For the love of God

My daughter has a heart that cares for and breaks for the world (see her blog post Fri, Sept 25).

She helps me want to also take that path of caring, so much that my heart breaks. Reminds me of some words:

a quote that a counselor shared with me last year--

“Oh break my heart, break it again. So I can love even more again.” – Sufi

and a verse --

But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

- I John 3:17 (New American Standard translation)

This is not easy for me. I am so far from loving well.

Oh, for the love of God.

An intelligent source

Discovery Institute’s Dr. Stephen Meyer has written a book called Signature in the Cell where he asserts that, given the vast complexity of information required to create the 250 proteins necessary to sustain the simplest living cell, the probability that life originated in the primordial soup by chance is beyond astronomically slim—only 1 in 10 to the 41 thousandth power!

Dr. Meyer says, “Our uniform experience affirms that specified information—whether inscribed in hieroglyphics, written in a book, encoded in a radio signal, or produced in a simulation experiment—always arises from an intelligent source, from a mind and not a strictly material process...Indeed, it follows that the best, most causally adequate explanation for the origin of the specified, digitally encoded information in DNA is that it too had an intelligent source.” –as reported in Breakpoint on Sept 24, 2009

Quoteable

This time of empty nest is both amazing and melancholic. I go through the kids’ stuff and remember. Recently from Mark’s door ‘art’ that I took down, I looked over his few articles, pictures, useless facts, CD labels. Also there are numerous quotes from Dove chocolates, fortune cookies, and web; here’s a sampling:

Wisdom has two parts: 1) having a lot to say, and 2) not saying it.

Music touches feelings that words cannot.

Wealth without wisdom is a fools’ paradise.

Feel free to ask for assistance; friends are willing to help.

Be direct, you can accomplish more that way.

Love is like a bird. When you least expect it, it craps on your face. – Unknown

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former. – Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung. –Voltaire (1694-1778)

No sane man will dance. – Cicero (106-43 BC)

Smile: it makes people wonder what you’re thinking. - Anon

Youer than you

I subscribe to “A.Word.A.Day” that exposes me to both a new word with each email and a quote. A recent quote there made me smile; I’ve enjoyed so many of Dr. Seuss’ rhymes:

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

-Dr. Seuss, author and illustrator (1904-1991)

Hug him

"Of course you will insist on modesty in the children, and respect to their teachers,
but if the boy stops you in your speech, cries out that you are wrong and sets you right, hug him!"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Song and smile

A PBS special, The Music Instinct: Science & Song included exploration of, among other things, music’s “biological, emotional and psychological impact on humans.”

I didn’t get to see the program, just read a commentary that mentioned how music affects babies. Quotes from that follow:

“If we are, as some scientists believe, “wired for music,” then babies are ideal test subjects since their reactions are, by definition, instinctual.

Part of this research involved the effect of music on fetuses. While we knew that mothers often sing to their unborn children, we weren’t sure that the unborn child could hear them.

We are now. A segment of The Music Instinct featured Sheila C. Woodward of the University of Southern California, who has studied fetal responses to music. A camera and a microphone designed for underwater use were inserted into the uterus of a pregnant woman. And then Woodward sang.

The hydrophone picked up two sounds: the “whooshing” of the uterine artery and the unmistakable sound of a woman singing a lullaby.

Then something extraordinary happened. Upon hearing the woman’s voice, the unborn child smiled.”

Woman’s voice in song yields smiles. It definitely makes me want to sing more to my grandbaby.

Stirs you

The important thing is not to think much but to love much,
and so do that which best stirs you to love.

- St. Teresa of Avila

Buy in bulk

I like the practicality of the suggestions feathered at this post on the WebMDblog reminding us that buying food in bulk saves money and is healthier for us and the planet.

Good for Your Pocketbook
Buying in bulk can save a family up to $500 per year. It should also mean you won't have to spend so much time in the supermarket. Less time in the supermarket can mean even more savings as most of us frequently indulge in spontaneous purchases. If you're not there, you won't succumb to these little purchases that can quickly add up. Finally, shopping strategically means visiting the store less or, driving less - saving gas and even more money.

Good for You
Heavily processed foods, like many of the packaged convenience foods you find in the center shelves of the grocery store, are stripped of much of their nutritional value and have a lot of synthetic additives and preservatives in them (not to mention all the extra sugars and salt). Buying whole foods and making meals from scratch is much healthier for you and your family. Healthy Child's Eat Healthy program has a wide variety of family friendly recipes to try.

Good for the Planet
Buying in bulk uses less packaging (look out for warehouse store options that are simply cases of individually wrapped smaller servings). According to ShiftYourHabit.com, if everyone bought in bulk, we'd save enough packaging waste to eliminate 1.1 million fewer garbage trailer trips to the landfill per year.
Take it even further by using durable containers instead of the disposable bags at the store. Safer plastics for food storage include those numbered 2, 4, and 5. Glass or stainless steel are even better. If you must use plastic bags, try to reuse them several times and then return them to the store for recycling.
Extra oomph: Don't stop at food. Buy shampoo, soap, toilet paper and anything else available in bulk or large sizes.

Ennoble our works

"One must not always think so much about what one should do, but rather what one should be. Our works do not ennoble us, but we must ennoble our works."
- Meister Eckhart

Actions

The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.

-John Locke, philosopher (1632-1704)

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. – James 2:17 (New Living Translation)

Tilt

"Good and evil grow up together and are bound in an equilibrium that cannot be sundered. The most we can do is try to tilt the equilibrium toward the good."

- Eric Hoffer, philosopher and author (1902-1983)

Minding your mind

Today's post gives a little attention to improving cognition. We’ve heard plenty of these suggestions before, but maybe after this read through we might try doing one or two of them consistently?

1) Move your body. “Aerobic exercise is two to three times as effective as any known brain-training activity,” says Sam Wang, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience at Princeton U. Recent research shows moderate to vigorous exercise even just once a week makes you 30 percent more likely to maintain your cognitive function as you age (published in the June 9 issue of Neurology; additional factors to maintain cognitive function include “live with someone, avoid smoking, continue to volunteer or work into your 70s or 80s” Source: Medline story reporting on Neurology article).

2) Stretch your thinking through play. With many games, we work on memory, strategy, and spatial skills – all required for improving brain health. Maybe try a toy that sharpens flexible problem-solving skills (Health, Sept 2009 magazine recommends a modern version of Rubik’s Cube called Rubik’s 360). When the brain is challenged to learn new information or strategize a solution the cells are stimulated. Or try a different or new electronic game to activate parts of the brain not used on a day-to-day basis. To give your brain a fun and effective cross-training workout, go to http://www.brainready.com/brainflex/ (another brain game site is http://www.lumosity.com/). If a game is played with others, there is a social unpredictability aspect that is also good for the brain.

3) Fortify your diet. Likely you’ve heard of the benefits to our bodies of some fatty acids, especially omega-3s. DHA is a type of omega-3 fatty acid that “decreases arterial inflammation and improves repair of the protective sheath around nerves,” says Dr. Michael Roizen, MD, co-author of YOU-The Owners’ Manual: An Insiders’ Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger. “The result is less age-related memory loss, less Alzheimer’s disease, less depression, and a quicker mind.” Ingest DHA in wild salmon, trout, some fortified foods, and/or supplements of fish oil or flax seed oil. Other good brain foods to include in your diet are many vegetables, fruits, and spices that act as antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory or immune-boosting properties. An incomplete list includes cacao bean/dark chocolate, acai berries and blueberries, coffee beans, walnuts, oregano, cinnamon, turmeric, curry, cloves (for more).

4) Floss your teeth. Reducing the plaque between teeth helps lessen “an immune reaction that attacks arteries, which then can’t deliver vital nutrients to brain cells,” says Dr Roizen. He addresses a wider link between overall wellness and mouth health in RealAge saying, “The best of these studies done at Emory University with the Centers for Disease Control, indicated that people with gingivitis and periodontitis have a mortality rate that is 23 percent to 46 percent higher than those who don't... why? They are linked to increased rates of cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as to an increase in mortality from other causes, such as infections… the same bacteria that cause periodontal disease also trigger an immune response, inflammation, that causes the arteries to swell.” (Quote source)

To the core

God is never really absent. He dwells at the very center of our hearts. It is we who are absent, who have never been to the core of our being. -Teresa of Avila

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts... Psalm 139:23

Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23