text:
December 25, 2008
The Ultimate Gift
By Gina Parcells, She Speaks! Graduate
"… God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." 1 John 5:11b (NASB)
Christmas day at my house had become all about the presents. The décor, the shopping, the parties, the tree…it all culminated with those gifts when it should be culminating with the Gift. Something needed to change.
What can I do to see Jesus as a gift, and to help my family see Him as well? I wondered. A light bulb went on in my head, about the same time the light strand went out on my tree, and a plan was birthed.
Phase one: Baby Jesus was removed from the displayed nativity set. He was carefully boxed and wrapped in my fanciest paper, intentionally labeled with a specific name, and gingerly hidden under the myriad of gifts at the foot of our tree.
Phase two: During our family gift exchange on Christmas morning, the disguised gift was handed to my unsuspecting daughter, the named recipient, just one of her many gifts. It could have been an I-pod or a sweater or another book…after all, there was no host of angels announcing the valuable contents. But knowing what I knew, I watched with great anticipation as she opened it.
Phase three: A bewildered look came across her face. Haley didn't speak. I asked, "Haley, what did you get?"
"I got Jesus."
An entire family discussion ensued as we discussed the ultimate Gift in the midst of all of our other presents. We compared the gift of Jesus with other gifts that would wear out, that would be outgrown, and that would eventually lose appeal.
We began to ask and answer lots of questions such as:
What is a gift? What is the purpose of a gift? What can we know about the giver of the gift? Why might the giver choose to give a gift to you specifically?
Together, we came up with truths about God…that He gave us the Gift that we need, that we want, and that we could never afford to get for ourselves. He wrapped that Gift in a blanket and gave – voluntarily, sacrificially, and lovingly – to each one of us, the named recipients of His greatest Gift.
We've invited Jesus back into Christmas to take His place as the perfect Gift that never stops giving. I can hardly wait to experience today's conversation as a new family member opens the box and announces, "I got Jesus!"
Dear Lord, Too many times I have excluded You from my Christmas and been satisfied with presents and stuff. Let me not be content until I experience the gift of You in my heart. Cause me to see You as the ultimate Gift. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Have You Received the Ultimate Gift?
Homespun Memories from the Heart by Karen Ehman, Kelly Hovermale and Trish Smith
Listen to today's radio show for more ideas of celebrating Christmas all year!
Application Steps:
Try wrapping up your nativity baby Jesus for a family member or a friend, and discuss the Gift He is during your gift exchange.
Print and store this page with your nativity set as a reminder next year to value Jesus as a gift.
Have you "got Jesus?"
How can I help my family to view Jesus as a gift?
Power Verses:
Isaiah 9:6, "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (NASB)
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." (NASB)
Romans 6:23b, "… the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NASB)
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Matthews, NC 28105
Originally published Thursday, 25 December 2008.


text:
By: jonathan bennett almost 12 years ago
I can only echo what has already been said here. This is just a major record. Unexpected and amazing.
By: Mike McLaughlin about 12 years ago
great album. it moves along really well, glad i got it :)
By: Kajetan Herdynski over 12 years ago
This is the best album I've heard in a long long time. the one that assures me that contemporary music is doin' just fine. The LP sounds great!
By: Matt J. Popham over 12 years ago
Brilliant. Medications is one of the most extraordinary bands around right now...
By: Alec B over 12 years ago
I couldn't agree more, fantastic album!
By: David McHenry over 12 years ago
The #1 BEST album of 2010. Don't take that lightly, either, there were a lot of solid releases in 2010.... but none that I came back to as much as this one. Fantastic song craft and incredible playing.
Dischord 165 Medications Completely Removed
Medications' second full-length album, released in 2010.
"Completely Removed" documents a new phase for Medications with Chad and Devin covering all the writing and most of the instrumental duties following the departure of Andy Becker. Not surprisingly the album represents a departure from the band's signature off kilter rockers. The advantage of being able to record and mix the album over several months at Devin's home studio, Treehouse, enabled the band to focus more time on arrangements and production. This is not to say Medications have lost their edge -the new material dives headlong into new musical territory with thrilling results.
The 12" LP is pressed on high-quality RTI vinyl (Black).
|1. For WMF
|2. Long Day
|3. Seasons
|4. We Could Be Others
|5. Rising To Sleep
|6. Brasil '07
|7. Kilometers And Smiles
|8. Country Air
|9. Home Is Where We Are
|10. Postcards
|11. Tame On The Prowl

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Published on : Friday, April 11, 2014
One year after the ground breaking ceremony for Airbus' first A320 Family assembly facility to be built in the U.S., the Mobile Assembly Line is making good progress.
The main buildings are taking shape and the first employees have started their on-the-job training at Airbus Hamburg in Germany.
The steelwork on the main building, the Final Assembly Line hangar where the A320 Family aircraft will be assembled, started in April 2013 and is nearing completion.
In addition, the powerhouse, which will provide utilities such as electricity, hot and chilled water is also nearing completion
. The construction work continues with the assembly of the service building, housing the main offices, followed by the building of the logistics centre.
In parallel to the construction, employees for the assembly line are also being recruited.
The first manufacturing engineering employees started initial training in November 2013 in Mobile before beginning their on-the-job training in Hamburg, Germany in mid-January this year.
Over the past few months, manufacturing engineers, station managers and quality managers have been working alongside their counterparts in Germany to become familiar with production tools and processes.
The Mobile FAL will eventually employ some 1,000 people, to assemble the world's most fuel-efficient single aisle A320 Family aircraft.
Currently, Airbus has three A320 FALs (Hamburg, Toulouse and Tianjin). In July 2012 Airbus decided to establish a fourth A320 Family Final Assembly Line in Mobile, Alabama, U.S. Production start is scheduled in 2015, with first deliveries from the Mobile facility beginning in 2016.
The Mobile Assembly Line will produce four aircraft a month by 2017.
Source:- Airbus
Tags: Airbus news, Blog News, latest airline news


text:
Artist takes steps toward floating cities of the future
Most visitors are first drawn to the grass in Tomas Saraceno's show. It's not just any grass; it's real grass that's growing on a cluster of metallic balloons suspended in mid-air.
"Ah, here, it's turning on the water right now," says Saraceno.
A set of sprinklers kicks on to water the grass. To Tomas Saraceno, what's important is not the grass on the balloons, although it is very cool.
He's more interested in, what he calls, the feedback loop. This sculpture is an ecosystem with the grass in the gallery watered by the sprinklers powered by a wind turbine outside on the Walker patio.
Grow the Future of Public Media
MPR News is supported by Members. Gifts from individuals power everything you find here. Make a gift of any amount today to become a Member!
"There will be no wind, the garden will die, things like that, right?" he says.
Saraceno truly is a Renaissance man and his work is about connection. He draws people in through dramatic pieces, but then offers more to those prepared to delve a little deeper.
For example, the grass covered balloons are held together in a rigid harness. It's like a three dimensional bicycle wheel. Saraceno's got a patent for it, and he's got big plans for airships.
"It's the sort of innovation of how we might later possibly build lighter than air vehicles," he says.
Another tall balloon structure is a prototype for what could be a floating building of the future. Saraceno has already built a larger one, some four stories high. This summer he's taking the ideas to what he's calling a Space Camp run by NASA.
"And for two and a half months I will be in contact with someone who will be enthusiastic and build it up and see how far we can get," he smiles.
Last year Saraceno demonstrated how big his ideas can become with his Museo Aero Solar. It's a huge solar balloon the size of a house made from recycled shopping bags, which he inflated at the Walker in October.
At the back of the show is a huge mural he has created which is a whimsical depiction of a possible floating city of the future. It's part Victorian etching and part scientific drawing. Walker associate curator Yasmil Raymond says in a time of hyper-specialization in art, Saraceno is comfortable in many different worlds.
"He is not only going back and forth between science and other fields, like engineering and physics," she says. "But within art he is moving loosely through different media, from photography to drawing and sculpture."
Then Raymond returns to the importance of connection between people and things in Saraceno's work.
She points to the web of guy lines holding the sculptures in place. They make it hard to walk though the gallery with another person. This is deliberate. You have to be aware so neither of you trip.
She says it's the same with walking through the balloon buildings, where the soft floors sag underfoot like trampolines.
"Your weight affects the weight or the location of the other person," she says. "Because either by pressure or the air that is released you will be interfering with the stability of the other person."
Real floating cities may be far in the future. Saraceno certainly hasn't found all the answers.
Yet he hopes other people will help fill in the blanks. He quotes the Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky about how he just told part of a story in his movies.
"Like Tarkovsky was always saying, 'I will only give you 50 percent, the other 50 percent you have to build it by yourself.' Without your imagination we will not do anything."
To help jump start the process Saraceno is giving out instructions at the Walker show. He says if you follow what he calls the "59 simple steps" you can build a solar-powered balloon out of trash bags which will lift an adult off the ground.


text:
iOS and Samsung's U.S. market share is now tied, following growth for Apple's smartphone OS over the three months ending in August, based on new data from Kantar Wordpanel, which tracks smartphone market share by way of sales data. According to its analysis, iOS is up 3.7 percentage points year-over-year, to achieve 35 percent market share, while Samsung only grew 0.8 points, reaching a 35.2 percent share.
Kantar says that weaker sales through Verizon hurt Samsung, while Apple reached nearly a 50 percent with that carrier — the U.S.'s largest. That's higher than its share with AT&T, the firm pointed out, which has been a traditional stronghold for the iPhone.
The increased iPhone sales in the U.S. also came one month before the release of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus — interesting to note, given that, sometimes, device sales slump ahead of the expected launch of new hardware.
But it's also worth pointing out that while Samsung and iOS may now be tied, Android is still far ahead in the U.S., with a 63.2 percent share to iOS's 35 percent.
That said, iOS is growing elsewhere, too.
iOS posted growth in China, Germany, France and Spain, but dropped in the U.K., where Samsung's Galaxy S8 and J3 (2016) have been selling well. Overall, iOS market share was up by 1.2 percent in Europe's five largest markets — only a slight increase due to Samsung's success in the U.K., and some slowed momentum ahead of the new iPhone announcement.
"Samsung took full advantage of the weeks just before the iPhone 8 and iPhone X were released in Great Britain, with significant promotional activity that helped drive its overall share to a three-year high of 38.4% for the three months ending August 2017," explained Dominic Sunnebo, Global Business Unit Director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, in a statement.
"More than one in four Galaxy S8 buyers cited a specific promotion as a key purchase influencer, and almost half said that a good deal on the price of the phone was key to their purchase. Both of these metrics experienced a large increase over the last two months of the period," he added.
Strong iPhone SE sales, however, helped to contribute the slight growth seen in the top European markets.
In urban China, iOS also returned to growth, notes Kantar, growing from 13.4 percent market share last year to 17.7 percent, thanks to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus sales — the top two bestsellers in urban China.
However, in urban China, Huawei continues to lead with a 31.1 percent share, up 1.5 percentage points year-over-year. BBK Electronics, the owners of the Oppo and Vivo brands, is No. 2, with a 19.7 percent share, up 6.7 percent since last year.


text:
Want to spice up your walls and add some liveliness to your Home? Want to save over 50% of the retail price? Be the envy of all of your friends with this, in trend FINE CANVAS ARTS unstretched canvas.
Our canvas prints are finished to an exceptional high standard. It has been printed on a HIGH QUALITY (320gsm) canvas using ECO-SOLVENT INK , for a vivid image with exceptional colour accuracy. Please note that all of our paintings come with NO FRAME.
We will add 5cm white borders each side for further stretching.If you want stretched canvas, please contact us directly.
Product Display
About Us
We're visual people, and so are you. Decorative Painting mean a lot to us. That's why we created VISUAL BEAUTY.
If you're looking for a canvas art manufacturer who truly cares about professional quality and high level service, you have come to the right place! Our prestigious canvas printing service offers photographers and artists museum quality printing on canvas or paper at affordable prices.
We offer the best professional printing services for photographers and artists, and we are confident that you will find our canvas art prints to be the best available.
We are now mainly providing canvas prints wholesale and drop ship service for our customers.
We produce and sale all kinds of canvas prints. Our products are sole around the world, many foreign wholesalers, website owners and individual customers import canvas prints from us.
Our customers locate throughout the world, many of them have been doing business on canvas prints with us for many years.
Look forward to our futher cooperation!
We accept Escrow, PayPal Western Union and bank transfer . Our bank details will be sent to you on checkout. Please use your username in the payment description only when you transfer via Bank Transfer.
We will dispatch your item within 3 working days from receiving your payment. You will be notified prior if your item is not going to be dispatched within 3 working days.All items are shipped from China post air ,ePacket or EMS.
Please allow for between 7 to 30 working days to receive your item. We use the most cost effective couriers around but their delivery time is out of our control and sometimes delays can happen.
Please provide your best contact number during checkout so that we or the courier can contact you should any issues arise during delivery.
Damages During Delivery
Our price already includes transit damage insurance so if your product is damaged during transportation we will provide you with a replacement product at no cost to you. However it is your responsibility to thoroughly inspect the goods when you receive them WHILE the courier driver is still there and BEFORE you sign for anything. If your item is damaged prior to signing please refuse to accept it or sign for it and contact us immediately. If you sign for it you are accepting it is in perfect working condition and no replacement will be sent.
Prior to sending a replacement detailed photos will need to be sent to us outlining the damage. These photos must be taken and send it us immediately after delivery.
Return Policy
We stand behind our products. Items can be returned for exchange or full refund within 30 days
from the date you receive your merchandise.
We are not responsible for any purchase after this 30 day period.
Return shipping is the responsibility of buyer unless the return is a result of our mistake (i.e., your receive the wrong item).
We will pay for shipping replacement back to you if an exchange is requested.
Negative feedback does not solve anything. If you have a problem with your order please contact us first.
We are always willing to work for you !
Customer Service
We pride ourselves on our commitment to communication and customer service. We will answer all questions within 24 hours.
Plum Blossom Calligraphy Chinese Painting Printed on Canvas Wall Art Print (Unframed) 50x50cmx3pcs
US$ 13.56/set
4 Pieces Special Style Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas(Unframed)
US$ 22.78/piece
Modern Abstract Group 5 Pieces Pictures Canvas Painting Art(Unframed)
US$ 26.66/piece
2014 Best Selling Beautiful Flowers Oil Painting on Canvas for Home Decoration(Unframed)40x60cmx3pcs
US$ 15.26/piece
Gift High Quality Wall Decoration Picture of Beautiful Painting (Unframed)
US$ 24.66/piece
Modern Hot Sell Art Abstract Style Canvas Oil Painting(Unframed)
US$ 26.66/piece
Stunning Quality and Low Prices Beautiful Abstract Paintings(Unframed)
US$ 16.66/piece
Oil Painting Canvas,Art Canvas Oil Painting, Best Quality Oil Painting(Unframed)
US$ 28.66/piece


text:
- From: Maciej Stachowiak <email@example.com>
- Date: Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:14:37 -0800
- To: Jonas Sicking <firstname.lastname@example.com>
- Cc: "email@example.com WG" <email@example.com>
On Feb 4, 2010, at 9:12 AM, Jonas Sicking wrote: > Hi Maciej, > > I think it would be a good idea if the collected comments are posted > to public-html for review before being sent to the other WG. This is > not to try to gain consensus on the comments, but to allow the > individuals to ensure that their intended comments are reflected in > the submission. Good point. Let's assume that goes between step 4 and step 5. I'll post an updated version once we get some more comments. - Macie > > / Jonas > > On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 9:00 AM, Maciej Stachowiak <email@example.com> wrote: >> >> The following is my proposed revision of Paul's procedure for cross-WG review: >> >> >> = Proposed Policy for Cross-Working Group Review of Last Call Working Drafts = >> >> Often other Working Groups ask the HTML Working Group to review a Last Call Working Draft. Many Working Drafts impact our work. The intent of this policy is to facilitate review with a minimum of process overhead, and at the same time without accidentally misleading the receiving Working Group about the source and nature of the comments. >> >> We would take the following steps: >> >> 1) Chairs call for one or more volunteers to collect review comments from the Working Group. >> 2) Once chosen, the volunteer sets a deadline to provide comments. >> 3) Working Group members provide review comments. >> 4) The comments are collected and identified according to the person or persons who made or actively supported the comment. >> 5) The collected comments are submitted to the Working Group seeking review. The collected comments will be prefaced with a statement like the following: >> >> "These are collected comments from members of the HTML Working Group on FooBarML 4.2. Comments have not been reviewed for Working Group consensus. To follow up on a particular comments, please contact the individuals responsible for each comment as well as the HTML Working Group." >> >> In addition to the collected comments, Working Group members are also free to comment on Last Call Working Drafts of other groups individually. >> >> Regards, >> Maciej >> >> >>
Received on Thursday, 4 February 2010 17:15:13 UTC


text:
Across New Jersey, most communities approached about hosting one of the state's first legal medical marijuana dispensaries in out-of-the-way industrial zones have just said no, after outpourings of public opposition. Montclair is a different story.
The cosmopolitan suburb a half-hour train ride from Manhattan has not only allowed Greenleaf Compassion Center – which last week received the state Health Department's first license to begin providing pot to patients – but also let the business set up in the middle of the town's main drag, and with no fuss. For plenty of people in the way left-of-center town, the situation is a source of both pride and nonchalance. "Why are the other communities so closed-minded as to not accept something like that?" said Peter Ryby, owner of Montclair Book Store, around the corner and down the block from the not-yet-opened alternative treatment center.
The town of 38,000 is sometimes called "the Upper West Side of New Jersey," referring to the famously upscale and liberal part of Manhattan, but it's also reminiscent of well-heeled bohemian spots such as Boulder, Colo., and Berkeley, Calif. There's an art museum, an international film festival, a Whole Foods, Thai restaurants, racks for commuters' bikes, and the headquarters of Garden State Equality, New Jersey's largest gay-rights group. The population – 62 percent white, 27 percent black – is racially integrated and largely well-to-do. The median household income is $140,000.
And the idea of tolerance is part of the town's identity. In a scene in "Mad Men," a TV drama set in the 1960s, characters who went to Montclair for a party were stunned to see black and white revelers together – and marijuana being passed around. Medical marijuana is a dicey business. In the eyes of the federal government, the medicine is still an illegal drug. Some patients say marijuana can ease symptoms associated with conditions ranging from multiple sclerosis to migraines. It has been used to treat pain, nausea and lack of appetite in cancer and AIDS patients.
Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., have flouted federal law and passed some sort of statute to allow patients access to the drug. Each state has its own model for how the cannabis can be distributed. Some, like New Jersey – where advocates lament and some officials brag that the laws are the nation's strictest – are still in a startup phase. So far, nine states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington – have dispensaries operating. Some states are still setting up distribution systems, and some use home-grown marijuana or other setups that do not include dispensaries.
Chris Goldstein, a spokesman for both the Philadelphia chapter of the pro-pot group NORML and the Coalition for Medical Marijuana of New Jersey, has visited dispensaries all over the country. He said most of the storefront operations look more like the one ready to open in Montclair than those proposed in industrial districts of New Jersey. "The dispensaries are in the higher-end neighborhoods of California towns. There are people who are wealthy and who are poor who need to access medical marijuana," he said. "In New Jersey, it's wherever the dispensary can get their location."
New Jersey is not allowing registered patients to grow their own, and is limiting the potency, amount and variety of pot patients can buy. There's a relatively short list of conditions that qualify patients for the drug, and unlike some more lenient states, chronic pain and anxiety aren't on it. Only New Jersey residents are eligible. New York, easily reachable by rail, does not allow medical marijuana, though lawmakers have proposed doing so.
Last year, the New Jersey Department of Health selected six nonprofit groups to pursue plans to grow and sell cannabis. The other five have struggled to find towns that will accept them, and none yet has permission to start growing marijuana, let alone sell it. Groups are planning sites in Egg Harbor Township and Woodbridge. The other three groups have not announced their latest location plans. Only Greenleaf has had a direct path. In its application, the group said it would meet patients in Montclair and grow its plants in another, undisclosed town. The group won't say where, citing security.
A year ago, Janice Talley, Montclair's director of planning and community development, found that the site on Bloomfield Avenue – next door to an abortion clinic and three buildings down from an adult video store that has pipes and vaporizers displayed for sale – would be a permissible for the new business under zoning laws. Talley said she fielded complaints from some national anti-marijuana groups. "Nobody from the town called me and complained why we had that facility," she said. "It wasn't a huge issue here." Behind the counter at Health Love and Soul Juice Bar and Grill a couple doors down from Greenleaf, Jarisi Anderson, said he's all for the new establishment. "It's a beautiful thing," he said.
His co-worker, Queen Townsend, fears the place could be a problem, but she believes she's in the minority. "The people I've met in Montclair – I don't want to stereotype – a lot of people here smoke weed," she said. "They don't have a problem with that." The guys smoking tobacco down the street at Fume, a cigar shop, said they aren't troubled by legalizing marijuana – medicinal or not. "It's a waste to lock somebody up for a nickel bag or a dime bag," said shop owner Ralph Alberto. But the dispensary could give the non-Montclair residents who go there to protest another cause.
Last week, Bernadette Grant stood across the street from the dispensary's neighboring abortion clinic with rosary beads in one hand and anti-abortion pamphlets in the other. She said she considers medical marijuana in the same category as abortion. "This is not pro-life ," she said. "This is pro-death."
You must be logged in to post a comment.