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New Year 2007 Financial Plan A financial exchange is an emotional exchange. Derail your outside pressures and align your emotions with God for a lifetime. The 10% Tithe-10% Personal Savings gives you an opportunity to align your emotions with God. Invest for your entire life, 10% Tithe-10% Personal Savings, not just in consecutive 12 month/52 week stages. It's not just the spiritual, cultural, emotional, intellectual, and physical gaps between God, you and money. The real gap is between what you think God wants and what you actually want, deep down. The discrepancy between what God wants and what you want is settled by the 10% Tithe-10% Personal Savings. The exchange is easy to follow. Money is a reward for solving a problem. You exchange your earning for time-exchange money for time to:
5 Exclusive Messages 5 smoothed stones to throw at Goliath in 2007
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Sunday, December 31, 2006
New Year 2007 Financial Plan
January 1, 2007 Opening Hymn and Psalm
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January 1, 2007
Opening Hymn and Psalm
Hail to the brightness of Zion’s glad morning
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Isaiah 9:2
Hail to the brightness of Zion’s glad morning! Hail to the brightness of Zion’s glad morning! Lo, in the desert rich flowers are springing, See, from all lands, from the isles of the ocean, Psalm 118:24 (King James Version) 24This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (The Message) 21-25 Thank you for responding to me; 5 Exclusive Messages 5 smoothed stones to throw at Goliath in 2007
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Exclusive 2007 Happy New Year Message to Fortifi@ Members
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Happy New Year Fortifi@
“The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul” G. K. Chesterton
Happy New Year to all of my Fortifi@ friends and partners in New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Philadelphia, Africa, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, California, Texas, and Italy Don't be deceived in 2007 It was with a great deal of chagrin that Satan heard the news that Jesus Reigns in 2007 and that you reign with Him. Read the last chapter-God Reigns and Wins Revelation 22 (The Message)18-19I give fair warning to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this book: If you add to the words of this prophecy, God will add to your life the disasters written in this book; if you subtract from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will subtract your part from the Tree of Life and the Holy City that are written in this book. 20He who testifies to all these things says it again: "I'm on my way! I'll be there soon!" Yes! Come, Master Jesus! 21The grace of the Master Jesus be with all of you. Oh, Yes!
The Word of the Day for December 31 is:
Exclusive message to Fortifi@ members Someone will be successful in 2007 with the same cards that you were dealt in 2006. Consequently, having done all to stand in 2007, Fortifi@. This Means Fortifi@ members play the cards we receive, to their trading potential and Peak performance.”fortifi@ 5 Exclusive Messages 5 smoothed stones to throw at Goliath in 2007
2006 Review
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Happy New Year page2 The Changing of the Kenaniah Iconic Guard 2006
read this first
The Changing of the Kenaniah Iconic Guard
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John W. Peterson (1921-2006) was born in Lindsborg, Kansas. In 1967, the National Evangelical Film Foundation presented Mr. Peterson with the Sacred Music Award in recognition of his accomplishments in the field of sacred music. In the same year, he received the honorary degree, Doctor of Sacred Music, from John Brown University. In 1971, he received the honorary degree, Doctor of Divinity, from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland, Oregon; and in 1979, he received the honorary degree, Doctor of Fine Arts, from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1977, his autobiography, "The Miracle Goes On," was published by Zondervan Publishing House, and a film by the same title was released by Gospel Films. In 1986, Mr. Peterson was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and in 1996 at MusiCalifornia, he received the prestigious Ray DeVries Church Music Award. He's listed in "Who's Who in America" and "Who's Who in the World." |
James Brown 1933-2006
- January 1 — Bryan Harvey, American singer-guitarist of House of Freaks, 46
- January 6
- Lou Rawls, American soul singer, 72
- Alex St. Claire, American drummer of Captain Beefheart, 64
- January 11 — Markus Löffel, German disc jockey, 39
- January 19 — Wilson Pickett, American singer, 64
- January 27 — Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer, 56
- January 30 — Thomas "Pig Champion" Roberts, American guitarist of Poison Idea, 47
- February 2 — Bill Cowsill, American singer-gutarist of The Cowsills, 52
- February 3 — Romano Mussolini, Italian jazz pianist, 78
- February 10 — Jay Dee, American hip hop producer, 32
- February 15 — Anna Marly, French singer-songwriter, 88
- February 22 — Anthony Burger, American gospel music pianist, 44
- March 7 — Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer and guitarist, 66
- March 10 — Anna Moffo, American operatic soprano, 75
- March 13 — Geoffrey Wilkes, bassist of The Orange Jam Conspiracy, 18
- March 23
- Pío Leyva, Cuban singer of the Buena Vista Social Club, 88
- Cindy Walker, American country singer-songwriter, 87
- March 25
- Buck Owens, American country singer and guitarist, 76
- Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish singer and actress, 62
- March 27 — Pete Wells, 48, guitarist of Buffalo & Rose Tattoo
- April 5 — Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter, 65
- April 11
- June Pointer, American singer of Pointer Sisters, 52
- Proof (DeShaun Holton), American rapper of D12, 32
- April 24
- Erik Bergman, Finnish composer of classical music, 94
- Bonnie Owens, American country singer, 76
- April 28 — Ben-Zion Orgad, Israeli composer, 80
- May 1 — Big Hawk, American rapper, 36
- May 5 — Naushad, Indian composer, 86
- May 6 — Grant McLennan, Australian guitarist and songwriter of The Go Betweens, 48
- May 10
- Soraya, Colombian-American singer, 37
- John Hicks, American jazz pianist, 65
- May 13 — Johnnie Wilder, American singer of Heatwave, 56
- May 15 — Cheikha Rimitti, Algerian singer, 83
- May 18 — Andy Capps, American drummer of Built to Spill, 37
- May 19 — Freddie Garrity, English singer of Freddie and the Dreamers, 69
- May 23 — Ian Copeland, American music promoter, 57
- May 25 — Desmond Dekker, Jamaican ska and reggae performer, 64
- June 1 — Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress, 62
- June 2
- Johnny Grande, American keyboardist of Bill Haley & His Comets, 76
- Vince Welnick, American keyboardist of Grateful Dead, 55
- June 6
- Billy Preston, American soul keyboardist, 59
- Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican-American jazz pianist, 54
- June 12 — György Ligeti, Hungarian composer, 83
- June 20 — Claydes Charles Smith, American guitarist of Kool and the Gang, 57.
- June 27 — Eileen Barton, American singer, 76
- July 3
- Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, American mezzo-soprano, 52
- Jack Smith, American singer, 92
- July 7
- Syd Barrett, English singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding-member of Pink Floyd, 60
- Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, Irish singer and guitarist of The Bothy Band, 54
- July 8 — June Allyson, American actress, singer and dancer, 88
- July 9 — Milan Williams, American keyboardist of The Commodores, 58
- July 13 — Ade Monsbourgh, Australian jazz musician, 89
- July 16 — Malachi Thompson, American jazz trumpeter, 56
- July 22 — Jessie Mae Hemphill, American singer-songwriter, 82
- July 31 — Rufus Harley, American jazz bagpiper, 70
- August 2 — Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German operatic soprano, 90
- August 3 — Arthur Lee, American guitarist and vocalist of Love, 61
- August 4 – Monroe Clark, English-born Violinist, 70
- August 16 — Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish singer of Dissection, 31
- August 19 — Joseph Hill, Jamaican lead singer of roots reggae group Culture, 57
- August 22 — Bruce Gary, American drummer of The Knack, 55
- August 23 — Maynard Ferguson, Canadian jazz trumpet player, 78
- August 24 — John Weinzweig, Canadian composer of classical music, 93
- August 27 — Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist for Napalm Death, 37
- August 28 - Pip Pyle, English drummer forHatfield and the North, National Health, and Gong, 56
- September 3 — Eva Knardahl, Norwegian classical pianist, 79
- September 4 — Astrid Varnay, Swedish operatic soprano, 88
- September 10 — Bennie Smith, American blues musician, 72
- September 13 — Lou Richards, American guitarist of Hatebreed, 35
- September 14 — Norman Brooks, Canadian singer, 78
- September 19 — Danny Flores, Mexican-American saxaphonist of The Champs, 77
- September 20 — Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor, 74
- September 21 — Boz Burrell, English bass guitarist of Bad Company and King Crimson, 60
- September 23 — Malcolm Arnold, English composer, 84
- September 30 — Isabel Bigley, American singer and actress, 78
- October 14 — Freddy Fender, American singer, 69
- October 18 — Anna Russell, UK singer and comedienne, 94
- October 21 — Sandy West, American drummer of The Runaways, 47
- October 23
- Lebo Mathosa, singer, 29 (car accident)
- Leonid Hambro, pianist, 86
- October 26 — Rogério Duprat, composer, 74
- November 1
- Jason DiEmilio, guitarist (The Azusa Plane), 36
- Buddy Killen, record producer and founder of Dial Records, 73
- Silvio Varviso, conductor, 82
- November 3 – Paul Mauriat, orchestra leader, 81
- November 8 – Basil Poledouris, film composer, 61
- November 10 – Gerald Levert, singer, 40
- November 17 - Ruth Brown, US singer, 78
- November 22 - John Allan Cameron, folk musician, 67
- November 23
- Betty Comden, lyricist partner of Adolph Green, 89
- Anita O'Day, jazz singer, 87
- November 24 - Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter, 56
- November 25 - Valentín Elizalde, Mexican banda singer, 27
- November 30 - Shirley Walker, film composer, 61
- December 2 - Mariska Veres, singer with Shocking Blue, 59
- December 6 - Darren Brown, AKA Wiz, former frontman of Mega City Four, 44
- December 8 - Martha Tilton, US big band singer, 91
- December 9 - Georgia Gibbs, US singer, 87
- December 11 - Homer Ledford, bluegrass musician, 79
- December 13 - Robert Long, singer and TV presenter, 63
- December 14 - Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder of Atlantic Records, 83
- December 16 - Pnina Salzman, pianist, 84
- December 18
- Scott Mateer, US songwriter and disk jockey, 46
- Daniel Pinkham, American composer, 83
- December 22 - Dennis Linde,Songwriter "Burnin' Love", "John Deere Green" and others
- December 25 - James Brown, American singer, 73
- December 27 - Pierre Delanoë, French lyricist, 88
5 Exclusive Messages
5 smoothed stones to throw at Goliath in 2007
Happy New Year
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Happy New Year from Fortifi@.
2007: 5767 (2006–7) = תשס"זHebraic Year 5767. In Hebrew, these numbers have meaning. This is “The Year of Samekh Zayin!” This means that this will be "The Year That Swords Will Clash"
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in
2006 has been a great year for the music Ministry. The salient issue in 2007 is; Who will sing the Lord's song. How Shall We Sing the LORD's Song? 1-3 Alongside Babylon's rivers we sat on the banks; we cried and cried, 1By the waters of Babylon, Music Ministry Revival is here in 2007. The archetype of the the new Kenaniah anointing will manifest. The Kenaniah Sword of the Word will pierce the hearts of men. There will be a clashing in the Music Ministry. Music Ministry against Music Ministry and Music Ministry against Music Cosmos, Music Cosmos against the Music Ministry. Cultures that have birthed aspects of music culture will be stripped of their authority. God will raise upa unknown Kenaniah who will Sing the song of the Lord. The emergence of the new Kenaniah will festerMusic jealousy envy and saboatage in the Music generations. Music rivalry will arise in the Music kingdom; east against west, black musician against white, women against men, young against old, culture against music culture. The generation of the female Kenaniah will emerge. The Lord will thrust His sword in the side of Adam. The Kenaniah woman will lead side by side of the adamic Kenaniah. The two shall reign and rule over the dominion call the Music Cosmos. the glory of the Lord will be manifest; and flesh shall see it together. The trumpet/shofar will come to prominence. For the lips of the Kenaniah will be prepared to low the trumpet. For the dead in Christ will raise at the last trumpet. The Music nations and authorities/kingdoms will shake. The Unnamed Kenaniahs will emerge and topple the old Kenaniah leadership. Tensions and hostility will be strirred between the old Kenaniah catholic leadership and the new Kenaniah wilderness leadership. God will uncover the sin of the Kenaniah fathers. The Davidic music anointing will reestablished. During 207 there will be a unleashing of the glory of God upon the Music Industry. Prominent Conductors, Musicians, promoter, record labels, orchestras, bands and groups will proclaim Christ. Major Concert halls, clubs and venues will premier and host the song of Woe to the lips of Kenaniah in Zion..who will not Sing the song of the Lord. Woe to the Kenaniah hands who not finger the chords of Zion. Woe to the Kenaniah heart that does not know the heart of God. Woe to the Music Minsitry/kenanish that conjure up an offering tribute dance, praise and worship without God. Woe to the Kenaniah that tribute Moloch. Great weeping in the streets of Zion can be heard throughout the nations. There will be weeping and wailing in Ramah. It is the sound of Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted.
Jeremiah 31:1515-17Again, God's Message: "Listen to this! Laments coming outof Ramah, Matthew 2:18 (The Message)16-18Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he'd gotten from the scholars.) That's when Jeremiah's sermon was fulfilled:<BR \> There
Warning! DO NOT BE DECEIVED.......Warning! DO NOT BE DECEIVED......Warning! DO NOT BE DECEIVED | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 Thessalonians 2
The Changing of the Kenaniah Iconic Guard
James Brown 1933-2006
More transition notices |
Sword: Also see Knife: Word of God; utensil for warfare; ruling over the wicked; judgment of the flesh; words that are faultfinding; prophetic words that cut away flesh; vengeance of God; one who is in mental agony; victory through the Word of God; enforcing compliance by threatening; conflict; oppressive conduct in order to persecute. (Eph. 6: 17; Ps. 64: 3; Du. 32: 41; Josh. 5: 13; 6: 21; Prov. 5: 3-4; 12: 18; Rom. 13: 4; Luke 2: 35; Rev. 6: 4)
the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword. The root of the English word "swordsman" follows from the word gladiator[1], a Roman term for the professional fighters who fought against each other and a variety of other foes for the entertainment of spectators. The word gladiator itself comes from the Roman word gladius, meaning "a sword"[1]. 
1541, from L. 
But it is not the best year that the Music Ministry has experienced. The best is yet to come in 2007. 2007 is the year of Jubilee. 
the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord will recapture the major and minor music idioms for His glory. College Music students will turn there gifts back to the Lord in symphonic performance and composition. There will be an overflow of creativity. There will be a transition in leadership. From Godfather (James Brown) to son transitions. There will also be a transition in music styles. Hip Hop and Rap will transition into something new in the next 3 years. 2007 will also begin to manifest the influence of Music and therapeutic healing, spiritualism. Music nationalism may be on the rise. this may be accompanied by the resurgence of ancient music ritual practices. International music styles will become prominent/dominant and influential. 
Finally, there will be Music discoveries and inventions. Established organic instrument will be enhanced by the electronic revolution. The organic expressions will become a part of the sub-music culture/antique societies i.e.. pipe organ. "Scientists are using high-tech tools to learn how different parts of violins contribute to their overall sound. Thus playing a less prominent role in the greater society. music will be transmitted, transferred and communicated by new devices. Electronic concerts, electronic audiences, electronic devices will be "juke box" ready to the public. There will be new discoveries in the area of sound, communication, and music transcription. 
will be a Music Ministry falling away. Some of the Music Ministry leaders will deceived in 2007 and there will a falling away. There will be a falling away from the Music Ministry and faith in God. Their will be an increase in Music Ministry Apostasy....Some of the issues listed below will be used to distract the Ministry of Music. The allure will involve some of the following issues in 2007.
If You Won’t Play the Album, They’ll Sing It, From the Top
And that’s not the half of recent opportunities to hear landmark albums performed live. Lou Reed performed “Berlin” in New York this month, for instance, while over in England the likes of Tortoise, the Stooges, Belle and Sebastian, Isis and Low have participated in a series called Don’t Look Back, in which bands do just that by revisiting one of their older LPs on stage.
Meanwhile, on XM Satellite Radio’s two-year-old series “Then ... Again ... Live,” the likes of Jethro Tull, Mountain and REO Speedwagon have each performed classic albums (in the case of those three, “Aqualung,” “Climbing” and “Hi Infidelity”). Newer albums are aired out as well: Iron Maiden is performing its latest offering, “A Matter of Life and Death,” on its current world tour.
Such shows tend to receive positive critical attention, but the current transformation of the music marketplace suggests that albums are being presented onstage because they’re becoming museum-ified relics. As digital downloading changes the way music is consumed, could the album be going live because it’s dead?
Maybe the album’s dead; but then, maybe it isn’t. It’s become a commonplace that albums are losing their authority as artistic entities as an increasing number of people buy music song by song via services like iTunes. So playing an album live helps artists regain a modicum of creative control. The experience is like listening to a playlist, but this time (as earlier) it’s the musicians and producers themselves who are devising it.
What’s curious is that the same changes in music consumption that are hurting the album are helping to keep it alive. As recorded-music sales decline in a digital era of single-track sales and outright piracy, concert revenues are robust and, while always crucial to the financial health of the typical band or musician, even more important now. Performing an album live, then, is a way to stand out. It’s “a way to get people to come in and buy a ticket in a very competitive market,” Jethro Tull’s front man, Ian Anderson, said.
“It’s a cynical commercial ploy on the part not only of concert promoters but also of some of the artists who go along with it,” he added, commenting on a tactic he himself could be accused of indulging in.
Ticket sales aside, revisiting a classic can boost sales of the original or a new live version. (Patti Smith, Jethro Tull and Belle and Sebastian have all released their stage reinventions on CD.)
The strategy can certainly backfire. Iron Maiden’s decision to play its latest album on tour has not always been well received by fans. A Welsh paper reported that in December “vocalist Bruce Dickinson bouncy-balled magnificently onto the stage, but when, five tracks in, he confirmed they would play the whole album there was a negative reaction; largely silence, even the odd boo.”
The impetus to find new ways to freshen up a stage act is so strong that the live-album phenomenon isn’t limited to grizzled classic-rock veterans. In the tours that followed its 2003 reunion, for instance, the funk-metal group Primus played “Sailing the Seas of Cheese” (1991) and “Frizzle Fry” (1990) in their entirety. “It was an interesting way of presenting material that for a good portion of our fans held a dear place,” said Les Claypool, that band’s bassist-singer, underlining the allure of LP recreation for both audience and musicians.
Many of the younger bands invited by Don’t Look Back — a series created in 2005 by the ultra-hip British festival All Tomorrow’s Parties — come from punk’s song-oriented rebellion. For them the impetus seems slightly different, since they already tend to do well enough on the live circuit, and playing an album live does not suddenly vault them into larger venues.
In their case what’s at stake is the opportunity for the press and the fans to evaluate (or re-evaluate) a particular album’s place in underground-music history. In other words, a Sonic Youth concert is merely a Sonic Youth concert unless, say, it’s a performance of “Daydream Nation” as part of Don’t Look Back. Then it would be an event prompting reams of ink and quite a few blog entries.
The album contagion has even spread to jazz, primarily a live, improvisational realm where one would assume studio albums aren’t such fetishistic objects. Merkin Concert Hall in New York is in the middle of a series called Reissues in which entire jazz records are performed live. Andrew Hill tackled his 1969 recording “Passing Ships” in November and in February Freddie Redd will perform “The Connection,” from 1960.
“If you look at the majority of jazz record sales these days, they’re either reissues or projects of artists who are no longer living or artists whose ensembles are no longer together as they once were,” said the co-curator, Brice Rosenbloom. “So we really wanted to give the audience the opportunity to hear these projects in a live setting.”
One of the trickiest aspects of playing an entire album — and one most tantalizing to fans — is that the element of surprise switches from “What are they going to play next?” to “How are they going to play the next song?” The challenge to play album cuts that don’t usually receive stage exposure can prove daunting.
“There are songs you don’t seriously think you’re ever going to do live because they’re too tricky or you sang them at the top of your vocal range in the studio and you can’t match that onstage,” Mr. Anderson pointed out. “When you record a bunch of songs on different days and over a period of time, you obey a different set of rules, which aren’t necessarily those that would make sense live.”
And still bands keep doing it, even though in some cases playing certain albums may painfully remind them of an early peak they’ll never top again. This year when Teenage Fanclub performed “Bandwagonesque” from 1991, The Guardian’s reviewer noted that after its initial success, the record “became their bête noir — never excelled, referenced in reviews of subsequent albums, and now entombed in aspic as part of the Don’t Look Back series.”
Some musicians display a notable lack of enthusiasm for the whole idea. Asked about playing “Fun House” live, the Stooges’ guitarist Ron Asheton simply answered, “It’s just a show.” Even Mr. Anderson, no stranger to performing concept albums live (“Thick as a Brick,” “A Passion Play”), didn’t jump at the opportunity to go through “Aqualung,” from 1971, for XM Satellite.
“I somewhat reluctantly agreed to doit,” he said. “But once I started thinking about it and was faced with the challenge of playing a few songs I’d never ever played live, it became more appealing.” (On the tour that preceded the XM session he performed the live debut of “Slipstream” and sang the rarely played “Up to Me,” so he could practice them in front of an audience.)
No doubt ego plays a role in musicians’ agreeing to play albums live. It’s hard to resist conferring on a collection of tracks a quasi-organic cohesion (and historical importance) that may not have been the original intent.
“It’s like a band jumps at the thought that their quickly-thrown-together collection of songs has luckily and rather arbitrarily found depth and meaning,” said Stuart Murdoch, front man for Belle and Sebastian, with a touch of self-deprecation.
At the same time the phenomenon does lead to absurd situations, like Cheap Trick replaying “Live at Budokan” live — huh? — or Alice Cooper performing his 1974 “Greatest Hits” on XM. Lee Abrams, XM’s chief creative officer (and a pioneer of the album-oriented rock radio format in the 1970s), explained that “a lot of times artists need certain members to be in the band to recreate an older album, and I think the songs on that album were the ones Alice was most comfortable recreating.”
Playing a best-of record live does make a case for Alice Cooper’s stature in the 1970s, but perversely it’s as one of that decade’s best singles artists. If buying music continues to become ever more song-based, playing greatest-hits packages live in, say, chronological order may be the only option left to younger acts. Justin Timberlake, are you listening?
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Assignmentmaster 2007
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Assignmentmaster 2007 2007 will give you an opportunity to master your prophetic assignment. 2007 fortune will not deal everyone a "winning hand". Some of humanity will eat from the hand of misfortune. Hard work is the yeast that raises the dough. Hard work is like yeast leavens the dough. But, misfortune contaminates and exaggerates our leavened lives.
A winning life is like a great cup of tea. A winning life is also like a game of cards. Life is seldom like a "Five of a Kind" This is five cards of the same Rank, such as 5 Queens. This is ONLY possible with Wild cards, or cheating... You can win in 2007 with the cards that you have been dealt. In 2007, someone will win with the same cards as you. They be dealt the same cards as you. They will be determined to make it a winning hand. Consequently, they will win with the cards that you have been dealt. The Royal Flush or High hand will not determine their success.
Just because fate doesn't deal you the right cards, it doesn't mean youshould give up. It just means you have to play the cards you get to their maximum potential.” Les Brown 5 Exclusive Messages 5 smoothed stones to throw at Goliath in 2007
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Misery and misfortune is like contaminated yeast, it flattens the leavened dough. In 2006, you may felt like your life has been filled with terrible misfortune. However, most of our misfortune may never have happened. Misfortune may not be your cup of tea. Each cup of tea may represent life's journey. Misfortune is like a cup of tea. Your sip of tea might render you to say " If this is tea, please bring me some coffee; but if this is coffee, please bring me some tea."
Has 2006 fortune dealt you some bad cards? Then let wisdom make you a good gamemaster. During 2007, you can only play the cards you've been dealt. ”Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand 
well.” In 2006 someone was dealt life's Royal Flush and they lost everything.In contrast, someone was also dealt a High Card and won. High Card is the lowest possible hand, where the player's highest Rank card gives the value of the hand. The lowest possible hand would be a 2,3,4,5,7 of different suits.
A-To Tithe or Not? These Days the Issue Only Starts There
To Rabbi Marc Wolf, senior director of community development at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan, it used to be that the only complexity to tithing was the debate among religious scholars over whether the tithe was intended to be based on income before taxes or after.
But tithing has turned more complicated. These days it is as likely to start with an online questionnaire as with a 10-dime allowance. Or it may begin with a consultant, who can work on behalf of tithers, looking to shape their contributions, or on behalf of a church, seeking to raise more money.
And that weekly collection plate? It is quickly becoming passé: money can now be automatically swept into a church’s bank account, or mutual fund account, on a regular basis.
Indeed, increased competition for the charity dollar has meant that everyone vying for it must make a more systematic effort, said Tim D. Stone, president and executive director of the advocacy organization NewTithing Group.
“Charitable giving over all has become increasingly sophisticated, so more has to be done than just pass the plate,” said Mr. Stone, whose group advocates calculating tithes on the basis of not only income but also total assets like home equity and investment portfolios.
The changes in how tithing is done, some experts say, have been abetted by Americans’ growing familiarity with handling their own financial assets. New Covenant Funds, a family of mutual funds that invest with Presbyterian principles as a guide, has a systematic withdrawal plan so that tithes can be automatically wired to a shareholder’s church or to the church’s own New Covenant mutual fund account, if it has one.
Mr. Norwood, his days placing dimes in the collection plate long behind him, was ordained a Presbyterian minister but now works as a principal at Capstone Investment Partners, where he offers consultation to churches on how to increase giving by their congregants.
He urges those churches to move toward creating tithing capabilities on Web sites that previously featured little more than schedules and devotionals. After working with Mr. Norwood, Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., now receives tithes through weekly online bank drafts from more than 15 percent of its congregants, said the Rev. Dr. Thomas Kort, senior pastor.
“The notion that tithing is growing up,” said Eric Kessler, founding principal of Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors, “is exactly what is happening to philanthropy across the board.”
One specialty of Mr. Kessler’s firm is working with clients to determine how much they should tithe, using an online survey as a starting point. In asking for goals and appraising financial suitability, the survey acts in much the same way as might an initial consultation with a financial adviser about college education savings.
But beyond that, Mr. Kessler helps givers oversee specifically how the money is to be used, working with the donor and the church to reach agreement on whether it goes to religious education, for instance, or perhaps to building upkeep. He then tries to set benchmarks in order to measure how efficiently the donated money is being spent.
“It doesn’t matter if they are giving $100 or $100 million,” he said. “People now want to make sure that their money is used well.”
Such expertise is in demand, Mr. Kessler said, not only because of a variety of past financial scandals among churches and other charitable organizations, but also because of a sense among givers, particularly younger ones, that more influence and oversight garner better results.
“They are applying their skills in business to their giving,” Mr. Kessler said. “They are treating tithing to the church in the same way as their financial investments.”
Another reason to point the donation to specific objectives is that decisions on charitable giving are most often made by more than one member of a family. With different opinions to consider, blind contributions — like that dime for general purposes — do not always work.
A number of church officials, including Dr. Kort, say that in giving up some of the traditional control to congregants and consultants, they gain increased interest — and donations — inexchange.
For all of that, however, some age-old challenges remain.
Deciding within a family what should be done with the money can be problematic, even for the consultants themselves.
Mr. Kessler said he knew that all too well.
“I am Jewish,” he said, “and my wife is Muslim. So you can imagine the talks we have when we sit down to figure out where we’d like our money to go.”
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12/30/06 Go to That Opera Again; Singers Are Only Human 12/30/06 'New Mozart work' gets premiere 12/30/06 Music Ministry Revival part115 12/28/06 Uganda: Rucci's African Dream 12/27/06 Ministry Matters: Great Worship Leaders 12/23/06 Beyonce and Bono lead Aids show 12/23/06 Uganda: Hip-Hop X-Mas Package 12/23/06 Uganda: Hip Hop Summit On
12/30/06 Thousands bid farewell to Brown 12/30/06 Brown fans in party mood in Harlem 12/28/06 James Brown Honored at Apollo Theater 12/28/06 Nigeria: James Brown, Godfather of Soul , Dies At 73 12/28/06 James Brown was best known for draping the lavender cape over a worn-out Brown at the close of a con 12/28/06 James Brown's body to lie at Apollo Theater 12/25/06 Godfather of Soul' James Brown Dies 12/25/06 James Brown Bio
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Fortifi@ Recent Entries
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Merry Christmas to all of my Fortifi@ friends and partners in New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Philadelphia, Africa, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, California, Texas, and Italy Happy New Year Margaret Douroux, Gina, Sarah, Richard, Rev. Gary, Rev. Emma, Regina, Dennis, Sonya, Joel, HRH Queen Wanda B., , Randy, Shahara, Sheila, Andrea, Anne-Marie, Cozetta, Sharon, Cook, John, JUANITA PATTON, Stix, Christopher, South Bay Community Church, Dennis, Jerry, Rev. Skinner, Stix, Cook, Chris, Glen, Rev. Stan Long, Lorraine, Praise team, Ruby, Marlene, Dotty, Music Ministry Nation-Wide, Dance Ministry, Concord Family, Fortifi@ Family
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