Archives: February 2010

Review: Sprinkles Cupcakes

This past weekend I stopped into Sprinkles Cupcakes, an ultra high-end cupcake bakery chain that now has 9 locations coast-to-coast.

Pros:

• The place sells fresh-baked cupcakes!
• They give you wooden forks to eat with. They were like wooden popsicle sticks carved into forks. Very cool.
• Lots of interesting flavors such as peanut butter chip, milk chocolate, chocolate marshmallow, chai latte, banana, and more.
• The stores are really cool. With a line out the door I felt like I was walking into a club or modern restaurant.

Cons:

• Cupcakes were average size. I would have rather paid $6.50 for 1 huge cupcake instead of 2 average cupcakes. I guess a more health conscious person would disagree with me.
• Taste was just OK, nothing special. I’ve tried a lot of cup cakes in my life. It was moist and tasty but my expectations were not met. The best cup cake I can remember eating came was the Double Chocolate Cupcake from Starbucks.
• The pricing model was a little odd. Cupcakes are $3.25 but sold in packages of 2 for $6.50 or 12 (a dozen) for $36. Why can’t I purchase just 1? And why would I pay $36 for 12 measly cupcakes??
  

Overall Thoughts: I expected so much more. After paying $3.25 for a average-sized cupcake I was disappointed that they were no better tasting than Betty Crocker. However, it is definitely worth a visit. This place is fun and makes its living by selling cup cakes.

Price: $ [$10 or under]

Location: 4020 Villanova Drive, Dallas, TX 75225 :: (214) 369-0004‎

The Cost of Following Jesus

Can’t see the video? Click Here!

“”I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” – Mark 10:29-30 (NIV)

“Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it. ” – Mark 8:34 & 35 (HSCB)

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

“He (God) who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:32 (NIV)

How to Get Wisdom

“The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple.” – Psalm 119:130

From the podcast episode entitled: “Receive Binah Wisdom For Good Success”.

[via Joseph Prince Ministries]

Being the “First” Follower

Interesting thoughts on leadership & followership. Some of the thoughts from this video directly apply to business, leadership, and to some degree even spreading the Gospel.

“It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader. There is no movement without the first follower. We’re told we all need to be leaders, but that would be really ineffective. The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow and show others how to follow. When you find a lone nut doing something great, have the guts to be the first person to stand up and join in.”

[via Signal vs. Noise]

Jesus – My Prince of Peace

I was thinking this morning about Jesus and how Isaiah 9:6 gives Him the title of “Prince of Peace”.

The word ‘peace’ used in Isaiah is actually the Hebrew word shalowm or more commonly see in English as “shalom”.

What exactly does shalowm mean? According to Strong’s Concordance and lexicon it means:

• completeness (in number)
• safety, soundness (in body)
• welfare, health, prosperity
• quiet, tranquility, contentment
• friendship of human relationships & with God especially in covenant relationship
• peace (as an adjective & from war)

That is a pretty incredible breakdown!

So to clearly understand this:

Jesus is the Prince of completeness, safety, soundness (in body), welfare, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquility, contentment, friendship of human relationships, friendship with God especially in covenant relationship, and of course peace (as an adjective & from war)!!!!!!

Jesus said in John 14:27,”Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.].

When we understand that Jesus is the Prince of Peace in fullness & scope, this verse makes much more sense.  We now have His peace because He gave it to us. And look what the latter part of that verse says, “do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.” Any time we don’t look to Jesus as our source of peace it is easy to become fearful, unsettled, and intimidated by the lies of the enemy.

On top of that look at what Paul says,”Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So Paul is telling us NOT to worry BUT to bring our requests (needs) to God AND when that happens the peace of God will blow you away with His goodness (just read the list above!) and consume the worry/fear/intimidation (surpass every thought) thereby guarding your heart & mind. This is good stuff!

One last thought: Hebrews 7:25 says,”He (Jesus) is always able to save (Greek word: sōzō) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.” Jesus (remember He is the Prince of all of the richness of shalowm) always lives AND is always able to intercede (He is also our High Priest) for us at the throne of the Father!

Consult the Prince of Peace and He will meet your needs and exceed your expectations.