Where does God live?

A teacher asked her young students: "Where does God live?",
to hear their insights.

Student 1: God lives in Heaven.

Student 2: God lives with Jesus.

Student 3: God lives with the Holy Spirit.

Student 4: God lives in my bathroom at home.

Teacher: Huh?! Why do you think that?

Student 4: Because every morning before going to school,
My sister knocks on the bathroom door going:
"My God, are you still in there?"  :)

Christian Juno Award 2015 Nominees (Mar 15 '15 at First Ontario Center in Hamilton)

Last night (Feb 8), Lecrae and For King and Country took home some Grammy Awards!

Well, next month, the Canadian version of the Grammy's (The Juno's) will be presented
in Hamilton on March 15th.  Let's see which Canadian Christians were nominated...


CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN/GOSPEL ALBUM OF THE YEAR JUNO NOMINEES 2015


Introducing Chelsea Amber - Chelsea Amber - Independent*David C. Cook

 

 

Analog Love in Digital Times - Drew Brown - Independent

The Moment - Manafest - Manafest Productions*Fontana North

VIP - Manic Drive - Bema Media*David C. Cook

The Joy - Tim Neufeld - Independent*David C. Cook

We'll see who wins next month at the First Ontario Center in Hamilton! :)

Source: http://junoawards.ca/2015-juno-awards/

Finding Out Family History on Google- WOW! Try it!

I am super amazed at how the internet can trace our family roots.

Absolutely. Amazed.

Here's a classic example of how it served me well this week.

I decided to do a Google Search of my great grandfather's name,
and Ta-da!  It appeared on ancestor.com.

My Great Grandfather is William Fred Mueller, an American Soldier who
served in the Philippines during the War with Spain in 1900-1902.

I found his certificate ONLINE this past week:

Ok... so you're probably wondering.... how do you know if this is REALLY your great grandfather, and not some random guy..? (who just-so-happens to have the exact same name as your great grandpa in the Philippines)? 

Coz it lists my GRANDMA as his daughter... that's how I know.

His daughter is My Great Grandma Louisa Mueller Ocampo (passed away in Philippines).
Louisa's daughter is My Grandma Mimi Ocampo Barrera (lives in Vancouver now)
And then comes my Mom, Lia Barrera, (who also lives in BC today)
And then me:  Maria Barrera Lopez (here in Barrie!)

If you look closely at the certificate, it says that my Great Grandpa was born in
Quincy Illinois 1897,  but passed away in Manila, Philippines in 1955. 
(I had no idea my grandpa was American!!!)

My great grandma Louisa was living with him at the time of his death,
and had to send telegrams to his brothers living in Morocco, Virginia, and California. (Really?!)

Pretty interesting stuff... to me anyways.

AMAZED at the family history we can dig up from Google!

As soon as I found this out, I texted my Mom and Grandma in Vancouver and asked if all this stuff was true, and they said YES it was, and immediately after, they told me about the "love story" of how my great great grandpa and great great grandma met, and how they got married...

Maybe YOU should try google'ing your Grandparents names sometime,
and perhaps you too, can find a little bit more about your family's history! :)

People who were rejected- but succeeded anyways

Here's a list of people who were rejected, and told they were not good enough,
but ended up making a name for themselves anyways.  The key is: they never gave up!


1. Michael Jordan- he did not make the varsity basketball team in
his 2nd year of high school...
but later was accepted, after training really hard.
Today he is one of the most successful basketball players
of all time.


2. Walt Disney- nobody wanted to hire him as an artist in his younger years.
So, he moved with his brother to Hollywood instead in his twenties,
and started up his own cartoon studio.


3. Oprah Winfrey-
Seven months after becoming the Anchor of the 6oclock news for a job she took
at thee age of 22 - she was demoted because her newscasts had low
ratings.
But look at how far she's come since then, between her famous talk shows,
television channel, and magazines.


4. Steven Speilberg - was rejected from the Unviersity of Southern California School of Film 3 times.
Yet he went on to become an Academy Award winning movie director.


5. James Cameron- was also fired as Special Effects Director - on the movie set of Piranha 2....
for failing to get a close up shot of the actress in her opening scene.
He has also since also recieved Academy Awards for his directing.


And finally the best one of them all...

6. Jesus Christ -
Even if he was betrayed and rejected by his own friends, nailed to a cross...
even after performing miracles, and preaching kindness and love....
In the end, he was raised from the dead.
And today, Jesus Christ has over 2 billion followers around the world.  :)

---


Sources:
https://www.google.ca/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=i1y-VNKgBISN8QeZh4C4Cw&gws_rd=ssl#q=how+many+christians+around+the+world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney
http://www.businessinsider.com/15-people-who-failed-before-becoming-famous-2012-10?op=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron#Awards

----

To be offended... or respectful of religious beliefs?

 

Last week's picture of World Leaders marching in France,
with female world leaders "edited out" of the picture at "The Announcer" newspaper in the Middle East, has invoked a lot of negative reaction around the globe.

This is one of those touchy topics,
because its difficult to determine the most politically correct way to react to something like this... 

... Should we conclude that by Women World leaders being removed from the picture,
the newspaper has lost its credibility on providing accurate information?
... Or, should we be understanding of the paper for "editing" the picture, so that it can appeal
to their target demographic of the ultra-conservative religious?
... Should we stand up for Women World leaders, and say that the newspaper is wrong,
because these women are legitimately in powerful positions that influence society,
and that should be acknowledged?
... Or, should we respect the newspaper's relgious beliefs that placing women in
the media forefront is an immodest act?

In my opinion, it entirely depends where you are coming from, and who's reading the paper.

Because you and I live in North America, most of us are naturally offended.
And we believe that the newspaper should not have done that.
We believe that women are capable of so much more than cooking-cleaning-raising children at home,
and can enter politics and the media, and can have careers, can build their lives,
and can be treated equally as men.

However... if we were part of the religious group that read that particular newpaper,
perhaps we would think differently... because maybe our ultra-conservative
religious beliefs would lead us to believe that women have no place in society.
And if I were a woman in that religion, perhaps I would even agree that the newspaper was right
in "photoshopping" the women out... Sad, but true.

I think how we react is entirely determined by what country/group/religion we are a part of.

I guess the moral of the story here is... "to seek to understand before being understood".
(taken from the book: 7 Habits of Highy Effective People)
But because I am Canadian woman, my personal opinion is that... I am saddened that any publication
would not recognize the efforts that these women-in-politics made to be a part of the
Paris rally for peace...... then again, if I grew up in a different country or religion, perhaps
my opinions would be different.


Picture Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2908579/Orthodox-Israeli-newspaper-airbrushes-female-world-leaders-JeSuisCharlie-march-photographs.html

Pretty Amazing LEGO Creations

Fun way to pack your kids lunch this Winter :)