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Training is important for anything one does in life. In order to do well in a job, a certain amount of training is required. Here are four reasons why you should seek evangelism training:

• Jesus sent, after He trained
During the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry He spent many hours training the disciples for evangelism. Of course, they didn’t understand all of the things He taught them until later, but He gave them all the tools they would need to share His message with the lost world. After His resurrection, He sent the disciples out, “Go then, and make disciples of all the nations… teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you.” Matthew 28:19,20
Other places in the Bible also talk about training. Paul tells Timothy, “And the things which I have said to you… give to those of the faith, so that they may be teachers of others.” II Timothy 2:2, and Peter says, “…be ready at any time when you are questioned about the hope which is in you.” I Peter 3:15

• Farmers train and harvesters are needed
A good farmer will learn all he can to bring in a better harvest each year, and when the time for harvesting comes, he will look to hire those who have training in harvesting. Not just anyone will do. One must already be familiar with what is harvested and must understand the process. It wouldn’t be helpful to have someone who doesn’t know the fruit from the weed, or the techniques of harvesting. Jesus compared the world today as a field that is ready for harvest, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Luke 10:2 Are there more workers who could go, but only lack training? Imagine what it would be like if all who believe on Jesus would train for harvesting souls!

• You will be relieved of potential fears
Probably one of the biggest reasons that believers don’t, or won’t evangelize is fear. What does one say? What if one says the wrong thing? What if one is backed into a corner? Training in the Word of God grows your knowledge of God and equips you in sharing Him with others. How can there be reason to fear when you go with the knowledge of God? “Have no fear, for I am with you; do not be looking about in trouble, for I am your God; I will give you strength, yes, I will be your helper; yes, my true right hand will be your support.” Isaiah 41:10

• You need to know how to deal with wolves
Before Jesus sent the disciples out, he warned them, “Be on the watch for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inside they are cruel wolves.” Matthew 7:15 Then He said, “See, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be then as wise as snakes, and as gentle as doves.” Matthew 10:16 He gave them the training they would need when faced with those who would try to back them into a corner. There are those who would do the same to you. Some will not only try to confuse you about what you believe, but will try to convince you to believe something else. How will you stand against them? Jesus told the disciples to use the wisdom that He gave them. Seek that wisdom so that you can deal with the wolves.

Of course, the reasons for seeking evangelism training are not limited to just four, but perhaps these four will motivate you to action as you journey through your Christian life.

Is it important for parents to talk to their kids about spiritual things? If you answered yes, then shouldn’t the answer as to the importance of Bible devotions for kids also be yes? You ask why?

• If you are a Christian parent and your desire is for your children to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, you’ve probably spent time reading Bible verses instructing you to “…bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”(Ephesians 6:4) But, because you’re “The Parent,” your kids don’t always want to take only your word for it concerning spiritual things. At times you might be given this attitude from your kids, “I’ve heard this before,” or, “That’s what they say, but they’re old fashioned.” Then they might go to their own little place in their minds, blocking you out, or only half-heartedly listening.

If you can get them to see that the Bible is a place of discovery, meant to be applied to their lives as well as yours, showing them how contemporary it really is, God will guide them to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When they can discover for themselves that what God’s Word says is true, they’ll come to you with questions, and you’ll have a wide open door for discussion.

• Today, many children don’t see the importance of making the Bible personal to themselves, and it’s often because they don’t have a good understanding of the whole, overall story of the Bible. For instance, I’ve worked at many Bible camps over the past several years and have seen a variety of responses to the presentation of the Gospel. Overall, most don’t have much, if any, understanding of who God is or why one must read the Bible, so therefore don’t fully understand the need for salvation. After one particularly difficult encounter with a camper who was determined not to believe, I took time during devotions to go back to the beginning, showing through the Bible who God is, why we are in need of salvation, and Who provided that salvation. I must admit, I was pretty surprised when campers who had been church-goers all their lives asked questions relevant to a right understanding of the Gospel. Even though they’d been in church since infancy, they hadn’t been given a clear overall message of the Bible or why it was important to understand the Gospel message.

Bible devotions for kids can be an excellent way to give them a firm grasp on the overall message of the Bible, which tells the Gospel in it’s fullest. Rather than sitting your children in a Sunday school class and expecting them to learn all they need to know about God, get them into a regular Bible devotion time at home where they can make it personal, not just a Sunday habit. Beginning with something that helps them through an overview of the Bible will give them a solid foundation of understanding the truths about God, sin, and salvation through Jesus Christ. Remember what the Bible says, “Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) “And that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (II Timothy 3:15)

There has been much speculation as to whether or not airbags are safe for children and adults. Back when airbags first came out, people were afraid to buy cars that had them. I can still remember when my dad brought home our first car that had an airbag in it. Together, I walked outside with my mom and dad and observed as my father instructed my mom on how to drive the car. This particular car had a bunch of other neat features back then as well- and the airbag was one of them. As he explained how the airbag was sensitive to braking short as well as what would happen if she were to get into a fender bender, I could see my mother growing increasingly apprehensive. At the end of the conversation, my dad asked my mom if she wanted to take the car out for a spin to which she politely declined.

My mom’s fears back then weren’t all that unrealistic. There are, after all, some hidden dangers in airbags. While they are supposed to provide safety to passengers in a vehicular accident, they can also cause additional injuries. For instance, many people are aware that when airbags deploy, the intensity at which they deploy can actually knock the wind out of someone. There are numerous reports of people who get into accidents where the airbag is deployed, but the force of the airbag hitting their face and/or chest area actually causes them to break their noses or to break their ribs. And in some instances, if there happens to be a child sitting in the front seat or in the path of an airbag, airbag deployment may actually kill the child.

The best defense to airbags and car safety is to never have to use them. What do I mean by this? Be aware of your driving, and exercise good judgment so that you never get into a car accident. Most, if not all, car accidents are 100 percent avoidable because most are caused by an error in the driver’s judgment. Only a small percentage of car accidents are caused by mechanical failures of some sort. This is why you need to be cautious when you are driving. Look around you, use your turn signals before changing lanes. Avoid sudden breaking, and allow plenty of stopping room between you and the next person in front of you. All of these things and more will not only make you a better driver; it will save you the trouble of having to use your airbags in the event of car accident.

In a small number of cases, there have been airbags that were so sensitive to vehicles breaking, that they would go off. What is my point? The point is to say that not all airbags are created equal. Sometimes technical failures like that can happen. In the event that it does, try to stay calm and make sure that you drive your car off the roadway and into a safe spot where you can call for help.

As many of us are already aware, driving in and of itself can be an extremely dangerous and daunting task at times. Typically it is not your driving that you have to worry about but everyone else and the driving habits (or lack of) that they bring to the roadways. This is why it is extremely important that you remain vigilant when you are behind the wheel of a vehicle. What do I mean by this? You need to cut out any unnecessary distractions.

You can begin to cut out other distractions by getting to know what kind of a driver you are. For instance, are you the kind of person that has difficulty walking and chewing gum at the same time? If so, then you probably will want little to no distractions at all in your vehicle while you are driving! If you know that having any more than one person in your car will distract you, then you will need to work especially hard on keeping your focus because it is inevitable that you will have to transport someone somewhere in the course of your life. More car accidents are caused by people talking to another person in the car (I.e. the soccer moms who are turning their entire bodies around in the driver seat to address their children(s) needs in the backseat) or those people who are busy having cell phone conversations.

The issue with people being distracted while driving due to having phone conversations has gotten so bad that the state of New York passed a law which prohibits any person from having a cell phone conversation unless they are using a hands-free device- but even then, the very fact that you are having a conversation with someone else can still be distracting because you are trying to gather information and provide some sort of emotional response..all of which takes your focus away from the road. As a somewhat related aside, whenever my brother and I are driving with my mom in the driver’s seat- we automatically know that she is going to be distracted. The other day, she was so busy looking at me and talking, that I had to tell her several times that the light was green.

Being aware of your surroundings goes far beyond talking to other people though. For instance, I always talk about leaving yourself enough stopping room when you are behind someone else on the road because you never know when you are going to have to do an evasive manuever to get yourself out of dangers way. An example of this was back when I was in college. I was stopped at a light behind another person when I noticed that the person behind me was approaching me at a high rate of speed despite the fact that the light was red. I decided that it was time to get out of dodge and quickly maneuvered myself into the other lane. Seconds after I did this, the person behind me slammed on their brakes at the last minute and swerved slightly out of the lane, narrowly missing the person I had just been stopped behind. Had I stayed where I was, I would have been involved in a serious car accident.

Ah, the topic that never seems to get old when it comes to talking about anything auto-related is the topic of buying a car for the very first time. Almost everyone who purchases a car for the first time will tell you that it’s like trying to commit the perfect crime; no matter how hard you try, you always make mistakes that will catch up to you.

Before you even think about hitting the dealerships, think about who you are as a person as well as the types of things you enjoy doing. Figure out whether or not you even need a vehicle to begin with. Do you travel a lot or are you a home body? Do you live in a small town where everything is within walking and/or biking distance? Do you live out in the country where you would be smart to purchase an SUV or some similar automobile that would be able to traverse rough terrain? These and more are the sorts of questions that you will and should ponder.

Next, you will want to consider how much money you have set aside to purchase a vehicle. While buying an SUV may be the most practical for you based on where you live, it may not be the most affordable option, which will limit you in getting what you want. You need to learn to ignore the salespeople at car dealerships as well but not entirely. Listen to what they have to say, but take everything with a grain of salt knowing full well that at the end of the day, they are trying to make a sale. The tricky thing about salespeople is that many of them are cunning, immediately trying to buddy up to you to pretend like they are your friend. After all, your closest friend wouldn’t steer you wrong in buying a car, right?

Know the majority of the fact about the type of vehicle that you want before you head out to the dealership. Especially if you are a woman, you should bring someone with you to the auto dealerships (preferably a male companion who knows something about vehicles and vehicle purchasing). Do not reveal to the salespeople what you do for a living or how much money you pull in each week, month or year because many will use this information against you later to try to guilt you into buying a vehicle, citing that “you can afford it”. Remember, when you buy a car, you’re not just paying the sticker price, you’re paying whatever it is going to cost on top of that price in order to maintain the working order of that vehicle. Almost two years ago, I had just bought a brand new Jeep. When I arrived at work, I realized that my rear right tire was completely flat. When I went to change my tire using the spare tire that was located on the back of my Jeep, it turns out that the spare tire was defective! I wound up filling up the flat tire with enough air to get me to the dealership (which, thankfully was only a 3 minute drive away). The cost to have two tires replaced: over $100 plus labor!

There are some people who swear that city driving is better than highway driving. We like to call these people ill-informed. City driving is typically bad for your vehicle because there is a lot of stop and go. When you stop and go while you’re in your car, it is generally not as great for your car. The constant slowing down and speeding up puts a lot of pressure on your brakes to perform, and over time, this motion will wear out your brakes entirely.

When I was in college, I has a little Nissan Altima. At the time, it was only a year old. However, I noticed that the breaks wore out almost completely when I was half way through my freshman year. The way it manifested itself was that I noticed my brakes pulsing whenever I would slow down. Over time, this problem got worse, and when I drove home to New York and took my car in to get the oil changed, the mechanic came back and told me that my brakes were 80 percent worn through. The bottom line was that I was driving very dangerously.

When it comes to your brakes, you don’t want to mess around. I was driving on brakes that were dangerously thin and could’ve contributed to me getting into a major accident. On the interstate, the posted speed limit was 70 miles per hour. Most vehicles on the highway were going at least 80. It made me shudder to think about the possibilities of what would happen if my brakes had gone out while I was driving. City driving puts a lot more wear and tear on your vehicle because there are a lot more things to react to such as pedestrians, animals, traffic lights and signs, and of course- other drivers.

Highway driving is generally better for your car because you can typically driver for long stretches at a time without a break in traffic. Obviously, the less you have to stop, the less you’ll use your brakes, which means that you’ll preserve them longer. Additionally, you also save your tires the wear and tear because you’re not having to stop as much. Of course, you still run the risk of getting into a car accident while driving on highways, and because the rate of speed at which you are traveling is typically higher than that of city driving, you are also at more of a risk for getting into a serious accident that would cause you to put sudden wear on your vehicle. For example, if you are traveling at 75 miles per hour on a highway when you are suddenly forced to slam on your brakes, chances are you’ll not only put wear on your tires by sliding to a stop, but you’ll also put wear on your brake pads.

Driving is better if you can avoid stoplights and traffic. However, most people don’t live in a country or a city where that is a possibility. Just look at people who live in major cities like Atlanta, New York and Detroit. Despite the fact that there is mass transportation, there is still a majority of people who have to take their cars to get to work as well as other places. Just know that the way in which you drive will dictate how long your car will last. If you plan on having your car last a long time, then you need to make sure that you are driving your car accordingly.

Have you ever considered hiring a life coach or thought about getting life coach training? Perhaps you’ve hesitated because you weren’t sure how a life coach could help you or maybe you think you don’t really need a life coach. Well, in this article I’m going to give you some reasons that you may have not thought of about why you should hire a life coach.

Organization

A life coach can help you get organized. You may not think of a life coach as helping you with organization, but most life coaches are trained for this purpose. The reason many people struggle in some areas of their life or in their business is because they are not naturally organized. Hiring a life coach can help you learn to be organized and stay organized in both your personal and business life.

Time Management

Time management is a skill and you may not possess naturally, and hiring a life coach can help you see areas where you can make better use of your time. A life coach can also help you with scheduling in both your home life and in your business.

Stress Management

A life coach is trained to help you manage stress. By helping you find the issues, activities and habits that cause stress in your life, a life coach can show you how to reduce stress and teach you how to manage unavoidable stress.

Goal Setting

Another area you may not think about hiring a life coach for is to help you with goal setting. A life coach can help you set reasonable and attainable goals in both your personal and business life. They can also help you to stay on track in reaching your goals by steering you in the right direction or helping you get back on track when you veer off.

Life Changes

Stuff happens throughout our lives and changes can be a major cause of stress and even depression in some people. Hiring a life coach when you’re facing a change can help make the transition go more smoothly and a lot less stressful.

Relationships

A life coach can help you enhance your relationships with other by teaching you how to effectively communicate with them and by helping you understand different personality types and why people think the way they do.

As you can see, life coaching isn’t just for people with special needs or whose life is a complete mess. As a matter of fact, most life coaching clients are those who just need some guidance in one are or another.

Be sure to check out all of the ways a life coach can help you at Real Life Coaching. There are many more ways a life coach can help you be more successful in your personal life and your business life, such as: communicating effectively with others, discover your vision for your life, and live an emotionally and physically healthy life.

People in America love their cars. They love them so much that often times, you will come across people who have taken it the extra step by customizing their car to their liking. Customizing your car can include things from getting an after-market stereo system to changing out the tail lights. Perhaps the most common item that you see on customized cars involves people putting on different wheels or rims to draw attention to that particular area.

But not all is well that ends well when it comes to customized vehicles. Often, when you customize a vehicle, you are making yourself a target for thieves. There is a difference between customizing your car when you buy it from the dealership versus customizing it yourself after you bring it home from the dealership. When you are at the dealership, you can choose certain features that you want your vehicle to come with. Another thing that you should know about customizing your car after you’ve brought it home from the dealership is that when you customize it yourself, you are actually lowering the value of your vehicle.

People will pay more money for cars that had the features come with it to begin with versus the ones that you paid to have put in after the fact. This is why is generally recommended that you have factory-issued customized options added to your car prior to you purchasing it. Thieves are attracted to customized cars because, often, the customized parts are easy to remove. For example, Honda vehicles are the most often customized because the parts are easy to buy for it. As a result of this, you will often hear of a person’s car being broken into and the stereo system stolen. On a factory issued stereo, the stereo system sits flush against the dashboard, which makes it incredibly difficult for a thief to dislodge it.

There are instances where thieves will target cars that are not customized but which have certain things that are in hot demand. For example, when my father purchased his brand new Nissan Maxima a couple of years ago, his car was fully loaded and included the sports sized wheels. If you know anything about sports-sized wheels, then you will know that these types of wheels are typically bigger and have a wider grip on the road surface. One morning after going out to his car to leave for work, my father discovered that someone had stolen all of the tires off of his car. When he purchased his car, he had the option of getting something called wheels that “lock” which makes it impossible for thieves to get the wheels off of your car unless they have specialized custom key. However, when he purchased the car initially, he didn’t see the need for this. Having lived in a good neighborhood with no crime at all, he was duly shocked. As it turned out, there were a bunch of targeted crimes regarding stealing the wheels off of the Nissan Maximas throughout New York because the wheels were in high demand.

If you want to customize your car, make sure you know the rules and laws for the area that you live in. Know that you can’t just change out your headlights to shine green instead of white without first checking with the rules!

When you think of what the most annoying thing about driving is, what comes to mind? I, for one, cannot stand it when the person or persons I am driving with try to direct my driving. Not only is it insulting (because it makes me question my own driving skills and judgment), but it is dangerous because it is a major distraction.

The vast majority of licensed drivers who are the passengers in other people’s vehicles always tend to think that their driving skills are better- or that the person who is driving needs an “extra set of eyes”. However, this can prove to be extremely ineffective, often backfiring. For example, when I was driving with my boyfriend in the front passenger seat, I was stopped at the exit to my apartment complex and was preparing to make a left hand turn into traffic. However, before I could do this, I needed to check to make sure that the road was clear for me to go. I checked to my left, and when I went to check to my right, there was my boyfriend’s head in my way. “Could you sit back? I can’t see the traffic because your body is in my way” I said. As he started to sit back, he said: “Oh, I’m sorry- you’re clear to go on this side though…”

Even if passengers have the greatest intentions of helping you out when you’re driving, as a responsible driver, you can never make a driving judgment based on what another person says to you in the car. You still need to be vigilant and look for yourself. Some people might think that this is insulting, but it’s not. This is why it is important to make sure that if you are the passenger in someone else’s car, you need to keep your driving commentary to yourself. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. For instance, if you are the passenger in someone elses car and you see a hidden danger that the driver is unaware of such as a pedestrian running across the street at the last minute or another car about to turn into your vehicle, then you should feel free to alert the driver quickly.

There are also times when backseat drivers can contribute to the driver of a vehicle getting into an accident or becoming incredibly distracted. When you are driving, you should be calm but alert. However, if you have a passenger who is relentless when it comes to his or her commentary about how awful other people are driving, it can actually turn a calm driver into a more aggressive or agitated driver, which may or may not contribute to that person getting into an accident. Road rage is not a good thing to have while driving because those who drive while displaying road rage are more of a danger to other drivers who may not have time to react accordingly.

The bottom line is, when you are with someone else who is driving, be the sort of passenger that you would expect them to be if you were in the driver’s seat.

Many times when I’m done with work and my boyfriend gets home from work, we’ll head out for a drive. At some point, he’ll want to stop at a fast food restaurant- and because he hates eating inside of fast food places (I don’t know why), we’ll end up going through the drive-thru and eating in my car (which I hate, and he knows it). If we are taking my car and I wind up getting something from the fast food place as well, I will always have to find a place to park so that I can eat. You see, unlike a lot of other drivers out there, I can’t really eat and drive very effectively. You would think that I would be upset about this, but I am not- quite the contrary.

I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen eating and driving to the point where I was almost sure that if they hadn’t been in an accident in the past, they were certainly on their way to one. I’ll never forget this time when I was driving to work a couple of years back and I saw this man eating some sort of fast food meal. He had his french fries up on the dashboard in front of his steering wheel with one of those little ketchup condiment containers. Then, in his hands, he had this humungous burger that required both of his hands in order to eat, and he was definitely using both of his hands to eat it, which then made me wonder who was driving the car. That’s when I noticed that he was using the top of his knee/thigh area to guide the steering wheel. Needless to say, I sped on ahead definitely NOT wanting to be next to this guy.

Unless you have some magical powers that allow you to feed yourself without the use of your hands, when you are driving, both hands should ALWAYS be on the wheel at all times. Think about how you would react if you needed to swerve your car out of danger’s way suddenly. Now think about doing it with a Big Mac and/or a soft drink in your hands. While drive-thrus are convenient, it doesn’t necessarily mean that their intention is to have you eat while you drive. On the contrary, I think the point is so that you won’t have to get out of your car, thereby saving you time by simply buying the food at the drive-thru window. When I go to a drive-thru, I grab the food and head to the nearest parking spot, or I simply head home.

I opt not to eat and drive because I know that it makes me a less effective driver because it takes my attention away from the road. Think about it. Even something as simple as opening the wrapper on a candy bar usually requires you to glance down at it. And even if you think you’re a ‘pro’ and don’t need to look at something to open it while you are driving, your brain is still actively engaged in thinking about it, which is in and of itself distracting you from what you should be focusing on.