Who is Responding to the World Food Crisis?

Photo by Baptist Press

I want to comment today on world hunger from the Good News Now point of view. Our view is to see who is at work within the crisis. Good News Now believes that in every disaster there is the miraculous, the good and often open doors for the gospel.
The challenge of hunger comes from many sources that need to be addressed. Experts blame the growing dependence on bio fuels, high oil prices, natural disaster, difficult weather conditions both draught and flooding, war, and corrupt governments for the crisis that is arising amongst the world’s most vulnerable populations.
How do we respond as a believing people? As the church? As a nation? As the international community? This problem will take more than money. It will take communities and organizations in agreement working together. What we cannot afford is to ignore the growing food shortage. Food prices so high that food becomes unavailable to the world’s poor is unacceptable.
Within this crisis there is a change or challenge for the church. The church is stepping up its humanitarian aid and becoming a greater witness.

Baptists respond to growing hunger crisis around world

In crisis the gospel is being preached while relief work increases.

Myanmar Relief Continues Amid Difficulties, Hundreds Open to Christ

Groups, secular and faith based, are responding. Many find the situation unacceptable and want to do something more. They have the experience and know how to lead in this crisis. In that we can rejoice.

Oxfam Report: Impact of rising food prices


World Vision International President Dean Hirsch finds hope in Myanmar


For those of you who ask what is the U.S. government doing?


USAID Announces Additional Emergency Food Assistance for Haiti

How is the international community reacting?


EU demands Zimbabwe lift aid ban immediately


For those of you whose heart is touched by this issue help us report the response of individuals, churches, organizations and nations that continue to address the problem by letting us know, by submitting the article to our site. We encourage you to get involved in some personal way particularly through your local church. Ask what your church is doing to help solve world hunger, then ask what you can do.


Heifer International and the food crisis

Unique Art

Good News Now likes to find the unique stories in the news and post them. We like people who make the world a little more interesting and richer. And we like to have fun. I was sent a link this week from one of our most loyal readers about Harrison Hot Springs Sand Sculpture Society and the amazing competitions that they host several times a year in the art or sport of sand sculpture. You choose. From now until Mother’s Day championship sand sculpting teams will be competing at the resort outside Vancouver BC.

The 3rd Annual Tournament of Sand Sculpture Champions, Competition May 07-11, 2008

Photo by http://www.harrisand.org/

Sand sculpting seems to be a west coast sport. Most of the competitions take place on the ocean. The Harrison Hot Springs competitions are unique in that they take place on a lake. This allows for the sculptors to take their time and build over a period of days because the art will not be overcome by the tides. This factor and the silt content of the sand contribute to the awe factor of the maasive works of art.

Some photos from years past.

Photo by http://www.harrisand.org/

Photo by http://www.harrisand.org/

Photo by http://www.harrisand.org/

Good News Now has many friends on Flickr who allow us to post their photography each day. I have visited Flickr everyday over the last two years and have discovered a lot of extremely interesting people on Flickr, not just photographers but artists too. I ran across an artist a few weeks ago and I asked her if I could share her art on this blog. Her screen name is iriskovalio. She is a superb watercolorist. Read about her on her Flickr profile page.

iriskovalio

Shot of the Day for May 8, 2008

Iriskovalio is an artist from Herzelia Israel.

Today is the 60th anniversary of the formation of Israel so I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate Israel by celebrating iriskovalio’s art.

Israel Anniversary Prompts Celebration, Prayers

Here a few of Iriskovalio's other works.

Enjoy her photo stream on Flickr.

International Women’s Day

Shot of the Day

Photo by: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org.
Israeli-Palestinian women demanding more jobs, International Women’s Day, Tel Aviv, Isreal, 8/3/2008

Today is International Women’s Day, an event I understand is about a hundred years old. It is celebrated throughout the world but very much ignored in the US where we have a high standard of equality between the sexes. I am not saying we have achieved the standard, but a standard we have and laws to back it up. Unfortunately this is not true for a very large portion of women around the world. That is why I think the document produced by the UN refugee agency UNHCR on Thursday for the protection of woman is important. There needs to be a standard for the treatment of women in armed conflict and refugee situations. There is not and in the global hot spots of the world it is the women and children who are most venerable and yet unprotected.


Before I began the job as webmaster for Good News Now I too would have ignored International Women’s Day and perhaps even like pro-family activist Phyllis Schlafly, spoken out against it, decrying it as a feminist agenda. Although there are supporters of the event I do not support, I do support putting pressure nations to enact and enforced laws that make rape and sexual enslavement a crime punishable by imprisonment. Call me radical. Call me a feminist. Read the international news and I think you will begin to agree with me that there is a need to celebrate women and make it a cause to see that in the poorest of nations they are not the poorest of poor, voiceless without hope or a means to care for their families. If you can look at the situations like Kenya, DR Congo where the UNHRC is on the frontlines caring for those displaced by violence and say we not need to do anything for women to improve their situation then I am afraid you are blind and without heart. If you can say that in the US under the best of circumstances a single women head of household makes as much to support her family as a man than you are ignorant or lying to yourself. Does gender inequality matter? Yes, it does to half the population of the world.

I was very pleased to see that First Lady Laura Bush and USAID believe we need to do more to help women.

I challenge you to read the World Relief and Humanitarian Aid section of Good News Now daily and see if you don’t begin to agree with me. In a world where so much is wrong and life is so difficult to navigate there are people who care, organization that man the frontlines and government s who strive to uplift and protect all of the people. That is a cause worthy of celebration.

Articles on International Women's Day posted on Good News Now.



International Women's Day: UNHCR launches handbook for protection of women



International Women's Day protests highlight violence, inequality



Young, old: over 1,000 Afghan women mark International Women's Day in Kandahar



First Lady Honors Women at International Women's Day Event



International Women's Day: Code for 'Advancing Radical Feminism Around the Globe'

Technical Difficulty and Resolutions

For the last six weeks or more Good News Now has experienced some “white out” times. What is happening is the site is not loading. We have tried to be diligent and contact the web provider as we notice this is happening. When it first started happening I allowed some time to pass because it seemed clear up on it’s own. However, as time went on this was no longer true. We are in contact with our provider and they are now quick to respond. The site is scheduled to be move to another server in the near future with promises of better performance.

Thank you for your patience.

So how are your New Year’s resolutions going? I haven’t made any so mine are fine. However, I did give up chocolate for Lent. Does white chocolate count? Well, then I am not doing too well. We have posted over the last few weeks numerous articles to help you keep your fitness resolutions. Here are a few.

10 Ways to Outwit Your Appetite

Simple Swaps to Cut Calories

Finding your rhythm helps you stay in shape

And my suggestion, nix the white chocolate.

And my favorite article deals quite effectively with relationship improvement.

I was Up To a Pack & a Half of Unforgiveness a Day........

Photos we have loved so far this year.

Lunar Eclipse

By Flickr Member audreyjm529

It Is 4º This Morning

By Flickr Member audreyjm529

Black boots in the circle


By Flickr Member tanakawho


As always “Tell us your good news.” We do post it.

Good News

The owner of Good News Now decided this month to change the focus of the website. James decided he would like to spotlight more faith news meaning in our case a faith that declares trust in Christ for our salvation. In the past we have been a news organization that looks for the positive side of the news. That has not changed, but all of us who work on gathering the stories agree that we will make an effort each day to find THE GOOD NEWS stories. We have said we are not a “Christian” site, but a site owned and run by believers. As of this month that has changed. It has always been our desire to have churches connect with our site and use us to get their good news out. We know people of faith are motivated to do things to make a positive change in this world. We want to connect with that, we want to report that.
So tell us your good news. Let your light shine in a dark world.
Just a few stories:

Hardline Iranian Gov't Unable to Quash Church Growth

School to Offer Class on Bible's Literary, Historical Ties

Christian Film Offers Healing to Victims of Divorce

Also, this month I decided to have a theme for Shot of the Day. I have looked for and chosen photographs that are famous or recognizable places captured in an unusual way.
Some of the best.

My Fav

paris, notre dame by Flick Member extranoise

The Most Popular One

Denver Lightning by Flickr Member refractor

Showing my prejudice
Dallas Texas... YES! By Flick Member Mamahoot~




Himeji Castle
By Gather Member Gale M.

When is Christmas, Christmas

When is Christmas, Christmas? It isn’t always easy to find the joy in the season. Many things can overshadow our hearts. Enjoyment of the Christmas season can be replaced with stress, hurried schedules and fatigue.

But Christmas has a way of becoming Christmas for us if we give it a chance. It is a holiday we share but it is also uniquely celebrated in the heart; different traditions, memories, special friends embrace… and missed.

We all bring something different to the holiday. Christmas first became Christmas for me this year when I watched the movie The Nativity. It was a story behind the familiar story. Fleshing out the struggle behind the Chritsmas story made the movie unique and different from the often sanitized version we carry from childhood. It brought a pathos to a fairy tale, a Christmas that almost didn’t happen. It gave weight to the words, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Christmas became Christmas for me when I attended the Plano Civic Chorus production of Handel’s Messiah. The beauty of the sanctuary, the music and decoration of the season brought grandeur to this time of year.

I am thankful that Christmas is not just a one day affair but a season as complex and wonderful as the people who embrace it; the lights on the houses, homemade fudge, visits from friends and relatives give the holiday meaning.

Good News Now is about the heart’s response to life. We celebrate the good in life all year long.

Here are some of the highlights that made Christmas, Christmas.

The Dogs

The mandatory family group photo that everyone hates.

Almost Perfect

Trixie Claus

The News That Made Christmas, Christmas.

Renewed peace brings pilgrims to Bethlehem

Iraqi, Coalition Soldiers Celebrate Christmas with Assyrian Christians in Kirkuk

Christmas tree survives war, Hiroshima bomb

Pastor's Challenge Shocks Congregation

New Secret Santa takes over mission of helping strangers

A casserole for Christmas

Some of the Photos from around the world.

Weihnachtsbeleuchtung / Christmas lighting

laterne .. und sterne

Merry Christmas from Good News Now.

Rice is Nice

I like words. I look them up all the time to see what they mean. It is fascinating. There is a game online that plays on those of us who love the meaning of language and also helps feed the poor by donating rice to the WFP; The World Food Programme. The WFP is the frontline United Nations organization whose aim is to eradicate world hunger. And for a short time they were winning the war on hunger and reducing the number of people who daily go without enough food to function normally. Today one in seven people do not get enough to eat.

The WFP goes into counties in crisis and meets the demands for emergency food distribution. After the crisis it helps the people improve their quality of life with the aim of self sufficiency. They concentrate on the needs of children and those who are most vulnerable. They believe helping women is the best way to fight hunger.

Rice is a basic component of the food that the WFP distributes. They purchase the food from developing nation thus promoting these nations.

The website Free Rice has two goals to help improve people’s vocabulary and to help raise money to buy rice for the WFP to distribute. The rice is paid for by the advertisers on the site. For each correct answer 20 grains of rice are donated. So far since the site went on line in October of 2007 they have raised money for 7,536,669,470 grains of rice.

Warning: the game is addictive. The site is awesome and the response to it has been phenomenal.

World Food Programme in the News...

WFP food provides daily meals to Moghadishu's hungry -- first time in 15 years

Free Rice in the News...

Web game provides rice for hungry