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Adding green to the bedroom is easy if you already have a muted color scheme going in the room. It is a color that works beautifully with the likes of white, gray and even brown. While the yellowy-greens add warmth to the bedroom, the blue-tinged variants bring a touch of coolness along with a vibrant ambiance. Here is a pick of 25 gorgeous bedrooms that incorporate green in a gorgeous fashion.
Green in the girls' bedroom coupled with pink works surprisingly well and it elegantly complements other colors such as brown and orange as well. Working with more than 3 or 4 bright colors in a room requires great care, perfect planning and a hint of ingenuity that lets each hue standout even while blending with the overall look. While it does sound like a risky proposition, get it right and you will have a playful kids' room that is a visual treat.
Emerald is a color that has consistently topped trend charts in recent times and its jewel-toned glamor is perfect for bedrooms with Hollywood Regency style. Malachite pattern and color is also a smart choice if you love that luxurious look in the bedroom while eclectic bedrooms drenched in green goodness steal the show with sheer audacity and flair.
Contemporary bedrooms are all about a neutral color scheme that is accentuated by pops of color in an elegant fashion. These colorful additions can be often swapped out with ease to alter the appeal of the room and its color palette with changing trends and seasons. While blue is touted as the most popular hue in the bedroom irrespective of style and season, green is the 'chosen one' for those who want to bring a hint of natural goodness indoors. Relaxing, elegant, bright and refreshing, it is a pleasant hue that comes in diverse shades ranging from the brilliant jewel-toned emerald to more subtle and modest minty greens.
Painting the walls might be the easiest way to add green to the bedroom along with bedding and accessories in matching hue, but think beyond the obvious if you want a truly captivating room. Painting the ceiling in green can be a fun alternative and by leaving the walls white, you will still have a neutral and versatile backdrop that will beautifully showcase wall art and sculptural décor additions. And for those who really want a personalized solution, mixing different shades to come with your own custom green hue is indeed an exciting and enjoyable alternative. This will assure that you are proud owner of a one-of-a-kind bedroom with a shade of green that you came up with.
The terms 'contemporary' and 'modern' are often used interchangeably when describing design. It's a common faux pas and one of which this writer is certainly guilty. In design lexicon the two words have contrasting and quite distinct meanings. Describing their difference at a somewhat rudimentary level: contemporary makes reference to the present-day – that which is current and of the time – whereas modern alludes to the past, specifically that of Modernism (post the First World War) and mid-20th century modern design and architecture.
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text: UPDATE: Daniel Day-Lewis wins Best Actor Oscar for "Lincoln." UPDATE: Jennifer Lawrence wins Best Actress Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook" UPDATE: Ang Lee wins Best Director Oscar for "Life of Pi" UPDATE: Anne Hathaway wins Best Supporting Actress for "Les Miserables" UPDATE: Christoph Waltz wins best supporting actor Oscar for "Django" LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hollywood's glitziest night got under way Sunday as this year's Academy Awards nominees hit the red carpet, with actresses Jessica Chastain and Amy Adams and closing-number performer Kristin Chenoweth among the early arrivals. Chastain, a best-actress contender for "Zero Dark Thirty," blew a kiss to cheering fans, who chanted "Jessica!" Composer Mychael Danna, a dual nominee for the score and theme song to "Life of Pi," joked with red-carpet host Chris Connelly that he was keeping his acceptance speeches in separate pockets of his tuxedo. Keeping them straight, Danna said, "is one of the reasons I won't be having any cocktails before I go in." Chef Wolfgang Puck showed off some of the food he'll be serving at the Governors Ball after the show, including baked potatoes with caviar, chicken pot pie with truffle and Kobe steak. "It's going to be the greatest party ever," Puck said. A giant black-and-white photo of Oscar host Seth MacFarlane towered over the carpet, and some of his family also were among early arrivals, including his sister and father, who wore a green plaid kilt. "It's not going to be too over the top," said MacFarlane's sister Rachel of her sibling's gig. Fans have pondered how far MacFarlane the impudent creator of "Family Guy," might push the normally prim and proper Oscars. MacFarlane may be a wild card, but as for the show itself, predictability could be the Academy Awards' middle name. This time looks the same, with clear favorites in the main categories. So Oscar organizers hope they've assembled a show that will be good time on its own performance merits, with wily, bawdy writer, director, animator, singer and all-around vocal talent MacFarlane as host and a ceremony packed with song and dance. The awards themselves do hold some potential firsts and other rarities. Ben Affleck's "Argo" looks like it will be an uncommon film to claim best picture without a directing nomination, while "Lincoln" filmmaker Steven Spielberg and star Daniel Day-Lewis are favored to join exclusive lists of three-time Oscar winners. If some longshots came in, the night could produce two more three-time acting winners -- Sally Field from "Lincoln" and Robert De Niro for "Silver Linings Playbook." There's also a chance of the oldest or youngest acting winner ever -- 86-year-old "Amour" star Emmanuelle Riva and 9-year-old Quvenzhane (Kwa-VEHN-ja-nay) Wallis of "Beasts of the Southern Wild." The ABC broadcast itself could set some fresh highs or lows. Oscar overseers keep talking about pacing and trimming fat from a ceremony that's dragged on interminably, approaching four and a half hours one year. Can they keep it tight and lively enough that viewers don't think about gouging out their eyes around the three-hour mark? And what about host MacFarlane? He's a classy, low-key guy in person, with an old-fashioned Sinatra-style singing voice that he'll no doubt put to use in a show that's shaping up as a music-heavy, Broadway-style celebration of cinema. Yet MacFarlane's career is built on pushing the envelope -- or crumpling it and tossing it in the trash -- as he's tested the boundaries of good taste with such brazen shows as his animated series "Family Guy" and last summer's F-bomb-laden blockbuster "Ted," which earned him a songwriting Oscar nomination. The result could be a fun night for younger, hipper TV audiences that Oscar organizers are courting but a crude awakening for traditionalists who like their Academy Awards to lean more toward the sacred than the profane. Or it could be that MacFarlane makes the most of the thankless task of shepherding the Oscars, striking a nice balance between respecting Hollywood and poking it in the eye. "I think a little bit of that injected into the mix will go a long way, but I do also have to be mindful, in this instance, of not losing the audience that's there every year," MacFarlane said amid a hectic rehearsal schedule. "It's a different audience from my own, but I do have to be respectful that they will be watching." So maybe it's an Oscar show that's shaken, but not stirred up too much. That might suit one of the evening's special honorees, British super-spy James Bond, whose adventures will be the subject of a tribute to mark the 50th anniversary of his first big-screen outing in "Dr. No." Adele will perform her Oscar-nominated title tune to last year's Bond tale "Skyfall," while the show features Shirley Bassey, who sang the Bond theme songs for "Goldfinger," "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Moonraker." The show presents a salute to movie musicals of the last decade, with "Chicago" Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones and "Dreamgirls" winner Jennifer Hudson joining "Les Miserables" cast members that include best-actor nominee Hugh Jackman, supporting-actress front-runner Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter and Amanda Seyfried. Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have lined up a bubbly mix of young and old Hollywood as presenters, performers and special guests -- from Barbra Streisand, Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda to "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe, "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart, and Robert Downey Jr. and his superhero colleagues from "The Avengers." Along with front-runners Day-Lewis as best actor for "Lincoln" and Hathaway as supporting actress for "Les Miserables," the other favorites are Jennifer Lawrence as best actress for "Silver Linings Playbook" and Tommy Lee Jones as supporting actor for "Lincoln." Affleck's thriller "Argo" is in line for best picture after winning practically every top prize at earlier honors. Hollywood was shocked that Affleck was snubbed for a directing nomination, possibly earning the film some sympathy votes, particularly from actors, who love it when one of their own succeeds behind the camera. The story of how Hollywood, Canada and the CIA teamed up to rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis, "Argo" would become just the fourth film in 85 years to claim the top prize without a best-directing nomination and the first since 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy." The best-picture prize typically ends the Oscar show, but this time, MacFarlane and Chenoweth will perform a closing number on the Dolby Theatre stage that producers Zadan and Meron called a "'can't miss' moment." Keeping the wraps on whatever surprises they have in store has been a chore for them and MacFarlane. "It's been difficult. The press, as you know, is very nosy and sneaky. They're always sniffing around trying to get any advance notice," MacFarlane said. "It's like (expletive) Christmas. Wait till Christmas morning. Don't spoil the surprise."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
i always loved magic.
my big brother used to do that thumb trick
& j knows some spells,
but the rules are: NO BLACK MAGIC.
one time when i went to a magic show
the magician made things float all around him.
then he said "do you wanna know how i did that?"
i was in the front row
& i was like "gasp! noooo!"
(because knowing how would ruin the illusion)
he heard me! that's when he said:
"oh. okay. well, explaining it was gonna be the rest of my act,
sooooo… i guess i'm done here"
& he walked off stage.
point is:
do you know any tricks?
teach me!
one year ago today: cocoa the dream interpreter


text:
Sony's Spider-Man franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, is the next big superhero movie on the horizon - and in wake of the record-shattering earnings of The Avengers, it has a lot to prove if it wants to both reverse negative opinion that this do-over is coming too soon, and walk away with a hefty amount of change in pocket.
Luckily for Amazing Spider-Man, the most recent trailer and the viral marketing materials promoting the film have managed to impress some skeptics, while simultaneously re-igniting the base of longtime Spider-Man fans who have expressed excitement over director Marc Webb and star Andrew Garfield seemingly creating an onscreen vision of the Web-slinger that is closer to the source comics than Sam Raimi's trilogy of films from the early 2000s.
As you can see from the extended preview above, Amazing Spider-Man goes deeper into the story of Peter Parker and why he was orphaned by his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, which left him with his Aunty May (Sally Fields) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen), whose values and sacrifices led him down the path to becoming a hero. The film will also borrow narrative elements from the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book continuity - namely, the backstory of the Parker parents and the positioning of Oscorp (the company owned by classic Spider-Man villain Norman Osborn), as a shadowy corporation that has direct ties to Peter Parker's past, and dire implications for Spider-Man's future.
The biggest thing to note, however, is the tone and composition of the film. From the action scenes of Spider-Man in combat, to that the scene of the bridge rescue with the kid in the car, the footage manages to showcase a version of Peter Parker / Spider-Man that is both familiar and fresh.
The Parker wit and smarts are there, the Spider-Man body language, poses, fight tactics, mechanical web-shooters and trash-talk are there; but the Spider-Man costume is new (shoe soles and all), and the Peter Parker hip/edgy dress and attitude are more in tune with the modern version of a teenage geek - as exists in an era where "geek is the new chic," (as some youngster's pastel tee-shirt recently informed me).
The question is: will the retooled Spidey win over both the casual and hardcore fans?
In addition to the new extended preview, several items for the Amazing Spider-Man viral campaign were recently revealed, including a few video messages from the faux blog of Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard (Rhys Ifans):
The Amazing Spider-Man will be in 3D theaters on July 3, 2012


text:
|Up a level
Veir, Zoran and Smuđ, Sanda and Bogdanić, Branko and Cvjetičanin, Bruno and Bagatin, Dinko and Dujmović, Anto and Duduković, Mladen and Ivrlač, Radojko and Bulić, Krešimir and Mijatović, Davor (2009) Combined vacuum-assisted closure treatment with laparoscopic mobilization of an omental flap and meshed skin grafts for reconstruction of infected sternotomy wounds: two cases. Collegium Antropologicum, 33 (4). pp. 1427-30. ISSN 0350-6134
Bogdanić, Branko and Smuđ, Sanda and Bagatin, Dinko and Nola, Marin and Mijatović, Davor and Majerović, Matea (2009) Giant basal cell carcinoma of the back: a case report and review of the literature. Collegium antropologicum, 33 (1). pp. 315-318. ISSN 0350-6134


text:
Department of Revenue News Release
January 28, 2010Department of Revenue Lists Tax Tips and Changes in Tax Laws for Taxpayers Preparing to File Returns
As Missourians begin to start filing their state tax returns, the Missouri Department of Revenue has suggestions to increase the likelihood of quicker processing of tax returns. The Department is also reminding citizens about new changes in tax laws that could benefit them.
"Most people are just now beginning to receive and organize the tax forms that they'll need to complete their tax returns for Tax Year 2009," said Alana M. Barragán-Scott, director of the Missouri Department of Revenue. "There are a few simple steps that citizens can take that will make it more likely that their tax returns and refunds will be processed more quickly."
Filing electronically helps taxpayers by eliminating the time it takes to mail paper forms to the Department and back to the taxpayers. Electronically-submitted returns also have about 16 percent fewer errors than paper returns. Mistakes can lead to additional information being required and slows the processing of the return. Electronic returns can also be submitted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and refunds can be directly deposited into a taxpayer's bank account.
"Last year, the department processed 2.9 million individual income tax returns, and 61 percent of them were filed electronically," Barragán-Scott said. "On the federal level, 66 percent of U.S. citizens filed their income tax returns electronically. As people realize the ease and convenience of filing electronically, I believe more citizens will begin to submit their returns in this fashion."
More information about filing electronically is available at http://dor.mo.gov/personal/electronic.php.
Filing as early as possible also benefits taxpayers. A majority of citizens file their income tax returns within the last few weeks before the April 15th deadline. If returns are filed earlier in the tax season, it is more likely that the return will be processed more quickly.
"Although the date that a tax return is received is not the only factor in how quickly a return is processed, a return is more likely to be handled quicker in February as compared to our extremely busy time in April," the director said.
"Last year, refunds triggered by electronic and paper returns for Tax Year 2008 were issued on average in 20 days," Barragán-Scott continued. "Some refunds were issued much quicker - such as Property Tax Credit refunds which were issued on average in five days - while other refunds took longer to distribute. Missourians should know that all tax returns and refunds will be processed as quickly as possible in accordance with the resources available to the Department."
Barragán-Scott stated, however, that filing early should not mean filing carelessly. The director urged citizens to avoid making common mistakes such as math errors and not signing the return. She also said that taxpayers should be sure they have all the necessary forms - such as W-2s, bank and investment interest statements, copies of required federal documents and various receipts - included with the return before they remit it to the state.
Barragán-Scott also noted that Missourians should be aware of new tax deductions and exemptions that could benefit them.
One new deduction helps encourage more energy-efficient homes. The new home energy tax deduction allows citizens to deduct the cost of a home energy audit that is conducted by an energy auditor certified by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The cost of the audit and the cost of implementing energy-saving recommendations noted in the audit can be subtracted from a taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income on the Missouri return. The deduction is capped at $1,000 per year and a total of $2,000 over the life of the program, which expires Dec. 31, 2013.
A new federal law also prohibits states from taxing the income of non-resident spouses who reside in a state solely because their spouse is stationed there on military orders. For example, if a soldier from Maryland is stationed in Missouri, and the soldier's spouse (who is also from Maryland) comes with the soldier, any income the spouse earns while working here would not be taxable to Missouri.
Some public pension recipients can exclude up to 50 percent of their pension benefits from their Missouri taxable income. This is an increase from the 35 percent of benefits that could be excluded for Tax Year 2008. The percentage will be gradually raised to 100 percent by Tax Year 2012.
Details on these changes in law and all other 2009 Tax Year changes can be viewed at the "What's New?" section of the Department's Web site at http://dor.mo.gov/personal/whatsnew/index.php#audit.
The Department also provides several methods for people to receive assistance if they have questions about their tax returns or need helping preparing their returns. There are tax assistance centers in Cape Girardeau, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, St. Joseph, St. Louis and Springfield, and the centers have expanded operation hours through April 30. Locations, telephone numbers and driving directions to the centers can be viewed at http://dor.mo.gov/contact/assistance.php.
Citizens with questions about individual income tax returns can e-mail the Department at email@example.com. Military personnel with specific questions about military-related tax issues can e-mail the Department at firstname.lastname@example.com. Customer assistance is also available by calling (573) 751-3505 from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
A toll-free, automated phone number to order forms is 1-800-877-6881. The general Web page for Missouri tax forms is at http://dor.mo.gov/forms/ and individual income tax forms are at http://dor.mo.gov/forms/.


text:
Huliselan, N. V.
Vol 2, No 1 (2014) - Articles
Seasonal Variation of the Composition and Density of Phytoplankton in Inner Ambon Bay
Abstract PDF
To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.
Copyright © Macrothink Institute ISSN 2168-9148


text:
- Premier League
Sunderland secure Graham deal
Sunderland have tied up a deal for Swansea City striker Danny Graham for a fee of £5 million.
Graham, 27, has signed a three-and-a-half year deal and should be available for Saturday's Premier League clash at Reading.
The former Middlesbrough man, who hails from Gateshead, is delighted to be moving back up north again and cannot wait to get started at the Black Cats.
"As soon as I heard about the interest from Sunderland I didn't even have to consider any of the other options that were on the table," he told Sunderland's official website. "I was born and brought up in the North East so I know first-hand the intense passion that people have for their football in this part of the world - it's special and there's nowhere else like it."
Graham is a life-long Newcastle fan and was recently booed by a section of the Stadium of Light supporters when Swansea played Sunderland on Tuesday. The former England Under-20 international, however, believes his roots will not prove to be a problem.
"Of course, I totally understand that some fans might need convincing about my commitment to Sunderland because of my roots, but I've always given 100% no matter what team I play for and no matter who I play against," he said.
"It's up to me to show people I deserve to wear the Sunderland shirt and I'm excited about playing for a club as big as this. I'm really excited about the future - this is a new phase of my career and I can't wait to get started."
Graham, who has been forced to play second fiddle to Michu at the Liberty Stadium this season, is Martin O'Neill's third signing of the January transfer window, following the arrivals of midfielder Alfred N'Diaye and defender Kader Mangane.
Middlesbrough reportedly made a £5 million bid for the striker on Thursday, only for the player's representatives to rule out a move to the Championship club. Norwich and Reading were also believed to interested in securing his services.
The sale of Graham opens the door for Swansea to bring in a replacement striker if possible. Swans boss Michael Laudrup is reportedly keen on acquiring Stoke's Kenwyne Jones.


text:
Marlins rally in Texas to tie Interleague record
ARLINGTON -- The Marlins are not only making noise in the tightly contested National League East, they're also being Interleague beasts.
Backed by Christian Yelich's career-high four hits and four RBIs, Miami rallied to an 8-5 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night at Globe Life Park.View Full Game Coverage
ARLINGTON -- The Marlins are not only making noise in the tightly contested National League East, they're also being Interleague beasts.
Backed by Christian Yelich's career-high four hits and four RBIs, Miami rallied to an 8-5 win over the Rangers on Tuesday night at Globe Life Park.View Full Game Coverage
By rallying late, the Marlins kept pace in the NL East -- a half-game behind the first-place Braves -- and it also achieved a bit of Interleague Play history.
The Marlins are a perfect 8-0 this season against the American League. Dating back to last year, they've won 13 straight, which matches an MLB mark. The Yankees (2003-04) and the Rays ('04) also won as many as 13 straight.
"That's awesome, I guess," Yelich said. "We have to try and keep it rolling tomorrow. I don't know what that is or why we've beaten so many American League teams. I guess we like playing against them. Hopefully it continues tomorrow and we get a W."
The task gets tougher as the Rangers roll out Yu Darvish to wrap up the two-game set. Miami counters with Jacob Turner.
The Marlins capitalized on using the designated hitter Tuesday. Justin Bour took on the role, and he had three hits while scoring twice. Casey McGehee added three hits, an RBI and a run scored, and Garrett Jones had a pair of RBIs, including one on a double in the eighth.
It was a group effort that kept Miami perfect this season against the AL.
"That's one of those baseball things that you probably can't figure out," Miami manager Mike Redmond said of the club's Interleague success. "I'm sure somebody a lot smarter than me can figure it out. We just go out there and try to win a ballgame.
"Tonight was a battle. But that's kind of our style. That's the way we win ballgames, mix and match. Get some big hits, take advantage of some situations. We were able to do that tonight."
Before taking the field on Tuesday night, Redmond reminded that no lead is safe at Globe Life Park.
How true.
A late recovery enabled the Marlins to guarantee a winning seven-game road trip. They are now 4-2 with one game remaining.
Before beating the Cubs on Sunday at Wrigley Field, the Marlins had lost 33 straight road games when trailing in the seventh inning or beyond. On Tuesday, they rallied again in the late innings.
"The add-on runs are big," Redmond said. "But give them a little credit for making pitches when they needed to, and in the end, we got some hits and ran the bases aggressively and kind of put some pressure on them. They made a couple mistakes, which led to us getting a couple more runs at the end. All in all, it's a battle out there. You have to fight for nine innings and take advantage of the opportunities, and we were able to do that tonight."
After surrendering a three-run lead in the sixth inning, the Marlins regained the edge in the seventh on Yelich's two-out, two-run single off lefty Neal Cotts. The two runs were unearned, and the runners reached off reliever Jason Frasor. Bour singled and Jeff Mathis reached on Rougned Odor's error at second. With two outs, Cotts relieved Frasor, setting up a lefty-lefty matchup with Yelich, whose single went off the top of third baseman Adrian Beltre's glove into left field, putting Miami ahead 6-5.
"I was kind of leaning back, saying, 'Come on, get over his head,'" Yelich said. "It tipped the top of his glove. It was real close. That was big for us."
Miami was able to make Texas pay for its mistakes.
"In the end, we didn't play defense the way we are capable of playing," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "That hurt us. We fought back to get into that game and then shot ourselves in the foot."
In the eighth inning, the Marlins added on two runs off Tanner Scheppers. Giancarlo Stanton walked and moved to third on McGehee's single to left. On the play, the Rangers committed two errors. Michael Choice's throw from left field to third was off the mark, allowing McGehee to take second. But Scheppers, attempting to throw out McGehee, had his throw go into the outfield. Stanton scored easily. Jones' RBI double gave Miami a three-run edge.
McGehee entered the game hitting .424 with runners in scoring position.
Tom Koehler was in command for five innings, striking out seven in that span, while allowing one run. But in the sixth inning, the Miami right-hander struggled with his command, and his line ended up being five earned runs on five hits with three walks and a hit batter.
Texas scored four runs in the sixth inning, capitalizing on the hit batter, two walks, a wild pitch and a throwing error. The Rangers managed two hits in the inning, with one being an infield single.
The inning started off a mess when Koehler plunked Shin-Soo Choo with a pitch and Beltre lined a single to left. Alex Rios walked to load the bases, and Brad Snyder's walk forced in a run. Robinson Chirinos lined sharply to right field for a sacrifice fly.
"I was throwing the ball really well early and kind of hit a little bit of a speed bump," Koehler said. "It was unfortunate with the way that I was throwing early on. But I've got to do a better job when innings start to snowball like that of taking a deep breath and getting back to executing quality pitches like I was early on."
Dan Jennings replaced Koehler, inheriting runners at the corners and one out in a 4-3 game. Jennings struck out Daniel Robertson. But with Odor at the plate, Jennings' wild pitch scored Rios. Texas claimed the led when Odor tapped a slow grounder to Ed Lucas at second and beat the throw to first for a single. Snyder scored from second, giving Texas the lead.
The Marlins got Texas starter Colby Lewis out of the game after five innings and 106 pitches. He allowed three runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
"At the same time, it was great to see the team fight back and win a ballgame like this," Koehler said. "It was awesome."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro.


text:
Bath Time Neutral Thank You Card
Baby Boy Thank You Cards
Bath Time Neutral Thank You Card, Item# TYBA7063NCC
Note: Sparkles are simulated and will not light up.
Bath Time Neutral Thank You Card, Item# TYBA7063NCC
Note: Sparkles are simulated and will not light up.
Bath Time Neutral Envelope Seals
Bath Time Neutral Return Address Labels
Bath Time Neutral Postage Stamps Sheet
Bath Time Neutral
This fold-over note card, "Bath Time" features an adorable baby wearing floaties and peeking over the side of his overflowing bubble bath. This ultra-cute design is accented by the many little details - such as the little droplets softly pouring from the shower head, the bobbing rubber ducky in the tub and the soap bottles in the background. 3 monogrammed towels hang on the rack in the background with "B" for "Baby", "M" for "Mommy" and "D" for "Daddy" or customize the initials in iDesign for the honoree's family.
A custom message can be printed with flat printing inside the fold-over card (for an additional $0.50), to acknowledge that special gift.
You will be able to select the typestyle and ink colors to use for your personalized text during the design process. Start by clicking on the green 'Personalize and Continue' button. We recommend using the default typestyle and ink colors.
|Estimated Postage Required:
|$0.55 stamp - if other items are not added into the Envelope. Click here for additional postage information.
|Item Type:
|Flat Card
|Card Dimensions:
|5.25" x 7.5" (W x H)
|Printing Process:
|Digital Press
|Paper Weight:
|Multiple Stock Options
|Typestyle Shown:
|Matching Ink Color:
|White Envelopes included. Printed return address and/or Calligraphy is available for an additional cost.
|Inner Lined Envelopes:
|Inner Lined Envelopes available for an Additional $.40 each. Choose from 20 different colors.


text:
Chicago Fire 1, New York Red Bulls 0 | MLS Match Recap
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – A solitary strike from Mike Magee put the Chicago Fire back in the win column Sunday with a narrow 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls at Toyota Park.
The reigning MLS MVP found the net in the 38th minute, when he slotted home on his own rebound from the penalty spot, after Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles saved his initial effort. Magee looked almost apologetic as he passed into the net to give the hosts a deserved lead after a first half in which they trailed in the possession stakes but enjoyed the better chances.
With their first win in five games, the Fire (4-5-13) now trail fourth-place New York by just three points, with a game in hand, and sit two points out of the fifth and final playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls' (6-7-10) three-game unbeaten streak comes to an end.
The Fire began with three changes to their starting XI following a draw against the Columbus Crew last time out. Bakary Soumare was recalled to central defense in place of Patrick Ianni, with Razvan Cocis making his first start as he replaced Chris Ritter in midfield. Harry Shipp started for the first time in three games, with Grant Ward dropping to the bench.
Erik Alexander was the only personnel change for the Red Bulls, coming in on the left wing with Roy Miller moving to center back.
The Fire had plenty of chances on the counter, especially in early action.
Lovel Palmer found space down the right in the eighth minute, and his neat pass into Alex saw the Brazilian go down in the box following a slight touch from Miller, but referee Ted Unkel ignored his pleas for a penalty.
Soumare's return to the starting lineup proved to be a solid decision, as he twice denied Bradley Wright-Phillips with last-ditch saving tackles to keep the visitors scoreless. Despite an open, end-to-end first half, neither 'keeper was seriously tested, with Wright-Phillips almost breaking the deadlock in the 31st minute, but he curled a shot inches high and wide of Sean Johnson's left post.
The hosts did take the lead when Magee converted his penalty on the second attempt for the only breakthrough of the night.
Alexander tested Johnson in the 55th minute, while Magee almost put Quincy Amarikwa through a minute later as the ebb and flow of the first half continued.
Johnson, who didn't have a shot to save in the first half despite Red Bulls' 58 percent possession, was called into action again on the hour when he saved another Alexander attempt, while Wright-Phillips was denied a clear strike on goal by the attentive Jeff Larentowicz five minutes later.
Shipp enjoyed the Fire's best moments late as he tested Robles with a couple of long-range efforts, while Amarikwa's touch let him down when played through on goal six minutes from time as the hosts held on for their first win since July 13.
Next up for the Fire is a difficult road trip to Seattle for a US Open Cup semifinal against the Sounders on Wednesday, while New York don't play again until Aug. 23, when they host the Montreal Impact at Red Bull Arena.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
|What We Saw
|Bakary Soumare
|Getting the start in place of Ianni, Soumare probably saved two Wright-Phillips goals single-handedly
|Sean Johnson
|As Red Bulls pushed for equalizer, he was up to the task with several huge saves in late action
|Bradley Wright-Phillips
|BWP was his usual, active self; he just lacked the final touch on the night


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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Frank Klopas' lineup decisions won't be easy heading into Sunday's game in Houston. And for once, that's a good thing for the Chicago Fire.
The Men in Red were racked by injuries for the first month of the season, which made filling out a lineup card painstaking work for Klopas, but they are finally close to full strength for Sunday's game against the Houston Dynamo (5 pm ET, UniMas).
"I'm hoping to have everyone ready to make our decisions more difficult," Klopas said. "With these guys being close to being ready for the team, I think that gives us a lot more."
READ: Despite slow start, Chicago Fire "still have confidence in each other"
After struggling to find the right mix during the club's 0-3-1 start to the season, mixing and matching players with a different lineup every game, Klopas was forced into using an odd lineup on Sunday.
Daniel Paladini and Joel Lindpere, who both played centrally throughout the early part of the season, played out wide because Patrick Nyarko and Dilly Duka were out. Logan Pause slid into his natural defensive midfield role after spending the entire season at right back.
And it worked. Paladini had a goal and two assists in the Fire's 3-1 win, and Pause held down the defensive midfield while Lindpere performed admirably out wide.
"We didn't have a lot of options," Klopas said. "I think they played well. Danny was involved with all of the goals. … We did a very good job defensively. That block of eight got behind the ball and defended really well."
Given that Chicago are likely to play a defensive game in Houston, where they'll try to break the Dynamo's record 34-game home unbeaten streak, Paladini and Pause are safe bets to start.
READ: Jalil Anibaba: "I've had a great support system since the beginning in Chicago"
With Nyarko coming back, that could leave Lindpere on the outside looking in. Additionally, Arne Friedrich is hoping to return for Sunday's game, meaning Jalil Anibaba could also slide to right back for Wells Thompson, who could be relegated to the bench after making two straight starts.
Maicon Santos scored two goals on Sunday to make his case to start ahead of Sherjill MacDonald up top, so the Fire know that no spot is safe.
And at this point of the season, Chicago is happy to give Klopas so many options.
"It's going to be interesting," Nyarko said. "This is when you wish you were not a coach and you just leave it for the coaches to make those decisions. But it's good for the team, healthy competition."


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Google's "My places" is great for showing lots of traces (in my case, paths representing bike rides I've done). But it only shows 20 or so per page.
I'd really like a map (a statically rendered .png would be ok - but prefer dynamic online) with 1-200 traces highlighted over a base map. I'm happy to use online or offline tools (preferably Windows, Mac ok, last resort Linux) to achieve this, but the fewer steps and unfamiliar technologies the better. (I'm not really familiar with any offline GIS tools.)
Lots of other sites allow you to upload traces, which they'll display in a list - but I haven't found any that will actually render them all simultaneously.


text:
Teeth grinding (bruxism) is the unconscious gnashing, grinding, or
clenching of the teeth. It usually occurs during sleep. This process can grind
away parts of the teeth, leaving flattened, worn-down biting edges; fractured
enamel; and painful or loose teeth.
Although the exact cause of bruxism is not always known, it may be
caused by:
Talk to your dentist if grinding is causing injury to your teeth.
Your dentist will determine which treatment is right for you. A mouth guard may
be recommended to help protect your teeth from further damage.
Last Revised:
July 20, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & David Messenger, MD
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
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Complaining About Ministry?
Complaining About Ministry
One of the more interesting Old Testament Minor Prophets is Malachi—sometimes known as the "Italian Prophet" (that's a joke!). The book of Malachi speaks the words of God and calls the people back to pure devotion to the Lord.
Malachi covers a wide variety of topics that are symptomatic of waning devotion and he begins with the heart condition of the priests. The priests were the spiritual leaders of the people. In numerous places, they were called to shepherd the people and feed the people on knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15, 23:4, etc).
Yet in the first chapter of Malachi, the Lord brings His first condemnation on the priests because as they "go", so do the people. It's a case of the proverbial, "Fish rot from the head."
In chapter 1, verse 6 the Lord calls out the priests for presenting defiled sacrifices to the Lord. According to verse 8, they were offering blind sacrifices. These imperfect sacrifices pointed to a heart condition far more serious than might be otherwise seen. First of all, an imperfect sacrifice communicates the message to God and the public that the Lord does not deserve our best; we can take shortcuts with God because other priorities trump Him. Second, it also communicates God is not concerned with the best; He Himself is sloppy and therefore accepts sloppy service.
Third, it communicates the sins being atoned are not all that bad. To understand this third point, we need to remember the sacrifices in the Old Testament were an ongoing object-lesson of covering over sins with innocent blood. Because of his sins, the worshipper could not be in fellowship with God; the worshipper's sins were odious in the sight of the Lord and created a separation between them (Isaiah 59:2). However, if these sins were covered over by the righteous, innocent blood (life) of the animal (Leviticus 17:11), then the Lord would be shielded from their offence and once again, the sinner could have a relationship with the Lord (Leviticus 16:30).
But, if the priest was offering imperfect sacrifices, this pointed to the underlying notion that the person's sins were not that bad, and any old sacrifice would suffice. I'm sure they even reasoned within themselves saying, "Aren't all animals innocent? This blind goat is just as good."
So clearly, presenting imperfect sacrifices to the Lord was a terrible action and one that led the people to stray in their hearts.
Another cutting accusation against the priests is found in chapter 1, verse 13. The Lord says the priests were complaining about the burden of their ministry. They were saying, "My, how tiresome it is!" Wow, these are seriously cutting words because who hasn't made similar statements? Who hasn't looked at their workload and their competing priorities and felt their particular challenges were daunting and difficult to bear? Have we gone so far as to utter words like these? No doubt, we have all felt this from time to time and felt the temptation to speak what was in our heart.
The Hebrew word in Malachi 1:13 points to a more sinister disdain for the work of God. It's the word "mtela'a" which speaks to a weariness with a sense of frustration. Its root word (tela'a) contains the implication that the source of the weariness is something objectionable to begin with. In other words, it's as if the priests were worn out (and telling people as much) from their labors and deep down in their hearts, they didn't feel they should have to do the work to begin with!
This frightening warning should resound in the ears of God's servants. From time to time, I hear of God's people who declare their weariness with their work for the Lord. I can understand their heart ache.
For pastors, the preaching regime turns the week into just two days: Sunday and all the other days morphing into one. The phone calls come in constantly—the important ones are okay, it's the incidental calls late, at home, that exasperate us. There are countless meetings to be attended. People with frustratingly myopic perspectives squander our time on crazy hobby horses.
For ministry leaders, often they have to deal with difficult people. Often the volunteers take "vacations" without proper notice. Efforts become sloppy, quality suffers.
I agree and understand these challenges are real, but at the heart of this rebuke are these underlying principles that we must remember:
1) The Lord deals patiently with His people 24/7 without rest or break. If there was ever a person legitimately called to complain about the "mtela'a" of His job, it's the Lord. Yet He is patient with us, ever giving of Himself to us. As His servants, we must reflect this aspect of His nature.
2) The Lord's work is holy. It's a serious, solemn, high work. It's a holy work that endures into eternity. No matter how mundane the task, when done to the Lord, it is holy (Zech 14:21 speaks to this principle).
3) The weary heart betrays a fleshly heart. Philippians 2:13 explains the principle that God is at work in us "both to will and to work for His good pleasure." The Greek word "work" here is "energios" and it has the idea of "energy"—the heart of the meaning is that God will supply the "energios" for the tasks that He has set before us. If we are surrendered to Him, we will have His grace pumping into our souls, providing the ability and the energy to do His will. Yet the person who is wearied by the work has either a) distanced himself from fellowship with the Lord, or b) taken on tasks and challenges not of God—we can do this in many ways: by demanding an outcome not inline with the Lord, by fearing people and saying "yes" when we should have said "no", by squandering our time on non-priorities so we must add hours to our work day to finish our real responsibilities. I could go on, but these three cover a lot of territory.
So, in our pastoral ministry, we have many responsibilities. We are to "shepherd the flock of God…exercising oversight…according to the will of God…with eagerness (1 Pet 5:2)." We do this by taking "care of the church of God" (1 Tim 3:5) specifically as we "preach the word…reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction (2 Tim 4:2)." All of this being done with an eye to equip "the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ (Eph 4:12) so the final result is we "present every man complete in Christ (Col 1:28)."
This is a very high calling. This is a high privilege. This is an utterly holy endeavor. No doubt there are seeds of bitterness waiting to take root and grow in our hearts. In each of our ministries, there are challenges and frustrations that tempt us to utter "My, how tiresome it is". But these words are sinful; they come from the flesh and are rooted in a fleshly perspective. Yet like all sins, they can be crucified by the Holy Spirit as we offer up our idols to God and confess that we would rather serve them that Him. In His mercy and grace, He will accept our confession and cleanse us from this sin (1 John 1:9).
May God's grace strengthen you and equip you in your service to Him.
Those are some of my thoughts, I'd love to hear yours.
Personal Preparation Before Big Events
There were countless times that I felt God's hand wrapping me in His protection. There was the time when the drug-crazed prostitute came charging down the street with a 14" butcher knife swinging it at every person she saw. I was talking with a guy about the Lord and held my position. I watched out of the corner of my eye as she charged right past me but without thrusting it at me.
Then there was the time two guys got into a fight during the final prayer of our church service. Knives were drawn and I had to essentially and literally come between them.
Getting God to do what you want
The problem is that so often we want God to act on our terms--when and how we think is best. We are convinced that this particular pressing matter is not a fanciful whim but something of major importance that God must provide. We want a spouse, we want healing, we want a certain career, we want a specific lifestyle. We want, we want, we want.
What people don't understand, is that one of the main reasons for the pain and misery in this world is to prove to us that life is NOT perfect and that we need a savior. The goal of pain is to bring us to God, that we might come to Him and be reconciled to Him. God is the highest source of all that is good, and joyful and meaningful in this world. However, as long as a person seeks to find happiness in something not rooted in Him, then He will not condone, support or encourage them on their path. They will never find the peace and joy they seek because true peace and joy only come from Him and He will not give these gifts to those who do not seek to find them in Him. So often, people want God to coddle them in their rebellion and sin when in reality He is calling them to utterly abandon their old life and living their new life in Christ.
What God Did in My Life Just After High School
He's so great, really, when you think about it. He allowed a kid who was into all kinds of mysticism, who was involved in a pretty rough crowd, who was haughty and prideful and selfish—He immediately took me in and began His divine heart surgery to change my life. The next few months were pivotal to my growth in the Lord. He took my hand and literally directed the way. I was too zoned-out from the accident. I was dazed, I was half crazy with grief. I was in shock.
– Excerpt from Russ' Story.
Russ Brewer's Story as of 12/1/00 given before a Korean High School Group
Good evening. I am excited to tell you about the changes that the Lord has brought into my life. It is my prayer that you will hear of my mistakes and be able to avoid them yourselves. It is my prayer that if you don't know Jesus Christ now as your Lord and savior, that by the end of my message, you will put your faith and trust in the Lord of our universe.
Although this story may look like it's about me, it's really about how God directed my life and protected me. He did this because of His love for me and He will do the same for you. As you will hear from my story--more than likely, at some point in your life, pains will come your way. But pain and trials are gifts from God where we can turn to Him; purify our faith, and glorify Him as Lord. When the trials come, it is not right to ask why, for that is in the mind of God. Rather you should ask how are you are supposed to respond as a godly child of the Lord.
I will probably take every last minute Pastor Chi has given to me, so hang on and here we go.
I grew up in Middletown New Jersey. Growing up, my family attended a non-Christian church called Christian Science, not to be confused with Scientology by L. Ron Hubbard. Christian Science was started in the late 1800's by a woman named Mary Baker Eddy.[1] She wrote many books detailing her brand of spirituality, the most notable is her book called "Science and Heath" which her followers believe to be as equally true as the Bible. In Science and Heath, Mary Baker Eddy explains that God made man in His image and likeness, therefore we are all gods. Thus since God cannot break his arm, neither can we. Since God cannot get cancer, neither can we. The reason why people appear to have broken bones and other illnesses is because of sin. Sin is not a violation of God's holy law; rather it is incorrect thinking about who we "truly" are. Sin is error. Sin is being wrong in our conclusions about ourselves. According to Christian Science, if we think we have cancer we are sinning. The solution to sin is found in the great healer Jesus Christ. Jesus was not God per say, nor did he die for our sins on the cross. Rather He was the way-shower who told us how to really view who we are. Jesus tried to show us that we were gods and that if we recognized that, we could heal ourselves just as He healed others.
Christian Scientists deny Christ's death on the cross as being anything other than tragedy. They don't believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God nor do they believe in heaven or hell. All of us, according to their beliefs, will "translate" into another existence. Death is only a doorway to the next reality. People don't go to hell because there is no hell because there is no real sin against God. Again, sin is just an erroneous understanding of who we are.
This was my exposure and spiritual diet for most of my childhood. Christian scientists are warm, kindhearted people. The books they read from are very complex and the language is old and difficult. Yet, my Sunday school classes consisted of three or four children in the same grade sitting around a small round table with one adult teacher who taught us theology. We learned their wrong beliefs about sin, healing, Jesus, God and power. I advanced through these classes from age 8 or 9 up till about 15 years old.
My parents actually never ever went to that church the entire time I was there. They were raised by Christian Scientist parents (that is, my grandparents) and both had independently forsaken the religion for themselves. Thus when it came to teaching their children religion, although they didn't actually agree with Christian Science, it was natural that they would send their kids, my sister and I, to the only religion they knew.
Thus we were "nominal Christian Scientists." On most Sunday's my parents would drop my sister and I off at church and then go out for breakfast on their own. After 90 minutes they'd come back, pick us up and we'd go on our way. My parents never taught me Christian Science doctrine because they weren't real impressed with it themselves. Thus when I broke a bone my parents took me to a doctor. When I needed a tooth filled, they took me to a dentist. Yet, to a degree, we were quasi-practicing Christian Scientists. That is, when we had colds we didn't take cold medicine, when we had aches, we didn't take Tylenol or Advil. Generally the watchword around my house was for general minor stuff, was "mind over matter".
Like other good Christian Scientists, my parents were the kindest people on the street. They had well developed ethics and codes of conduct and behavior. I was raised to highly value the worth and dignity of all people. Jesus' golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" was often quoted and applied in my home. During my childhood, I watched my parents take into our home people beaten by their spouses; others near death from alcoholism. I saw my parents helping with all kinds of volunteerism. Thus they were good people, perhaps better than the average home. These values were deeply instilled in me and although I didn't know Jesus Christ as my Lord I did admire and follow His example of love and selflessness.
However, you can imagine that a religion, which denied Jesus, the Bible, Heaven, Hell and Sin, doesn't really re-enforce deep convictions within its followers. Christian Science is New Age mysticism glossed over with Christian ideals. God is a transcendent, impersonal force to be used for one's own advantage. The New Age mysticism is the same. It seeks to use mystical forces to achieve benefit for the person. Both are selfish, self-centered, and power-hungry. They do not seek to exalt, honor, worship and serve the Holy Creator. Rather both seek to selfishly give honor to evil that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. New Age often incorporates the beliefs of mediation, astrology, Zen Buddhism, and a bunch of other stuff into a giant salad bar from which its adherents pick and choose what sounds best to them.
Although my family wasn't off the deep end, we were still in the dangerous waters of New Age. In my family, we did often speak of God and Jesus, but we also spoke of a whole realm of spiritual things. My parents weren't teaching us doctrine of any particular religion, rather our family was always curious and open to what might be out there. The trend towards spiritual mysticism continued and deepened as I went through high school and through various means I had developed a sizable personal New Age reference library complete with books on out of body experiences, channeling, black magic, Stonehenge, meditation, etc.
I now know that I was playing with evil and I have suffered the spiritual consequences of my sins. One might ask if it's really a sin to read books on the occult. Well, the book of Hebrews says that whatever is not of faith is sin, and Deuteronomy prohibits going to psychics and mediums and those who practice divination. I initially began reading the books out of curiosity, but eventually my curiosity got the best of me and I was reading because I believed them. Thus, I was sinning against the holy Lord who alone is wise. God's plans are high—lofty—beyond the mind of man—and we are to only read and accept that which He has already revealed in God's word. Any attempt to reach up to the infinite and pull it down to the finite is a sin against God. I Cor 10:13 says "So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it."
Well, once I entered High School, I started spending time with a pretty interesting group of guys. When I first starting hanging out with my friends they were really great people. Most were quite smart but bored with our classes. Some of us were boy-scouts and some nature lovers and our main hang-out was at a rope swing in the woods.
There was a large, heavily wooded park beside of the neighborhoods. (Now this is the east coast New Jersey. Have you seen the movie The Last of the Mohicans? Well, remember all the dense, green forests they ran through and you are pretty much picturing what we were hanging out it). In the middle of this park, about a 10 minute hike in, stood a large tree at the edge of a small rise of ground. A small stream ran through the middle of the park, over time cutting a small gully about 20 feet deep and 100 hundred yards wide. A tree stood at the edge of the top of the gully and it had a great, thick hemp rope. We spent so much time there we pretty we became experts. We would leap out, grab the rope and swing in every way imaginable. Once we even tied a couch onto the rope and we all jumped on it while it swung around. Lots and lots of fun, and a little dangerous—I spent a night in the hospital because of it, but that's another story.
Every day we'd go there and hang out until the sun went down. We did this for years, thus over time we started bringing stuff back there with us. At first we brought back boom-boxes and chairs. Then we started grabbing furnishings that people were throwing out like couches and carpets. And I suppose that once or twice we liberated people's porches of things they weren't intending on throwing out. After a while, we had this area completely carpeted and decked out with so much furniture that it looked like someone's living room in the middle of the woods. Of course this started out as a great idea, but eventually the rain made us regret our exterior decorations.
In the early days we mostly drank alcohol. Sometime around our sophomore or junior year my buddies began to smoke pot. I was vehemently against it and often preached how pot was a gateway drug that leads to other problems. Some listened, most didn't and I gained the nickname "Captain Morals."
Well I don't want it to sound like we were druggie-criminals. Although we played rough, we also were still pretty good people. Our numbers grew. We had a lot of cheerleaders and popular kids hanging out with us, we had smart kids, we had athletes, heavy metal band members, sweet catholic school girls etc. Most of us drank, a lot of my friends did drugs. For me, I had been drunk so many times and I was tired of making a fool of myself. Some people like being fools, I was never partial to it myself. I finally gave it up after partying with one of my best friends and a beautiful cheerleader. I'm fairly certain that the last time I was drunk was about 17 years old—a pretty early age to have the complete development and cessation of a drinking habit.
By the time I had graduated, my mysticism was in full swing. I mediated (you know, the kind with your legs crossed and eyes closed), I had attended meditation seminars, I owned all kinds of books about New Age, the Occult, Stonehenge, and Black Magic. I wore all kinds of crystals and I new what the therapeutic benefit was to each crystal. I had some pretty developed ideas about life, the universe, and everything. Now I have to tell you that New Age religion is not like Christianity. There are no real doctrines, no concrete facts and no basis of understanding. Thus, even the term New Age is a misnomer and I would have never used it back then, I only use that term now because it makes talking about it simpler.
No one in New Age pushes their views upon others. There is no orthodox opinion, everyone pretty much has ideas and even books are basically the sum of a person's opinions about a particular topic. Thus within New Age there are crystals, runes, tarot cards, meditations, Buddhism, the Bible, prayer, Out of Body Experience, Séances, Magic, Environmentalism etc. A person can be totally immersed in it and yet not adhere to any one particular belief system. Thus was the case I me. I believed in Jesus, I believed in Buddhism, I believed in Meditation, I believed in crystals, I believed in Environmentalism, I believed in Out of Body Experiences and I believed in Political Activism. I had managed to roll all of these ideas together into a developed world-view that I called Russ-Archy.
During that time my parents owned (and still own) a small gourmet food store. I had agreed with them to manage the store. So the day after high school graduation, I took over running the family business. Running the store took up most of my time and I had a lot less time to spend with my friends.
So there I was managing the family business the day after I finished High School. I had to hire people, fire people, create and implement business plans, work with vendors, customers, salesmen and the whole deal. I can remember the startled look on countless people's face when they'd ask for the manager of the store and I'd come out from the back to talk with them. Invariably they'd try to conceal their shock. I was good, cocky, and impressive. At first people didn't respect me because of my age, but after I was consistently in charge and the ship ran well, they began to respect me because of my age—they couldn't believe that a 18 year old kid could do what I was doing. But it is often when you are at the highest that you have the farthest to fall.
On August 16th, 1990 my best friend C.J. and I were planning on going to a coffee shop called the Ink Well. It was a great, cozy little place where no tables or chairs matched and the atmosphere was so casual that you'd often just start talking to people at tables around you. C.J. and I loved to talk about life. We talked about everything, as I'm sure you guys do too. Only a few months prior, we concluded that there was nothing to live for. We felt that there was no real reason for life, ethics, humanity etc. We had been taught in school that we evolved from animals and I didn't think of God as personal, but rather a force to be used. Thus there was no reason to live. I wasn't suicidal, just this was the natural conclusion to everything I thought and had been taught. This is the natural conclusion of any honest person who doesn't have the Lord.
The Inkwell was located only a few blocks from the ocean and we had to take a road called Ocean Ave. Now, Ocean Ave pretty much describes what this road was like. It ran parallel to the shoreline and on the land-side was all business and homes and on the shore side it was intermittent beaches, restaurants and hotels. It was a major road with two lanes each way, lots of stop-lights and fast strips of road between them. It was on this road that my life changed.
That night C.J. and I were having a great time. It was a clear, warm August night. It was around 10 o'clock. We had the convertible top down and the stereo was playing. The speed limit varied from 45-50 miles an hour.
Then, right in the midst of conversation, suddenly C.J. screamed, "Russ!"
We were going through an intersection. My light was green and I hadn't slowed at all. When C.J. screamed my eyes darted to left. Coming through the intersection, going against his own red light, was a person jamming through the intersection on a BMX bike right into my path. He was looking down, pumping hard and came so fast that I never really had a chance to hit the brakes.
He was a 16 year old boy. I hit him going about 50 miles an hour. His body crashed up the hood, into the windshield and flew right over our heads onto the pavement behind the car. The windshield smashed into thousands of pieces and showed little glass cubes over C.J.
We skidded to a stop and I ran back to the kid on the road. C.J. immediately went for help. I stayed with the kid and kept telling him he'd be alright as if he could hear me—but he never could. He was too badly damaged, he wasn't even conscious. As I held him and as his blood soaked into my jeans I watched his dazed eyes roll back into his head.
The police came a few minutes later and blocked off the intersection. An ambulance arrived soon afterwards and took him away. Someone spray-painted a white body outline where the boy lay. The stuff he had with him was everywhere. His bike had skidded in a crumpled mass a hundred yards away. He was listening to a walk-man at the time and now pieces of it were scattered all around. The cops carefully painted little white circles around every fragment. More cops arrived and started measuring skid marks and trajectories attempting to determine what happened. A crowd started gathering and within 15 minutes there were probably more than 50 people peering over the yellow police tape that circled the intersection.
The cops put me in the back on one police cruiser and C.J. in the back of another. I sat there looking at the accident scene and the people. Some people were crying, some were talking amongst themselves. Most were curious. I made a call to my parents and they were on their way—it'd be 30 minutes before they would arrive. So I sat in the back of the car and looked at it all.
I was devastated. I felt such grief, such terror, such horror. I hope that I've painted a picture of what kind of person I was. I was a good guy, weird but good. I was sickened by the blood, I was overwhelmed with the realization that I had caused that kind of damage to another person. It was a pure accident sure, and in most ways I was entirely innocent. But I didn't know that then, I was in shock and utterly, utterly, utterly devastated.
I spent much of the night at the police station telling them what happened. They could see that I wasn't drunk or high and my story matched right up with C.J.'s. So they let both of us go. That night when I finally went to sleep, every dream that I had was saturated with the theme that I had done something horribly wrong and nothing that I could do now would undo what was already done.
Death has such finality. There is no undoing death. It's permanent. It's forever. I had caused the death of a 16 year old boy. No matter how much I regretted it, I couldn't go back and change what happened. I couldn't go back and take a different street. I couldn't go back and leave my home at a different time. I couldn't change my destination. The unthinkable had been done and nothing would or could alter it.
The next morning was the beginning of the rest of my life. I woke up with a heavy pallid dread permeating everything about me.
I want you to get this next point: somehow and in some intangible definite way, I knew that God was huge, gigantic and personal. By killing someone, I had stepped into the role that is only for God. I had taken a life and I suddenly felt extreme dread that I was going to have to give an account to a holy and angry Judge. It was as if out of the woodwork came God calling to me from every direction saying the blood of this child cries up from the ground declaring my guilt—not so much guilt for the accident, but guilt for all the New Age mysticism, all the times I'd cursed the name of God, all the times I did whatever wickedness my evil heart desired.
I suddenly saw that all my New Age was an offense to a holy God. I was more certain of that than anything else in my life. It was as if I had been a child out playing and being bad and suddenly getting caught by my dad. As if I had been warned over and over not to play with matches and suddenly I burned down the house. As if all the heavens echoed solemnly "I told you so". I knew that I had sinned, I knew that all of my mystical spirituality was sinful and evil and selfish and offensive. I knew that what was needed most then was to humbly, and sheepishly, and meekly go to my heavenly father and beg forgiveness.
And please don't misunderstand me, my guilt was not so much for the accident, but for all the sins I had committed that led up to it. My selfish meditations, my selfish grasping at the mystical world for power. My vain and ego-centric views about how mystically powerful I was. My black-magic text books, my books on the occult. My fascination with acid rock—everything about my life violated God's holy law and I was deeply guilty of sin.
But then the Lord stepped in and gave me new life in Christ.
By God's sovereign hand, my parents set a lunch appointment for me and a pastor from a nearby church. This of itself was a miracle. My dad had been attending a conservative Baptist church for a couple of months on his own. Remember, at this point it was years since any of us had attended a Christian Science church and my dad had begun to seek the Lord on his own. He didn't really talk much about it, but somewhere in that whole process, my father quietly gave his life to the Lord.
So when this accident occurred, my dad said, "Russ, why don't you meet with the pastor of this church I've been attending. He's agreed to meet with you and this is the kind of thing pastors are for." I knew I needed council about God, so I agreed to go.
The pastor picked me up around noon in his purplish blue hatchback station wagon and we went to a diner. New Jersey diners are a world to themselves. They are open 24 hours, often have great, cheep food and usually a very faithful customer base. We went to one of my favorite diners called The Shamrock Diner.
When we got there I didn't want to break a poor pastor's bank, so I ordered a chocolate milkshake and he ordered a hamburger and fries. We said grace. It's kind of funny to think that the first time that I can recall saying grace was over a chocolate milkshake.
My pastor asked me questions about the accident, about the prognosis, and about what I was going to do. He then asked me a question that I'll never forget. He said, "Russ if you were to die tonight, and God were to say 'Why should I let you into heaven?' What would you say?"
You can see from all that I've told you, that I was so very far from God. It didn't matter that I picked up the Bible every now and then. It didn't matter that I even prayed every now and then. No matter what outside form of religion I had, it was thoroughly mixed with New Age. I didn't believe in the true God so whatever answer I gave was not based on faith. Therefore it was wrong.
Well, Jonathan, the pastor, didn't really know what to do with me. My views were so completely contrary to what God's word says that there really wasn't much that he was able to do but tell me that I needed to read the Bible and begin sorting out my ideas. After a while we had to go and he dropped me off back at my home. I asked him what he'd recommend me reading in the Bible and he gave me a couple of passages.
Well, that day was surreal. I had to go back to the police station one more time to give them more information. That's where I found out the boy had died. It was awful.
Later that night, I went out for a cigarette. I'd often take walks through the neighborhood and smoke. So that night I went out to my front yard and decided not to walk but just think about all that happened. I knew I was in trouble—I knew I needed the Lord—and I knew it was time to ask for his forgiveness.
I looked up, thought for a moment, and said "God I've really screwed up my life, I give it over to you."
That's all I said. Nothing fancy, nothing elaborate. But it contained the right ingredients.
You see, my heart absolutely recognized that all of my New Age mumbo jumbo was really a mockery of God. I had offended the Holy God of the universe. I was truly sorry for it—not just for the accident, but because all of my mysticism was wrong.
My prayer was also filled with faith. I wasn't trying to get out of jail free, I was recognizing that God was in charge of the universe. I recognized that I had ruined my life. I recognized that God is trustworthy with my whole life and could lead it better than I. I recognized that I had wasted my life and believed that the whole thing needed change and I was giving it to God so that He could make it useful to His plan. My friends, this was the prayer of faith. This was the prayer of salvation. I remember that moment so clearly when instantly my heart was changed.
Well…that's the first part of what we're going to talk about tonight. So far, that's just the introduction, now for the sermon.
I want to tell you how my life changed. You see, God is the One who is in charge of this giant space ball we call earth. God runs the planet. God runs the universe. If you were to get into a spaceship and fly a million miles into the heavens, you would never have left the presence of the Lord. Think about that…If we both prayed at the same time thousands of miles apart, God would hear both of our prayers simultaneously. So this huge, giant, powerful God deserves our whole lives. So I gave him mine. Have you given him yours?
All this is just over 10 years ago (1990). I was 18 years old. My condition of life was as follows: I was running the family business, I was dating a girl from high school, I had a whole lot of garbage beliefs, I had pretty strained relationships with my parents, and I was literally in a state of shock because of the accident. This was a lot of deep garbage to work through, but the Lord carried me the entire way. God is faithful when His children's lives are blown apart, He is there to help along the way. He does more than help, He completely carries those who love Him. And that is what the Lord did for me.
He's so great, really, when you think about it. He allowed a kid who was into all kinds of mysticism, who was involved in a pretty rough crowd, who was haughty and prideful and selfish—he immediately took me in and began His divine heart surgery to change my life. The next few months were pivotal to my growth in the Lord. He took my hand and literally directed the way. I was too zoned-out from the accident. I was dazed, I was half crazy with grief. I was in shock.
Have you ever heard about how horses get to know their areas so well that when a rider falls asleep the horse just carries them right home without having to be directed? Well, that's kind of what it was like between the Lord and me. I was mentally shot, in some ways asleep, and God put me on His back and carried me to His home.
But the ride home was a bit of a journey. After I was saved, most of my theological ideas didn't change right away. All I was really sure of was that I had violated God and now gave my life to Him. Besides that, in the very early days I still believed most of my mystical ideas. I didn't believe the Bible was the Word of God. I didn't believe that Jesus was God. I didn't believe that Heaven or Hell existed. I didn't believe a whole lot at that point, but what I did believe was that God was awesome and I wanted to learn as much about this true God who held the universe in His hands.
Yet, when I gave my life to the Lord, some things did change right away. For one thing, my view of God completely changed from then on. I no longer mocked God (which I formerly did haughtily all the time). Instead, I was reverent and feared Him. This is important, because in my haughtiness I had often made fun of God and also of Christians. I never did this again.
One more thing changed in how I felt about God. Back in my New Age days, I felt very close to the spiritual world, very in touch with who I thought was "God". After I gave my life to the Lord, I began to feel less and less connected to "God". At the time this concerned and bothered me. I had been under the impression that converting to Christ would draw me closer to the Lord, not push me away. But what I didn't realize then, and what I do realize now, is that the "God" who I felt close to wasn't God at all. I had worshipped a false God and any closeness I felt back then was a fabricated being of the demonic world. In reality I was actually close to the demons whom I served.
At conversion, God graciously took me out of the New Age spiritual arena so that I was no longer in close proximity to those demonic forces. Thus I no longer felt close to "God". What I didn't know was that God had rescued me and I was only suffering from the kind of withdrawal pain a drug addict feels when he gives up heroin. Once I began to serve the true God of the Bible, naturally I'd feel distant from my New Age "God". Now, after years of faithful commitment to the Lord, I feel closer and more connected with God than I ever did to that false god in the old days.
Another thing that changed was that I never ever practiced or did a single mystical act again. God is too holy for that. I had His spirit in me and I wasn't about to disgrace the Lord by messing with the occult. God's word says in Deuteronomy 18:10 "Let no one be found among you who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead." God's Word was clear that these sorts of practices were evil so I immediately forsook them. Early in my new life in Christ, I came home one day, looked at my books on New Age, gathered them together and threw away all but one. The last book was on black magic. I burned it. That was the end of that.
However, there was still all kinds of wrong beliefs floating around my head. Only the transformation by the Lord, persistent Bible Study, Hours of Prayer, Fellowship, Godly Council, Submission, and time would change those ideas from error to truth.
A couple weeks after I came to Christ, my pastor's wife stopped into my store and invited me to a small group Bible study, thirsty for the truth I quickly agreed. Within a few days I was encircled by college aged Christians trying to answer my rapid-fire questions. Boy, I would give anything to be able to go back in time and watch myself back then. I'd like to just sit near by and listen to what I said at my first bible study meetings. You know my crazy ideas must have singed their hair. It must have been so exciting for them to have a real-live fruitcake finding out God's truth for the first time. It must have been wonderful for them to watch me slowly change from sin to the ways of the Lord.
The first meeting I went to happened to also be the first week they were going through a Bible Study booklet on the Gospel of John.
I was familiar with the Gospel of John. I had read the Bible before I was saved and when I was a kid I spent two weeks at the Word of Life Bible camp in Schroon Lake New York. As a Christian Scientist, I had memorized all the books of the Bible. But it didn't really make much sense and I wasn't very impressed. To my unconverted mind, it seemed like the authors kept on repeating themselves over and over. I can remember distinctly wondering why people were so fanatical about it.
But now, as I was attending that Bible study, I had the spirit of God dwelling in me. Reading His truth through the eyes of faith was like a neon sign buzzing right before my eyes. It was so clear, so vibrant, so powerful.
I can still remember that first study when my pastor asked us if we knew a verse that told of the purpose of the gospel. "Of course we don't" I thought to myself; thinking pastor was crazy for even asking. But my head whipped hard to the right when a guy starts quoting John 20:31 verbatim, "but these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." My shock that anyone knew the answer was only matched by the joy in my heart as I heard that Jesus was the Son of God and offered Life to those who believed in Him.
I went home that day with a whole new life in me once again. My heart was bursting with excitement and joy. I remember driving home that night down New Monmouth Road rejoicing that the wonderful presence of the Lord and the power of His Word. For the first time, Jesus was really with me. He had led me to the Truth. I was hearing something that was absolutely certain. For all my life, I'd only heard man's foolish opinions and deep down I knew it as such. But finally, for the first time, I was hearing the very words spoken by God to men. And the words resonated deeply within me. They resonated truth. They resonated authority. Their very force said, "THIS IS GOD'S WORD. OBEY IT". And I went home that night see the Truth as if a bolt of lightening had lit up the dark sky of my life and for the first time I could see clearly that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the Messiah whom we were to love, honor, worship and cherish.
Every week was like that—some new truth shattered the windows of my old foolish philosophy. I can remember talking with my pastor after small group one day. I said to him, "I'm really enjoying reading the red words of Jesus, (I had a Bible that put Christ's words in Red) but I'm having trouble believing the rest of the Bible is really from God." I wasn't thinking of any specific passage, I was just telling him my opinion on the Bible. He looked right at me and said, "Russ, that is just disobedience. You have to submit to all of God's word. The words of Paul are just as inspired as the words of Christ." Again these words thundered in my ears and I knew absolutely what my pastor said was true. And from that moment forever, I read the whole Bible as God's word.
One thing I've learned is that you have to go where the truth is. If you guys haven't noticed already, everyone has opinions about life and the world. Some people think that aliens buzz through the sky, some people think that killing an animal is the same as killing a human, some people think that sex or money or drugs will satisfy, some people think that if you have enough friends you'll be happy, some people think that everyone goes to heaven, some people think that everyone gets reincarnated, some people think there's no God, and some people think that everyone is god. Since I've dabbled in most of the junk that's out there, I can confidently say that there is no truth out there except for God's truth. Everything else is at best a thin covering over fakery. Everything fails in the face of true tragedy except for Christ. There is no other truth except for what's in God's Word.
No other book changes lives like God's word. Before my accident, I read tons of junk books but none of them had any power. They all claimed to have spiritual power. Yet the façade of power vanishes when life's trials hit. When it came to working when you needed them most, they couldn't do a thing. They fell apart. After my accident I couldn't mediate, I couldn't just wear a crystal and feel better! Things like crystals and meditation, all that stuff "works" only when life is going well. When life falls apart like mine did, there is nothing but the rock of Jesus Christ that will support deep grief. Without the truth of God, I wouldn't have made it through that trial.
During the winter after I was saved, my pastor had encouraged all of us to memorize the entire book of Philippians from the New Testament. I had never even read the book of Philippians. I didn't know what it contained. But that opportunity seemed like a chance to really learn a portion of God's word, so I agreed.
For those of you who memorize the Bible, you know how you have to repeat phrases over and over to get them down. You also know how repetition can really deepen and enhance your understanding of the passage. For me, it was all that—times 10. I was literally reading the verse for the first time in my life and then memorizing them. I don't even think I read through the whole book of Philippians before I began to memorize it. But I was blown away by God's truth. For that project, I memorized all the time, especially while driving. I'd get to a stop light, pull out the Bible quickly grab a phrase and repeat it over and over and over until I got to the next stop light. Then I'd do the same thing again. I did this for all 120 some-odd verses of the book of Philippians.
God's word was so thrilling. Day after day the divine scriptures gave me the answers to all my questions. Remember how I used to think that there was no point to life? Well, Psalm 34:3 says "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together." So then I knew I had a purpose and it was to glorify the Lord.
I used to wonder why I existed, but Eph 1:4 says it was God who created me according to His will. Then I knew that I existed because God had created me.
I used to wonder why there was so much pain and evil and I learned that Adam and Eve rebelled against God and that their sins were passed on from generation to generation up till this present day.
Around that time, God's word showed me how Jesus spent lots of his time with his disciples and taught them Truth. Well, my pastor knew God's word back-to-back so I asked him if he would mentor me. I was honored when he agreed to meet with me. Right off the bat he got involved in every area of my life and shone the light of the scriptures upon it. There was so much junk in there that we had plenty to talk about. It was great. We'd meet every week or two and I was able to just throw issues and questions at him and listen to him bring God's Word to bear on the topic. The power of God's Word was changing me inside out.
By February, remember my accident occurred in August, I saw in the scriptures how God's people are baptized in the name of Christ. That was all I needed to see. When I was an infant, I was baptized but no one needed to tell me that it was a sham—I knew it was. I knew I needed to be baptized as a believer. The next time my church offered a baptism class, I was there. Then in March, 7 months after I came to Christ, I was fully immersed in water before a congregation of God's people. The day of my baptism was one of the most joyful days of my life.
By the next summer, I had been a Christian almost a year. My church was sponsoring a short-term missions trip to Jamaica teaching kids Vacation Bible School. I asked if I could go and the church agreed. The Lord started convicting me of smoking and I knew that I couldn't go to Jamaica and smoke at the same time. Up till this point, after every Bible study, just as soon as we finished praying I'd dart out for a quick smoke. I was so worldly I didn't even think that the people in the group noticed what I was doing. Of course, while I was smoking, they were praying for me to quit. One day the Lord just impressed upon me a passage in First Corinthians that says we are God's temple. I began to see that if my body was created by God, I had no right damaging it by smoking. So one day I went around to all of my Christian friends and said, "I'm quitting smoking today, pray for me." Well they did pray and I did quit smoking. I had tried to quit twice before. That is, before I knew the Lord. But once I was saved quitting smoking was surprisingly easy.
Back to Jamaica. Our team of 10 people or so met regularly to prepare. In August, a year after coming to Christ, we flew down to Jamaica. We taught bunches of little kids about Christ and God's word. Telling other people God's truth was invigorating. And do you know what? For the first time, I felt God's power working through me. It was a power and strength I'd never felt prior. God's power on that mission's trip was a hundred times greater and stronger and truer than anything I ever felt with my other New Age stuff. And it was on that trip God confirmed that I should only serve the Lord with my life in full time ministry.
When I got back from that trip I heard Moody Bible Institute was a free school that trained Christian leaders. The "free" part was pretty cool so I applied. A few months later they sent me an acceptance letter and the following fall I flew out to Chicago. When I went to Moody I was only a Christian for a couple of years. At the time I thought I knew so much. But at Moody I began to learn structured, ordered theology, Bible study techniques, Church history and a whole bunch of other stuff.
After I graduated Moody, I took a few years off, got married, had a daughter, and applied to Master's Seminary. I came here because of Master Seminary's deep love for God and His Word. These professors are godly, wonderful men committed to lifting up the name of the Lord in the classroom and they are committed to showing us how to honor the Lord with our future ministries.
I want you to know, however, that not all of life has been a thrilling James Bond action sequence. I've known the Lord since 1990 but along the way I've felt a lot of pain. Christ doesn't say "Come to me and I will make you happy." No, He says "Come to me and I will give you rest." Although there has been pain in my life since then, I have been able to rest in the strength and love and will of our Lord. And that has made all the difference.
So this is my encouragement to you. Many people will try to tell you that you are just kids, you're just Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors in High School. Teachers might treat you as little kids, and others might not give you respect. But realize this, that when David fought against Goliath he was probably in his teens; when Daniel, Shadrach, and Abendego were thrown to the fires, they were most likely in their early teens. Guys, these are the heroes of our faith and they were younger than some of you are.
So when people treat you like kids, be humble and understand that for a time you are going to have to accept the negatives of being young. But don't ever believe that you aren't full-grown vessels for the Holy Spirit. When I was in High School, I was dealing with grown –up issues. I might have been foolish, but the issues were still there.
I was out every weekend until 1, 2, and 3 in the morning at parties. I was helping friends find out about abortions if they needed them, my friend's parents were getting divorced, some friends lived on their own, some were heavy into drugs, some were going to get married in a couple of years, some were going to have kids that are now almost as old as some of you, a lot were fighting with their folks, some had mothers who literally had mental breakdowns, most of us were suspended from school at one point or another etc etc etc. My point is this: these problems that me and my friends were going through were real life problems that required real life faith in a real life God who ALONE had the real solution that would really fix life.
No one ever told me the gospel when I was in High School. I heard it as a kids when I went to that camp, but I forgot it by the time I hit jr high. No one ever told me I was racking up sins against a holy God that would affect me for years to come. No one told me these things. Well, I am telling you. Guys, you might be young, but you're not little children. Thus handle your lives like adults. You have an opportunity to live your lives in complete obedience to Jesus Christ. Don't settle for less.
Don't allow yourself to be deceived by TV, your friends, teachers or whomever. Don't do things that will rack up lasting damage. This means, read your Bible, live faithfully and worthily of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul says of Timothy, "I have no one like him … for all seek after their own things not those of Jesus Christ." Well, you guys—decide now to live your lives fully for the cause of Christ. Pick up your cross and carry it for the name of Jesus. Be a light to the losers like I was. Tell others about Christ, we'll listen if God puts it on our hearts to hear.
Don't get caught up in sex, drugs. Don't believe the skewed thinking of the worldly media that paints a picture of a life that does not exist. You who know the Lord, you have the Holy Spirit in you—live wholly for the gospel. Make the changes you need to make—make them tonight. Decide tonight, decide right now, decide to live for Christ.
Perhaps some of you are like I was. You're completely far from Jesus Christ. Come up to me, right to me, talk to me or talk to Pastor Chi and we'll help you to put your faith in Christ.
Listen, those whom God has chosen to be saved have faith, those who have faith are saved. Those who are saved lived like it. If you're not living for the Lord then you need to throw off the things that are hindering you and set your heart and mind on Jesus Christ. Press on towards the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Thank you.
Russ Brewer
[1]In her day, doctors were poorly trained and modern medicine was still in its infancy. Medicine was often ineffectual or flatly toxic to the patients. Many people became ill or died because of improper treatment. People were afraid of illness and distrusted the abilities of doctors to wisely treat their maladies. One day Mary Baker Eddy was walking down an icy street of Boston Massachusetts when she slipped and fell. The seriousness of the fall like that in those days threatened death. Mary Baker Eddy was hospitalized for many weeks and her health continued to fail. When the prognosis was bleakest and the doctors pronounced that there was nothing else that they could do, Mary Baker Eddy turned to the Bible as if it were a magic spell book. In the New Testament, Mary Baker Eddy found a God who actively heals people from their infirmities and she concluded that this healing ability was available to her as well. While in her hospital bed, she began to formulate a religion that was capable of miraculous healing. Somehow, against the prognosis of medicine, she was healed and fully recovered. She documented her new form of religion and began what is now known as Christian Science.
Walking in Fellowship With God
These concepts were further underscored during the last couple of mornings in my time of personal worship and prayer. I've been reading 1st Corinthians for the umpteenth time and in this particular go-over, I'm struck by the force of Paul's insistence that all that we are is all of God. In his opening address to the Corinthians he identifies the intended audience. In chapter 1, verse 2, Paul describes the readers as "saints by calling". They were (and we are) in Christ only by his calling; there is nothing we have added or done that we might be in Him. We were called off the path of the world over to join him on the path which he is on. We were called from fellowship with darkness to fellowship with the light. It was all of Him and nothing of us.
This idea of God calling us into fellowship with him is further underscored a few verses later in verse 9 where Paul writes, "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." It is God Himself who brings us into fellowship with Christ. It is God himself who leads us into deeper, purer fellowship in Him; especially as our hearts and minds are renewed and what we think/feel about the world is increasingly reflecting his perspective. Likewise, in verses 24 and 30 and 2:14, Paul explains that this calling produces a change within us. We are no longer confused by scripture, incorrectly seeing it as a set of religious aphorisms, but God's instruction manual for life. Once we are in fellowship with God, suddenly we see the Bible for what is really is: the word of life, the wisdom of God—for life in the here and now as well as life in the hereafter.
Lastly, in 1:26, Paul challenges the Corinthians to "consider their calling." This is one of several appeals in scriptures to each of us that we might pause in the flurry of life and give thought to our relationship with God. Have we truly met God and been transformed in that meeting from lawbreakers to law abiders? This change can only happen by God, but we can look and see his fingerprints in our life. There is the implicit expectation that in examining our calling some will see that indeed, we were called out of the world into fellowship with Him and we will give even greater praise and thanks to our heavenly Father. Yet others will see that this calling is not true of them. Perhaps they thought that knowing God meant being "spiritual" when in actuality such "spirituality" might actually mean further rejection of the true Lord of the universe and submission to his word. Paul's hope was that in considering our calling, if we realize we do not know the Lord of the universe, then we would call out to him for mercy and forgiveness to be restored to his holy presence. Then, once reconciled to him, we might walk in close, personal, joyful, fellowship with Christ.


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Time's Coolest Person of the Year - Lena Dunham
The 2012 Coolest Person of the Year is a woman who was unafraid to showcase her flaws. A woman who wore less makeup on TV than in real life and purposely shot herself naked in more unflattering ways than a blackmailer would. A woman whose entire persona is based on doing the wrong thing yet who reportedly got a $3.7 million advance for an advice book. A woman who made an Obama campaign video centering on a double entendre about losing her virginity to the President. A woman who was nominated for four Emmys and, far cooler, zero People's Choice Awards. A woman who responded to 2010 Coolest Person James Franco's harsh Huffington Post essay criticizing Girls, the HBO show she created and stars in, by saying she's a big James Franco fan.
Lena Dunham might lack swagger and mystery. But she ushers in a second-generation cool for the oversharing era. "She doesn't care what you think of her," says Judd Apatow, an executive producer of Girls. "O.K., she does care. A lot. But she won't change who she is to please you." And she tempers her uncool puppy-dog eagerness with an insouciance that comes from knowing you will never, ever be as traditionally cool as your avant-garde New York City artist parents.
Unlike past Coolest winners who chose either not to talk about it (2011's Ryan Gosling) or to say cool, cryptic things about it like "I invest my emotions into how well I think the things have been rendered" (2010's Franco), Dunham didn't hide her excitement. She emailed, "Wow, that is—for lack of a better word—really cool. What an honor. Will I get in any Web trouble for being genuinely, unsnarkily excited to be the first woman to win Joel Stein's Coolest Person of the Year?"
Yes, Lena, you will. But you will do it anyway, on Twitter and hopefully in an even larger public forum, like Letterman or a magazine cover profile. Because—just like the many other women who have been considered not funny enough, not tough enough, not Supreme Court–y enough, not Augustay enough or not capable of following the complicated no-turn-on-red laws of Saudi Arabia enough—you have broken a barrier. And the only way you can help more women do the same is to keep talking about this honor and, more important, the cool guy who bestowed it upon you.Source
Don't you dare let me down in the comments ONTD.