Day at the Pool

Jacob is now on the swim team and this was his first meet. He swam in 4 events today. There was a total of 89 events. He swam in the following:

8, 18, 44 and 88

He did very well. I was proud of him. He did not win but he finished each race and finished them with determination. To me, his biggest accomplishment was his 200m freestyle event. He was not scheduled to swim it. A teammate did not make it and they inserted Jacob into the event. He never swam 200m before in his life. Yet, he got up the block and did it.

He was also part of 2 - 200m relays. He did the back in the medley and he participated in the free as well. His other solo event was the 50m fly.

Later in the week, I may post his 200m race. I do not expect anyone to watch it. It will be for our memory of his first ever swim meet and his first ever solo race - a 200m that he was scheduled to do.

We are "newbees" to this sport. We met at the high school at 11 am and drove over to Louisville, Ohio for the event. We arrived at about 12:15 and settled in and they warmed up. The event lasted from 1:00 - 4:20. Then the travel home.

Obama as a Baby

Obama and his mom as a youngster.

A McCain Ooops

His words got twisted a little:



I guess that I should find Obama/Biden "gaffes" so I am not looking "prejudice".

Rough Day for the Dow ?

From CNN:

A wave of anxiety about a global recession was set to reach the United States at Friday's Wall Street open, with limits imposed on futures trading after they fell more than 6%.

Futures followed the lead of plunging markets worldwide, with Japan's Nikkei index ending down 9.6%. European markets down almost as sharply, with major indexes down 8%in France and Germany and 7% in London.

Markets were down 14% in Moscow when the exchange there suspended trading until Tuesday.

"Today might be the day where everybody throws in the towel," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners. "People are saying 'I've had it, I can't take it anymore, I'm selling everything.'"

Markets were so jittery early Friday that the New York Stock Exchange felt it was necessary to post a statement on its blog confirming that trading would open as normal at 9:30 a.m. ET, saying it felt it was necessary to answer widespread rumors that the open would be delayed.

The NYSE also posted updated details of so-called circuit breakers, which would halt trading for certain periods of time if the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls between more than 1,100 points during the trading day. It said it was posting that information with "the fervent hope we won't need them."

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it will be interesting to see what happens as the opening bell goes off in 26 mins.

people are definitely concerned about economics, i know that i am ... and for me, it has nothing to do with losing "big bucks" on wall street ....

Sarah Palin & Shrimp

Hey, I thought it would be neat to show pics of our politician from their younger years. I will put pics of all of them up over the next few days ....




Isn't political season fun ????

One thing bad about living in Ohio is the over abundance of ads, phone calls, mailing, pollsters, campaigners and more ..... they are definitely out to win Ohio

Outreach

Yesterday, I sat in on the outreach "committee" meeting.

We, as a church, are trying to be more intentional on outreach and ways that we can make a difference in the lives of those that we are in contact with and those that are hurting.

I am looking forward to the work that we may do and really excited with the possibilities of teaming up with community organizations already doing work - no need to "re-invent" the wheel.

Some of the agencies that we will be teaming up with will be the following:

- Interfaith Housing
- Salvation Army
- Children Services
- Free Medical Clinic
- People 2 People
- Pregnancy Care Center
- and .......

There are many things that these organizations are doing and doing well. Over time, I will share with you what they are doing and what we are doing to help them.

Yesterday, after the meeting, I went down to visit the Interfaith Housing office and the Salvation Army. It got me a little excited.

Hopefully, we can aim some of our ministries toward making a big difference in our community and county.

More later .....

What A View

An excursion boat cruises by trees in autumn colors on the Lake Chuzenji at Nikko, in north-central Japan, on Friday October 17, 2008. The trees around the scenic lake, located within the Nikko National Park, began to turn bright red and yellow earlier than usual and the foliage season is expected to reach its climax in the middle of next week, according to the local tourist association.

Puppies, Puppies and more Puppies ....

I needed a 10 minute break. I saw this story and had to share:



Before Kyla gave birth, Stephanie Pino thought the Great Dane looked like a white cow with brindle spots.

Pino knew Kyla’s litter was going to be large, but she had no idea how large.

After about 20 grueling hours of labor, Kyla gave birth to 19 puppies on Sept. 11. Sixteen of the puppies survived and are happy, healthy five-week-old bundles of joy at 12 to 15 pounds apiece.

“They just kept coming and coming and coming, and we were like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” Pino said.

She had to deliver some of the puppies after the mama got too tired. Even the dogs’ veterinarian was shocked at the size of the litter, Pino said.

The head of the puppies’ daddy, Haze, is bigger than the entire body of one of his offspring. Haze weighs in at more than 200 pounds. When he stretches out, he’s roughly seven feet long. The Great Dane is one of the tallest dog breeds in the world.

Article From GJSentinel

Sufficient, Sustainable livelihood for all .....

We live in a world that is struggling. Poverty is up there as the #1 issue. Here is another post and ciew and document on the struggle that we find ourselves in ....

Our obligation and ongoing tensions

Based on this vantage point of faith, "sufficient, sustainable livelihood for all" is a benchmark for affirming, opposing, and seeking changes in economic life. Because of sin we fall short of these obligations in this world, but we live in light of God's promised future that ultimately there will be no hunger and injustice. This promise makes us restless with less than what God intends for the world. In economic matters, this draws attention to:

the scope of God's concern -- "for all,"
the means by which life is sustained -- "livelihood,"
what is needed -- "sufficiency," and
a long-term perspective -- "sustainability."

These criteria often are in tension with one another. What benefits people in one area, sector, or country may harm those elsewhere. What is sufficient in one context is not in another. What is economically sufficient is not necessarily sustainable.

There are difficult and complex trade-offs and ambiguities in the dynamic processes of economic life. As believers, we are both impelled by God's promises and confronted with the practical realities of economic life. We often must choose among competing claims, conscious of our incomplete knowledge, of the sin that clouds all human judgments and actions, and of the grace and forgiveness given by Christ.

Economic assumptions can conflict with what we as a church confess. Who we are in Christ places us in tension with priorities given to money, consumption, competition, and profit in our economic system.

While autonomy and self-sufficiency are highly valued in our society, as people of faith we confess that we depend on God and are interdependent with one another. Through these relationships we are nurtured, sustained, and held accountable.

While succeeding or making something of themselves is what matters to many in economic life, we confess that in Christ we are freely justified by grace through faith rather than by what we do.

While a market economy emphasizes what individuals want and are willing and able to buy, as people of faith we realize that what human beings want is not necessarily what they need for the sake of life.

While a market economy assumes people will act to maximize their own interests, we acknowledge that what is in our interest must be placed in the context of what is good for the neighbor.

While competitiveness is key to economic success, we recognize that intense competitiveness can destroy relationships and work against the reconciliation and cooperation God desires among people.

While economic reasoning assumes that resources are scarce relative to people's wants, we affirm that God promises a world where there is enough for everyone, if only we would learn how to use and share what God has given for the sake of all.

While economic growth often is considered an unconditional good, we insist that such growth must be evaluated by its direct, indirect, short-term, and long-term effects on the well-being of all creation and people, especially those who are poor.

When we pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," we place ourselves in tension with economic assumptions of our society. Rather than being self-sufficient, we need and depend on what God gives or provides through people, practices, and systems. "Daily bread" is not earned by efforts of individuals alone, but is made possible through a variety of relationships and institutions. God gives in ways that expand our notions of who "us" includes, from people close at hand to those around the globe. In stark contrast to those who seek unchecked accumulation and profit, our attention is drawn to those who are desperate for what will sustain their lives for just this day.


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Can we provide enough so that everyone can have sufficient livelihood ?

Criminilation of Homelessness

OVERVIEW OF THE NATIONAL PROBLEM

The housing and homelessness crisis in the United States has worsened with many cities reporting an increase in demands for emergency shelter. In 2007, ten of the 23 cities surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors reported an increase in the number of households with children accessing shelters and transitional housing. Six of these 23 cities also reported an increase in the number of individuals accessing these services. Even while the requests for emergency shelter increase, cities do not have adequate shelter space to meet the need. In the 23 cities surveyed in the U.S. Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness Survey for 2007, 12 cities noted that they had to turn people away because of a lack of capacity often or always.

The lack of available shelter space – a situation made worse by the Gulf Coast hurricanes - leaves many homeless persons with no choice but to struggle to survive on the streets of our cities. Over the course of the year, 3.5 million Americans will experience homelessness, and this number is only expected to increase in 2008due to the foreclosure crisis, increases in poverty, and a pattern of steady increases in family homelessness.

AN UNJUST RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM

An unfortunate trend in cities around the country over the past 25 years has been to turn to the criminal justice system to respond to people living in public spaces. This trend includes measures that target homeless people by making it illegal to perform life-sustaining activities in public. These measures prohibit activities such as sleeping/camping, eating, sitting, and begging in public spaces, usually including criminal penalties for violation of these laws.

TYPES OF CRIMINALIZATION MEASURES

The criminalization of homelessness takes many forms, including:

Legislation that makes it illegal to sleep, sit, or store personal belongings in public spaces in cities where people are forced to live in public spaces;
Selective enforcement of more neutral laws, such as loitering or open container laws, against homeless persons.

Sweeps of city areas where homeless persons are living to drive them out of the area, frequently resulting in the destruction of those persons’ personal property, including important personal documents and medication; and laws that punish people for begging or panhandling to move poor or homeless persons out of a city or downtown area.

Criminalization Measures Have Increased

City ordinances frequently serve as a prominent tool to criminalize homelessness. Of the 224 cities surveyed for our report:

28% prohibit “camping” in particular public places in the city and 16% had city-wide prohibitions on “camping.”

27% prohibit sitting/lying in certain public places.

39% prohibit loitering in particular public areas and 16% prohibit loitering city-wide.

43% prohibit begging in particular public places; 45% prohibit aggressive panhandling and 21% have city-wide prohibitions on begging.

The trend of criminalizing homelessness appears to be growing. Of the 67 cities surveyed in both NCH and NLCHP’s last joint report in 2002 and in this report:

There is a 12% increase laws prohibiting begging in certain public places and an 18% increase in laws that prohibit aggressive panhandling.

There is a 14% increase in laws prohibiting sitting or lying in certain public spaces.

There is a 3% increase in laws prohibiting loitering, loafing, or vagrancy laws.
Another trend documented in the report is increased city efforts to target homeless persons indirectly by placing restrictions on providers serving food to poor and homeless persons in public spaces.

While cities are cracking down on homeless persons living in public spaces, according to the latest U.S. Conference of Mayors Hunger and Homelessness report, cities do not have adequate shelter to meet the need.

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Such a happy post and report, huh ?