5 First Names

Arming peasants with toothpicks of knowledge does nothing in a battle of swords. When you address the Da Vinci Code, the congregation will not be armed on the argumentation battle field to take on a believer in the Holy Grail. Their opponents will quote false and possibly true historical evidence that will make them question both your integrity and your knowledge of your faith. I would encourage the focus not to be on the facts which are all debatable but on faith. Maybe posing the question “If I could prove Jesus did not exist, would you still believe?” What is proof? What is faith? Proof changes from year to year. Faith is a constant. Our frail understanding of our past and the biased writers who have interpreted past events gives us very unstable “evidence”. Historians can’t agree on what happened 200 years ago much less 2000 years ago. But faith is the evidence of things hoped for. Faith is what makes believers strong not knowledge. Knowledge is a by-product of faith. Faith directs...

I have searched for food allergy information through CDC (Center for Disease Control), FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network), FAI (Food Allergy Initiative), NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), AAAAI (American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology), and many other sites. Honestly of all the research I have done this one seems to have the most variance. I couldn't find government issued statistics on food allergies. It seems that the science of food allergies is still progressing and is timid of making bold generalizations. In general 4% to 8% of all children have a food allergy. 90% of these allergies are from the big 7: Milk, Eggs, Soy, Wheat, Peanut, Tree Nut, and Seafood. Around 70% of children grow out of their food allergies before age 5. These foods should be avoided before the age of 1. Of the 350 million people in America only 100 die each year of food allergies. Although food allergies are not much of a death risk, the connection to Ast...

I have read 50 websites of moms arguing over whether drinking bathwater is bad for their child or not. The overall consensus is that it is gross but is it really bad for them. A lot of opinions and misplaced facts seem to be curculating about drinking bathwater and diarrhea. Hopefully this will set your mind at ease. According to the Dr. Sadloer, bathwater has too many unknown chemicals. Soap doesn't seem to be a huge concern but the chemicals from the diaper area could be of concern. [ http://www.babyzone.com/askanexpert/drinking-bath-water ]. Dr Altmann recommends discouraging this behavior, but says you don't need to be too concerned about it. Drinking soapy water could cause an upset tummy. But this is unlikely, most kids spit water out if it has that unpleasant soapy taste. And the amount of soap your child would actually ingest is pretty small considering how much water it's diluted with in a typical bathtub. As far as cleaning products, the amount of chemicals used ...

Circumcision is a heated argument these days. The majority of Americans are still circumcised but very few Europeans are. Many myths and misplaced arguments float around the circumcision debate. I have researched the general stance of the major players in the debate. It seems that the opposition is most against circumcision in principle. They believe it is cruel to perform a cosmetic surgery on an infant. They acknowledge the benefits but state that the benefits do not justify the risk. According to most sites, almost no risk exist when the procedure is done to a new born. As more evidence is gathered for the STD phenomena, we may see world wide acceptance of circumcision. The majority of studies have suggested the risk of contracting STDs is cut in half. Some have suggested that the uncircumcised are 8.5 times more likely to contract an STD. Opponents are saying the same benefits can come from safe sex and education. The neutral stance of American Academy of Pediatrics has been challe...

I have been pondering fear and its purpose. I have come to some general conclusions but of course my ideas are still under personal scrutiny. I am still putting my thoughts together but please fill free to take apart my argument. It seems that faith is the tool used to eliminate fear, both our used to obtain knowledge. I have also concluded that all new knowledge must be acquired with the tools of fear or faith. I cannot perceive any other method. Fear is the natural response to the unknown. Fear keeps our steps short and our progression slow. Without testimony of others, this is the best response when walking into a dark room. When missing our sight, we have fear of the dark. Anything could be in front of us and we must let our faith in our other senses guide us. Our doubt in our ability to convert what we hear and feel into visual knowledge creates fear. We use touch to tip toe through. We use hearing to determine location of objects by their sounds and potential hazards. This is hea...

For the past several months I have been going to Northlake Mall to teach my daughter to share. The plan was to come up with something fun to have her give away and then see the fruit of her labor aka popularity and community play. I landed on Balloons. Kids cannot swing or throw them hard enough to hurt each other. On a couple occasions a mother would be very concerned about balloons around their child. To ease my mind, I did some research to find out the truth. For perspective, of the 5000 toddler deaths in 2000 only 1 was the cause of a balloon. Before we knew balloons were dangerous (in the 1980s) around 11 kids died each year from balloon related accidents. In the 1990s, the number dropped to 6 because of warning labels and public awareness. Today it is almost nonexistent. I cannot find any statistics past 2001 which was 4 deaths. Clearly there are not enough deaths to warrant significant research or acknowledgement. Also please note that there were only 17 toy related deaths in 20...

I have schools in my district that are awesome!!! I have so lucked out. By the way I am also interested in talking to the Chantilly Montessori School particularly till 4th grade. Does anyone know about Montessori students and how well the do in higher education? I cannot find a ranking that included them. Information about the local schools I pulled from this website: http://enterprise.star-telegram.com/ARCIms/Maps/clt/2007/cms/eo_07.asp Pre- Kindergarden Tryon Hills Pre-K is 1. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 2. A CMS Exemplary Performance Pre-K Center 3. Wachovia Bank "Reading First" Award Winner 4. Governor's Entrepreneurial School Award Finalist 5. Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Pre-K Program Award It is also less than 2 minutes from where I work!!! Elementary Schools Villa Heights ranked 4th of 96 schools in the charlotte area and is less than 10 minutes from my house and 3 to 5 minutes from where I work. I own a house in the same zip code...

What the experts say: American Cancer Society (ACS): Taken as a whole, most studies to date have not found a link between cell phone use and the development of tumors. National Cancer Institute (NCI): Although research has not consistently demonstrated a link between cellular telephone use and cancer, scientists still caution that further surveillance is needed before conclusions can be drawn. National Toxicology Program (NTP):While the weight of the current scientific evidence has not conclusively linked cell phones with any health problems, the NTP and other scientific organizations conclude that additional data are needed. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Although some studies have raised concerns, the scientific research, when taken together, does not indicate a significant association between cell phone use and health effects. Federal Communications Commission (FCC): There is no scientific evidence that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a vari...

According to my parents, I was saved at the age of 3. I said the words. I did the deed. But really . . . 3? I loved going to church. Participating in all things church, I didn’t know what was outside of church. My life was great. Who wouldn’t want to be a Christian like everyone else? I am not saying I wasn’t saved but I don’t believe that I knew what I was doing. I believe the turning point in my life was at the age of 12. It was almost as if I realized my independence. I had been sponsored to go to a youth camp that was centered on serving in Engeltal Valley in Arkansas. ETH held a youth camp attended by 12 youth. We mowed the grounds, cooked the food, cleaned the facilities, and worshiped the Lord. At an evening service, the minister said there were 3 people in the room that needed to ask the Lord in their heart. I knew everyone there and they were saved. They were part of the Team. Who goes to a Christian work camp if they are not there to serve God? Two immediately went up to ask ...

I am looking for counter arguments. The only way I am going to discover the truth is through your ideas. This is a progressing thought, I don't presume to be right. If you are religious substitute God for Nature. In the beginning of my thoughts on guilt, I was looking for its purpose. I believe that all life is balanced everything adds up to zero. Physics has suggested that nothing is created or destroyed. I don’t believe that we have evolved past the principles of Nature and are continually subject to its principles. Being this isn’t a discourse on balance, please read this with the assumption that the previous statement is true. If everything is in balance what is guilt balancing and what is it replacing. Guilt is self induced emotional abuse. When we hurt someone one, we hurt ourselves as penance for doing wrong. We balance the scales by punishing ourselves for our poor behavior. Once the act of guilt has been initiated, we are now justified and blameless until we hurt another. ...