11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
On 04/23/2013,
in faith, future, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society,
by Daniel Christian
A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
On 04/11/2013,
in 21st century, Daniel S. Christian, emerging technologies, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, the downsides of how people use tech,
by Daniel Christian
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
.
Looking at a sampling (below) of the emerging technologies starting to hit the landscapes…
I am struck with the thought that, we need as many hearts of flesh out there as possible!
I hope that these types of very powerful technologies are used by people who care about each other and who respect the dignity of others; those who lift up and value life.
- Are we paying enough attention to information technology’s dark side?
Excerpt:
Technological power is not new, of course, but information technology’s exponential pace and declining cost is changing how the global game is played and who the players are. Control of technology is passing from the richest states and governments to smaller groups and individuals, and the results are both inspiring and terrifying. As Goodman says, “The ability of one to affect many is scaling exponentially—and it’s scaling for good and it’s scaling for evil.”- Pentagon to deploy more than 100 cyber teams by 2015
- The future of surveillance will turn society into a massive online game (Quick comment from DSC: While I dislike the title of this article, it’s very relevant to this posting.)
- A search engine for The Internet of Things (IoT)
Shodan, a little-known search engine, is the go-to site to find out about nuclear power plants control centers, gas stations, and highway signs connected to the internet.- 13-foot 12,000-pound mechanized robot suit now for sale in Japan
- This week in bots: The robots we build to kill for us
- Who’s responsible when robots kill? ‘We Robot’ Conference hunts answers
- The terrifying future is 3D printed weapons <– the dark side of 3D printing
and/or
This item on the DoD’s PETMAN project- For some, Google Glasses raise privacy concerns
As the launch of the latest interactive technology creeps closer, discussions about how the public will adapt have started to surface.- Facebook addresses Facebook Home privacy concerns
- Why Facebook Home bothers me: It destroys any notion of privacy
- Fake Twitter followers become multimillion-dollar business
- 3D scanner scans objects from over a half mile away, watches the grass grow
On 04/08/2013,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society,
by Daniel Christian
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
On 04/02/2013,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, society,
by Daniel Christian
Jesus has risen
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.
.
On 03/28/2013,
in future, geography / geology, global / globalization, health, hearts -- matters of the heart, society, sociology,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Check out this very cool news from my friend and Bible Study fellow — Mr. Patrick Mohney, President of SEA Biofuels, LLC
This is really amazing.
First of all, people in the developing world, even today, use either campfires or some other smokey cooking system. This type of cooking is the norm for three billion people today, this leads to millions of deaths per year, as well as a leading contributor of greenhouse gases. Also, I learned that in some parts of the world, women that normally collect the cooking fuel, are the subject of physical violence and rape as they collect fuel in a territory that another clan, family or tribe feel belongs to them. I hear these things and think, “Seriously, we have to fix this!”
We could fix this, if we had a clean and environmentally friendly alternative fuel that they could afford. Now we have just that. We make fuel from excess agricultural waste like rice husks, coconut shells or almost any woody bio-material.
The stove-fuel combo is the most efficient in the world, but the reason that I am excited about it, is that it is less expensive to operate for the consumer than the alternative fuels. As it turns out, people that use wood or charcoal to cook with, usually pay for it, and it is not cheap. Our fuel is usually half to three quarters of the price of the status quo fuel at retail to the consumer. This is why our stove and fuel is presently the only option that is scale-able and can help millions, or billions of people.
I know you are busy, but we can solve this for half of the worlds people, if you could just pass this on or make some noise. Like us on FB.
Our mission statement is, “Be a Blessing to others and you will be Blessed”.
God Bless you and your family.
Patrick Mohney
President
SEA Biofuels, LLC
From DSC and Patrick:
Contribute something today — make the world a better place to live in.
On 03/28/2013,
in Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society,
by Daniel Christian
What is Maundy Thursday?
What do Christians celebrate on Maundy Thursday?
Excerpt:
Maundy Thursday is observed during Holy Week on the Thursday before Easter. Also referred to as “Holy Thursday” or “Great Thursday” in some Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. In contrast to joyful Easter celebrations when Christians worship their resurrected Savior, Maundy Thursday services are typically more solemn occasions, marked by the shadow of Jesus’ betrayal.
…
What Does “Maundy” Mean?
Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning “commandment,” Maundy refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice (emphasis here and purchased/modified graphic below from DSC).
Matthew 16:15-16 (NIV) — from biblegateway.com
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
On 03/22/2013,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships,
by Daniel Christian
Coop’s Column – Royally Welcomed — by Dale Cooper
….the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully with
a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying:
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven.” (Luke 19.37-38)
Excerpt:
I give the rest of this column to Jorge Bergoglio, former archbishop of Buenos Aires, recently elected as Pope Francis I. In his Palm Sunday 2008 address to his Argentine flock, the Archbishop declared:
“Today, here in Buenos Aires, like in Jerusalem on that day, the street made way for Jesus. The street received Him properly. The crowd stood, begged for blessings, blessings for their families, blessings for their businesses, their houses, their autos… Blessing, what does that [really] mean? [It means] that Jesus “speak well” of something, that He approach! That He enter families, hearts, homes, autos, businesses…Jesus out in the street, interacting with the crowd…There. His desire is, just as the gates of the city were opened to Him, the same is done with the doors to our hearts. Every Holy Week He asks the same thing: “Open your heart to Me. I’m not here to mortify you! I’m not here to boss you around! I’m not here to take anything from you…I’m here to give you everything. I want to make you happy.” That’s what He’s telling us. If we slam the doors to our hearts in His face, He suffers. Although He is used to it, He suffers. And we lose the opportunity to become happy.
On 03/21/2013,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society,
by Daniel Christian
Jeremiah 17:7-8 — from Bible Gateway’s Verse of the Day
But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
On 03/20/2013,
in corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, hearts -- matters of the heart, lifelong learning, love of learning, passions, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
I appreciate Kevin Wheeler’s comment on Jay Cross’ posting entitled “A Solution to the College Crisis” (emphasis below from DSC)
In response to Jay Cross:
Higher education in the United States is broken. Costs are ouf of control. Students are dissatisfied. Graduates can’t get jobs. Says MIT’s Andy McAfee, “What’s going on is halfway between a bubble and a scandal.” I propose we put higher ed back on track by founding Corporate Colleges. Corporate colleges break higher […]
Jay,
As you know I have written a book on Corporate Universities and have spent many years at the “coal face” of learning, work and formal education. What you propose is actually what many corporate universities are offering today (except for your funding approach). It works well at the professional levels where people already have skills and degrees but seek additional competence.
it works much less well with entry level folks and people with minimal education. Many of these folks lack basic skills or are functionally illiterate. Some are reluctant to sink time into learning, especially if it reduces pay. Many have social issues and have had bad experiences learning in school. They are not predisposed to learn in any way that looks like learning.
They need personal attention, work-based apprentice-like education, and a tremendous amount of coaching with consistent motivation or interest falls off. It is a dilema that technology works much less well at this level and therefore costs for coaching go up while the benefit to a corporation is minimal. Most organizations would rather invest in those who are already performing than try and educate entry-level or marginal folks. …
Everything you propose makes perfect sense, but it is damn hard to get it to work in reality.
.
From DSC:
This is exactly the kind of thing I’ve been trying to address — if people don’t like learning, it will be very hard to get them to become lifelong learners (something that has become a requirement these days).
To those of us working within K-12 and/or higher education:
One of the greatest gifts that we can possibly give to our students is a chance for them to identify and develop their God-given passions, interests, and abilities. If we create the “space” for this to occur, an enormous amount of internal energy and will power will be released.
Check out this video for a perfect example of this!!!
.
To those folks working within the corporate world:
How can your organization’s culture be tweaked to better support people and their development? This might be putting more resources towards helping internal employees develop their own learning ecosystems — based upon their interests, passions, career goals — and/or hiring entry-level folks and then helping develop them. Besides helping to make the world a better place, this approach just might just turn out to be a solid business move.
Passion-Based Learning Conference: Spartans Connect II — from ryanbretag.com
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
Just like the past two years ago, we asked our students and faculty what they are passionate about. But we didn’t stop there. As Dan Pink said, “If people tap their strengths, and use them in the service of something larger than themselves, passion will take care of itself.” So we asked questions like these:
- What do you do for fun?
- What are your interests?
- How do you spend your free time?
- What do you love doing – something you get lost in, find flow with?
- What are you passionate about.
On 03/15/2013,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society,
by Daniel Christian
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons
or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom
or gives the rooster understanding?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
On 03/12/2013,
in Daniel S. Christian, engagement / engaging students, formal learning, hearts -- matters of the heart, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, love of learning, participation, passions, student-related,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
THIS is what it could look like if students OWNED their own learning and could pursue their own passions! — A powerful piece! Well worth your time if you are involved with — or concerned about — education in any way, shape, or form.
The video starts off with this troubling/deep assertion by a student (which I’m sure varies in actuality across the board):
- “It’s crazy that…in a system that is meant to teach…and to help the youth, there is NO voice from the youth at all.”
From DSC:
A few radical — but powerful ideas — to help students OWN their own learning (something that they will need for the rest of their lives):
- More choice, more control
- Research what you want to research — “The most important thing about your question is that you ACTUALLY WANT to know the answer.”
- Students pursue their own passions — be that an interest in music, art, science, aviation, or in another discipline.
- Student present their findings to each other — which involves more of a team-based approach (i.e. peer pressure in a positive way here, strongly encouraging each other to do their best work so as not to let others down)
- Peer evaluation
- No quizzes
- No grades
- Often no adults in the room; if adults are there, they are acting more as guides and facilitators
- Multiple types of “assignments”/activities — some individualistic, some group work, some long-term
A couple of questions kept running through the back of my mind:
- Did they hand select these particular students for this program?
- If so, what were the predominant characteristics of those students?
With that said, this is a very powerful piece — well worth your time to check out.
Unswervingly resolute — from the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship / Coop’s Column by Dale Cooper
Description of column:
This week we join Jesus and his disciples at a spot just outside the city of Jericho. They’ve made their way southward from the Mount of Transfiguration a week or so earlier and are now at a place a few miles west of the city where two important roads intersect. One road leads west toward Jerusalem and the other north toward Galilee. That intersection, and the choice of which road to take, became something of a crossroads’ moment for Jesus.
Prayer [DSC’s prayer for sure]
“O Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Establish my heart in your will.
Grant me true repentance for my sins;….
To You, my God….be praise and glory forever
For all the benefits you have given me,
And for all Your mercies to me, a sinner,
For your name’s sake.
Amen.”