So many people are hungry in our world. Some people never had much in terms of materialistic items and food to begin with. Other people lived the “American Dream” and had it all, so they thought, and then they lost their jobs. Slowly they lost other things as well in their lives.

Feeding America is a non-profit organization that helps to feed millions of people each year. Help someone else that is less fortunate than you are this holiday season. Give to others who do not have. Bless someone’s life and share with them what you have been blessed to have. Do unto others, especially now during our holiday season.

For more information visit http://feedingamerica.org/.

And if you’re like many busy moms, you probably constantly find yourself saying, “…as soon as I’m finished” or “maybe later…”

Well, later might just be too late. Don’t let another day pass by like this.

If you’re ready to find easy solutions to organizing your life to have more time together, I recommend picking up a copy of the “Real Life Guidance to Finding More Family Time” report.

This report was created by Certified Life Coach, Aurelia Williams, and is just what you need to get things back on track.

The report gives you practical solutions for:

- Being realistic in your family goals
- How to find balance between your work and life
- Organizing your life to find more time
- Routine and scheduling tips even the most spontaneous families can get into
- Plenty of activity ideas (never say there’s nothing to do!)

This 20-page report is perfect for the busy mom who needs QUICK and EASY help to finding that precious time with family. It’s also available instantly, so even if it’s the middle of the night while everyone else in the sleep, you can all wake up with a plan to reconnect as a family.

==>> Learn more and grab your guide here <<==

During the Great Depression, everyone HAD to use their ingenuity to create gifts conveying their heartfelt love. Here’s some ideas to get you thinking now, during the Great Recession. You could even make a couple of these homemade gifts for each person on your list.

1.  Know a child learning Spanish?  Save several sizes of clean tin cans with unique labels in Spanish, with any jagged points bent safely down.  Fill with slightly used pens, sharpened pencils, paintbrushes, markers, and dried flowers. These make great decorative storage for your el esponol student’s desk or dresser top.

2. Write a letter to your child, niece, or nephew telling them how excited you were before they were born, about their upcoming birth. You could even frame the letter, for a gift, showing your anticipated love.

3. Print out your favorite Bible verse as a small poster. Add a label at the bottom that reads, “Mom’s Legacy Bible Verse” or “Dad’s Legacy Bible Verse.” Others, including your children, love to know what’s on your heart and in your head. Share yourself with them at this level and they will cherish your gift.

4. Give a gift of a picture of you and the gift recipient. Write at the bottom of the frame, “You are Loved.” It could be Grandpa/Grandson, Mom/Dad/You, Daughter/Mother.

5. “I love you all year long.” Write a letter about the year just ending. Make it twelve paragraphs long for each month. Tell the person just how much they meant to you each month of 2008, including a special memory from each month and a canister of homemade granola (granola takes a long time to eat)!

6. “What I’m going to Change, to Love you More.”  Write a card to those on your list, with something that you intend to change/improve, with God’s help, about yourself, in your life this year. Make it something that will make you an easier person to live with. (Now, that will be a welcomed surprise gift to the recipient, a gift that keeps on giving all year!)

7. Shine everyone’s shoes for Christmas morning. Under the tree, have everyone’s shoes lined up looking brand new. It’s an act of service that will be appreciated.  Or, give another act of service, such as car detailing. “Borrow” someone’s car a day or two before Christmas and detail it for them by hand for a Christmas morning surprise.

8. Give a gift of your professional services. Maybe you are a teacher and could offer to tutor. Maybe you are an accountant and could offer tax services as a gift.  How about a plumber, carpenter, or electrician for some home repair services? Perhaps you are a great writer and could help a family member with an updated resume.
Perhaps, you have nice handwriting and can address envelopes as a gift.

9. Regift books you have already read. Wrapping it up beautifully, adding a small letter, detailing why this book was special to you and why you want to bless them by sharing it.

10. Give each person on your list, a souvenir of your life or heirloom. Give them something of your’s, that they would enjoy having. Clean it up, fix it up, and wrap it up.

photo credit: Mr. T in DC

Because this is such a personal aspect of people’s lives many are hesitant and do not pray together. Even amongst Christian’s it was surprising to me to learn that according to FamilyLife, a well-known ministry group, less than 8 percent of Christian couples pray together. That figure blew me away. According to FamilyLife, the main reason that was cited was that they never realized that it was that important to their marriage. Studied also in this group were divorce rates in just Christian couples only. Divorce rate in this group was 27 percent in couples who do not pray together. The couples who pray together have a less than one percent divorce rate.

Praying together is a winner hands down. It is the way that God wants our relationships with our loved ones to be. Praying together takes humility, which everyone is capable of.

How To Get Started:

• Come together and discuss these statistics. Discuss the importance of this in your relationship. Both parties need to agree on this.
• Some time during the course of your day, find a quiet spot to pray together.
• Take turns praying aloud. Try not to feel uncomfortable. This is your mate who knows everything about you and loves you.
• Pray for your family, pray for yours and your mate’s walk with God, strength, courage, your mate’s struggles and your marriage.
• After both of you have prayed remember to thank and praise Him.
• Thank your mate for doing this with you.

This will likely be difficult the first few times, but will get easier. The bond that this creates, however, is well worth every bit of uneasiness. Spiritually powerful and glorious in His eyes, this is what every relationship needs.

photo credit: Daniel Leininger

As the market has established, nothing is completely recession proof. In an emotionally driven civilization and a fairly unpredictable monetary condition, job safety has tended to mean not anything and cost reducing has prevailed past the route of the job marketplace. On the other hand, there are a quantity of careers that have nonetheless proven to be ?recession resistant?. Some are very lucrative, rewarding careers, and still some do not require four year degrees or time extensive training.

Health care is a very rewarding career, and job security is inevitable, especially with experience and tenure, simply due to the fact that illnesses and death are just parts of life, uninfluenced by economic status or stability. People do not stop getting sick if the economy is down. When you think of health care, you think of doctors and nurses, but unbeknownst to those not privy to the internal workings of the industry, it is a big field with never-ending opportunities if you have the endurance and patients, homonym anticipated. There are several jobs that one can have in the health care field, some of which do not require a doctorate or bachelor?s degree.

Physician assistants have the same functions as a doctor except for opening up their own practices or medicating patients, in some cases. They do not make as much as doctors or receive the possible notoriety, but they are well higher than middle salary. Nurse practitioners can make desirable salaries and even specialize or start up specialty practices. Often times, individuals visiting their all-purpose physician will really see a nurse practitioner in the place of work. Problem-solving cardiac sonographers are as well in style careers with a high demand rate due to the technological specialization. They collect reflected echoes and Doppler signals from images and tracings of a person?s heart, using ultrasound gear to measure the condition of the diverse functions and valves of the human being heart, very functional due to the elevated rate of cardiac illness in a fast food culture.

Physician assistants must go through a two-year training program, and at least two years of university and a certify exam, and the middle salary is $62.000 a year. A nurse practitioner does have to have a master?s degree in nursing and the middle pay is $74,000 per year. A cardiac sonographer merely needs a two-year associate?s degree, or in some cases, a 1-year official document in analytic sonography while a laboratory technician needs a bachelor?s degree with coursework in chemistry, biology, and statistics and state certification and licensing upon conclusion. Both of these supporting careers have a median salary of over $50,000 a year apiece.

Even though the fiscal services business has appreciably fallen over the past year, specially in the downturn, actuarial services, an ignored financial sector, is still thriving. Actuaries build up, price, and assess financial insurance items such as life, auto, health or homeowners insurance. The need is already up, and experts are in agreement that this sector of the fiscal field will grow exponentially previous to 2016.

Even among the downfall of the economic industry in the downturn, financial analysts and planners are nevertheless essential and common. Analysts assess the fiscal outlook of pieces and industries for organizations to invest in or measure. Personal financial planners and advisors help individuals with personal investments and finances. Financial analysts can work in a diversity of industries, although some might consider going the self-employment route as they can make three to five times what a salaried employee is making, more along a freelance line. An actuary needs a bachelor?s degree in mathematics, statistics, or finance and the related professional certification and makes a median salary of $86,000. A financial analyst normally needs a bachelor?s degree in finance and can make around $48,000. A financial planner needs a bachelor?s degree in money and to pass the documentation examination. He or she can make a median salary of $61,000.

Child bullying is a big problem in our schools today.  The main difference between child bullying today from the past is the nature of the bullying and the violence that occurs in the aftermath.  Cyberbullying is becoming a popular and more destructive form of bullying than traditional bullying.  More children today are bringing guns to school to seek revenge on others.  Child bullying has been around and will probably remain for years to come.  Unfortunately, we do not have the power to rid the world of bullying.  The answer to the issue of child bullying rests within us, especially the victims of bullying.  Victims of bullying are never responsible for being bullied.  On the contrary, victims of child bullying have the power in themselves to think, behave, and react in ways that limits or eradicates bullying.  As a society, we spend much of our energy identifying and punishing the bully that we fail to spend adequate time empowering the victims of child bullying.  We should spend more of our energy on the things that we can control rather than the things that we have limited or no control over.  We need to teach children about the power that they already possess.  Let me elaborate on a few issues that parents should teach their children regarding bullying prevention.

Let’s first talk about the characteristics of child bullying.  Typically, bullies and their victims share the same characteristic – low self-esteem.  It just depends on whether they internalize or externalize their feelings that will determine if they will become a bully or a victim of bullying.  Typically, negative situations and events in the child’s life can trigger low self-esteem.  Externalizing feelings can cause some children to become bullies as they attempt to control their environment to compensate for their lack of control in their family.  For instance, if the parents of a child are divorcing and the child is very upset about the divorce, he/she might feel powerless in his/her ability to keep his/her parents together.  As a result, the child might take out his/her rage on others for purposes of seeking control to compensate for his/her lack of control over their parents’ impending divorce.

Given the same scenario (parental divorce), some children internalize their feelings by not talking or acting out how they feel.  Instead, they become depressed and withdrawn feeling like a failure.  Often, they develop a negative image of themselves and their physical appearance.  They look at others and the world around them with shaded lens.  When a bully validates this child’s feelings about him/herself, this child often reacts negatively to the validation because he/she feels the bully is correct in their interpretation.

Often times, children with high self-esteem do not respond negatively to bullies because they already know that negative personal statements made by the bully are untrue and therefore are unworthy of attention.

As human beings, our behavior, thoughts, and feelings are never dictated or controlled by others, situations, and events unless we allow this to occur.  Simply said, others, situations, and events can trigger a reaction based on what we think.  For example, if I do not want to go to work today and my car has a flat tire, I might experience happiness because I do not want to go to work.  On the other hand given the same event (flat tire), I might want to go to work today to take care of some unfinished business.  Because the flat tire might delay or eliminate my chances of getting to work, this situation might cause me anger.  How could the same event in both situations cause two different feelings?  It was not the event at all that triggered the feelings.  It was what I thought about the event that triggered my feelings.  Therefore, manipulating the way we think can alter how we feel.  We have the power to take ownership and control over our thoughts.  We however have limited or no control over specific events, situations, and the behavior of others.  Sometimes, we attempt to control events, situations, and others but become frustrated when our attempts fail.

Now, how does the paragraph above apply to the issue of bullying prevention?  The main goal of bullies is to get their victims to experience fear, anger, or sadness.  Once their victim demonstrates signs of these emotions via the words he/she says, body language, or actions, the bully has complete and total control over him/her.  The bullying will continue until the victim no longer verbally and/or physically displays fear, anger, or sadness in response to the bullying.  The bullying will end once the victim responds the opposite of what the bully expects.

How do we get children to react the opposite of what the bully expects?  This is where role-playing comes in handy.  Parents should regularly sit down with their children helping them learn to react the opposite of what bullies expect.  Often times, this task is much easier when the parent knows what hurtful words or phrases bullies say that makes their children feel fearful, angry, or sad.  Using these hurtful words and/or phrases in role-plays will emotionally prepare children when they are approached by bullies.

It is also important to teach children that they have the power to change or affect the agenda of bullies by the words they use. For instance, if a bully calls a child ‘stupid’, the child could defuse the bullying by stating to the bully, “That’s nice”, “How about that”, “Oh, well”, and so forth.  The worst thing that the child could do is respond by telling the bully that he/she is stupid or make other negative statements.  A negative response will only inflame the situation encouraging further bullying.

In addition, parents should teach and role-play with their children specific forms of body language that differentiates a child with high self-esteem from a child with low self-esteem.  Body language communicates feelings more so than spoken words.  If a child yells at a bully stating that he/she is not bothered by the bully’s behavior, the bully knows that the child is bothered because of the yelling.  Lack of eye contact, looking down, slouched posture, lack of hygiene, and low tone of voice can be viewed as symptoms of low self-esteem.

Parents need to teach their children that bullies rarely get angry at them.  Bullies are typically angry at themselves and/or events that occurred or are occurring in their own life for which they have limited or no control.  Bullies indirectly take out their anger on the ones they could easily control.

Parents should never teach their children to physically fight back when approached by a bully.  The problem with fighting back is that children can get themselves into trouble for engaging in physically assaultive behavior.  Think of it this way – bullies rarely throw the first punch.  They always entice their victim into throwing the first punch.  This way when they are asked who started the fight, the bully could easily and truthfully state that their victim started it.  In addition, there are significant legal ramifications that can arise as a result of physically assaultive behavior.

It is important to remember that physical violence typically occurs after a negative verbal interaction.  Violence typically is provoked and rarely unprovoked.  Therefore to avoid violence, the conflict can and should be defused during the verbal exchange.  This is why the words victims say and their body language are so significant and detrimental to the outcome of bullying.  Recent school shootings suggest that the shooters were bullied by their classmates.  The bullying subsequently provoked the school violence.

Parents should be cautious when teaching their children to ignore bullies.  The problem with ignoring is that the bully knows that his/her behavior is irritating, annoying, and controlling his/her victim.  Therefore, the bullying will continue.

Parents should be cautious when teaching their children to report bullying to an adult without first attempting to resolve the conflict on their own.  Parents should encourage their children to first attempt to resolve the bullying on their own with the skills taught above.  If their children are unsuccessful resolving these issues on their own, they should be encouraged to report the bullying.  If their children automatically report the bullying without attempting to defuse the situation on their own, they will be perceived and labeled as a tattle-tale which will encourage the bullying to continue.

Parents need to teach their children the correct definition of the word ‘tattling’.  Some children think that reporting child misbehavior to adults is considered tattling.  Parents need to teach their children that reporting on others just to see them get into trouble is considered tattling.  A child that reports to his/her parents that his/her brother is picking his nose is considered tattling.  Children always need to report to an adult if they were physically, sexually, or verbally harmed by others or if they witnessed others engaging in destructive or illegal behaviors.

It is very easy to feel sympathetic toward victims of child bullying.  However, it would be more helpful to the victim if we are more empathic to their needs by empowering them to diffuse bullying on their own.  As a result, their ability to defuse the bullying would ultimately raise their level of self-esteem and self-worth.

Author’s Biography

Mark Lakewood, CEO, is a distinguished bullying prevention expert, author, and speaker with over 20 years of clinical experience as a family therapist.  He provided clinical and consultation services to school personnel and students on issues of bullying and behavior management. He facilitates the “Standing Up To Bullying” Conference, http://www.StandingUpToBullyingConference.com.

Two Snowflakes is a charming children’s book about identical twin snowflakes, Phina and Bella, who appear to be exactly alike, but aren’t quite the same when you get to know them … just like real twins! The twin snowflakes like being twins because they always have each other, but they also get tired of being seen as exactly the same when they like to do different things. At the end of the story, they meet up with real twin girls and melt on their tongues to be with them forever!

Author Jennifer Miller was inspired to write this delightful book by her own twin daughters, Josie and Anna. At the end of the book, she writes about her twins’ battle with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), a deadly complication that can arise with an identical twin pregnancy. Fortunately, though they had to be delivered early by emergency C-section, Josie and Anna have thrived and are doing well. Jennifer is donating $1 of every purchase of Two Snowflakes to The Fetal Hope Foundation to help raise awareness of TTTS (Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome) and other fetal syndromes.

A sneak preview of Two Snowflakes is available at http://www.twosnowflakes.net and you can order the book on Amazon. This book makes a wonderful gift for the twin children in your life or for a family who is expecting twins!

Jennifer Miller also has a website called Twin Happy, and she hosts TwinTuesday every Tuesday on Twitter! (Follow her at @TwinHappyJen.) I look forward to reading Jennifer’s upcoming sequel, Two Princesses!

It is strange the memories that stay with us.  I remember my grandfather on his riding lawnmower and driving his blue car.  I remember him getting ready for work and being in the bathroom putting Listerine (the mouthwash) on his head.  I think he made have had a cut in his head and was using that as a treatment to kill the germs.  (That is what I thought as a child)  I also remember every morning he would eat his bowl of bran flakes.  I don’t remember him ever raising his voice to me and he always encouraged me in whatever I was doing.

My grandfather had heart problems and he died at the hospital from a coronary thrombosis.  My grandmother was with him when he died.  My mother did not make it to the hospital in time.  I was told my grandfather was with the Lord and I would not see him again until I went to heaven.  So, in my mind – grandpa just left and went on a long vacation.  I felt like he didn’t tell me good-bye because he would see me again someday.  I was not taken to the funeral or visitation.  It was the first time my baby sister and I had been left with someone besides my grandparents.  I remember the lady who stayed with us kept asking me what she could do to help mom.  I finally told her she could clean out the refrigerator.  So, she did and my mom was so embarrassed when she returned to find out the lady cleaned the refrigerator.  I have no idea why I told her to clean the refrigerator out – perhaps I had run out of things for her to do.

My grandmother and parents must have grieved in private – because I don’t remember them crying.  I remember going to my grandmother’s house and feeling like it was such a lonely place without grandpa.  I missed him so much and wondered why and where grandpa went.

The wonderful thing is I know I will see him again in heaven someday.  I will cherish the precious memories of him that I have – the most vivid one of him giving me a red Hawthorne bike with training wheels.  I was around five or six at the time.  I learned to ride a two wheel bike on it and while learning to ride I ran into a tree and scraped my knee.  Luckily, the bike suffered no damage.  I was told that he thought the Lord would be calling him home soon and so he wanted to see me receive the gift of the bike.

The Lord has given me a precious gift with these memories of my grandfather that remain with me and I look forward to seeing him again when the Lord calls me home.  The thought I want to leave you with is that children see death in a child like perspective.  I saw death as nothing to fear because to me it was a long vacation for my grandfather and I knew someday I would see him again.

“This is the golden age of baby/toddler-hood,” I thought.

But then my son started to change.

His easy-going demeanor became downright mean. He started to bite, kick and scream when he didn’t get his way. He became the lil’ dictator of the house; 30 inches and 26 pounds of fury and want.

Now, I’m not saying my son is a monster. Nope. He’s a toddler, in the purest sense of the word.

Parents, I’m sure you’ve all been there—the moment your baby disappeared. I mean, my child is still here, but he’s no longer an infant. And with this blossoming toddler comes a whole new set of rules to learn. Just when I had the whole baby thing figured out, I need to read up on how to handle tantrums, discipline and how to avoid being bit and hit.

Do you have any advice you’d like to share about raising toddlers? Or would you like to share your feelings and experiences about watching your child transform from babyhood?

I will always remember my grandmother in her 90’s cooking family dinners for us.  She wouldn’t let anyone help her because that is how she showed her love for her family.  She was raised in the generation where it was a disgrace if you were not married and did not have a man to care for you.  I don’t think she ever understood my choice to remain single and follow the Lord.

My grandmother lost her first husband when she was in her 50’s.  She lived alone and I stayed with her at night for about four years.  Then, she married to a man who took care of her and they had a good life together.  He was a good man-I would spend weeks at a time with them during the summer.  Then, the Lord called him home.  My grandmother then eventually was married again – but I know in my heart this man was verbally and physically abusive to her.  I didn’t realize what was going on until my grandmother was hospitalized and she had marks on her neck from where he tried to choke her.  I reported it to the authorities – but since my grandmother didn’t want to leave him nothing was done.  She came from a generation that you didn’t leave your man under any circumstances.

I tried to convince her that we could get a place together – but she wouldn’t do it.  I believe another reason she refused was they were in a couples club and without a husband she wouldn’t have been included.  My grandmother is with the Lord – but the only regret I have is the wonderful times that we could have spent together and didn’t get the chance.  I have many wonderful memories of childhood and I will share a few of them with you.  One of my most favorite memories was going to the local “Dime Store” and getting a hot dog with a bun.  I can still remember the wonderful smells of the fresh popcorn in the store.  My grandmother and mom would then continue shopping after I had the snack.  Unfortunately, what usually happened was on the way to the next store I would trip and skin my knee.  I remember crying and they would go to a local drugstore and purchase some medication that helped the pain and probably prevented infection.  I just enjoyed being with my mother and grandmother.  The reason this was such a great adventure was that we lived in the country and so going to town and buying a hot dog was a very special occasion.

The last two memories involve a train.  I would go to my grandmother’s farm house to spend the day while my dad worked the farm with my grandfather.  So, my day was usually spent with my grandmother playing with me.  She lived in 2 story farm house with a long stairway that led upstairs.  Grandma and I would spend hours sitting on the steps playing train.  She was the conductor and I was the passenger – she would pretend to stop the train and then give me a list of possible destinations and I would choose one.  Then, we would pretend the train moving and then the train would stop and I would get off.  Then, it would start all over again.  This would go on for hours and only a loving grandmother would have taken the time to play with a child like this.

The next memory I have is that of riding a train in Flora, IL.  I think it was located near a park and (I believe) the train was called: “Little Toot”.  The train was going to be moved to another location – so one day my grandmother took me to Flora and we rode the train all afternoon.  My grandmother told me as we rode the train the last time that day – she wanted me to remember this day forever because someday I would only have my memories to reflect on.  She was very correct because at this point in my life – I have no family that I am close too and since my mom and grandmother are with the Lord – I am so blessed to have memories to get me through the tough times.

So, if I can leave you with one thought – that would be enjoy today and make memories that will last forever.