Recent media attention to the teens who beat a homeless man in Milwaukee have that act of brutality back in the minds of many people, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Violence against homeless people is a disturbing trend that is on the rise all over the United States. According to data from the National Coalition For The Homeless, 101 separate hate crimes in the form of violence against the homeless occurred in 23 different states in 2004. Twenty-four of those crimes occurred in Texas.

According to the data, more hate crimes against homeless people occurred in Texas than in any other state in the union… a lot more. The state with the second highest rate was Colorado at 15 hate crimes; no other state had more than seven. Galveston, with 18 crimes, had more incidents than all of Colorado. Corpus Christi, with 5 acts, had as many as the entire state of California. This disproportionate amount of violence should serve as a wake-up call to our state that the attitudes people hold towards the homeless population here are dangerous…even deadly.

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“He that wins souls is wise.”

We read or hear Proverbs 11:30 and hearts race as we contemplate the perceived duty we feel to “lead someone to Christ.” The very thought stirs up nightmarish reminders of blown opportunities to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” with a lost soul.

On top of that, we’re made to feel even more shame by the “Soul-winners” in our midst; the guy who seems to pray the Sinner’s Prayer with everyone fortunate enough to get stuck on an elevator with him.

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Entertaining your children when school is out for the summer can become quite expensive, especially if you enroll them in pricey summer camps for a large portion of the time. However, many parents feel that the alternative is to have their children sulking on the couch while moaning about how bored they are, especially if friends are all attending camps. Actually, there are plenty of ways to have cheap summer fun with your kids. Why not try a few of these budget friendly ideas?

Your local YMCA is a family oriented place with plenty of great activities. Your children can go swimming, take a variety of classes and even attend day camps for a very reasonable price. Most YMCA’s have family memberships, which makes the classes more affordable for families with several children. If you don’t have a YMCA close by, check with your local parks and recreation department to see if they are offering events for children and families during the summer months. Many times, they offer low cost art, sports and even cooking classes for kids.

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Recently I have been thinking about my mother. She was born in 1911 and grew up to have four children who have all managed to live their lives within the confines of society’s basic requirements: that is, we’ve raised families, we’ve paid taxes, we never went to jail. In truth, we’ve done more than just the basics. Two of my siblings have long and successful careers in law enforcement, my other sibling has a successful career in the arts, and I have had a successful career in business. All of us got through college and, in part, because of this, we all managed to make good lives for ourselves and our families.

Three of us actually had both the ability to go on to college and the desire to do so, the other one, had neither real academic ability or desire, but he got his diploma anyway and it was this diploma that opened the doors necessary for him to achieve the success he’s had professionally. Actually, still speaking of this sibling, he did not need a degree to enter his field and he did not need his degree to advance in his career, but he did need to complete college to prove to himself that he could do whatever it was he made up his mind to do.

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FINDING THE PERFECT DIET

Arriving at the Perfect Diet is no quick, simple task in today’s world of fast-paced living. For example, there are several different educational food pyramid plans. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a food guide pyramid. And the Mayo Clinic, in conjunction with the May Foundation for Medical Education and Research, has their Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid. (Lists of pyramids are updated regularly at the USDA site: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/pyramid.html .)

Then there are the lifestyle choices to go along with the dietary plans. Lives need to be balanced in order to make the perfect diet effective. For example, depending upon the body type, history, physical and mental make up and other factors, some dietary solutions are more perfectly suitable and / or adaptable than others when working in accordance with day-to-day activities; exercise, nutrition, health, etc.

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Located in Cleveland, Ohio, US, Cleveland State University is a public university. It was founded way back in 1870 initially just as a location for free classes. Later this Cleveland Y.M.C.A. School Of technology was renamed as Fenn College in 1929. This college started expanding all around and became The Cleveland State University founded by State of Ohio on 18th Dec 1964.

The academic offerings of the university claims to have innovative collaboration with business, industry, government, and educational institutions. For undergraduates and graduates, varieties of major and minor programs are available in the university. For undergraduate majors, ranging from accountancy, anthropology and biology, there are numerous options available. Many colleges are part of the graduate programs here in the university. For masters and doctoral degrees too, there are separate colleges. In the college of liberal arts and sciences, master’s degree programs are available for Applied Communication Theory and Methodology, Economics, English, Fine Arts in Creative Writing, History, Music, Spanish, etc. in the Nance College of Business Administration, various doctoral degree and master’s degree programs are available. Some joint programs like Master of business administration and master of nursing etc are also present here.

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Summer will be here soon. Schools will release their young charges for a summer of fun. To keep their brains from going soft between school sessions, add a little education to their summer activities.

Send kids to camp when they are old enough. There are a variety of camps all across the country, Canada, and across the globe. These camps are set up for all ages as well. Depending on your child’s interests and skills, there is a place for them. Camps can be just for the day with programs that run all summer long. The child would bring their lunch and engage in activities all day and return home in the evening. There are also overnight camps that last for about two weeks at a stretch and kids bunk in with others at a campsite in cabins. The prices of meals are included in the camp fees. Academic camps take place on college campuses and the kids stay in dorm accommodations for the duration of the program.

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The year was 1989. I was then 17, about to graduate from high school in a few months. During those last few weeks leading up to graduation, I felt like I practically held the world in my hands. I was invincible! After all, I didn’t have any problems being accepted in a special program for arts and music at St. Olaf College, as I have been playing the oboe with great success from sixth grade all through high school. It seemed to be my destiny – and at that time, my future looked so bright.

That year, I spent one of the most fantastic holidays ever with my parents, my two sisters, and my three-month-old baby brother. Shortly after Christmas, however, I realized how vulnerable and mortal I was, after all.

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