Learning and Living

We can transplant a heart into a new donor; but are confused on most affairs of the heart. We see geese fly south for winter; but we often are lost in the direction our lives. We see schools of fish, packs of dogs, flocks of birds; but forget that we too have strength in numbers. We are taught how to form sentences; but depend on texting and emailing rather person to person communication.

"Be the leading actor/actress in your own life story, not the supporting role." You are responsible for your own life, your own happiness, your own life story.

Inclusive Life is a non-profit Care & Service Group serving all, without exception. (402) 516-8475 www.inclusivelife.org

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· Online-Telephone and Office Life Coaching.

· Pastoral Care.

· Daily Inclusive Words AND NOW The Message via weekly podcast.

Sacred Space

Sacred Space can be as small as the breath taken during silent time or as vast as an ocean or forest view. Do you have a “sacred space” that you can go to when you are ready to be still, be centered, be healthy? My home space includes a chime, nails, rocks, a crystal, cross, bibles, palms, prayer stone, oil, and, candles. My space brings me healing, comfort, connection, and warmth.

Mixed reception for UN anti-poverty action review

Mixed reception for UN anti-poverty action review via Ekklesia

Political leaders at the summit acknowledged that progress towards achieving the eight MDGs by 2015 is not where it should be.

In a final "outcome document" for the 20 to 22 September 2010 UN summit, participants recommitted themselves to achieving the goals, which include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

Church leaders have applauded the progress made so far to reduce global poverty but say more must be done.

The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a letter that, "Without significant transformations in global economic frameworks, the attainment of the MDGs by 2015 is endangered".

Referring to the New York-based UN high-level summit on the MDGs, Tveit's letter expressed concern that governments needed to do more to address the root causes of poverty. The WCC leader said that if this were not done, justice-oriented reforms would not be possible.

"In today's globalised world, efforts by nations to meet the MDGs are more and more contingent on an enabling international economic environment," wrote Tveit.

The world leaders meeting in New York failed to decide on what some observers claim must be done to tackle the most pressing problems hindering the elimination of poverty.

"We need action on hunger, poverty, trade and human rights, and we need it now," said John Nduna, General Secretary of the Geneva-based ACT Alliance, one of the world's largest humanitarian and development networks, after the New York meeting.

Pray for our leaders and those spearheading humanitarian efforts.

Blessings Life Love

BLESSINGS: Believe, experience, live, thankful, share.

LIFE: live, engage, challenge, work, do.

LOVE: give, receive, soak, responsible, mercy.

Inclusive Life is a non-profit Care & Service Group serving all, without exception. Wedding Services. Online-Telephone and Office Life Coaching. Pastoral Care.Daily Inclusive Words AND NOW The Message via weekly podcast. (402) 516-8475 www.inclusivelife.org

Closer Walk

Living life isn’t about just one theme or one topic is it? It is about believing, knowing, learning, getting through it, it is about a closer walk with ourselves, it is about a closer walk with the scared.

As the song goes: “…keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long as I walk, let me walk close to Thee. Just a closer walk with Thee” How close to do you walk?

To listen to the rest of the message, click here.

Life Passions

Each Saturday I will share a one of Nine Basic Life Passions. Ones passion normally falls into at least one category, based on the activities you love to do. Week 1: Discover, Innovator & Visionary. Are you curious about everything that is new? People who follow these life paths are at the forefront of scientific, cultural and social development. They excel at leaping into the unknown and making it known.

Fundraising firms kept most donations intended for charity.

A Vancouver court finds that fundraising firms kept most donations intended for charity.

A fundraising company hired by Canadian Food for the Hungry International kept more than 80 per cent of the funds it raised for the Abbotsford-based Christian charity, according to the Provincial Court judgment.

The ruling released earlier this month involved a claim by Ontario-based Fundraising Initiatives Inc. for $19,622 it alleged it was still owed by Canadian Food for the Hungry.

Provincial Court Judge K.D. Skilnick dismissed the claim by Fundraising Initiatives, saying the claimant failed to provide enough evidence to support its case.

The judge also found that “very little of the funds raised will make their way to feed the hungry.”

Skilnick cited evidence showing that Fundraising Initiatives raised $220,675 and was paid $176,910 for its services and given a credit of $13,650.

This is a shame. taking advantage of a good work to keep money for business. Sounds terrible but Im afraind it happens often.

Facebook CEO's Gift: Philanthropy Or Image Control?

WasFacebook CEO's Gift Philanthropy Or Image Control?

Mark sees himself as a Bill Gates type. He has a hacker mentality — he wants to take on the establishment and he wants to make a difference.


- Ben Mezrich, author of "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook"

This is the epitome of looking a gift horse in the mouth. Good for Mark Zuckerberg. Good for us.

Got Smile?

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”

GOT SMILE? Good, share them! J

Got Smile?

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”

GOT SMILE? Good, share them! J

School Closures Hit Homeless Students Hard

Something we'd never think about...

“The system can be very complex for a student who may be in a shelter or doubled up and living with friends,” said Alexandra E. Pavlakis, a senior policy analyst for the Institute and author of the report. “If a school is phasing out, it can be a complicated [process] to get a school that fits the student’s needs.”

Education Week: School Closures Hit Homeless Students Hard, Study Finds

Can the world’s poor text their way out of poverty?

“The starting point is always mobile devices”, said Google’s Eric Schmidt on the first day of the conference. “They are the lifeline for information for many of the people in the world.” Once people get online, he said, they can start businesses, advertise and connect with each other - driving economic growth.

Mobile phones can “create commerce for people who in many cases haven’t had an opportunity to have a job before”, said former T-Mobile USA chief John Stanton.

Can the world’s poor text their way out of poverty? Read and decide...

The Whole Life Ten: Christianity-as-Philanthropy | Transformational Giving

"Nonprofits and parachurch ministries are church renewal movements, called to equip the church comprehensively in a particular work of mercy so that work may once again be normative for Christians."

Read the article by Reverend Eric Foley,The Whole Life Ten: Christianity-as-Philanthropy | Transformational Giving, an inspiring look at why we should be doing what we are doing.

Peace,

Bro Joe

Keeping Connected

Get out from behind your TV, handheld devise, or computer screen. Screens have their place but they will never replace or have the same effect as eye contact, a smile or that personal touch. Communication is a largely nonverbal experience that requires you to be in direct contact with other people, so don’t neglect your real-world relationships in favor of virtual interaction.

Spend time daily, face-to-face, with people you like. Make spending time with people you enjoy a priority. Choose friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family members who are upbeat, positive, and interested in you. Take time to inquire about them!

Volunteer. Doing something that helps others has a beneficial effect on how you feel about yourself. The meaning and purpose you find in helping others will enrich and expand your life. There is no limit to the individual and group volunteer opportunities you can explore. Schools, churches, nonprofits, and charitable organization of all sorts depend on volunteers for their survival.

Be a joiner. Join networking, social action, conservation, and special interest groups that meet on a regular basis. These groups offer wonderful opportunities for finding people with common interests – people you like being with who are potential friends.

You ARE the author of your own life story... what are YOU writing?

It's a dirty job but somebody aught to do it.

Today I had one of the world's most smelly jobs. It was removing stagnant trash from a flooded basement. I had done work before sort of under the same circumstance...a widowed woman with limited ability has a flood in the basement. She is alone and relies on others for help. This time the word came to me from a Church group. I volunteered to help. It was a strenuous job with a stench quite its own.

As I cleaned, pushed standing water to a drain, bleached and scrubbed the mold and mildew off the floor I was reminded of all the menial labor I endured that had nothing to do with Spiritual Direction or Pastoral Counseling. Suddenly there was a sense of reason behind it all. And I was fine with that.

There is a story that St. Anthony of Padua wanted to be better known for his dish washing than his theology. I could relate. She ended up paying me for the work and I never felt a more precious wage.

This is the ideal behind Brother's Keeper Ministries. Serve when you can, whoever you can, however you can.

Be blessed.

Bro Joe

A man after our hearts - From the Southwest Journal

Volunteer outreach worker Jerry Fleischaker honored with prestigious McKnight award.

“They see us as their one chance to make it,” he said. “That is the stressful part of the whole thing — you realize you’re being looked at as the one person that might be able to get them off the street. You take that on as a responsibility. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.”

Check out this
great story! about Jerry and his service to the homeless.

Walk for thought!

Join the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota on Saturday, September 25, 2010 for the 9th annual Walk For Thought at Como Park in St. Paul, Canal Park in Duluth, Silver Lake in Rochester, and new this year - CentraCare Rehabilitation Center in St. Cloud. Walk For Thought is a fundraising event for individuals who have experienced a brain injury and their loved ones.

US poverty on track to post record gain

US poverty on track to post record gain in 2009 - Yahoo! News

By Hope Yen And Liz Sidoti, Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON – The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.

Census figures for 2009 — the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat's presidency — are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings.

It's unfortunate timing for Obama and his party just seven weeks before important elections when control of Congress is at stake. The anticipated poverty rate increase — from 13.2 percent to about 15 percent — would be another blow to Democrats struggling to persuade voters to keep them in power.

"The most important anti-poverty effort is growing the economy and making sure there are enough jobs out there," Obama said Friday at a White House news conference. He stressed his commitment to helping the poor achieve middle-class status and said, "If we can grow the economy faster and create more jobs, then everybody is swept up into that virtuous cycle."

Interviews with six demographers who closely track poverty trends found wide consensus that 2009 figures are likely to show a significant rate increase to the range of 14.7 percent to 15 percent.Read more...

One in 7 people were counted in this nations poor in 2009.

This the highest rate since at least 1965, when another Democratic president, Lyndon B. Johnson, launched the war on poverty that expanded the federal government's role in social welfare programs from education to health care.

Where is the answer? For now good people need to step up and provide what the government can't. It is a tremendous privilege and responsibility to be your Brother's Keeper.

Australia, N.Zealand Top Charity Index; US 5th - ABC News

Australia, N.Zealand Top Charity Index; US 5th - ABC News

While the US News is enthralled with the Koran burning debacle out of Florida, here is some news that should make Americans, nationalist or not, stop and think. It doesn't do much for national pride to tie for fifth in giving.

Go Team USA (sarcasm duely noted)!

Courtney E. Martin: Do It Anyway: The Top 10 Ways that the Next Generation is Shifting Activism

Courtney E. Martin: Do It Anyway: The Top 10 Ways that the Next Generation is Shifting Activism

We're not trying to succeed perfectly, because we know that's not possible in such a globalized, economically-fragile, morally complex word. Instead, we're trying to fail beautifully. As William Faulkner said, "All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible."

A look at the new post-Katrina activism.