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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Aug 29, 2010 – TRENTON, NJ — August 29, 2010 — The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore, LLC (TBB) is excited to announce the launch of their website http://www.TBBBookstore.com. The website will specialize in books, music, gifts and apparel that encourage, educate, entertain, heal and inspire.The e-commerce website is the first phase of The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore & Café, a chain of retail Christian bookstores where people will be able to gather, read, eat and network. Ellis J. Still, President & CEO explains, “TBB is not just about Christian retailing, but about creating a movement, not unlike what the burning bush did through Moses in the bible. We do not simply sell Christian products, but provide resources and solutions applicable to our everyday lives.”
The vision of The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore, “To build people up, one book at a time”, came out of a need to provide access to an assortment of quality resources that serves to entertain, encourage and support one’s Christian lifestyle. With categories such as Personal Growth, Professional Growth, Christian living, Fiction and Non-Fiction, TBB looks to serve every area of growth in life. TBB actively provides a voice for not just popular products and top selling lists, but also for talented independent writers and artists whose value and excellence has the potential to change the world.
For more information please visit http://www.TBBBookstore.com.
About Ellis Still, President & CEO of The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore, LLC
Ellis Still has over thirteen (13) years of retail experience, including store operations management as well as a background in Urban Planning, Design and Landscape Architecture. While he enjoys his chosen field of Landscape Architecture, all of those years in retail left an impression on him, and he felt a void in his heart from the inability to no longer serve the public. When Ellis rediscovered his relationship with Jesus Christ, he noticed a burning need in his community, a need that he eventually realized that he could meet. As he began researching and making plans, TBBBookstore.com was born.
Ellis Still was a finalist in the 2nd annual Institute For Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) Business Plan Competition and a graduate of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED) at Rutgers University School of Business. The knowledge gained during his participation in these programs inspired him to not just dream about owning his own business, but gave him the tools to make it happen.
For more information, press only:
(Ellis Still), (973-592-5500) or ( Info@TBBbookstore.com)
For more information on The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore:
http://www.TBBBookstore.com
Fan us on facebook (The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore & Cafe)
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The mission of The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore is to provide and encourage the reading of bibles, books, and other items that will serve to entertain, heal, inspire, and empower. TBBbookstore.com sells books, music, gifts and apparel.
Ocean City, NJ Bed & Breakfast: A great place to recharge your batteries
By: ellis j. still
This past week my wife had a super-secret-surprise for me for my birthday. In the weeks leading up to my birthday, she would refuse to tell me what it was, but she did tell me that the surprise was a place and that we would be there from Sunday June 13th through the 16th. So, I’m thinking road trip out of state… New York, Philly, Poconos, Baltimore, or maybe Washington DC. But then she told, me that the place that we were going to was dog-friendly, and that we will be bringing Peanut with us. At this point, I was really clueless. Other than Staybridge Suite Hotels, where could we possibly go that accommodates pets? Is there a Chuck-E-Cheese for dogs? So we get into the car, she drives, I fall asleep in the passenger seat, I wake up at our destination, and we are in Ocean City, NJ at a really cool Bed & Breakfast.
This was the best birthday mini-vacation ever. Ocean City has the same kind of calmness as North Carolina, beaches and boardwalks within walking distance, good restaurants, and a boardwalk carnival if you are in the mood for some activity. Likewise, there were many dog owners in the city, and there is even a beach that is dog friendly. There’s an informal social thing early in the morning when dog owners walk their dogs and the dogs get to meet and greet each other (sniff each other’s butt) with their owners in tow.
Ocean City Mansion (http://ocmansion.com/ ) is where we stayed, and Nancy is the best. This was the first time Tina of I ever stayed at a bed and breakfast, and Nancy, the Innkeeper, made us feel right at home. The house was a mansion that was built in 1896 that has been well maintained over the years, yet has all of the modern amenities in order to make your stay pleasant. Our suite was complete with a Jacuzzi, an alcove bed, and was Peanut friendly as well. Every morning Nancy cooked a different breakfast for us and we ate outside on the front porch as we read the morning newspaper in the calmness of the outdoors. That in itself is a novel idea. Who has time to sit and eat breakfast before work anymore? Breakfast at the mansion pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day, with more relaxing and quiet on the front porch, or a series of power naps in our suite.
I. So. Needed. This.
Our lives tend to be constantly in hustle and bustle mode such that we rarely take the time to slow down and replenish ourselves. A quiet and relaxing four day vacation with the woman of my dreams two hours from my home… it just doesn’t get any better than that. My first experience with a Bed & Breakfast was definitely a good one, and we plan on making this a habit every year since our birthdays are five days apart. This was a great start to my week. The second half was also great, but that is a different blog post :- )
Question: When was the last time you slowed down to recharge your batteries? Have you ever thought about visiting a Bed & Breakfast in your area?
© 2010, Ellis J. Still. All rights reserved
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like what you read and you are not yet a Subscriber to my blog, why not subscribe now? All posts are original, there is no fixed schedule, so you would not have to check my blog regularly, and you will be receiving an authentic review of books, organizations and life experiences as a husband and entrepreneur. If you change your mind, it is easy to unsubscribe. Once you sign up, visit your email inbox to verify your email address. Check your spam folder if you don’t receive any verification emails. Thanks!!!
ellis
Where’d he go???
by: ellis j. still
I know I have not been blogging as much lately, but much of my time has been focused on working with Kimla from KYB Productions (http://kybproductions.com/ ) to get the online version of The Burning Bush Christian Bookstore (TBB) up and running.
One of my personal favorite scriptures is:
“It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone”. Ephesians 1:11-12
With that in mind, I am excited about what is going to be a unique assemblage of Christian books, bibles, gifts and clothing that will grow, inspire, entertain, and support one’s Christian lifestyle and purpose at prices that are comparable with, or better than market prices. Along with our overall resource categories, we also pay close attention to initiatives that are close to our heart, which include breast cancer awareness, entrepreneurship & leadership resources, and we feature a vast and ever growing assemblage of Urban Christian Fiction titles in addition to staying up to date with the top 50 titles. We also have an assortment of Christian gifts for the home, dorm, and many other occasions, and designer t-shits apparel for men and women (includes baby-doll) just in time for summer. TBB as a company is not just a Christian website, but a movement in Christ that actively engages in supporting and partnering with like-minded events and initiatives, such as the Newark School of Theology, 2010 Faith and Fiction Retreat, and a number or other resources and ministries which cannot be named as of yet until things are more finalized. Stay tuned for more details on the website re-launch in the next few weeks, upon which when you become a free member, you get bonus rewards points that can be used towards any of TBB’s resources.
In the meantime, I really miss writing, so I plan on being back on my post as blogger for at least one post this week. Thank you, and have a great week!!!
ellis
Question: What is your favorite bible verse(s)? How do you apply it to your life?
© 2010, Ellis J. Still. All rights reserved
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like what you read and you are not yet a Subscriber to my blog, why not subscribe now? All posts are original, there is no fixed schedule, so you would not have to check my blog regularly, and you will be receiving an authentic review of books, organizations and life experiences as a husband and entrepreneur. If you change your mind, it is easy to unsubscribe. Once you sign up, visit your email inbox to verify your email address. Check your spam folder if you don’t receive any verification emails. Thanks!!!
ellis
Love gives, Lust takes
by: ellis j. still
I participate in a youth ministry group with kids ages from 13 through high school once a month. This past weekend, we had a conversation about dating and marriage. Over the past few days I realized that many adults are having similar questions and issues as it relates to dating, so I figured I would share part of the conversation and some additional thoughts.
The concept of “dating” is a relatively new concept. Up until the early 20th century, people used courtship as a way to find one’s spouse. Courtship is a way to ensure that the man and woman are equally yoked. The object of courtship is to start slow with friendship, with the goal being marriage. When a couple dates, they tend to show the best side of themselves so as to impress who they are dating. Starting as friends allows both people to get to know each other without any pressure, and you get to see who a person is in every season of their life and how they react to those seasons. Are they violent when things do not go right? Are they impatient? Is their walk with Christ really what it appears to be? Do they have emotional or psychological scars from previous relationships that could carry over into another relationship? It there untruthfulness? All of these things, without prying or asking questions, will come to light in time. Therefore, being patient and starting out as friends is an important part of finding out who you would want to spend the rest of your life with.
Dating to find your mate is a relatively new concept. Dating is nothing more than experimentation. The idea is that you try this and you try that and you will find what you want somewhere in there, but that almost never happens. You see other people date, and you want to try it out, but what you don’t see behind the scenes is how much dating hurts. Peer pressure to have sex (and drugs, etc…), lowering your standards (giving in and having sex), STD’s, the hurt feelings and emotional trauma from being in and out of relationships that are not equally yoked, being gossiped about, and not being used to sticking by one person no matter what (lack of commitment) are all byproducts of dating which leave scars that will follow you into marriage and often causes divorce. Dating is designed to make marriages fail. In our mind, we tend to think that dating is about being with just one person exclusively, but more often than not, there is no endgame in mind and as a result, we do not identify and stick to standards within the relationship and we kind of go with the flow.
Dating leads to intimacy, not commitment, and often mistakes physical relationships for love. Love gives, and lust takes. The definition of love is “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This is the true God given definition of love, yet most people for some reason do not believe, or truly buy into the notion of real love in their heart. Instead, we use the word love haphazardly and casually, which cancels its power and deteriorates its true meaning.
Many of the things that adults deal with emotionally stem from decisions they made as a teenager or in grade school. This was also the case with me. I had to conquer emotional baggage, low esteem, fear, and a host of other issues as a result of not only being in and out of relationships, but being in and out of relationships with the wrong people and not having a relationship with Christ in my life. When I rekindled my relationship with Christ and started back going to church, I didn’t want to date. I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I wanted to heal. I wanted the scars to go away. I was tired of living how I was living, and I wanted to be right with God. But while I was I the midst of growing and not looking for a relationship, God sent me an angel… God sent me my wife.
On Saturday one of the kids asked “how do you know when God is speaking to you”? You just know. When Tina and I first met, it felt natural, as if we knew each other since the third grade. There were no airs, no false pretenses… just us being us having a conversation, which grew into more conversations. We had a discussion early on that our goal was not to date, but to see if this is something that could lead to marriage. We were patient, and our first kiss was on our wedding day. I know some you have heard me tell this story before, but I never get tired of telling it. God really kept me through all I went through in my life, yet when I finally woke up and made the decision to do things His way, extraordinary things started to happen to and for me in my life.
Till death do us part :- )
Question: Have you set a standard from which to live your life, or are you slowly killing yourself by following behind what everyone else around you is doing? When is the last time you asked yourself, “what did Jesus say about…”
© 2010, Ellis J. Still. All rights reserved
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like what you read and you are not yet a Subscriber to my blog, why not subscribe now? All posts are original, there is no fixed schedule, so you would not have to check my blog regularly, and you will be receiving an authentic review of books, organizations and life experiences as a husband and entrepreneur. If you change your mind, it is easy to unsubscribe. Once you sign up, visit your email inbox to verify your email address. Check your spam folder if you don’t receive any verification emails. Thanks, and have a great day!!!
ellis
Balancing Acts: Entrepreneurship, Family, and Play
by ellis j. still
As an entrepreneur, there is a delicate balancing act between family, business, and play. As a newlywed of almost two years it can be especially challenging, since we are working through figuring “us” out, but then to also have to factor in the trials of starting a business as well. I put together some things to watch out for….
1.) Know when to shut it off. Although being an entrepreneur is very demanding, it is also very exciting as well. Learn how to temper your excitement. Your wife / husband does not need to hear about your every aspect of every success and failure during every waking moment. Yes – it is natural for spouses to talk about how one’s day went, but to talk about it for every waking moment just isn’t healthy for either one of you.
2.) Husbands – spend time with your wife. She understands that you are doing a great thing, yet by nature, she needs you to pay attention to her… to listen to her… to do all the cuddly things that she likes to do. Surprise her by using time that you would normally spend at the home office and take her out on a date. If the roles were reversed and she is the entrepreneur, it’s the same thing. Don’t assume that your spouse knows how much you care. Show how much you care.
3.) Wives – (written by my wife) Support his vision. Sometimes that means walking by his faith. Sometimes when God gives your husband a vision, it’s our job as wives to pray for vision, carry the vision and ultimately give birth to the vision with your husband. Habakkuk 2:3 says “For the revelation waits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” Sometimes it may look like nothing is happening with the business, that’s when you have to hold on to the vision. Your husband will need your faith to keep going. Love him, support him, and encourage him. Nothing keeps a man going more than his wife telling him she believes in him.
4.) Loose the crackberry. This has been a challenging area for me. Wherever I am, my Blackberry is always somewhere nearby… ready to respond to any email that comes my way. I have gotten much better, but my wife bought us an I-Touch that she really enjoys, so now I think we’re even :- )
5.) Laugh a lot, and make a lot of Love.
6.) Recognize that pecking order:
a.) God first.
b.) Then family.
c.) Then business.
This is an area that often stresses and destroys marriages and/or businesses. People’s first thought tends to be putting the success of the business before family, not realizing that your family is your first ministry until it’s too late. Money comes and goes, but family will be there to support you no matter what. With God being the head of the family, there is nothing that can happen that will be successful at breaking it apart.
7.) Value your husband’s/wife’s opinion. My wife and I work in professional fields that could not be more opposite. She analyses. I create. Yet, we often find ourselves brainstorming some interesting and creative ideas – some of which we are actively working on now, and some will come to fruition sometime in the future.
Question: what are you doing to balance your business, love, and play?
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ellis j. still 