Plato's Allegory of the Cave

My friend Amanda was showing this to me the other day. I was scared about a change in my life, and she told me about this... It really helps. Thoughts, anyone?

Christmas Wakeup Call!!!

“The festival of KALENDS is celebrated everywhere as far as the limits of Rome extend…Luxurious abundance is found in the houses of the rich, but also in the houses of the poor…The impulse to spend seizes everyone. He who erstwhile was accustomed to and preferred to live poorly now enjoys himself as much as his means will allow.” – Libanius, fourth century Greek scholar

Hmmm....you know, if I hadn't read the first line of this description, I would have guessed that this was an account of an American Christmas celebration...you know? The "spend, spend, spend" attitude, the overindulgence...Doesn't it sound a LOT like a description of the way we celebrate Christmas? Guess what? This is actually an account of a Roman holiday called Kalends, a pagan-centered new year celebration. At the end of the year, Romans would celebrate Saturnalia (a celebration of the god Saturn) and Kalends. Festivities would include exchanging gifts to ensure good fortune in the coming year (gifts would include small idols and food), feasting, and decorating with evergreen boughs, which symbolized the fertility of the crops in the coming year. In case you were wondering, yes, this is where we got the traditions of Christmas trees and exchanging gifts. No, it didn't come from some Nativity play (although they did use an evergreen tree as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in a Medieval Nativity play). And no, the tradition of gift-giving did not originate from the gifts that the Magi brought to Jesus. No, you see, those are just excuses that have been made over the years. Unfortunately, our American Christmas celebration is made up of primarily pagan celebrations. In Parent's Magazine's Christmas Holiday Book, this observation is made, "In fact, we are unknowingly reverting to a primitive human instinct: the celebration of the turn of the year, when the winter begins to wane and the sun starts once more to climb in the sky, and when the crops and fruits are reborn. Almost every known civilization…has had such a festival, and all of them have celebrated with feasting and rejoicing.” Honestly girls, if you really think about it, our Christmas rejoicing is not a commemoration of Christ's birth...but rather, a self-centered, me-me-me, overindulgent, American-ized holiday.

That's just what you wanted to hear a few days before Christmas isn't it? You really wanted to learn that all of America's traditions have roots in pagan ones, didn't you? Do you feel guilty? Shocked? Or did you already know all this stuff? I don't want to ruin your Christmas. I'm not saying some components of our celebration are wrong. In fact, some of them are rooted in purely Christian traditions. But no, that is not my point by any means.

My point, ladies, is this- a celebration that is supposed to be a celebration of Christ has become utterly American-ized, just like everything else in our country. It's self-centered and gluttonous. We need to focus on CHRIST during the holiday season. HE is what our thoughts should be centered on- not what's waiting for us under the tree...or what you're going to wear to the holiday party on Saturday...or whether or not your friends and family will really appreciate the gifts you bought them. No. Christ was...IS...others-centered. He reached out in compassion to the needy, dirty little children in the street, the physically and mentally disabled, even those who were stricken with leprosy and had been deemed "untouchable". Christ loved the people that no one else loved.

Look back over the links I posted earlier about ways that you can give back. Think about how you can love those who are unlovable, unworthy, thankless...

I'll post more later.

Photo contest update:

Just a quick update on the photo contest- we only have 2 entries so far!!! You can't have a contest with only 2 entries! You have until the end of 2009 to submit your photos ladies! If this contest goes well, there could be prizes in the future. :)

Some tough competition...

Alright, folks...we have our first photo contest entry...since it's such an excellent photograph, I just thought I'd share it to get you guys motivated.

This photo is by my friend Julia. Isn't she excellent?

So, how do I interpret this photo? (Remember, our theme is "What is True Beauty?") I think it reflects it in a few ways- first, it is simple. Very simple. And yet, in such simplicity, there is a beauty far greater than that of the flashy pop-culture we see all around us. Secondly, it is God's beautiful creation. Look at the rich colors, the intricate petals, the deep, dark center. It truly is a remarkable witness to God's creation.

Great job Julia...hope this gets some other girls motivated to get out there cameras and go find something beautiful to photograph!

How can a jar of pennies make a difference???

It can make a difference here:



It can make a help women like this:

ROSA LOVES



It can be used to purchase items from stores who give a percentage of their profit to charity like these: Known to Me

It can provide water for thirsty children like this.

Water 4 Christmas


It can sponsor a child through World Vision.

Now, what about that penny you passed by on the sidewalk? What about the penny hiding under your couch cushion or wedged between seats in your car? What about the fifty pennies you spent on a soda today? What about the 200 pennies you used to buy a cup of decaf at the cafe this morning? What about the 1000 pennies you spent on a new t-shirt? What about the 20000 pennies you spent on a new iPod? Do you see how that money could so impact someone in need somewhere in the world...and yet, we say, "It's just a penny."

Babysitting

Hey, everyone- I wanted to post something really quickly- then I have to get back to school...so this will be brief, but I REALLY wanted to post!

So, I don't know about you, but I find that babysitting is one of the easiest ways for me to get money. Even though it can be exhausting, it only lasts a few hours and (hopefully) leaves you with a good chunk of money. Sometimes, though, when I babysit somewhere we run out of things to do. Then it's hard. The kids are bored. You're bored. And they expect you to find them something to do. Usually when this happens, the kids' activity of choice ends up being something like running up and down the hallway as fast as they can, doing flips off the end of the bed, or something else that may result in a visit to the ER. So, here is a list of quick, go-to babysitting activities that are truly easy and that you most likely have the supplies to make. This is not a list I copied from someone else's site...like most babysitting activities usually are. I have searched long and far for these activities. And the best thing is, I have actually tested these things on kids and they loved 'em! Here we go:

1. "Science experiment"- Yes, I have tried the volcano thing with a couple kids...it was an utter failure. I don't recommend it. I have tried some other science experiments as well, a couple cool ones, a couple more utter failures...but the "experiment" below is the best by far- the kids love it. I love it because it's easy. Everyone's happy. :)

Supplies:

• Coffee filters (white ones work best)
• Black/green Crayola markers
• Water

What to do: Draw a ring in the middle of your coffee filter with either a black or green marker. Then, dab the coffee filter with water. That's it...you're done- but the kids might want to do it again, as did the ones I babysat. So...what happens? Well, when you dab the coffee filter, the marker bleeds, creating a beautiful "tie dye" coffee filter. Plus, you can use it as an opportunity to teach the kids about primary colors. I suppose you could try this with other colors as well, but the site I got it from (familyfun.go.org) recommended black or green. Anyway, see how simple that is? And however boring it may sound to you, the kids I tried it with absolutely loved it and would have used a whole package of coffee filters if I had let them!


2. Ornaments- Looking for a good Christmas craft? Look no further than Sculpey clay. That stuff is da bomb! I believe it's nontoxic (but I'm not sure, so don't try to eat it!), it bakes hard, and you can paint it! A couple years ago, I tried this with 3-5 year-olds. Even the boy loved it. All you need is:

Supplies:
White Sculpey clay
Cookie cutters
Oven
Paintbrushes
Paint
Ribbon

What to do: You may want to soften the clay for the kids a little bit before they start rolling it out- Sculpey does tend to get a little hard. Then, let the kids roll out the clay. After it is rolled out, cut it into shapes- no more than 2-3/child. Write their names with a Sharpie on the back so you don't get them mixed up. Poke a hole in the top of each ornament. Take them home and bake them in the oven as instructed. (I am assuming you're going to see the kids again sometime soon.) The next time you see the children, bring paint, paintbrushes, ribbon. Let the children pain their ornaments (this could get messy!) and let dry- you may have to take the ornaments home again depending on how fast the paint dries. Tie a ribbon through each of the holes and let the children take their ornaments home- this is a great gift for Mommy or Daddy, or just a fun keepsake!

That's it for now...more coming later, hopefully!

Are you walking the walk?

We've all seen them plenty of times- people who profess to be Christians- they go to church, own a Bible, ect...But somehow, their actions don't reflect what they "believe". I know there have also been times when I've been one of those lukewarm, halfhearted Christians. Sure I still believed i n God. Sure I still loved Him. But, there was no enthusiasm in my faith life. I suppose you could say it was, well, dead. Since the time when I felt "dead" in my relationship with Christ, God has brought me closer to Him and given me a burning desire to glorify Him. Here are some key characteristics I can see in my life compared to my life before. Are you a "dead" Christian, or are you on fire for Christ?

Characteristics of a "dead" believer

Jesus is shoved into the nooks and
crannies of our existence

Love self

Content to go with the flow

Content to be average

Morally goes to the edge of the cliff-
"How much can I get away with?"

Oblivious of/unconcerned about sin

Thoughts constantly centered on
material things

Bored with God

Characteristics of someone who is alive in Christ

Life is centered fully around Jesus Christ

Love Christ first, others second

"A pure heart is one to which all that is not of God
is strange and jarring."- John Tavler


"What is the secret to great living?... [A] life that has
made more than a passing flicker in the spiritual
realm." - Amy Carmichael

"How much can I glorify Jesus Christ throughout my day?"

Deals with sin

Thoughts are constantly centered on Christ

Excited about faith!


Let me know what you girls think of this and if you have anything to add!