TOMS shoes

Have you heard about TOMS shoes? You may have seen an AT&T commercial featuring this organisation. You may have never heard about them. Here is their story.

"Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie, a true AT&T customer since 1997, operates his entire business from his phone and needs a reliable network that works around the world. TOMS was founded on a simple premise: For every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One." http://www.youtube.com/user/tomsshoes

"What We Do:
Since our beginning in May 2006, TOMS has given over 140,000* pairs of shoes to children in need through the purchases of caring customers. Because of your support, TOMS plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009.
*As of April 2009

Why Shoes?:
Most children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or just getting around, these children are at risk.
Walking is often the primary mode of transportation in developing countries. Children can walk for miles to get food, water, shelter and medical help. Wearing shoes literally enables them to walk distances that aren't possible barefoot.
Wearing shoes prevents feet from getting cuts and sores on unsafe roads and from contaminated soil. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected. The leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted parasites which penetrate the skin through open sores. Wearing shoes can prevent this and the risk of amputation.**
Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.
There is one simple solution...SHOES.
Four of the planet's six billion people live in conditions inconceivable to many. Lets take a step towards a better tomorrow. " - TOMS shoes **Emphasis mine.

How awesome is that!? We LOVE this idea. It's bold, imaginative, brilliant, caring and beautiful. Oh yeah, and the shoes? They are canvas, vegan and very, very cute! Go show them some love.

www.Twitter.com/TOMSshoes

www.Facebook.com/TOMSshoes

www.TOMSshoesBlog.com

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The Gospel Coalition 2009

During April 21-23, 2009, The Gospel Coalition held its second National Conference on the theme, "Entrusted with the Gospel: Living the Vision of Second Timothy." This year's conference focused on the call to imitate Paul's dual practice of show and tell to present the Gospel.

"The best of gospel-faithful ministry is not only taught, it is also caught. This was the practice of the Apostle Paul -- the great missionary of the early church -- who not only had much to say regarding what constitutes gospel-faithful ministry, but also had much to show of what it looked like in an individual life and in the life of the church."

You can checkout the free audio and video of the conference online: The Gospel Coalition

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United Nations' World Digital Library

World Digital Library

PARIS, April 20 -- A globe-spanning U.N. digital library seeking to display and explain the wealth of all human cultures has gone into operation on the Internet, serving up mankind's accumulated knowledge in seven languages for students around the world.

James H. Billington, the librarian of Congress who launched the project four years ago, said the ambition was to make available on an easy-to-navigate site, free for scholars and other curious people anywhere, a collection of primary documents and authoritative explanations from the planet's leading libraries.

The site (www.wdl.org) has put up the Japanese work that is considered the first novel in history, for instance, along with the Aztecs' first mention of the Christ child in the New World and the works of ancient Arab scholars piercing the mysteries of algebra, each entry flanked by learned commentary. "There are many one-of-a-kind documents," Billington said in an interview...

Digital Library Program, which has been in operation at the Library of Congress since the mid-1990s. That program, at its American Memory site, has made available 15 million U.S. historical records, including recorded interviews with former slaves, the first moving pictures and the Declaration of Independence...

In addition to UNESCO and the Library of Congress, 26 other libraries and institutions in 19 countries have contributed to the project. Their offerings include rubbings of oracle bones from the National Library of China, delicate drawings of court life from the National Diet Library of Japan and a 13th-century "Devil's Bible" from the National Library of Sweden. Each is accompanied by a brief explanation of its content and significance. The documents have been scanned onto the site directly, in their original languages, but the explanations appear in all seven of the site's official languages...

Users can sort through the information in several ways. They can ask what was going on anywhere in the world in, say, science or literature during the 4th century B.C., for instance. They can look up the history of a certain topic over the centuries in China alone, or in China and North America. By cross-referencing, a user can see how one area of the world compared with another at any given time.

Read the Full Article at: The Washington Post

By Edward Cody

Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

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Book Review: Death By Love

Death by Love is a book that contains a series of letters written by Pastor Mark Driscoll to various people struggling with many life issues. This book is thoroughly saturated with scripture, and Biblical ideas. Anyone who is a young believer should read this book I think it would benefit them greatly. However, I think that this book would especially help older Christians who struggle with evangelism to learn how to speak, with Biblical support, to people in many different circumstances and show them that there is hope in Christ. - Ian D.P.

Go to Re:lit to buy Death By Love for yourself, then don't forget to check out the video, read a chapter and join the Facebook Group!

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Voice of the Martyrs: Prisioner Alert

"Marzieh & Maryam

Location: Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Arrested: March 2009

Days Imprisoned: 41

On March 5, Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad and Maryam Rustampoor were arrested by Iranian security forces and labeled "anti-government activists," according to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN). 30-old Marzieh and 27-year-old Maryam are being held at Evin Prison, which is notorious for treating women badly. "Both women are allowed just a one-minute telephone call everyday to their immediate families. Both are unwell and in need of urgent medical attention," FCNN reported. During their last call on March 28, Mazieh said that she was suffering from an infection and high fever. She said, "I am dying."

Marzieh and Maryam's apartment was searched and their belongings were confiscated. "Their only crime is that they are committed Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus," FCNN added. “They are being unfairly labeled as 'anti government activists' because of the hostility of the government towards practicing Christians."The women have reportedly been interrogated numerous times and were held in three different police detention centers before being sent to Evin Prison. FCNN reported an exorbitant bail amount of US$ 400,000 has been set even though Marzieh and Maryam's families have been told on numerous occasions that a judge is not available to discuss the case.Marzieh and Maryam's arrest is the latest incident highlighting increased government intimidation of Christians in Iran. Believers are subjected to surveillance, arrests, imprisonment, and sometimes torture. "

Click here to see the original artical and see how you can help by writting a letter and praying.

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Ministry Highlight: Why Hunger - National Hunger Hotline

The organisation WHY had put up a national hunger hotline. Anyone in the U.S.A. can call and receive assistance with finding : "Emergency food in their community, government assistance programs, and various social services. In addition to assisting individuals in need, the Hotline also fields hundreds of calls from organizations, donors, and volunteers looking for information on emergency food distribution, gleaning, nutrition, funding sources, and other related topics. The majority of the Hotline calls, however, are from individuals in need of assistance. Walking the middle ground between referral service and crisis counseling, the Hotline makes every effort to provide its callers with whatever it is they may need, be it the phone number to a food stamp office, a listing of local food pantries, or simply a compassionate ear."

The Hotline is open Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm and Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm E.S.T.
Call: 1-866-3-HUNGRY
Or check them out online at: Whyhunger.org

We called the number listed to make sure that it is legit and received a very polite voicemail from the WHY staff asking for our name and number and said that they would contact us as soon as possible.

Volunteer for WHY - If you live in NY click here, they need you!
If you live outside of New York call this number: 1-866-348-6479
and they will hook you up with some one in your area that is fighting local and global hunger.

WHY was co-founded by Harry Chapin and according to Wikipedia, "Chapin donated an estimated third of his paid concerts to charitable causes, often performing alone with his guitar to reduce costs... He always said, 'Money is for people,' so he gave it away."

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The Offical Don't Waste Your Life Music Video!

It's finally here boys and girls! The official music video for "Don't Waste Your Life".



Click here to check out Reach Records official home page: look up tour dates, buy tee-shirts, read their blog etc.

Click here to check out Desiring God. The video team at DG helped with the production and editing of this project.

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Matt Chandler on Engaging the Culture

Pastor Matt Chandler talks about engaging the culture where you are.

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