1. An excerpt from WHY WE HAVE OUR BEST IDEAS IN THE SHOWER by Leo Widrich

    Why do we have great ideas in the shower then?

    The fact that free-style rapping shows us a high level of creativity, still doesn’t explain why great ideas happen in the shower.
    Alice Flaherty, one of the most renowned neuroscientists researching creativity has an answer for us. Another ingredient, that’s very important for us to be creative is dopamine: The more dopamine that is released, the more creative we are, she says:
    “People vary in terms of their level of creative drive according to the activity of the dopamine pathways of the limbic system.”
    This graphic shows beautifully how dopamine gets taken up by certain brain areas which then get increasingly active and trigger more creative wanderings:
     
    Typical triggers for events, that make us feel great and relaxed and therefore give us an increased dopamine flow are taking a warm shower, exercising, driving home, etc. The chances of having great ideas then are a lot higher.
    Still, that’s not all there is to it. Dopamine alone, which gets triggered in hundreds of events, where we aren’t very creative, can’t be the only reason. Another crucial factor is a distraction, says Harvard researcher Carson:
    “In other words, a distraction may provide the break you need to disengage from a fixation on the ineffective solution.’’
    Especially if you have thought long and hard all day about a problem, jumping into the shower can turn into what scientist call the “incubation period” for your ideas. The subconscious mind has been working extremely hard to solve the problems you face and now that you let your mind wander, it can surface and plant those ideas into your conscious mind.
    Lastly, after you have received an influx in dopamine, can be easily distracted by an extremely habitual task like showering or cooking, a relaxed state of mind is absolutely important to be creative, says Jonah Lehrer:
    “Why is a relaxed state of mind so important for creative insights? When our minds are at ease–when those alpha waves are rippling through the brain–we’re more likely to direct the spotlight of attention inward, toward that stream of remote associations emanating from the right hemisphere. In contrast, when we are diligently focused, our attention tends to be directed outward, toward the details of the problems we’re trying to solve. While this pattern of attention is necessary when solving problems analytically, it actually prevents us from detecting the connections that lead to insights. ‘That’s why so many insights happen during warm showers,’ Bhattacharya says. ‘For many people, it’s the most relaxing part of the day.’ It’s not until we’re being massaged by warm water, unable to check our e-mail, that we’re finally able to hear the quiet voices in the backs of our heads telling us about the insight. The answers have been their all along–we just weren’t listening.”
    So this seems to be the magic combination: If you are in a relaxed state of mind, easy todistract and full of dopamine, your brain is most likely to give you your best, most creative ideas.

    3 most successful ways to capture your creative spirit

    From all the research I have read, this is the most important thing to take away I found: Every day, everyone of us is extremely creative. The trick is not to optimize for how to spark your creative spirit. The trick is to make sure you capture it, whenever it happens.
    Instead of looking for better ways to brainstorm or otherwise come up with ideas, the key is to not let go of the tiny, fragile ones, once they enter our heads.
    Here are some of the best ways that some of the most successful people manage to capture their ideas:

    Keep a notebook with you at all times, even in the shower

    This is by far, the most successful technique to capture more of your creativity every day: a simple notepad. What is extremely difficult, is to keep a notepad with you at all times. If even Richard Branson forgets ideas as quickly as they enter his head, how can we expect to be any different. For that exact reason writing everything down, even if doesn’t seem that important at the time is absolutely crucial says Drew Hansen:
    “Don’t judge [your ideas] at this stage, either. There’s a reason they occurred to you this way.”
    With that, the emphasis really lies on “all times”. It is easy to bring a notepad to the office or have it lying on our desk. Yet, that’s not when our most creative moments happen. Here are some of the areas where we typically forget to keep a notepad:
    • In your car
    • In the gym
    • Whilst Running
    • While grocery shopping
    • In the shower
    These are some of the most typical activities where our creative moments happen, capturing them then and there is absolutely crucial. As for the shower, don’t worry, I recently discovered Acqua notes as a great way to capture your ideas:
    Plan disengagement and distraction: The outer – inner technique
    Similar to what Shelly Carson from Harvard called “the incubation” period, I’m using a technique that has greatly helped me to capture this. I call it the “outer-inner” technique.
    I generally start my day with the most important task for Buffer in the morning. Say this is a blogpost:
    I will do all the research, jot down notes into my word editor and not worry at all about the actual blogpost. That is the first outer task. Then I have a few inner task follow. I will respond to emails, might have a brief chat with the team and do other tasks. Then, towards the end of my day, I get back to the second half of the outer task. I would sit down and then actually write the article, edit pieces and put into publishable form.
    The amazing thing that happens is that even I don’t work on the blogpost during my inner tasks, my subconscious brain does. It will do all the work, and then gradually present the solutions to me when I get back to working on it later on.

    Overwhelm your brain: Make the task really hard

    Another very well researched technique is to overwhelm your brain. Have you ever started to work on a task, where you quickly realised was insanely hard and you will most likely fail solving it? Keep working on it says Robert Epstein.
    If you are a programmer, try to solve something you’ve never attempted before and always thought you can only do a lot later in your career, as a writer, write a piece longer then you think you can write. Your brain will be put in a shock situation and naturally engage more of your creative area then it normally would. And although you might not succeed at the task at first, you will find that other tasks will come a lot easier through your increased brain activity then.
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  2. Here's a great article from last week's local paper here in Olympia about our new Captain America: the US Men's National Team Captain, Clint Dempsey. He's an inspiration to discipline and developing your talents.

    Dempsey’s road to Brazil paved with hard work

    Captain of the US World Cup team earned the respect of his coaches and teammates with his work ethic

    BY DON RUIZ
    Staff writerJune 15, 2014 






    Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/06/15/3244439/dempseys-road-to-brazil-paved.html?sp=/99/512/#storylink=cpy
    Clint Dempsey rode out of Nacogdoches, Texas, and became Captain America.
    That’s the nickname showing up repeatedly in newspapers and magazines that feature Dempsey wearing the colors of the United States national soccer team, which he will lead into World Cup play against Ghana on Monday.
    And lead he will. Dempsey is the captain. It is a position of leadership that doesn’t surprise those who knew him during his childhood in east Texas, where he asked to play with the older kids and stepped in as if he belonged.
    Also unsurprised are those who knew him at Furman University, where his idea of weekend nightlife was kicking balls alone in the lighted stadium.
    Equally unsurprised are those who know him now as the highest-profile player for Seattle Sounders FC, where he leads with or without the captain’s armband.
    “He’s a superstar,” Sounders captain Brad Evans said. “(He’s) a big-time player who’s played in the big-time leagues and has been to a World Cup before. But then you get to know him when he comes to your team, and you know that he’s just a country boy, and he’s a family man, and first and foremost he likes to have fun. And obviously he wants to win games.”
    That country-boy part of Dempsey formed in Nacogdoches, a city of fewer than 35,000 located about 185 miles southeast of Dallas and about 40 miles from the Texas-Louisiana border.
    That geographical fact is relevant to Dempsey’s story, to his childhood and to the player he would become.
    That’s because by age 10, Dempsey’s talents had outgrown the competition his hometown could offer. So he and his family looked to the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. The club was established in 1993 with a mission to develop championship-caliber youth teams and players capable of earning college scholarships and eventually even professional contracts.
    The problem was that Dempsey was in Nacogdoches while the Dallas Texans were, understandably, in Dallas.
    “It was very difficult for me honestly to believe that he’s going to be driving three hours one way — six hours to get to practice and then go,” said Hassan Nazari, founder and director of the Texans, and a former member of the Iranian national team. “But … I told his mom that we would love to see him at the end of the season in our tryouts.”
    Nazari doubted he would see the Dempseys once those tryouts rolled around. The idea of a working mother taking her young son that distance to and from practices three times a week — after her work and his school, returning home around midnight — seemed inconceivable.
    Dempsey and his mother showed up: him ready to practice, her rolling out a blanket to nap.
    Then they upped the ante, with Dempsey asking if he also could join a team of older players, which added another day of travel. It also added to the challenge. Nazari said Dempsey had not only the talent to play against older kids, but also the confidence.
    “He was the leader from day one,” Nazari said. “And in the league, everybody wanted to follow him, everybody wanted to play with him, everybody wanted to be on the same team as he was on. … Actually, to me, his leadership quality and his IQ was much more than his ability and athleticism and all of that.
    “It is not a surprise to me — not at all — that he is the U.S. captain.”
    That confidence showed up again when Dempsey began his college career at Furman University — a small private school in South Carolina with a national-class soccer program.
    Dempsey was not their top recruit (that honor went to Ricardo Clark, who also went on to Major League Soccer, Europe and the U.S. national team). But in any case, the upperclassmen were skeptical that they needed any help from any freshman.
    Dempsey felt otherwise.
    “You have a team full of seniors and juniors, and there’s always a hierarchy, and you have to come in and kind of earn your respect,” said Anthony Esquivel, then one of those Furman upperclassmen and now an assistant coach there.
    “He definitely came in with this kind of attitude like he didn’t care about any of that, that he was going to prove to everybody that he should be playing immediately.”
    Esquivel said he liked that trait in Dempsey, although not everyone on the roster did. But for whatever distaste any college teammates had for Dempsey’s personality — Esquivel describes it as “rough around the edges” — there was no questioning his work ethic.
    “This was college,” Esquivel said. “So you can imagine when we were not playing soccer the kind of trouble that we were trying to get into. (But) Clint was the kind of kid who would have 20 balls and it would be 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, and we would be driving by the stadium, and the stadium lights would be on, and there would be rap music blaring, and we’d be on our way to a party and he would be out there.”
    The way Esquivel saw it, other players were happy just to be playing top-flight college soccer. Dempsey was aiming for greater things.

    In Dempsey’s sophomore year, those greater things began pouring in. He became a starter, and a star, a first-team All-American, and got his first call-in with the national team. Later, he went to MLS, and over three seasons was honored as rookie of the year (2004) and MLS Best XI (2005, and ’06) while with the New England Revolution. Then he crossed the Atlantic where he scored more goals (57) in the English Premier League than any other American.
    Dempsey followed that with a move back to the States last season, becoming the highest paid player in MLS. He made a wobbly debut with the Sounders, but those memories have faded amid the successes of this season. Dempsey shares the team goals lead, with eight, on the MLS’ top-ranked club.
    As the league stands aside for World Cup group play, Dempsey has swapped his rave green jersey for red, white and blue. He is Captain America.
    “We knew that Clint would be a massive part of Brazil,” Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer said. “Not sure we knew he’d be the captain of the team, but it’s the kind of investment that we wanted to make for our club, for our community, for the organization long term. And we’re certainly happy that he’s going to have a chance to represent the Seattle Sounders in Brazil.”
    Ultimately, what seemed to be a long road from Nacogdoches stretched farther than anyone might have understood. It led beyond Dallas and on to South Carolina, New England, England, Seattle and other parts of the world. Now, it has taken him to Brazil. It also took him from being the best young player in a small Texas city to three times being recognized as U.S. Soccer male athlete of the year.
    At age 31 and on the eve of his third World Cup appearance, Dempsey was asked where else that road might lead.
    “You want to go as far as you can possibly go,” Dempsey said. “But I don’t want to put labels on this is a success/this is not a success. That’s not how we’re thinking. We’re just thinking we want to go as far as we can go.”

    Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808
    don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com
    blog.thenewstribune.com/soccer

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    Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/06/15/3244439/dempseys-road-to-brazil-paved.html?sp=/99/512/#storylink=cpy
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  3. by Lewis Howes, June 17, 2014

    When you think of the most inspiring leaders, what are the common characteristics they share? Most likely they are known for being honest, kind and delivering their promised result. If you try to connect the dots between the shared attributes of these leaders, one clear theme reveals itself: They inspire their followers by doing, not talking.

    Let’s look at some examples. There are the commonly referenced leaders like Steve Jobs, Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King Jr. We also find the same trait in the figures Henry David Thoreau, Richard Branson and Mother Theresa. Each of these leaders caused -- is causing in Branson’s case -- massive impact by working hard to create the change they wanted to see in the world. And by working hard I don’t mean talking a lot.

    Being a powerful speaker and creating a vision are important qualities of great leadership but they have to be backed by the authenticity of actually having done what you’re preaching. If Martin Luther King Jr. hadn’t been walking in the streets, peacefully protesting injustice before he gave his best speeches, his following wouldn’t have resonated so deeply. Mother Theresa is about as perfect of an example as there is.

    How does this apply to your business and leadership? If you’re requiring yourself to be as brilliant and successful as Richard Branson before you inspire people, think again. While your sphere of influence may not be as broad as his, your interactions with everyone you come in contact with do have the power to inspire.

    Networking is a perfect opportunity to show that you mean what you say. One of the seven key habits of the best networkers is to add value to everyone you meet by connecting them with someone you know who can help them. That is leading by example, not just talking.

    Giving away valuable free content is also something any aspiring leader can do to build a reputation of greatness. Think of the best leaders in online business. They all give away a lot of useful tips, insights and feedback to their followers, which come from their own hard-earned experiences.  That not only builds credibility but creates a loyal following of devoted supporters who respect and promote them.

    This is especially important when creating and building your brand. Being relatable and authentic are two vital parts of creating an inspiring brand and identity as a leader in your field. There’s no way to fake authenticity. You have to have experienced what you’re representing, and that means you have to show some vulnerability. This kind of openness is key to inspiring a following. People will follow who they can trust and relate to.

    Make it your goal to take action first, then talk about it. You’ll find that the following you attract will be the best kind. No matter how small or big your platform is, your actions will always speak louder than your words. Remember: Talk is cheap, so back it up with real life examples, and use what you do -- not say -- as a starting point to inspire others.

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  4. People need to keep talking about this. Especially parents with their kids. And young people with each other.


    For more, read a previous post that has become one of the most popular posts on my blog.

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    Approaching the conversation about pornography from the point of human sexuality, this next video has nearly 3 million views. Warning: it is an uncomfortably honest TED Talk. 

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    Labels: Marriage Modern Man Pornography Sexuality Youth and Young Adult


  5. Recently, I met an elderly woman who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She told me she refuses to accept the illness, and she showed me all of the books she is reading from Christian preachers about how if a person simply believes in God, then God will make that person healthy, wealthy and successful. In a desperate search for meaning, she had turned to this preaching which is often called “prosperity gospel.”

    If you haven’t heard of this style of preaching, the undertone of the messages from these preachers is something like: “If you believe in God, then God will bless you with wealth (or children, fame, health, etc).” The woman I met clung to this message. She said, “I prayed that God will make it better, and I know he already has. I don’t have it!”

    This is difficult. This woman wishes she didn't have a debilitating disease, and I think we all would want the same thing. Suffering isn't something we like going through. But I’m not sure that believing our will is God’s will is really the best.


    Jesus himself suffered tremendously. The night before he was to go through tremendous suffering and death, Jesus Christ himself asked that the burden be taken from him. He followed that prayer, however, with one of obedience and perfect trust in God’s will. That is the example we have been given to follow as Christ’s disciples.

    Sure, money or health can console us in many ways. Suffering can also be a blessing; after all, it is only through death that we can find eternal life. Besides, when everything is perfect and we are taken care of, we often don't feel like we need God. Eventually, we begin to take care of ourselves. This self-reliance can and often does destroy our need for God or for the Church.


    I wish I could have known a way to gently ask that woman whether she is afraid, and, if she was, whether we could stop praying for the Alzheimer’s to vanish and begin to pray for strength and faith. True Christian prosperity is found, not in riches we can see, but so often in tearful prayers of abandonment.

    “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who believe in him.” Hebrews 5:8-9

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    ***
    A few weeks ago, someone shared this video with me. If you have 10 minutes and an interested in another Christian's take on "The Prosperity Gospel", here's one man's thoughts:

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    Labels: Catholic Perspectives Discipleship Do Hard Things Newspaper Columns Obedience Riches Suffering

  6. Here are a few photos that make great Facebook or desktop banners for any 2014 FIFA World Cup fans. All three depict Brazil stadiums, Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), Copacabana Beach, or favelas in Rio de Janeiro.  GO TEAM USA!

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  7. I've recently started reading a magazine for start-up businesses. It has a lot of good content concerning leadership, personal growth, career success, etc. This is a great article about how to improve your public speaking in really easy ways. Original article can be found at the following link: http://www.inc.com/matt-abrahams/how-to-make-memorable-presentations.html
    2 Secrets of Memorable Presentations
     BY 
    A Stanford lecturer and expert on public speaking explains how to manage anxiety and deliver things smoothly.
    1.7k SHARES

    As a communication professor and coach, I hear a lot from presenters about anxiety. Their two greatest fears are that they will forget what to say and that the audience won’t remember what was spoken. These fears are certainly understandable, but create much angst among nervous and novice presenters. In this series of posts, I will suggest several steps you can take to make your presentations more memorable for everyone. 
    Let’s start with remembering. Delivering a smooth presentation requires a lot of effort, but you can dramatically increase the likelihood of remembering your points by employing good presentation hygiene, structuring your presentation, and practicing well. 

    The Good Habits of Effective Speakers

    Your parents were right: By eating healthfully, keeping fit, and sleeping well, you can improve your well-being, help to alleviate your presentation anxiety, and improve your memory. Complex carbohydrates, nuts, oils, foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and flavanols such as grapes, berries, apples, and cocoa are all good choices.
    Avoid simple sugars and sweets because they provide a quick energy boost that is often followed by sluggishness. And plan your caffeine consumption wisely: Caffeine facilitates creativity and productivity but also invites jitters, dry mouth, and flighty memory. (Remember, the effects of caffeine can linger on for several hours.) Finally, it may be tempting to turn to alcohol to calm your nerves, but evidence suggests it can cause forgetfulness and lead you to mention some things you may soon regret.
    Exercise also plays an important role in memory and anxiety resilience. Fit presenters respond better to the mental and physical aspects of stress, and physical activity increases lung capacity while bolstering mental focus, two important aspects of speech delivery.
    Exercise also provides a way to release pent-up anxiety. Go for a quick swim, jog, or walk prior to writing or practicing a speech. The resulting calming effect will come not just from getting outside but from your body’s natural endorphins, which are often released when you exercise. Memory research clearly shows that the less stressed you are, the more information you will retain. Exercising after practicing a presentation can help, too: Short, intense bursts of exercise that follow learning have been shown to bolster one's memory. 
    Sleep is also critical. Quality deep sleep prepares your brain for learning and consolidates memories so that you can recall them more easily. When you are preparing a speech, pulling an all-nighter is the worst thing you could do.

    Structure Sets You Free

    A powerful way to help you remember your presentation is to give your content a structure. Research shows that people retain structured information up to 40 percent more reliably than information presented more randomly. Some presentation structures you can rely on include: 
    Past-Present-Future, which is good for providing a history or leading people through a process
    Comparison-Contrast, which is ideal for showing the relative advantages of your position.
    Cause-Effect, which helps people understand the underlying logic of your position
    Having a structure helps you remember what to say because even if you forget the specifics, you can use the general framework to stay on track. For example, when using the Problem-Solution-Benefit structure--which is good for persuading and motivating people--you first lay out a specific problem (or opportunity), then detail a solution to address the problem, defining its benefits. If you are in the middle of the Solution portion of your talk and blank out, recalling your structure will tell you that the Benefits portion comes next.
    My favorite structure is What?-So What?-Now What?, which can help you not only in planned presentations but also in spontaneous speaking situations such as job interviews. When using this structure, you start with your central claim (“I am qualified for this position because of my experience”) and then explain its significance (“This experience means I can start contributing to your firm immediately”) before concluding with a call to action (“When can I start?”).

    The Right Way to Practice

    Practice is clearly important, however, many presenters don’t practice properly. They simply mentally rehearse or flip through a slide deck--all passive approaches that don’t really simulate the conditions of a presentation. To practice effectively, you also need to stand and deliver, even if you are presenting virtually. 
    Hearing your own voice and using relevant, appropriate gestures may improve later recall. You remember more because your mental imagery and physical practice use overlapping neural networks in your brain, improving what’s known as memory consolidation, or the process by which a thought becomes cemented in your long-term memory.
    One useful technique called focused practice involves taking one aspect of your presentation like the introduction and delivering it over and over until you've nailed it. (Note: Don't memorize your presentation because memorization invites blanking out.) Next, you move on to another aspect of your presentation, such as transitioning between two specific visual aids. Focused practice allows you to feel less anxious because you won't expend mental effort thinking about every aspect of your presentation.
    The place where you practice your speech should be where you're going to deliver it, or at least someplace similar. For example, if you're about to give a speech in a large room with big windows, you should practice your speech in a loft. Since the surroundings feel comfortable, this will make you feel confident.
    The same rule applies when presenting via the Web or teleconference. Practice with the technology you will be using, especially since you never know what might happen. 
    This piece was originally published by Stanford Graduate School of Business and has been republished with permission. Follow the school @stanfordbiz
    IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGES
    LAST UPDATED: MAR 24, 2014

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  8. I packed up my Chevy Cobalt and departed Haubstadt on what I had planned to be a four-day trek to Olympia, Washington, where I will spend the summer in a hospital chaplaincy program.

    I had it all planned out: visit friends in Omaha; see waterfalls and cliffs in Montana; consume two audio books during drive-time; and enjoy the vast, beautiful country. These plans would soon change.

    Car trouble had stopped me in the middle of Missouri, far from my first overnight stop. I drove my car to a dealership about ten miles off of the interstate, dropped off my car, and took off in a rental for the local Church. I don’t know what I was looking for in particular, but I figured I could at least spend a moment in prayer if nothing else.


    The tall, blue-green steeple of Sacred Heart Parish rose above the 12,000-person town. I pulled into the parking lot, and when I found no answer at the rectory door, I stumbled upon several parishioners in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I always feel great consolation when I find Adoration during travels. I felt immediately at home.

    After a while, I approached two women who were starting to leave. They went through every contact in the small phone books in their purses, and after no luck getting in contact with the pastor, one of the women, said, “Let’s get you something to eat.”

    She treated me like her son as we sat eating at Golden Corral and waiting for the pastor to call back. This kind woman told me she that ‘God didn’t bless her with any children’. Those couple of hours, however, she was as much of a mother as any. We left for the parish to find the pastor who had come back from a meeting and who opened the guest room to me until the car was fixed.


    That parish community welcomed a total stranger into their community that evening. It reminded me so much of one of the most perfect images of the Church: it’s like a family. As we conclude our celebration of the Easter season, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Who are the strangers in our midst? Like the earliest members of the Church and like that Missouri parish, let us reach out and welcome everyone into our family.


    Image 1 - Driving somewhere in Nebraska (or maybe Iowa...)
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  9. Some good reflections on today's celebration from Fr. Godfrey Mullen, OSB, who taught a course on liturgy in my first year at Saint Meinrad...
    Happy Birthday, Church! That's right. Today is the Church's 1981st birthday. The Spirit has been sent into the Church and the world after Jesus' ascension to the Father. And with the Spirit comes seven amazing gifts: gifts that we receive not only to hold on to, but to continue giving as well. Our Birthday gifts aren't wrapped in shiny paper; even under normal circumstances they may not be returned. They are truly one-size-fits-all; they are ours if we will receive them. And they shatter division and set us ablaze for proclaiming the unity that Christ desires for the Church.
    Look! We've received lovely gifts: wisdom which helps us know when to speak and when to be silent, understanding which helps us be far more compassionate than we'd otherwise be, counsel which proves we are never alone in this walk toward heaven, knowledge which enables sound decisions, fortitude which counteracts doubt and despair, piety which moves our heart towards God authentically, and fear of the Lord, which reminds us that there is something greater than me and my judgment. 
    But these birthday gifts aren't meant to be received and placed on a shelf. No, they are definitely ripe for re-gifting. Set ablaze with faith, then, let us commit ourselves on this our birthday to offer wisdom wisely, to coax others to understanding, to counsel others with the wisdom of the Most High, to teach others helpful knowledge, to strengthen the weak in their resolve or suffering, and show others the truly marvelous majesty of God. 
    These seven gifts are given ever so freely, just like stalks of wheat and bunches of grapes, given by God for us to shape and change into bread and wine, precisely so that we can give back to Him not only bread and wine, impressive as that is, but so that we can offer the Body and Blood of the Son to the Father for the redemption of our sins.  
    Do we have the fire of the Spirit upon and within us? Will we bridge the barriers of language with these gifts? Will our faith in the resurrection make us burn to the glory of God? We have received eternal gifts for our birthday. Enough talk: let's put them to good use to the glory of God!

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