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Behind The Curtain

Cookies have a great history plus are simply delicious. In England and Australia, they are called biscuits. One theory is that they were discovered to determine if the oven temperature was right to make a cake. A small amount of batter was used to test to see if the oven was hot enough to cook cakes. Giving us present day the gift of the beloved cookie! For years people have been using cookies for all kinds of marketing. For example, Realtors have been known to bake cookies at homes they are trying to sell right before a potential buyer gets there. This helps a client see more than a piece of property but also a home. It also helps the potential home buyer to associate that experience as positive and satisfying. Jumping forward to more modern marketing, Digital Media has changed the term cookie to mean something else. Cookies are now bytes of data used in digital marketing to help target the audience to your business in various ways. However I propose that somewhere along the way most marketing firms lost focus on the heart of the cookie, and began just thoughtlessly devouring cookies much like a menacing cookie monster. What once delivered a satisfying and emotional bond now wreaks of cold data crunching pre-packaged cookie cutter solutions. There are a lot of marketing companies that don’t take the time to get to know you and try to sell you just a lot of bad cookie dough. It is stale and old and doesn’t taste good anymore. The real monster in the world of advertising is selling you something that doesn’t fit your company's objectives. At Studiobeanhead we take time to get to know you, we believe in catering towards your brand's unique needs and ideas, instead of using a cookie cutter process, we keep our client's unique story and purpose involved in the marketing mixture. Our marketing is like a well prepared cookie, because we don’t use the same recipes. We customize the batter for each client making that bite delicious for everyone.

Christina Riley Interviews her sister Amy Sampson about her new perspective after beating cancer. She talks on the difficult journey that brought her into a beautiful new way of looking at life.

In this episode, we will get real in discussing how toxic work environments can really affect your spiritual wellness and mental health.

In the below scriptures, the Apostle Paul writes about relationships. The beginning of chapter 3 discusses the relationship of the believer to their own past and then addresses the relationship between the new self and previous actions and attitudes. The guidance provided is summarized in the two verses above. This very good guidance seems to be missed when creating, expanding or working in a non-profit organization. Regardless of the purpose, operation or size of the non-profit organization, the best way to achieve a goal, document any transaction, lead staff or volunteers should always be chosen and followed. The tips below intend to encourage the choices that are most transparent and demonstrate the most personal and organizational integrity possible. "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:24 1. DEFINE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES Identify the strengths and weaknesses of every individual involved in the creation of the organization. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of everyone involved in the creation of the organization can help to ensure that each person’s strengths are being utilized by the new organization and each person’s weaknesses are known to all others involved. This knowledge can help reduce the frustration of all stakeholders in the organization, including those served, by reducing the frequency of mismatches between tasks and those performing the tasks. It also provides a framework for good task and responsibility hand-offs should circumstances necessitate. 2. COMMIT TO TRANSPARENCY Agree and continually commit to transparency, candor and clear communication. An often-overlooked component of any organization is the interpersonal communication between all involved. Communication can be the difference in success and failure for any individual, project or organization, whether non-profit or for profit. Enthusiasm for the new organization and the anticipation of the benefit that will be received by those served and society at large, seems to cloud this integral element. Being able to clearly communicate, while knowing the strengths and weaknesses of those communicating, may not always be comfortable, but it will always be best. It will promote the success of the organization by promoting the success of every individual involved as well as every organizational endeavor. 3. IDENTIFY THE CULTURE AND STRUCTURE Determine the desired culture for your organization, identify and document the indicators for successful establishment of this culture as well as the accountability structure for all organizational leadership. As Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Regardless of the need for the products or services of your organization, regardless of the accuracy of your strategy, clarity of your vision and perfection in your execution of all of these, if the organization’s culture does not promote the success of all of these in conjunction with the successful delivery of the products or services, the organization will fail and it’s mission will be slowed. The biggest challenge in this endeavor is for leadership to notice the disconnection as the failure of the organization may not be immediate or quick. 4. CREATE THE NON-PROFIT Properly Create the Organization based upon guidelines and rules from your State and the Federal Government. Follow the guidelines and rules for organizing and incorporating your non-profit as provided by your State government and the Federal Government. This includes filing and paying the appropriate fees for becoming an incorporated entity in your state as well as the fees that are paid to the Federal Government to receive the tax status of a 501(c)X organization. Additional fees may apply if you also wish to obtain the tax-exempt status, which can assist in conserving much needed cash flow, depending upon what your non-profit organization is doing and how it is doing it. All these costs should be identified and budgeted as the effort to create your organization is initiated. 5. DEFINE THE IDENTITY Create a complete organizational identity before initiating the organizational creation. Our society needs a great deal of support and individual experiences can highlight a specific need. Use the creation of the organization including the vision and mission statements, establishment of the desired organizational culture and the product or service delivery method for your organization to contemplate the societal and service questions this organization is going to attempt to answer. This should promote a distinct identity for the organization as well as spotlight the individuals and circumstances your organization is intended to support. You should also answer the questions about how support and services will be delivered and the role of each organizational participant. Whether volunteer or compensated staff, everyone should understand the methods for delivering the support, including the time between service request and service or product delivered and the time for each step in the process. A byproduct of this exercise should be a clear understanding of the services and circumstances that you are not equipped to support. This clear picture should be communicated to everyone who encounters your organization, regardless of the contact method. 6. ESTABLISH A FRAMEWORK Establish a framework for determining your organization’s fit for opportunities that will be presented. Using the identity created in item 5 above, establish the framework for identifying the characteristics of circumstances and individuals your organization will target to support. Particularly at the start of a new effort, enthusiasm runs high and many well-intended people will make suggestions for projects or recommendations of individuals needing support. Knowing the purpose, plans, resources and mission of your organization will make it easier to communicate the reasons support is extended or the reasons why your organization is not best suited to provide the requested support. This clear framework permits the focus of time, effort and resources on the purpose for which the organization was created. 7. EDUCATE YOUR TEAM Learn as much about the social services and other non-profit organizations in your area that serve the same individuals you do. Your organization will never be able to meet all the needs of every individual who receives services from it. You will not even be able to meet a single need for everyone who would approach you for that service or product. See Matthew 26:11. Truly impacting another human being positively requires you to understand their world from their perspective. To use this understanding to support, challenge and encourage them while they learn the fallacies of that perspective and to remain with them until they have incorporated the new, more honest perspective into their habits, thoughts and identity. Knowing who can also provide needed support and being prepared to work with other organizations and individuals will equip you to walk beside those you serve until they have grown beyond the need for your service.) Within this framework I would encourage each participant to evaluate their own expectations. If those participating with your organization are expecting to positively impact the lives of others, they must first expect that their own lives will be changed. God has designed care and support to be given to those in need, but He did not design it to be given by those who are already perfect or by those who can’t sympathize. In order to hurt with or sympathize with someone, you must share their pain. This can be done via already having a similar experience or by the God given gift of being able to hurt with someone else who hurts. See Matthew 5:4. The best preparation any service organization can make is for each individual to remove their ego from the equation, be prepared to positively touch everyone with whom they come into contact and be ready for God to change their own hearts, understandings, perspectives and ideas about God, about themselves and about others. To quote Father Greg Boyle from Homeboy Industries, “There is no ‘them’ and ‘us’. There is only us.” Take this understanding. Apply these tips. Move forward in the development of your non-profit organizations. Clearly identify your purpose, mission, values, organizational structure and culture, service or product delivery methods and those you are equipped to serve. Challenge yourselves daily to evaluate actions and attitudes for bias, pride or misinformation. Step forward as opportunity permits. Remember, God did not part the Jordan for Joshua and the Israelites, until the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant had their feet in the river and the river was out of its banks! Walk carefully. Listen to many ideas and opinions. Evaluate every one of them. Keep your mission and those you serve in mind and get ready for a real adventure. I look forward to hearing the stories of changed lives, maturing people and redeemed circumstances. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jim Crawford has more than 35 years of experience innovatively applying information technology to organizational challenges and to helping staff incorporate these innovations into daily operations that continually improve effectiveness and efficiency. His experience pre-dates the advent of the personal computer and encompasses each technological enhancement since. From designing computer networks and communications, leading a software company and creating management dashboards to being a SAMHSA/HRSA educator, leading a health information exchange, incorporating Lean and Six Sigma concepts into various healthcare settings with electronic health records and building data warehouses or data lakes, Jim’s goal has remained the same, discover and initiate the use of technology to improve the quality of life for as many people as possible. In all industries, this requires the building of teams, representing all roles within the organization that impact the customer experience, for the purpose of candidly reviewing processes, tools and skills so that all efforts can be coordinated to reach the goal of delivering care efficiently and cost effectively while capturing the data needed to demonstrate these traits and also to evaluate ways to continually improve.

Having recently cleaned my desk knowing that I still needed to go through the drawer to truly finish the job. Planning on taking care of this task a little later I was curious what that next task was going to look like renovating the junk drawer into an organizing station. Opening up my desk drawer that I honestly haven't looked inside of it in I don't know how long. I find what appears to be trash, however as I grabbed this old napkin to throw away, I noticed there was my handwriting on the other side. So I flip it over, unwrinkle it and began to read what I had written on it and instantly was astonished at what I was looking at. At the top of the napkin it read (obviously intended to be the header as it was underlined), “Higher Level of Excellence” then it pointed to a small run off thought, “Start with what you can”. The rest that was on it was obviously goals that I had at the time, and it was so important to me to write down my vision for myself. That I didn't wait to find a notepad but used whatever was available to me at the time, which obviously was a napkin that I most likely got from the break room of my job that I had before I quit and started up my own business in 2015. There was a small list on this napkin depicting and declaring what my future would look like. Take time to take care of yourself (When you look nice you feel good. Your representing God and People are watching) Clean house Keep yard clean Go to work earlier (don't show up late) Go the extra mile to do what's right, to honor God. What is so amazing about this little list that I made and tucked away years prior to me finding it this morning. Is that This is almost a complete mirror to my life right now. Now I'm not trying to say that I have it all together, because trust me I've got a lot of areas in my life to grow in. And anybody that has been to my house recently knows that I still am needing to work on that whole keeping the yard looking nice part... Also, normally I wouldn't have shared any of this with you however it was so encouraging to me and I simply want to inspire you as well. It was very encouraging to see this planned vision I had for myself and could actually see that It had and is coming to pass in my life right now. It just reaffirmed to me the importance of writing down a vision and goals and even going some steps ahead and making out a plan for them. In Habakkuk 2:2 it says, “And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”” This is so important in every area of our lives, you see the bible tells us that without a vision the people perish ( Prov. 29:18 ). If we want to accomplish new goals and reach higher heights we must have a vision to get there. However, In the process of the pursuit to better our lives, sometimes it's easier to procrastinate and then unfortunately we end up abandoning the plan when the going gets tough. But I want to encourage you that in 2 Thessalonians 3:13 the bible tells us to not grow weary in doing good. As we practice the small disciplines in our daily lives and aim towards new goals in life. We are showing God that we are ready for more growth and as we privately show him that we can be faithful in these small daily tasks. It positions us for blessings and breakthroughs in areas that once used to seem so overwhelming. I'm not trying to say you must accomplish all of your goals to become successful. I'm just simply trying to say that without a plan and vision, it will never happen. However, If you write the vision down, your next step is just simply start with what you can and trust God in the rest. And maybe the next time you look over your vision plan, you will be reading the dream that are now living.

Those closest to me know that for a while I’ve been working on a strategy that works for me to basically get my life in order and organized. I want to pause here and just say this is not a trend or a new years resolution type of thing. Not that I’m against either of those, I have simply just been in pursuit of a lifestyle change. When I was a young child in school I remember one day at a parent teacher meeting one of my teachers made a comment to my mother that stuck with me all my life. My teacher told my mom, “Mrs. Mitchell, I’ve observed that your daughter is the type of person that as soon as something inside clicks, she’s got it and she will run with it. However I’ve also observed her greatest weakness which is lack of organization and if she can find a way to overcome it she will be set for life!” I can honestly say that my whole life I have struggled with being organized. I’ve tried technique after technique and for some reason I would always end up with the same result and in the same place looking for a new trend, tip, process or new solution to this same old problem. "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:17 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." - Colossians 3:24 Well, sometimes it takes a long time to learn a simple lesson but once the lesson is learned it makes the struggle worth it. I can boldly declare to the world that I’ve found my solution! Thanks to God’s patience with me and His grace I believe I’ve finally learned my lesson in this area that has truly been a life long struggle. And I can boil it all down to one simple statement. The change must start with you. I’ve been following this amazing leader every time she comes out with a new book, Terri Savelle Foy . I’ve been putting lessons together that I’ve learned along the way and apply them to what some of her teachings are and it has truly changed my life for the better. God has been teaching me through this season in my life to look inwardly. Instead of looking at the problem as the problem flip it around to take a moment to stop and self reflect. If its out of order how did it get that way. Your stuff didn’t get unorganized on it’s own, and stop leaning on the crutch of “oh that’s just how it is with creatives... It’s their burden to carry...” No No No! I can be the first to fully express the realness of the initial difficulty in this new lifestyle of orderliness. But I can also testify that these new simple disciplines I’ve adopted into my personal life and business has helped me to become a better person, wife, business owner and simply happier. Now I’m sure I could go on about all of the little details but to be honest for me, all of the little details came rushing in like a massive flood of the domino effect. One major domino that changed my life to make all of the little dominoes follow along with it, is simply this. And what I’m about to tell you is so simple and yet so profound that some of you might mock and walk away thinking no there must be more than this. But I’m writing this for those of you that are looking for a sense of hope in whatever area in your life that might be overwhelming or even seem chaotic at times. Maybe your struggling with something in your personal life, business, workplace, office, shop floor or process. Whatever it maybe, I’m so glad your still with me and stuck it out this far. It truly shows me that you already have the discipline it takes to overcome. And here is the nugget of gold to be treasured that I have for you. It all boils down to being a good steward over yourself. Now, I know I’ve lost some of you here but, stay with me a bit. It truly is this simple. I challenge you to spend a day watching yourself. I mean study yourself. What are you doing all day. How are you spending your hours in your day? In what areas of your life can you add hours of productivity to your schedule to help you become more successful in your endeavors. What things get on your nerves and bother you that happen frequently. I can tell you that one thing that bothered me personally, I know you might laugh at this... But here it goes. I hated filling up the water in my Keurig machine early in the mornings. And yet I had to do it everyday, and everyday I dreaded the early Keurig water run. I know this sounds silly. But It was a real frustration with me. Well I watched and evaluated myself, and thought how can I eliminate this frustration out of my life so that I’m not “bothered” with this so frequent inevitable “dread” to my morning routine. The answer is so simple, I now refill it before I go to bed. Now I can wake up and instantly get my coffee without that horrible delay in my morning delight. If you can just think about this a little and allow it to inspire you to find your answer that might be staring right at you in the mirror. This life style change of looking inwardly first when seeking change will truly change your life for the better. As you start to practice this principle and discipline in every area of your life I believe that you will start to accomplish things in your life quicker than you ever expected. You will be happier with yourself and your life. And for everything else that is out of your hands rest in knowing that if you keep God involved with every area in your life and show him that you will be a good steward over what He has already blessed you with I believe you will find that He will begin to expand your blessings in your life. In short the life lesson I’ve learned can be found in the book of Luke 16:10 ; “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.”

Over the years I've meet many people that are inspired and have a vision for a new product or business. Maybe they've experienced some problem of some sort and have come up with a great solution. For some people the business idea was birthed from some sort of an initial negative experience that pushed them into a positive solution. This is always a great thing being able to take something negative and find the positive, unfortunately not everybody chooses this route. Usually with what I've experienced and seen, is that often when the pressure is on right in-between the process of going from the negative situation into the positive solution we are faced with a decision to make, a fork in the road so to speak. Do we take this uncharted land of positive possibilities where some risks are involved or do go with the negative comfortable routine that is “safe” so to speak. Yesterday I was listening to the bible app on Alexa read me the story of Ruth while I was getting ready for my morning. After doing so I had this impression inside encouraging me with a new found hope. You see in the story of Ruth she was on a journey. Her husband had died her land was in famine and she was not even seeking God at the time. But, God had a plan for her life and she didn't even know it. She was faced with what appeared to be her defeat. It had appeared that all was lost. But God lead her to go into a new land with her mother-in-law Naomi. They were broke and on the verge of starving in a foreign land practically helpless. They had left that peak of their negative situation and into the uncharted land of positive possibilities so to speak... A man named Boaz took notice of Ruth and took care of her and Naomi. He became to her a redeemer of sorts. Ruth and Boaz fell in love and got married, later had children and was blessed with a new family. But the story doesn't stop here! But I do want to pause it here, you see when God does something for us He does it in the greatest way, because His ways are perfect and simply because He is good... You see if you fast forward in time down that family line you will find out that a much bigger part of God's plan for Ruth's redemption and turnaround for good was that she became the grandmother of King David , which made her an important part of the story of the lineage of Jesus Christ the world's redeemer. I mean you can't get any better than that! One of the reason's this story stood out to me so much yesterday is because it made me think if He had such a great plan for her life before she even came to know or seek Him. How much more so will God direct our steps in our journey if we seek Him and commit our work into His hands. My encouragement to you is to trust God today. If you are on the verge of starting up your own business, product, ministry, community, whatever it is, seek Him and keep Him involved. He will carry you into His plan for your life and it will be much better than you trying to do it all yourself. I know this is January and it's the month that the world sets new resolutions, goals, dreams, disciplines, habits, whatever it might be that your working towards don't quit and don't give up when the pressure is turned up. Roll up those sleeves and get committed to whatever it is that your striving towards. If you F.A.I.L. then remember that it was just indeed your “First Attempt In Learning”. And who knows your Boaz might be just around the corner.