How to raise your standard of living

I am yet to meet anyone who does not want to raise their standard of living. Yes, even I want to.
The world - people, internet, books etc. - is overflowing with tips on how to raise our standard of living. Funny enough, the focus is more on standard of living and the standard of life is ignored.

Before we dig in, let's step back to look at what "standard of living" and "standard of life" mean:
The former is a term used to define one's social and economic well-being and an objective measure. On the flip side, standard of life is subjective and relates to one's level of happiness i.e. quality of life.

When people talk about raising their standard of living they focus more on how to become richer versus how to make their lives and others' lives richer. Becoming rich is a lofty goal but there's more to life. The Bible is very rich...and tells us how to raise our standard of living and standard of life.

Isaiah 33: 15-16 - The answer’s simple: Live right, speak the truth, 

despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements.

This is how you raise your standard of living! 

A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live. (MSG)

When we align our standard of living to the word of God, our standard/quality of life will improve.

Zig Ziglar put it this way: 

If standard of living is your major objective, quality of life almost never improves, 

but if quality of life is your number one objective, your standard of living almost always improves.

Our standard/quality of life is evidenced by being a channel of blessing as Proverbs 11:25 tells us - 

The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched. 

And he waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown]. (AMP)

Bottom-line:

Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life, not by our standard of living; 
by our measure of giving, not by our measure of wealth; 
by our simple goodness, not by our seeming greatness. 
~ William Arthur Ward

We must strive to improve the lives of others around us and our standard of living will follow. 

"You have an accent."

Every time someone says that to me, I feel like saying "So do you." Now, that would be the right response but it will sound more like a retort and may come across as rude so I don't respond.

If you look it up in a dictionary - hard copy or online, you'll find that "accent" is essentially "a distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class."* So in essence, everyone on earth has an accent...

Let me tell you how this topic came up - yes, you're right it was from the Bible. Let's read this "cornerstone" verse together:

Shortly after that, some bystanders approached Peter.                                                                                         “You’ve got to be one of them. Your accent gives you away.”**

When I heard and read this verse I smiled about how "age-old" this "you have an accent" line is. I then took it a step further. I'm sure that Peter would not have been the only person with the accent associated to his nation/locality however, that was what gave him away as having been with Jesus. So for me it was indicative that beyond the accent, in our days it will be our vocabulary and mannerisms. I then wondered if my vocabulary and mannerisms tell others Who I've been with.

What does your "accent" tell others?

Sources:
* Google
** Matthew 26:73 - MSG

A little miracle is a mighty thing!

A few years ago, after cleaning out my purse I realized that I'd "lost" one earring - so had only one earring of a pair I really liked. Oh no! I actually planned to write a piece about that titled "Not again!" because that's exactly how I felt. Now this wasn't an expensive irreplaceable earring or one that I had a sentimental attachment to but that wasn't the point. For me it was about losing something - and I didn't like that.

Fast-forward 2 months or so, I "misplaced" something at work and worked hard not to let it ruin the rest of my work-day - but of course it kept niggling at me.
"Where is it?" "I just saw it!" "What happened?" All these questions and thoughts were to no avail.
So I decided to "move on" - though not completely. As I wrapped up my day, I was sorting out my desk drawer and indirectly looking for what I'd misplaced earlier and what did I see in the corner?

Yes, you guessed right...the missing earring I mentioned in the first paragraph. I was so overjoyed that I almost did a dance at work. In fact, being so overjoyed overshadowed the fact that I had misplaced something else - which I believe I found later.

My take-away from this was that miracles happen everyday in the most unexpected ways & places. We need to learn to take things in our stride and appreciated even little miracles as mighty things.