tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283026232024-03-07T03:00:03.847-05:00OneMoreBook"A room without books is like a body without a soul ~ Cicero"Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-15157962399889837752015-03-08T19:06:00.001-04:002015-03-08T19:06:28.548-04:00A good sermon..a good conversation[warning: this post rambles a bit]<br />
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Today my church discussed 1 Cor 11: 27-34, it was an important reminder that even though the Lord punishes us, he does it so that he will be glorified and so that we can be reunited with him. I suppose the thing that stuck with me is that I am not sure when I have been punished, or if I am being punished. I never have been able to figure that out. I suppose I should, but it is hard to figure out what is just life happening and when it is from Him. That is what has always hit me about Job, is that all of his friends were saying "this is from God", but in fact it wasn't from God at least as a punishment, it was a testing of his faith. <br />
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Having grown up in the faith, I know I should be further along in my self studies and in my knowledge of the Spirit, but at times I think it has hindered it. I grow complacent, life has been good. I have felt at times a loss of joy, but never a loss of faith. I don't know. I need to be able to listen better to the Spirit, and to be more obedient to his word. These little reminders help me out as I try to think through Lent. <br />
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The other conversation I had was about how I live my faith on an external level. Would someone who only barely knew me recognize Him in me? Do I attract people to Jesus? In work, ministry, and in almost all my life I live in a very Christian bubble. The bubble is comfortable, almost everyone agrees with me on most things, and life flows like I know it. But the more I read, the more I talk with people, we need more believers to live outside the bubble. We need more politicians, lawyers, doctors, artists, educators, and social workers in the field, being salt and light. We need to know our neighbors and to invite them into our lives. And it needs to be intentional, it can be a barbecue or a party, but it needs to be prayed over, it needs to be revisited. Not everyone will be ready, but people need to know that smart, educated, compassionate people are open to having you and your mess be part of their lives and prayers.<br />
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I have been in the bubble and very comfortable there, but I am missing out on creating disciples and seeing the Kingdom grow. I have been part of a team at my University sending out students to do this, but I think we need more application course so that they will not grow weary of doing good. That is why I love Cairn University, the University's president wants students in every form of government and position being salt and light in their communities, biblically minded, well educated men and women of character. That is what the world needs, that faith and prayer can change society as we know it. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-80961199508144600922015-01-22T11:23:00.000-05:002015-03-07T14:33:35.851-05:00Chapel message- January 21, 2015<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was invited to share a testimony/devotional in the alternative chapel at my University. This is what I had been planning to say, it went a bit off script, so I am putting it here in its more coherent version. My recorded version I will post later once it become available. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Orphans, Slaves or Sons</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Romans 8:9-17<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What to do? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is important to me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Truth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Being
Authentic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have since the age of 9 been challenged to adopt, around college I discovered the importance of foster care. I truly believe God has a heart for adoption, after all he adopted us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Jordan, my sister is learning
about Adoption and Orphan<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s aging out of the
system. What she has found is that most
orphans have a hard and challenging time their entire lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is assumed that to be orphaned
means that you or your family did something to offend Allah. Therefore your
orphaned state is something to be shunned, because family name and connections
are how Arab society works. If you lose
your parents you are supposed to end up with some extended family members, but
to be completely alone and with out family there is almost nothing worse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Orphan is stamped on all your
government documents, it means no family now and possibly in the future. It means a lack of job security, a lack of
marriage prospects, and for many a lack of being able to move out of poverty. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Adoption in the Jewish context of Paul's day was
very similar. Esther is the first time
we see a scenario that is more than foster care, a child living with someone
other than their immediate family (think Moses). For the Jews, actual genes from the
husbands lineage are needed to pass on the family name (think Tamar, Obed, etc).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Romans were the first to have adoption the
way we think about it in the United States. Men of means could adopt children
with few prospects to be the heirs of their estates, this gave them legal
rights, and allowed their names to travel forward with the adopted child<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s genes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Romans 8: <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>9 </b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">However, you are not in the
flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If
Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is
[d]alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies [e]through His Spirit who dwells in you.<b>12</b></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></b>So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the
flesh, to live according to the flesh<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">— </span><b>13</b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></b>for if you are living according to the flesh, you [<span style="color: #621e16;">f</span>]must
die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you
will live. <b>14</b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></b>For all who are
being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. <b>15</b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></b>For you have not received a spirit of slavery [<span style="color: #621e16;">g</span>]leading
to fear again, but you have received [<span style="color: #621e16;">h</span>]a spirit of adoption as
sons by which we cry out, <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span>Abba! Father!<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” </span><b>16</b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></b>The
Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, <b>17</b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></b>and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow
heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be
glorified with Him.<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” </span></i><i>NASB</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When looking up some
commentaries about this passage I would have to say I like Moo<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s interpretation the most. Why? Well it is because his commentary stays
pretty simple and gives the believer a lot of hope in the future. Of all the religions out there, Christianity
has a difference, we don<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>t need to prove ourselves by
good works out of the goodness of our hearts.
One: we don<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>t have any natural goodness
in our hearts and Two: Through God<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s grace
he gave us a bit of himself. Every
Christian has God<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s spirit residing in himself/herself. We are infinitely blessed because this
indwelling of the Holy Spirit allows us to do things that we couldn<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>t do on our own.
We went from creatures enslaved to sin to be God<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s sons and daughters!
This is an amazing gift, it is a gift that is hard to comprehend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are God<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s heirs, we have the full rights and privileges of the
King of the Galaxy, if that doesn<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>t stun
you I am not sure what else can. Imagine
a child an orphan who doesn<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>t know anything other than
anxiety and fear of the future, they cannot understand security, peace,
anticipating a future that doesn<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>t
involve struggle and danger, then they are adopted by the Daddy Warlocks of the
Universe. I believe it would take some
time to become comfortable with this their new situation, but until we
experience that sense of security in the awesome love of our new Heavenly
Father- how can be effective messengers for God? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">I suppose that is why I get confused
by my own sin- </span>Why do we who love God,
who are his sons and daughters so frequently become caught up in sin? Paul lets
us know that it is because our current bodies are slaves to sin, we are born
cursed to want our own way. The only
way, the only cure is acknowledging God as our Father, and allowing the Holy
Spirit to continually work within us to help free us from this slavery to sin
so that we can obey Jesus and love others.
It isn<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>t until we die and receive our new bodies that we will
be completely free from sins bonds. <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For each of us that sin looks a
bit different. Sometimes it is an
outright sin, and sometimes it is the sin of disbelief. That disbelief can take
many forms. For me, the disbelief comes
in a lack of trust. I like being safe
and secure, certain of the next week, next month, etc. That is why I am stunned when I take an
honest look at my heart- I know and love God. Why would I rely on my <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span>wisdom<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” </span>to lead me to a safe place,
instead of relying on my Heavenly Father who <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span>knows
the plans he has for me<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is why I like The Message<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span>s wording for Roman 8:<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span>9<i>-</i><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">17</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> </span></i></b><i>T<b>But if God himself has taken up residence in your
life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. </b>Anyone, of
course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit
of Christ, won</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>t
know what we</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>re
talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells</i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">—</span></i><i>even though you still experience all the limitations
of sin</i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">—</span></i><i>you yourself experience life on God</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>s terms. It stands to reason,
doesn</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>t
it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into
your life, he</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>ll
do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself?
When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus),
you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body
will be as alive as Christ</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>s!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">12-14</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> </span></i></b><i>So don</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>t you see that we don</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>s nothing in it for us,
nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with
your new life. God</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to
go!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">15-17</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> </span></i></b><i>This resurrection life you received from God is not a
timid, grave-tending life. <b>It</b></i><b><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i></b><b><i>s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a
childlike </i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">“</span></i></b><b><i>What</i></b><b><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i></b><b><i>s next, Papa?</i></b><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">” </span></i></b><b><i>God</i></b><b><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i></b><b><i>s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we
really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. </i></b><i>And we know we are going to get what</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>s coming to us</i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">—</span></i><i>an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly
what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we</i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span></i><i>re certainly going to go
through the good times with him!</i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">”</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">It is so much safer to tend graves,
no surprises, no adventures, no questions.
But that isn</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">t
what we have been called to. There are
no guarantees in life. If we cannot love
God, if we cannot take risks with him in charge, how are we loving him? </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Think of the last time you played
with a child</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica;">…</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">how
many little children shout and giggle to be thrown higher, to go just one more
time. That is what we need to be
striving for in this life, we want to go higher, to trust God so much that our
chains of slavery are gone and instead we strive just to keep up with our
heavenly Father. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Challenges/Questions</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">How do you view God? Tyrant, ATM,
Impersonal, Friend, Father, Shepherd, or something in-between? </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-65065951924609464592014-10-21T21:28:00.001-04:002014-10-21T21:28:28.110-04:00StrugglesI will admit it, I am struggling. <br />
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I am struggling with decisions, lack of decisions, humanity, and a dozen other emotions. There is nothing terrible happening in my life, I have a job, transportation, a ministry I love, but I am exhausted; my emotions are constantly at the surface and I am on the verge of crying all the time. (And nope, there is absolutely no way pregnancy is involved.)<br />
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I have been reading a couple of books recently<i> Restless</i> by Jennie Allen and <i>Let's be Brave </i>by Annie Downs. As I have been reading these two books and working through the heart and soul questions they have been asking I have had to deal with a lot of things that I haven't wanted to talk or think about. I have this weird thought process where I think that if I just do what I am supposed to do, according to the Bible and the church, that my life should flow fairly smoothly. However recently in my Bible reading of Acts-2 Corinthians I don't see a smooth life. I see a full, rich, hectic, stressful life as Paul lives a life that didn't include a safe, secure house. He didn't have family nearby, or a wife to cook him dinner every night. He said crazy things like being single is better for God's glory (if you are called to it) and if you weren't well live for God and do all you can while you are single. <br />
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I never wanted to be single by 31, I wanted to have a loving, adorable husband, 2-4 kids, and a dog and cat. Instead I have 2 cats and a super busy schedule. I love many things about who I am now, but I also have things that I wouldn't mind changing. <br />
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Would you pray with me that I would make wise choices? Think of others before myself, and not be led astray by the wicked one. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-86707460271946382612014-09-02T15:59:00.000-04:002014-09-02T15:59:13.475-04:00Growing up is hardAs I said in my previous post, I am single. I have tons of friends and family with children and spouses, some of my friends are single parents and I just don't know how married or single they deal with it all. I only have my two little kitties (see below) and I just find life to be a challenge. Paying bills, creating budgets, and then on top of it being a boss at work, and a ministry leader at church. I love all of these things but simply cannot fathom how so many of my friends are parents on top of it all. <br />
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If leading adults can be so tiring, how can parents do it all day and then go home to be examples to their children? I applaud you all. There are days when I feel like I was born in the wrong time. I was raised to be responsible and someone who doesn't mind committing. I see a need and fill it. I think church membership is important- not because it is necessarily in the Bible but because so few commit, which then leads to a lack of persons who step up for ministry. I like having 2 year plans for cell phones, because once upon a time that had a benefit, but now I truly believe in prepaid as it is so much less a month. But so many people haven't been brought up with that so it creates an intense aggravation in my mind and soul when others cannot so commit. I know that is wrong, I really do, but it does make me feel low. Sorry I started rambling there. <br />
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I would like to apologize to my parents for expecting perfection in their actions and choices at the end of the day because good grief, I am now your ages when we were wee little things and I certainly will never be accused of being perfect or making super excellent choices. But thank you for doing your best. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-71183352449689051912014-08-06T21:17:00.001-04:002014-08-06T21:17:35.131-04:00Reboot...and not the cartoonWhat shall I say? Should I apologize for not having written in the last year? Probably, but mostly because I was not writing what I should have been writing. <br />
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Earlier this year I was reading a blog by Annie Downs (if you don't know her or her message please, please, please go here <a href="http://www.anniefdowns.com/">http://www.anniefdowns.com</a> and look her up!) the point of her blog post was that it shouldn't just be the wonderful stay at home moms writing blogs about their lives and stories, but that single women should be talking about their lives and how they deal with the day-to-day and their God stories. <br />
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As a single woman in my 30's (I am 31) I never imagined as a child or teen that I wouldn't be married by now; I never dreamed that I wouldn't have even gone out on a date yet...yes I did just admit that. My cousins used to tease me as a child that I would be married and have 4 kids before 30-because that is honestly who I wanted to be...minus the handle-bar mustashe on my husband. Instead I am the working woman with no kids and they are all married with various amounts of children. My story is very different than my past expectations. <br />
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But I want to share my story, because I think in some ways there may be another woman out there who may be encouraged by it or at least identify with it. I also think that journaling this way makes it easier for me to listen to God and what he may be wanting to show me, if I am open with a digital audience it may help me with consistency...I am awful at consistency. I want to open the Bible, but my pillows are so comfortable in the morning...I want to read my Bible at night, but oh look I haven't seen that book in a while and oh look there is that TV show on now. So really I am thinking about my flesh and its desires instead of looking to the one who can uplift and strengthen my heart and spirit. <br />
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I am taking a chance and being brave. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-8088193755953935422013-08-28T16:02:00.001-04:002013-08-28T16:02:29.153-04:00I am a Social Librarian...well sort ofI have always liked knowing about new things and products, but never having any money have rarely had the means to purchase high tech stuff. That is fine I would really rather have someone else work out the bugs. One thing about Social Media and the Web is that you don't necessarily have to have money to be a big shot. You can tweet, blog, vine and all the other social media tools to your hearts content without spending a dime...as long as you have access to the internet. Anyways, I thank Joe Murphy <a class="g-profile" href="http://plus.google.com/118415885577950352295" target="_blank">+Joe Murphy</a> and @library_connect for creating this sweet info-graphic.<br />
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Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-57897915875411735612013-07-24T13:25:00.000-04:002013-07-24T13:25:06.471-04:00Lacking imagination<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday I made a comment, one I have made before, but due to a book I am reading currently it bothered me. I have always considered Amillennialists to be idealists, and in fact I believe I stated that it worried me. How can humans who are so imperfect ever bring about a change in society that would have Christ return to to a world that has despised him? However that got me to thinking...what if it is our job? God can do amazing things, more than we can dream or ask (Eph. 3:20 &21). So many men and women in the Bible went from something negative or at least something humble to something the world would consider great. Therefore have I been limiting God or has my view of God been limited?<br />
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I am a bit of a pessimist, I generally use the word "realist" but honestly that isn't radically different we both acknowledge that the glass is not full, it is just not empty. But what if we could ignore the labels and dream a bigger dream? Instead of seeing myself as just a Librarian, I saw or recognized that God sees me as my possible future self? Joseph was a wrongfully convicted convict and became the second most powerful man in the country. Moses' title changed dramatically throughout his lifetime. Rahab was a prostitute and became a woman God deemed worthy of being a great-grandmother in the line of Kings and ultimately the King of Kings. <br />
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I sometimes miss the conviction I had about certain theological ideas while I was in college. I wasn't really for or against dispensationalism or coventalism, but most other areas were pretty concrete. Now I have been out of undergrad for 8 years and the lines are getting blurry. I want to love people because they are Christ's image bearers (Col. 1:15-29), I don't wan to label them. But in a world that is so "don't box me in" we certainly have more labels than we ever have before. Bear with me as I try to work these things out through this blog and if you are around me in person. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-44328893133361300892013-05-17T09:45:00.002-04:002013-05-17T09:45:33.639-04:00DilbertI believe I found this one on one of those Dilbert of the Day calendars. I think I liked it as someone told me, with the best possible intentions, that I should be a consultant. At that point I believe I taped it to the outside of my college dorm door.<br />
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Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-70905568829856739382013-05-14T15:33:00.000-04:002013-05-14T15:33:09.868-04:00Library humorPlease humor me...I am a librarian, and a geek.<br />
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That is all for now.<br /><br />Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-84316097045326720402013-05-09T21:31:00.000-04:002013-05-09T21:31:08.458-04:00BusyLife since my grandmother died has been insane. <br />
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I have been to WV twice in 2 months, my sister was here for almost 3 weeks, and graduation and vacation are around the corner. This year has been rather busy and I need to start eating vegan again. My allergies have been a mess and I attribute it to the meat and dairy. Though I do have a plan for stopping my WaWa runs in the morning. I bought a blender ball shaker and think that if I do one of the plant/vegan shakes in the morning it will help up my veggie intake and it will help with my allergies. I only really hope that it will work. If not on to plan B!<br />
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Next week is finals week and it amazes me that it is already here. On top of that I had to fire a student today, and I have had 2 leave. I dearly hate conflict of any kind. INFJ's just are not programed for it. However as a department head in the library it is part of my job description.<br />
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Now the subject of a second degree has begun again. I miss my time in the classroom, but am not sure what degree to work towards. Counseling would be okay, but I am not sure I can do it...I still don't know how effective it will be as I am not married yet. Teacher education would be good in some ways as lesson planning and developing objectives which would help with teaching information literacy. Business would also be good as I am frequently put into positions of leadership and have had no management classes and definitely no classes regarding finance. And there are those air dreams people have to which I am no stranger. I frequently dream of owning my own business. Not simply so that I can be independent, but rather as I want to share some of my favorite things with others. Owning a shop that sold fair trade products as well as coffee and tea is one of them. Another is owning a restaurant of some sort that was uber-healthy but also uber-yummy. I love making vegan desserts that people cannot recognize as vegan. The <a href="http://thevegancookieconnoisseur.com/" target="_blank">Vegan Cookie Connoisseur </a> and the <a href="http://happyherbivore.com/recipes/" target="_blank">Happy Herbivore</a> are two of my favorites.<br />
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Ahh well, those are air dreams. I also dream of my own home, something cozy but big enough for company. I dream of children...but not when I have a migraine. <br />
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In other news I have a new second job helping with a Day Spa. I have been working on creating a blog for them and boy has it been a lot of work. My grasp of html and css is rather sad. But I am learning and instead of memorizing everything I have learned what I need to survive. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-45203154512611043702013-02-28T09:27:00.000-05:002013-02-28T09:27:00.515-05:00WornI am sad, worn, and sick at heart. <br />
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There are a variety of reasons for this, but mostly it is due to my grandmother dying. She has cancer that silent and annoying killer. Yet she is only 77, she is such a stubborn person I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so soon. And yet, the older I get the more I would rather not linger in this mortal coil. Not because it is a horrible place, it certainly can be. But it can also be awe inspiring, beautiful, and thrilling. It is mostly because I do not want to be dependent upon medication to be alive. I do not want to feel miserable the last years of my life. I want to be helpful, retired but not inactive. I want to travel, to meet with people, to have family and friends that I love and can visit with throughout the weeks and years. <br />
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Yet I am currently shaping up to be a miserable or at least lonely person. I have friends, but not close friends. I have never needed a ton of people but I would like to have a close small group of friends in this country. My sister, my cousins, they are the people to whom I am the closest, yet they all live fairly far away. And traveling is expensive. If I didn't have the student debt and the car/credit debt it wouldn't bother me, but as I was not trained in wise financials at an earlier age. I need to dig myself out. <br />
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I want children and a spouse. I really do, but I haven't the talent of meeting new people. I can talk to anyone at work, but anytime I notice that a man doesn't have a wedding ring I freeze and become some odd and awkward, out of sync person mumbling heaven knows what. <br />
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Anyhow, if Grammie does read this...I know we didn't always get along. We both are stubborn, and like for things to go our way. I love you. I had always planned that I would like my first daughter to be named Margaret. We shall see if I have a daughter, but I wanted you to know. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-90084674699892737932012-08-02T09:29:00.001-04:002012-08-02T09:29:25.622-04:00Confused and ConfoundedYou know what...I'll tell you a little secret about myself...I hate social media and I love social media. Once upon a time I lived in a lovely safe bubble, if i didn't want to know what was going on in the world it was ridiculously easy to not know, flip off the nightly news, breeze past the newspapers, and delve into the current book from my shelf. These days however one can scarcely get away from it, or at least the associated presses version of it. I have heard a heck of a lot about Chickfilia, the Olympics, and upcoming syndicated shows. What I haven't heard is about the floods in India, the hunger in Africa, and the many more important life issues from around the world. <br />
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Facebook has been flooded with messages concerning the Chickfilia issue, I haven't really chimed in as I wanted the full story before I opened my mouth. You see personally I believe in traditional marriage, however I also believe that one should love one's neighbor. Hate and discrimination are not a part of my life, at least any more than any other person. I honestly prefer not to know someone's sexual orientation, or politics, or natural hair-color. This philosophy comes from the fact that Jesus said to love one's neighbor, the Old Testament talks about not casting stones, the New Testament about logs in one's own eye. I like meeting and judging people by their own merits, I believe it is important both Biblically and socially to be as respectful as possible, even if it means feeling like screaming into a pillow at the end of the day. I have always been curious, curious about cultures, differences, and new ideas. Other than math class, school was a joy because it allowed me to learn about all sorts of things that I hadn't even known to ask about. <br />
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So yesterday when I went to Chickfilia, it wasn't about standing up for traditional marriage, it was about free speech and intolerance to people who think differently than you do. According to the CNN report h<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/01/us/us-chick-fil-a-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t3" target="_blank">ttp://www.cnn.com/2012/08/01/us/us-chick-fil-a-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 </a>the origin of the issue was that a business owner was being interviewed by a religious magazine and the issue of marriage came up. All the man did was honestly answer a question put to him by a religious magazine. When seen by the public the whole thing was completely blown out of context. Had he been on a talk show, or if he called a press conference just to say that I could see how people may get their feathers ruffled, but to have this sort of media attention due to answering a question in what should have been a fairly safe venue. It quite frankly makes me wish to quit all normal forms of society and join a commune. However as the Bible doesn't really encourage hermit-ism I suppose I will have to stay and deal with the ridiculousness of this situation and the ones in the future. <br />
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You see I think that most people are not okay with being different. We say we are, but in truth we are really stuck in that preschool-about age 18 phase where being different, and especially having those differences pointed out to us is about the worse thing that could possibly happen to us. So while we say we do not like being labelled or "put into a box", what do we do but add extra labels to our lives. When we introduce ourselves we say, "oh well I am a Christian, I am a vegan, I am a naturist, I am a....". We add more boxes to paperwork, we define who, what, from where, and form clubs for people "just like us". It all seems to break down our common bonds instead of helping us see them instead.<br />
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So you are probably asking why is it I love social media? I love it because I have come into contact with people and places I have never met or seen. I find out about amazing new places, recipes. I keep in contact with my friends who are or have been around the globe. Though I must admit that I wish that letters were still something that were used, the instantaneous aspect of the web and social media is fascinating and a bit terrifying. It sort of makes me think of the Tower of Babel. <br />
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So this has been a rather rambling blog, but I wish people would stop getting up on their soapboxes and instead think things through. Because once it is on Social Media or the web it doesn't go away. If we are preaching tolerance than don't ask those who do not agree with you to change based on your position, that is the opposite of tolerance. We will never live in an entirely equal society or world, do do that would be rather equal to "Brave New World" or "1984" which has its own set of problems. So please just be polite, let us use our manners, let us love each, be angry, but as the Bible say, "Be angry and do not sin."Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-4271780666621120722012-06-07T09:29:00.002-04:002012-06-07T09:29:42.901-04:00Thursdays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My life almost every Thursday...I really cannot explain it.Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-2131134601407327992012-05-25T09:17:00.004-04:002012-05-25T09:17:45.960-04:00Lead me to the crossI feel rather trampled upon...and it is weird because I am not the recipient of all the heartache; I am merely the observer. Between work and church I feel as if this year has been a harbinger of death, disease, unemployment, and discouragement. There have been many positives, but with each email and get together there has been an element of disappointment or distress. I know where to go, but often find myself distracted by trivialities. <br />
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My hope, my goal, my purpose is to bring Christ to those who do not know him. Showing through my own life how to obey, trust, worship, and grow. However doing that is hard at times, I find that my relationship and my obedience happen most when I am overwhelmed...I really wish that like Anne Shirley's statement of "I never repeat the same mistakes twice." I could learn to trust and obey in the good times, the times of plenty the way I do in the times of famine. <br />
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Now if only I could get my diet and fitness plan in order as well....<br />
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<br />Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-179214967038861062012-05-07T09:28:00.000-04:002012-05-07T09:30:16.287-04:00Vegan Ice Cream cakeGrowing up my Grammi would often make ice cream cakes for our birthdays. They were messy, packed full of sugar and chocolate and just plain marvelous. However nowadays I have a harder time processing dairy and due to all the documentaries and books (<i>Food, Inc</i>., <i>The Omnivore's Dilemma</i>, etc.) I have read recently try not to touch dairy anymore than necessary. Plus I have this friend who is trying to go vegan so I decided to try my had at making an ice cream cake similar to my Grammi's but more in keeping with my dietary requirements.<br />
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I know it isn't a brilliant presentation style, but it does taste rather nice and the wax paper does wonders for clean up.<br />
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Required items:<br />
Trader Jo's Jo Jo's (or gluten free equivalent)<br />
Earth Balance- 4 tbsps<br />
1 container soy ice cream (I used Trader Joe's but I would imagine any vegan ice cream would work; I will note that the Trader Joe's Soy ice cream took a full 15 hours to firm up.)<br />
Vegan chocolate chips.<br />
Spring Form pan<br />
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Use a food processor to chop the Jo Jo's until they are mostly chopped. Save a couple for the top to decorate or to add cookie crumbles. Melt the Earth Balance and pour into a bowl with the chopped Jo Jo's. Stir until the Jo Jo's are well coated. <br />
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Line spring form pan with wax paper and then pour the Jo Jo mixture in and firm press down to create the crust. Put this in the freezer for about an hour until cookie crust is firm and chilled.<br />
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If your ice cream is solid pull that out to thaw while your crust is firming. If your ice cream is rather creamy then wait until the crust is firm. Once the crust is solid scoop out the softened ice cream and smooth over cookie. If you like you can layer in the chocolate chips, nuts or other goodies, but I simply added the whole container of soy ice cream.<br />
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Sprinkle the chocolate chips or cookie crumbles. <br />
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Let firm in freezer for at least 10 hours. Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-68188898142138661492012-04-09T21:32:00.001-04:002012-04-17T08:21:14.050-04:003 deaths and a weddingDeath is enveitable...and taxes as Americans are aware of as they are due this week. I am a bit befuddled, I work at an a place where people tend to be close, we tend to actually like each other and so that is one of the reasons why this year has been rather difficult. My workplace, my community has lost a number of people ths year, a brilliant and humble musician, a cheerful and humble teacher and Dean, and now a lovely energetic and passionate woman who knew how to bring out the best of buildings and people.<br />
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Dr. Hsu was an absolutely lovely man. Unfailingly loving, engaging, brilliant, and rather understating ly mischievous, Dr. Hsu wanted to bring his students to the same love of music that he had, as well as the same love of the Savior. I referred to him in a post on the Masland Library blog <a href="http://maslandlibraryblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/give-thanks-for-time.html">here</a>.<br />
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Dr. Hirt was also a great man, however I never had the opportunity to know him. My brother had that privilege as he was in his IJS class in 2006. He was always friendly and had a smile when he came to check out items from the library. Other people have shared their stories of Dr. Hirt on his Facebook page and it has been lovely reading them over and learning more about him and the way he invested in the lives of the students at PBU.<br />
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Today we found out that Lisa Weidman passed away. She worked as the VP of Communications and Marketing, I was always impressed with her, from her stylish hair and dresses to her tasteful, but fun office decor I could see that she was a woman who had traveled and seen many things but instead of allowing any of them to jade her, or using them as a tool to gain anything from anyone, these experiences grew and shaped her into someone that was as passionate about people as she was about her job. Yet she contributed so much of herself into the atmosphere of PBU and yet she contributed just as much time and prayer into her student workers- into the students who wanted to be more than a face in the crowd. She invested her time and presence into their lives in a way that was as intense and sudden as her time was with us at PBU. I can even forgive her for not having attended PCB when in school herself.
One of the things I loved about her was that while she had an entire school of agendas and needs, you never felt that when she was talking to you. She was able to make the most difficult of people feel flattered that she was listening to them an all without pomp or circumstance.<br />
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Her illness was sudden and rather brief so brief that I never had a chance to say thank you. I know that she knows, but I still wish that I had that chance. So here it is, thank you Lisa. Thank you for being you, and thank you for investing in the lives of so many students.
Now I have the wedding of a friend on Saturday and it will be interesting. My prayer is that they will come to know the One that all three of these people knew. My prayer is that people see Him as clearly in my life as I could see him in their lives.Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-33049524542127318892012-01-31T18:31:00.000-05:002012-01-31T20:21:39.330-05:00More than PowerPointWe live in a world where there is color, life, and infinite possibilities. Why is it then that in most presentations we inevitably bore our audiences by reading and presenting in a way that detracts from our purpose and message? By simply paying attention to style and design methods we can infinitely increase our likelihood of being heard. <br />
<div id="__ss_11358028" style="width: 425px;">
<strong style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/las132/style-and-design-11358028" title="Style and design">Style and design</a></strong><object height="355" id="__sse11358028" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=styleanddesign-120131163254-phpapp01&stripped_title=style-and-design-11358028&userName=las132" />
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<div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">
View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/las132">Laura Saloiye</a>.<br />
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For a list of other online presentation tools see below:<br />
<div class="ListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Prezi</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Powerpoint</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Keynote</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Sliderocket</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Kizoa</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Qarbon</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Camtasia</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Screencast</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Screencast-O-Matic</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Jing</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Slideboom</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Slideshare</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Vyew</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Sparkol</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';">
</span></span>Prezage</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
This isn't a complete list, but rather a sampling of ones that works best for presentations given at the undergrad/graduate level. <br />
<br />
There are reasons that we present a certain way. The human brain can only accept so much data at a time. So to avoid overwhelming our audiences and thereby losing our audiences we need to limit the number of points we are attempting to make to 3-4.<br />
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<div class="prezi-player">
<style media="screen" type="text/css">
.prezi-player { width: 425px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; }
</style><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="355" id="prezi_acvapxgnqq6q" name="prezi_acvapxgnqq6q" width="550"><param name="movie" value="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf"/>
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<div class="prezi-player-links">
<a href="http://prezi.com/acvapxgnqq6q/presentations-and-learning-theory/" title="Presentations and Learning Theory">Presentations and Learning Theory</a> on <a href="http://prezi.com/">Prezi</a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
For more information on these tools you can download a brief Pros and Con list. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/111709532/presentation-software-pros-and-cons">More than PowerPoint: Pros and Cons</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
To see more on why this is important in the academic setting you can see the following presentation.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left; width: 425px;">
<a href="http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/480266/Assessment-of-Library-Bibliographical-Instruction" style="color: #0000cc; display: block; font: 14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; margin: 12px 0 3px 0; text-decoration: underline;" title="Assessment of Library Bibliographical Instruction">Assessment of Library Bibliographical Instruction</a><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0" height="370" id="onlinePlayer480266" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.slideboom.com/player/player.swf?id_resource=480266" />
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<div style="font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 11px; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;">
View <a href="http://www.slideboom.com/" style="color: #0000cc;">more presentations</a> or <a href="http://www.slideboom.com/upload" style="color: #0000cc;">Upload</a> your own.</div>
</div>
For a complete bibliography you can download it <a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/111709531/More-than-Powerpoint-Bibliography">here. </a><br />
<br />
If you would like to see an early version of Style and Design it is below.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="1" height="326" scrolling="no" src="http://app.sliderocket.com:80/app/fullplayer.aspx?id=b2665895-25cc-4077-be24-c211f30829a9" style="border-bottom-style: none; border: 1px solid #333333;" width="400"></iframe>Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-77431215668733636252011-03-16T10:57:00.000-04:002011-03-16T10:58:17.818-04:00<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border:0px" src="http://books.google.com/books?id=IU_8JDjxL34C&lpg=PR1&dq=Luther%20and%20erasmus&pg=PR1&output=embed" width=500 height=500></iframe>Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-32126352721900064042011-03-16T10:51:00.002-04:002011-03-16T10:53:05.798-04:00<!-- Start of Flickr Badge --><br /><style type="text/css"><br />#flickr_badge_source_txt {padding:0; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif; color:#666666;}<br />#flickr_badge_icon {display:block !important; margin:0 !important; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;}<br />#flickr_icon_td {padding:0 5px 0 0 !important;}<br />.flickr_badge_image {text-align:center !important;}<br />.flickr_badge_image img {border: 1px solid black !important;}<br />#flickr_www {display:block; padding:0 10px 0 10px !important; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif !important; color:#3993ff !important;}<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:hover,<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:link,<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:active,<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:visited {text-decoration:none !important; background:inherit !important;color:#990033;}<br />#flickr_badge_wrapper {background-color:#ffffff;border: solid 1px #000000}<br />#flickr_badge_source {padding:0 !important; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif !important; color:#666666 !important;}<br /></style><br /><table id="flickr_badge_uber_wrapper" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" border="0"><tr><td><a href="http://www.flickr.com" id="flickr_www">www.<strong style="color:#3993ff">flick<span style="color:#ff1c92">r</span></strong>.com</a><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" border="0" id="flickr_badge_wrapper"><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.flickr.com/badge_code_v2.gne?count=5&display=random&size=s&layout=v&source=user&user=81774630%40N00"></script><br /></table><br /></td></tr></table><br /><!-- End of Flickr Badge -->Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-80090799833346427912011-03-16T10:45:00.001-04:002011-03-16T10:45:44.605-04:00<iframe src="https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?height=450&wkst=1&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&src=laurasaloiye%40gmail.com&color=%23A32929&ctz=America%2FNew_York" style=" border:solid 1px #777 " width="400" height="450" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-92058318363537022962011-03-16T10:29:00.003-04:002011-03-16T10:31:59.834-04:00Links<script type="text/javascript" src="http://feeds.delicious.com/v2/js/Laura683/subject_guides?title=Subject%20guides&icon=s&count=15&bullet=%C2%BB&sort=date&tags&extended&showadd"></script>Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-3090541853661066822011-03-04T15:18:00.000-05:002011-03-04T15:19:30.966-05:00Modern ApologeticsLast night Philadelphia Biblical University hosted a chat with Dinesh D'Souza which was highly entertaining and challenging. Mr. D'Souza is an apologetist who has written a number of books including "What is so great about Christianity", a biography on Reagan and one on Obama. He also is known to be outspoken on his views and therefore is frequently on the debate circuit defending Christianity to "New Atheists". New Atheists differ from the intellectual atheists of the eighteenth century in that they no longer ignore the issue of faith but are forcibly against it. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN">CNN</a>, "What the New Atheists share is a belief that religion should not simply be tolerated but should be countered, criticized and exposed by rational argument wherever its influence arises." Due to this harsh and critical stance it is necessary for Apologists to stand up and create meaningful and accurate responses. Therefore Mr. D'Souza's lecture covered 3 main questions.<br /><ol><li>What has Christianity/Christendom done for the world?</li><li>Does Science disprove Christianity?</li><li>Is Religion or a Belief in God responsible for the majority of the world's murders/genocides?<br /></li></ol>The first question was an interesting one. Atheists, especially the New Atheists frequently stand up for charity, human dignity, compassion and a plethora of moralistic values. Their argument lies in the fact that Classical Western thought and ideas created these intrinsic human values, however if you study Greek and Roman philosophy you will note that Socrates and the Romans didn't subscribe to these ideals at all. Compassion for ones enemies was seen as a weakness, the Spartans left their weak and in-firmed lying in the open so that they could die of the elements or from being eaten by wild animals.<br /><br />Slavery was also a common practice in ancient antiquity, the only group that protested slavery was Christendom (and slaves). Christendom was the first protesters who talked about human dignity or the rights of men to own other men. Democracy was built on the idea that no man can be master over the other without having his permission.<br /><br />The next question was regarding whether or not Science disproves Religion. Mr. D'Souza's position is that not only does it not disprove religion, but due to most of the scientific discoveries during the twentieth century, religion and most especially a belief in a creator is proved by the discoveries. How? There are certain rates that must stay constant, sound, light, mass, gravity, otherwise the universe as we know it would literally not exist. Stephen Hawkings admitted as much, and most people agree with him that our universe is built like it is to maintain human life and the universes' dimensions. <br /><br />The final topic we covered was whether or not Religion is/was responsible for the majority of warfare and genocides in the world. Mr. D'Souza's argument is that no, religion is only a valid main talking point in Islam, not Christianity/Christendom. In the 1100's the Crusades were violent and about Christianity, but in more recent history the Inquisition had about 2000 people killed during 350 years, and the Salem witch trials had less than 20. And while that was still wrong, the numbers or the concept has been blown out of the water. Israel/Palestine, Turkey/Pakistan are all about land, not religion. <br /><br />Instead the crimes of Atheist rulers/leaders and their numbers is what is truly horrendous. Stalin, Hitler, China's Communist history have been responsible for more deaths than any other all in the name of no god, but man. <br /><br />What Christians really need to do is to be informed and to stand up for their beliefs, wish-washy relativism is useless in the face of these learned men. They will not back down from their hostility of God, so we cannot back down from our faith in God. Become informed, and learn to critically think through an argument on faith and reason. Work in the media/publishing centers of the world if you want to make a difference in the world, otherwise we will only continue to give up ground. If Christendom were to stand together and stop fighting each other we might have a chance to truly counter the remarks of the enemy and change the "public" opinion and laws. <br /><br />~LAS<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="citation web">Hooper, Simon. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/08/atheism.feature/index.html" class="external text" rel="nofollow">"The rise of the New Atheists"</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN">CNN</a><span class="printonly">. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/08/atheism.feature/index.html" class="external free" rel="nofollow">http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/08/atheism.feature/index.html</a></span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2010-03-16</span>.</span></span>Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-13824318898064641322010-06-02T09:14:00.003-04:002010-06-02T09:29:18.646-04:00Job and characterThis article is one of the better ones I have read recently about working in today's society. The working world is not always an easy place, we are often called to move outside of our comfort zones to work on projects or teams for which we have had little practice. Instead of getting stressed and frustrated it is sometimes better to step back and see what God and Life are trying to teach you. Every new experience adds something useful to your outlook on life, and sometimes provides new listings for your resume. <br /><br />Most of the students who interview at work have had little to no prior experience working in a library. To me that isn't as much of a problem as the student's attitude in the interview. It takes a special person to thrive in a library environment. Some of my best workers are students who had no experience, but were very hard workers. Attitude is at least 60% of the battle when working with new or learning students. (The other highest characteristic is someone who can think in an organized and structured way.)<br /><br />For more job related tips check out this article from Relevant Magazine. <a href="http://ow.ly/1SZLO">http://ow.ly/1SZLO</a>Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-39336845639897650142010-04-13T15:54:00.005-04:002010-04-14T13:32:54.986-04:00Conferences are great, but boy do they make me tiredI am currently attending Computers in Libraries in Arlington, VA (#cil2010). I think that it is one of my favorite conferences. There are some definite perks to this conference...1.) The food, free breakfast and 2 receptions, 2.) The technologies are library related, 3.) The topics discussed are current and most are free and instantly usable. <div><br /></div><div>I could go on, but with just those few considerations I have already exceeded the benefits of most of the other conferences I have attended. The only problem with conferences such as these is that there is so much information to absorb and work through. One of the other problems is trying to determine what options from these workshops are actually something that is doable at your particular university. </div><div><br /></div><div>More to come later as I clean up my notes. </div>Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28302623.post-62198924667529607812009-06-17T08:51:00.002-04:002009-06-17T09:06:29.608-04:00RelationshipsLife is an interesting thing. I am constantly surprised by life and watching people live it. This is the season of weddings and working at a Biblical university means that there is a large portion of the student body getting married during their time here. I would imagine that all but 10% of the men in my graduating class were either married or engaged by graduation. At times this really bothered me, and when my student workers approach me about their relationships, which is somewhat inevitable, I always try to give them good advise. It isn't always easy, I am an observer of human nature and life, but I have not yet been on a date myself. So my advise doesn't necessarily have personal experience behind it. <br /><br />I just read an interview from <a href="http://advice.eharmony.com/?page=articles/view&AID=2326&start=1">E-harmony with Steve Harvey</a>, and it was something that I wish my school and church would talk about at an earlier stage in most of these students lives. His advise is biblically sound (for the most part, however the Bible does preach total abstinence before marriage not 90 days), and just very practical. I dearly wish I had this advise when I worked with Student Life. <br /><br />So for now I will continue to observe and to understand, but I just thought this article was something that should be shared. It is hard for women my age in the church to find a spouse within the walls of the church. Most men my age are out "sowing their wild oats" and do not generally come back to the fold until a relationship brings them there. So many of my unmarried friends are disappointed with relationships but constantly longing for one. Maybe some of this advise might be good for them.Laura Saloiyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10003228999722750630noreply@blogger.com0