by Terri Wagner
I had the rare and wonderful privilege of entering a full-body scanner on a recent trip out west. I hated it. I felt uncomfortable, violated and angry. I watched a little old man who could barely put his arms over his head and a young mom blushing as they took their turn in the machine. I heard about the scanners but my first stop airport didn't have them going out. It was the airport heading back that did.
I knew a lot of people were angry about it. I also was fully aware my other option was a more violating pat down. I walked away angry, not irritated, not frustrated but actually deep down mad. I talked to several other passengers and all of them felt the way I did. Not one said the requiste oh well it's for our safety. Nope not one.
We all know Benjamin Franklin's famous quote about giving up liberty for safety gets you neither (I'm paraphrasing obviously). Never have such words had such force behind them. I walked into an airport having to take off my coat, my sweater, my shoes, plastic bag my santizer, step into a scanner and do all this without one smile or joke. Total silence and seriousness.
I'm beginning to believe the terrorists won after all.
Nov 23, 2010
Nov 22, 2010
Be Sure to Poofread
By: Rebecca Irvine
I am in the mood for a laugh, so I found these funny church bulletin announcements (with typos) online (credit). It serves not only to make you smile, but to remind you that a good proofreading is invaluable!
1) Don’t let worry kill you. Let the Church help.
2) Thursday night – potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.
3) Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
4) For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
5) The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.
6) Tuesday at 4pm there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early.
7) Thursday at 5pm there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to become Little Mothers, please see the minister in his private study.
8) This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.
9) The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen in the church basement Friday.
10) Weight Watchers will meet at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
11) Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
12) The associate minister unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge – Up Yours.”
I am in the mood for a laugh, so I found these funny church bulletin announcements (with typos) online (credit). It serves not only to make you smile, but to remind you that a good proofreading is invaluable!
1) Don’t let worry kill you. Let the Church help.
2) Thursday night – potluck supper. Prayer and medication to follow.
3) Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.
4) For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
5) The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.
6) Tuesday at 4pm there will be an ice cream social. All ladies giving milk will please come early.
7) Thursday at 5pm there will be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. All wishing to become Little Mothers, please see the minister in his private study.
8) This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.
9) The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind and they may be seen in the church basement Friday.
10) Weight Watchers will meet at 7 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
11) Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
12) The associate minister unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge – Up Yours.”
Happy Thanksgiving all!
Nov 21, 2010
To non-fiction or fiction, that is the question!
By Cecily Markland
I have had the privilege over the last few weeks of working on the editing and, in one case, the publishing of several excellent books. Each of these authors, I believe, has addressed a topic of extreme importance. Each book offers tools that can help with some of the most difficult challenges in our modern-day world. And, each has fueled a question in my mind that I’ve wondered about for some time.
One of these books, called Stand for the Family by Sharon Slater, was published by my company, Inglestone Publishing, last year. The book is now being updated and will soon be going into its fourth printing. As an advocate for the traditional family, Sharon Slater, co-founder and president of an organization called Family Watch International, has spent countless hours over the past decade conducting research as well as participating at the UN and in other arenas. Her book discusses the family as the “fundamental unit of society,” and illustrates how the traditional family is being attacked and undermined through such things as pornography and the assault on marriage and on religious and parental rights. She backs the information she presents with examples taken from social science data and shares ideas throughout the book to show individuals and families what they can do to protect their own home as well as the society as a whole by taking a stand for the family.
Another book I edited was published in late September. Called The Waterfall Concept: a blueprint for addiction recovery, it was written by Roger Stark, a recovering addict and, now, an addiction counselor. It is based on the 12-Step Program, but written from a gospel perspective and includes scriptures and the words of the apostles and prophets, along with his own insights and numerous examples from case studies. The combination serves to help foster understanding of addiction and compulsory behavior, while supplying the specific tools needed for recovery. It’s a message of hope for anyone suffering with an addiction, as well as for their families, priesthood leaders and others who would like to understand more about addiction and how to heal.
Then, just last week, I published a book called: A Warning to My Children: Why Our Economy is Upside Down and How to Prepare for What’s Coming by William R. Cunningham, MS. Based on the author’s extensive reading and his own entrepreneurial business background, the book is not filled with doom and gloom, but rather with clear explanations and ideas of what is to come as well as how to prepare for it. He has been able to condense volumes of research into an easy-to-understand explanation of “the right approach to what to do in our current upside-down economy.”
At this juncture is where my questions—and some doubts—begin to emerge. My company has also published Liz Adair’s novel, Counting the Cost, which was a winner of a Whitney Award in the romance category and continues to win other awards and recognition. And, I am currently involved in ANWA’s Book in a Month, working on my own novel.
Yet, when dealing with such important, “heavy,” and even life-saving topics on one hand, I can’t help but wonder from time to time if novels and other creative pieces are perhaps as “important” or “useful” or life-changing as non-fiction works like those described above. Don’t worry. That is only a fleeting thought as I quickly come back to the first time I read Counting the Cost. Based on a true story from Liz’s own family history, it describes the life-changes that came from the choices made by the main characters. As I read the story, which was woven with Liz’s picturesque descriptions, her strong characterization and scenes that make you laugh and then cry, I was changed. And, in much the same way as with the non-fiction books, I was given tools. I saw myself, recognized some “costs’ I was facing because of some choices and was able to feel and know and then do what I needed to to change all that.
So, please, those of you who write non-fiction…don’t stop enlightening us and helping us navigate the world we live in. And, I’d say the same to those of you who write fiction…don’t stop enlightening us and helping us to navigate the world we live in. Don’t you agree that both are needed? After all, drawing from both non-fiction and fiction, seems like the perfect blend of mind and heart, as we continue to learn line upon written line.
I have had the privilege over the last few weeks of working on the editing and, in one case, the publishing of several excellent books. Each of these authors, I believe, has addressed a topic of extreme importance. Each book offers tools that can help with some of the most difficult challenges in our modern-day world. And, each has fueled a question in my mind that I’ve wondered about for some time.
One of these books, called Stand for the Family by Sharon Slater, was published by my company, Inglestone Publishing, last year. The book is now being updated and will soon be going into its fourth printing. As an advocate for the traditional family, Sharon Slater, co-founder and president of an organization called Family Watch International, has spent countless hours over the past decade conducting research as well as participating at the UN and in other arenas. Her book discusses the family as the “fundamental unit of society,” and illustrates how the traditional family is being attacked and undermined through such things as pornography and the assault on marriage and on religious and parental rights. She backs the information she presents with examples taken from social science data and shares ideas throughout the book to show individuals and families what they can do to protect their own home as well as the society as a whole by taking a stand for the family.
Another book I edited was published in late September. Called The Waterfall Concept: a blueprint for addiction recovery, it was written by Roger Stark, a recovering addict and, now, an addiction counselor. It is based on the 12-Step Program, but written from a gospel perspective and includes scriptures and the words of the apostles and prophets, along with his own insights and numerous examples from case studies. The combination serves to help foster understanding of addiction and compulsory behavior, while supplying the specific tools needed for recovery. It’s a message of hope for anyone suffering with an addiction, as well as for their families, priesthood leaders and others who would like to understand more about addiction and how to heal.
Then, just last week, I published a book called: A Warning to My Children: Why Our Economy is Upside Down and How to Prepare for What’s Coming by William R. Cunningham, MS. Based on the author’s extensive reading and his own entrepreneurial business background, the book is not filled with doom and gloom, but rather with clear explanations and ideas of what is to come as well as how to prepare for it. He has been able to condense volumes of research into an easy-to-understand explanation of “the right approach to what to do in our current upside-down economy.”
At this juncture is where my questions—and some doubts—begin to emerge. My company has also published Liz Adair’s novel, Counting the Cost, which was a winner of a Whitney Award in the romance category and continues to win other awards and recognition. And, I am currently involved in ANWA’s Book in a Month, working on my own novel.
Yet, when dealing with such important, “heavy,” and even life-saving topics on one hand, I can’t help but wonder from time to time if novels and other creative pieces are perhaps as “important” or “useful” or life-changing as non-fiction works like those described above. Don’t worry. That is only a fleeting thought as I quickly come back to the first time I read Counting the Cost. Based on a true story from Liz’s own family history, it describes the life-changes that came from the choices made by the main characters. As I read the story, which was woven with Liz’s picturesque descriptions, her strong characterization and scenes that make you laugh and then cry, I was changed. And, in much the same way as with the non-fiction books, I was given tools. I saw myself, recognized some “costs’ I was facing because of some choices and was able to feel and know and then do what I needed to to change all that.
So, please, those of you who write non-fiction…don’t stop enlightening us and helping us navigate the world we live in. And, I’d say the same to those of you who write fiction…don’t stop enlightening us and helping us to navigate the world we live in. Don’t you agree that both are needed? After all, drawing from both non-fiction and fiction, seems like the perfect blend of mind and heart, as we continue to learn line upon written line.
Nov 18, 2010
Can't Judge a Book . . .
by Joan Sowards
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. But again, the cover is what lures the reader to pick it up. Most people will buy a product after it has being recommended by a trusted friend—or a perfect stranger in this case.
Recently, my husband and I went to Oregon. When a stranger heard we were staying in Lincoln City, he said, “Make sure you eat at Otis Café. It is a five star dining experience.”
“But I only brought blue jeans,” I told him.
“Doesn’t matter, it’s just a small place and very casual, but the food is to die for.” Then he went on to talk about its German potatoes and black molasses bread. I was convinced.
So, the next morning with mouth watering, my hubby and I set out for Otis, only three miles from our hotel on highway 18. We almost missed the town because I was navigating, and blinked. “Stop! There it is.” I pointed to a small, older building off the road.
“That can’t be it, it’s so small.”
“The sign says Otis Café,” I insisted. With effort, he turned the car around and pulled into the half-dirt parking lot with several other cars. “How can this be a famous café?” he said, looking doubtful.
We went inside—four booths and a four-person table—and were seated at the table with another couple. Awkward at first, we soon were enjoying a conversation with the couple and learned they lived in central Oregon and this also was their first Otis dining experience.
Soon breakfast was served. Mm! It was as good as the stranger had told us. Warm black molasses bread, hash browns, eggs cooked to perfection, bacon, and French toast made from cinnamon rolls—all yummy. Five stars, easy. Next time I’m in Oregon, I’ll visit Otis Café.
You can’t judge a book by its cover, but a recommendation goes a long way. And this also goes for cafés.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)