Friday Funnies- Doggie Play Dead
For more Friday Funnies, visit Kim at Homesteaders Heart.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Little Monsters
It all started out so innocently, just a simple game of what we like to call, "Ride the Heehee" (translation: Horsey).
It soon turned into an all-out monster fest.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Shine your Light Wed: Doctors Without Borders
They work in countries where there is war, epidemics, malnutrition, natural disaster, etc. Regardless of who a person is or who they might be affiliated with, every person is eligible to receive medical care from this organization. There is no discrimination when it comes to saving someone's life or giving them the care they deserve. MSF is an "international medical humanitarian organization" started in 1971 by doctors and journalists in France. MSF has worked in countries such as Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Darfur, Serbia, Iraq, Pakistan, India, and even now, Haiti. In many cases, they have spoken out for increased awareness and more medical attention to many of these countries, even winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. They speak up for the poor, for the needy, and for the hurting; people such as street children, refugees, prisoners, unemployed, drug users, sex workers, etc., can find treatment and compassion with MSF. MSF is not affiliated with any parties, be they religious, political, etc., and they are completely funded through private donors.
MSF is made up of not just doctors; their workers also include nurses, lab technicians, mental health professionals, epidemiologists, logistics experts, administrators, etc. A lot of their workers come from the communities they are attempting to help; only 10% of teams are international workers. In 2006, MSF medical teams gave more than 9 million outpatient consultations; hospitalized almost half a million patients; delivered 99,000 babies; treated 1.8 million people for malaria; treated 150,000 malnourished children; provided 100,000 people living with HIV/AIDS with antiretroviral therapy; vaccinated 1.8 million people against meningitis; and conducted 64,000 surgeries (Doctors Without Borders website). They not only provide medical care, including vaccination clinics, but they help communities to acquire sanitary drinking water, help to rebuild hospitals, and have field teams who help to supply basic life needs when people are displaced in disasters or situations where they are forced from their homes. Some of the epidemics and diseases they've helped to treat are malaria, cholera, measles, meningitis, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, kala azar, sleeping sickness, and Chagas.
When it comes to malnutrition, this is something that MSF has had extensive experience in helping with. They started the use of RUF, ready-to-use food, which has had a major impact on the hunger epidemic. Consider this: Every day, 20 million children are starving, suffering from malnutrition (MSF website). That is a staggering number.
Right now, MSF is working in Haiti. They have performed many surgeries, but there are still patients waiting to have surgery, as well as patients needing post-operative care.
MSF is not only working in hospitals/makeshift operating rooms, even their inflatable hospital, but they have gone mobile as well, searching out people who need life-saving treatment or whose conditions could quickly go downhill. Many of the Haitian volunteers working in MSF, such as Dr. Philippe Brouard, a surgeon, and Charles Joseph, a social worker, have lost family and friends, but still they continue to work to save lives and give help where it is needed. Click the link to see how Haitian staff are determined to help.
MSF is not only working in hospitals/makeshift operating rooms, even their inflatable hospital, but they have gone mobile as well, searching out people who need life-saving treatment or whose conditions could quickly go downhill. Many of the Haitian volunteers working in MSF, such as Dr. Philippe Brouard, a surgeon, and Charles Joseph, a social worker, have lost family and friends, but still they continue to work to save lives and give help where it is needed. Click the link to see how Haitian staff are determined to help.
You can help Doctors Without Borders/MSF. You can volunteer, or you can donate in more ways than one. Right now they are urgently needing OR nurses, obstetricians/gynecologists, HIV/AIDS and TB specialists, and anesthesiologists/nurse-anesthetists, as well as nurse-midwives/certified midwives. MSF staff know that they are going into a field that involves many elements of danger, and they know that they are working in a humanitarian organization, receiving a very modest monthly salary. You can find out more of what it takes to volunteer, as well as the benefits you would receive here. MSF has many benefit concerts/fundraising events that you can check out, as well. Publications also exist to help keep you up to date on what they are doing. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
How can you help? How can you shine your light?
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Time Out Tuesdays: Link Up Your Giveaways
One of my favorite sites that I've really started following lately is Women Living Well, written by one of our MamaBuzz reviewers. Courtney just has a way of inspiring you to be what God would have you to be in your home, with your husband, and with your children. I just love her. She has not only posts but inspiring vlogs, as well; one of my favorites is I Help Everyone. Who is Going to Help Me?. Courtney was interviewed over on Confessions of an Imperfect Parent, and she shares some of her secrets to keeping her home.
Now another part of Courtney's site is her Women Living Well message boards, on which you can join other like-minded moms in discussions and receive tons of encouragement. You might even check out her Good Morning Girls group; you could even start your own.
Come Have a Peace is another great blog for homemaking and marriage. She even bears it all out on the table in her post Why Look Under the Stovetop?.
Run the Earth...Watch the Sky has some great posts up that you might find helpful. One is Practical Discipline Techniques and Common Mistakes; the other is She Brings Him Good...
I am loving The Pioneer Woman right now. She has posts on a variety of topics, including Cooking, Home & Garden, and even Homeschooling.
Camilla at Home is a beautiful blog filled with inspiring colors and ideas for your home. It's written in Norwegian, but you can easily translate it by clicking on the translator in her sidebar.
Happy to Be at Home is another great blog where you can find encouragement and inspiration in your life at home.
Adventures in Diapering and Beyond is another great blog that gives not only encouragement but tips on homemaking, such as her post on Family Friendly Meal Ideas for Breakfast, Snack, and Lunch.
Lastly, Blissfully Domestic, which I know many of you already know about....but I can't leave them out. They are a wonderful site, and every time I visit, I leave with some sort of inspiration and desire to make my home even more of a haven.
Ok, I know I said this was all homemaking, but I must share this site with you; maybe I can have a missions edition soon, since there are so many blogs out there written by missionaries and those in service. Amazima Ministries International is one organization that I hope to share with you in my Shine Your Light series in the near future. You can even check out Katie's blog and grab a button to put on your own site.
Now, it's time to link up your giveaways! Have a wonderful day!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Motivate Me Monday- Taboo....No More
Just to emphasize here that I am speaking out because of my faith; I am a Christian....a growing Christian who is just seeking to follow God's Word and do whatever it is that He has called me to do. That being said, here is the situation: This week we learned of a "Christian" ban that is taking place in our old hometown. I won't go into details, but a certain institution (won't name any names) is being banned because of an openly gay employee. Now, please let me clear something up before I continue. I do not believe that being gay is Biblical, and I, in no way, condone or agree with the actions of the gay movement....BUT I do not treat them any differently than I do my mom or my dad or my friends. I treat them with as much respect as I would anyone, and I look at them as a person with a soul and a heart and someone who God loves very, very much. After all, God created that person just as He created me; He formed them in the womb and knew them before they were ever born. He also gave free will. Jesus died for everyone, not just you and not just me; EVERYONE! Hatred and bigotry such as this ban do nothing but leave all Christians looking like utter snobs and hypocrites; in fact, I believe that bigotry such as this fuels movements, such as the gay rights movement. Hatred and bigotry are not the solution....
I don't agree with this ban at all, and I'm going to tell you why. It all comes back to getting outside of our Christian circles and doing what God has commanded us to do in His Word. Situations like this make me ashamed to associate myself with the same "Christian" name as these who have banned this institution. It hurts my heart to think that this person, who may not know Jesus, is being treated in such a way as to potentially turn him away from Christianity at all. Do these "Christians" not realize that people are dying without a Saviour every single day? Do they not see that associating only within their comfort zones of approval is going against every fiber of what Jesus taught and lived? In order to reach this world, we are going to have to get up and go. We are going to have to get out of our comfort zones and see people, all people, through the eyes of a Saviour Who gave up everything to come to earth for us. It may mean we lose friends, but to die to self is gain....
Is one sin greater than another? For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all- James 2:10 (NKJV). Did Jesus ban the adulterous woman? No, this is what He had to say to those judging her: He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first- John 8:7. Later to the woman, He said, Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more- John 8:11. These verses have gripped my conscience and my heart many times: Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye- Matthew 7:1-5.
I will never agree with bans like these. They are shameful to the Christian faith, and I can't name one point in Jesus' life where He banned any person from coming to Him. Even when He was about to be taken away to die, He had no hatred or anger towards the one who had betrayed Him. He is willing that none should perish, but that all should come to Him. He is faithful and just to forgive those who turn from their sin and follow His ways, cleansing them from all unrighteousness. These words are more than words; they are actions that we need to instill into our very core; we need to go out into the world, and we need to show Christ's love to ALL people, not just the person who never offended us. Do I hold a grudge against those who have formed this ban? No, I don't....but I do feel sorry for them, only because I know the state that their minds are in....I know what it's like to be trapped in that feeling of continual bondage. I still struggle with it myself at times. Since I left home, and especially since I married Dan and we went through some situations together, I have had to almost rewrap my mind and heart around Who God is. I have a hard time seeing Him as my loving Heavenly Father vs. what consumed my mind before, images of an angry God, a Judge waiting to punish me. I still struggle with that mindset.
I must say, though, that I am ashamed to be lumped in with the same name as these banning "Christians." It's not about me, though; it's about this person who needs to know that God loves him. It's about reaching out when it might be uncomfortable for us to do so. It's about going where God tells us to go, no matter what discomfort or pressure we may feel from those who won't go with us....it's about dying to self, and living to God.
For more Motivate Me Monday, visit Sarah at The Fifth Street Palace.
Daybook for Monday, February 1, 2010
Outside my window...it's dark and very cold.
I am thinking...that I need to give myself a break and rework my schedule a bit....sometimes my expectations can be far worse than what other people expect of me. I'm not SuperMom and really shouldn't strive to be.
I am thankful for... finally, my doctor's appointment tomorrow.
I am wearing...same ole sameo for early morning, jammies and robe.:)
I am remembering...sledding with my boys on Saturday; it was so much fun!
I am going... hopefully, to Tae Kwon Do tonight, possibly Walmart, if I'm brave enough. I think Jaden's going to have to go to the doctor too....thinking another ear infection.
I am currently reading...Financial Purity by Jessica V. Psolidas.
I am hoping... to really start planning more healthy foods into our menu this week; more fruits and veggies, less junk.
On my mind... still Haiti...Elsie...and everyone down there.
Noticing that...I need to change my calendar over to February. I cannot believe it's here already.
Pondering these words... "If we're gonna win people, we're gonna win them where they are"- Pastor Hosea yesterday.
From the kitchen... tonight, soup and grilled cheese.
Around the house... have to clean today and really try to work on our coat closet this week; it's needing some TLC.
One of my favorite things~ definitely snow, lots of snow.
From my picture journal...(something I'll never grow tired of seeing at night....)
For more Daybook, visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook.
CFBA: Beguiled
My Thoughts:
Beguiled, by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand, is a suspense type story with a great mystery. As soon as I started reading this book, I didn't want to put it down. From the first page in the first chapter, I held my breath, as I pictured the scene; in it, Rylee Monroe had just brought one of her tenant's dogs home from a walk, when she heard noises upstairs. As always in any suspense movie, she didn't walk out the door; she walked up the stairs as cautiously as she could. When she surprised the burglar, the plot of the story became real. Throughout the story, I could picture every scene; the authors did a great job of making it all feel very real.
As Rylee continues walking her tenant's dogs and caring for their animals, she begins to realize that something about all the burglaries taking place is not right. She begins to realize that they may have something to do with her, as the burglar seems to follow her. Local detective Nate Campbell begins to get suspicious, as well, which serves to irritate Rylee to no end. Local reporter Logan Woods is out to get his story and catch this burglar before Detective Campbell even has a chance. As he starts to fall for Rylee, though, he begins to see some sort of connection, as well.
With romance, suspense, and a great mystery, this book is a definite must-read, in my opinion. I very much enjoy this type of book, and this story delivered. You can read more below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Deeanne Gist, the bestselling author of A Bride Most Begrudging and The Measure of a Lady, has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People magazine, Parents, and Parenting. With a line of parenting products called "I Did It!® Productions" and a degree from Texas A&M, she continues her writing and speaking. She and her family live in Houston, Texas.J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything. As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?
If you'd like to read the first chapter of , go HERE
Check out their video:
(Disclosure: I received this book, free of charge, from Bethany House, in association with the CFBA.)
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