Thursday, March 12, 2009

Shot of the Day for March 12, 2009

Abstract (Building detail)

By Flickr Member Tanakawho

Good News From Mary March 12, 2009

Dangerous Denial

My husband’s face turned pasty white and he began to sweat profusely. His trembling hands gripped the corners of the linen-clothed table in the center of the elegant, gourmet restaurant. “Jim, what’s happening?” I quickly asked. He didn’t answer. “Jim, are you okay?” I tried again. He took several gulps of water and answered hoarsely, “I don’t feel right. Something’s wrong. I’m dizzy.” Now, here’s where men and women differ. When a woman feels dizzy she says, “I feel dizzy. I think I need to lie down for a minute.” When a man feels dizzy he says, “I feel dizzy. I think I need to get up and walk around….anybody have a dangerous, high-powered electric tool or some heavy machinery I can operate?”

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Cash for trash: Reuse stores make use of refuse

Artist Cathy Mansell wants your old thread spools, your empty yogurt containers, your unwanted vinyl LPs.

She knows that even if she has no use for the yarn remnants, wallpaper samples, button collections or irrigation pipe unearthed during closet cleanings, someone will need them for an art project. So she's turned her office full of odds and ends into one of hundreds of reuse centers around the country.

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Double Amputee Becomes Mermaid

When a 4-year-old boy approached her at the beach to ask why she had no legs, Nadya Vessey, a double-leg amputee, thought up a novel answer to satisfy the boy's curiosity.

She asked, "Have you heard of The Little Mermaid?" When the boy said yes, she replied: "I am a mermaid."

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Apple to preview new iPhone software next week

Apple will hold an event next Tuesday to preview new software for the iPhone, the company said.

Apple said in an email invitation on Thursday that it will provide a "sneak peek" at the iPhone 3.0 software, along with information about the new software kit that third-party vendors use to create applications for the device.

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Self-healing car coating repairs scratches

The next time your car is keyed, park it under a ray of sunshine. If your car is coated in a new polyurethane film developed by scientists from the University of Southern Mississippi, the scratch will be gone in an hour.

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Good News for March 12 (posted by Mary Beth)


Coal in the Easter Basket: Giving up Carbon for Lent


"Western Christians, both Protestants and Catholics, are currently observing Lent, the 40-day season preceding Easter. Through self-denial, alms-giving, and prayer, many Christians prepare themselves to properly commemorate our Lord’s passion and resurrection."

Click here to read the rest of Chuck Colson's commentary.


Tax Refund: Help the World’s Children

"$288. That’s how much it costs to sponsor one child for a year through Christian Children’s Fund. Through CCF’s programs that one child can grow up to become a leader in his or her community to bring lasting and positive change.

$2,200. That’s how much average tax refunds are in the United States. Americans’ tax
refunds can make the world a better place for millions of children around the world."

For more on how you can help make a difference in a child's life, click here.


The Radical Conservative: Richard John Neuhaus helped inspire a generation of evangelicals to participate boldly in the public square

"If ideas have consequences, Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009) will be remembered as the most serious Christian thinker and the most consequential public theologian in America since Reinhold Niebuhr."

More on this amazing Christian leader awaits you here.


Sears Tower to Get New Name


"Come this summer, Chicago's iconic landmark known around the world is getting a new moniker: Willis Tower.

Willis Group Holdings, a London-based insurance broker, announced Thursday that it will consolidate its area offices to Sears Tower and as part of the deal, gets to put its own name on the 36-year-old skyscraper."

Click here for more on the name change.


When prom ends, donated dresses live on

"Financially struggling students across the state will be able to attend their proms cheaply and in style, thanks to the efforts of people like Rachel Davidson and Sammie Levin. The Newton South sophomores are collecting new and gently worn prom dresses and shoes to donate to Becca’s Closet, which provides formal attire to high school students with financial need."

This heartwarming story awaits you here.


God's Purposes in a Recession

"I often find comfort and encouragement from my favorite author (outside of those who wrote the Bible of course), John Piper. His most recent blog entitled What Is the Recession For? is exceptional. In this blog, he lists five purposes the God has in a recession for individuals and ultimately for the nation."

Click here for more thoughts on the subject.



Folsom mom goes to battle in Rachael Ray recipe contest


"Marsha Warner, of Folsom, CA is competing in the Rachael Ray March Menu Mania contest at USA Today's Web site. She was selected from 1,200 entries to be one of 16 finalists."

For the rest of the story (including the recipe!), click here.



New Orleans spear fisher thrust into spotlight over shark fight


"Local spear fisherman Craig B. Clasen, 32, was thrust into an international spotlight this week after pictures of his two-hour, deep sea fight with a 12-foot tiger shark last June appeared in an adventure-travel magazine.

Clasen, who lives in New Orleans, said the dramatic pictures were taken as he dove with a snorkel and spear gun near an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, just south of the mouth of the Mississippi River."

Click here to read his exciting story.

Thursday, March 12, 2009 Good News Stories

Five Beginners’ Steps to a Greener Home

"A RECENT Amazon.com search for “green home” pulled up more than 15,000 book titles. Who has time to read them all? So this week, The Green Home tracked down Eric Corey Freed, the author of “Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies,” and asked him to distill this growing cottage industry of green advice into five must-do steps."

Click here to read the five steps.


The Joy of Planting: Earth, Sun and Peas

"THIS is how I know it’s time to plant peas: the winter jasmine is blooming on the south side of our farmhouse in Maryland; the bluebirds are building their nests again in the hollows of the locust trees; and the ground, so frozen in February, has thawed."

Click here to read of this story.


Less Salt Will Cut Heart Disease Rate

"You'd better start reading the sodium amounts on food packages.

If Americans reduced their salt intake by just 1 gram per day, there would be 250,000 fewer new cases of heart disease and 200,000 fewer deaths in a decade. These new statistics, announced at the American Heart Association's Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, were calculated through a computer simulation of heart disease among adults in the U.S."

Click here to read more.


Ship ministry volunteers needed

"Logos Hope, the newest and largest Operation Mobilization ship, is looking for a few good men and women. Volunteers are needed to join the team to do anything from cleaning to guiding evangelism teams."

Click here to learn more about this missions opportunity.