Working from home....well sort of

Today, James my manager asked me to stay home and work on some excel spreadsheets as well as work on some more contracts. There are a ton of those. But the better variety I have the more I will be able to keep clients happy. So while sitting at home today, I decided to go across the street and talk to Robins' employer again because they had expressed some interest in getting some health insurance. So they asked me to come back after the lunch rush. So I went back at like 3 and gave my first presentation, man was I nervous. I have done many, many presentations, but this was my "first" with the new products. Well it turns out that I can save them $350 a month plus I added some benefits that they do not currently have with their current carrier. Then to top it off in casual conversation after they said they wanted to go with it, they said that they would be happy to give me referals of other small business owners that they know. A pretty productive day considering I worked from "home". I also got alot accomplished in the excel sreadsheet, James was very pleased with its progress. Not doing too bad with Excel considering I have had no formal training with it and I have taught myself via trial and error.

Almost There!

Thursday I went down to Cincinnati with Diana for work and go do some training with James. He had his cousin there to train him as well and he had another young lady there he is trying to get to become his agent. So he was teaching us how to figure out our income potential, and how to draw it up on paper so we could see it on a regular basis. The income potential is beyond anything I have ever imagined. I could more than quadruple my best income ever in my first year if I just apply myself. Well after the money lesson, we started practicing our presentations. I had not done this in front of anyone yet so I was very nervous and I had only seen like 15-20 presentations. After I got done James rated me out of 0-10, 10 being the best and I got 8's on everything but the deductible part which to me is the most important part of the presentation. Anyways 8 out of 10 is not that bad for an average....I would loved to have had a B average in my junior and senior years of high school. Well I should only have a few more days of training because I have to learn some more about the products and to perform the presentation in front of an actual client for James. That will be fun! Nerves will be shot there. Anyways my confidence is starting to come back and my desire is through the roof, I see what James is doing and it's so easy a chimpanzee can do it and he is on pace to make over $250,000 this year. That is after his living/business expenses. INSANE. Imagine how much we could give towards serving God with that kind of income. I love serving God and being able to bless Him back will be a huge reward. I hate to see that I have friends who are struggling and family too, and I am helpless as to be able to help them financially and I will be ecstatic if God allows me to earn that kind of income to use for His glory!

Things are slowly but surely progressing along!

Today I stayed home, spent a little bit of time with my mother and got a few business things situated and in order. Starting a business is very time consuming and very, very costly. I have spent money to get this started that we have not really had. Thank God, He has made a way. Well here is a preview of my first set of business cards and the logo will soon be updated per Kaitlyn Brock, I have asked her to add some color and maybe even alter the design some for me! She said she would she what she could do. Jared Taylor is heading up my webpage for me and setting up some email servers for me as well. Without further ado

One Tree Hill

I know some of you ladies, uh hum and gentlemen are huge One Tree Hill fans and in light of our recent terrorist attacks (aka the wind) most of us were unable to watch the latest episode. here is a link that you can watch the show from and my suggestion is to watch on of the MEGAVIDEO ones because they usually load the fastest and have the best quality, enjoy ladies.....oh and gents.

http://www.free-tv-video-online.info/internet/one_tree_hill/season_6.html

Finally!!

We finally have electric back! Our electric went out at around 3pm Sunday afternoon and just came back on Tuesday at 10pm. I know I sure wouldn't have made it very far on a wagon trail in the late 1800's. Or as a new frontiersman. I was going crazy! Although I think I have read more in the last 2 days than in the last 2 years! I am reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", "Running with the Giants of the Old Testament"(John Maxwell, and truly inspiring) and "Your Best Life Now" (Joel Osteen). The problem is I am really enjoying all three books and its hard to decide which one I want to finish more! So I just take my time, and grab one on instinct alone, but all three speak to me in different ways. Rich Dad=Financial, and Mental encouragement. Running=A new view on what Heroes of the Bible would say to us if they could help us run our race, and Best Life=reinventing who we are on earth in Christ and how to defeat that horrible self image most of us have of ourselves

I'm a little tired!

This week has been my first full/half week of training. I started on Wed. Trained from 830am until 9pm my first full day, then the next day I trained from 900am until about 5pm, and thank God today was a little shorter, although it seemed like a long time because I had to sit at Diana's work until 530pm anyways waiting for her to get done working. Training has been nothing short of phenomenal. James has been very thorough and gracious in his training, today we went with his boss (another Dave) and he treated us all to lunch. I am supposed to be out in the field on my own in no more than 2 more weeks, providing I learn ALL the products I have to learn.

I must say one of the things that I love about this system that I will be using is that is not a push-hard type of sale. I have been with James to 9 appointments, 5 of them were sales and not one single time did he have to hard-close these people, he made 4,800 dollars in literally 4 days and the 4 that he didn't "close" this week all have appointments for James to come back out next week and pick up their "signed" applications too. Oh, and the $4,800 was what he collected from his appointments this week, that is not including the $2,000 in applications he picked up from the week before. It is incredible. He is just so nonchalant about it, i have seen it and can hardly still believe it. I mean, I know I can do exactly what James is doing and maybe even some more stuff. He has a low week because he was training other agents and that took away from his appointment setting. We get 30 leads a week and I am going to do everything I can to set 25+ of them a week, I can sell 50% of them and the average sale I will earn about $800-$1,000. I cannot wait to get out in the field. Well I better get back to studying so that I will be able to in two weeks!

Knowshon "The Show" Moreno

Here is a clip I thought Jared might like....maybe just a little bit. I gotta admit that this has got to be one of the sickest moves I have every seen on a football field. He actually hurdles the Safety and makes him look very, very stupid!

Losing a loved one!

Losing a loved one is never easy, it sometimes can be really difficult for people who do not know how to handle grief. I do personally cannot stand going to funerals, my first funeral I attended was my Grandfather Smith's when I was 5, my next was my Father's at age 17, since then I have been to a couple of visitations, but no funerals. I would have went to my Grandma Smith's had I known that she had passed away, I found out 3 months after it had happened.

As many of you know my Aunt Betty had been battling cancer for the last 9 months and my Mom had put her life on hold to go and help her fight through this not only physically but spiritually as well. My Mom and my Aunt Betty were as close as two sisters could be. They look alot alike, act very much the same, and have always been there for each other and for my Mom to be there until the very end with Betty, certainly had to be a struggle for her.

Betty had fought over the last couple of weeks hanging on with everything she had, and there is no doubt in my mind that because of her hanging on, someone in that hospital has been blessed by either Betty's strength, my family's faith, my cousin Heather's church's unity in helping out, or any number of things that have transpired because of Betty being in the hospital and the belief that everyone there shared.

As for me, I am glad that the last time I saw her she was in good spirits. I like to remember the good in people and remember them for the impact that they have had on my life. My Mom told me some time ago that her and Betty prayed together every week that I would stop living for the world and start living and serving our God Almighty. Her prayer has been answered and I could not be any happier than I am today because of the faith they believed on my behalf.

Some of the best times in my life happened at Betty and Jody's house and I know I owe them sincere gratitude for all of the times they have looked out for me and some of the greatest hospitality that you could ever find any where. They were and amazing couple.

My Aunt Betty will be greatly missed, I wish I could have told her one last time how much she had meant to me and told her that I loved her and what a wonderful blessing she had been to me and my family!

Direction and Storehouses

God has really been speaking to me alot about the direction I am heading and the direction He wants me to go to in the future, I'll be the first to admit that up until we started going to Center Pointe, alot of what Ray preached about yesterday echoed in my head. Constant doubts of where I was headed, what I was here for, if I was in the relationship God had intended me to be in, if His word was 100% completely true, and if He was truly here for me in every way. Like most people I knew at times, but I wasn't sure 100% of the time. I mean there have been great glimpses of GLORIOUS things that have happened in my life over the last five years especially, but there was still a little gray area that I was unsure of.

I do not know how the rest of you feel that are reading this and attend Center Pointe, but I know that God is real and He is working in so many ways. My favorite way is through Ray, every message that Ray delivers is from God....without a doubt in my mind Ray is so much like David (you know David writer of Psalms and King of Israel, not to mention that he killed one of the biggest men on the planet, Goliath) Ray is a man after God's own heart, he diligently seeks God to prepare his messages and allows God's word to flow through Him. Ray's messages every single week that we have been at Center Pointe (since the 1st week of April we have missed 2 Sundays) show how God is moving, at least to me. These messages just affirm things/battles that are and have been going on in my own life. Satan has been attacking and by me enabling him, has been winning at times, but with sermons that hit home every Sunday he is not winning any longer. I know that Ray's sermons have been ministering to others as well.

As most of you know, I have sparingly been working over the last couple of months and even when I was working "full time" we were still struggling because most of my income was going to child support and gas to drive to and from work. God has been speaking to me directing me as I read my bible to verses that have been about storehouses and work ethics. I believe that this is to prepare me for what lies ahead with my new career field, God wants me to be able to save so that I in the future will not have to worry about us, or our dear and close friends that struggle. Diana's dad has had some rough times. My mom has had some rough times, and I see that Danny and Sarah are struggling some, I know what Diana and I have been through and are going through and it pains me to see us and others go through these times of trials. I don't know where we would be if Diana wasn't as dedicated of a person as she is, she is very dedicated to God, her family, and her work (sometimes that is a bad thing). Please keep her in your prayers, as she is still carrying us through this time and being completely stressed out. I appreciate her so much and she means more to me than she will ever know.

Oh and BTW, I am finally starting my official training tomorrow, and very, very excited about it!

Volunteer Appreciation

Well lets start this off with some funny jokes! Jared and Christine were not there tonight and I think it had something to do with Jared being a Georgia Bulldog fan, he was probably mistaken when he heard "VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION NIGHT", he must've thought Tennessee was coming to town.

Okay on a more serious note. Tonight was awesome as usual at Center Pointe. It truly is a blessing for us to get to serve with all of these truly gifted and unique individuals. God is doing some wonderful things in this small group of people and we are happy to be a part of it.

The sanctuary was set up into what looked like a fancy resturant with all of the tables neatly set and candles lit on between every seat. The food was exceptional for being a carry in dinner from a rib place....hmmmmm, I love BBQ. It really was alot of fun and it is good to see that a church loves to give back. I love the certificates and the funny gifts and the picking Ray did on me, all in good fun.....I joked with Missy that Ray must read all of Diana's blogs thoroughly because she said something about my affection for candles some time back. He kept joking about it lol, and I really do have this weird obsession with candles. In fact I think I have picked out every candle in our house.

The Father of my first teenager?

My son Austin, turns 13 today, Wow that is truly hard to believe. He is growing up so fast and has become quite the young man. I love his spirit of worship for God (he gets that from his grandma Smith and I). He reminds me so much of myself sometimes and that scares the crap out of me! I honestly think that what scares me the most is the fact that in 2 and 1/2 years he will be driving.....YIKES. Most of all I am very proud of him for the young man that he is and for the love he has for God through all of the hard times that I have put him through and that his Mother has put him through, I know that when he is an adult he will look back on these experiences and know that God has something better for him in store. One more thing about Austin's bday that is special not only to me but to him as well, He shares his bday with my "little brother" Jake Kirk (so happy bday Jakey). I love you Austin.

New Verse of the day!

Psalm 77:14

You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

For those of you who have been praying whole heartedly for my Aunt Betty thank you very, very much. Please continue you to pray for her for a healing miracle from God, and for her family. A couple of my cousins are not taking this in a good way and are looking for anyone they can to blame for it, especially God! My Cousin Brent and I have always been like brothers and he is blaming God and my Mom for the fact that his Mom is not healed yet. Just please keep him and everyone close to this situation in your prayers. It has really just been another way that Satan has been attacking me lately, and man has he been coming from all fronts. Thanks, Scott Smith

A little football humor!

Due to the upcoming football season tomorrow, I thought a little humor was in order. If you haven't seen this side of Peyton Manning be prepared to laugh and fall on the floor and spew soda pop from your nose! This is a skit from a couple of years ago on Saturday Night Live!

Yet another rough day! Let's restart VOD!

After a not so good day today, I went into my bedroom and sought out the Lord for some direction. I asked Him to show me how to deal with a situation laid out before me and low and behold 5 minutes later He showed me this verse and it spoke to me in such a huge way!

Romans 16:17-20 (New International Version)

17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

The Ultimate Encourager!

A few years ago, I was struggling with my "path". My mother had advised me to read Proverbs once a day because there are 31 of them and she challenged me to apply the concepts I read into my daily life. I had not been doing that for over a year and then a couple of weeks ago, Paul Peterson was at church and mentioned that we should read 1 Proverb a day and 5 Psalms, I confess I have been faithful in reading the Proverbs but not the Psalms. Last night I came home and needed a little extra "God" encouragement, I had kind of been hard on my wife the last few days, even though she is the most spectacular, faithful, extraordinary woman I have ever met. Wether I have told her or not she had exceeded ever expectation as a wife that I could have ever asked for and I know that her strength in putting up with me has got to come from God. So Last night we get home and I start to read Proverbs 31 from "The Message" and it was like I was supposed to read it and of course I really was supposed to read it. It really spoke to me about my wife and I went in to apologize to her, but she was still a little upset with me so I had to wait until this morning!

But if you need encouragement and you are not reading your Bibles on a daily basis, I offer this advice, get plugged in to a Small Group, hang out with friends from church, get as close to people who love God with all of their heart and be blessed by them as much as possible, let their light shine through to you, it will encourage you.