“Feed your pet like you feed your family,” trumpets the colorful two-page ad in this month’s Reader’s Digest. “If you consider your pets to be furry family members then a certain dog or cat food is the perfect choice.”
Made with the finest natural ingredients, this holistic pet food—[whatever that means], has high quality protein, whole grains, garden vegetables, and fruit-- [grains, vegetables and fruit? Cats are carnivores!]. This “all natural” food also has vitamins added—[hmm… that doesn't sound very natural.] And it contains no animal byproducts**
You can feed the feline members of your family “all this wholesome goodness for less than $1* a day (*more depending on their size and number, a lot more if you have 40+ cats like one family I know of. It doesn’t say how much to feed the dog…if you need to know maybe it’s too much.)
Not so long ago, if someone was said to feed their pets as well as they do their family, people would shake their heads in disgust and assume they were either abusing their family or overindulging their pet.
I was also struck by the number of ads and images in the magazine of people food that could be called “junk food”: chocolate pudding; jumbo sized candy bars; cereal made into chocolate caramel crunch; cookies; blueberry muffin flavored cereal; Bologna--maybe that's where the animal byproducts went; and not to be left out, a picture of the Democrat donkey wooing a “super voter” with a box of chocolates.
Maybe, I thought, we are feeding our pets better than we feed our families. It’s no wonder we need the products that are advertised to help with weight loss, heartburn and diabetes.
Then I saw a tiny black-and-white ad for Children Incorporated, “Third World poverty in America. Children are deprived of basic necessities right here in America. For less than $1 a day, you can change that. Your help is desperately needed.”
Yes, I think we are feeding our pets better than our family.
**“animal byproducts” according to their website are: "lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, blood and more." --[Dogs and cats would happily eat these if given the chance and so do hungry people in many places. Of course in many places hungry people happily eat dogs and cats too!]
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Seed Company on GodTube.com
I just heard about a new page on GodTube.com that features the work of The Seed Company.
Follow this link to see these inspiring videos: http://www.godtube.com/theseedcompany
The Seed Company was formed by Wycliffe Bible Translators back in the 1990s to help accelerate Bible translation around the world. The Seed Company connects financial donors and prayer partners with national translators who are translating the Bible into their own or another language in their own country.
Nearly 2oo million people still have no part of God's Word in a language they can understand.
To learn more and see how you can get involved check out the above link or go to their website: http://www.theseedcompany.org/
Follow this link to see these inspiring videos: http://www.godtube.com/theseedcompany
The Seed Company was formed by Wycliffe Bible Translators back in the 1990s to help accelerate Bible translation around the world. The Seed Company connects financial donors and prayer partners with national translators who are translating the Bible into their own or another language in their own country.
Nearly 2oo million people still have no part of God's Word in a language they can understand.
To learn more and see how you can get involved check out the above link or go to their website: http://www.theseedcompany.org/
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Pray for India
Violence continues to escalate in India, according to Mission Network News (MNN), and is not expected to end any time soon.
According to The Voice Of the Martyrs , "On August 23 in Orissa State, widespread violence erupted against Christians following the assassination of World Hindu Council leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati. Despite evidence indicating that Maoists are responsible for Saraswati’s murder, several Hindu militant groups have blamed Christians," contacts said. "As a result, Hindu militants have launched attacks on Christians throughout the state, setting buildings on fire and beating and killing believers in at least 12 districts."
The MNN article, posted yesterday, states: "Remarkably these attacks have not swayed the faith of Indian Christians." They are ready to die for their faith and are confident that God will use these attacks to bring more people to Christ.
Please intercede in prayer for our brothers and sisters in India.
For the complete articles go to:
http://www.persecution.com/topStory_indiaOrissaState.html
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/11737
According to The Voice Of the Martyrs , "On August 23 in Orissa State, widespread violence erupted against Christians following the assassination of World Hindu Council leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati. Despite evidence indicating that Maoists are responsible for Saraswati’s murder, several Hindu militant groups have blamed Christians," contacts said. "As a result, Hindu militants have launched attacks on Christians throughout the state, setting buildings on fire and beating and killing believers in at least 12 districts."
The MNN article, posted yesterday, states: "Remarkably these attacks have not swayed the faith of Indian Christians." They are ready to die for their faith and are confident that God will use these attacks to bring more people to Christ.
Please intercede in prayer for our brothers and sisters in India.
For the complete articles go to:
http://www.persecution.com/topStory_indiaOrissaState.html
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/11737
Monday, October 6, 2008
God's Word having an impact
I got this notice in my email today. I am a bit snowed under with about 100 emails after being away for a couple of weeks, so I almost filed it without watching the video. But I'm glad I changed my mind and watched it. It is really moving and inspiring:
"The Seed Company [an affiliate of Wycliffe Bible Translators] has recently added a new video to their website. It's a bit long, 8 minutes, but it's really FANTASTIC! I can guarantee that you'll be moved, and it will reaffirm how important it is to be a part of bringing God's Word to the ends of the earth. If you have a few minutes free, check it out at http://www.theseedcompany.org/media/gamo-partnership
(once there, click on either the black window or the little "play" button below the black window). What an amazing thing to see the Word of God changing people's lives!"
"The Seed Company [an affiliate of Wycliffe Bible Translators] has recently added a new video to their website. It's a bit long, 8 minutes, but it's really FANTASTIC! I can guarantee that you'll be moved, and it will reaffirm how important it is to be a part of bringing God's Word to the ends of the earth. If you have a few minutes free, check it out at http://www.theseedcompany.org/media/gamo-partnership
(once there, click on either the black window or the little "play" button below the black window). What an amazing thing to see the Word of God changing people's lives!"
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Are we all crazy or what?
Today the Today Show offered more advice on how to get through these tough economic times. In between sound bites about the importance of cutting back, we were hit with ads for all sorts of “must haves.” Everything from a plaid wrap for the dog, a sweater longer than some dresses I've seen—I guess you could economize by making it double as a dress--To “Igor” a new animated film for kids that looks more like a must miss.
Are we all crazy? It seems almost schizophrenic. “Schizophrenia”—a mental disorder characterized by separation between thought processes and emotions; distortion of reality; fragmentation of the personality; hallucinations; delusions and bizarre behavior.
Yesterday, while my car got its oil changed, I read an article on ways we can, not only save money, but even earn a little extra too. It did have some good ideas; one however, made me wonder. It said to start a blog, about anything, put ads on it and watch the money come in. It seems ludicrous to think that we are supposed to start a blog for the sole purpose of helping ourselves through these tough times by encouraging other people to spend money on things they don't need, no doubt making it more difficult for them to get through these tough times. Is that crazy or what? It's like a drug rehab program raising funds by selling illegal drugs.
Of course there’s nothing illegal or immoral about ads on blogs; I’ve occasionally wondered if I should have them on my blog. But do people actually fall for them? They’re like urban blight. I try not to even look at them when I’m on-line. So if none of us fall for them because we are cutting back? How long will companies go on paying people to put them on blogs?
After finishing the article, I turned the page and saw a full page ad for… I kid you not… the ugliest baby monkey figurine I have ever seen (thankfully it’s the only one I’ve ever seen.) Hand-painted. Complete with diaper. “Only $19.99 plus $6.99 shipping and handling” I don't remember if it said they are a limited edition, but I sure hope they are-- very limited. Who would buy such a thing? Talk about blight. It didn't look anything like the cute baby monkeys at the zoo that I wished I could take home with me when I was a kid. I wouldn't put one of these things in my house if you paid me. Well maybe if you paid me… a lot. But only if I could hide it in a drawer.
Are we all crazy? It seems almost schizophrenic. “Schizophrenia”—a mental disorder characterized by separation between thought processes and emotions; distortion of reality; fragmentation of the personality; hallucinations; delusions and bizarre behavior.
Yesterday, while my car got its oil changed, I read an article on ways we can, not only save money, but even earn a little extra too. It did have some good ideas; one however, made me wonder. It said to start a blog, about anything, put ads on it and watch the money come in. It seems ludicrous to think that we are supposed to start a blog for the sole purpose of helping ourselves through these tough times by encouraging other people to spend money on things they don't need, no doubt making it more difficult for them to get through these tough times. Is that crazy or what? It's like a drug rehab program raising funds by selling illegal drugs.
Of course there’s nothing illegal or immoral about ads on blogs; I’ve occasionally wondered if I should have them on my blog. But do people actually fall for them? They’re like urban blight. I try not to even look at them when I’m on-line. So if none of us fall for them because we are cutting back? How long will companies go on paying people to put them on blogs?
After finishing the article, I turned the page and saw a full page ad for… I kid you not… the ugliest baby monkey figurine I have ever seen (thankfully it’s the only one I’ve ever seen.) Hand-painted. Complete with diaper. “Only $19.99 plus $6.99 shipping and handling” I don't remember if it said they are a limited edition, but I sure hope they are-- very limited. Who would buy such a thing? Talk about blight. It didn't look anything like the cute baby monkeys at the zoo that I wished I could take home with me when I was a kid. I wouldn't put one of these things in my house if you paid me. Well maybe if you paid me… a lot. But only if I could hide it in a drawer.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
9 Reasons to Laugh
Did you know that collar stays can be funny?
I didn’t either until I heard Dave Lieber teach at a writer’s conference this weekend. In his class on using humor to get our point across, he said it's possible to find humor in just about anything. Even collar stays.
Dave got us laughing as he told how he met a guy from Boston who was here in Texas on a business trip. He could hardly believe how panicked the guy was because he had lost a collar stay and couldn’t get another one at the hotel gift shop.
Dave, in an amazing act of self sacrifice gave the guy one of his own, but only after extorting a promise that when the guy got back to Boston he would tell everyone how nice Texans are. (Dave thought this part of the story was especially laudable and ironic, considering what he, a Yankee from New York, had endured when he first moved here.)
The story tickled me because my husband regularly loses his collar stays, but he doesn't notice. I collect them thinking he might want them some time, so far he never has. But then he’s Australian, and a computer programmer. Australians are a different breed. They probably wouldn't know a collar stay if it poked them in the eye. And computer programmers must have invented “casual day.” In fact, every day is “casual day” to them.
Speaking of humor... Proverbs 17:22 says that, "A cheerful heart is good medicine." If that isn't enough proof that a good laugh is good for you...
Theresa J. Borchard says in “9 Ways Humor Can Heal,” that humor can:
1. combat fear
2. comfort
3. relax
4. reduce pain
5. boost immunity
6. reduce stress
7. spread happiness
8. cultivate optimism
9. help communication
News flash: Did you know you can even get engraved collar stays?! Incredible! Who would have thought.
I didn’t either until I heard Dave Lieber teach at a writer’s conference this weekend. In his class on using humor to get our point across, he said it's possible to find humor in just about anything. Even collar stays.
Dave got us laughing as he told how he met a guy from Boston who was here in Texas on a business trip. He could hardly believe how panicked the guy was because he had lost a collar stay and couldn’t get another one at the hotel gift shop.
Dave, in an amazing act of self sacrifice gave the guy one of his own, but only after extorting a promise that when the guy got back to Boston he would tell everyone how nice Texans are. (Dave thought this part of the story was especially laudable and ironic, considering what he, a Yankee from New York, had endured when he first moved here.)
The story tickled me because my husband regularly loses his collar stays, but he doesn't notice. I collect them thinking he might want them some time, so far he never has. But then he’s Australian, and a computer programmer. Australians are a different breed. They probably wouldn't know a collar stay if it poked them in the eye. And computer programmers must have invented “casual day.” In fact, every day is “casual day” to them.
Speaking of humor... Proverbs 17:22 says that, "A cheerful heart is good medicine." If that isn't enough proof that a good laugh is good for you...
Theresa J. Borchard says in “9 Ways Humor Can Heal,” that humor can:
1. combat fear
2. comfort
3. relax
4. reduce pain
5. boost immunity
6. reduce stress
7. spread happiness
8. cultivate optimism
9. help communication
News flash: Did you know you can even get engraved collar stays?! Incredible! Who would have thought.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tutu on the Bible
Here's a great quote for Bible translation from Bishop Tutu:
"If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible.
"There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible."
Follow this link for the entire article:
http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/bible.has.power.to.free.poor.tutu/21378.htm
"If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible.
"There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible."
Follow this link for the entire article:
http://www.christiantoday.co.uk/article/bible.has.power.to.free.poor.tutu/21378.htm
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