This morning, I posted on my Facebook page a Haiku. Here it is: God is with the poor----And God is with the broken----Let us be with God.
So, in the spirit of that post, here is an opportunity for all of us to impact Michiana.
There is a family in the inner city of South Bend that I was contacted by earlier this week that is in need of food for Thanksgiving and Christmas along with gifts for Christmas. This is a single mom that is on disability. She has 4 kids that are her own and 2 addition kids that she has legal custody over. The kids are ages: 12, 10, 9, 5, 5 and 4. One of the 5 year olds is a boy and the rest are all girls. I thought that it would be awesome to help this family out.
The other opportunity to impact Michiana is through the homeless shelter. Here is a list of the shelters current needs:
Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Diapers, Swimmer-all sizes, New Socks and Underwear for both Men and Women, Feminine Hygiene Supplies, Towels and Wash cloths, Cough Drops, Laundry Soap, Umbrella's, Children's School Uniforms, x-large to xxxxl shirts, Ear plugs, Interview attire/clothing for women (sizes 18 and up), Interview attire/clothing for men (xl & xxl shirts and pants larger than size 46), Women's Dress shoes (sizes 8 and up), Men's shoes (size 9-14)
This project is something that a group of people just decided to do. It is not company sponsored in any way shape or form, so feel free to help out where you can with what you can. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
For how to donate or help, you can contact the following people in the following ways:
Barry Skalski 574-370-8156 or by email BarrySkalski@sbcglobal.net
Michelle Zarobinski 574-876-8674 or by email Michelle.M.Zarobinski@wellsfargo.com
Bill Calahan 574-310-0011
Starting on Monday, there will be a drop off station located inside of the building located at 202 Lincoln Way East in Mishawaka. It is the building that National City Bank, Prudential One Realty, Wells Fargo and Metropolitan Title occupy.
If we collect enough, we may be able to sponsor more than one family!
Showing posts with label Holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holiday. Show all posts
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Valentines Day
I co-lead a men's bible study group that meets every friday morning at 6:00 a.m. Tomorrow is my morning to lead on a topic of my choice and I thought that I would share this study with everyone about the history of Valentines day with some follow up questions:
Saint Valentine is probably not just one man, but rather any of a number of martyred saints named Valentine or Valentinus, derived from the Latin word for valor. According to Christian tradition, all of these Saint Valentines are believed to have been martyred on February 14.
The first Valentinus, Valentine of Rome, was a priest and doctor, who treated even those patients who could not afford to pay him. The second Saint Valentine was beheaded for protecting Christians from the Romans. And the third is Valentine of Terni, a bishop believed killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian.
While these saints likely bestowed upon Valentines Day its name, they still do not explain the holiday’s love connection. To understand that, one has to go back even further in history-to the Romans.
Historians believe that the holiday of love derives it origins from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalla. On February 15, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercus, to honor and thank the wolf god who watched over the Roman shepherds and their flocks.
While Lupercus doesn’t seem to have much to do with romance, there was a number of fertility customs associated with this feast. In one of the rituals, women would put their names on slips of paper in a box to be drawn by men. The two would then be coupled up for the duration of the festival-or the rest of the year in some cases. This fertility-friendly feast gives some clue as to the romantic-or at least procreative- nature of the holiday. But we don’t celebrate Saint Lupercus Day on February 14. So, how did the Valentine saints become associated with the Roman god?
Legend has it that in the 3rd century, the Roman emperor Claudious II banned marriages to prevent draft dodgers. Only single men had to go into the army- and too many young men were getting married.
A Christian priest named Valentinus of Rome ignored the ban, continuing to officiate marriages in secret. Valentinus was caught and sentenced to death- an order carried out on February 14. Valentinus fell for his jailer’s daughter and sent her love notes signed “from your Valentine”.
In the late 5th century, Emperor Gelasius declared February 14 a holy day in honor of Valentinus, allowing Christianity to adopt some of the love day customs previously associated with paganism.
The traditions were reworked, however, to honor the Christian martyrs. For example, instead of boys pulling girls names from boxes, both boys and girls chose names of martyred saints to emulate for the year. It took nearly 9 centuries, until the advent of the renaissance, for Valentines Day to return to its earlier love-based roots.
Did you know this history of Valentines Day? Does it change your opinion of Valentines Day?
Do you have any special plans or traditions that you use to celebrate Valentines Day?
How do you think God views this holiday?
At one time, this holiday was to celebrate Christian Martyrs, how much are you willing to sacrifice for your faith? Would you be willing to die for your faith and what are you willing to die for?
(John 13:38, 18:15-17, 18:25-27) How do you think you would have reacted if you had been Peter?
Saint Valentine is probably not just one man, but rather any of a number of martyred saints named Valentine or Valentinus, derived from the Latin word for valor. According to Christian tradition, all of these Saint Valentines are believed to have been martyred on February 14.
The first Valentinus, Valentine of Rome, was a priest and doctor, who treated even those patients who could not afford to pay him. The second Saint Valentine was beheaded for protecting Christians from the Romans. And the third is Valentine of Terni, a bishop believed killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian.
While these saints likely bestowed upon Valentines Day its name, they still do not explain the holiday’s love connection. To understand that, one has to go back even further in history-to the Romans.
Historians believe that the holiday of love derives it origins from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalla. On February 15, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercus, to honor and thank the wolf god who watched over the Roman shepherds and their flocks.
While Lupercus doesn’t seem to have much to do with romance, there was a number of fertility customs associated with this feast. In one of the rituals, women would put their names on slips of paper in a box to be drawn by men. The two would then be coupled up for the duration of the festival-or the rest of the year in some cases. This fertility-friendly feast gives some clue as to the romantic-or at least procreative- nature of the holiday. But we don’t celebrate Saint Lupercus Day on February 14. So, how did the Valentine saints become associated with the Roman god?
Legend has it that in the 3rd century, the Roman emperor Claudious II banned marriages to prevent draft dodgers. Only single men had to go into the army- and too many young men were getting married.
A Christian priest named Valentinus of Rome ignored the ban, continuing to officiate marriages in secret. Valentinus was caught and sentenced to death- an order carried out on February 14. Valentinus fell for his jailer’s daughter and sent her love notes signed “from your Valentine”.
In the late 5th century, Emperor Gelasius declared February 14 a holy day in honor of Valentinus, allowing Christianity to adopt some of the love day customs previously associated with paganism.
The traditions were reworked, however, to honor the Christian martyrs. For example, instead of boys pulling girls names from boxes, both boys and girls chose names of martyred saints to emulate for the year. It took nearly 9 centuries, until the advent of the renaissance, for Valentines Day to return to its earlier love-based roots.
Did you know this history of Valentines Day? Does it change your opinion of Valentines Day?
Do you have any special plans or traditions that you use to celebrate Valentines Day?
How do you think God views this holiday?
At one time, this holiday was to celebrate Christian Martyrs, how much are you willing to sacrifice for your faith? Would you be willing to die for your faith and what are you willing to die for?
(John 13:38, 18:15-17, 18:25-27) How do you think you would have reacted if you had been Peter?
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas
I hope you have a safe and Merry Christmas! I think Coca-Cola does an excellent job with advertising, here are a couple of Coca-Cola Christmas comercials from the past that I have enjoyed. I hope you do to.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
An Old Memory for Thanksgiving
As we get older, we tend to reflect back on things with great fondness. Things always seemed so great "back in the day". We get caught up with things happening in our daily lives without much time to reflect in the now. There are a lot of things that I reflect about. Lately, I have been reflecting on old TV shows that I used to love to watch. Happy Days, Cheers, Welcome Back Kotter (that one is obvious for anyone who calls my cell phone), Family Ties--just to name a few. But as Thanksgiving comes tomorrow I am reminded of one show, WKRP in Cincinnati! It had a great theme song, and the cast was VERY funny. Johnny Fever, Venis Flytrap, Bailey-all were good characters. But for me, Les Nesman was the best of the characters of that show! And as I think of Thanksgiving, it always brings a smile to my face when I think of the video that is below. Please ignore the message at the end of the video-the person that posted it on YouTube put it on the video. I hope this brings back a memory or two for you and have a great Thanksgiving!
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