You’ve sent a thousand copies of your resumé for the past months and finally it has paid off. You’ve been hired for a kick-ass job, and you’re dying to show everyone just how amazing you are at work. Well, there’s only one way to do it and that is to do it. Sure, you have your high grades, but when it comes to the office, your transcript is the least of the requirements. Learn the basics and be the next employee of the month!
1. Know your job description. What were you hired for? What are the tasks and responsibilities given to you by the person who hired you? What does your boss expect from you? Know the answers to these simple questions and you will grasp the full essence of your job. Some people are unable to do their jobs very well because they don’t really know what they’re doing. If you are hired as a sales person then it means you are expected to be highly capable in selling your products. If you are hired as a customer service representative then it means you should be able to assist your clients satisfactorily. Knowing your basic responsibilities will help you achieve your goals in your job.
2. Be professional. You always hear it, and everyone in the office says it. But what does it really mean? It simply means you have to do your job…regardless! Sometimes your work can be too exhausting, sometimes scenes in the office can be emotional like when your boss shouts at you, and sometimes days can just be traumatic for some reason. But whatever happens, the most important thing is to remember that other thing you always hear from other people: Nothing personal.
3. Be optimistic. The office is not the place to be all shy and unsure of oneself. Be confident and help your team perform to its full potential by being supportive and optimistic. Determine your targets and work hard to achieve them instead of complaining that there’s just so much to do. Your pessimism might affect your team’s over-all effectiveness.
4. Be Miss/Mister Congeniality. Try to be a generally happy person. A more cheerful mood will make you more approachable so your officemates will come to you without hesitation. You will be more likable if you are always in good spirits. People will want to be around you and you can get along with everyone.
On top of it all, the most important thing to remember is always learn from your mistakes. Even the most efficient worker has made mistakes in the past; but what’s important is never to repeat the same mistake twice.
Shelly's World
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Top 5 Tips to Retain Good Employees
Valued employees leave the company for many reasons. They may leave the job because of higher pay else where but more often than not the push factors within the company compel them to leave for greener pasture. They are no longer happy to work in the same company. Here are some of the reasons:
• Lack of appreciation for excellent performance: Top performers, like any other staff, need a pat on their shoulders from time to time to keep them motivated.
• Insufficient meaningful and challenging work: The work may not be as varied and interesting as expected. Moreover there isn't enough work and responsibility to keep them meaningfully occupied.
• Little autonomy: Every now and then they have to refer to you to get a job done. It frustrates and demoralizes them to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
• Limited career advancement: Positions at the top are limited or virtually nonexistent.
• Poor communication: Top performers are result oriented. They want to know the visions and goals of the company. They may leave when the future outlook of the company is blur.
Her are the top tips to retain valued people:
1. Create opportunities for them to excel and develop.
2. Appreciate and reward more of top performers.
3. Allow good people to make their own decisions and encourage them to take on more initiative.
4. Create rooms at the top for top performers.
5. Open up more communication channels.
It is a good practice to do exit interview. When someone leaves the company there is always a reason. Find out why.
• Lack of appreciation for excellent performance: Top performers, like any other staff, need a pat on their shoulders from time to time to keep them motivated.
• Insufficient meaningful and challenging work: The work may not be as varied and interesting as expected. Moreover there isn't enough work and responsibility to keep them meaningfully occupied.
• Little autonomy: Every now and then they have to refer to you to get a job done. It frustrates and demoralizes them to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
• Limited career advancement: Positions at the top are limited or virtually nonexistent.
• Poor communication: Top performers are result oriented. They want to know the visions and goals of the company. They may leave when the future outlook of the company is blur.
Her are the top tips to retain valued people:
1. Create opportunities for them to excel and develop.
2. Appreciate and reward more of top performers.
3. Allow good people to make their own decisions and encourage them to take on more initiative.
4. Create rooms at the top for top performers.
5. Open up more communication channels.
It is a good practice to do exit interview. When someone leaves the company there is always a reason. Find out why.
Friday, February 12, 2010
10 tips to improve the way you speak English
i. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak
English well and try to imitate them.
When you are watching television, observe the mouth
movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are
saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of
their speech.
ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm
of English, slow your speech down.
If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong
intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a
hard time understanding you.
Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with
your slow speech -- it is more important that
everything you say be understood.
iii. Listen to the 'music' of English.
Do not use the 'music' of your native language when
you speak English. Each language has its own way of
'singing'.
iv. Use the dictionary.
Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols
of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation
of words that are hard for you to say.
v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find
difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the
language well to pronounce them for you.
Record these words, listen to them and practice saying
them. Listen and read at the same time.
vi. Buy books on tape.
Record yourself reading some sections of the book.
Compare the sound of your English with that of the
person reading the book on the tape.
vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.
Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This
will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you
use when you speak English.
viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every
day.
Research has shown it takes about three months of
daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for
speaking a new language.
ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation
mistakes.
Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and
avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is
a very important exercise because doing it will help
you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.
x. Be patient.
You can change the way you speak but it won't happen
overnight. People often expect instant results and
give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if
you are willing to put some effort into it.
English well and try to imitate them.
When you are watching television, observe the mouth
movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are
saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of
their speech.
ii. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm
of English, slow your speech down.
If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong
intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a
hard time understanding you.
Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with
your slow speech -- it is more important that
everything you say be understood.
iii. Listen to the 'music' of English.
Do not use the 'music' of your native language when
you speak English. Each language has its own way of
'singing'.
iv. Use the dictionary.
Try and familiarise yourself with the phonetic symbols
of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation
of words that are hard for you to say.
v. Make a list of frequently used words that you find
difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the
language well to pronounce them for you.
Record these words, listen to them and practice saying
them. Listen and read at the same time.
vi. Buy books on tape.
Record yourself reading some sections of the book.
Compare the sound of your English with that of the
person reading the book on the tape.
vii. Pronounce the ending of each word.
Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This
will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you
use when you speak English.
viii. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every
day.
Research has shown it takes about three months of
daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for
speaking a new language.
ix. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation
mistakes.
Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and
avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is
a very important exercise because doing it will help
you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.
x. Be patient.
You can change the way you speak but it won't happen
overnight. People often expect instant results and
give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if
you are willing to put some effort into it.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Fast Facts on the Bible
The Bible Is Our Standard
1. How many books are in the Bible?
The Bible contains 66 books, divided among the Old and New Testaments.
2. How many books are in the Old Testament?
There are 39 books in the Old Testament.
3. How many books are in the New Testament?
There are 27 books in the New Testament.
4. What does "testament" mean?
Testament means "covenant" or "contract."
5. Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by over 40 different authors from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings. Despite these differences in occupation and the span of years it took to write it, the Bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book.
6. Which single author contributed the most books to the Old Testament?
Moses. He wrote the first five books of the Bible, referred to as the Pentateuch; the foundation of the Bible.
7. Which single author contributed the most books to the New Testament?
The Apostle Paul, who wrote 14 books (over half) of the New Testament.
8. When was the Bible written?
It was written over a period of some 1,500 years, from around 1450 B.C. (the time of Moses) to about 100 A.D. (following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ).
9. What is the oldest book in the Old Testament?
Many scholars agree that Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written by an unknown Israelite about 1500 B.C. Others hold that the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) are the oldest books in the Bible, written between 1446 and 1406 B.C.
10. What is the youngest book in the Old Testament?
The book of Malachi, written about 400 B.C.
11. What is the oldest book of the New Testament?
Probably the book of James, written as early as A.D. 45.
12. What is the youngest book in the New Testament?
The Book of Revelation is the youngest book of the New Testament, written about 95 A.D.
13. What languages was the Bible written in?
The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.
14. When was the Bible canonized?
The entire New Testament as we know it today, was canonized before the year 375 A.D. The Old Testament had previously been canonized long before the advent of Christ.
15. What does "canon" mean?
"Canon" is derived front the Greek word "Kanon," signifying a measuring rod. Thus, to have the Bible "canonized" meant that it had been measured by the standard or test of divine inspiration and authority. It became the collection of books or writings accepted by the apostles and leadership of the early Christian church as a basis for Christian belief. It is the standard by which all Christians throughout the ages live and worship.
16. When was the first translation of the Bible made into English?
1382 A.D., by John Wycliffe.
17. When was the Bible printed?
The Bible was printed in 1454 A.D. by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the "type mold" for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed.
18. What is the oldest almost-complete manuscript of the Bible now in existence?
The Codex Vaticanus, which dates from the first half of the fourth Century. It is located in the library of the Vatican in Rome. There are older fragments of the Bible that are still preserved however-- the oldest being a tiny scrap of the Gospel of John was found in Egypt, dating back to the beginning of the second century. (It is currently in the Rayland's Library in Manchester, England).
19. What is the longest book in the Bible?
The book of Psalms.
20. What is the shortest book in the Bible?
2 John.
21. What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 119
22. What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
Psalm 117
23. What is the longest verse in the Bible?
Esther 8:9
24. What is the shortest verse in the Bible?
John 11:35
25. Which book in the Bible does not mention the word "God?"
The book of Esther.
26. Who was the oldest man that ever lived?
Methuselah who lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27).
27. Who were the two men in the Bible who never died but were caught up to heaven?
Enoch, who walked with God and was no more (Genesis 5:22-24). Elijah, who was caught up by a whirlwind into heaven (II Kings 2:11).
28. Who does the Bible say was the meekest man in the Bible (not including Jesus)?
Moses (Numbers 12:3).
29. How many languages has the Bible been translated into?
The Holy Bible has been translated into 2,018 languages, with countless more partial translations, and audio translations (for unwritten languages). (This is an enormous amount of translations. In comparison, Shakespeare, considered by many to be the master writer of the English language, has only been translated into 50 languages.)
30. Is the Bible still the best-selling book in the world?
Yes, indeed!
History of the Authority and Infallibility of the Bible
The Bible Is Our Standard
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16,17
The Holy Bible was written by more than 40 human authors inspired by the Holy Spirit over a period of about 14 to 18 centuries. According to the above scripture all of the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The word "inspired" in Greek is theopneustos, which means "God-breathed." The Apostle Peter wrote that holy men composed the books of the Bible as they were "moved" by the Holy Spirit. Also the Apostle Paul wrote to his student Timothy that all Scripture was given by inspiration of God. The authors of the Bible wrote spontaneously using their own minds and experiences while influenced and directed by God.
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:20,21).
The Two Parts of the Bible
The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament with 39 books and the New Testament with 27 books. It was written in two different time periods. The New Testament was written over a period of about 60 years, following the death and resurrection of Christ. The Old Testament was written from the time of Moses up to about four hundred years before Jesus was born, when the "book" (scroll) of Malachi was written. Malachi was the last book to be written in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament was written in the original Hebrew language, with some chapters in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek with a few additional phrases from Aramaic, the commonly spoken Judean language of the day.
The word "testament" is the King James-era English word for "covenant," or today what we might call a "contract." Therefore, the books of the Bible are divided according to the two blood covenants God has made with mankind. The Old Covenant was made between Abraham and God (Genesis 15) and covered Abraham's descendants through Isaac and Jacob, the natural race of Israel. The New Covenant was made with Jesus as both parties, God and man; the sacrifice; and the mediator. A mediator is someone like an attorney who works out the clauses to a contract with both parties.
The new covenant covers members of all races who will accept Jesus as Savior and Lord by faith. The new covenant fulfilled the promise of the old (Hebrews 8:6) and, ratified by the blood of Jesus, extended God's plan for reconciling man to Himself to cover all races, nations, and cultures (Galatians 3:28,29).
"Testament" or "covenant" also can mean what we today call a will--a last will and testament. So in that sense, the new covenant is the spiritual way in which Jesus left (willed) all of the blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:14) to those who become born again under the new covenant and are also children of Abraham (Galatians 7). In addition, He willed to us redemption for our (Adamic) sin natures that enables us to become new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have eternal life with God, the Father.
God always has dealt with man through relationships. Adam and Eve were in a personal relationship with God before they fell into sin. In every age afterwards down to Abraham, God had at least one man (such as Noah) who would come into a relationship with Him and through whom He could execute His plan for the redemption of man.
With Abraham, God "cut" a blood covenant to cover Abraham and his descendants until Jesus would come (Genesis 15:8-21). The ten commandments and the other health, civil, and religious statutes that were given to Israel some four hundred years after the Abrahamic covenant spelled out certain principles God laid down for them to live by and which the Israelites were to obey because of the covenant. This became known as "the Law," which actually was the details of how the covenant would work in the nation and in their lives.
The Law was God's Word for that period and the standard by which man lived in order to receive the blessings or curses of the covenant. In any covenant, there are "assets" or good things that go with keeping it. Breaking a covenant or contract, on the other hand, means trouble, which in Bible terms is called receiving curses. However, Paul made it very clear that the Law never took the place of the Promise (the covenant) to Abraham. Jesus was the "promised seed of Abraham" who was to inherit all of the promises, so through Jesus, all those who are born again also inherit these promises of blessings (Galatians 3:29).
People became a part of the old covenant by being a member of the people of Israel through faith and obedience to God, whether they were born into one of the tribes or whether they joined themselves to one of the tribes (Deuteronomy 4:6,13,34; Exodus 12:19; and Isaiah 56:3-5). Reading the Old Testament books carefully will show that, even then, the attitude of the heart was more important than legalistically keeping the Law and more important even than being born into Israel (1 Samuel 15:22).
Under the New Covenant, the Law or God's standards are "written on our hearts" (Romans 2:15), which means we have the Holy Spirit within us to remind us of right and wrong. Once we are saved, we have the power to overcome sin through the Holy Spirit and can receive the blessings of Abraham under the new covenant (Galatians 3:14). This is called "living under grace."
However, since the time of Adam and Eve, God has dealt with mankind in two ways: love and mercy (grace) when one seeks Him or wrath and judgment for those who reject Him. Grace can be defined as "undeserved favor." Also, it is the ability to keep the law, which is called "divine enablement." Grace gives us power over sin, according to Romans 6:14, because we now have the "Covenant Maker" within us.
Grace does not mean being able to break the law and get away with it. Grace does not mean that God looks the other way when we sin. It does mean that if we fail and break the law, forgiveness is immediately ours when we repent. The blood of Jesus already covers us. We can still overcome, although we may not yet perfectly be conformed to His image. We have the power or grace to become the sons of God (John 1:12).
Criticism of the Bible Has Been Proven Wrong
Some critics of the Bible say it is simply a collection of man's writings. Others believe it is a great "literary masterpiece," but not the "Word of God." Those are the people who do not believe there is a God. Others believe God's Word is in the Bible but that the entire Bible is not God's Word. However, scholars have proven that the Bible is accurate in its depiction of historical events that have been documented elsewhere, so the rest of it should be considered true as well, in spite of the critics. On the other hand, even if none of the Bible had any secular evidence, we still should believe it rather than the world's knowledge, because it is the Word of God and is reliable.
Why Should the Bible be Trusted?
Reliability depends on the accuracy of a document. There are three tests for determining the accuracy of any document. They are:
1. The Bibliographical Test (the accuracy of the copies that are compared, although there is a time span between them and the originals).
2. The Internal Test of Reliability (the author verifies or disqualifies himself by known factual inaccuracies or contradictions).
3. The External Evidence Test of Reliability (the document is authentic in regard to historical and archeological evidence or other writings).
The Bible passes all three of these tests. Research into formerly unknown languages and excavations by noted archeologists have shown over and over that historical events recorded in the Bible really happened. Westerners exploring the Middle East for the past one hundred and fifty years and Israeli archeologists since the 1950s have proved the Bible is fact, not fiction. There can be no doubt that archeology has confirmed the accuracy of the Old Testament's historical accounts, in spite of the great skepticism expressed toward the Bible by scholars of the "higher criticism" school (which began with German theologians in the 1700s).
For example, critics said no such place as Sela, the rock fortress (the capital of Seir, home of Esau and the Edomites),existed. From shortly after the time of Jesus until the early 1800s, no one except wandering Arab tribes knew where it was. Then Anglo-Swiss explorer Johann L. Burckhardt risked his very life by disguising himself as an Arab in 1812 and was taken into a hidden valley to a huge rock fortress with only one narrow way in or out. Once again, the Bible was shown to be more accurate than secular history. Today, we know this place as Petra.¹
Another example is the excavation of Shushan, which lies some 200 miles east of Babylon. It was the capital of ancient Elam (Susiana) and, later, the winter capital of the Persian kings. Sushan was the scene of many Biblical events in the time of Daniel, Nehemiah, and Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus. When archeologists uncovered the floor of the throne room, they found a pavement of red and blue and black and white marble, just as had been described in the book of Esther (Esther 1:6).²
The Bible is unique in that it has survived over the centuries with very little corruption to the text. Compared to other ancient manuscripts, the Bible is the most accurately preserved text in existence. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1948 has shown the world that, if all of the books of the Bible are as accurate as Isaiah--the scroll they have pieced together and dated to 100 B.C.--then there have been extremely few changes since at least a hundred years before Christ. What differences exist between modern versions and the ancient manuscript found in a cave above the Dead Sea are minor ones that make no difference to the text itself and have affected no Church doctrines.
Most disputes among church scholars and theologians involve the interpretation of the words in the Bible, not the words themselves. It makes sense that if the Bible is the very Word of God, it would be the most persecuted book in history. And indeed it has!
French philosopher, Voltaire, predicted in 1778 that within a hundred years, Christianity and the Bible would be swept away! In the days of the French Revolution, the 1790s, a comprehensive effort was made to burn all of the copies of the Bible in the country (the Roman Catholic Latin translation) and thousands of Bibles were burned. However, Voltaire died and is only a name in the history books. Today, more copies of the Bible exist today worldwide than ever before.
The Bible is unique, and it has been proven reliable. One thing that proves it is Holy Spirit-inspired is the fact that, in spite of the diverse human authors having lived across almost two millennia, the theme of the Bible is the same. Although the writing styles vary, the unity of all of the books of the Bible taken together are as if one person wrote them. And One Person did--the Holy Spirit.
Translation of the Bible
Compared to other ancient manuscripts, the Bible is accepted as being the most accurately preserved text.³ The Jewish people preserved the Old Testament manuscripts as no other ancient written documents have been preserved. In fact, most of the other writings from Bible times have been found only in the past few hundred years on clay tablets.
About three hundred years before Jesus was born, the Jewish religious leaders authorized the first translation from the original Hebrew scrolls of the Old Testament. According to Jewish tradition, 72 rabbis and scribes made up a committee which translated the Hebrew into Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire, in 70 or 72 days. This translation is called the Septuagint, from the Greek word for "seventy."
About the year A.D. 500, a group of Jewish scribes called "Masoretes" (so named from the word masora, which means "to hand down" authoritative traditions) took upon themselves the task of ensuring the accurate transmission of the Old Testament to future generations. Located at a school near Tiberias, they established strict rules to be followed by all copyists. No word or letter could be written from memory. The scribe had to look attentively at each word and pronounce it before writing it down. Even the words and letters of each section were counted, and if these did not add up to the newly made copy, that section was discarded and copying started over.
The Jewish scribes had the responsibility for copying the old scrolls as they became cracked and not able to be used. Modern scholars have discovered several hundred copying errors, but most of those were made after the time of Jesus by monks who copied the early scrolls and codex manuscripts. The first scrolls were animal skins scraped thin and made into pages that were bound side by side and rolled up. Later, scrolls were papyrus pages. Papyrus was made out of reeds found along the Nile River and pounded to a pulp then dried in the sun. It was the first "paper." Codex manuscripts were sheets of papyrus put together in book form, instead of as scrolls.
The majority of scholars agree, however, that the mis-copied words do not involve major Bible doctrines. The biggest area of confusion, which involves history, not doctrines, seems to be in the use of numbers. For example, did the Philistines send 3,000 war chariots to one battle or 30,000?
No other book has been so scrutinized, sifted for error, criticized, and even vilified and attacked on such a massive scale as the Bible. Yet, it is still read and loved by millions.
The Purpose and Theme of the Bible
The Bible's main purpose is to reveal the plan of redemption and salvation for mankind. All Scripture should be studied in this light. Even when the judgment of God is mentioned, it is with the purpose of bringing deliverance to mankind. One of the Bible's purposes is that of warning man, individually or corporately, to avoid the consequences of judgment -- God's wrath. If he so chooses, he can escape Hell and go to Heaven.
When studied in the light of God's purpose to redeem man through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, nothing in the Bible can put us into the bondage of legalism (the keeping of laws in an effort to please God). Law is not the theme of the Bible, but redemption through the grace of God.
People are brought into the bondage of legalism when they stop studying the Word of God with the idea of redemption and salvation in mind. Many people come under bondage, not through reading the Word, but through what someone else has said "the Word says," quoting only a portion of Scripture or quoting a particular interpretation of that verse.
The law reveals our sins, but God's grace points us to Jesus and His blood to cover and atone for our sins, if we will only receive Him and be born again.
Many people want to throw out the Old Testament, except as interesting Bible stories and history. However, the Old and the New work together (1 Corinthians 10:11). The Old Testament was not erased; the New was simply built upon it. The redemption plan is told in the Old Testament by "types and shadows." People who were indirect examples of Jesus and the kinds of things He was to do when He came were used as these types and shadows. Also, literal prophecies that directly speak of Jesus fall into this category (Hebrews 10:1).
For example, the temple in the Old Testament was a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit and was a literal building. Under the new covenant, the spirits of those who are born again become God's dwelling place, individually and collectively. Therefore the New Testament speaks of the bodies of Christians as "the temples of God" (1 Corinthians 3:16). So the temple that was a building to the Israelites, and later to the Jews, was a shadow, a "picture," of a time to come when man himself could become God's "house" or "temple."
Another example is the word virgin in New Testament typology, which means the holy and pure Bride of Christ (born again believers, or the Body of Christ), who has not had intercourse with the world. To those who are not Christians, things like this will not make sense. That is why Paul wrote that the natural mind cannot understand spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14).
The redemption plan is told in the New Testament through the reports of Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection (Hebrews 9:15). Therefore, the Bible's main purpose is to reveal the plan of redemption and salvation for man, which also is the theme of the entire Bible (Luke 24:27,44). The Old Testament was the written preparation for His coming (Isaiah 40:3). The gospels portray the manifestation of His coming (John 1:29). The Acts of the Apostles is the propagation of His purpose (Acts 1:8). And the epistles, the letters by several of the apostles to various early churches, presented the knowledge, or explanation, of the mystery of Christ and the hope of glory to Gentiles, those formerly alienated from God.
The Revelation of Jesus to the Apostle John tells us of the consummation of God's plan, of its successful conclusion in victory, just as Genesis tells us of the beginning being marred by sin. Each part of the Bible needs the others to be complete. Therefore, the Old Testament was the preparation for the Lord's coming; the gospels were the manifestation of the Lord's coming; Acts was the propagation of the Lord's Gospel; the epistles were the explanation of the Lord's Gospel, and Revelation tells of the consummation of the Lord's Gospel. "Paradise lost" in Genesis becomes "paradise regained" in the Book of Revelation.
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16,17
The Holy Bible was written by more than 40 human authors inspired by the Holy Spirit over a period of about 14 to 18 centuries. According to the above scripture all of the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The word "inspired" in Greek is theopneustos, which means "God-breathed." The Apostle Peter wrote that holy men composed the books of the Bible as they were "moved" by the Holy Spirit. Also the Apostle Paul wrote to his student Timothy that all Scripture was given by inspiration of God. The authors of the Bible wrote spontaneously using their own minds and experiences while influenced and directed by God.
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:20,21).
The Two Parts of the Bible
The Bible is divided into two parts: the Old Testament with 39 books and the New Testament with 27 books. It was written in two different time periods. The New Testament was written over a period of about 60 years, following the death and resurrection of Christ. The Old Testament was written from the time of Moses up to about four hundred years before Jesus was born, when the "book" (scroll) of Malachi was written. Malachi was the last book to be written in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament was written in the original Hebrew language, with some chapters in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek with a few additional phrases from Aramaic, the commonly spoken Judean language of the day.
The word "testament" is the King James-era English word for "covenant," or today what we might call a "contract." Therefore, the books of the Bible are divided according to the two blood covenants God has made with mankind. The Old Covenant was made between Abraham and God (Genesis 15) and covered Abraham's descendants through Isaac and Jacob, the natural race of Israel. The New Covenant was made with Jesus as both parties, God and man; the sacrifice; and the mediator. A mediator is someone like an attorney who works out the clauses to a contract with both parties.
The new covenant covers members of all races who will accept Jesus as Savior and Lord by faith. The new covenant fulfilled the promise of the old (Hebrews 8:6) and, ratified by the blood of Jesus, extended God's plan for reconciling man to Himself to cover all races, nations, and cultures (Galatians 3:28,29).
"Testament" or "covenant" also can mean what we today call a will--a last will and testament. So in that sense, the new covenant is the spiritual way in which Jesus left (willed) all of the blessings of Abraham (Galatians 3:14) to those who become born again under the new covenant and are also children of Abraham (Galatians 7). In addition, He willed to us redemption for our (Adamic) sin natures that enables us to become new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17) and have eternal life with God, the Father.
God always has dealt with man through relationships. Adam and Eve were in a personal relationship with God before they fell into sin. In every age afterwards down to Abraham, God had at least one man (such as Noah) who would come into a relationship with Him and through whom He could execute His plan for the redemption of man.
With Abraham, God "cut" a blood covenant to cover Abraham and his descendants until Jesus would come (Genesis 15:8-21). The ten commandments and the other health, civil, and religious statutes that were given to Israel some four hundred years after the Abrahamic covenant spelled out certain principles God laid down for them to live by and which the Israelites were to obey because of the covenant. This became known as "the Law," which actually was the details of how the covenant would work in the nation and in their lives.
The Law was God's Word for that period and the standard by which man lived in order to receive the blessings or curses of the covenant. In any covenant, there are "assets" or good things that go with keeping it. Breaking a covenant or contract, on the other hand, means trouble, which in Bible terms is called receiving curses. However, Paul made it very clear that the Law never took the place of the Promise (the covenant) to Abraham. Jesus was the "promised seed of Abraham" who was to inherit all of the promises, so through Jesus, all those who are born again also inherit these promises of blessings (Galatians 3:29).
People became a part of the old covenant by being a member of the people of Israel through faith and obedience to God, whether they were born into one of the tribes or whether they joined themselves to one of the tribes (Deuteronomy 4:6,13,34; Exodus 12:19; and Isaiah 56:3-5). Reading the Old Testament books carefully will show that, even then, the attitude of the heart was more important than legalistically keeping the Law and more important even than being born into Israel (1 Samuel 15:22).
Under the New Covenant, the Law or God's standards are "written on our hearts" (Romans 2:15), which means we have the Holy Spirit within us to remind us of right and wrong. Once we are saved, we have the power to overcome sin through the Holy Spirit and can receive the blessings of Abraham under the new covenant (Galatians 3:14). This is called "living under grace."
However, since the time of Adam and Eve, God has dealt with mankind in two ways: love and mercy (grace) when one seeks Him or wrath and judgment for those who reject Him. Grace can be defined as "undeserved favor." Also, it is the ability to keep the law, which is called "divine enablement." Grace gives us power over sin, according to Romans 6:14, because we now have the "Covenant Maker" within us.
Grace does not mean being able to break the law and get away with it. Grace does not mean that God looks the other way when we sin. It does mean that if we fail and break the law, forgiveness is immediately ours when we repent. The blood of Jesus already covers us. We can still overcome, although we may not yet perfectly be conformed to His image. We have the power or grace to become the sons of God (John 1:12).
Criticism of the Bible Has Been Proven Wrong
Some critics of the Bible say it is simply a collection of man's writings. Others believe it is a great "literary masterpiece," but not the "Word of God." Those are the people who do not believe there is a God. Others believe God's Word is in the Bible but that the entire Bible is not God's Word. However, scholars have proven that the Bible is accurate in its depiction of historical events that have been documented elsewhere, so the rest of it should be considered true as well, in spite of the critics. On the other hand, even if none of the Bible had any secular evidence, we still should believe it rather than the world's knowledge, because it is the Word of God and is reliable.
Why Should the Bible be Trusted?
Reliability depends on the accuracy of a document. There are three tests for determining the accuracy of any document. They are:
1. The Bibliographical Test (the accuracy of the copies that are compared, although there is a time span between them and the originals).
2. The Internal Test of Reliability (the author verifies or disqualifies himself by known factual inaccuracies or contradictions).
3. The External Evidence Test of Reliability (the document is authentic in regard to historical and archeological evidence or other writings).
The Bible passes all three of these tests. Research into formerly unknown languages and excavations by noted archeologists have shown over and over that historical events recorded in the Bible really happened. Westerners exploring the Middle East for the past one hundred and fifty years and Israeli archeologists since the 1950s have proved the Bible is fact, not fiction. There can be no doubt that archeology has confirmed the accuracy of the Old Testament's historical accounts, in spite of the great skepticism expressed toward the Bible by scholars of the "higher criticism" school (which began with German theologians in the 1700s).
For example, critics said no such place as Sela, the rock fortress (the capital of Seir, home of Esau and the Edomites),existed. From shortly after the time of Jesus until the early 1800s, no one except wandering Arab tribes knew where it was. Then Anglo-Swiss explorer Johann L. Burckhardt risked his very life by disguising himself as an Arab in 1812 and was taken into a hidden valley to a huge rock fortress with only one narrow way in or out. Once again, the Bible was shown to be more accurate than secular history. Today, we know this place as Petra.¹
Another example is the excavation of Shushan, which lies some 200 miles east of Babylon. It was the capital of ancient Elam (Susiana) and, later, the winter capital of the Persian kings. Sushan was the scene of many Biblical events in the time of Daniel, Nehemiah, and Queen Esther and King Ahasuerus. When archeologists uncovered the floor of the throne room, they found a pavement of red and blue and black and white marble, just as had been described in the book of Esther (Esther 1:6).²
The Bible is unique in that it has survived over the centuries with very little corruption to the text. Compared to other ancient manuscripts, the Bible is the most accurately preserved text in existence. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1948 has shown the world that, if all of the books of the Bible are as accurate as Isaiah--the scroll they have pieced together and dated to 100 B.C.--then there have been extremely few changes since at least a hundred years before Christ. What differences exist between modern versions and the ancient manuscript found in a cave above the Dead Sea are minor ones that make no difference to the text itself and have affected no Church doctrines.
Most disputes among church scholars and theologians involve the interpretation of the words in the Bible, not the words themselves. It makes sense that if the Bible is the very Word of God, it would be the most persecuted book in history. And indeed it has!
French philosopher, Voltaire, predicted in 1778 that within a hundred years, Christianity and the Bible would be swept away! In the days of the French Revolution, the 1790s, a comprehensive effort was made to burn all of the copies of the Bible in the country (the Roman Catholic Latin translation) and thousands of Bibles were burned. However, Voltaire died and is only a name in the history books. Today, more copies of the Bible exist today worldwide than ever before.
The Bible is unique, and it has been proven reliable. One thing that proves it is Holy Spirit-inspired is the fact that, in spite of the diverse human authors having lived across almost two millennia, the theme of the Bible is the same. Although the writing styles vary, the unity of all of the books of the Bible taken together are as if one person wrote them. And One Person did--the Holy Spirit.
Translation of the Bible
Compared to other ancient manuscripts, the Bible is accepted as being the most accurately preserved text.³ The Jewish people preserved the Old Testament manuscripts as no other ancient written documents have been preserved. In fact, most of the other writings from Bible times have been found only in the past few hundred years on clay tablets.
About three hundred years before Jesus was born, the Jewish religious leaders authorized the first translation from the original Hebrew scrolls of the Old Testament. According to Jewish tradition, 72 rabbis and scribes made up a committee which translated the Hebrew into Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire, in 70 or 72 days. This translation is called the Septuagint, from the Greek word for "seventy."
About the year A.D. 500, a group of Jewish scribes called "Masoretes" (so named from the word masora, which means "to hand down" authoritative traditions) took upon themselves the task of ensuring the accurate transmission of the Old Testament to future generations. Located at a school near Tiberias, they established strict rules to be followed by all copyists. No word or letter could be written from memory. The scribe had to look attentively at each word and pronounce it before writing it down. Even the words and letters of each section were counted, and if these did not add up to the newly made copy, that section was discarded and copying started over.
The Jewish scribes had the responsibility for copying the old scrolls as they became cracked and not able to be used. Modern scholars have discovered several hundred copying errors, but most of those were made after the time of Jesus by monks who copied the early scrolls and codex manuscripts. The first scrolls were animal skins scraped thin and made into pages that were bound side by side and rolled up. Later, scrolls were papyrus pages. Papyrus was made out of reeds found along the Nile River and pounded to a pulp then dried in the sun. It was the first "paper." Codex manuscripts were sheets of papyrus put together in book form, instead of as scrolls.
The majority of scholars agree, however, that the mis-copied words do not involve major Bible doctrines. The biggest area of confusion, which involves history, not doctrines, seems to be in the use of numbers. For example, did the Philistines send 3,000 war chariots to one battle or 30,000?
No other book has been so scrutinized, sifted for error, criticized, and even vilified and attacked on such a massive scale as the Bible. Yet, it is still read and loved by millions.
The Purpose and Theme of the Bible
The Bible's main purpose is to reveal the plan of redemption and salvation for mankind. All Scripture should be studied in this light. Even when the judgment of God is mentioned, it is with the purpose of bringing deliverance to mankind. One of the Bible's purposes is that of warning man, individually or corporately, to avoid the consequences of judgment -- God's wrath. If he so chooses, he can escape Hell and go to Heaven.
When studied in the light of God's purpose to redeem man through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, nothing in the Bible can put us into the bondage of legalism (the keeping of laws in an effort to please God). Law is not the theme of the Bible, but redemption through the grace of God.
People are brought into the bondage of legalism when they stop studying the Word of God with the idea of redemption and salvation in mind. Many people come under bondage, not through reading the Word, but through what someone else has said "the Word says," quoting only a portion of Scripture or quoting a particular interpretation of that verse.
The law reveals our sins, but God's grace points us to Jesus and His blood to cover and atone for our sins, if we will only receive Him and be born again.
Many people want to throw out the Old Testament, except as interesting Bible stories and history. However, the Old and the New work together (1 Corinthians 10:11). The Old Testament was not erased; the New was simply built upon it. The redemption plan is told in the Old Testament by "types and shadows." People who were indirect examples of Jesus and the kinds of things He was to do when He came were used as these types and shadows. Also, literal prophecies that directly speak of Jesus fall into this category (Hebrews 10:1).
For example, the temple in the Old Testament was a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit and was a literal building. Under the new covenant, the spirits of those who are born again become God's dwelling place, individually and collectively. Therefore the New Testament speaks of the bodies of Christians as "the temples of God" (1 Corinthians 3:16). So the temple that was a building to the Israelites, and later to the Jews, was a shadow, a "picture," of a time to come when man himself could become God's "house" or "temple."
Another example is the word virgin in New Testament typology, which means the holy and pure Bride of Christ (born again believers, or the Body of Christ), who has not had intercourse with the world. To those who are not Christians, things like this will not make sense. That is why Paul wrote that the natural mind cannot understand spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:14).
The redemption plan is told in the New Testament through the reports of Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection (Hebrews 9:15). Therefore, the Bible's main purpose is to reveal the plan of redemption and salvation for man, which also is the theme of the entire Bible (Luke 24:27,44). The Old Testament was the written preparation for His coming (Isaiah 40:3). The gospels portray the manifestation of His coming (John 1:29). The Acts of the Apostles is the propagation of His purpose (Acts 1:8). And the epistles, the letters by several of the apostles to various early churches, presented the knowledge, or explanation, of the mystery of Christ and the hope of glory to Gentiles, those formerly alienated from God.
The Revelation of Jesus to the Apostle John tells us of the consummation of God's plan, of its successful conclusion in victory, just as Genesis tells us of the beginning being marred by sin. Each part of the Bible needs the others to be complete. Therefore, the Old Testament was the preparation for the Lord's coming; the gospels were the manifestation of the Lord's coming; Acts was the propagation of the Lord's Gospel; the epistles were the explanation of the Lord's Gospel, and Revelation tells of the consummation of the Lord's Gospel. "Paradise lost" in Genesis becomes "paradise regained" in the Book of Revelation.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Health Tips for Night Shift Workers
These days many youngsters and fresh graduates prefer to work in night shifts as it gives them more money. But along with money, working late nights and changing shifts gives them various health hazards.
The common problems that many night shift workers face are:
1. Stress – Irregular working hours and pressure to perform better contribute to high stress and sometimes it could be even traumatic.
2. Disorders – Various disorders like insomnia, fatigue and disorientation accompany night work
3. Obesity – Physical inactivity, excessive eating, wrong food choices and irregular eating habits make one gain weight
4. Gastrointestinal and digestive problems – Wrong eating habits contribute to indigestion, stomachache, heartburn and loss of appetite
5. Cardiovascular diseases and blood pressure — Night shift workers are more prone to cardiovascular problems
6. Behavioral and emotional disturbances – Night shift working causes many disturbances in one’s life like depression, decline in self esteem and resentment, anxiety, hopelessness, withdrawal from social interactions, strong urge to cry without specific incident, avoidance of previously enjoyed activities, phobia, fears and unwanted thoughts.
With a few essential changes, night shift workers can avoid the health complications of shift works and ease adverse symptoms. A healthy lifestyle and, most importantly, right nutrition choices help you save yourself from the adverse effects of night shift work.
Here are some healthy eating tips to stop weight gain and other health complications.
1. Drinking at least two liters of water a day helps in improving digestion. Lack of water intake results in thirst headaches and fatigue.
2. Balanced varied meals and regular meal timings keep up your health.
3. Increase fibre content in your diet. Oat bran and ragi are rich in fiber content. Take in complex carbohydrates/whole grain carbohydrates instead of refined carbohydrate.
4. Plan the time you take your meals carefully. Eat lightly throughout the night shift and take a moderate breakfast to prevent hunger while sleeping and get uninterrupted sleep and digestive discomfort.
5. Keep a check on your fat intake: Keep out red meat and organ meat as they are high in saturated fat content. Instead opt for egg white, lean meat pieces or fish in your non-veg meal option. But, it should not be fried.
6. Prefer buttermilk to aerated drink because it is a healthier and cooler option.
7. Avoid heavy meals after midnight because they make you feel drowsy.
8. Also avoid fatty, spicy and high fat foods during overnight for the same reason.
9. Relax during meals and allow time for digestion.
10. Avoid caffeine and alcohol as they affect the rate of digestion.
11. Limit alcohol intake to one or two pegs once or twice a week
Apart from the above diet tips, follow these tips and techniques.
1. Always change shifts ahead and not backward. Rotate from mornings to afternoon to night and not in the reverse manner. It helps your body to cope up with the shift pattern.
2. Have a good sleep in the day by setting up proper condition for sleep. Darken your room and put your mobile on a silent mode for an undisturbed sleep. Also, tell your friends and family how important is that few hours of sleep for you.
3. Avoid excessive use of antacids, tranquilizers and sleeping pills.
4. Learn relaxation techniques that help in healthy sleep.
The common problems that many night shift workers face are:
1. Stress – Irregular working hours and pressure to perform better contribute to high stress and sometimes it could be even traumatic.
2. Disorders – Various disorders like insomnia, fatigue and disorientation accompany night work
3. Obesity – Physical inactivity, excessive eating, wrong food choices and irregular eating habits make one gain weight
4. Gastrointestinal and digestive problems – Wrong eating habits contribute to indigestion, stomachache, heartburn and loss of appetite
5. Cardiovascular diseases and blood pressure — Night shift workers are more prone to cardiovascular problems
6. Behavioral and emotional disturbances – Night shift working causes many disturbances in one’s life like depression, decline in self esteem and resentment, anxiety, hopelessness, withdrawal from social interactions, strong urge to cry without specific incident, avoidance of previously enjoyed activities, phobia, fears and unwanted thoughts.
With a few essential changes, night shift workers can avoid the health complications of shift works and ease adverse symptoms. A healthy lifestyle and, most importantly, right nutrition choices help you save yourself from the adverse effects of night shift work.
Here are some healthy eating tips to stop weight gain and other health complications.
1. Drinking at least two liters of water a day helps in improving digestion. Lack of water intake results in thirst headaches and fatigue.
2. Balanced varied meals and regular meal timings keep up your health.
3. Increase fibre content in your diet. Oat bran and ragi are rich in fiber content. Take in complex carbohydrates/whole grain carbohydrates instead of refined carbohydrate.
4. Plan the time you take your meals carefully. Eat lightly throughout the night shift and take a moderate breakfast to prevent hunger while sleeping and get uninterrupted sleep and digestive discomfort.
5. Keep a check on your fat intake: Keep out red meat and organ meat as they are high in saturated fat content. Instead opt for egg white, lean meat pieces or fish in your non-veg meal option. But, it should not be fried.
6. Prefer buttermilk to aerated drink because it is a healthier and cooler option.
7. Avoid heavy meals after midnight because they make you feel drowsy.
8. Also avoid fatty, spicy and high fat foods during overnight for the same reason.
9. Relax during meals and allow time for digestion.
10. Avoid caffeine and alcohol as they affect the rate of digestion.
11. Limit alcohol intake to one or two pegs once or twice a week
Apart from the above diet tips, follow these tips and techniques.
1. Always change shifts ahead and not backward. Rotate from mornings to afternoon to night and not in the reverse manner. It helps your body to cope up with the shift pattern.
2. Have a good sleep in the day by setting up proper condition for sleep. Darken your room and put your mobile on a silent mode for an undisturbed sleep. Also, tell your friends and family how important is that few hours of sleep for you.
3. Avoid excessive use of antacids, tranquilizers and sleeping pills.
4. Learn relaxation techniques that help in healthy sleep.
Night Shift Survival Hints
Introduction: It often seems that some staff are "permanent night people" who
always function well; that some are "day people" who are known to "face-plant" on
the desk and function poorly at night; and that some rotate satisfactorily but
markedly prefer one particular shift.
Advantages of night shifts:
Differential pay (where available).
More "interesting" clientele (perhaps).
Pace of shift may be preferable.
Simpler and more personal bureaucracy.
Close-knit working relationships.
High level of self-reliance, cross-training, even increased autonomy among
experienced and successful staff.
Counter-commute traffic and parking.
Disadvantages of night shifts:
Career-Stall as invisibility to daytime administrators and power-brokers increases.
If you are highly effective and actually like nights, you may rise to your highest
level there and stay forever as you become so essential to avoid "daytime" administrative
problems like finding someone who could be forced to take your position!
Loss of Inner Calendrical Rhythm, as years of nights and weekends (unlike the rest
of the world) erase your sense of day, date, and lifestyle, or ultimately the ability
to function happily in a daytime world in the manner of the old phrase "I've been
upside-down so long ---it seems like right-side up to me!"
Tips:
Sleep well and eat well before the shift. ---Who knows when or if the chance will come again?
Two Words: Digital Watch! Your key to accurate charting of day, date, time (24 hour International time), and personal orientation.
How can you check orientation after loss of consciousness without looking up the answers?
Allow end-of-the-day decompression time before sleeping after work. "Day-time people" relax after work.
Eat or drink something warm during that chilly lowest ebb of circadian hormonal change.
Can't stay awake; no matter what? Excuse yourself for a minute, go outside or into the hallway, and SPRINT! for 100 yards.
---You'll be wide-awake!
Rotate shifts in a forward fashion. (Days -to-> Evenings -to-> Nights -to-> Days) if rotate you must.
Whether you nap right after work or marathon through your first off day, try to get on your family's cycle as soon as possible. I
t will feel more natural and help preserve your relationships with your family.
Live on your day shift income; don't rely on night shift differential pay to make ends meet. Plan your budget upon your basic income
in case of unexpected changes or disability. Use your differential income for specific short-term purposes: e.g., debt reduction, extra investment,
vacation funds. It is too easy to become dependent on extra money as essential for house payments, schools, etc.; ---you may never be able to go off nights!
Use mornings for business. ---While you still have your wits about you and businesses are at their freshest level of service.
When planning chores, watch out for the "day world's" lunchtime-and-early-afternoon slowdown. Or the early leaving of staff decreases
efficiency in the afternoons if you're trying to get things done before work.
When relaxing before naps: avoid time-sucking activities. Choose things that you can put down when the time comes to go to sleep.
Don't get drawn into the black hole. [N.B. from the Editor: Web-Site management can be particularly bothersome.]
Have sleep-preparation rituals that promote good sleep hygiene. Regularity of preparations, even the same go-to-sleep music,
will flip your mindswitch to "I'm going to sleep now ."
If it takes a sleep-mask, black-out curtains, ear-plugs or "white noise machine", or other sleep aid, even silencing the telephone
ringer to ensure daytime sleep, ---do it and don't feel silly. You're entitled to the best sleep that you can get!
Avoid using intoxicants or sleeping pills to get to sleep except in the most unusual circumstances: the sleep architecture is altered
thus sleep is less restful and you may be hung over with poor performance at work. ---Habit-forming, too!
Avoid excessive reliance upon caffeine. It may get you past the occasional slump o.k., but it's addicting, disrupts even your own semblance of
circadian rhythm, and is diuretic! If possible, take a break, change activities, exercise, get fresh air, find a task where your attentiveness is really needed.
Don't forget that your family is for whom you do it. Don't lose your connection with family life. Don't put career, the job,
colleagues, before your family's needs. Don't lose your spouse/significant other.
Show up, unexpectedly, at your spouse's work with flowers and go out to a special lunch when you can. Let your spouse feel
envied by coworkers and appreciative of the ways you can be available during hours that conventional workers aren't.
Make time for regular exercise (especially if you and your partner are on opposite shifts). It's easy, when lifestyle consists of long night shifts and
revolves around essential functions of work, sleep, and eating, to omit keeping the body in tune.
Meet teachers, and help with school field trips, or contribute teachers' aide time.
If you seek career-advancement and consistently work nights, you will have to find useful ways to overcome the "invisibility"
of not being frequently seen by administrators and committees. ---Tasks often tried include coordinating night scheduling, orientation and
inservices presented, liaison with EMS, projects, etc.
People will say "Good Night" to you in the morning as you leave. Insist upon saying "Good Morning" as you can deal with
astrophysical facts and maintain a good sense of personal balance.
"Twelve-Hour" shifts are now widely prevalent. Some hospitals only hire for 12s. Seemingly, this is a benefit --more "free" time,
or time for another job. However, remember that unions fought for years to achieve the "eight-hour day". Twelve-hour
shifts are often thirteen or fourteen if there is overtime or other delays. Factor in your commute time, and household chores, and
there is little time to recover your "sleep debt" or to be a "human being" to your family. Extended spells working more than one
job will sap your strength, your personality during working hours, and your joie de vivre!
If you are the Charge Nurse on your night shifts, be aware of how your colleagues pace themselves, or when they "hit the wall"
physically and emotionally. Try to ensure their breaks at appropriate points before this happens. You may be under pressure
to downsize staff during "slack periods"; avoid this on those nights when "there is no let-up." You may also find that you
are overburdened with admitted patients who have nowhere to go due to staffing by actual census upstairs.
Grocery-shopping at off-peak hours. Isn't this self-explanatory and an obvious benefit?
always function well; that some are "day people" who are known to "face-plant" on
the desk and function poorly at night; and that some rotate satisfactorily but
markedly prefer one particular shift.
Advantages of night shifts:
Differential pay (where available).
More "interesting" clientele (perhaps).
Pace of shift may be preferable.
Simpler and more personal bureaucracy.
Close-knit working relationships.
High level of self-reliance, cross-training, even increased autonomy among
experienced and successful staff.
Counter-commute traffic and parking.
Disadvantages of night shifts:
Career-Stall as invisibility to daytime administrators and power-brokers increases.
If you are highly effective and actually like nights, you may rise to your highest
level there and stay forever as you become so essential to avoid "daytime" administrative
problems like finding someone who could be forced to take your position!
Loss of Inner Calendrical Rhythm, as years of nights and weekends (unlike the rest
of the world) erase your sense of day, date, and lifestyle, or ultimately the ability
to function happily in a daytime world in the manner of the old phrase "I've been
upside-down so long ---it seems like right-side up to me!"
Tips:
Sleep well and eat well before the shift. ---Who knows when or if the chance will come again?
Two Words: Digital Watch! Your key to accurate charting of day, date, time (24 hour International time), and personal orientation.
How can you check orientation after loss of consciousness without looking up the answers?
Allow end-of-the-day decompression time before sleeping after work. "Day-time people" relax after work.
Eat or drink something warm during that chilly lowest ebb of circadian hormonal change.
Can't stay awake; no matter what? Excuse yourself for a minute, go outside or into the hallway, and SPRINT! for 100 yards.
---You'll be wide-awake!
Rotate shifts in a forward fashion. (Days -to-> Evenings -to-> Nights -to-> Days) if rotate you must.
Whether you nap right after work or marathon through your first off day, try to get on your family's cycle as soon as possible. I
t will feel more natural and help preserve your relationships with your family.
Live on your day shift income; don't rely on night shift differential pay to make ends meet. Plan your budget upon your basic income
in case of unexpected changes or disability. Use your differential income for specific short-term purposes: e.g., debt reduction, extra investment,
vacation funds. It is too easy to become dependent on extra money as essential for house payments, schools, etc.; ---you may never be able to go off nights!
Use mornings for business. ---While you still have your wits about you and businesses are at their freshest level of service.
When planning chores, watch out for the "day world's" lunchtime-and-early-afternoon slowdown. Or the early leaving of staff decreases
efficiency in the afternoons if you're trying to get things done before work.
When relaxing before naps: avoid time-sucking activities. Choose things that you can put down when the time comes to go to sleep.
Don't get drawn into the black hole. [N.B. from the Editor: Web-Site management can be particularly bothersome.]
Have sleep-preparation rituals that promote good sleep hygiene. Regularity of preparations, even the same go-to-sleep music,
will flip your mindswitch to "I'm going to sleep now ."
If it takes a sleep-mask, black-out curtains, ear-plugs or "white noise machine", or other sleep aid, even silencing the telephone
ringer to ensure daytime sleep, ---do it and don't feel silly. You're entitled to the best sleep that you can get!
Avoid using intoxicants or sleeping pills to get to sleep except in the most unusual circumstances: the sleep architecture is altered
thus sleep is less restful and you may be hung over with poor performance at work. ---Habit-forming, too!
Avoid excessive reliance upon caffeine. It may get you past the occasional slump o.k., but it's addicting, disrupts even your own semblance of
circadian rhythm, and is diuretic! If possible, take a break, change activities, exercise, get fresh air, find a task where your attentiveness is really needed.
Don't forget that your family is for whom you do it. Don't lose your connection with family life. Don't put career, the job,
colleagues, before your family's needs. Don't lose your spouse/significant other.
Show up, unexpectedly, at your spouse's work with flowers and go out to a special lunch when you can. Let your spouse feel
envied by coworkers and appreciative of the ways you can be available during hours that conventional workers aren't.
Make time for regular exercise (especially if you and your partner are on opposite shifts). It's easy, when lifestyle consists of long night shifts and
revolves around essential functions of work, sleep, and eating, to omit keeping the body in tune.
Meet teachers, and help with school field trips, or contribute teachers' aide time.
If you seek career-advancement and consistently work nights, you will have to find useful ways to overcome the "invisibility"
of not being frequently seen by administrators and committees. ---Tasks often tried include coordinating night scheduling, orientation and
inservices presented, liaison with EMS, projects, etc.
People will say "Good Night" to you in the morning as you leave. Insist upon saying "Good Morning" as you can deal with
astrophysical facts and maintain a good sense of personal balance.
"Twelve-Hour" shifts are now widely prevalent. Some hospitals only hire for 12s. Seemingly, this is a benefit --more "free" time,
or time for another job. However, remember that unions fought for years to achieve the "eight-hour day". Twelve-hour
shifts are often thirteen or fourteen if there is overtime or other delays. Factor in your commute time, and household chores, and
there is little time to recover your "sleep debt" or to be a "human being" to your family. Extended spells working more than one
job will sap your strength, your personality during working hours, and your joie de vivre!
If you are the Charge Nurse on your night shifts, be aware of how your colleagues pace themselves, or when they "hit the wall"
physically and emotionally. Try to ensure their breaks at appropriate points before this happens. You may be under pressure
to downsize staff during "slack periods"; avoid this on those nights when "there is no let-up." You may also find that you
are overburdened with admitted patients who have nowhere to go due to staffing by actual census upstairs.
Grocery-shopping at off-peak hours. Isn't this self-explanatory and an obvious benefit?
10 Tips to Maintain Health and Beauty
Beauty, health, and nutrition are all integrated. If you eat a balanced diet you will be able to maintain your physique and glowing beauty externally and good health internally. A balanced diet is one that provides all the nutrients you need, the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, and fat.
To achieve goals you need to ensure a good balance in your diet, introduce variety into your meals, and practice moderation. The basis of nutrition lies in your height, weight, dimensions, and your daily energy needs. Once you know this you can compute what your daily calorific needs are and set goals for weight maintenance, gain, or loss. By regulating your diet you can be active as well as happy.
You must:
1. Eat sensibly. Include a variety of foods in your diet such that the 40 nutrients that are required by your body are present. Make use of a food pyramid and calorie chart to prepare tasty and nutritious meals. Follow the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” issued each year.
2. Eat plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They will supply you with essential vitamins, minerals, and protection from several diseases.
3. Maintain your weight at a healthy level. Successful weight management is one of the golden keys to good health. By doing is you will lower considerably the risk of many diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, and osteoporosis.
4. Learn self control, eat moderate portions. The secret lies in eating everything but in small portions. Don’t give way to gluttony or greed.
5. Make a time-table for your meals and how many calories will be in each meal. Never fast, starve yourself, or skip a meal. Eat when your body demands sustenance but not huge quantities.
6. Practice moderation. Good health does not lie in eliminating carbohydrates or fats. Include all your favorite foods but balance them with the rest of your diet. If you indulge your taste buds by eating pizza one day, then try and do so at lunch time, never eat pizza late at night. Ask for low fat cheese and healthy toppings. Eat just enough to satisfy your craving not all 12 slices. Get a few friends to share you sin. The days you indulge, eat sensibly the rest of the day—salads and fruits will help you make up for the binge.
7. Be sure your meals each day include all the food groups.
8. Plan to exercise every day. Either walk or take up aerobics, dancercise, or join a gym. Exercise will not just burn calories but put a glow into your skin, tone your muscles, and strengthen your bones. Exercise also removes accumulated toxins from your body.
9. Maintain a dairy in which you record your goals, and what you eat each day. Review your week objectively and create a table that shows at a glance what you did right and what you did wrong. This will help keep you on the right track.
10. Celebrate each victory. Give yourself a present or take yourself out every time you achieve a goal.
By eating healthy, one can live a complete and rounded life without diseases, reduce stress greatly, look and feel great, be happy from within and without, age well, produce healthy progeny, and live life to the fullest
To achieve goals you need to ensure a good balance in your diet, introduce variety into your meals, and practice moderation. The basis of nutrition lies in your height, weight, dimensions, and your daily energy needs. Once you know this you can compute what your daily calorific needs are and set goals for weight maintenance, gain, or loss. By regulating your diet you can be active as well as happy.
You must:
1. Eat sensibly. Include a variety of foods in your diet such that the 40 nutrients that are required by your body are present. Make use of a food pyramid and calorie chart to prepare tasty and nutritious meals. Follow the “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” issued each year.
2. Eat plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They will supply you with essential vitamins, minerals, and protection from several diseases.
3. Maintain your weight at a healthy level. Successful weight management is one of the golden keys to good health. By doing is you will lower considerably the risk of many diseases like hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, and osteoporosis.
4. Learn self control, eat moderate portions. The secret lies in eating everything but in small portions. Don’t give way to gluttony or greed.
5. Make a time-table for your meals and how many calories will be in each meal. Never fast, starve yourself, or skip a meal. Eat when your body demands sustenance but not huge quantities.
6. Practice moderation. Good health does not lie in eliminating carbohydrates or fats. Include all your favorite foods but balance them with the rest of your diet. If you indulge your taste buds by eating pizza one day, then try and do so at lunch time, never eat pizza late at night. Ask for low fat cheese and healthy toppings. Eat just enough to satisfy your craving not all 12 slices. Get a few friends to share you sin. The days you indulge, eat sensibly the rest of the day—salads and fruits will help you make up for the binge.
7. Be sure your meals each day include all the food groups.
8. Plan to exercise every day. Either walk or take up aerobics, dancercise, or join a gym. Exercise will not just burn calories but put a glow into your skin, tone your muscles, and strengthen your bones. Exercise also removes accumulated toxins from your body.
9. Maintain a dairy in which you record your goals, and what you eat each day. Review your week objectively and create a table that shows at a glance what you did right and what you did wrong. This will help keep you on the right track.
10. Celebrate each victory. Give yourself a present or take yourself out every time you achieve a goal.
By eating healthy, one can live a complete and rounded life without diseases, reduce stress greatly, look and feel great, be happy from within and without, age well, produce healthy progeny, and live life to the fullest
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day?
We celebrate Valentine's Day, because until 1969, it was one of the many Saint's Days observed by the Catholic Church. It was dedicated to the patron saint of romantic causes, St. Valentine.
Although it was removed from the Church's calendar in 1969, the religious meaning coupled with Valentine's Day's roots in Roman paganism have allowed it to continue as a holiday for everyone.
Early Christians saw Valentine's Day as a way to honor St. Valentine, of whom there were actually three. The Catholic Church recognizes three saints by that name, all who were martyred on February 14.
The St. Valentine the day is named for was, most likely, a priest in the 3rd century who performed secret marriages when the Roman Emperor Claudius II thought single soldiers were more likely to enlist in the army. That St. Valentine was imprisoned and executed on February 4, 270. It is believed he was responsible for giving the jailer's blind daughter back her eyesight, and before his execution, he sent herss a note saying, "From your Valentine." The phrase is still widely used on valentines today.
It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's day was declared an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII, known for his ways of disposing of wives, declared February 14th a holiday. It was another century and a half before religious devotional cards became non-religious cards to reflect the change in the holiday.
In 496 A.D., February 14, was declared in the name of St. Valentine by Pope Gelasius. It remained a Church holiday until 1969, when Pope Paul VI took it from the calender.
On February 14, the ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. Juno was also the goddess of womesn and marriage so honoring her was thought to be a fertility rite.
At the feast held the next day, the women would write love letters and stick them in a large urn. The men would pick a letter from the urn and for the next year, pursue the woman who wrote the chosen letter. This custom lasted until the 1700s when people decided their beloveds should be chosen by sight, not luck.
Although it was removed from the Church's calendar in 1969, the religious meaning coupled with Valentine's Day's roots in Roman paganism have allowed it to continue as a holiday for everyone.
Early Christians saw Valentine's Day as a way to honor St. Valentine, of whom there were actually three. The Catholic Church recognizes three saints by that name, all who were martyred on February 14.
The St. Valentine the day is named for was, most likely, a priest in the 3rd century who performed secret marriages when the Roman Emperor Claudius II thought single soldiers were more likely to enlist in the army. That St. Valentine was imprisoned and executed on February 4, 270. It is believed he was responsible for giving the jailer's blind daughter back her eyesight, and before his execution, he sent herss a note saying, "From your Valentine." The phrase is still widely used on valentines today.
It wasn't until 1537 that St. Valentine's day was declared an official holiday. England's King Henry VIII, known for his ways of disposing of wives, declared February 14th a holiday. It was another century and a half before religious devotional cards became non-religious cards to reflect the change in the holiday.
In 496 A.D., February 14, was declared in the name of St. Valentine by Pope Gelasius. It remained a Church holiday until 1969, when Pope Paul VI took it from the calender.
On February 14, the ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. Juno was also the goddess of womesn and marriage so honoring her was thought to be a fertility rite.
At the feast held the next day, the women would write love letters and stick them in a large urn. The men would pick a letter from the urn and for the next year, pursue the woman who wrote the chosen letter. This custom lasted until the 1700s when people decided their beloveds should be chosen by sight, not luck.
Decide what code is for u
♥ Green- I'm free
♥ Blue- I'm waiting
♥ Orange- going to propose
♥ Pink- accepted just now!!!
♥ Black- proposal rejected
♥ White- already booked
♥ Yellow- broke up!!!
♥ Gray- not interested...
♥ Red- leave me
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
♥ Blue- I'm waiting
♥ Orange- going to propose
♥ Pink- accepted just now!!!
♥ Black- proposal rejected
♥ White- already booked
♥ Yellow- broke up!!!
♥ Gray- not interested...
♥ Red- leave me
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
10 Quick & Quiet Steps to Hand Washing Success
Step 1 Turn on the warm water.
Step 2 Put your hands under the warm water.
Step 3 One squirt of handwashing soap.
Step 4 Make bubbles using the Hand Wash Scrub. Remember the palms, backs of hands, between fingers, under finger nails, and wash your wrists.
Step 5 Rinse your hands and send the bubbles and germs down the drain.
Step 6 Take one paper towel.
Step 7 Dry your hands.
Step 8 Use the towel to close the water faucets to prevent getting germs back on your hands.
Step 9 Put towel in waste can.
Step 10 Leave no trace. Make sure the room is clean.
Do a good job, and you will be less likely to catch colds or spread germs that cause sicknesses.
Step 2 Put your hands under the warm water.
Step 3 One squirt of handwashing soap.
Step 4 Make bubbles using the Hand Wash Scrub. Remember the palms, backs of hands, between fingers, under finger nails, and wash your wrists.
Step 5 Rinse your hands and send the bubbles and germs down the drain.
Step 6 Take one paper towel.
Step 7 Dry your hands.
Step 8 Use the towel to close the water faucets to prevent getting germs back on your hands.
Step 9 Put towel in waste can.
Step 10 Leave no trace. Make sure the room is clean.
Do a good job, and you will be less likely to catch colds or spread germs that cause sicknesses.
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