Archive for July, 2009

Today launched our new two part program: Part 1 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and Part 2 from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. If you weren’t able to hear both hours, please visit www.lifetalk.net and listen via podcast.

Our guest today was Fire Prevention Officer Mike Weller from the Hagerstown, Maryland fire department. Mike is an expert in teaching prevention techniques to children and a great advocate in promoting such programs in the home school arena.

Officer Weller shared some valuable information regarding the top six causes of fires:

1. Unattended cooking
2. Electrical appliances that are old or in disrepair
3. Children playing with fire
4. Candles
5. Portable heaters
6. Smoking (the leading cause of fire related fatalities)
   

It is easy to see from this list that most fires, if not all, are preventable with education and proper maintenance.

Another important factor in preventing fires is to make sure you have an up-to-date (less than 10 years old) and efficient smoke detector. You should test your smoke detector at least once a month by pressing the TEST button on the detector. If your detector is less than 10 years old you will hear 3 short beeps followed by a pause - this pattern will be repeated until the smoke is cleared or the detector is disabled. IF YOU HEAR ANY OTHER PATTERN OF TONES YOUR DETECTOR IS TOO OLD AND SHOULD BE REPLACED IMMEDIATELY.

Officer Weller also shared that you should have one detector for each common area on each floor of your house as well as one for every bedroom. Smoke detectors are not expensive and depending on the community you live in, may be offered free of charge by your local fire department.

One more important fact you should know - if you are in doubt about anything, contact your local fire department. Protecting your home from fire before the fact makes our fire fighter’s jobs easier and safer.

For more information visit www.firesafety.gov or call your local fire department.

Thank you, Officer Weller for your time and expertise. And a very hearty thanks to all the emergency personnel who protect and serve our communities.

God bless!

Candy DeVore, Editor

Kids’ Ministry Ideas

Our subject today is “Inquiry Learning” - it almost sounds like you need a college degree to even broach the subject. But the fact of the matter is, inquiry learning is seeking for truth - questioning what is before you in a positive way. As I mentioned on the show, my father always probed when I would share something with him. His questions, even if they were as direct as “How do you feel about that?” would take my thinking to a deeper level. Inquiry learning takes facts and encourages the question, “How does this apply to me?” This is a huge question, and one that is usually encouraged in a home school setting. It is at home that children can safely explore how math, science, English, Bible - how all these important subjects effect them personally. It is at home that they can ask questions and know that they will be given a true and appropriate answer. And it is at home that parents know how they want their child guided and their questions can be directed to pure learning. So, the bottom line is that home schooling and inquiry learning are a marriage made in heaven. They compliment and strengthen each other and take home schooling to an even higher level. I must inquire, how do you feel about what you have learned?

God bless!

Candy

What is Natives With A Mission?

Natives With A Mission (NWAM) is an organized effort with a two-fold endeavor; 1) to give an opportunity for Native American young people to step outside their culture and share the love of God with other Native American people, and 2) to witness to young Native American children about the loving Creator who has a plan for their lives.

With that in mind, Phyllis Washington, coordinator of NWAM set out to find approximately 30 young people who would like this experience. The summer of 2008 was the testing ground and was a huge success. We are in the midst of the second endeavor with four groups of young people presenting VBS programs all over the United States.

How You Can Help

This program is completely supported by donations from people who want to help in ministering to Native American children. These donations cover the cost of travel, food, lodging, supplies, and a few fun activities along the way. Because of the financial state of all of the students, they are dependent on help from others to even leave the school to attend the NWAM events. Your tax deductible donations make a huge difference in NWAM even being able to continue. We guarantee that 100 percent of all donations will go to NWAM.

How Do I Give

You can send all donations to:

Natives With A Mission

c/o NAD Children’s Ministries Department

12501 Old Columbia Pike

Silver Spring, MD 21904

How Can My Home School Group Raise Money?

There are many ways your group can support this cause. Here are just a few:

Read-a-thon

• Ask for donations for every book you read
• Ask people to sponsor you by the half-hour or the hour of reading
• Learn about Native Americans–this is a great opportunity to read books about Native Americans. Share your findings with those who sponsor you

Car Wash

• Invite your church members or friends in the neighborhood to a car wash. If your church has a club such as Pathfinders or Awanas, ask them to join you.

Provide service for others

• Ask neighbors and friends if they would make donations to this cause in return for helping them with chores. The possibilities are endless–you will be serving your neighbors while spreading the news about NWAM at the same time.
• Weed the garden
• Take out the trash
• Wash Windows
• Walk their pets

Sell produce from a garden

• If your family has a garden, set up a stand or take orders from people at church to bring them produce when it is ripe

Sell homemade items

• Crafts
• Bread
• Cookies
• Artwork

Our show today was very exciting; who knew that there was so much wonder underground? The answer to that rhetorical question would be our guest today, and resident “caveman” Jerry Bowen. Thank you, Jerry, for sharing your wealth of knowledge about caves and spelunking with us today. We sometimes forget the treasure trove a information that can be gleaned by studying this earth; even the dirt and the caves!

If you want to begin caving and need help, visit http://www.nssio.org/Find_Grotto.cfm to find a caving club near you. This is a great place to start as you will meet experienced cavers who can guide you and help you learn to cave correctly, i.e. the appropriate gear and supplies to purchase and where to start. For more information on caving in general, visit the National Speleological Society at http://caves.org.The link to Jerry’s personal site is http://www.caves.org/member/jerry. He welcomes your questions and comments and invites you to visit his site.

Below is a list of Iternet links you can follow to learn more about the world that lives beneath the surface of this earth.

Emil Silvestru: Emil Silvestru is the author of the book Caves which was given away as a gift to our first caller. Information about Emil’s credentials and other information can be found at http://creation.com/emil-silvestru.

Creation Ministries International home page: http://creation.com.

Bats: article on white nose syndrome, a bat malady in the eastern United States: http://www.batmanagement.com/wns/wns.html.

Bat Conservation International: http://www.batcon.org.

God bless.

Candy DeVore