Take this fun quiz to find out which fantasy/sci-fi character you are.
http://www.tk421.net/character/
A venerated sage with vast power and knowledge, you gently guide forces around you while serving as a champion of the light.
Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not – for my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, and binds us. Luminescent beings are we, not this crude matter! You must feel the Force around you, everywhere.
Using bits o’ stuff around the house – by my daughter. “Scrap Art!’
My Daughter’s Art – Exploring Naturalistic Art Mediums
It was afternoon, gray and cold. I was lugging a profusion of grocery bags up our stairway, trying to get done before I had to pick up our daughter from school. It did not see it in my huffing and puffing strain on the way up, but on the way down…there it was: a small spot on my wall.
I thought it was a bug, or dirt, being between two and three feet away from said object. I moved closer and peered.
The Revelation of St John: 4. The Four Riders of the Apocalypse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Lately, with the continuing and growing popularity of apocalyptic stories/games/lifestyles/rumors, I began to think about what this really means. (Always dangerous, I know.) I have come to one conclusion: Life sucks. For the same reason, superheroes and characters imbued with a special power or ability have become popular. Many of us, okay, make that roughly a few million or so, find life is hard, unsatisfying, discouraging, just down-right poo-poo. This leads to the need for escapism entertainment. For many of us populating this struggling world, end-of-life-as-we-know-it scenarios sound pretty good. Unemployment? Gone. Mortgages? Gone. Taxes? Gone. Difficult co-workers or bosses? Gone. On the other hand, so would grocery stores, gasoline, dating, movies, restaurants, the Internet. Personally, I think it’s a fine trade-off. Hey, you’d get to travel, do and see exciting things, learn to ride a horse while running from zombies, vampires, your crazed in-laws infected with a mutant virus. Sure, it might be hard, but in a new and exciting way from the hardships of today. We could have carte-blanche to do things we always wanted to do, such as raid a Costco, journey around the country in a Jeep, stolen military vehicle or other capable off-road transit that has been, until the ‘end-of-life-as-we-know-it’ widely shunned by many eco conscious consumers (who are now probably rethinking their life choices.) For some of us, the scenario would allow the use of carefully collected firearms, which would now be worth their weight in gold. By the way, gold would be pretty much worthless, but salt, sugar and seeds would be the new world’s riches. However, a situation many of us would face would be becoming the infected/monster/scourge-of-the-Earth. Not everyone gets to be a survivor.
Who were the first to learn about and visit the newborn Jesus Christ? Shepherds. In this current era, when the story is so familiar, and shepherds are not well-known to most of the world, this does not seem unusual, but it was. Shepherds were among the lowest on the social ladder. So why did the Lord send an angel to announce the birth of His son to some lowly shepherds?
Romans 2:11 “For God does not show favoritism,”
James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.”
The Lord cares about everyone, no matter who they are or what they have. Rightly so, we wanted the joyous news spread about the birth of his only begotten son. So why didn’t he send a choir of angels to sing at Herod’s palace? Because while the birth of Christ was amazing, it was also a clandestine operation.
Sheep were a primary food and clothing source in biblical times. They were an essential part of everyone’s life and economy.
Job had 14,000 sheep (Job 42:12). King Solomon sacrificed 120,000 sheep for the First Temple’s dedication in 953 B.C. (I Kings 8:63)
The shepherd was hired by the flock’s owner to manage his investment. Sheep were currency on the hoof. The shepherd was responsible for ensuring the growth and health of that wealth. He would chase away predators, tend to wounded individuals, carry lambs through high water when crossing a river, help ewes birth if needed, locating food and water, carry newborn lambs, and find lost sheep that had strayed. The shepherd’s every living moment was with his flock.
“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee” (Isaiah 43:2).
The shepherd knows each of his flock by sound, by name and by sight. Each night, the shepherd counts or takes a visual inventory, making sure none of his charges have gone missing. The flock knows their shepherd, his call, his voice, his touch. He is everything to them, providing safety, food, and shelter, the essentials of life for every living creature.
“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11).
In reflection, it is no surprise the Lord chose the title of shepherd for himself and His son.
John 10:14-18 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
15 Questions About Your Volunteer Program
From http://www.thenonprofittimes.com
It’s hard to imagine a nonprofit’s volunteer program succeeding without a strong infrastructure in place behind it. This is rarely a problem for most organizations but just because there are policies in place doesn’t mean they are the right ones.
In his book “The Idiot’s Guide to Managing and Recruiting Volunteers,” John L. Lipp wrote that organizations should undergo a routine assessment of their volunteer programs. This involves taking inventory of what you have and what you need. He presented the following checklist that you should go over when determining how you can approve things:
- Does our volunteer program have its own mission statement that explains why volunteers are an integral part of our organization?
- Do we maintain appropriate insurance coverage for volunteers?
- Do we have set goals for what volunteers will try to accomplish each year?
- Do we have a volunteer recruitment plan?
- Is information on how to volunteer featured prominently on our web page?
- Do we have handouts for prospective volunteers?
- Do we have an application for prospective volunteers to complete?
- Do all of our new volunteers attend an orientation to learn more about the organization and the role of volunteers?
- Is planning for volunteer engagement included in all agency strategy meetings and new project development?
- Do we have written position descriptions for each volunteer function?
- Have we prepared employees to work effectively with volunteers?
- Is each volunteer assigned a supervisor to ensure accountability?
- Do we have written policy on confidentiality?
- Are all of our policies for volunteers written down in one place?
- Do volunteers have time sheets so they can track their hours?
VOLUNTEER SATISFACTION QUESTIONNAIRE
We are interested in learning about your experience volunteering with us. Please help us improve this volunteering experience by answering the following questions.
If you have any difficulty completing this survey, please ask for assistance.
Today’s Date:
You are a:
Registered volunteer (your name and address are on file at the chapter)
Unregistered volunteer (you volunteer occasionally, no paperwork has been filed)
You receive credit for your volunteer hours as a requirement from other agency or school.
Other:
Average hours per month:
10 hours or less
Between 11 and 20 hours
Between 21 and 40 hours
Between 41 and 80 hours
Between 81 and 120 hours
Between 121 and 160 hours
More than 160 hours (or more than 40 hours/week)
In what areas do/did you volunteer? (Circle all that apply)
Store
Office
Community Relations
Finances
Other:
How long have you been a volunteer?
6 months or less
7 to 11 months
1 to 2 years
3 to 5 years
6 to 10 years
More than 10 years
How did you FIRST learn about our volunteer opportunities?
About your motivation to volunteer: (Circle all that apply)
I wanted to learn something new.
I felt it was my duty as a citizen.
I wanted to help people .
I wanted to improve my resume.
I wanted to work with people.
I saw it as the opportunity to make a difference.
It fulfills my moral principles.
I wanted to occupy my free time.
Please provide us with your opinion about your volunteer work environment. (Please write yes if you agree or no if you do not agree next to each statement.)
I use my skills and abilities doing meaningful work. ___________
There is a positive climate of teamwork among paid and volunteer staff. _____________
I have the support and guidance I need to accomplish my volunteer activities. _____________
I am satisfied with the variety of activities offered. _________
The Red Cross is an excellent place to volunteer. _________
I would recommend this organization to a friend as a place to volunteer. _________
My supervisor makes an effort to make me feel that I am a valuable member of the organization. _________
My volunteer job gives me a sense of accomplishment. _________
It was a requirement/expectation by school, church or another agency. _________
Do you plan to continue as a volunteer?
Definitely will
Probably will
Undecided – Probably will not – Definitely will not
Do you plan to increase your volunteer hours?
Definitely will
Probably will
Undecided – Probably will not – Definitely will not
Please circle the statement that best represents the effect volunteer work has had on you.
Increased my self-confidence and interpersonal skills.
Greatly Somewhat Not at all
Helped me develop a social network with other volunteers and paid staff.
Greatly Somewhat Not at all
Helped me develop new job-related skills.
Greatly Somewhat Not at all
Increased my awareness of community needs.
Greatly Somewhat Not at all
Increased my involvement in other opportunities in the community.
Greatly Somewhat Not at all
If you answered ‘Somewhat’ or ‘Not at all’ to any question, please explain how we can improve the volunteer experience.
Please provide us with your experience regarding training opportunities:
They have been offered and I have taken them
They have been offered but I have not taken them
No, they have not been offered
ABOUT YOURSELF
We want to know more about you and your specific needs to better tailor our volunteer
opportunities to our people. If you will, please provide us with the following information that will be used in strictly confidential terms:
You are: Male Female
Age Group:
Under 15
16 to 18
19 to 25
26 to 40
41 to 55
56 to 59
60 to 64
65 to 74
75 or older
Your hobbies and talents:
Skills you would like to learn:
THANK YOU!
“Don’t chew on your squid.” (It’s Chinese rubber. Need I say more?)
“Don’t wash your feet in the toilet.” (So that’s why there’s been dirt in the bowl. I’m glad it wasn’t a plumbing problem…then I feel guilty for being a slacker mom)
“The Garbage can is not a sink.” (Really, it’s not, so don’t fill it with water and wash your toys in it.)
“Don’t lick the floor.” (Unless you really don’t want to mop, but then again, that’s really bad mommy-ing.)
“Don’t groom the cat with your toothbrush.” (Don’t use mine either, or my hairbrush, or Daddy’s hairbrush, or your hairbrush, or…)
“No, I don’t think you should try to fly.” (This may have been used at many frat parties and during the 70’s a lot.)
“That’s enough barking!” (We have enough of that from the family dog(s). Why can’t you be a normal kid and holler and scream, which I will ask you to stop as well.)
“Do not tape the dog to the floor.” (Or the cat either. Or me. Or Daddy. Or the baby and/or other siblings…)
“Dirt is not food.” (Yes, I made mud pies, too, but I did not eat them. No, I never tried dry dirt or bark dust. You shouldn’t either. No, it’s not good fiber.)
“Sorry, you can’t make a popsicle out of mud.” (I won’t have mud in my freezer, that’s why. I said no, and don’t go to Daddy.)
“No, I don’t know how to tie a noose.” (Really, I don’t. And I won’t ask why you asked, either…)
Imagine having Jesus as a sibling. You think your brothers or sisters are hard to relate to? Sure, Jesus would be a kind and understanding brother, I’m sure, but I can just see a sister or brother of Jesus getting in trouble and, with a huge eye-roll that is genetic to all children of every generation, saying: “Why can’t Jesus ever get in trouble?! Oh, right, ‘cause HE’S the Messiah…”
Jesus was the firstborn of Marry and Joseph, not the only son. His sisters and brothers are only briefly mentioned, hinted at even. How did he relate to them? How did they relate to him? It must have been difficult at times. Jesus is fully God and fully man. As a child, he knew what He was (the Messiah and Savior) and what he was about (spreading the word and will of his Heavenly Father) from a young age. He willingly gave up his place or position in Heaven, and “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant.” Philippians 2:7 when he became a human man. However, Hebrews 4:15 states Jesus was “one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” Jesus never stopped being of God and Heaven, but willingly and knowingly limited himself in order to save us.
We know very little of Jesus’s childhood. He was circumcised at eights days old and given the name Jesus as designated by the angel Gabriel during his visitation to Mary. Sometime between one and a half months old to three months old, Jesus was presented to the Lord at the temple. Both were standard custom for male children.
When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”Luke 2:21-24 “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.” Luke 2:39-40
After this, the Bible narration jumps to Jesus’ twelfth year, when the family goes to Jerusalem for their annual Passover pilgrimage. Thinking Jesus is with them, Mary and Joseph begin their journey home, only to discover his absence after traveling for a day. They return to Jerusalem and search for three days before finding him in the temple courts, attentively listening to the teachers. As a mother of an ordinary child, Mary would have been within her rights to give him a severe scolding. Instead she asked: ““Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[f] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:48-52
This says that Jesus was no ordinary child, and had, besides diaper changing and feeding, not been treated entirely like every other child before or since. Talk about a hard act to follow: sinless.
