Repost: What Would Jesus Want US To Do?

Note - I originally posted this in April 2006. It's incredible that this seems even more true today. Enjoy and think about it...


I'm a Christian. Yep. I said it.

I know many people have bad feelings about religion(s), God, belief in God and Christians. Some of it comes from very painful memories and experiences. And, as a Christian, I'm sorry. The things some of you have had to endure under the guise of "Christianity" are horrific at best. It doesn't seem right; you know it wasn't right. And you're right.

Some people like to rail because it's the cool thing to do. To those people, I'd ask that they think about what they say. It's one thing to have experience rejection or hurt from a supposed follower of Christ; it's another thing to rail against the government and hit well meaning people in your crossfire.

There are days I'd have to admit I'm ashamed to admit I am Christian. Not because I believe in and love Christ... but because my brothers and sisters who have made such loud proclamations without compassion. These are the people who hook themselves to an issue and don't bend. They get in bed with Big Government and want a Taliban-like theocracy.

I don't pretend to be Super-Christian, but I can see the viper in the bed. Government and others in power have compromised the message and have given power to those who say they follow Christ, but actually follow world power. These people innocently believe, at first, that anyone who professes belief in Christ to be honest and loving. Many of these people have no time for the grays; only black and white.

And you know what? The problem doesn't lie with those people. You heard me right. The problem lies with those Christians that have not stood up and spoken out against the ridiculous shouting of a frightened group of people.

I think it is time for compassionate Christians to take back their name.

How do we do this? One only has to look to the new testament to find out what Christ would have us do (Matthew 25:31 - 46):

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Welcome the strangers
Tend to the sick
Clothe the naked
Visit the prisoners

This is love in action.

And I believe that it is not enough to say what is wrong; in fact, in a lot of instances, it is not our place. If we Christians could concentrate on just these six areas that Christ himself spoke about, I can't help but believe this world would be that much closer to heaven. Even many of those who do not believe but have compassionate hearts could not argue with this line of thinking.

Will there be mistakes made? Probably; we are human. But I'd rather make a mistake out of love than indifference and intolerance.

Is it safe? Hell no. But it has been mentioned to me that a comfortable Christian is not Christian at all. To follow Christ is very radical; no doubt many would have a very hard time leaving their comfortable lives behind. I still struggle with it.

But I believe that practicing Love In Action will give me a joy that no creature-comfort could ever give me. I won't be in the position of judging others... I'll be loving others.I won't be above others... I'll be with others, attempting to bring heaven a little closer to the here-and-now.

Doug

New Designs! Get Well Flowers at Doug E. Shirts

Flowers on the hospital tray. A hopeful greeting of love and hope. Cheer up your friend or loved one and encorage them to get well with your own words with this Doug E. Shirts design on a card, postcard or one of the other fine Zazzle products.


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Brothers Are Everywhere Men's Dark T-Shirt from Doug E. Shirts & Zazzle.com

Brothers Are Everywhere Men's Dark T-Shirt from Zazzle.com

Design Spotlight!

Brothers are everywhere. And you can remind people of that fact by wearing the tee or hat (or both!). Anyone can wear this anywhere... the mall, on a trip, the White House or even the moon!

Chad Vader : Day Shift Manager - The Date

One of the funniest series on YouTube is Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager by Blame Society Films. Chad has a famous, more-accomplished brother (guess who!), while he toils as a struggling supermarket manager.

I have many laugh-out-loud moments watching this. You should get quite a few laughs out of this and the many other offerings from Blame Society Films!

Books I'm Reading: Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0: 1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job

I'm Doug and I'm currently unemployed. Sure, I have the great Doug E. Shirts at Zazzle site, but I don't get the medical benefits with that. So, like a lot of people nowadays, I'm looking for a job. And I'm finding that job hunting has changed in the last ten years, so I figured I would get some "new thinking" from Jay Conrad Levinson and David E. Perry in their book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0: 1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job (longest. title. ever.). My copy is a Kindle version and revised. I'm looking for ideas to jump-start my job search and ideas to possibly strengthen the marketing of my Zazzle store.

Chapter 2 is all about personal branding, guerrilla style. The following is a summarization that applies the themes to my job hunt as well as the marketing for my Zazzle store.

-Effective Branding is About Selling what Matters

This section helps you determine your marketable skills and find the achievements that prove those claims. Documenting those achievements with more than bullet points, highlighting how you saved your employers money or provided value is key.

Job Hunt: Intellectually, it's common sense to list my skills, but I need to have a sense of how it benefits my potential employer and put into writing.
Zazzle Store: The take-away is promoting myself a little more (okay, a LOT more) on my store's landing page and provide a sense of value for my products.

- Attitude Check

Employers need to see a positive, "can-do" attitude. Many people would rather hire a positive candidate with some skills that a person that is very qualified with a poor attitude. Someone who doesn't fall apart from setbacks but learns from them.

Job Hunt: I have to project an authentic positive "I want to be here" attitude with my resume, cover letter and style.
Zazzle Store: For me, this means being welcoming at my store and offering to go the extra mile with my customers.

To be continued...

PINK BUNNY BLUE DOG IPAD CASE KENNETH SHAW from Zazzle.com

PINK BUNNY BLUE DOG IPAD CASE KENNETH SHAW from Zazzle.com

Kenneth Shaw is an artist and animator from Los Angeles, California. His designs are delightful, fun and crisp. Check out his store here.

Bill Gates: How state budgets are breaking US schools | Video on TED.com

Bill Gates: How state budgets are breaking US schools | Video on TED.com

I found this fascinating and compelling. The fact that state and town budgets are not simple enough for the regular person to follow, thus allowing our representatives to do accounting that is so wrong should be a crime. Please check out this video.

Forty Days of Water Campaign - Blood:Water Mission

This is a current campaign being run by Blood:Water Mission. Blood:Water Mission is a grassroots organization that empowers communities to work together against the HIV/AIDS and water crisis in Africa. Their core purpose is to build community through creative social action. Blood:Water Mission's core values are Community, Responsibility, Integrity, Dignity and Teachability.

This is a great group that has a great story and great successes. Consider being a part of this life-saving charity and social action group. Click here for more information.

New Designs! Good Morning AND Happy Face Omelettes and Toast

I like breakfast; sometimes I have it for dinner! When I have a spinach omelette and toast, I see a happy face. It's saying. "Good morning! Let me start you off right today."

Well, I took a picture of one of my meals and made a design out of it. You can get this "Good Morning" design on many products at the Doug E. Shirts Zazzle store.


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And if that wasn't enough, if you're not a "morning person", you can use the template I created called Happy Face Omelettes and Toast with the same basic design that allows you to add your own text (or have no text at all!). I look at this and I feel happy. What do you think? Let me know!


Make a personalized gift at Zazzle.

My Top 5 Favorite Movies!

A good movie can stay with you for a long time. Sometimes, a movie hits you where you live at a particular time in your life but, with time, doesn't hold up well or doesn't reflect your mindset in your later years. I've seen over 1,000 films (I've rated all of them in Netflix). These are my top 5 and, especially for the top 3, I don't think it will change anytime soon. But I welcome the movie that does break through!

1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Who can deny Ferris' swagger? The spirit of this film is contagious. This is a madcap comedy covered with a coat of hip.

2. Ghostbusters

This film is a close second. It has it all: comedy, horror, heroics and a certain "cool". Everything comes together and the cast works really well together. I remember that after seeing the film for the first time I wanted to be a Ghostbuster!

3. Unforgiven

My favorite Clint Eastwood western. It was the western realized by the man who had epitomized the genre; a master thesis. The scenic backdrops alone made it worth going to the theater. Great storytelling in this one.

4. Groundhog Day

To me this was and is a very spiritual film. What if we had a day to live over and over until we got it right? How long would it take before we got it right? I can't see this film working without the comic timing of Bill Murray.

5. Iron Man

I'm a comic fan and, in my honest opinion, this is the best realized representation of a comic on screen. The character and story is both accessible to the casual movie-goer and true to the comic fan. God put Robert Downey Jr. on this Earth to play Tony Stark/Iron Man.

What do you think? Like my Top 5?

Music: Pomplamoose Music!

Man, I love me some Pomplamoose!

Pomplamoose is the duo of Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte. They are a force of good in indie music. Not only do they perform some bodacious covers, but their original music is ace-on. They come from (and still maintain) their individual careers and seem to bring out the positive best from each other. They are really fun to watch in their YouTube videos. They create what they call "VideoSongs" which have two rules:

1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice).
2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds).

Here are four examples of their collaboration on YouTube (have fun!):

Books I'm Reading: Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0: 1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job

I'm Doug and I'm currently unemployed. Sure, I have the great Doug E. Shirts at Zazzle site, but I don't get the medical benefits with that. So, like a lot of people nowadays, I'm looking for a job. And I'm finding that job hunting has changed in the last ten years, so I figured I would get some "new thinking" from Jay Conrad Levinson and David E. Perry in their book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0: 1,001 Unconventional Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Landing Your Dream Job (longest. title. ever.). My copy is a Kindle version and revised. I'm looking for ideas to jump-start my job search and ideas to possibly strengthen the marketing of my Zazzle store.


Chapter 2 is all about personal branding, guerrilla style. The following is a summarization that applies the themes to my job hunt as well as the marketing for my Zazzle store.

- Shape Up Your Brand with Attitude

The chapter starts off with the reassuring fact that it's rarely the best qualified person who gets the job but the one who "packages" themselves best to meet the employer's needs (I knew it!).

Job Hunt: It's all about the presentation.
Zazzle Store: I have to find the people who want what I create and/or I have to meet my potential customer's needs.

- "You Inc."-Your Personal Brand

Being able to articulate your value is key to successful job hunting. Being able to show what makes you unique is what gives you your brand. People don't buy generic big ticket items; they buy a particular brand because of the peace of mind they get with a reliable brand. You can leverage your previous employers brands, projects and results.

Job Hunt: I can see that a major revision to my resume is in order. I need to make it more dynamic by showing my value by not only my previous employment, but also my results/successes in providing value for those employers.
Zazzle Store: I have to clearly define my Doug E. Shirts brand in a sea of other Zazzle brands. It probably would be a good thing to mention recent sales and numbers of page views to give people a sense that they're not on a vanity site. Perhaps a productive thing to do is go look at what the big sites (like Amazon) do on their sites to look more professional.

To be continued...

Other Cool Zazzle Stores: Hoop It Up

Hoop It Up is a Zazzle store dedicated to basketball. Some interesting designs there. It interests me to see how he gets around not using trademarks and team logos. Take a look-see!

My Amazon Marketplace Store: Dzymurgy

I have other stores going on in addition to my Doug E. Shirts Zazzle store. One of those stores is on Amazon.com. Did you know you can sell used or new items on Amazon?

My storefront is called "dzymurgy" and I sell mostly used CD's, books and DVD's.

The products are less than the new price on Amazon and arrive within the week. Take a look and see if there's anything you want cheap by clicking here!

Other Cool Zazzle Stores: Danger! Art!

This is from Floridian Jim William's Zazzle store, Danger! Art! It's his third Zazzle store and it features computer generated art. In his words:

"Do you like Klimt? Cezanne? Van Gogh? Sargent? How about Monet? Done in pastels, chalk, oils, water color, felt tip or pencils? What if two or three artists using several forms of media were to collaborate? You may not know it yet, but I may have what you're looking for. Just don't expect to see anything like you've seen before.

This site specializes in unique abstractions produced by a unique artist with an electronic brain. They come from my ordinary home computer . It's a lot better at this stuff than I am."


Go visit using the store link above. Thanks!

New Design: Psychedelic Sun T-shirts from Doug E. Shirts & Zazzle.com

Psychedelic Sun T-shirts from Zazzle.com

Groove on the rise of the Psychadelic Sun, baby! It's a way-out but real "in" design that's great for Spring and Summer (but good all year 'round!). Let the establishment know you're all about love and happiness!

Okay, so it's still winter in a third of America. One can still hope, right? It will get warmer, and when it does, you want to have this design showing your love sun.

Find it at the Doug E. Shirts Zazzle Store today (links at top and bottom).


See more personalized gifts from Zazzle.

A Hand Up to Over Half a Million

I'm giving up my daily post today for a really worthy cause. I'm going to figure out how I can be a part of this Whole Planet Foundation Prosperity Campaign...

A Hand Up to Over Half a Million: "
Today we are launching our 2011 Whole Planet Foundation Prosperity Campaign and we hope you will join us! (Read on for a chance to win a trip to Peru to witness the benefits of microcredit firsthand.) It’s easy to donate either in our stores or donate online. You can also spread the word to your social network or start your own campaign.

Together we can solve the persistent problem of world poverty and hunger! Whole Foods Market has funded over $7 million for Whole Planet Foundation and microlending projects. Shoppers have donated nearly $6 million to Whole Planet Foundation^® in past campaigns. Whole Foods Market Team Members have donated $2 million through our paychecks and suppliers have donated $1.6 million for microcredit. With this support and through valued microfinance institution partners worldwide, Whole Planet Foundation has empowered 130,000 clients with microcredit loans in five years, supporting over half a million people in 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America with a chance to escape poverty. Please join our 2011 campaign and give a hand up to 70,000 more people.





This video explains what we do and why Whole Foods Market created Whole Planet Foundation.





And to help share the magic of microcredit, we are partnering with Intrepid Travel to give away a 10-day trip for two to Peru. Step back in time in the Sacred Valley, witness the glory of Machu Picchu and more on this 9-night/10-day adventure for 2 including airfare, accommodations, local transportation and select meals. You’ll meet Whole Planet Foundation-supported microcredit clients and partners in the field to see firsthand how your donation helps alleviate poverty worldwide. From mountains to jungle, seasides to great plains, you’ll experience Peru’s incredible natural and historical highlights on this awesome adventure. Retrace the steps of the Incas to Machu Picchu, admire colonial cities, explore vibrant markets and meet the locals in this South American country with a difference. Return home with incredible memories of the panoramas and people of Peru. Find out more about this tour at Intrepid Travel and click here to go to the contest entry page — must enter by March 31^st (full rules on the contest page).


"

Where You Can Find Doug E. Shirts

I'm Doug E. and I like t-shirts. I really like coming up with designs and learning new techniques to bring my ideas to life. So I am making a go of it on Zazzle to display and sell those designs and photos on various things like t-shirts, cups, cases and things. I realize that I'm just another fish in that big Zazzle ocean, but people seem to keep finding me!

Started in 2007, Doug E. Shirts began as an idea for transition for me; I was going to lose my corporate job. Slowly, but surely, I began to amass the tools I would need to implement my plan for positive, thought-provoking t-shirts. 

The mission of Doug E. Shirts is to provide people with positive and enjoyable image wear and other designed products. By providing a new (and hopefully) different voice in t-shirt wear and other products, I hope to allow my customers to express their positivity and get noticed.
You can find me at these locations:

• Doug E. Shirts on Zazzle
• Doug E. Shirts on Facebook
• Doug E. Shirts on Twitter
• Doug E. Shirts on Squidoo

Other Cool Zazzle Stores: Shop With mspatricia

The Raspberry Cat Greeting Cards

In mspatricia's words: "Hi all....I'm a professional artist living in sunny Orange County, California. Through the years I have accumulated images of my work and wish to share them now with everyone. I hope you enjoy what you see here and will contact me if there is something I can make and add to the store." Very nice designs there. Go visit by clicking here.

Other Cool Zazzle Stores: Designs & Photography by JC Thomas

Designs & Photography by JC Thomas is a Zazzle store out of North Carolina that has the advantage of having great photographic and illustration images from JC. Many different products adorn the site. Go take a look.