Would Jesus Twitter? Would He Be A Fan?
In today’s social media concentrated world, are we losing focus of our flesh and blood relationships and turning to the Internet to fuel our spiritual needs? I wanted to know if there was a case for the Internet taking over where churches have traditionally maintained a strong following. Are they leaving their constituents behind by not employing social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter? I interviewed two long-time friends (whom I recently reconnected with via Facebook) and it just so happens that both of them are involved in ministry in one way or the other. By talking to them, I have come to the realization that if any of the social media tools that we use today were around 2,000 years ago that yes, He would have used them. Although the image of Paul tweeting on his Blackberry and Peter posting status updates on Facebook lends itself to one of the most interesting ideas and perhaps has sparked more than one heated conversation between ministry professionals.
Follow me as I explore this idea and how the application of social media to ministry will most likely change how we view faith.
The Importance of Being One With Yourself
Oftentimes the collective “we” try to look to “them” to offer a new perspective on how we view ourselves. It isn’t enough that we are bombarded with the misadventures of pseudo-celebrities like “Jon and Kate” and their multitude of children. In fact, I find it difficult to understand what happened to our culture so that we view reality television as the way it is in the world, when in fact it is another edited and directed snippet of someone’s life passed off as real.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of reality TV, the Bachelor and others, but I remember “the good old days” when MTV’s The Real World actually had something to say and we cared. We watched intellectual conversations, of course some must have been directed, but still offering a glimpse that there were young people who actually cared about their life and the lives of their fellow man. Now it is one big hook up scene after another of drunken kids in hot tubs. Great television no doubt and so real! OMG!
So back to my point, don’t look to the images of reality from TV and magazines look to yourself. Have faith in yourself and know that there is a higher calling for you. Take time to be with yourself and get to know the details. You don’t have to give birth to eight kids and have a custom chopper in your garage to be happy. Explore your inner self and let the rest take care of itself.
Sports Drinks Good for the Brain?
According to a WebMD story, energy drinks just might help exercise performance by stimulating receptors in the mouth. the Journal of Physiology reports that these receptors are “independent of ordinary taste buds.” The article says that the study found that when endurance cyclists were given “psuedo” sports drinks and were allowed to swish and then spit the liquids out, that the cyclists did about 2% to 3% better. By just tasting the liquids they were able to increase their performance a little bit. See the full article here: http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20090415/sports-drinks-may-give-brain-a-workout?ecd=wnl_day_041609
The Gathering Place: A Refuge for Rebuilding Lives
Did you know that food stamps do not cover feminine products such as tampons and maxi pads? Did you know that there is only one, yes, one, place in the city of Denver where homeless and poverty-stricken women and their children can go during the day to get support and resources?
That place is the Gathering Place. In 2008, the center was visited 6,701 times by 1,911 different women. This organization not only provides shelter during the day, but the resources women need to rebuild their lives. Women are offered GED classes to help them get jobs that require at a minimum a high school education. They have the security of knowing that their children are in a safe place while they are able to focus on making their lives better.
The main thing is like so many non-profits, they need help. If you can, consider donating to this great organization. Here is the website: www.the-gatheringplace.org. Thank you!
Kangopack: Antimicrobial Travel Gear
YOU AREN’T THE ONLY ONE GOING PLACES
GERMS THRIVE IN AIRPORT SECURITY BINS
PROTECT YOURSELF WITHOUT LEAVING THINGS
BEHIND WITH KANGOPACK™
LAS VEGAS (March 3, 2009) – Introducing Kangopack™, the only antimicrobial travel gear that allows travelers to easily and cleanly glide through airline security checkpoints neatly and organized without picking up germs in the process. The new pack ensures that your valuables – watches, wallets and other items don’t get left behind in the bins. The company will launch the Kangopack™ at The 2009 Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas, March 3-5 at booth 1019.
“Before Kangopack, I began to notice the security checkpoint bins are the same bins that people put their shoes, cell phones and other personal items in over and over again,” says John Spanbauer, CEO of Kangopack. “I set out to find out if this could be something that could endanger our health. Think about it, you put your cell phone up to your face after thousands of shoes have been there too. Our studies found that nasty germs do in fact live in the bins, so we developed this product to ensure that your things stay clean and protected as you move through the airport security checkpoints.”
More than 420,000 units of bacteria can live on shoes. Some can cause serious side effects. Mold, bacteria and fungus cling to shoes and personal items simply by putting them into the security bins at the airport. Dr. Daniel Lee of the University of California, San Diego recently found that many of the organisms that exist on shoes are potentially harmful. The study looked at the role of shoes in moving bacteria from contaminated floor spaces to other surfaces. Security bins at three airports, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix were tested and cultures grown for five days.
Continued…
Kangopack – 2
The tests show mold and viruses that raise concerns about the effects on travelers’ health. Mold such as Trichophyston, which can lead to ringworm, Favus a nasty disease of the scalp; and certain antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria Staphylococcus were detected. “I do have concerns over the organisms found,” says Lee. “Staphylococcus causes skin infections that goes deep through the layers and people who are sensitive can pick it up.”
Other germs found in the study include Neisseria, which can lead to gonorrhea, Escherichia Coli, known to cause intestinal and urinary tract infections, Meningitis, pneumonia and Serratia Ficaria – a rare cause of infections in the respiratory tract and wounds.
The Kangopack Collection includes the Original Kangopack™, the only checkpoint-friendly pack that provides an antimicrobial protective barrier from airport bins with organization and efficiency. The compact 8”x 9” pack stores a Transportation and Safety Administration (TSA) mandatory pouch with a pre-packed one-quart bag for liquids. It fits nicely into briefcases, purses, or clips onto the front of a carry-on for more storage. With its antimicrobial properties built into the fabric, the pack unzips to form a 20”x15”x5” liner that protects all belongings from cross-contamination. An integrated shoe divider separates shoes from other travel accessories such as watches, cell phones, wallets, and belts. Everything is contained in one easy to pick up pack to get you moving through to your destination. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the Original Kangopack is $34.99. The pack conforms to TSA standards and is not considered an additional carry-on when clipped to the front of another bag.
Other items include the Kangomini™, offering the same antimicrobial properties as the Original Kangopack in a handy 4” x 3” wallet-sized version designed for checking liquids during airline travel. The Kangosleeve™, to protect laptops measuring 15”, 17” or 19” from scratches, dents and germs; and the Kangosock™, an eco-friendly sock made from 80 percent bamboo, 16 percent polyester and four percent spandex for one-size-fits-all antimicrobial assurance and comfort while waiting in security checkpoint lines. In addition, the Kangokit™, a TSA-approved cosmetic kit made to hold liquids and fit nicely in the Original Kangopack; and Kangomist™, a light, clean fresh spray designed to keep hands germ and bacteria free in one easy .34 fluid-ounce bottle.
Search for Kangopack on YouTube.com to see a full demonstration at one of the country’s top airports.
Kangopack™ is antimicrobial travel gear for today’s busy traveler. Developed by John Spanbauer and Eric Tyler of Lucid Sun LLC in 2008 to meet the needs of airport travelers internationally, Kangopack is the world’s only antimicrobial travel gear designed to provide an affordable, clean and quick method to move and secure belongings through airport security checkpoints. Available soon in retailers and airports nationwide. Patent pending, for more information on Kangopack and its line of products, visit www.kangopack.com.
###
Kangopack: Antimicrobial protection and security for your belongings
I am working with a great company that has developed an awesome product to help save time and eliminate hassles when flying. The Kangopack is a 3-in-1 pack that lines the bins at the security checkpoints.
Here is the video, the product can be seen at the 2009 Travel Goods Show in Las Vegas, March 3-5. Check it out on YouTube. Type in Kangopack and then watch! Enjoy!
If you need additional information, contact me.
Valentine’s Day is Coming Up
Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. It is a celebration of love and friendship and in my opinion is a nice, sweet little holiday. While some think it is a gushy, commercial driven holiday created by Hallmark and other greeting card companies. Broken down to its simplest form, I still maintain my nice, sweet little holiday position. I wanted to know what the history of Valentine’s Day is. Apparently, it is not cut and dry.
Who was St. Valentine and what is his story? According to the History Channel’s web site, it is a very complicated story shrouded in mystery. Today, the Catholic Church recognizes three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus. All of them martyred. According to the legend, Valentine was a priest during the third century of Rome. Marriage for young men was outlawed by Emperor Claudius II who thought that single men made better soldiers than married men with families. Valentine thought the decree was unfair and began to perform marriages for young couples in secret. When Claudius found out what Valentine was doing, he ordered the priest to be put death. Legend also says that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to assist Christians escape harsh conditions at Roman prisons.
Still, the most popular story, at least this is the one that I vaguely remember, is that while Valentine was imprisoned, he sent a love letter to a young girl whom he had fallen in love with. The girl was possibly the jailor’s daughter. It is presumed that before his death, he sent her a letter signed, “From your Valentine.” Hence the birth of the popular expression that we use today. While stories surrounding Valentine are fuzzy at best, it can be said that some look to him as champion of love. By the Middle Ages, Valentine was the most popular saints in England and France.
The fate of St. Valentine has been disputed as well. Some say he was beheaded, some say he died in prison after falling ill. In 1835, an Irish priest by the name of Father John Spratt by Pope Gregory XVI, was given the remains of St. Valentine while visiting Rome. The Pope impressed with Spratt’s preaching gave him the black and gold casket. This same casket can still be viewed every St. Valentine’s Day at the Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, Ireland.
Around the 17th Century, Great Britain began to celebrate the holiday. It was by the middle of the 18th Century that people of all social classes began to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. As printing technology improved around the 19th Century, printed notes began to take place of handwritten notes. In America, handwritten notes were exchanged around the early 1700s. American Esther A. Howland, began selling commercially produced valentines in the early 1840s. She is known as the “Mother of the Valentine.” She is credited with creating elaborate designs from lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.”
Valentine’s Day is not an exclusively American holiday. Canada, Mexico, Australia, France, and the United Kingdom all toast love on February 14. It is said that 84 percent of all valentines are purchased by women, with Valentine’s Day coming in second to Christmas as one of the largest card-sending holidays. One billion valentines are sent compared to 2.6 billion Christmas cards.
For me, Valentine’s Day should be counted as a day that we stop and remember that love is the most powerful force in the world. For without it we would have nothing. Thank you, St. Valentine. Thank you for your sacrifice and thank you for leaving a legacy that still remains ingrained in our hearts centuries later.
Colorado Vacation Ideas
If you are looking for some ideas on where to go in Colorado for vacation, my suggestion is to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. In my opinion, the best time to go is fall. At this time the rut will be in full swing (when the male elk are looking for females) and you can hear them bugling all throughout the park. The Aspen trees also will be showing off their colors and all in all the park is just spectacular. So there is one idea. I’d love to hear from anyone else who has other ideas or trips that they have taken with their families. I will write more on our Rocky Mountain National Park experiences later.
Samaritan’s Purse: Operation Christmas Child
You may have heard about Operation Christmas Child, it has garnered a lot of publicity, particularly around Christmas time. The nutshell is that people pack shoe boxes with necessary items and trinkets for impoverished children all over the world. The umbrella organization, Samaritan’s Purse, is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that has provided spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world since 1970. The organization has helped victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Based on the story in the Old Testament of the Good Samaritan, this organization strives to help those in need whenever the need arises. One of its most popular outreach programs is Operation Christmas Child. I participated in it for the first time this year with my Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. This is how it works: donations of small toys, toothbrushes, socks, brushes, combs, coloring books, crayons, etc. are collected then put into the boxes. The boxes are wrapped with Christmas paper and then sent to the processing center for delivery all over the world.
Our group actually used plastic shoe boxes to put our gifts in because so many of these children use the boxes to collect and carry fresh water back to their homes. To think that there are children and adults in other parts of the world that do not have the luxuries that we have here and take for granted is a hard thing to swallow.
Recently, my clothes dryer went out. I didn’t know how I was going to cope without being able to do laundry! Things like that put things in perspective on how lucky we are in America.
Do-Gooders: Growing Home
December’s Do-Gooder of the Month is Growing Home, a Westminster, Colo., based non-profit that feeds families and cares for children. Today’s Denver Post had a great article about a family in Centennial, Colo., who recently completed a diaper drive for the organization. The family collected 5,019 diapers for Growing Home and delivered them to the organization’s offices. What a great idea! The article goes on to state that Montgomery family held an open house and asked that as an alternative birthday party for their 8-year-old son, that guests bring diapers to donate to the charity.
Growing Home helps Denver Metro Area families by providing homes for the homeless, feeding families and caring for children. It is a great organization that is needed by many families. Without their support, families who live paycheck to paycheck, may not be able to make it. Especially during these economic times, it is a blessing that these organizations exist.
