner by reading a recipe. They also had to learn to double a recipe.

The boys and girls had to learn to sew.

Study time. Education was very important in our family.

We had study time from 6 to 8 pm every week day. No television, computer, games, or other activities until the two hours were up. If they had no homework, then they read books. For those too young to be in school, we had someone read books to them. After the two hours, they could do whatever they wanted as long as they were in by curfew.

All the kids were required to take every Advanced Placement class there was. We did not let entrance scores be an impediment. We went to the school and demanded our kids be let in. Then we, as parents, spent the time to ensure they had the understanding to pass the class. After the first child, the school learned that we kept our promise that the kids could handle the AP classes.

If children would come home and say that a teacher hated them or was not fair, our response was that you need to find a way to get along. You need find a way to learn the material because in real life, you may have a boss that does not like you. We would not enable children to “blame” the teacher for not learning, but place the responsibility for learning the material back on the child. Of course, we were alongside them for two hours of study a day, for them to ask for help anytime.

Picky eaters not allowed. We all ate dinner and breakfast together. Breakfast was at 5:15am and then the children had to do chores before school. Dinner was at 5:30pm.

More broadly, food was interesting. We wanted a balanced diet, but hated it when we were young and parents made us eat all our food. Sometimes we were full and just did not want to eat anymore. Our rule was to give the kids the food they hated most first (usually vegetables) and then they got the next type of food. They did not have to eat it and could leave the table. If later they complained they were hungry, we would get out that food they did not want to eat, warm it up in the microwave, and provide it to them. Again, they did not have to eat it. But they got no other food until the next meal unless they ate it.

We did not have snacks between meals. We always had the four food groups (meat, dairy, grain, fruits and vegetables) and nearly always had dessert of some kind. To this day, our kids are not afraid to try different foods, and have no allergies to foods. They try all kinds of new foods and eat only until they are full. Not one of our kids is even a little bit heavy. They are thin, athletic, and very healthy. With 12 kids, you would think that at least one would have some food allergies or food special needs. (I am not a doctor.)

Extracurriculars. All kids had to play some kind of sport. They got to choose, but choosing none was not an option. We started them in grade school. We did not care if it was swimming, football, baseball, fencing, tennis, etc. and did not care if they chose to change sports. But they had to play something.

All kids had to be in some kind of club: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, history, drama, etc.

They were required to provide community service. We would volunteer within our community and at church. For Eagle Scout projects, we would have the entire family help. Once we collected old clothes and took them to Mexico and passed them out. The kids saw what life was like for many families and how their collections made them so happy and made a difference.

Independence. When the kids turned 16, we bought each a car. The first one learned what that meant. As the tow truck pulled a once “new” car into the driveway, my oldest proclaimed: “Dad, it is a wreck!” I said, “Yes, but a 1965 Mustang fastback wreck. Here are the repair manuals. Tools are in the garage. I will pay for every part, but will not pay for LABOR.” Eleven months later, the car had a rebuilt engine, rebuilt transmission, newly upholstered interior, a new suspension system, and a new coat of paint. My daughter (yes, it was my daughter) had one of the hottest cars at high school. And her pride that she built it was beyond imaginable. (As a side note, none of my kids ever got a ticket for speeding, even though no car had less than 450 horsepower.)

We as parents allowed kids to make mistakes. Five years before the 16th birthday and their “new” car gift, they had to help out with our family cars. Once I asked my son, Samuel, to change the oil and asked if he needed help or instruction. “No, Dad, I can do it.” An hour later, he came in and said, “Dad, does it take 18 quarts of oil to change the oil?” I asked where did he put 18 quarts of oil when normally only five were needed. His response: “That big screw on top at the front of the engine.” I said “You mean the radiator?” Well, he did not get into trouble for filling the radiator with oil. He had to drain it, we bought a radiator flush, put in new radiator fluid, and then he had to change the real oil. We did not ground him or give him any punishment for doing it “wrong.” We let the lesson be the teaching tool. Our children are not afraid to try something new. They were trained that if they do something wrong they will not get punished. It often cost us more money, but we were raising kids, not saving money.

The kids each got their own computer, but had to build it. I bought the processor, memory, power supply, case, keyboard, hard drive, motherboard, and mouse. They had to put it together and load the software on. This started when they were 12.

We let the children make their own choices, but limited. For example, do you want to go to bed now or clean your room? Rarely, did we give directives that were one way, unless it dealt with living the agreed-upon family rules. This let the child feel that she had some control over life.

In it together. We required the children to help each other. When a fifth grader is required to read 30 minutes a day, and a first grader is required to be read to 30 minutes a day, have one sit next to the other and read. Those in high school calculus tutored those in algebra or grade-school math.

We assigned an older child to a younger child to teach them and help them accomplish their weekly chores.

We let the children be a part of making the family rules. For example, the kids wanted the rule that no toys were allowed in the family room. The toys had to stay either in the bedroom or playroom. In addition to their chores, they had to all clean their bedroom every day (or just keep it clean in the first place). These were rules that the children wanted. We gave them a chance each month to amend or create new rules. Mom and Dad had veto power of course.

We tried to be always consistent. If they had to study two hours every night, we did not make an exception to it. Curfew was 10pm during school nights and midnight on non-school nights. There were no exceptions to the rules.

Vacation policy. We would take family vacations every summer for two or three weeks. We could afford a hotel, or cruise, but did not choose those options. We went camping and backpacking. If it rained, then we would figure out how to backpack in the rain and survive. We would set up a base camp at a site with five or six tents, and I would take all kids age 6 or older on a three- to five-day backpack trip. My wife would stay with the little ones. Remember, for 15 years, she was either pregnant or just had a baby. My kids and I hiked across the Grand Canyon, to the top of Mount Whitney, across the Continental Divide, across Yosemite.

We would send kids via airplane to relatives in Europe or across the US for two or three weeks at a time. We started this when they were in kindergarten. It would take special treatment for the airlines to take a 5-year-old alone on the plane and required people on the other end to have special documentation. We only sent the kids if they wanted to go. However, with the younger ones seeing the older ones travel, they wanted to go. The kids learned from an early age that we, as parents, were always there for them, but would let them grow their own wings and fly.

Money and materialism. Even though we have sufficient money, we have not helped the children buy homes, pay for education, pay for weddings (yes, we do not pay for weddings either). We have provided extensive information on how to do it or how to buy rental units and use equity to grow wealth. We do not “give” things to our children but we give them information and teach them “how” to do things. We have helped them with contacts in corporations, but they have to do the interviews and “earn” the jobs.

We give birthday and Christmas presents to the kids. We would play Santa Claus but as they got older, and would ask about it, we would not lie. We would say it is a game we play and it is fun. We did and do have lists for items that each child would like for presents. Then everyone can see what they want. With the internet, it is easy to send such lists around to the children and grandchildren. Still, homemade gifts are often the favorite of all.

The real world. We loved the children regardless of what they did. But would not prevent consequences of any of their actions. We let them suffer consequences and would not try to mitigate the consequences because we saw them suffering. We would cry and be sad, but would not do anything to reduce the consequences of their actions.

We were and are not our kids’ best friends. We were their parents.

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Pastor Rick Warren: Fighting Obesity with Faith

By Alexandra Wolfe, WSJ, Jan. 17, 2014

‘If you’re not following me on Twitter, you’re going to hell,” says megachurch pastor Rick Warren, before cracking up. Mr. Warren—or Pastor Rick, as his teeming staff calls him—is leaning back in a red leather chair with his sneaker-clad feet up on the coffee table in one of his many offices on the 120-acre Saddleback Church campus in Lake Forest, Calif. He’s only joking. He has plenty of followers already: Almost 1.3 million keep up with him on Twitter, and around 30,000 attend his sermons.

Mr. Warren’s popularity soared after the release of his 2002 best seller, “The Purpose Driven Life,” a self-help book about discovering and exploring a relationship with God that has sold about 40 million copies. “All of a sudden, people are calling me, well-known people are calling me, and I’m saying, ‘Why are you calling me? I’m just a pastor,’ “ he recalls. Now he has come out with “The Daniel Plan,” a diet book—though he says it is more than just a diet book—written with two doctors. It’s already a best seller, and Mr. Warren, 59, plans to turn it into as much of a brand as “The Purpose Driven Life,” which thousands of churches, corporations and even sports teams adopted as a 40-day plan.

Mr. Warren came up with the idea for “The Daniel Plan” a few years ago while doing baptisms “the old-fashioned way”—by physically raising and lowering people into the water. That day he baptized 850 people. “That’s about 150,000 pounds, which is why I’m so buff,” he says with a chuckle. “But as I’m lowering people, I literally felt the weight of America’s obesity problem,” he adds. “I thought, good night, we’re all fat!” Then he says he realized, “Good night, I’m fat!”

He didn’t think he could ask his congregation to get healthy without doing so himself. The following weekend, he declared he would set out to lose 90 pounds (at 6-foot-3, he weighed nearly 300 pounds) and asked if anyone wanted to join him. Mr. Warren says that he thought he might get 200 people, but by the end of the week, 15,000 people had signed up on Saddleback’s website.

Next he recruited three friends in the medical field, including Mehmet Oz, the surgeon and television show host, to come up with a system for how they would do it. Along with fitness and nutrition, Mr. Warren says he added the “special sauce” of “focus, friends and faith”—in other words, help from a higher power and from friends and community.

Named for the Biblical prophet Daniel, who challenged himself to eat only vegetables and water, Mr. Warren’s Daniel Plan instructs people to rely on “God power” rather than just willpower to eat healthily. His theory is that guilt only motivates people to follow diets in the short term, but “grace” lasts longer.

The book, released in December, provides a meal plan that includes lean protein, fruit, vegetables and whole grains, and it encourages regular exercise. The day after a two-hour rally to kick off the plan at Saddleback, he says local grocery stores were out of vegetables. “That’s the power of a congregation,” he says. “When an elephant is walking, it shakes the ground, and that’s a congregation—it shakes the ground.”

His book follows upon a rough period for Mr. Warren. He says, “2013 was the worst year of my life.” In January, he had severe back problems that put him in the hospital for weeks, and in April, his 27-year-old son committed suicide. “That was the worst day of my life, of course,” he says.

He could not sleep for the next six months. “You know what happens when you don’t sleep?” he asks. “Your cravings go crazy, you don’t exercise, and on top of that, I had a church family that loved me bringing me casseroles.” After losing 65 pounds in his first year and a half on the Daniel Plan, he gained 35 pounds back. In October, he went back on the diet and lost 35 pounds before the book’s release in December. He still has 25 pounds to go. “I’m the first guy who lost weight on the Daniel Plan twice,” he says. “I tell that story because I want my failings to encourage people.”

With his new book, Mr. Warren aims to make health a form of worship. “The Bible says…God made your body, Jesus died for your body, and He expects you to take care of your body,” the pastor says. “We are repositioning health as a spiritual stewardship.”

He thinks our culture sees the body in one of two extreme ways. “We either idolize the body, and there are people who do that and it’s all about how you look, or we go to the other extreme and we say, ‘We don’t care about that,’ “ he says. It’s health’s higher purpose that Mr. Warren says distinguishes his plan from other diet books. “It’s not so much what you eat; it’s what eats you,” he says. “It’s the stresses, the unreached goals, the broken heart and the grief.”

Mr. Warren thinks he knows more about these psychological concerns—and about health care—than any government or counseling system. “The church has been in the health-care business 2,000 years longer than the government, so the audacity of the government trying to tell the church what they should do with health care is—are you kidding me?” he exclaims.

Mr. Warren gives the church credit for inventing the hospital and says that one of Jesus’ three key tenets was “healing.” “One-third of his ministry was health care,” he says. “We believe the Daniel Plan is really taking the church back to what it has done for 2,000 years, because only in the last 75 years have we abdicated education and health care to the government.”

He feels the same way about poverty and unemployment: “Churches know more about poverty than any government will ever know, because we’re dealing with the poor every day.”

Mr. Warren aims to continue to expand Saddleback beyond the U.S. He and members of his congregation have traveled to every country around the world as part of his nonprofit P.E.A.C.E. Plan, an initiative to “assist the poor and care for the sick.” With branches already built in Berlin, Buenos Aires and Hong Kong and plans to create over a dozen other locations in strategic “hub” cities from Tokyo to Mexico City, his hopes for Saddleback are increasingly global.

And what’s his personal purpose? “My ultimate goal…is for you to live the life you’re intended to live,” he says. “You drift through life and let things happen to you, or go by design and say, ‘This is what I’m intended to do.’ The Bible is very clear that God has a purpose. But even if I know that purpose, I can’t fulfill it if I’m out of shape.”

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She’s Doing An Elite MBA For Under $1,000

John A. Byrne, LinkedIn, January 17, 2014

If everything goes according to plan, Laurie Pickard, 32, will earn her MBA in three years for less than $1,000. She’ll take classes from Stanford, Wharton, and Yale, among other top-tier schools. And she’ll tackle it with $0 opportunity cost by keeping her full-time job as a rural enterprise development and entrepreneurship specialist at USAID. She’ll accomplish all of this from Kigali, Rwanda.

It’s a premise that sounds too good to be true, writes Poets&Quants’ news & feature editor Lauren Everitt. But Pickard is determined to pull it off. If successful, she’ll be one of the first students in the world to cobble together an MBA program from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), free or low-cost classes accessible to anyone with Internet access.

Pickard didn’t plan to pave the way for earning a dirt-cheap business education. In fact, she initially had her sights set on a more conventional path–and she boasts the background to get into an elite program: a B.A. in politics from Oberlin College, an M.A. in geography and urban studies from Temple University, and stints with the Peace Corps and the International Finance Corporation in Nicaragua.

“I was looking at traditional, U.S.-based, high-end, expensive MBAs, and then I kind of dropped that idea in favor of shorter, European-based MBAs … that take half the time and cost a quarter as much,” she says. By her own admission, Pickard was “not an early adopter” of the MOOC movement. But after a friend enrolled in a finance course with MOOC provider Coursera, she reconsidered the traditional MBA. “I was thinking, ‘I could do that.’ And so I started looking into what was out there, and that’s when I got this idea that I should just do an MBA out of free courses,” she says.

Only a year ago, it would not have been possible to even consider getting the equivalent of an MBA via MOOCs. But in the space of just nine months in 2012, from February to November, the number of institutions offering free online business courses has doubled to 51 from 26, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International. The number of business faculty teaching MOOC courses has more than doubled in the same timeframe to 83 from 39.

Pickard developed her program by reviewing the B-school curriculums at top schools. She designed it to be flexible because MOOC courses are not guaranteed: “You have no idea when they’ll be offered and if they’ll ever be offered again,” she points out. Rather than setting a strict course list, she organized her degree path by themes.

Four months in, Pickard has completed five courses. Initially, she planned to complete 16 courses over two to three years, but she’s enjoying the process so much, she’ll likely keep going and exceed the credits required by most MBA programs. “There are so many course offerings out there, that it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure story,” she says. “I loved school, so it’s kind of like that excitement you get when you first get the course catalog for the semester, and you’re looking through it like, ‘Oh, I want to take that, I want to take that, I want to take that course,” she says. Although the courses vary in terms of quality and difficulty, Pickard points out that the same problem affects bricks-and-mortar programs.

Pickard also doesn’t seem to mind the virtual component. Given that her husband, a foreign service officer, is stationed in Rwanda for the next four years, the online aspect is actually a boon. “My mind is changing, and my thinking about business is really expanding and growing,” she says. “I feel the same way that I felt at other times in my life when I was really immersed in an education experience. So from that standpoint, there’s a true benefit to MOOCs.”

If you’re interested in taking MOOC business courses, check out PoetsandQuants.com.

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