Posted by admin on June 13th, 2008 — Posted in Miscellany
“For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14); “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
We are dust, not a very durable material. Job in his agony lamented to God, “Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?” (Job 10:9). We are frail but God does not condemn us. On such days, it might help us to remember that “… [our] strength will equal [our] days” (Deuteronomy 33:25b).
There is another instruction in these verses and that is to grant to others the generous allowance that God grants to us, and to have as much patience with the frailties of others as we have of our own limitations. We are all dust and prejudices and heredities that God knows and evaluates in both the present and final accounting. How can we judge another when we must ask God daily for mercy for our own failures?
But we are also “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Who but the Creator could house within dust and clay such delicate organs as the brain and ears and eyes, or envision the uses of hands and feet, arms and legs? The study of the cell alone convinces us of the amazing act of Creator and creation. Yes, we are wonderfully created!
It is the spiritual operation of the mind that separates us from the animals and makes us God’s treasures. The mind is either helped or hindered by the condition of the housing, and it is with the body that we honor God: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19,20). From this, then, we must conclude that we are morally obligated to take care of our dust and clay. Within this dust and clay there is a Spirit!
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Posted by admin on May 28th, 2008 — Posted in Miscellany
Free email services are in abundance all over the web. There are literally
hundreds (if not thousands) of different services to help you with your
messages. Why do companies provide these services? Because they can sell
advertising space, and they have several ways to do it.
- They can append a small ad to each email message which is sent or received
- They can display banners
- Their sites can issue popup windows with advertisements
Why would you want to use a free email service? Probably the most important
reason is simply to help you with spam. You can use a web based free email
account to receive messages from signups to various services. Then, you can
access the account only when necessary for the service. This way, any spam
messages will be directed to the free mailbox, which you do not use very
often if at all.
Another great reason to use these services is to be able to pick up your
email from your browser. This is great for when you are traveling or on
those occasions when you want to read your home email when at work (see “Is
surfing the internet safe at work?”)
Each of the four basic types of email services are described below, along
with some examples of some of the free services that are available.
Web Based Email - These services allow you to retrieve, send and manage your
email from your browser. In general, the services are advertising (banner)
supported, although most offer an ad free paid version of some kind.
Hotmail.Com
http://www.hotmail.com
The first and oldest web-based email system. Good interface, reliable and
reasonably fast.
Mail.Com
http://www.mail.com/mailcom/login.jhtml
Probably the best free web-based email service available. Choose from dozens
of different email domains. Very easy to use and flexible. Premium service
is available at a low cost.
Startrekmail
http://www.startrekmail.com/member/login.page
Create your own Star Trek email address. Choose from many domains,
including:
@StarTrek.com
@USSEnterprise.com
@Klingons.com
@HesDeadJim.com
@ToBoldlyGo.com
@DeepSpaceNine.com
Yahoo Mail
http://mail.yahoo.com/
Another popular, nice email system. Lots of features, very reliable and
fast.
POP Email Services - POP email is virtually always supplied as part of the
services you receive from your web host and ISP. Your messages are stored on
a server, and you use your email client (Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora,
for example) to send, receive and manage your messages.
E-OmniNet
http://eo.yifan.net/
E-Omninet provides online services of all kinds with a single account. It
includes the file manager, address book, bookmarks, solar and lunar
calendars plus event reminder, free POP3 email and web hosting.
Mail Options
http://www.mailops.com/
Provides mail and news access in a web based browser. Mail is stored on a
POP server.
RunBox
http://www.runbox.com/
Runbox Mail Manager is a server-based email application that enables you to
store all your email online. They provide 100 MB of storage space, extensive
management features, and the ability to access email on any device.
Web-based POP Email Services - These services allow you to receive your POP
email using your browser. Some of them will read from your own supplied POP
email account (such as your ISP account) and others have their own POP
servers.
Email Planet
http://www.emailplanet.com/
Allows you to manage your email from your browser.
FetchMail
http://www.fetchmail.com/
Let’s you read your POP email using your browser.
Mail2Web
http://www.mail2web.com/
Will read POP mail from any POP server using your browser. Looks like a nice
service.
MailAndNews
http://mailandnews.com/
Another web based service allowing you to access your email. In addition,
this company lets you read newsgroups.
Email Forwarding Services - These services will forward your email from an
existing email account to another account.
Bigfoot
http://www.bigfoot.com/
This service will forward email from your email account to another email
address. This is very useful when you are on vacation. Also has the ability
to distribute and filter messages. A premium (paid) service is available
with more options.
HotPop
http://www.bigfoot.com/
HotPop provides a full featured email client, with POP capabilities and
email forwarding.
Return Receipt Services - Sometimes you just have to know that an email was
received by someone. The problem is that support for return receipts is
dependent upon the email client, and can be turned off entirely by the user!
These services get around that problem.
ReturnReceipt
http://www.returnreceipt.com/
ReturnReceipt is a web-based email system that notifies you when your email
has been received and read. It functions much like the U.S. Postal System’s
certified mail, with senders receiving an electronically “postmarked”
receipt documenting the exact time and date an email was read. Use it for
all your important email and anytime you need proof your email was read.
Miscellaneous email services - Some services that are useful but do not fit
into the above categories.
OneHopMail
http://www.bluefingers.com/ohmhtml/ohm_send.html
This service is very cool. Let’s say you are on the road and need to send an
email message. You want it to appear as if you sent it from your home email
but cannot access (or don’t want to for some reason) your email account. Use
HopMail to enter your email address and a message. The service will send a
test message to your email account. If the message makes it okay, it will
send your message on it’s way, as if it came from you.
About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets at
http://www.internet-tips.net - Visit our website any time to read
over 1,000 complete FREE articles about how to improve your
internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
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Posted by admin on April 8th, 2008 — Posted in Miscellany
BBC Green is the great and sustainable living site from the BBC Worldwide. The BBC World wide is owned by the British Broadcasting Company. The brand makes its income from across a large range of jobs and organisations that are related purely to the BBC’s prime output. BBC Greens big aim is to cut through the misunderstanding that these days surrounds environmental and green queries.
The term green is meant to push you to consider about taking a responsible approach to using the natural resources that are situated in and around you. A little great examples would be generating and owning solar power. This should make a great contribution to a sustainable environment. Both solar panels use energy that is received from the sun to create electricity to run ipod systems and lighting. Solar PV additionally known as photovoltaic only requires day light in order to make all of this work; this is great as it conversely means that it will probably make some power still on a cloudy day. There are a myriad of benefits to using solar panel systems. People will often save up to 155 off your electricity bill also grid connected systems require extraordinarily little maintenance. Your PV machines produce absolutely no greenhouse gases and each and every kWp should save approximately 401g of carbon dioxide gas per year. This adds up to almost 10 tonnes over a systems lifetime.
The great new BBC Green website is fantastic at explaining things and incorporates all issues from around Household and Garden, Food, Travel, Lifestyle and Family and Cash. The thing that makes BBC Green wonderful is that the BBC Green website like to think of themselves as different from each and every other search global warming site our society might well have used. The BBC Green endeavour to provide extra relevant results not simply from BBC Greens very own green issue site, but additionally from other websites that look and research on combat climate change living. When people submit a search you will be taken to a results webpage. This page might have the primary 5 web links for BBC Greens results and for suggested sites results. Generate reusable energy with Solar Panels for your home and save money on electricity bills.
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Posted by admin on March 29th, 2008 — Posted in Miscellany
An ESL game (Phonics Level or just after Alphabet)
After Kindergarten and Introductory Phonetics, small children are often put into a Beginners English class using books like Let’s Go 1. Often they are not ready for Lets Go 1, but need to….
1. practice use of phonics through games
2. practice alphabet letter writing and
3. build up a basic vocabulary of small words.
I like to use my Small Words Game. The Small Words Game gets them excited about English. It motivates the kids as they already know a large number of small words from regular school and the mass media.
I often divide the class into two teams (they like competition) or each child keeps his/her score on the board beside their name.
You will find in the table below some of the small words they write in columns across the board for all to see. The children come up with them not the teacher. Teacher may have to start the game by giving some examples.
Note that there are only two English words with a single letter: a and I.
Get the idea? Children like this very much. They are not intimidated by small words (easy to spell) and I accept abbreviations like CD, BBQ, TV, Ok, SOS, TNT, UN, USA, and UK. In Korea I also accept short English names of pop-music groups as the kids know these from television: SES, HOT, UN, NRG etc. and TV stations like MBC, KBS.
This game can cover two or three classes and it is good to post a large table/graphics of short word on the class wall in big writing for all to see and use in the following weeks. Kids can make the enlarged words with markers and paper as a crafts project and post them on the huge wall-mounted table. This is preferable to the teacher doing it. Avoid using too many shapes and colors when making the words/letters as Montessori has shown this confuses children.
Once we have done the Small Words Game I like to get kids using these words in the Spelling Circle Game http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/lessons/index.pl?read=854. Spelling Circle Game is a strong way to reinforce the new vocabulary as words are reused/relearned/approached in a different way. Children will play the Spelling Circle Game for an hour and will do it in class, if there is space, or out doors. They especially like it as it is kinesthetic and interactive. Students and teacher can also make a set of small words flash cards, another way to build them into memory.
*Q as in Q. and A. LX: Extra Large
————————————-
Bigger Bigger Smaller Smaller Game - ESL lesson
An ESL game (10+ years, builds vocabulary).
Also included: Taste Game, Materials Game, Hotter Colder Game
With students in a circle around a big table or sitting on the floor, point to something small and ask the first student to name it (in English). If they don’t understand, then teacher gives an example like a pencil or eraser and asks the student “Something bigger?” or goes to the next student. Children (not the teacher) ask the same question in sequence in the circle. Say “something bigger” (det-der-ro = something, big = kun-ga in Korean) while acting out big and small with your hands and arms. Kids will probably say “sky” or “sun”. “Universe” is the upper size limit but older children will also understand imagination (sang-sang).
Then we go smaller “something smaller” (small is cha-gum in Korean) and they begin to exchange hints in Korean and English and thus teach each other smaller and smaller words in English. They often say “ant” and then “baby ant” or “ant egg”. With even smaller objects kids need teacher’s help so I scrape my tooth with a fingernail (yucky) to show that everybody has bacteria and some kids will later say “baby bacteria” jokingly. Beyond this you have to remind them of virus (gyun in Korean). They already know about big computer viruses. And finally sketch an atom, electron etc. etc and talk about electric machines, which includes their own bodies!
This is a great way to build vocabulary while introducing the phrases:
(Tell me, teach me, give me) something bigger.
(Tell me, teach me, give me) something smaller.
A variation is to make it a Hotter and Colder Game.
Another is to make it a Materials Game and ask for something plastic, metal, wood, stone, cement, copper, iron, water, gas, leather, cloth, glass, meat, etc.
Another variation is make it a Taste Game with real/authentic/concrete examples/foods: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, hot, spice, creamy, oily, fishy, spicy, fruity, meaty, bland etc. and then ask for examples of various foods. This can be slow going unless the kids are 12 years or more. I find it needs to be repeated several times. You will have to bring foods in small plastic containers and tooth picks for tasting. Coordinate this class with other teachers so you can all share the food preparation effort/time.
About The Author
Robin Tim Day is an English teacher with experince in Asia and the Middle East. Robin publishes articles and lessons at the
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/ (free access to ESL resumes, jobs and materials). See more articles and lessons by Robin by visiting: http://www.eslteachersboard.com/
Please add the above to copy this article.
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Posted by admin on March 24th, 2008 — Posted in Miscellany
For the past several years I have struggled with getting (and staying) fit. Ok I admit it, the struggle has been longer than just a few years. As a kid, instead of playing nicely with the girls, I fought with the neighborhood boys. I attempted to join their fun and received new scars weekly in bloody games of soccer. I was always the last one picked to play on the kickball team and, as the catcher of my 5th grade softball team, I pummeled the pitcher in the head with a fast ball. Uncoordinated in team sports, I succeeded only at baton twirling which was fun but I barely broke a sweat. After failures in group sports I thought I’d try running so, a few years ago I attempted to train for a half marathon. I ended up limping home in tears and thought I’d never exercise again. (I couldn’t even MOVE after that, much less exercise!)
Over the years I’ve used walking as a way of getting out of the house, of ‘warming up’ for more vigorous exercise and just to hang out with friends. This year, walking has turned into much more for me. Walking allows me to integrate mind, body, and spirit in a way that I’ve not experienced before. Athletes speak of being “in the zone.” I see that I too am an athlete and that walking can be vigorous and can provide my body with the movement it craves. Walking has allowed me to reclaim fitness goals that I had given up on. I think I’ve finally found something that I can be good at and stick with long term!
“Movement in the body brings movement in the mind. It is a natural alchemy. So many of us seek this kind of movement in our lives, a fusion of being and doing.” Carolyn Scott Kortge from her book, The Spirited Walker
These days, our lives are set at an incredibly frantic pace. We have so much on our plates that we fear we’ll never get everything done, and we wonder when we’ll find time to do those things that bring us pleasure. Even when the world seems to be spinning out of control, walking can restore our sense of inner peace. Time seems to expand, giving us a chance to slow down, to relax, to appreciate ourselves and our lives.
Even when we are ‘just going out for a walk’, we are hardly ever just walking. We carry our mind around with us when we walk, so we are usually absorbed in our own thoughts. I have come to see that the sole work of walking has turned into soul work. I have even nicknamed some of my walks with particularly insightful friends ‘walk and talks’ where we process life together and use walking as a metaphor for moving forward in life.
And then there’s walking alone which frees us up for some internal dialogue. I’ve learned to turn off the cell phone, take off the headphones and stop drowning out the natural world. When I allow myself to hear my own thoughts and resolve any internal conflicts, I am at peace in the sanctuary of my mind. Moving meditation, or spiritual walking is a wonderful way of grounding ourselves in our own presence.
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. If one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.” Soren Kierkegaard
Even if our job is wonderful, our family is healthy and our future seems bright, we can lose touch with the deepest part of ourself unless we slow down enough to breathe deeply, to still our thoughts and to observe the natural world with a sense of wonder. Walking with awareness provides us with an opportunity to connect with the surrounding nature and our “inner nature”. Then we are able to tend to the trinity that we are made up of - mind, body and spirit. In creating a balance among all three, we enhance the quality of all areas of our life.
Use a long walk or hike to come home to yourself. If you don’t go within you’ll go without!
So often we walk hurriedly, rushing from place to place in a state of mindless detachment. Spiritual walking is a form of meditation in motion. Pick a route that will allow you to practice mindfulness by fully engaging your senses. Feel the hard pavement or soft grass beneath your feet, drink in the aroma of the honeysuckle as you pass by and make a mental note of what flowers are in bloom. Notice the feel of the wind against your face. The rhythm of walking helps us to quiet our minds and from time to time we may receive inspiration or gain insight into some troubled area of our lives.
Plan a walking retreat.
You can use walking as a sort of mini-retreat. I’m not talking about going away for a week or even a weekend, unless you want to, of course. I’m suggesting that you set aside a few hours, or even a full day for an exploration on foot - far from the demands of work, home, and family.
First, choose a date on your calendar and mark it as your “retreat day.” You want this day to be yours, for your personal walking adventure. Next, identify a place that you want to explore on foot. If you enjoy being out in nature, call your local parks and recreation department to request maps of your area. If you love looking at homes and gardens (one of my favorite kinds of walks), think of a neighborhood that you’d like to see up close. You want to spend your time walking, not driving so try to choose a location that’s not too far from home. If you never have to get in your car, that’s even better.
The hour-long neighborhood walk that I take ends in a long slope that leads to the street that I live on. I listen to my body tell me, “we can’t do this, we’ll never make it home.” I hear my own inner demons loud and clear and then I bid them farewell using positive self-talk. As I approach the top of the hill I recount what a wonderful walk it was and how strong I am becoming. I’m glad it’s over, yet I’m already looking forward to the next outing!
I am grateful for spiritual walking. For me, it is a new route to wellbeing, a merger of muscle and mind. Infusing my exercise routine with spirituality has turned a good walk into a God walk!
Diana Kennedy is the author of Living from Spirit website and email newsletter. She leads the 9:30am church service at Unity of Tallahassee where she is Ministerial Assistant. Diana is a licensed massage therapist working at All About You! Massage. To contact her, call 850-878-2130, visit http://www.dianakennedy.com, or email living_from_spirit@yahoo.com.
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