Why Settle?

OK, first off, I saw a great sign in front of a church last night that I think was right on:
Envy is counting someone else's blessings, instead of counting your own.
Pretty smart stuff, that. If we would just pay attention to what we have, rather than to what someone else has that we don't, life would be happier, no?

Next, I came up with these on the way to work yesterday, so I'm sharing them here:

Why would you settle for happiness, when God offers you Joy?
Why would you settle for "the Good Life," when God offers you Eternal Life?
Why would you settle for affluence, when God offers you Abundance?
Why would you settle for friendship, when God offers you Fellowship?
Why would you settle for comfort, when God offers you Peace?
Why would you settle for slogans, when God speaks to you in a Still Small Voice?

It seems to me that this is the bill of goods being sold by a lot of the "prosperity" teachers who are abroad in the church these days. "God wants you to be rich," or "God wants you to be happy," or "God wants you to be pretty," or whatever. It's a crock. The fact is, God wants you. Further, God wants you to be. He wants you to be what He designed you to be, not what some charlatan in an Armani suit and Rolex is telling you you want to be.
All that stuff is just what the world has to offer, and it's all crap - it's all stuff that evaporates like a mist, that rust and moth can destroy. That's no treasure, it's a trap, so don't settle for what the world has, when you can accept what God has been trying to give you all along - peace beyond understanding, life more abundant, forgiveness, eternal life, Joy!

Pronouns

I don't understand why it's so difficult for most people (especially Americans, it seems) to handle personal pronouns. Let's take a look at the subject, shall we?

What are personal pronouns?
There are two uses beyond the simple substitution of he for Bruce or she for Sheila, for example. The singular indefinite pronoun and the singular pronoun of personification.

'He' is the singular indefinite pronoun in English ("if a person drinks too much, he will likely experience a hangover"). 'He' also happens to be the masculine personal pronoun.
'She' is the singular pronoun of personification in English ("if England fails to advance America's foreign-policy ambitions, she will suffer terrible consequences"). 'She' also happens to be the feminine personal pronoun.

Confusing the two exhibits not a warm-and-fuzzy concern for the inclusion of women so much as a writer's or speaker's ignorance. Using the feminine personal pronoun as an indefinite article is as moronic as using the masculine personal pronoun for personification. Thus the captain greets us: "Welcome to my ship. Isn't he splendid?"
I mean, give it up, people. It's not thoughtful; it's just illiterate.

Advertising, Marketing, all that kind of thing

I've been reading all these newsletters about how marketers can use blogs as advertising vehicles (They also talk about IM and picture phones). It seems to me that what they're advocating is the same as putting handwritten ads on community bulletin boards, pretending they're from your neighbors. It's one thing for my friend to call me on my cell and send a picture of his new car, just because he's excited about it, but it's another thing entirely to have Bob's Subaru send me a picture of the new Forester on my cell because they want me to buy one.

Just because there's a new way for people to talk to one another, that doesn't mean it has to be an advertising medium, does it? Let's hope not.