Lillie Ammann's Blog, page 168

Scripture for the First Friday in Advent 2010

Isaiah 60:19-22

19 The sun will no more be your light by day,

nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the LORD will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

20 Your sun will never set again,

and your moon will wane no more;

the LORD will be your everlasting light,

and your days of sorrow will end.

21 Then will all your people be righteous

and they will possess the land forever.

They are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.

22 The least of you will become a thousand,

the smallest a mighty nation.

I am the LORD;

in its time I will do this swiftly."

Heavenly Father, thank You for being our Light. I look for the day when we will all be righteous and dwelling with You. Make me a reflection of Your Light. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Published on December 02, 2010 21:27

Can You Leave a Comment?

In my last post about spam, commenter Keith Davis recommended GrowMap Anti-Spambot Plugin. I hadn't tried it because I have been absolutely swamped, but today I decided it would save me a lot of time to go ahead and install it to avoid having so many spam comments end up in moderation. I used to go through spam comments to find legitimate comments falsely identified as spam, but lately I've had 100 or more spam comments every time I moderate, so I've just been deleting them wholesale.

I installed the plugin today, logged out of WordPress, and left test messages from three different email addresses. Everything seemed to work fine. However, I have received an email from someone trying to leave a comment who keeps getting a message that she must enable Javascript, and she already has Javascript enabled.

Would you leave a comment to see if it works for you? If not, I'd really appreciate a quick email to lillie@lillieammann.com to let me know so I can get to the bottom of the problem. And if you have any experience with this plugin and can give me any advice, please do so.

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Published on December 02, 2010 17:13

Scripture for the First Thursday in Advent 2010

Isaiah 2:1-5

1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days

the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established

as chief among the mountains;

it will be raised above the hills,

and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

so that we may walk in his paths."

The law will go out from Zion,

the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 He will judge between the nations

and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, O house of Jacob,

let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Lord, our God, today the world is filled with swords and spears, guns, tanks, and nuclear weapons. Lead us into Your light and the day when we can beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks, the day when nation is not warring against nation, the day when the whole world bows before You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Published on December 01, 2010 22:23

Hallelujah Chorus in the Food Court

This would make it worth going to the mall!

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Published on December 01, 2010 12:24

Scripture for the First Wednesday in Advent 2010

Romans 13:11-14

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.~ (Collect for the First Sunday in Advent, 1928 Book of Common Prayer)

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Published on November 30, 2010 21:20

New Help for Alzheimer's Caregivers

I mentioned in my post on National Caregivers Month and my post on World Alzheimer's Day that my sister Nancy Nicholson, LBSW, was working on a guide for Alzheimer's caregivers.

[image error]Help! What Do I Do Now? Caring for Your Loved One with Alzheimer's is now available in paperback from CreateSpace and will soon be available on Amazon.com. It is also available in a variety of ebook formats at Smashwords, and the Kindle edition will be online at Amazon.com within the next couple of days. Volume discounts are available, great to share with family members or members of Alzheimer's support groups. E-mail info@lillieammann.net.

Of course, I am just a wee bit biased, as I am Nancy's editor and publisher as well as her sister. However, we had several other people read the manuscript and give us feedback, and the consensus was that the book is very useful. It is short and easy-to-read—caregivers don't have a lot of time to read, but it is filled with practical tips on subjects ranging from activities of daily living to laughter and enjoyable things to do.

Nancy was one of the caregivers for our father. The experience impacted her so much that she returned to college to earn a degree in social work. She began her career as a social worker in a nursing home with many dementia patients. Currently she is a social services consultant, and one of her primary duties is to training nursing home staff on Alzheimer's and other topics.

The guide includes stories of a variety of situations and how caregivers successfully handled them. The stories are based on actual incidents, but some are composites of several different people and situations and others are changed enough to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

I'll be interviewing Nancy about the book soon, but in the meantime, here's the Table of Contents to give you an idea of the topics covered:

PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS ALZHEIMER'S?

Significance of Alzheimer's
Symptoms of Alzheimer's
Stages of Alzheimer's Disease

HOW DO I DEAL WITH ALZHEIMER'S?

Communication
Behaviors
Activities of Daily Living
Administering Medications
Safety
When You Can No Longer Manage

HOW DO I MAKE THE BEST OF THIS?

Choose Your Battles
A Comfortable Environment and Gentle Cues
Telling Others
Enjoyable Things to Do
Nurture Spirituality
Laughter
Taking care of yourself
Remember Your Loved One Is Still in There Somewhere

RESOURCES

This little book would make a great Christmas gift for someone you know who is facing the challenges of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's!

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Published on November 30, 2010 21:10

Scripture for the First Tuesday in Advent 2010

Malachi 3:1-4

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

Almighty Lord, Your messenger is preparing the way for You. We know You will be a refiner's fire, a launderer's soap. Purify and refine us like gold and silver so we can endure the day of Your coming. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Published on November 29, 2010 23:18

Scripture for the First Monday in Advent 2010

Romans 8:19-23 (NIV)

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Lord God, Creator of the Universe, we and all creation groan inwardly as we wait for You to return in glory to liberate us from bondage and bring us glorious freedom. Maranatha, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Published on November 28, 2010 21:17

Scripture for the First Sunday in Advent 2010

Jeremiah 33:14-16

14 " 'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

15 " 'In those days and at that time

I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;

he will do what is just and right in the land.

16 In those days Judah will be saved

and Jerusalem will live in safety.

This is the name by which it [he] will be called:

The LORD Our Righteousness.'

Lord, prepare my heart, mind, soul, and actions to be ready for Your coming. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Published on November 28, 2010 09:13