Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Learning About Melaleuca
I need to give a little sales pitch. Throughout this year, I've started buying home and health products through Melaleuca, a wellness company, instead of at the store. I was hesitant at first, but I've totally found this company to be a good value and also environmentally-safe, chemical-free, and I've loved everything I've used. So, I'm officially a member. If you ever want me to pick you up anything at my discount, just let me know.
Here are a few of my favorite products so far.
Laundry detergent
A super-concentrated detergent that is safe and environmentally-friendly
FiberWise cereal
Good for heart health, and, ahem, regularity. And it tastes great!
Lotion
Not oily at all, and great for the face, too. First lotion I've found that keeps away the dry skin all day, even in the winter.
After shave
The only alcohol-free after shave I've used so that it soothes and hydrates my skin.
Antacid
I often get acid reflux, and this has done wonders to get rid of it fast. Plus, it's all-natural and not chalky, which I always hated about antacids before.
Surface cleaner
I love this because it's not chemical-based and doesn't contain bleach, but it takes away stains like nothing else I've used.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Jacki Makes the Local Paper...Again
Stepping outside comfort zone lets her help these kids survive
from Aurora Beacon News
from Aurora Beacon News
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Cedar Rapids Mission Trip
This weekend I went with a group from Ginger Creek Community Church on a short missions trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where in June there was the devasting floods that ravaged and destroyed the downtown. Here are a couple videos showing the destruction:
See a group member's pictures here
Just some quick stats I've seen about the flooding (numbers vary):
32 feet was where the river crested, which runs through the downtown
5,000 homes were destroyed
10 square miles were flooded
A group of 15 of us went to work with a United Methodist missions group that has a list of homes to gut so that inspectors connected with the insurance companies can come in and assess whether or not they can be rebuilt.
The work was some of the most disgusting, discouraging, and difficult that I've ever experienced, although still fulfilling, and I've been on several missions trips both in the United States and abroad.
Disgusting - These homes are completely filled with mold, so of course we had to cover our bodies, and wear safety goggles and masks. The homes were covered in muck because many of them had water up to 12 feet and filling their basements and first floor. Everything was caked with it. We were even asked to clean out one basement that was filled with raw sewage, which we appropriately decided we were not equipped to do.
Discouraging - Often on missions trips, you're rebuilding and able to offer people some hope. That gets you through the hard work. Here we heard story after story of people being abandoned by the local and federal government. Of course many of the homes that were destroyed were in the poorer areas of the city, and those with the least got hit the hardest. Our job wasn't to clean the house so people could move back in, but simply get the house to a place that the insurance company would send an inspector to determine if it was salvageable or not. It's incomprehensible that these homes would ever be able to be lived in again. It's just the insurance companies trying to get away with saving money. And the government really needs to do something about it--not leave these people with nothing. Our trip was the week that the government promised billions to rescue failed financial institutions who made poor (and unethical) business decisions, but can't drop several million to level these homes and get people some emergency money to get on their feet and start over.
Difficult - The work was very difficult, trying to clean out the houses (all their possessions, appliances, water heater, furnace, boxes) caked with mud for 3 months and left sitting, then break through plaster, and the wood lath, and sometimes the ceiling tiles. We then had to carry or haul everything out to the road.
I have three visual reminders of people that will hopefully help me keep Cedar Rapids in my prayers:
1) A single mother with two kids - This family moved back into their home across the street from the first house we worked at. For a few blocks, their neighborhood seemed to be abandoned, but their family moved back in. The windows were boarded up, and I'm honestly not sure if electricty and water were fully functioning in that area. My heart broke as I caught a couple glimpses of them coming and going. Their house needed to be gutted, and it showed no signs of that, which probably means it was also filled with mold.
2) Dennis - At our 2nd house, Dennis walked up as we started working and offered us his wheelbarrows, shovels, and other tools. Dennis is the only occupant of his neighborhood for literally 10-15 blocks. He lives 3 blocks from the river, and was the first person to have his home gutted because out-of-town family came to help him. He recalled stories about how the government abandoned them, how he isn't bitter but won't live in Cedar Rapids again (he's waiting to close on a home 20 minutes away), how the water reached the top of his basketball hoop (12 feet and you could still see the water line), and how it's creepy to stay in his 2nd story loft in his carriage house at night because no one is around for miles. The man is resourceful, as you can see belongings he somehow recovered strewn throughout his yard and his makeshift sink on his front porch. He was hospitable as he showed us what used to be his home and now his current home in the upstairs of his carriage house. He thanked us for coming and doing what we could to help and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes several times as I listened to Dennis.
3) Faithful woman - I don't recall if she told us her name, but at our 3rd house, a woman stopped by as we were getting ready to leave for home. She offered to let us tour her ravaged home, and we took her up on the offer. A strong Christian, she excitedly (and non-stop) told us story after story about how God was faithful to her family. A day before their home was flooded, they were able to get her bed-ridden mother-in-law to a nursing home. Her family had wanted a canoe for years and two weeks before the flood, bought one. They escaped their house in the canoe and rescued a lost neighbor boy. The city condemned her beloved house, but she refused to believe it based on a sermon she heard that made her have faith to keep praying for it. The city reversed their decision and allowed them to fix it. Her family had no where to go, and a realtor they don't know called and someone offered them a beautiful house to stay in as long as they need it.
Please pray for these people and the people of Cedar Rapids. It's sometimes unbelievable to me the drive people have to keep going in midst of such tragedy, and how often (and how easy it is) we fail people by our lack of compassion and collaboration.
This page contained an embedded video. Click here to view it.
See a group member's pictures here
Just some quick stats I've seen about the flooding (numbers vary):
32 feet was where the river crested, which runs through the downtown
5,000 homes were destroyed
10 square miles were flooded
A group of 15 of us went to work with a United Methodist missions group that has a list of homes to gut so that inspectors connected with the insurance companies can come in and assess whether or not they can be rebuilt.
The work was some of the most disgusting, discouraging, and difficult that I've ever experienced, although still fulfilling, and I've been on several missions trips both in the United States and abroad.
Disgusting - These homes are completely filled with mold, so of course we had to cover our bodies, and wear safety goggles and masks. The homes were covered in muck because many of them had water up to 12 feet and filling their basements and first floor. Everything was caked with it. We were even asked to clean out one basement that was filled with raw sewage, which we appropriately decided we were not equipped to do.
Discouraging - Often on missions trips, you're rebuilding and able to offer people some hope. That gets you through the hard work. Here we heard story after story of people being abandoned by the local and federal government. Of course many of the homes that were destroyed were in the poorer areas of the city, and those with the least got hit the hardest. Our job wasn't to clean the house so people could move back in, but simply get the house to a place that the insurance company would send an inspector to determine if it was salvageable or not. It's incomprehensible that these homes would ever be able to be lived in again. It's just the insurance companies trying to get away with saving money. And the government really needs to do something about it--not leave these people with nothing. Our trip was the week that the government promised billions to rescue failed financial institutions who made poor (and unethical) business decisions, but can't drop several million to level these homes and get people some emergency money to get on their feet and start over.
Difficult - The work was very difficult, trying to clean out the houses (all their possessions, appliances, water heater, furnace, boxes) caked with mud for 3 months and left sitting, then break through plaster, and the wood lath, and sometimes the ceiling tiles. We then had to carry or haul everything out to the road.
I have three visual reminders of people that will hopefully help me keep Cedar Rapids in my prayers:
1) A single mother with two kids - This family moved back into their home across the street from the first house we worked at. For a few blocks, their neighborhood seemed to be abandoned, but their family moved back in. The windows were boarded up, and I'm honestly not sure if electricty and water were fully functioning in that area. My heart broke as I caught a couple glimpses of them coming and going. Their house needed to be gutted, and it showed no signs of that, which probably means it was also filled with mold.
2) Dennis - At our 2nd house, Dennis walked up as we started working and offered us his wheelbarrows, shovels, and other tools. Dennis is the only occupant of his neighborhood for literally 10-15 blocks. He lives 3 blocks from the river, and was the first person to have his home gutted because out-of-town family came to help him. He recalled stories about how the government abandoned them, how he isn't bitter but won't live in Cedar Rapids again (he's waiting to close on a home 20 minutes away), how the water reached the top of his basketball hoop (12 feet and you could still see the water line), and how it's creepy to stay in his 2nd story loft in his carriage house at night because no one is around for miles. The man is resourceful, as you can see belongings he somehow recovered strewn throughout his yard and his makeshift sink on his front porch. He was hospitable as he showed us what used to be his home and now his current home in the upstairs of his carriage house. He thanked us for coming and doing what we could to help and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes several times as I listened to Dennis.
3) Faithful woman - I don't recall if she told us her name, but at our 3rd house, a woman stopped by as we were getting ready to leave for home. She offered to let us tour her ravaged home, and we took her up on the offer. A strong Christian, she excitedly (and non-stop) told us story after story about how God was faithful to her family. A day before their home was flooded, they were able to get her bed-ridden mother-in-law to a nursing home. Her family had wanted a canoe for years and two weeks before the flood, bought one. They escaped their house in the canoe and rescued a lost neighbor boy. The city condemned her beloved house, but she refused to believe it based on a sermon she heard that made her have faith to keep praying for it. The city reversed their decision and allowed them to fix it. Her family had no where to go, and a realtor they don't know called and someone offered them a beautiful house to stay in as long as they need it.
Please pray for these people and the people of Cedar Rapids. It's sometimes unbelievable to me the drive people have to keep going in midst of such tragedy, and how often (and how easy it is) we fail people by our lack of compassion and collaboration.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
My Political Fix
I've had several people ask where I go for my political information, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite political websites, blogs, and pollsters--and specifically the ones that are fairly centered and not hard-core conservative or liberal.
Politico.com - A pretty balanced approach to politics with two bloggers, Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin, that cover each party separately. More of a focus on national and presidential politics.
Rothenberg Political Report - This blog is also a print newsletter that covers U.S. House, Senate, gubernatorial campaigns, and presidential politics. The spouse of a college friend is the political editor, so I enjoy following their coverage.
Roll Call - This is the premier website (and daily newspaper) for all things Capitol Hill. According to a recent survey of Congressional opinion leaders, Roll Call ranks at the top of their list.
Real Clear Politics - RCP is a great place to filter the best commentary, news, and, mostly, polls for all-things politics. I love going there to watch the ups-and-downs of polling.
Christianity Today Politics blog - Yes, I'm biased, but this is the best political blog I've found from an evangelical Christian perspective. And, it's growing and getting good publicity for it only being a month old. See a recent press release about the new blog.
Rasmussen Reports - This is an independent pollster, and he's become very well-known and respected the last several election cycles for the most accurate and reliable polls in the country.
And here are some other political blogs I frequent that are associated with larger publishers:
The Caucus - from the New York Times
Political Ticker from CNN
The Swamp - from Chicago Tribune
First Read - from MSNBC
What about you? Are there any that you would recommend or recommend we stay away from?
Politico.com - A pretty balanced approach to politics with two bloggers, Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin, that cover each party separately. More of a focus on national and presidential politics.
Rothenberg Political Report - This blog is also a print newsletter that covers U.S. House, Senate, gubernatorial campaigns, and presidential politics. The spouse of a college friend is the political editor, so I enjoy following their coverage.
Roll Call - This is the premier website (and daily newspaper) for all things Capitol Hill. According to a recent survey of Congressional opinion leaders, Roll Call ranks at the top of their list.
Real Clear Politics - RCP is a great place to filter the best commentary, news, and, mostly, polls for all-things politics. I love going there to watch the ups-and-downs of polling.
Christianity Today Politics blog - Yes, I'm biased, but this is the best political blog I've found from an evangelical Christian perspective. And, it's growing and getting good publicity for it only being a month old. See a recent press release about the new blog.
Rasmussen Reports - This is an independent pollster, and he's become very well-known and respected the last several election cycles for the most accurate and reliable polls in the country.
And here are some other political blogs I frequent that are associated with larger publishers:
The Caucus - from the New York Times
Political Ticker from CNN
The Swamp - from Chicago Tribune
First Read - from MSNBC
What about you? Are there any that you would recommend or recommend we stay away from?
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