What Right Speech Means

Right speech means abstention (1) from telling lies, (2) from backbiting and slander and talk that may bring about hatred, enmity, disunity and disharmony among individuals or groups of people, (3) from harsh, rude, impolite, malicious and abusive language, and (4) from idle, useless and foolish babble and gossip. When one abstains from these forms of wrong and harmful speech one naturally has to speak the truth, has to use words that are friendly and benevolent, pleasant and gentle, meaningful and useful. One should not speak carelessly: speech should, be at the right time and place. If one cannot say something useful, one should keep “noble silence.”

–Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught

A Little Girl’s Prayer
Helen Roseveare, a missionary doctor from England to Zaire, Africa, told this as it happened to her in Africa.
One night, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward, but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no electricity to run an incubator. We also had no special feeding facilities.
Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. “And it is our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed.
As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa, it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
“All right,” I said. “Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. “Your job is to keep the baby warm.”
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God,” she prayed, “send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.”
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of a corollary, “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl, so she’ll know You really love her?”
As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, “Amen?” I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurse’s training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together, we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas, which would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the… Could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new rubber hot water bottle!
I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!”
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked, “Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?”
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child. Yes, five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it “that afternoon.”
Helen Roseveare

Ingredient substitutions - Make the switch for healthier recipes

From The Mayo Clinic

Cook up healthier recipes by swapping one ingredient for another.
These substitution tips can help.

When preparing recipes, you’ve probably swapped one ingredient
for another — perhaps you didn’t like one of the ingredients
or you were missing a called-for item. But have you thought
about routinely substituting ingredients for healthier eating?
Simple changes, such as using egg whites instead of whole
eggs or garlic powder instead of garlic salt, can make a big
difference in the amount of fat, sodium, sugar and other
nutrients in the foods you eat each day.

So what healthy exchanges can you make without affecting the
taste or texture of your food? Try these suggestions for
healthier meals and snacks.

To reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol
If your recipe calls for: Try substituting:

1. Bacon —
Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, smoked turkey or lean prosciutto
(Italian ham)

2. Butter, margarine, shortening or oil in baked goods —
Applesauce or prune puree for half of the called-for butter,
shortening or oil. *Note: To avoid dense, soggy or flat baked
goods, don’t substitute oil for butter or shortening, and don’t
substitute diet, whipped or tub-style margarine for regular
margarine.

3. Butter, margarine, shortening or oil to prevent sticking–
Cooking spray or use nonstick pans

4. Creamed soups –
Fat-free milk-based soups, mashed potato flakes, or pureed carrots,
potatoes or tofu for thickening agents

5.Eggs –
Two egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute for each whole egg

6. Evaporated milk –
Evaporated skim milk

7. Full-fat cream cheese–
Fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, Neufchatel or low-fat cottage
cheese pureed until smooth

8. Full-fat sour cream –
Fat-free plain yogurt, or fat-free or low-fat sour cream

9. Ground beef —
Extra-lean or lean ground beef, chicken or turkey

10. Mayonnaise –
Reduced-calorie mayonnaise-type salad dressing or reduced-calorie,
reduced-fat mayonnaise

11. Oil-based marinades –
Wine, balsamic vinegar, fruit juice or fat-free broth

12. Salad dressing –
Fat-free or reduced-calorie dressing or flavored vinegars

13. Whole milk —
Reduced-fat or fat-free milk

To reduce the amount of sodium
If your recipe calls for: Try substituting:

1. Seasoning salt, such as garlic salt, celery salt or onion salt –
Herb-only seasonings, such as garlic powder, celery seed or onion flakes,
or use finely chopped garlic, celery or onions

2. Soups, sauces, dressings, crackers, or canned meat, fish or
vegetables —
Low-sodium or reduced-sodium versions

3. Soy sauce —
Sweet-and-sour sauce, hot mustard sauce or low-sodium soy sauce

4. Table salt —
Herbs, spices, fruit juices or salt-free seasoning mixes or herb
blends

To reduce the amount of sugar
If your recipe calls for: Try substituting:

1. Fruit canned in heavy syrup –
Fruit canned in its own juices or in water, or fresh fruit

2. Fruit-flavored yogurt –
Plain yogurt with fresh fruit slices

3. Syrup –
Pureed fruit, such as applesauce, or low-calorie, sugar-free syrup

To increase the amount of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals
and fiber
If your recipe calls for: Try substituting:

1. All-purpose (plain) flour –
Whole-wheat flour for half of the called-for all-purpose flour

2. Dry bread crumbs–
Rolled oats or crushed bran cereal

3. Enriched pasta–
Whole-wheat pasta

4. Iceberg lettuce–
Arugula, chicory, collard greens, dandelion greens,
kale, mustard greens, spinach or watercress

5. Meat as the main ingredient –
Three times as many vegetables as the meat on pizzas or in
casseroles, soups and stews

6. White bread Whole-
wheat bread

7. White rice –
Brown rice, wild rice, bulgur or pearl barley

10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything

Success is all a matter of perception. It can mean winning a gold medal at the Olympics, learning how to ride a bike, or reconciling with an ex. Of course, for many success also means earning a certain evel of income or moving forward in your career. No matter what success means to you, make sure you go for it with gusto. It has been my observation that nearly all of us set our expectations too low, usually because of fear or self-limiting beliefs. Yet, I have studied personal development literature for over 30 years now and one of the more common fears is to wind up on your deathbed not having at least tried for your dreams and goals.
What does it take to succeed at your dreams and goals? Success takes action, and taking good and appropriate action takes skills.Here Lifehack has compiled a list of general skills that will help
anyone get ahead in practically any field, from running a company to running a gardening club. As you read through this list keep in mind that anyone can develop this set of skills, and use them to go after, and achieve, their dreams..
1. Public Speaking
The ability to speak clearly, persuasively, and forcefully in front of an audience — whether an audience of one or of thousands — is one of the most important skills anyone can develop. People who are effective speakers come across as more comfortable with themselves
and more confident.
2. Writing
Writing well offers many of the same advantages that speaking well offers: good writers are better at selling products, ideas, and themselves than poor writers. Learning to write well involves not just mastery of grammar, but the development of the ability to organize your thoughts into a coherent form and target it to an audience in the most effective way possible.
3. Self-Management
If success depends on effective action, effective action depends on the ability to focus your attention where it is needed most, when it is needed most. Strong organizational skills, effective productivity habits, and a strong sense of discipline are needed to keep yourself on track.
4. Networking
Networking is not only for finding jobs or clients. In an economy dominated by ideas and innovation, networking creates the channel through which ideas flow and in which new ideas are created.
5. Critical Thinking
You are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of times more information on a daily basis than your great-grandparents were. Being able to evaluate that information, sort the potentially valuable from the trivial, analyze its relevance and meaning, and relate it to other information is crucial.
6. Decision-Making
The bridge that leads from analysis to action is effective decision-making — knowing what to do based on the information available. Being able to take in the scene and respond quickly and effectively is what separates the doers from the wannabes.
7. Math
You don’t have to be able to integrate polynomials to be successful. However, the ability to quickly work with figures in your head, to make rough but fairly accurate estimates, and to understand things like compound interest and basic statistics gives you a big lead on most people.
8. Research
Nobody can be expected to know everything. And you don’t have to know everything — but you should be able to quickly and painlessly find out what you need to know.
9. Relaxation
Stress will not only kill you, it leads to poor decision-making, poor thinking, and poor socialization. Being able to face even the most pressing crises with your wits about you, in the most productive way, is possibly the most important thing on this list.
10. Basic Accounting
It is a simple fact in our society that money is necessary. Knowing how to track and record your expenses and income is important just to survive, let alone to thrive. It¢s a shame that basic accounting isnt a required part of the core K-12 curriculum.
Sources:
* Lifehack.org July 30, 2008

John McCain — A small zoo including: Coco, the mutt, Two turtles, Cuff and Link, Oreo, a black and white cat, a ferret, three parakeets, 13 saltwater fish.

According to Animal Planet Obama does NOT have a pet.. I would presume this means he is’nt a fan of animals