Recommended Reading

I never have enough time in the day to read all the things I want to read. I don't pay for a newspaper. It usually ends up spread out all over the floor and it is full of mostly bad news (and I'm a journalism major!) and advertising many things that are not necessary. And I'm in advertising!

I get books recommended to me all the time and I've bought several of them or check them out from the library. They usually end up just sitting on a shelf. Fiction is not an option as the books I want to read I'm seeking a purpose to giving up my time in the hopes of gaining knowledge and improvement in return.

But you know what? I still don't read much. Between my day job, homeschooling my brilliant 13 year old son; taking care of my two boys after school, monitoring the dogs; trying to start a new business venture; dealing with a long-term chronic illness; making most meals around the house and trying to be a loving husband. It doesn't leave much time for reading. But, I do believe you make time for what is most important to you.

Our family started attending a new church over five years ago. It was time for a change in churches as we weren't being fed by our current church family so we started to look elsewhere. Nothing against our old church... I even served on their council and chaired several committees and even taught 6th grade Sunday School before I had my own kids.. but we weren't feeling supported.

The first church we tried was also the last church we tried. We noticed a strange "occurrence" when we were walking into our first service. Almost everyone walking into church was carrying a "book" and we weren't carrying anything. What could this book be? Upon further review we found it to be a Bible. I didn't even know where mine was. It was pretty humbling.

You see our church teaches directly out of the Bible and encourages daily Bible reading. Something that my old church didn't really emphasize. So... we decided we wanted to be a part of this new church so we better track down our Bibles and dust them off and open them up.

But... where should I be reading? What would help me the most? Some of my friends and one of our pastors encouraged me to read in Proverbs every day. As many of you know Proverbs has 31 chapters and that matches up nicely with 31 days in many months... sometimes I have to read more than one chapter in the shorter months but their short! :)

Read one a day... month after month and it will transform the way you think. Proverbs was written by Solomon - who many believe to be the wisest man to walk the face of the earth. Most chapters take less than five minutes but I caution you to slow down and evaluate every word.

Some of my favorite verses include "grey hair is a crown of splendor" and verses about "quarrelsome wives". Mine is not! But also "iron sharpens iron" and "motives are weighed by the Lord".

Our design "A Proverb A Day" encourages me to read my Bible every day and I hope it will for you as well.

Check it out at http://www.fogpromotional.com/

Old Game Shows

A couple of years ago I participated in a Truth Project class. This is produced by Focus on the Family and hosted by Dr. Del Tackett. I really enjoyed the 13 weeks of the class and highly recommend it to anyone interested! They cover a Biblical view of many aspects of life including science, American history, and politics. It was very enlightening for me and our class had many great discussions.

The key point in this class is that the Bible is Truth and you either believe that it is 100% truth or it can't be truth at all. Jesus stated that he is the truth and told Pilate that "for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth." There are many people out there who want to take parts of the Bible and say this is truth but that is not; or this used to be truth back in Jesus' day, but it's not really applicable now, today.

The Bible also says "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." So it truly is Truth or consequences. Choose truth! Choose life!

Make a Joyful Noise!

This design has a lot of history behind it. I love to sing and crank the music in my car. Music has always been part of my life - my mom played the piano and my dad played the ukelele and both sing well. My nine-year-old son has been composing music on the piano and keyboard for a couple of years and is fabulously talented! My mother-in-law is a great singer and piano player and my father-in-law...well...he can't carry a tune in a bucket but he still makes a joyful noise.

I love the music at our church. The first time we attended, our older son commented on how much he liked the music and asked if we could come back. That was tremendous progress for him to be excited about church. And it's so much fun to hear the same worship music on my favorite radio station KNWI 107.1. It helps me keep focused as I drive to and from work; it reminds me of what is the most important part of my life and what I want to concentrate on throughout the day.

This was originally designed for my sister-in-law Jean and nieces Tracy and Sarah. They are all fabulous singers! I was planning to make a Christmas ornament for them with this design but our family system got changed up a bit and we ended up with different people. But those three certainly inspired me on this one.

Psalm 98 paints such a vivid picture of worship being joy-filled and loud! It doesn't say "make a perfect noise" so don't worry about your pitch - just sing with a worshipful heart!

To Boldly Go...

We've been going through the book of Matthew at church. I am really impressed by the calling of the disciples. In each case, Jesus invited them to follow and they did. No questions asked. I especially like Matthew 4:20, "At once they left their nets and followed him." But later, a rich, young ruler approaches Jesus to find out what he can do to get eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell his possessions, then follow Jesus. The man went away sad, unwilling to follow.

I find myself questioning why I need to follow. I tend to be more of a leader than a follower and find that role hard to give up. Recently I felt God calling me to follow him and give up some things in my life. I was willing, but not able. Today I find that every day I'm in prayer asking God to show me what I can do THAT DAY to follow. I see that I'm interested in a big change; a drastic change. I see that God is interested in daily, sometimes minor, but consistent change.

I am following my leader. It's not easy and I'm not like the disciples - I ask questions. But I'm learning, and I'm changing.

This design is set up to declare boldly to those who see you that you are following the leader - that Jesus is the leader in your life. And on the reverse, an invitation to follow too.

Who are you following?

What's in a Name? (part 2)

A couple days ago I explained the rationale behind our Inspirational/Motivational line of apparel and merchandise - I-cubed. You'll have to read earlier to learn about that.

I don't want to leave out the other line/brand that we call FoG Apparel and Merchandise. FoG stands for Fear, Fan, Friend and/or Follower of God. Hopefully, you're at least one of these and we pray that you're all four.

Note the importance of the capital G in FoG. We do this out of respect to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. His name is always worth of capitalization and nothing less. The tagline is "Our Choice is Clear" meaning if we're wearing or using a FoG item than we are Christ followers. These items serve as reminders to act in a way that shows our commitment to Christ. Hopefully, they will also serve as possible motivators to others who see them and God will use them in unique ways to lead others to him.

If we are fans of the Iowa State Cyclones or the Chicago Cubs we wear their logos, messages, and color proudly. Most of us work for a business or organization and have several items with that logo. My question is this... if we are fans of God and want to work God than shouldn't we do the same for him? Let me know what you think?

This is why FoG is our clear choice.

Changing Directions

This is a "Pastor Troy" design because he uses this phrase in his messages. One week he commented that he would like to name a dog Repent. He said he could picture the dog running out in the yard or field and calling the dog's name, "REPENT!" and watching it do a 180 and come running back.

Isn't that what God wants us to do? As we go off running in the world, chasing what the world has to offer, He wants to be able to call our name and see us come running back. I see this repeating in my life. Many years ago we experienced serious financial difficulties and we needed to turn away from the world and the material things that had been pulling us away from God and return to Him. It was great to make those changes and strengthen our faith in that time of trial. But as things improved, it became easier and easier to get pulled back to that.

Once again we are experiencing trials and having to choose which way to go. It's easy to get frustrated and want to run away, or chase after something the world seems to offer. But God is calling my name and I'm turning back to Him.

When in your life have you had to drastically change your direction to follow God?

Thank God its....

Ever wonder where the saying "Thank God It's Friday" came from?

Do you think the other days get jealous? What about Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday? Is Friday reserved just for God and and we have to find something or someone else to thank for the other days?

I hope not!

I suggest we Just Thank God. It doesn't matter whether or not it's Friday or not. It doesn't matter whether or not it's sunny or rainy; dry or wet; cold or warm; funny and easy-going or sad and difficult. Just Thank God.

This design depicts an open planner to a Friday (perhaps even a Friday the 13th!). The pages are filled with obligations but on the right is a post-it note with the crucial reminder that we should put on every page in our planners, datebooks, I-phones (my wife really wants one) and PDAs.

It says, "Don't worry what day it is..." The bottom line of this design says it all in bold letters. Just Thank God. I've been currently struggling with a long-term chronic illness and have remembered this design often! It's helped me get through the tougher times. The bible says in both Romans and James (and likely other areas) that we are to give thanks to God for all things... not just the good but also all the rest... it's part of a process/plan that he has in place for us.

It's easy to be thankful when things are going the way you want them but refer to James 1:2-8 during other times...

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

We are commanded to Just Thank God! I hope you do today. To view this and our other designs check out our websites http://www.fogpromotional.com/ and http://www.i-cubedpromotional.com/ today. We hope you'll find jus the right item to remind you to improve the way you think and/or gift item for that person in your life who could also benefit.

Be thankful today even though it's Saturday!

Bee Leaf

Admittedly I had the kids in mind when working on this one. I don't remember whether Brian or I came up with the overall concept but as soon as the words were said, I had this picture in my head.

It's just a simple graphic with a simple message. Meant to draw people in and raise some questions. It's currently only on the FoG site, but we'll probably put it on I-cubed as well.

A Sunday Sunrise

In 2008, we were fortunate enough to participate in an incentive trip won for a great sales year. We traveled to an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic! It was a fabulous experience and we not only enjoyed the location - delightful rooms, wonderful pools, tremendous restaurants, and the best beach I've ever seen - but also the company of other sales reps. It was great to reconnect with friends from previous trips and catch up on their lives.

Our trip began on a Thursday and ended on a Tuesday, so it included a weekend stay. Unfortunately, the bulk of the "business" portion of the trip occurred on Saturday and Sunday! After checking the schedule, we realized that business meetings were scheduled for Sunday morning. In addition, we didn't find any mention of religious services.

So what do you do when you're from Iowa and spending a Sunday in a foreign country, in a beautiful resort with access to a fabulous beach? We opted to rise before the sun and catch the sunrise on the beach and have our own private worship service - just us and our God and His magnificent sunrise! He delighted us and we delighted in Him! It seemed that He was clearly telling us to rejoice in this glorious day he had made... just for us.

One of the photos we took that morning is incorporated in our design we call "Rejoice" - This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Diana's Pillowcase

My aunt Diana was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October of 2008. Shortly after that, I heard that she was having trouble sleeping at night and I could imagine the kinds of fears that might fill her mind upon waking in the middle of the night. The more I thought of it, the stronger the idea of creating a pillowcase that might bring her comfort became. I wanted to create something special for her, something that might bring her comfort at night, something akin to a child's blankie but in adult form.

I researched some verses that I thought would encourage comfort and rest:

• Isaiah 43:5 - Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
• Psalm 4:8 - I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
• Matthew 11:28 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
• Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Most importantly, the main verse reminding that "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him". Romans 8:28.

Why is it that some good people have to suffer when others don't? Why is it that some bad people don't ever seem to suffer? My parents always said that life isn't fair. I hated hearing that. I thought life should be fair. But it isn't.

I don't know whether the pillowcase brought comfort to my aunt. I certainly hope so. And I hope that others might find it inspiring and comforting and use it to help and encourage the people who they love who might be struggling as well.