That is why we pledge our allegiance to Old Glory…to our flag of 50 stars and 13 stripes, and why we feel pride when we sing out, hand over hearts, to the “Star Spangled Banner.”  We know what has been sacrificed, are inspired by the love and price that has been paid, and are impelled to stay faithful to it.

What does it mean to pledge allegiance to something? 

pledge      noun       ˈplej

Definition of PLEDGE:  a binding promise or agreement to do or forbear

al·le·giance       noun        ə-ˈlē-jən(t)s

Definition of ALLEGIANCE

1 (1) : the fidelity owed by a subject or citizen to a sovereign or government 

   (2) : the obligation of an alien to the government under which the alien resides

2 : devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause

As Americans we respect the price that was paid, we love and are proud to be part of this incredible country, and are devoted to support it… but as Christians, do we show the same respect, love and devotion to the One star and His stripes?

We have an obligation to support it…

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”   Mark 12:17

We should be loyal to it…

“Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”   1 Peter 2:17

Show we are proud of it…

“But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”   2 Timothy 1:12

Show our devotion to it…

“Pay to all what is owed to them: …respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”   Romans 13:7

We will stand up for it…

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.”   Titus 2:7-8

Understand what has been sacrificed for us…

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:13

There is a song that gets me every time I hear it.  I love the message because it is exactly how I feel about my relationship with Christ;

“It ought to be
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance

Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It’s like I’m falling, oh
It’s like I’m falling in love

It’s like I’m falling in love, love, love
Deeper and deeper
It was love that made
Me a believer
In more than a name, a faith, a creed
Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me”

“More Like Falling In Love”  - Jason Gray

I love this country, and am so thankful and blessed to live here.  But the love I have for this country does not compare to the love I have for my Savior.  One day this country will fall from my eyes and the only thing that will matter is the One standing before me. 

And like most people, I long to hear those words…

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”   Matthew 25:21

If asked, what is your secret for having a strong and growing business; answers could be goals, work, courage, optimism etc. These are all necessary for a business to run and succeed. Though a lot of times there are those who play very important roles which keep a business move forward and grow but only few give credits to. These are the employees, the people that do all the “dirty’ works.

Now how can you make your people go to work out of passion, out of desire and not out of their wallet? Allow me to share 10 rules of thumb for engaging people in your venture. Some of which are self explanatory.

1. Appreciate that people are the most valuable and underutilized asset in every company in every industry.

Though they are easy to be replaced, these people are the arms and legs of a business that lift the business up and walk it through the road. Keeping them will sure keep your business alive. There is so much value in them. They can be your source of ideas.

2. Respect is the foundational principle that under girds every good relationship.

Respect is under girded by other principles like love and appreciation. Respecting your employee will result in a mutual understanding and loyalty. Though you are the boss, you can show respect by smiling and calling them in their names. When they make mistakes keep in mind that none is perfect, including you, so never speak to them in high tones. When firing someone it is respectful to give prior notice or you can also pay more than the usual if that employee had worked for you for years and has given much contribution to the business.

3. Great leaders understand the value of Psychic Income.

Psychic income is a non monetary income

* You are paying your employee a psychic in come if you share sensitive information to him like how the company is doing good or bad or if you put him into a situation when he is dealing with sensitive matters.

* You value him enough and you respect him enough that you believe he can take this information and treat it the way it ought to be treated. Now that is huge!

* I think it’s also a psychic income to a person when you give him credit for his good idea and don’t take that credit yourself. But it’s pretty common in a business world that an underlain come up with a bright idea and the boss would say “I’ve got a bright idea!” And guess what, that psychic income that is well deserved is diminished. Loyalty is diminished. The ability to be a contributor and engage a heart and soul in the business is diminished because the boss took away something that really belongs to his employee.

Now as a boss if you could understand the idea of Psychic Income, recognizing people when they achieve something meaningful, valuing them, that you expect them to do hard things and that you believe that they can do it. Those feed the soul and the spirit. They bring loyalty and power to the company.

4. Leaders listen to qualified source before making big decisions.

I don’t think every leader should listen to every single person on every topic. There are topics that need to be decided and move on.

From big decisions, it really empowers people to feel that when they have something to say, it will be heard. They will get a chance to say it. Weather the decisions moved in their direction or not. There is power in being able to express ones’ thoughts, character, intelligence and observation. It is vital. And too many businesses make decision upside down. Grow up people!

5. Hire Slow, Fire fast

If you are really going to build an organization where you want every team member on that organization to be invested in what’s happening, you really need to choose carefully whom you’ll hire.

If your employee is not working for you, you will never find a situation where it’ll work well for him. In other words, employees who are failing are generally not happy employees. I don’t know of a situation when somebody loves his job and doing wonderful things and yet they’re not doing anything for the organization. And I strongly believe that the most valuable asset we all have is “time”. If some of your people are failing and doesn’t have a future in your organization, you are doing a terrible disservice to them when they could be somewhere more promising to them, terminate quickly.

6. Team unity only comes through clearly communicated, understood and agreed upon vision.

You cannot expect someone to be loyal to an idea that is totally yours alone, they never had any say and don’t believe in it, they don’t understand it. If they feel that way about your vision then you can’t expect them to be on board with you with their heart, soul and energy.

Take time to understand each other on what you are trying to accomplish. It’s a labor, and it’s hard. But this will be a good start.

7. Great leaders are not afraid to hire people smarter than they are.

There are several business situations where leaders and those that are above literally was so insecure that didn’t really want to hire somebody in that would really make them look bad. How dumb is that. A true entrepreneur will agree that smart and talented people are actually an asset to a business.

You may not remember all these but you will remember this:

As an entrepreneur you have a huge opportunity to give people not only to get them engage in your business but to have the people who work for you become better people. That’s when business becomes more than just dollars and cents. As business owners kindly approach it this way. Valuing everybody that works with you and helping them become their best selves.

After World War II, my dad purchased a new Traveler hatch back car; it was kind of like a station wagon. Part of the back opened  down and  the  other  half  opened  up, the  seats  laid  flat and you had  lots of  space, you could  put a bed  in it, or haul lumber, whatever you  wanted to do. It was a pretty good car if I remember right, but that was in 1948 or 1949. The Traveler was built by the Kaiser Auto Company. However in 1942 to 1945 it was the Kaiser Ship Building Company, and guess what my dad had worked for Kaiser building ships, so when the war was over and he could buy a new car, he bought one from Kaiser. That’s what I m talking about loyalty, to the company.

You  see  that  kind  of  thing  all the time, at the  ballgame if  you go to  root  for the Dodgers you don’t change and  root for the Oakland  “A”s at  half time. You have to be true and loyal to your friends and team, and cheer them on to a win.

A case in point is the every industrialist in the country was loyal to the government during the war and of course they made millions. There was The Morrison Knudsen company, Rockefeller companies, and Kaiser Steel and Aluminum all responded with a can do attitude. When the  government  ask “Can you help us win this war”. Kaiser went out and built more shipyards so they could build more Liberty Ships.

While  we are talking  about  Henry J. Kaiser, I met him several times while I was a young  man  working  for  Standard Oil Company of  California. Mr. Kaiser was on his way to his house at Lake Tahoe for a little rest. His chauffeur was driving and they were in a big Kaiser sedan, of course it was very luxurious

That’s why my dad bought his Kaiser cars, this loyalty we are talking about. At the time  I never realized the connection between buying a Kaiser  car and  when he  worked in the Kaiser ship yard, now  I realize the connection.

During and after the war, all the big construction companies and ship builders were loyal to the country and worked together, and all were loyal to their country. Loyalty is what counts in to day’s world.

It has been nearly two months since we last had a conversation then it continued to nothing at all.

The feeling of nostalgia is trying to attack my brain again.

Now I can say to my self I am deeply missing him. And that those days and years we’ve been through were not that easy to forget. Those moments of each and every memory can’t be easily forgotten.

Rather, let me indulge. Four years back, he was that boy who tries to charm me in his own way. The way that he knows that at the end of the day he will be sanguine enough of winning my heart.

Every relationship walks through such, an elation and even goes down to depression.

Often they say, it’s normal. Was it really normal to feel obsessed of tracking our love once at work or off work? And we know that whatever the consequence of it can end us up of getting pain and regrets.  To talk more about it, this severe happiness could be the cause of too much love that the opposite sex can let us feel normally felt at the first few months of the relationship. However, in such relationship its not all about happiness. We often have these spices, and these can be the gut feeling, the test of trust and loyalty, temptation, impatience and others that can cause the partners to fight. There will always a time when the other person will feel that the love given to their loved once was not that much or rather too much but how can we really say that enough is enough?

I’ve been into this relationship for almost four years. Understanding all the flaws that I’ve seen in him probably the best that I’ve done. No complaints or anything that I know that will going to upset him. For that span of time, I’ve learnt to forgive and rationalize every single mistake that he does. It is very much reasonable that a person lies because we don’t want to hurt somebody. However, we people don’t just realize that at the end of it? It would be thrice much more painful on the side of the person that we are lying to.

I am not saying that he is the  only one who brought out reasons why we need to end up the relationship. Probably, I’ve also done a mistake its just that we were not able to talk about it because of pride and prejudice that sticks on both our minds. Although, we had too many happy memories but now it will merely a happy memory charged to our  own experiences.

Couple sometimes focuses on what good matters can each brought out from themselves.  The tangible expression of love most often not noticed. Perhaps we are busy spending time on stuff that doesn’t matters most. Time given to a person can’t be stolen by anybody else and will likely emphasize their importance. Appreciation of their presence could also be the key to a lasting relationship including trust, wisdom, patience and love.

I am not that perfect when it comes to relationship. I can include myself to those women who end themselves crying over a guy and unfortunately ended a relationship with just a memory at hand. Sometimes we even say that we are just unfortunate having them however have we asked why and how did they came into our lives. Despite of what happened, they came unto our lives  in a snap just to break us into pieces. And by these broken pieces of our selves comes a renewed and  stronger person. To me it was all about fate. And by our own fate, these happenings of our life tend to strengthen our lives and personality to enable us to deal with more challenges that life could bring.

            I know its too late to learn and realized all about this but I can say I’ve learned from my own experience and Im just hoping that it wont happen again the next time that Im going to commit myself into what they called LOVE . Or, if our love will be able to find its way in our hearts then surely that love are meant to be. xxx

Anna Hazare after fighting for the passage of the Jan LokPal Bill, he had also spoken about the reforms needed in the field of elections including the field of education in India too. Elections involve high expenditure, where the government and the candidates standing for the elections have to spend a lot for conducting these elections.

Corruption, bribe in the form of cash and alcohol which is not new, does play a huge role today in these Indian elections and as such election reforms have been quite necessary.

A thorough verification of the candidates contesting the elections as the first step is of utmost importance as there is a need to ban criminals and the accused from the election process as we have already seen how the latter achieve bail quite easily after they getting elected. There is also a need to cut on the electioneering campaigning cost undertaken by the contesting candidates. A ban also needs to be put up on posters, hoardings and even on door to door campaigning at the time when the election process is underway in the country. The Election Commissioner should make the Right to Vote a Compulsory Act for all the Indian citizens as most Indian citizens do not take this valuable right seriously enough. Those unable to travel to the polling booths could take the help of postal ballots which has been a necessary feature these days. The Election Commissioner should also have the power to deregister non-serious parties as it is high time that for the political parties does concentrate on serious issues for the development of our own country- our Motherland India and for her citizens too. Horse trading after elections needs to be prohibited too as many of these elected political candidates change their loyalty from a party to another.

The Right to Recall and the Right to Reject have been important factors which also need to be looked into and implemented in the election process as soon as possible.

Moving on the educational field while India had celebrated her 65th Independence Day, we still have a number of the educational institutions which have been in a mutilated condition as there are no proper roofs where the kids and the teachers need to sit outside and bear the hot sun, the rains and the strong winds, many of these institutions also have less number of benches where the kids attending these institutions have to sit on the floor which maybe crumpled or broken up, further they do not even have any toilets or playgrounds too. The educational institution are also faced with a number of other problems such as that of the safety transportation of the kids to these educational institutions and back home for which these administrators require well behaved drivers and conductors which are rarely found these days. These institutions are also faced with other problems as that of less number of teachers who are willing to take up teaching as their career, the insurance cover needed for these institutions to protect these from the damages caused and the need for medical cover for the kids and teachers attending these educational institutions and last but the least the financial support which is of utmost importance for these institutions to survive.

Therefore running of these educational institutions is also no joke. Anna Hazare had indicated that his fight will not end with fighting against corruption only but also would fight for the educational and electoral reforms.

The need for overhauling the educational system and the electoral process in the country has become a necessity today indeed!!

It’s very rare for couples to choose to stay together if one of them must move away even if they are very much in love. Usually younger couples between from ages sixteen to mid-twenties decide to take the challenge and stay loyal to their partner whilst they are away indefinitely. But often, long distance relationships can get messy and are not likely to last. Recently, my younger sister’s boyfriend went off to college and would be a 2 and a 1/2 hour drive away. They chose to stay together though he was so far and he would come visit her on the weekends. Unfortunately, it could not last. Too many things went wrong and now they are no longer together. Now my boyfriend and I have been together for a shorter time than my sister and her boyfriend were and we too have decided to stay together except in our situation, we can only see each other through video chatting. He lives in Portland, Oregon whilst I have moved to Rexburg, Idaho. We’ve been a couple for three months and have spent one of those months apart from each other. So how do we manage? Here are a few tips I have gained from experience in order to keep a long distance relationship alive.

Saying Goodbye For Now

If you’re as close to your partner as I am to mine, you can probably relate to the pain and heartache that came when I realized the hug goodbye I gave to him would be the last hug I would be receiving from him for a long time. I can honestly say I have never experienced anything more heart-wrenching and painful than saying to goodbye to a man I have befriended and loved. Before we said goodbye though, we made sure to spend as much time with the other as possible. Two days before, we spent the day at the beach then spent the next day snuggling in bed. Before you and your partner leave each other for the time being, do something fun together. Do the things you always talk about doing but have not yet done. My boyfriend and I went to Oaks Park just like I wanted. Of course our list was way too long to complete in the time we had left but at least if you don’t get everything checked off your list, you’ll have something to do and look forward to when you are with each other again.

Trust

This one might be a no-brainer; trust and honesty is required in order to keep any relationship strong. I never lie to my boyfriend and I know I can trust him with anything. However, not every couple can say this and that can be difficult when in a long distance relationship. If one cannot trust the other, the relationship sadly will not last. This happened with my younger sister. There were trust issues in their relationship and it effected how they treated each other. They expected each other to behave a certain way when apart. Of course my sister wanted him to stay loyal to her but he wanted my sister not to associate with other guys. Eventually, she ended up moving to Bend, Oregon where she knows hardly anyone and is eager to make friends. She’s also a cheer leader, a senior in high school, and a very attractive young woman so not associating with young men is a bit of a challenge for her. Actually it’s a challenge for any young women. Men and women naturally like to be around each other. Long distance couples have to realize this. In my opinion, it is too much for a partner to ask the other not to associate with the opposite sex. My boyfriend trusts me enough to hang out with other men while remaining loyal to him and I trust him to do the same around women. If you can have this kind of trust in your relationship without either of you harboring any jealousy, your relationship will be much healthier for both of you.

Avoid Jealousy

This one may be a little hypocritically of me because I have been known to be very jealous when I see other women around my previous boyfriends. But jealousy is an ugly thing to have in a relationship and can cause its death. I have not yet felt any jealousy in my relationship because my boyfriend only hangs out with his guy friends. However I have caused jealousy in my relationship. Jealousy almost immediately leads to anger and knowing your partner is angry because they are jealous is a very unpleasant situation. Try not to allow jealousy into your relationship. If you do something to make your partner jealous, avoid any future situations where the incident that caused their jealousy would occur again and apologize to your partner if necessary. 

Loyalty

Couples have a responsibility to remain loyal to each other if they wish for a relationship to last. This one can be hard for some especially if you’re used to receiving affection from your lover every day or more often than not. After a while of being away from each other, you might start to crave this affection and allow yourself a few exceptions when around the opposite sex. This is where you need to talk with your partner. Ask them what is okay and what is not. In my long distance relationship, holding hands is reserved for my man alone. However I didn’t ask him what was okay when hanging out with a guy who showed interest in me and it almost cost me my relationship. Know what your partner expects of you and stick to it.

Communication

Constantly speaking with each other is vital for a long distance relationship. My boyfriend and I text each other throughout the day just because we have the free time. However, not everyone is so privileged with school, work, family taking up most of the day. If you do have texting, perhaps send your partner a text for them to wake up to saying good morning, telling them what you have planed that day and when you plan to talk to them next, closing with “I love you.” It would also be a good idea to download video chatting if you do not already have it. Just seeing the other can make your day or night much better. My boyfriend and I use Skype to speak to each other most nights and some mornings. Though we miss each other terribly, it really brings us back to when we were together. We also talk about when we’ll be together again and all the things we want to do. Talking about what you will do when you see your partner again will give you something to look forward to and you will realize that the wait is worthwhile.

Image via CrunchBase

Make Plans to Meet Again

This is the goal and hope in every long distance relationship; to be together again. I know when I first moved away and had no plans and no friends, all I looked forward to was to see my boyfriend again. So we’ve made plans. I’ve bought tickets to go see him, just a few days after his birthday and he is also planning on driving down to see me later in the year. If you have the money and the time, make plans to visit your partner, perhaps for a holiday, an anniversary, a birthday, or just because you can. When I go to see my boyfriend, we will have been apart for 2 months. Talk to your partner about a good time to visit them, plan and schedule it. Having a set day that you will be with you partner again will make your situation more hopeful as opposed to settling with a less-than-promising “someday.” 

Letters and Gifts

Very few people write letters these days what with the wait taking longer than is desirable and the effort it takes to write being too great for many. But writing a letter to your partner shows you are willing to take time out of your day for them and is more than welcomed to your partner, especially if they are the one who has moved to a new environment where they may have little to no friends. When couples send each other letters, they have something more to look forward to in their relationship and letters can last forever as opposed to texts that can be erased or lost on your cell phone. If you are not able to write letters, you might go with emails which can be printed off. The only difference is that everyone’s emails look the same while a hand written letter is the mark of your significant other. Gifts are also good to mail to your partner. My boyfriend recently sent me a box of small gifts that all had different meanings to them or that were just for fun (i.e. scented candles, mints, gum. I hope he’s not trying to say I smell bad). For example, before I moved to Rexburg, there was a place in my neighborhood with a small tree, beautiful green grass, and bushes of flowers all against a corner of a low, brick wall fencing. It was a picturesque scene in my mind and I told my boyfriend, “We need to get pictures there.” Unfortunately, we never did. So when I received his box of gifts, I found it very sweet and sentimental that he had sent me pictures of himself at that scene. They are so beautiful and they make me excited to go back to him. It’s gifts like these that your partner will appreciate and adore.

I’m sure questions are pouring through your heads wondering what I mean by this…it’s something you should already know…I’m sure a lot of you already do. Family is those who hold you up when you’re at your lowest…make you laugh when you want to cry…hold your hand when you’re afraid to be alone. It has nothing to do with blood or the members of your family tree. It has to do with the kindness and love shown when those who should care end up walking away. That is my family – the family that has remained by my side regardless of the reasons why. The most important part of that would be my children…those who share my blood – and those I’ve taken in along the way. It consists of the friends who have my back and always will…the ones I can never live without. What they have provided to me is priceless – I can only hope I provide them the same. 

First, we shall tackle my kids…all of them. My boys are my world and that will never change. No matter what choices they make in life, mom will always be there to support them. It’s my duty – it’s who I am. The only way to define this is to just throw it out there…successes and failures…accomplishments and mistakes – they will never be alone. On top of having me, they have each other. This is bond that is impossible to crack…time will only make it stronger…love will make it invincible. Without my children – I’m non-existant.

When it comes to my friends…they know who they are. I don’t let many into that little realm – simply because for me to accept the friendship offered…that same offer must include acceptance of my boys. Not many are willing to take that extra step – it’s their mistake, since we are one…a package deal. The friends I speak of here…the ones I call family – I will defend against anyone who crosses them. We look out for each other when no one else in our lives was willing to do so. That’s what it’s about…without my friends – life is meaningless.

This is my tribute to them…what I have to offer at this moment in time. When you feel abandoned and alone with no one that cares…look further than what’s right in front of you. Think of the person who sent you a text message asking if you were okay…remember the voicemail saying “if you need me, call”…accept the random hug from someone who couldn’t find the right words to say. I’m telling you now…that is your family…and much like mine, it consists of those who not only carry your blood – but many who also do not. 

Family is what we choose it to be…what we need it to be…what it’s meant to be…

To my children…my friends…you will never be alone…we have each other…

I love you all with the strongest part of my soul…

Ingredients

6 large ivy leaves (gathered at the time of the New Moon)

Burin Granular rose or jasmine love incense

Container suitable for burning the ivy leaves

Use the burin to inscribe one word of the following phrase on each leaf:

Keep my true love with me

Light the incense and, in the container, burn the inscribed leaves with the correct order of speech.

Whilst you are doing this, say

Goddess of love, God of desire,

Bring to me fidelity

The above uses the Element of Fire. To use Water, cast the leaves into a stream or something alike, and say:

Message of love, I set you free

To capture a love and return to me

You should now notice the effect of the Ivy, as it symbolizes fidelity.  

Write a story 

It’s time to take delivery keyboard . Open the computer and into a new document, write the title “Chapter 1″ and begins to describe an erotic scene whose protagonists are you and your partner. Then, after you’ve finished, write underneath, “Chapter 2″ by sending him a lover, to continue. But do not reach the climax too quickly, you can write as many chapters as possible – both will keep on boiling with desire. 

Passionate letter 

Nothing can be more pleasant than a passionate letter. Unlike a message, a letter can be touched, comforted, smelled .. Spray a little of your perfume on a piece of paper and then let his pen run freely, enumerating the wildest fantasies of yours, or remembering the most passionate sex … with him, of course. 

Panties surprise 

Buy the sexiest bikini you find and then send her lover with a note that says: “this is what you wear to our meeting.” Do not be surprised if you come home earlier than had planned. 

Sexy post-it 

Before you leave your lover, conceals a series of post-it notes with messages sexy in his luggage. Put a pack in his boxers, a shirt pocket, yet another one in the book and hide it’s in your wallet. In this way they constantly remind you how much you want, and that does wonders for the male ego. 

Sex with message 

You do not just phone sex, but sex messaging. It is however difficult to type and do something else meanwhile.Therefore, writing a series of exciting messages and save them before. It will be easier to send them one by one, you start the session … erotic. 

The good in sex by phone, email or SMS, is that you can let your imagination run wild, you give up your inhibitions and you say all those things that you’re too embarrassed to utter when they are face to face. So why to abstain?Tell your partner’s wildest fantasies. It can do wonders for your sex life.

You know I am there and you just play it off like it is some big secret

I want to yell out, hey

But

I can not

Oh, I don’t want to let our little secret out in front of your group

I wouldn’t want to do that

I wouldn’t want to spoil your fun at my damn expense

I wouldn’t want to ruin or taint anything

Sorry

What is up with that?

What did I do?

Is it that big of a deal?

I guess so!

I must be an embarrassment to you and that is why you must keep it hush hush

I want to scream!

I am loyal to your wishes and I haven’t blurted a single word

You make me ill, but I still keep my mouth closed

No contact, isn’t that how you like it!

Sorry to have let you down and disappoint you!

I know I am not the best

But

I know how you can not resist certain things and well

I’ve got all of that!

Huh…