4 Search Results for "hunger"

• Feeding Hunger

  • From: nan
  • Description:

                                                                          
    

     

     Feeding Hunger of the Heart
    

    Thanksgiving is approaching...Yesterday I spent time in my classroom talking with the children about sharing with others who need to be fed. We discussed what we had eaten for breakfast, and the students enjoyed sharing. We talked about how fortunate we are to have what we need to nourish our bodies.

    I consider many of us feel full as we finish a meal, but often we are still hungry for more. We don’t feel content, and sadly we often don’t realize why.  Perhaps we need to be fed by more than what mere portions of food can provide.

    We hunger for peace, and calm in a world that is hurting... We hunger for good health, and a spirit of contentment. We hunger for hope and joy, and need to understand why we are hungry for so much more…

    Sometimes we cannot imagine God is near, but God is here…He has prepared all we need to nourish our souls. He is waiting to be invited to our tables, and satisfy hunger which grows inside every one who needs to be fed.

    There is hunger of the heart which needs to be filled with portions of God’s loving grace. He is the only one who truly knows what we need, and He is waiting to fill us with His presence. God wants us to benefit from what we will receive, when we fill our plates with the many blessings of His love.

    Do you feel full, or are you still hungry for a relationship with God? He wants to feed you, and show you how to feel content in His presence, in His word (the Bible) and in prayer with Him. All you need to do is call on Him, and ask Him to be the invited guest at the table of your life.

    God wants to feed us. He knows our hunger deep inside. If you allow Him to serve you with everything you need, He will replace the hunger of your heart. He will bless you with a spirit of thanksgiving, and you will finally understand what it means to be full.

    God is near,

    Nan
    

    Scripture: Jesus said to them; I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never be thirsty.  John 6:35

    Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for providing us with your bread of life. You give hope to the world. Help us understand what we need to feel full of your grace, as we learn to draw close to you and feel the fullness of your gentle love. Amen

  • Blog post
  • 2 weeks ago
  • Views: 123

• SUSTAINABLE SOCIETIES

  • From: tatarlak
  • Description:
    style="font-size: large;"style="font-size: small;"

     

    Climate change is a problem that affects us all beyond borders, races and creeds, and one of its main trigger is the use of fossil fuels. Their use also poses a needless economic burden, both for developed societies like the societies in developing countries. But is not the only factor that contributes to climate change also another factor to consider is the destructive capacity as well as constructive man, who in the past 100 years has been capable of destroying whole ecosystems for development their society to implement adequately discoveries in the development of renewable energies and turn their cities into a part of the environment, causing minimal impact on the ecosystem another issue to consider is the need to recycle our garbage as a whole as well as to make a rational use of our drinking water supplies. The last issue highlighted is that even today the man continues to build its industry and civil society around a well so scarce, expensive and destructive to the environment such as fossil fuels seems absurd to continue along these lines taking less expensive alternatives that would, safe and sustainable development of our societies. There is no doubt that this escalation to continue, sooner or later, becomes a cruel and sterile war for control of raw materials, and also there is no doubt that this war like so many others before it will not bring more hunger and desolation and destruction of society as we know it, probably leading to societies even worse. It is also likely to be encountered societies better, but the seeds of destructive war is not solution to solve current problems, nor has it ever been. The solution is quite simple, and it is not eradicate the use of fossil fuels but to make reasonable use of this scarce good and start using renewable energy sources for civil society, in order to create sustainable cities coexist with the ecosystem without damaging it and without disruption as far as possible. It is not now to destroy everything we have created to build something different but they are implementing the energy solutions to current problems. Such solutions could go on line to replace, so gradual park private vehicles that use gasoline or diesel vehicles that use hydrogen or solar power or other non-polluting systems for traction, it could also encourage or even compel, to make homes using photovoltaic energy for its energy supply, it probably would not solve the energy needs of citizens, but it will turn cities into real centers of production of clean energy that ultimately would end up in the network, which would lower electricity demand another important factor to consider is the recycling of garbage, lack of awareness in this area makes us beings destructive to the planet, is a reasonable solution, since the administration, encouraging an active and conscious recycling of garbage because that process is far from being aware of how active today's society. Regarding the use of fossil fuels such as oil, which is highly polluting as I said before, this is not eradicate their use, but restrict the use of the industry and the pursuit of raw materials for manufacture of products for use by civil society, such as chemicals for the manufacture of plastics, heavy oils, tar and asphalt. Also in this group of fossil fuels are gas and coal which should be referred to the industry for their polluting effects. Another factor is the economic cost of these measures or part of them, although at

    first assumed the civil society as they are introduced and generating profits in the medium term should mean a cost manageable by the administration, and therefore by the society as a whole, and medium and long term a better world for future generations, it would also be important to emphasize research and development of renewable energy for industry, in order apaliar and the deficit will mean that the lack of such materials, we must enhance this research to create cleaner societies in all fields, they evolve in the same way as they did previously, since the dawn of human civilization to the present day. In conclusion, it would be a breakthrough begin to take seriously these issues and seek solutions to create sustainable societies, which in the long run are better in all areas, because to eradicate the shortcomings of this world we live in, obviously we must pass "the era of oil" and jump right into the "era of renewables," and because tomorrow is partly ours and partly of our offspring, the future must begin building today.

     

    "Building a better tomorrow will be conditional

    on the strength of foundation that put in this "

    Antonio Garcia Leal ®

     

     

  • Blog post
  • 1 month ago
  • Views: 97
  • Not yet rated

• THE BABY & THE BATHWATER

  • From: nemokc
  • Description:

    Recently, I posted a blog entitled ‘LET THEM EAT…McDONALDS” that elicited a lot of comments and several other blog postings.   It was begun as a complaint about a Missouri State Representative who is currently the chairwoman for the Standing Committee on Families and Children.  This is a group that makes recommendations on laws regarding families and children.   I felt that her comments were completely out of line and showed a remarkable lack of understanding of the issues facing children from poor families. (This was especially true for someone responsible for advising the state legislature on laws concerning children.  Suggesting that hunger is a great motivator for teens is out of line for someone in her position….regardless of the need for the program or the quality of the program being mentioned.  She needs to removed as chairwoman.)  There were some on this site that violently disagreed with me about the need for the Summer Food Program.  There was a lot of back & forth with very little give on either side.

                But one blogger posted a comment that was worth examining in more detail.   He repeatedly asked me to respond to it and I thought he was talking about another comment that I did respond to, so I ignored it.  I have copied Odessacon’s remarks in bold below in their entirety and I will highlight my responses.  We agree on many of the goals he puts forward.  We disagree on the path to reach those goals. His comment illustrates one of one of the fundamental problems facing our country today.  Something that could probably best be called THE BABY & THE BATHWATER SYNDROME.

                We all remember the old adage…”Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”.   A simple idea really…when something is wrong with the baby’s bathwater (it’s cold, it’s dirty, it’s got poop in it, whatever) you throw the bathwater out and change it to what you want.   But whatever you do, keep in mind that your goal is a clean baby…don’t get so caught up in getting the bathwater perfect that you lose the baby changing the water.

                As a country we tend to do that.   The Veterans Administration is a prime example.   Untold numbers of vets wait years for treatment because of large amounts of red tape.  Most of it designed to ensure that taxpayers are not defrauded of their investment.   Apparently at one point in history, it was a real concern to many taxpayers. They believed that Americans were claiming injuries suffered after their enlistment was over as service related injuries. With treatment costs for those non-war injuries covered through your tax dollars.  That doesn’t happen much anymore.   There is enough red tape that by the time you have worked through it…you have proved that the injury is war related.  Of course, you may have waited several years for the treatment…but no tax dollars are wasted!    

    So when we look at Odessacons suggestions for reforming government, we find that many on both sides of the issues do have common ground in the final goal.   The problem is how do you achieve the goal without doing more harm than good.  And that is where we differ.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    How would I reform the federal government? (reprinted from comments by Odessacon)

     

    1.social security would be solvent.People with LEGITIMATE disabilities will be cared for.

    2.Our elderly that didnt have retirment planed(or couldnt save) will be taken care of

    I agree wholeheartedly with both points 1 & 2.  But the reality is that Americans are living longer & longer.   And that is a significant part of the problem with social security solvency.   It costs much more than we thought it would 40 years ago when the current “boomers” put money into social security.  Do we delay retirement?  (Which is a sacrifice that we probably should look at.  It’s an idea that will HELP but won’t solve the problem.) Or do we cap payments to wealthier Americans?  Is there any other way to achieve this goal?  (And please don’t suggest privatizing accounts so that you can play the market with your retirement, because that is an area that we won’t agree on.)

     

    3. We will provide a TWO YEAR safety net for those that are ABLE to work but have fallen on hard times.You have to work for 1 year before you can qualify for benefits again.This program would have JOB TRAINING as a center piece.If your not willing to participate in traing-no benefits!

    Job Training programs are great.  Are you willing to fund them?    Will you also provide child care so that single mothers are able to attend?   If someone qualifies for benefits, takes the training and doesn’t find work…..what happens then?  If the decision is made to remove children from a home because the parent doesn’t participate, do you have enough foster homes for their care?

    4.We would stop MOST foreign aid programs UNLESS equally funded by other nations.

    I can agree with this to a degree.   The argument will fall on what constitutes “MOST” foreign aid.  For example, the military is promoting aid to Afghanistan because it’s the carrot in their “Carrot & Stick” diplomacy.   Can you accept agricultural aid to Afghanistan?

    5.we would have a state of the art military,adequately funded.This is as much a deterent as it is a needed instrument if we actually have to go to war.

    I agree if “adequate funding’ include more troops, planes, tanks, etc.  Or does it also include high tech programs that have shown NO success, have been on-going for years past their original deadlines, etc.?   IE: STAR WARS STYLE DEFENSE SYSTEMS

    6. We would simplify the tax code so the rich guy cant scam it,but we dont PUNISH innovation and success.You could still have the progressive system if that was reasonable but I think more people need to give the "flat tax" or "fair tax" another look. Both have the potential to benefit everyone.

    I’m not opposed to tax reform, but how high an exemption does one set for a flat tax?    What percentage do you pay after that exemption?    Do you still allow the wealthiest of Americans to keep the multitude of exemptions that effectively mean they pay a lower percentage of their income than you & I do?   I should also state that I am NOT opposed to taxes.  I like roads, bridges, health care, etc.  I believe we should pay for it.  I don’t believe you should fight a war on credit.   If you start a war, you increase taxes to pay for it.  If you need a new “smart grid” for the country, you pay for it.  I just want the money to be well spent!

    7. TERM LIMITS!!!!!!!!! You dont go to Washington for a career that gets you in tight with special interest groups! You go there to serve your country.This simple change would cut tons of corruption and waste out of the system.

    No argument what so ever.   (And keep in mind that I have supported both Sen. Bond & Congressman Cleaver for years because they are great at procuring federal money for state projects.)  But permanent citizen rulers were not the idea of our founding fathers.

    8. States rights! 90% of what the Federal Government does now,it has no jurisdiction under the constitution. As the(formally)wealthiest nation on Earth we can,In my opinion offer the social programs I listed above,IF WE CUT OUT ALL THESE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT ARE WASTEFUL AND NOT EXPLICITLY STATED IN THE CONSTITUTION.

    I think you will find that you cut a lot of things you never realized how much you will miss.    You should also keep in mind that part of the philosophy behind the Federal Government being involved in states is because you need a certain continuity between states.  If Idaho decides that marriage between a black man and a white woman is illegal, they could decide not to honor any legal obligations of such a marriage.  If Missouri legalizes marijuana and Kansas doesn’t….what does that do to the states?   How about the recent case of local Texas police raiding a gay bar and beating the patrons?   If the local government agrees to this, does the rest of the country ignore it?   What if California decides Fundamentalist Christians are as bad as Texas thinks gays are?   Are you still willing to just move to another state because your rights are being trampled?

    And while it sounds good to say that the states should pay for what they want, it’s not always possible in the real world.   For instance, Louisiana can’t afford research on hurricane predictions.  But they really need those predictions.    Alaskans think that it’s silly, but volcanoe research is very important to them.    And neither of these states have much in the way of state revenues.   It’s rather funny, but the states that receive less in federal aid than they pay in taxes to the federal government are the large blue states….California, New York, etc.    The beneficiaries of the current system of federal involvement are the poor states.

     

    I can agree in theory to many of Odessacons’s suggestions for reforms.  But the devil’s in the detail and most Americans are unwilling to compromise on their own beliefs.  Cutting programs that I deem senseless may not be to you

    During WWII, there was a shared sense of sacrifice in our country!   We did not just send our “boys” off to war.   We supported the war effort.   Victory Gardens were planted by mothers. Fathers bought war bonds to help share the cost of the war effort.   And in a unprecedented social move, women went to work in factories to build the tanks and planes their sons were dying in.  

    During the Great Depression, millions of Americans joined the W.P.A.   They did this because they needed jobs.  They traveled all over the country leaving their families for months at a time.  And through their hard work and sacrifice they built roads, bridges, dams and buildings that are still in use today some eighty years later.

    Following 9/11, we were asked to collectively join together…and shop!    During the Iraq War, we imagined that it was possible to fight two wars and cut taxes at the same time.   We put an entire war on our American Express Card.  But we did not as a whole sacrifice for this.   Our military families did.    But most of us did nothing more than to watch the war from the sofa while eating popcorn and waving our flags like it was the Super Bowl of Foreign Policy.

    There are a lot of problems facing our country today.   To solve them will require a great deal of cooperation between all Americans.   It will also require something that we as a country have forgotten about…sacrifice.   Our problems are too big to let just a few carry the heavy lifting for us all.  We will all need to remember that compromise is essential to our survival as a nation.  We are all going to have to give a little…or even a lot.  

    John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.”  Disastrous and unpalatable, two terms descriptive of so many of answers to our fundamental problems.   My use of WWII is a great example of how each program or policy is a two-edged sword for America.   Women going to work in factories during WWII was instrumental to our winning WWII.   But some would tell you that women going to work, is the cause of the erosion of the American family.  (There are statistics that suggest this.)  Do we praise these women for their sacrifice or chastise them for allowing our society to change forever?

    So as we examine the many proposed programs that the Obama administration would like us to support, we must ask ourselves not what do these programs do to ME…but what will they do for US?  We must also accept that there will be sacrifice on our parts to achieve success.   We must focus on the overall goal and not how this will hurt me individually.  Both the right & the left will need to give up some sacred cows.

    The President’s energy plan is an excellent example.   Do we trade higher energy costs for a “smart grid” that protects us from terrorist attack?   Which is ultimately more important?   Is it acceptable if we open up more domestic drilling?  And mind you, I’m not entirely sold on the plan.  I am very angry with how Congress added last minute details without review.  I am curious as to how home sales will be effected?  Lots of questions, but I still would maintain that merely being upset because it might raise energy costs without consideration of what the country gains is a lot like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

  • Blog post
  • 4 months ago
  • Views: 369
  • Not yet rated

• LET THEM EAT...McDONALDS!

  • From: nemokc
  • Description:

    We all experience life-changing moments at odd times.   Those chance encounters that you remember for the rest of your days because what you learned was such a shock to your insulated lifestyle.

    One of those moments for me came several years ago when my company was asked to feed Thanksgiving dinner to a group of 100 local, homeless, school children.  I agreed to the request and showed up at the appropriate time with several roast turkeys, mashed potatoes, gravy and other "holiday fare".  

    The kids were late!   It was during my busy season so I wasn't real happy about that.  I was a little ashamed of my personal reaction when I discoved that the reason they were late was that they were having to hunt down the children.  "What do you mean?", I asked.  And was told that the kids "couch surf" between different homes each day, so it takes a little extra time to find them.   But eventually they arrived and proceeded to eat. 

    At the end of the meal, a six year old boy came back to the buffet and asked if he could take home some dinner to his mother.  He said, "I don't want my Mom to go hungry tonight".   And my universe was upended.   The realization finally hit home that I lived in the richest country in the world....and there were still 1st graders who felt obligated to try to feed their family.   They weren't worried about things I think of kids worrying about.  Things like missing TV or tomorrow's recess or their next soccer game.  They were worried about feeding Mom at the ripe old age of 6!  THAT'S SO WRONG!!!

    I've done that same event every year since.  It's one that I never hand off to an employee because I never want to be so comfortable that I  forget that boy's situation.  (And I will remember the look in his eyes until the day I die.)

    Hunger is a major problem both for this country and for Missouri:

    "one in five Missouri children lives with hunger. That ties us with Louisiana for the nation's seventh-highest rate, according to a report released last month by the hunger-relief charity Feeding America.
    
    Or that the recession has pushed the number of poor Missouri kids who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches by 8.3 percent this year, well above the national average."
    

    I tell you this story to introduce you to this woman:

    

    Dressed in her cute pink outfit, surrounded by her husband and children is Missouri State Legislator Cynthia Davis from St. Charles County. She is the co-owner of BACK TO BASICS CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE in O'Fallon Missouri.  "Rep. Davis has been appointed to serve as the Majority Floor Whip. She was also elected by her peers to be the Secretary for the Women Legislators of Missouri and was also elected to be the Vice-President of First Capitol Federation of Republican Women. She is also serving as the Republican Committeewoman for the Dardenne Township."  She also chairs the Missouri House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families.  

    She recently released a statement in her newsletter on a summer program sponsored by the Agricultural Department to feed school aged children during the summer.   This program last year fed 3.7 million meals at a total cost of under 9.5 million dollars.  (By using local churches and food pantries, that keeps the costs to under $3/meal.  Pretty efficient use of our tax dollars if you ask me.)

    ---

    The chair of the Committee on Children & Families wrote:

    "While I have not seen this as a problem in my district, it is entirely possible that the (summer feeding) program is designed to address problems that exist in other parts of Missouri," Ms. Davis says in her newsletter.
    
    "The right way to solve this is with more education. If parents ... don't know how to serve nutritious meals, let's help them learn to do that."
    
    Why have meals at home with your loved ones if you can go to the government soup kitchen and get one for free? This could have the effect of breaking apart more families.

    Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Can’t they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals?

    Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break.

    Families may economize by choosing to not waste hard earned dollars on potato chips, ice cream, or Twinkies. Perhaps some families will buy more beans and chicken and less sweets.

    They are using a "crisis" to create an expansion of a government program. Parents naturally love their children and enjoy caring for their children just as much as ever during an economic downturn...Laid off parents could adapt by preparing more home cooked meals rather than going out to eat.

    ---

    Rather obviously, Rep. Davis is a little out of touch with the real world that many of her fellow Missourians face.

    Here's a reality check for you:

    

    This is what a food line looks like.   There are lots of them in Missouri.   This one's from Southwest Missouri!  Does this look like a made-up "crisis" just to increase government?

    
    This is what one of the children who was fed last summer from the program you scoff at looks like!  (He looks a little short to run a fryer safely!)

    Rep. Davis is a disgrace to her office and to our state!  She should be ashamed of herself and her district should be ashamed of themselves if they re-elect her.

    If this story upsets you as much as it did me, you can do three things to help.

    1)  Make a donation of food or money to a local food pantry.   Make sure the donation is made in honor of Rep. Davis!

    2)  You can e-mail Rep. Davis yourself at cynthia.davis@house.mo.gov

    3)  Contact your local state legislator to ask them to lobby Republicans to remove Rep. Davis from her chairmanship of the Committe on Children and Families.   Missouri deserves better representation than this!

  • Blog post
  • 5 months ago
  • Views: 1543
  • Not yet rated