Romanian Missions Trip

During the summer 2007, Maria, Julia and Steve set off to Romania with a van filled with everything they had been given for their trip. This included food, clothes, blankets, crutches and much more. They travelled to different orphanges and villages giving the people what they had brought. many of the families live in very small houses, maybe just one room with a bed and a cooker and it house 2 parents and maybe 4-5 children. one lady invited them in for dinner in an old pigsty that had been convernted into their house.



'This little girl lives on the street and the marks on her face are either rat bites or impetigo. The poverty was something I has never seen before. I have retuned to Ireland with a new gratefullness of all that have and all I take for granted on a daily basis.'

Do I Need To Set Goals To Be Successful?

1. What is Goal Setting?
Goal setting is a process that helps you get clear on what you want, make an action plan to help you get there, launch into action, and persist until you reach your destination or find a better one.

Earl Nightingale put it this way, "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. It's as simple as that."

2. Why Personal Goal Setting Works.

The first ingredient necessary for success is that you have to decide exactly what it is that you want. This is where many people stumble. They never decide what it is that they really want in life.

Once you have decided what it is that you want, the second ingredient is to determine the price you have to pay to get what you want, and then resolve to pay that price by establishing your priorities and getting to work. Many who get past the first ingredient never apply the second one. They don't understand that you have to pay the price in full before you can claim your prize. Goal Setting is a process that helps you focus your time and energy on your targets through careful and deliberate planning.

3. What is a Goal?
A goal is a well-defined target that gives you clarity, direction, motivation, and focus. Goals are tools that help you to make a positive change in your life. They eventually help form a new habit or change an existing habit.

Goals are the stepping stones to success. Look at your life today, decide what you want and then begin to make goals that will help you to get there.

You Are Only As Good As Your Word

"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility." Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady

If I asked you for your outlook on life, I am sure like most people you would have many reasons why there is so much suffering, opinions on politics and probably millions of complaints about the state of the world today regarding violence, terror, disruptive youth, child prostitution, the list goes on....

It seems that we are all experts on life when it comes to talking about it but then, what are we actually DOING about following up on those words?

Are you talking about health yet continuing to smoke, overeat and doing little to take care of your own?

Are you talking about poverty and pointing a finger at 'big businesses' for their apparent un involvement to charities yet continuing to walk straight past the homeless man you pass everyday on the street?

Are you talking but doing little more than moving your lips?

Today I want to challenge is to carry out an assessment on yourself.

Take note of how many times today you talk about doing something versus actually taking action and doing it.

I think you will be surprised at the outcome!

Do not beat yourself up over the answer, just know that one of the keys to success is matching your words with your deeds.

5 Keys To Setting Goals You Will Achieve

Setting goals is the foundation of achieving anything in life. If you do not know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?

It is vital to set goals, but so often people set unachievable and unmeasurable goals. Here are a few keys to help you set goals that you can actually achieve.

1. Set A Deadline. Diana Scharf Hunt said it correctly Goals are dreams with deadlines. Set a time frame for your goals. If you have began a new business, set a time frame on it. If you are not making what you need to within that time frame, pack it in. Do not look back and move on.

2. Be Specific. When creating your goals, be specific. If you want to earn more a month, how much more do you want to earn? If you are striving to lose weight, how much do you want to lose a month?

3. Create Measurable Goals. Create a goal that you are able to measure and see the progress so you can evaluate it and see if you are achieving it.

4. Create Inspirational Goals. As this quote goes Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes. You have to create goals that you are motivated and inspired to achieve.

5. You Are Responsible. The responsibility to achieve the goal, must fall on you. If you were creating goals to lose weight and you said that 'whenever my spouse goes jogging, I will go with them,' the responsibility is not on you, it is on your spouse. The sole responsibility to reach the goal, must fall on you.

A Simple Key To Find Happiness

People are different so there are some things that will make one person happy that would not make another happy at all! There is not one 10 second formula or one size fits all, that can make everyone happy today. I wish there was! Although, there are simple steps you can take to create happiness in your life.

Look at this quote by Benjamin Franklin: The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.

Before you endeavor to take the journey to becoming happy with your life, you first have to establish what happiness means to you. What do you want out of life? Would earning an extra $200 a week make you happy? Would being married make you happy? Having a family? Travelling the world? What would make you happy? If you have not yet established this, you'll be running around trying everything hoping one of these things will make you happy and it will take you along time to get anywhere.

My advice to you if you are seeking a happier life, is to take a pen and paper and write down what would make you happy. Do not think about money, time, limitations, just write. When you are done, read what you have written. Now take these things you have written and make a plan. Write a goal. Make it a 6 month goal. Do not try and do too much. Take the 3 things that you would love to do the most, and begin to plan to make them happen!

By writing it down as a goal, you have something to focus on. you are not aimlessly running around trying all different things to make you happy, but you are aiming to achieve 3 - 4 things.

Wishing you well on your pursuit of happiness.

Inspirational Movie

Watch this inspirational movie about a Father whose love for his son was so massive.

The Art of Forgiveness

When someone has wronged you, when you have been treated badly and unfairly, lied to and manipulated, the most foreign thing to do it to forgive and forget. But forgiveness is possible and it is necessary for your physical and mental health.

"People who forgive show less depression, anger and stress and more hopefulness," says Frederic Luskin, "So it can help save on the wear and tear on our organs, reduce the wearing out of the immune system and allow people to feel more vital."

So how do you forgive and forget?

1. Calm yourself. To defuse your anger, try a simple stress-management technique. Take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, someone you love.

2. Do not wait for an apology. The other person may not have meant to have hurt you, they may see things differently to you or they may have meant to hurt you on purpose. Whatever the case. they are probably not going to apologize first. Forgiving somebody does not mean that you are going to be the best of friends again, but it does mean that you release them in your heart and you do not hold any resentment against them.

3. Recognize the benefits of forgiveness. Research has shown that people who forgive report more energy, better appetite and better sleep patterns. If you are unaware of the distress that bitterness and resentment toward somebody else can have, then you will never realize the importance of forgiving and letting go.

4. Do not forget to forgive yourself. For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge, but it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don''t do it. Do not blame yourself.