Thursday, September 24, 2015

The whole truth and nothing but the truth?




What does the Bible say about telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth?  NOTE IN A COURT OF LAW I AM SURE GOD intends that peope tell the whole truth.  But some think this phrase said in court came from the Bible. I didn't realize this thought from the Bible until 2009.
 KJV Proverbs 29:11  A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
***Some things are no one's business but your own and God.

Helping Youth Have a Faith of Their Own

"This article is reprented by permission from Leading Ideasa free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary and available at Lewis Center for Church Leadership"
Here is the site for the orginal article Helping Youth Have a Faith of Their Own. Originally published Feb. 8, 2012.

Helping Youth Have a Faith of Their Own
The fact that youth participate in church less as they get older and often are not present in church as young adults can lead church leaders to assume they lack religious interest. A new book growing out of the National Study of Youth and Religion challenges that assumption. Sociologists Lisa Pearce and Melinda Lundquist Denton found that older teens and young adults see great significance in religion though not always in institutional forms of religious life.
In their book A Faith of Their Own: Stability and Change in the Religiosity of America’s Adolescents (Oxford University Press, 2011), the authors follow up with 2,530 young people, age 16 to 21, surveyed about their faith and religious practices at two points in time. The authors identified five types of religious identity among these young persons.
Abiders (20 percent). These are the adolescents with the highest levels of religious interest and practice. They not only believe in God; they pray regularly, attend services, volunteer, and are most likely to say their religion is the only true faith.
Adapters (20 percent). This group shows high levels of personal religiosity. But compared to the Abiders, they are more accepting of other people’s faiths and attend religious services more sporadically. The Adapters are most likely of all the groups to help others in need.
Assenters (31 percent). These teens say they believe in God, but they are minimally engaged with their faith. Religion is tangential to other aspects of their lives.
Avoiders (24 percent). They believe in God but do not engage in any religious practice. Their God is a distant one, and they often do not name a religious affiliation.
Atheists (5 percent). They do not believe in God and do not attend services.
Meaning for Congregations
What might this mean for congregations wanting to be sensitive to the faith perspectives of youth? We know that participation in formal religious services means little to many youth. They do not necessarily see themselves as less religious because they attend worship less often. The church is often not their primary community of meaning during these years.  
The writers suggest that congregations can support youth as they refine their religious identity with an approach called “scaffolding.” Scaffolding creates a context in which youth can participate at a level just beyond where they are currently. Instead of asking youth to go where they are not ready to go, they are helped to grow from where they are. Hallmarks of all such efforts must be honesty and acknowledgement of the role of doubt in faith.
All people have distinctive issues and needs at various life stages. One lesson from this research is the importance of supporting youth in appropriate ways during these critical years.
Lovett H. Weems, Jr.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

FLEA MARKET FLIP REQUEST FROM A FRIEND

Lately exploration of my talents have allowed me to push myself beyond my comfort zone or normal box.  I owe a lot to a friend for giving me this confidence.
Here is the drawing me coaxed me into finishing.  Thanks friend.
"Make me a coffee table!"  I said okay.
I started my search over a few weeks....keying in on finish.  I have had surgery and thud taking longer to make. Yet, I think this should provide the time I need to fit the job to my friend like a glove.
Here is the base painted a different color, Foss.
It has a handle that opens with two shelves for storage.  I may put some other specific storage.    Next, I painted this and will glue it ontop of this base.
Take off the frame and ornate art stuff and you have a shelf shadowbox from the 70's.  I painted it Foss.  Embossed pictures of my friend from her family and a few from mine over years and during college will be put onto of the mirror part in hopefully a eye catching arrangement.  I plan to throw in some pharmacy memento's and SWOSU stuff....just enough.
I asked opinions.  .....what should the top be solid wood, glass or give me a suggestion.  I believe I have my answer and pray I find the size and just right fit to make it pop.  That would make finishing this upcycling nice for me.
I am now looking for two pieces of wood/glass.  Wood all around with glass in the middle like cabinets and a knob on to where it opens in the middle of the coffee table.  I have been surfing the web for a couple of hours and found nothing but I have a few weeks to finish this.
Please provide feedback.  Websites with ideas and training and other hints.  Tell me things you like about my ideas and those you don't.  Any good business person knows sucess depends on satisfing your customers.  Money may not be any issue yet but making something for a person that likes it is a starting goal.  I am considering this is a side business...but long way off.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Iran Deal; Like Cattle Herded – History Lesson Go Unheeded And Our Freedoms Dwindle

Iran Deal; Like Cattle Herded –
History Lesson Go Unheeded And Our Freedoms Dwindle


            At this URL site https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/iran-deal, the heading is “The Historic Deal That Will Prevent Iran From Acquiring a Nuclear Weapon.”  Our President, Barack Obama, is confident the deal he has brokered will accomplish this.  Or, does he?  After all President Obama is a student of history and as a lawyer he has experience in looking at a track record as a tool to predict future behavior. Or, am I assuming to much in this case?

         Germany, Russia, European Union, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States agree to the terms of a deal that “will verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”  It allows for peaceful development of nuclear energy to meet the nation’s power needs. 

This URL, http://www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/Nuclear-Statistics/World-Statistics/World-Nuclear-Power-Plants-in-Operation will give you a list of countries besides the United States operating Nuclear Power Plants.  Pakistan (remember we found Osama bin Laden in a compound there) and Iran are two countries with nuclear power that concern me.  Remember the Pakistan scientist that admitted on TV he gave North Korea technology and other secrets on nuclear power. North Korea boasts of testing nuclear weapons.

If you had a friend that kept borrowing money over period of thirty or so years without repaying it, is it smart to keep loaning him money?  Then say that same friend wants to make a deal to repay you for some but not all of the money but doesn’t want you to run a credit report, is this a wise move? 

What is Iran’s track record?  In the years of 1979 to 1980, a group of terrorist’s kidnapped, held, brutalized and traumatized fifty-two Americans in the U.S. Iranian embassy.  Former, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies being one of the hostage takers but one must admit in photos he resembles a hostage taker. Ask yourself this, in the Iranian Political realm would such a person benefit from being such a person?  Could this help or hurt him climb a political ladder? Look him up in the Wikipedia. It states he was a member of a group called “Office for Strengthening Unity.”  Look up this group to find this quote, “The OSU played a central role in the seizure of the United States embassy in Tehran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_for_Strengthening_Unity).

Thus, 1979 starts the “Iran Hostage Affair,”  and sets the tone for U.S. – Iran relations for years to come.  An article at this URL gives a timeline of this relationship. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/07/world/middleeast/iran-timeline.html?_r=0#/#time9_188. The article talks about Iran working on nuclear power plants before the hostage taking but the post revolutionary Prime Minister cancels the contract. There are a series of other tidbits about Iran seeking nuclear power and the famous Pakistan individual that helped North Korea is nestled warmly in these transactions.

The United States protects Arab shipping in the 80’s.  Iran fires on American missile Frigate the Stark killing 37 people.  During a skirmish with the Iranian gunboats a commercial Iran air flight is shot down killing 290 people. The United States paid a dollar sum for compensation of loss of life in this case.  

Have the American Iranian hostages ever been compensated a dollar figure for their trauma?  Former hostages addressed President Obama to make this part of the deal but articles and answers say the deal is about one thing, getting Iran to stop the path toward developing a nuclear weapon.  August of 2002 it is revealed that Iran is making advancement in nuclear power and uranium enrichment. Then in November of 2004 Iran says it halts Uranium production.  Our own government talks about finding secret facilities that could be used for a weapons program; here is the URL for that information http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/politics-irans-nuclear-program.

         Remember all the times Iran turned back U.N. inspectors of their nuclear power program?  What were they hiding?  Over how many decades now have evaded and denied progress in the development of nuclear power and weapon’s grade uranium?  What have they done to earn our trust?  How many American’s have they imprisoned?  How many American’s and other world citizen’s have been abused while in Iran?  We must remember the U.N. Speech by a former Iranian President.

         It is about time to take a stroll down history lane.  Does the name Adolf Hitler ring any bells?   Does the name prompt people to remember the error in under estimating him?  Hitler rolled into countries and people gave up their freedom without a fight with great costs. 

         How many recall a man names Winston Churchill: writer, British Army Officer and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945?  Regrettably to the world in failing to notice and act on Winston Churchill’s prophetic words of “Prepare for War!”  I read a biography Churchill in grade school that tells of a trip he made to Germany where he sees a huge military build up.  Churchill tries to convince his country for some time to respond and take a page out of Roman history that preparing for war can prevent a war.  Too sad his words fell on deaf ears at first. Go to this URL for some information on this http://www.historynet.com/winston-churchills-prewar-effort-to-increase-military-spending.htm.

         Hitler rolled into many countries very easily.  Many people sat in their glass houses ignoring the picture in front of them. Millions of people lost their lives and freedom during this time. 

         How can the U.S. and these countries making the deal and “verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.”  Help me see anything on the Iranian side that gives them an ounce of credit or goodwill we should trust.  I urge people to look at the deal for themselves.  This URL https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2165388-iran-deal-text.html will lead you to a PDF of the deal.  PLEASE LET US BE A NATION THAT REMEMBERS HISTORY AND LEARNS FROM IT.  Think about the status of the Middle East at this time.  Is the Middle East the picture of stability?  Will it be stable in the near future?  Or, is it more likely that stability is a long way off and this deal only increases the chances for diversion of uranium and a culture of groups in search of the best weapons of mass destruction?

         My last statement is where I beg you to think about your freedom, history and to stand up for what our military has guarded for so long.  Millions of people may be saved if we turn this deal down and make a country earn trust before giving everything with no real way of making Iran accountable.  Personally, I will speak up, as is my right, to keep my freedoms.  

         One last thought.  If many people are killed or end up living in a country where they face a Hitler, should we respond and save them or only defend ourselves?

Mrs. Sandra Lynn Mallo Adcock D.Ph. M.S.M.
 







Friday, July 3, 2015

Youth wi/little to do? Told disabled but feel plenty abled? Don’t pass up two free trips to Washington D. C. (maybe)!

Actual chance to attend a 2015 and 2016 conference in Washington D.C. “you commit to”:
Attend the annual national training with your blank team in D.C. October 2015. You will be expected to attend this conference in 2015 and 2016. Travel expenses will be covered by blank.
Jefferson is lite tonight.
Jefferson is lite tonight.
search-2
This program offers:
>(ONCE IN LIFETIME CHANCE TO SEE SO MUCH OF OUR GREAT NATION IN HISTORY, PROCESS AND ALL FREE WHILE LEARNING AND MEETING OTHERS.
>“Complete training in leadership, advocacy skills, youth transition policies, and issues affecting youth with disabilities;
>Create a local plan with your blank team for how you will work together year-round;
>Communicate regularly, including meeting at least once per month, with your local blank team members and other youth at your supporting organization;
>Co-lead meetings with a group of youth to discuss what youth need to make a successful transition to adulthood (“youth transition needs”) and how to improve youth services and opportunities where you live;
>Speak publicly and give presentations to youth, families, and the agencies and organizations that serve youth about how to improve services and opportunities for youth;
>Participate in monthly national blank activities including monthly national conference calls and quarterly webinars or videoconferences with all the blank teams and create youth-driven materials and tools on youth leadership and transition topics;
>Work in collaboration with the existing cohort, or group, of blank teams;
>Be an active member of your blank for at least two years. The estimated time commitment for youth is 10 to 15 hours per month.”
Tomorrow I meet with a person from a nonprofit that qualifies to form a team. Applications for funding must be sent by July 14th, 2015. Although the funding allows for people younger than 18 to 25, this is a parameter that has been set.   This program might fall dead on the launch pad.
Two adults desire in earnest to get this going in the Oklahoma City Metro area to provide more help for young adults in this transition period of life. Youth with disabilities and all disabled are employed at much lower rates than those without a disability.
The two adults meeting tomorrow morning have a desire to thwart this well known fact. I see a social area of this program developing. Meeting friends that you can rely on in life is a golden chance. Knowledge is key in getting ahead in society. Knowledge and skills, once learned, cannot be taken away from you.
To me this chance at forming a group to help young adults explore careers, network to discover friends or job openings in the career you want, providing these young adults with caring older life guides and that want to teach you things that will give you freedom to live life the way you please.
The funding says we have to cover a set amount of material and training in certain skillsets. Beyond that I want to show with innovative programs you can get jobs you love. Checking out how to own your own entrepreneurship by providing options others have ruled out without considering the creative or inventive, “good old American know how!”
I believe in the young adults this group has targeted. If you give me the chance, we are lucky to file for the funds in time, and a nonprofit that allows us to seek refuge under their exempt status; please contact me via Facebook.
Again, I beg of you, remember this will be a rushed work in progress without any promises being able to be made at this point or even further down the road. Prayer is something I believe in and ask you keep me and this possible group formation to accomplish the set goals in mind; of course, I ask for success and a reminder
images
to let God                                                                                                                                                                    lead us.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

The American Dream; Helping Everyone Reach For It!

**** Picture copyrights and Intellectual Property Rights Apply
AIPTEK
Scan 4
WHY ________________? 
images (1)
Seemingly bleak outlook!
—Unemployment of youth and adults with Autism, Special Needs and other labels increases over the years.
—News stories of a United States facing a crisis as the rise in the number of people in this area mature and face unemployment. This raises the costs of caring for unemployed and placing stress on a nation that already faces unemployment problems in a wavering economy.
Ideas? What can be done? Funding?
—BETTER TRAINING
—BETTTER EDUCATION
—“GOOD OLD AMERICAN KNOW HOW”
—EXAMINE PROBLEM IN LOGICAL ORDER
  >Then propose solutions
  > Methodically evaluate solutions
A few thoughts
14697793504_babff4276f_z 
SPREADING OUR WINGS INTO
BUSINESS OWNERSHIP OF ......(Leaving Ideas out because)
FUNDING (Leaving out information because)
Barriers to overcome/solve
     Social skills
—Overcoming stigma of disabled
>Standard management practices show                 increases in productivity and profits when engaging    and empowering workers.
>Maintain a culture that
**Keeps communication open
**Continues to train/update skills
                                                                      **Remembering disabled face challenges                                                                                                                                              but dislike being thought less of or                                                                    considered on the fringes of society.
     Businesses skills needed
     (Consider _________)
     Transportation
     Education/Training
     Overcoming stigma of
   disabled
Other considerations
—Peer mentoring and modeling
—Health insurance and other benefits
—Setting Parameters
—Partners (How will we proceed?)
—Research legalities and other
—Work on outline of handbook
—Liability
—Future projects (5, 10 and following years)
A STARTING POINT!
Blank
Blank
Blank
Blank (my ideas are worth keeping to self for now)
A STARTING POINT!
Blank
Blank
  • FALSE IDEA DISABLED LAZY SEE PDF @ http://askearn.org/docs/brochures/pdf/FAQ_2-ACC.pdf
  “Are employees with disabilities as productive as   employees without disabilities? Yes…” See PDF.
  “Are employees with disabilities absent from work   more often? No…” See PDF.
JOIN ME IN TAKING A DIFFERENT VIEW AND WITH NEW PARTNERS
14700440885_607f998652_k
JOIN ME IN TAKING A DIFFERENT VIEW AND WITH NEW PARTNERS
JOIN ME IN TAKING A DIFFERENT VIEW AND WITH NEW PARTNERS
JOIN ME IN TAKING A DIFFERENT VIEW AND WITH NEW PARTNERS

Hold on to your drawers.

Going through some old things in a "JUNK HEAP," I found this drawer and old candy shipment boxes. I got the idea to do a collage in a drawer; while using the drawer as the frame.
This project is unfinished. I will post an update when it is.
image
image
"FLEA MARKET FLIP," has been an inspiration for me. Below is another
attempt at flipping.
image
image
Here is a drawing of a friend
I wad afraid to show her. I thought she might think it less than flattering. Here is where esteem gets in the way of accomplishing things you dream you could of, would of and might have.
image
Plus, let me share a few more of my art attempts.
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
image
Summer brings me to a list of "Flip" projects I plan on jumping on soon.
*******I see the creation of art and "flipping" or reinventing as a gate to setting up businesses that fit special needs, autism and such.  These groups,  often, in my eyes, with an innate sense of creativity, bring about options that others muss because it isn't obvious to them.
If you have insights, information or feedback (negative or positive, plz state in a positive manner, skipping tacky) you wish to share or comment; I look forward to it! I really see growing from this as an opportunity instead of dumping on my feelings.  I already shared am example of letting my feelings keep me from this an enjoying new areas of life.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Obvious Trouble with Current Accepted Disability Advocacy; Pointing Out What is Wrong!

Having a disability and being able to identify this.  My son has taught me a lot about this.  It is a very touchy subject.   There is an advantage to saying I have blank.  When a person goes to Secondary Education and asking for the help that is needed means naming your disability.
Consider these things about having to say I have blank.  How many people like being singled out?  Do you want to be known for being different or having a disability?  Did you want to belong to specific groups?  How many realize the peer pressure teens with disabilitiies face?  Are called stupid or dumb for going to Lab Class for help?   Going through all these issues at or during adolescent? Recall Freak Shows at the Fair and Circues?
Many teens and people in general with a disability see themselves as being flawed.  A number of those in this population feel like naming their disability means something is wrong with them.  A few might consider themselves less than whole.
14700002802_89652ed498_z
tm wc3
This is my son Tanner Mack Adcock.  Every time I have tried to teach him about his disability and to name it; he gets upset.  He doesn't want to be known as a person with a disability.  He is adamant he doesn't have a disability. Being in an inclusive Oklahoma History, one incentive for him to do good without any accommadations is to be able to stay in the classroom and take tests or whatever. If a child or teen goes to lab for help he might be labled as Retarded.
Another issue I have with what is considered correct Disability Advocacy deals with having teens lead their IEP meetings.  This can be an awful amount of pressure for a teen.  What teenager really knows what they want to do? Would we consider letting those labeled "normal" lead a class?  Be in charge of more?  Actually when I taught high school Biology I had teens present a paper, be video taped and have the so called authority of teaching the class.  Their material was on my test. I gave them what I got.  Which was asking to go to the bathroom and such.
Please understand, I believe that the interests of the teen are paramount.  I only feel that direction of the meeting needs to be left in the hands of adults and direct the teens in having a meeting that covers all the things that should be done for him.  Trust me how many teens declare a college major and end up with that being their final degree path?  More should be expected from these teens.
How many teens with disabilities go on to be successful?  How many owe that to a parent that has pushed the teen to contiue exploriong a path?  Looking at jobs and pushing the teen to continue on in career or other?
Had I to do it over, I would been less about my son saying he has autism and more about him understanding when to ask for help.  Then I would have explained more about how some people have specific needs and identified the people like President George Washington had huge spelling problems but overcame them.  I would explain that people that have challenges need assistance and by understanding that this label may mean you can overcome this with a specific thing.
Does everybody know that a Blind person needs a cane or that a cane greatly increases his/her ability to get around? search  Do we keep telling a person that is Blind to identifiy his disability or spend more time teaching him to use a cane to get around?  How much time do we spend on teaching a person that needs a wheelchair that he has a mobility disability? search-1   Or, do we concentrate on teaching him/her to use the wheelchair to get aroud?
If I could go back and do it over; I would center my time and energy on teaching my son to grasp his needs to master challenges in life and be able to communicate that to others.  Conveying to my son the importance of being able to ask for and communicate how support is a necessity for meeting the demands of this world.   Or, somehow be more positivie in getting him to name his disabilities to be succesful in this world be where I placed my resolve with him.
I believe that being politically correct and following the trends in Disability Advocacy is less important than doing what is needed.  I failed to listen to my son in his insistent of prefering to be identified as normal or not disabled.  What I hope to convey in this post is for you to understand you the authority on your child.  Try to listen to them and find a way to do what is needed without being afraid you are doing the right or correct way.
Become confident in yourself with regard to your child.  There are no better specialists on a child than their parent or Guardian.  Please learn from my mistakes.  Instead of helping my son name his disability, I conveyed to him that he is different or that I think he there is something wrong with him.  I am sure you know this was not my intent. Raising any child is scary. Trials and life associated with raising and planning for a child with extrodinary abilities is daunting.
If you have advice to me, disagree with my slant on this or other; commenting is crucial to boost parents or those working with this population to teach them how to do this.