My friend Kristi is starting Fair Trade Fridays.
Learn what fair trade is!
Do you know about your slavery footprint?
Get educated!
Jan 20
HUMOR: Life’s Truths for Adults
1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
2. There is nothing worse than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. Really, how ARE you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6. Was learning cursive really necessary?
7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
10. Bad decisions make good stories.
11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blu-Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection … again.
13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this – ever.
15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Shoot!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
17. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so IÂ know not to answer when they call.
18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
20. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
21. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.
22. I would rather try to carry ten over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take two trips to bring my groceries in.
23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
25. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?
26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
28. Is it just me, or do high school kids get dumber and dumber every year?
29. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
30. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch three consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
31. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’ll bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from three feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!
Jan 20
TIP: a prayer reminder tool
Pure and simple, Echo is a tool to help you pray more diligently.
1. You create a prayer list
2. You set times throughout the week for reminders
3. Echo emails you one prayer at a time from your list
It’s a great way to pray for many things without getting overwhelmed!
Learn more at www.echoprayer.com
Echo is a tool to help you pray more diligently. Pray for your friends, family, church, country, personal issues – and thank God continually. Echo actively sends you reminders. You customize it in the way that’s most useful for you — you can get emails or text messages any time throughout the week — and it reminds you to pray for one person or issue at a time.
When you read Paul’s letters to the early churches, it’s obvious that he prayed for them (some his brothers, some strangers) with passion and with patience. That’s how I want to be!
Jan 19
Urgent email campaign to raise your voice for Deimante, 7 year old Lithuanian
Update:Â Victory for Deimante!!!! Read more here…
WARNING: The video and material surrounding this 7 year old Luthuanian girl is graphic and very disturbing! See more information. View with caution.
Deimante is a 7 year old who has been rented to men by her mother. Her father has been murdered while trying to fight for her. The courts will decide in the next few days whether she can live with an aunt or will be returned to custody of her mother. We can help by sending the following email to the four addresses below. Include your name, city, state and country. Raise your voice against this injustice!
Paste the following email to the four email addresses above.
I am writing on behalf of Deimante Kedyte.
I understand the Lithuanian judicial system is about to determine whether or not to uphold the decision to remove Deimante Kedyte from the home of her aunt, Judge Neringa Venckiene, and force her to return to her mother.
I write to protest such a decision before a complete investigation has been performed, with full international disclosure of the process exploring Deimante’s testimony of sexual abuse.
As you know, child trafficking or sexual assault upon any minor is a serious international crime. As a prominent leader of Lithuania, I ask you to take a public stand against child-sexual abuse and human trafficking by performing a highly transparent investigation of all Deimante’s allegations.
A concerned citizen of the world on behalf of one child at a time, namely today:Â Deimante Kedyte.
Thanks for raising your voice! If you want to know more about this case, you can follow the message of Kimberly Smith of Make Way Partners.
Jan 18
The Truth About Me – lyrics, recorded by Mandisa
The Truth About Me
If only I could see me as you see me
and understand the way that I am loved,
would it give a whole new meaning to my purpose,
change the way I see the world,
would I sparkle like a star in the night sky,
would I give a little more instead of take,
if I understood im precious like a diamond of a worth no one could estimate,
of a worth no one could estimate,
you say lovely, I say broken,
I say guilty, you say forgiven,
I feel lonely, say you’re with me,
we both know it would change everything if only I believed the truth about me,
I wish I could hold on to the moments when my life is spinning but I’m peaceful still
like a wind you whisper in the silence,
and tell me things this world never will,
you tell me things this world never will,
you say lovely, I say broken,
I say guilty, you say forgiven,
I feel lonely, say you’re with me,
we both know it would change everything if only I believed the truth about me,
I would sleep better at night,
wake up with hope for another day,
I would love even if it cost me,
take a chance and know I’m gonna be okay,
I would dare to give my life away,
I feel lonely, say you’re with me,
we both know it would change everything if only I believed,
if only I believed the truth about me
Jan 17
Got any remnant gift cards with balances of less than $5 in your wallet? What can you do with them?
I’ve been wondering what to do with the AmEx gift card with the balance of $3.23 on it. Yesterday I found a great solution. Use it at the gas pump (to buy about 1 gallon of fuel!). The card gets authorized only for the amount remaining. Sweet! I did this by mistake – and I had to stop for fuel again about 6 hours later – but I’ve got one less card to carry around.
Jan 15
Do you have 3 minutes of freedom to share?
Have you ever been falsely accused? Has anyone refused to eat with you because you’re a Christian? Did they put you in jail and sentence you to die by hanging? This is exactly what happened to Asia Bibi almost three years ago. Here’s the bottom line – Asia Bibi has a death sentence because she is a Christian.
In June 2009, Asia Noreen, better known as Asia Bibi, a farm hand from the village of Ittan Wali in Sheikhupura District, was asked to fetch water; she complied, but some of her Muslim fellow workers refused to drink the water as they considered Christians to be “unclean”.  Some arguments ensued and some co-workers falsely accused her to a cleric of making derogatory comments about Prophet Muhammad. A mob came to her house, beating her and members of her family before she was rescued by the police. However, the police initiated an investigation about her remarks, resulting in her arrest and prosecution under Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code. She spent more than a year in jail and in November 2010 Muhammed Naveed Iqbal, judge at the court of Sheikhupura, Punjab, sentenced her to death by hanging.  Additionally, a fine of an equivalent of $1,100 was imposed.  Noreen’s husband, Aashiq Fauji Masih, 51 years old, plans to appeal the verdict, which has to be upheld by the Lahore High Court. Asia Bibi remains in prison, more than 2 years after the alleged incident and one year after the death sentence.
You can read all about it here.
Thousands of believers across the globe are praying for Asia Bibi and her family. At INcontext Ministries we would like to convert all the prayers into a practical source of encouragement, creating tangible prayers that will not only reach the throne of grace but will penetrate the prison cell of Asia and serve as an encouragement and unification within the body of Christ. (from http://incontext.webs.com/asiabibi.htm)
How can you help in just 3 minutes? Glad you asked!
- Write a short email where you express your prayer on paper.
- Add a word of encouragement, a Scripture, your name and country of residence (no address).
- Email the message to mike@incontextministries.org where they will be compiled and sent to Asia Bibi and her family.
Do you have 3 minutes of freedom to share?
[I would love to know if you take this challenge. Please leave me a comment.]
Jan 15
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month
5 Things You Can Do To Help End Slavery!
1. Tell people that slavery still exists.
2. Be an ethical shopper. This is all about buying and supporting fair trade.
3. Learn about the problem. Educate yourself with blogs, documentaries. The material is available.
4. Get involved. Find a local organization or virtual way to put hands and feet to the task.
5. Donate! Give of your time, energy, resources, money…
Jan 14
Human trafficking in San Diego
Here’s another sad article on the state of human trafficking in the United States – this is about San Diego.