last revised 11/29/2009

          

Released in the United States of America 2005

Copyright by Loving Family 8/31/04

Table Of Contents                                                    
  
Part One: The Loving Family Community Services Plan  
 Explanation of Our Premise  
 Description of Our Purpose  
 Description of Our Problem     
 Description of Our Solution 
 Description of Our Formation 
 Verses We Live By     
 Suggested Meeting Topics  
 Suggested Christian Guest Speakers      
 Community Service Guidelines  


Part Two: The Loving Family Community Service Text  
  The Sociology of Marriage and Family Living  
  The Sociology of Child Care  
  The Sociology of Human Development    
  Socialization
  The Sociology of Life Transitions    
 The Social Psychology of the Life Cycle    
 The Social Psychology and Sociology of Emotion       
  The Sociology of Health Care      
 Safety   
 Social Problems and Human Services  
The Sociology of Global Concerns    
  The Sociology of Addiction     
  The Sociology of Communication      
 

Part Three: The Loving Family Overview of Christian Principles 
How to obtain copies of the Loving Family Group Manual and the
Loving Family Group Pamphlet 
                                                                            

♥EXPLANATION OF OUR PREMISE

♥DESCRIPTION OF OUR PURPOSE

  ♥DESCRIPTION OF OUR PROBLEM

This is the story of four people----Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Somebody would do it.
But Nobody asked Anybody.
It ended up that the job wasn't done, and
Everybody blamed Everybody, when actually Nobody asked Anybody.

            Well, I am asking you! Why are so many parents forgetting to do first things first? Did Somebody forget to tell parents that children need their love and their time in order to develop properly? Everybody knows that children love their parents more than any thing in the world. Did Anybody tell parents that their children are lonely for them? How come Nobody told parents they should spend lots of constructive quality time with their children? Could it be that many parents do not know what parenting really is and how they should do it? No one is to be blamed. We have tried to do our best. But NOW is the right time for love and for Loving Family....

            The quality of our family life is very important to our emotional well-being, our social adjustment, our happiness, and our psychological health as individuals. Dysfunctional relationships within the family are related to serious community problems, such as juvenile delinquency, adult crime, domestic abuse, emotional problems, substance abuse, and other addictions.        
            Strong functional nations are built by strong functional families. When great nations, such as Rome, Greece, and Egypt were at the peak of their prosperity, the family was strong, functional, and highly valued. When family life became weak and was no longer valued, when goals became extremely individualistic, these societies became dysfunctional and eventually fell. Obviously, it is for our own good that we do what we can to strengthen our families and communities before our own great country becomes so weak it crumbles from within and falls.  Strengthening our family and community life should be one of our nation’s top priorities, but unfortunately it has not been. Before it is too late, we must stop our obsession with individual self-fulfillment and we must start balancing our time, resources, and energy more efficiently so we can strengthen our families, churches, communities, as well as private individuals. We must stop being a weak nation of have's and have not's and start being a strong unified nation of loving generous givers. We must anchor our individuals, families, communities, and nation in Jesus Christ so we can gather the loving strength we need to sustain us from generation to generation.
                Have you ever considered what your life would be like without comfort of family, friends, church and community? A self all alone is a lonely tired dejected self to be sure. Lonely tired people become angry mean people who start looking for a war. To remain strong vibrant loving peaceful individuals we must put energy into our families and communities so we can receive the nurturing we need when life becomes hard.
               Perhaps you are a very busy person and you don't want to be bothered with reading your child a story, attending your child's school or sporting event,  expressing interest in your spouse's activity, sharing a meal and a movie with  your family, or spending time with grandpa and grandma. Perhaps you don't take the time to become involved in church and community events because interacting with people is stressful and you certainly don't need any more stress in your life.
               You find it easier to spend most of your spare time withdrawing into your own self interests by reading a book, spending time on the computer, or watching a football game on television. You tell yourself you will spend more time with your family, church, and community after that big project at work has been completed, the yard work has been done, and you get caught up on your rest.
            The problem is that there is always some big project at work or at home that must be completed and there is never enough time for rest when you are tired from being alone. Perhaps you tell yourself you will become active in family, church, and community events during your retirement years but when you retire you find you don't know how to begin because you have always found it easier to be a passive observer rather than an active participant. Besides, you never invested time in relationships with family, church, and community so family, church, and community are not there for you when you finally decide to make time for relations with them.
            As individuals seeking our own self-interests we will never have enough time or inner resources to accomplish what must be done. We will always be too tired for others and to tired for life. Our sinful nature forces us into a downward spiral that sucks us into an endless black hole.
          The nature of the beast does not have our best interests at heart. Our selfish collective unconsciousness has manifested itself in a society of haves and have nots.The poor and the working class struggle to survive in an endless cycle of poverty, illness, disability, and dependency upon a broken middle class that is exhausted and overwhelmed with trying to carry and care for poor and working class people. The upper classes exploit the poor, working class, and middle class people by hoarding the world's resources so they can live in a decadent world of their own.
          It does not matter how much money the poor receive on their SSI, disability, and welfare checks since yearly cost of living increases push up the costs of their rent, utilities, and health care costs and they never have adequate funds to cover other living necessities such as enough food to last through the month, warm clothing, household furnishings, and transportation costs. Most middle-class people teeter on the brink of falling off the cliff and are only a paycheck away from becoming one of the poor, disabled and dependent. In an effort to avoid becoming one of the undesirables the middle-class have armed themselves with an arsenal of laws and regulations that oppress and control the lower classes. The  upper classes  spend  some of their fortune seeking  redemption  for the sins they commit to  amass their great fortune and maintain the status quo.
          Our selfish collective unconsciousness results in socially sanctioned oppression, exploitation, control, institutionalization, imprisonment, and genocide of our vulnerable poor, working-class, and middle-class peoples. Abortion laws permit the slaughter of unborn fetuses. Discrimination laws permit and encourage the sinful un-natural mating of those of the same sex more in an effort to control population growth rather than any legitimate concern over equality. Legally sanctioned homosexuality also seeks to maintain the status quo by keeping resources with those who have wealth and power. Due to standard medical practice, children are routinely administered dangerous medications by parents and teachers to control conditions such hyperactivity, behavioral problems, attention deficit disorder, and other conditions by keeping children uncharacteristically quiet and sedate. Unfortunately some medications given to children can cause problems for life and even death. Children and women still comprise the bulk of the poor and they are governed by welfare laws that do not provide for an adequate standard of living and their needs for housing, food, clothing, and education go unmet. Poor adults and people of color frequently end up in jail or prison due to lack of available and effective substance abuse programs, educational programs, and job training programs. Execution laws permit the killing of hardened criminals who end up on death row. Those with emotional problems end up entangled in the mental health system and managed with dangerous drugs that can result in an unsatisfactory quality of living or even in death instead of receiving counseling and opportunity to change or improve their living situation. Seniors and elders are frequently over-treated and over-medicated by health care professionals who rake in cash payments, private insurance, Medicare and Medi-Cal dollars for their efforts. The senior and elder population must spend-down all of their life savings and sign their property over to the state before they receive any help from Medi-Cal based programs that can help keep older people safe at home by providing for their medical and care needs. The most vulnerable older people end up in a skilled nursing facility where they are managed on black-box medications that frequently result in death shortly after they are admitted and started on a chemical straight-jacket of medication. SSI, disability, welfare, and Social Security income regulations frequently reward people with additional funds if they live single and on their own. A person alone is vulnerable and easy to oppress, exploit, control, and conspire against. The death or imprisonment of a single person can go easily unnoticed. Many applaud the death or imprisonment of one of those bums that collect welfare, SSI, disability, or Social Security funds. The more bums that die the less it cost the rest of us in taxes. Even our single middle-class people are not safe since they also frequently receive incomes, pensions, and health benefits that are paid with tax dollars that the rest of us would be better off if we did not have to pay. Married people are targeted as well but there is much a knowledgeable caring spouse can do to protect his or her vulnerable mate from becoming a victim of oppression and exploitation during times of illness, disability, and other troubles. Unfortunately, our current health care system bankrupts many married people that need extended hospitalization due to lack of affordable insurance. Even those who have insurance are forced into bankruptcy due to exorbitant co-pays and deductibles. Health care professionals encourage the lonely and disabled to turn to animals for affection and assistance instead of encouraging human social interaction. Laws now force us to tolerate animal filth in our public buildings, grocery stores, parks, beaches, and all other places. Our country has gone to the dogs! Our food supply is now contaminated by dogs defecating and spraying in our grocery stores and restaurants and rates of food poisoning and food-borne illnesses and deaths are rising. Our children are now regularly getting pin worms and other diseases from sitting on benches at public pools after dogs have previously occupied the same places. Asthmatics and people with allergies are suffering daily and they are now forced to take dangerous ineffective drugs due to the constant exposure from animal dander when they are out in public places. People who are dog phobic have no safe haven except for their own home. Conducting daily business has become unbearable for those who fear dogs. Some of the homeless and socially isolated are turning to dogs for sexual satisfaction as rates of sexually transmitted disease continue to rise. It seems that only the health care professionals and drug companies really benefit from the invasion of dogs!  Yet we continue to turn a blind eye and deaf ear and pretend not to notice. We continue to choose sin over holiness. Ultimately, no one is safe from the nature of the beast. Our selfish collective unconsciousness has only our destruction at heart!
        On the other hand, our Lord God holds the key to our loving collective conscious good and is eager to open the door for those who give all of their love to Him. Our Lord God wants us to WAKE UP to love. Our Lord God wants to provide for us. Our Lord wants us to live a joyous life of abundance that is shared with loving family and  friends. Our Lord wants us to live as strong individuals who are firmly committed to family and community. Our Lord wants us to live full meaningful interesting lives. Our Lord God wants us to help one another. Our Lord wants us to love one another. Our Lord God wants us to have clean comfortable housing, good nutrition, good preventative and remedial health care plans, good affordable medical care, a good education, good jobs, good incomes, and good pension plans that adequately meet our needs. Our Lord wants our children to run and play and make joyful noises. Our Lord wants our men to be stable, well-adjusted, and satisfied. Our Lord God wants our mothers to be happy and comfortable. Our Lord God wants husbands and wives to love one another and find pleasure in one another. Our Lord God wants our older people to live productive lives and be well cared for. Our Lord wants all of our disabled--even our asthmatic-- people to be treated fairly. Our Lord wants our poor people to have real opportunity. Our Lord wants those with emotional problems to find peace and love. Our Lord God wants us to be well and healthy! Our Lord God wants us to build good strong functional families, communities and nations so we can live in a good peaceful world. Our Lord God wants to take us to heaven. Our Lord wants us to know heaven on earth.
        Thank God that there is another way. Jesus invites us to give our problems to Him and He will give us the strength we need to do what must be done. Jesus states "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Thank God Lord Jesus has our good at heart! Thank God Jesus is able to open the door to our loving collective conscious good!

♥DESCRIPTION OF OUR SOLUTION

            We let our leaders know we want sound affordable family medical plans; comprehensive national medical and dental insurance programs; clean, safe, affordable low-income and middle-income family housing; nontoxic environments for our families; affordable parks and recreational activities; high quality education and child care for our children; and easy access to an affordable college education or job training program at any point of adulthood. We let our leaders know that we want our colleges and universities to accommodate us, so we have enough study time and financial resources to accomplish our educational objectives without having to work long arduous hours and become stressed in our roles as parents.

            We let our leaders know that we want policies that will establish meaningful employment opportunities with a livable family wage and less working hours for both men and women. Family friendly policies will make it possible for women to be participants in the workplace without abandoning family life, and men can be freed from some of their work responsibilities, so they can take an equal role at home and in child care responsibilities. We let our political leaders know that we want a guaranteed annual income program for working families and for families involved with seeking higher education or training programs. We let our leaders know that we want the Social Security program to be protected so we do not perish during our retirement years.
            The Lord God has already determined that He is coming quickly to give His reward to every one according to his work. The Lord God has already determined that you must grow in love or risk being kept outside of heaven with the dogs, sorcerers, sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, and liars. Do not deceive yourself for even a minute. The Lord God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. The Lord God is coming quickly. The Lord God is the only solution to all of your problems today, tomorrow, and yesterday. Accept that the love of Jesus Christ is always God's answer now and forever.

♥DESCRIPTION OF OUR FORMATION

♥Loving Family As A Support Group Program

            All parents, including single parents, who have a desire to improve their parenting skills and family life are welcome to attend Loving Family meetings, participate in group discussions, receive group support, and volunteer to assist with child care, snack, clean-up, and other appropriate tasks as needed.

            Your parent leaders are responsible for doing the following:
1. Set location for group meeting space.
2. Send the Loving Family pamphlet and an invitation to participate in Loving Family group meetings to families within local Church communities who are involved with raising children. Invite parents in the community to participate by distributing flyers throughout the community and by making public service announcements on the radio and in the newspaper.
3. Prepare for group meetings; facilitate group meetings; arrange for coffee and tea for adults at group meetings; arrange for child care, snack, and fun activities for children at group meetings.

            All Loving Family support group meetings will follow this format:
During the week: The group facilitator prepares a topic from the Loving Family Group Manual to present during the initial phase of the upcoming group meeting or invites a guest speaker to present a topic during the meeting. The group facilitator invites one or two group members to provide coffee and tea for adults during the upcoming group meeting. The child care provider invites one or two group members or relatives or friends of the group members to help provide child care, snack, and fun activities for children during the upcoming group meeting. There is no need to arrange child care at locations that are not appropriate for children (jails, detention centers, etc.).
Pre-Group: The group facilitator arrives early to make coffee and tea and to arrange the seating. The child care provider arrives early to prepare snack food and fun activities for the children.
Opening the Meeting: The group facilitator states the following:

            Welcome to the Loving Family support group meeting. We'll open the meeting with a few moments of silence followed by a prayer: "Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen." (The Book of Common Prayer, 1979)

            After the prayer the group facilitator calls on a group member to define love:♥
            "Though I command languages both human and angelic--if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains--if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned--if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever. Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offense or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will be done away with. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways. Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face. Now, I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known. As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love." ♥(1 Corinthians 13: 1-13; The New Jerusalem Bible, 1985).

            Readings: After the opening prayer and Bible reading, the group facilitator calls on three selected group members to read the following:
1. Description Of Our Purpose
2. Description Of Our Problem
3. Description Of Our Solution
            Announcements: The group facilitator asks:
             Does anyone have information about church services and events or about Loving Family events? The group facilitator goes on to state:
 Reminder: The love of Christ is the spiritual foundation of our program:
 Pray about what you hear here,
 Bless whom you see here,
 Practice what you learn here
 When you leave here.
Initial Phase of the Meeting: The group facilitator or guest speaker introduces the topic and presents information pertaining to the topic. The group facilitator or guest speaker discusses his or her own ideas and feelings about the topic and how the topic can be applied or has been applied in his or her own family.

Working Phase of the Meeting: The group facilitator opens the meeting to the group members for discussion and questions or calls on group members to share. The group facilitator is responsible for keeping the meeting focused and under control. If two or more people begin talking at the same time, the group facilitator should request that only one person at a time talk.
Closing the Meeting. The group facilitator requests help from the group members with cleanup. The group facilitator thanks everyone for being present and invites everyone to join hands and ends with the Lord's prayer.
Post-Group. The parent leaders make sure the meeting room and the children's room is left in order and that the doors are locked.

♥Loving Family as a Workshop Program

            You may utilize Loving Family as a one, two, three, four, or five, day workshop program. Depending upon the needs of your community, workshop meetings may last all day, half a day, or for one, two, or three hours in the evening. Topics should be chosen from the Loving Family Group Manual based upon the needs of your community. Workshops may be conducted by clergy, church school teachers, church youth group leaders, Loving Family parent leaders, and other qualified church members who live by Christian principles.

♥Loving Family as a Training Seminar

            Training Seminar Leaders and spouse are responsible for the following:

4. Arrange for coffee and tea for adults during upcoming training seminar. Arrange for child care, snack, and fun activities for children during upcoming training seminar. There is no need to arrange child care at locations that are not appropriate for children (jails, detention centers, etc.) For all day seminars, a bring your own brown bag lunch for parents and children should be arranged.
5. Set up Training Seminar meeting space. Arrange seating, make coffee and tea, and prepare children's snack food.
6. Open the seminar by praying "Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen." (The Book of Common Prayer, 1979). Following the prayer, the training seminar leader will read from 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 to define love. After the Bible reading, the training seminar leader will explain Loving Family's Purpose, Problem, and Solution.
7. Announcements--about church services and events and about Loving Family events.
8. Present topic information, promote group discussion, answer parent questions, call on group members to share.
9. Ask for help with clean up.
10. Close the seminar with the Lord's prayer.

♥Loving Family Business Meetings

            Group facilitators will use the following format for conducting Loving Family business meetings. As with all Loving Family meetings, it is suggested that husband and wife alternate turns when serving as group-facilitator and child care provider.

Pregroup: Announce the business meeting ahead of time at the regular Loving Family meeting during Announcements.

Opening: Welcome to the Loving Family business meeting. We'll open the meeting with a few moments of silent prayer followed by the Bible reading from 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 to define love.
 
Initial Phase: The group facilitator addresses the business that needs to be decided by the group.

Working Phase: The group facilitator opens the meeting to the group and members share their comments, ideas, and suggestions concerning the business at hand.

Closing: The group facilitator calls for a vote on the business matters discussed. After the vote, the group facilitator thanks everyone for being present and invites everyone to join hands and closes with the Lord's prayer.

Post-Group: The group facilitator makes sure the meeting room is in order and locks up if the regular meeting is over.

♥VERSES WE LIVE BY

Love God with your entire heart, mind, and soul.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Greater love has no one but this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Let us love one another because love is from God.
Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
If we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us.
God is love.
Perfect love casts out fear.
We love because He first loved us.
Those who love God must love their sisters and brothers also.
Love is emotional healing and peace.
Love is sacrifice.
Love is obedience to God's commandments.
Love is friendship.
Love is of God.
Love is birth in God.
Love is knowledge.
Love is life through the Son.
Love is atoning sacrifice for sins.
Love is perfection.
Love is spirit.
Love is boldness on judgment day.
Love is absence of fear.
Love is victory.
Love is faith.
Love is of Jesus.
Love is eternal life.
Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Love is gentle.
Love is truth.
Love is strong.
Love is trust.
Love is hope.
Love never ends.
Love is joy.
Love involves responsibility.
Teach only love for that is what you are.
Love waits on welcome not on time.
You can't make anyone love you.
Peace is the state where love abides and seeks to share itself.
When you want only love you will see nothing else.
Love without trust is impossible.
You love what you find time to do.
Fear condemns and love forgives.
Love is a relationship between one person and another that is conducive to the optimal development of both.
When the satisfaction or the security of another person becomes as significant to one as is one's own satisfaction or security, then the state of love exists.
Love as a relationship is one of social equality and of reciprocity. Equality does not mean sameness.
Love is an emotion with an accompanying desire to give to another in a virtually unlimited way, freely, and without compulsion.
Love is both an emotion and a relationship.
The truth shall set you free.
Christ is risen.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Seek the kingdom of heaven first and all other things needed will be given to you as well.
Things impossible with men are possible with God.
Judge not lest you be judged.
Let go and let God.
First things first.
Keep an open mind.
Nothing is impossible that is wholly desired.
I am not a victim of the world I see.
You will fear what you attack.
Giving and receiving are the same.
To forgive is to heal.
Not to decide is to decide.
Success is getting up one more time.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
You don't really control anything.
Heaven is a state of mind.
Love, Love, Love your way to heaven.


♥SUGGESTED MEETING TOPICS

Teachings of Jesus Christ
Faith
The Ten Commandments
Prayer and Meditation
Heaven
Marriage and Family Living.
Couplehood, parenthood, childhood.
Styles of Parenting.
Family roles.
Parenting skills and techniques.
Prenatal care and birthing.
The care of newborns, babies, toddlers, children, and teens.
The importance of good nutrition.
Dental hygiene.
Exercise.
Preventive health care.
Personal Hygiene.
Education and Financial aid .
Communication.
Recreation and Vacation.
Self-esteem.
Stress.
Home safety.
Marriage and sexuality.
Emotion--Love, Hope, Happiness, Joy, Fear, Power, Anger, Resentment, Anxiety, Depression, Embarrassment, Ambivalence, Passion
Social problems and Human Services.
Addiction and alcoholism and services available.
Transforming ourselves, our families, our groups and our culture.
Building connections between the home, the school, the work place, the community.
Environmental issues.
Public health services.
Family violence and services.
Abuse and its effects on children and services available.
Spiritual and Moral Development.
Speech and hearing problems and services available.
Human development.
Loneliness.
Socialization during infancy, childhood, preadolescence, adolescence, adulthood.
Attitudes.
Identity Changes.
Any other topic in the Loving Family Manual or from other reputable sources.


♥SUGGESTED CHRISTIAN GUEST SPEAKERS

1. Ministers, Pastors, Priests, Nuns, etc.
2. College Professors
3. Social Service and Human Service Workers
4. Alcohol and Drug Counselors
5. Employment Counselors
6. Police Officers, Firemen, etc.
7. Physicians, Nurses, Dentists
9. Financial Aid Counselors
10. Preschool Teachers, Elementary School Teachers, High School Teachers
11. School Principals and School Counselors
12. Speech and Hearing Therapists
13. Sex Therapists
14. Faith based Marriage and Family Counselors
15. Ambulance Drivers
17. Parent Leaders of Loving Family
18. Group Members of Loving Family who are experts on the Loving Family Group Manual and who live by loving Christian principles and other qualified community and church members who live by loving Christian principles.


♥COMMUNITY SERVICE GUIDELINES

1. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority, a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
2. Our common welfare should come before individual interests. Improving parenting skills and family living depends upon unity in Loving Family.
3. The only requirement for Loving Family membership is a desire to become a better parent and to improve the quality of family life.
4. There are no dues or fees. Each Loving Family group should be autonomous and self-sufficient.
5. A Loving Family group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the Loving Family name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
6. Loving Family should forever remain a Christian community service.
7. Loving Family may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
8. Love is the spiritual foundation of all our guidelines ever reminding us to place Christian principles before personalities.

♥THE SOCIOLOGY OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIVING

            Jesus stated: "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13: 34-35; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982).

            It seems to be a confusing time for men and women alike these days. Studies now show that over 50% of marriages are ending in divorce and the rate keeps increasing. Men and Women blame themselves and each other when a marriage ends. Certainly it is right and good to acknowledge what went wrong and to learn from the experience. However, our God is a loving God and it is unlikely that a loving God intends for anyone to put on a hair shirt and wear it for life as a punishment for personal wrong doing when a marriage ends. Most people do the very best that they can in regards to marriage relationships but without a strong anchoring belief in Jesus Christ and God many marriages fail due to many factors largely beyond the immediate conscious control of the individuals involved--sociological, psychological, emotional, economic, social, and interference from family and friends.
            It also seems that most men and women differ to some degree in their idea about manhood and womanhood. A language barrier seems to lie between many husbands and wives. It seems that one of the most common forms of misgiving between the sexes occurs when a man offers a traditional gift--hard work at a job but a woman wants to receive a modern gift--sharing childrearing and housework. Similarly, these days many women offer a modern gift--more money, while a man hopes for a traditional gift like home cooking. It seems that external conditions in society create a gender gap in the economy of gratitude between the sexes and disrupt the ordinary ways in which a man and a woman express love.
            Many marriages these days resemble a story called The Gift of the Magi. Perhaps you have heard that story. In the story Della and Jim are very poor but very much in love and at Christmas each wants to buy the other a fine gift. Della has beautiful long brown hair that hangs below her waist. Jim sells his favorite gold watch in order to buy combs for her beautiful hair. At the same time, Della cuts off her hair and sells it in order to buy a chain for Jim's gold watch. Each makes a sacrifice for the other which makes them unable to receive a gift from the other.
             The good that comes out of a marriage whether the marriage succeeds or not is certainly almost always the children. Both parents almost always seem to be grateful for the children God blessed them with. Divorce is devastating for all members of a family and it is especially devastating to the children who are involved. To avoid the devastation that results from divorce it is necessary to turn away from external factors that create friction in a marriage relationship and to turn to God for the gift of His wisdom and strength that only He can provide. God will protect a marriage if a husband and wife are both vigilant about seeking the consciousness of Christ instead of relying on their own limited consciousness. It is never easy to live by Christian principles but it is always well worth the effort. 
            In Loving Family, we believe that marriages are made in heaven and that true love is a gift from God. We know that God's love is the only true love there is, and we do not look to our marriage partner for the kind of love that only God can give. We find that love grows when we ask what we can give to our spouse rather than what we can get from our spouse. We do not devalue our spouse by using our partner to fulfill our excessive dependency needs for money, food, housing, transportation, clothing, household chores, or sex. Our spouse is not our banker, cook, landlord, chauffeur, seamstress, maid, or escort service! Rather, we seek to share life naturally and freely with our partner. We avoid conflict about spending money and how to divide up the housework by coming to agreement on how these areas are to be managed and by sticking to our plan. We find the love, closeness, and sexual fulfillment we desire by sharing time, thoughts and ideas, feelings, tasks, values, and life goals with our marriage partner and by placing our dependency needs on God, remembering that God helps those who help themselves. This does not mean that spouses do not help each other, but we do so out of love for each other not because we are slaves to one another. Our spouse is our best friend as well as our lover and life partner because we respect our spouse's interests, opinions, and desires. We are committed to our spouse because we want the love we have and we want it to last a lifetime.

            In Loving Family, our marriage unions are sacred and strong in Christ, so our families can fulfill functions essential for maintaining an orderly society. Our children have strong identities because they are born or adopted into love by two parents who love each other and who share that same last name. Our children don't have to wonder who they are; they know who they are, and they know their father, mother, brother, sister, and extended family members as well. In Loving Family, fathers and mothers share parental authority and responsibilities, and they provide for their children's emotional and social needs as well as their needs for food, clothing, and protection from bodily harm.

            "The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female.' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." But He said to them. "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it." (Matthew 19: 3-12; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982).

            Jesus' words to the Pharisees indicate that a man should not divorce his wife. Jesus' words to His disciples indicate that if a man cannot accept marriage without divorce he should not marry, but instead live a celibate life if he hopes to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus told His disciples that they should let anyone who could accept what He had to say do so. Jesus understands that not all men can accept the responsibilities of marriage. He also understands that not all men can accept celibacy as a way of life, so He offers men a choice, but the choice does not include sexual intimacy outside of marriage.

            Jesus seems to have a more lenient attitude toward women regarding sexual relations outside of marriage, but He holds women to a stricter standard for entering the kingdom of heaven. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He met at the well that if she only knew what God was offering her she would ask for living water. Jesus told the Samaritan woman to go call her husband and then come back to Him and He would give her eternal life. Jesus realized that the woman had no husband even though she had been with plenty of men. He didn't judge her for her behavior. He understands that men are dominant and that women depend on men, but He did encourage her to call her husband and then come back to Him, so He could give her eternal life.

            "Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband.' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." (John 4:10-26; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982).

♥THE SOCIOLOGY OF CHILD CARE

            Jesus stated: "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me" (Matthew 18:5; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982).

        Middle Childhood. This period begins at age five or six with entrance into the formal school and concludes with the onset of puberty. As children enter the formal school, the stage is set for changes in the way they think, learn, interact with others, and organize their behavior. The child now begins more extensive interactions outside the family than in the preschool years. During middle childhood, there is an increasing degree of "seriousness" about life as children begin to concentrate on what can be done and how well they can do it. This attitude contrasts with that of the preschool years when learning to do things was more incidental to the total life activities of the child. Two important elements relate to this sense of seriousness or competence: the refinement of self-concept and skill learning.

♥THE SOCIOLOGY OF LIFE TRANSITIONS


+ To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance.
A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982)

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father in heaven."

            When our elderly parents and grandparents become unable to function independently, we assist in their decision-making as they search for alternative living arrangements. We realize our elder wants to remain at home if possible, so we try to arrange appropriate support systems, such as a housekeeper, Meals on Wheels, periodic visits by a medical team, and a care provider that would make staying at home possible. If appropriate home support systems prove to be insufficient, we help our elderly relative to examine other options, such as moving in with a loving family member. If our elderly family member must move into a home for the aged, nursing home, or convalescent home we investigate facilities extensively and we choose a facility of good quality and reputation.We visit our placed elder frequently at the facility and we report any abuse, neglect, or suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities. If our reports fall on deaf ears we remove our elder from the facility immediately.
            Death is the final transition from this world to the next. When someone close to us dies, we turn to God in prayer for strength to endure our loss. We give thanks to God for the time we were able to share with our loved one during this lifetime, and we have faith that God will continue to care for our loved one in the life beyond. We give ourselves time to grieve to experience our sadness and other feelings, but we do not spend endless useless hours being angry and blaming God, ourselves, or others for the death of our loved one. Instead, we accept that there will always be more we could have done and should have done to make our loved one's life better when our loved one was alive. We forgive ourselves for being only human, and we acknowledge that we did the best we could. We realize that we will never fully understand the mystery of death during this lifetime, nor will we fully understand God's reasons for taking a loved one from us. We accept that God does not want us to have such knowledge. We ask God during prayer to give us hope, and we have faith that God will continue to provide us with the love we need during this lifetime. We discover that we find the love we need by turning our attention to those who are alive that require our love and our care.

♥THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LIFE CYCLE

            "...and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother; and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh." (Matthew 2:9-11; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982).

  ♥THE SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY OF EMOTION

            Jesus stated: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27; Holy Bible, NKJV,1982)

♥Our Social Psychology of Emotion

♥Our Sociology of Emotion

            Jesus stated: "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982).
          

            In Loving Family we put our faith in Jesus rather than in dangerous drugs and risky mental health policies. We take responsibility for our own emotional health care needs so we do not become over-treated, over-medicated, and mis-diagnosed by medical staff who have dual goals in treating patients--provide medical care and make a profit for themselves. We realize that it is normal to experience feelings other than happiness and joy and that sometimes life requires that we experience suffering. Jesus suffered plenty for us. We must also suffer for each other.  We realize that we become strong and mature individuals by experiencing all our emotions. Through grief we learn compassion. Through anger we learn to forgive. Through depression we acquire understanding and become capable of experiencing joy. Through anxiety we learn to have faith. Through love we come to know the peace of God. While others might let us down God's love is always certain so we trust in God always.
            We cope with our emotions naturally with prayer, meditation, maintaining a good attitude, exercise, good nutrition, getting enough sleep, talking it out, deep breathing exercises, biofeedback, writing in a journal and by paying attention to our stress level. We avoid taking on more responsibilities than we can comfortably cope with. If natural ways of coping with our emotions fail, we try again and again. If natural ways of coping still fail after we put in good effort, we talk to a trusted family clergy person, faith-based counselor, or doctor. We avoid the use of psychotropic medications to control emotional problems due to dangerous side effects--sudden death, sudden unexplained suicide, early death, decreased learning ability, decreased ability to interact with others, decreased mental capacity, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, etc.-- and because we want to set a good example for our children on how to positively cope with emotional stress instead of teaching them to just swallow a pill when under stress.
            We focus on resolving problems that cause negative feelings with safe natural methods such as spiritual guidance, faith-based counseling,  drug-free Christian psychoanalyses, joining a support group,  good communication, anger management classes, assertiveness training, compromise, etc. for our own benefit and so our children learn a variety of healthy methods for resolving problems that cause emotional stress.

            In Loving Family, we believe that feelings are neither right nor wrong; feelings just are. It is how we act upon our emotions that determine rightness or wrongness. What makes us essentially human is our ability to feel emotions. We believe that when we use alcohol, drugs, and medications to mask our emotions, we are essentially robbing ourselves of our humanity. When we are not in touch with our true feelings, we stumble in the dark and learn to live by appearances. We must look outside ourselves for a barometer on how to act and behave because when we search within, we find nothing real because our feelings have been masked. We believe it is better to feel all our emotions, including our most negative emotions. Negative emotions are a signal that something in our life is out of balance and needs to be changed.

            Human beings that do not experience their true emotions are incapable of empathy and incapable of relating to one another honestly and truthfully. We must be able to experience our own true feelings to empathize with others. We cannot know how others are feeling if we do not know how our own selves are feeling. Human beings who do not experience their true feelings inflict emotional harm upon others. They hurt the feelings of others because they are insensitive to the emotions of others. They are social clods. 

            Human beings who are not in touch with their true emotions are capable of doing great physical violence to others. We need only consider what harm alcoholics and drug addicts can do when they are shut off from their emotions due to addiction (car accidents, gun shootings, stabbings, child abuse and neglect, ruined marriages, and destroyed family relationships). We believe it is much better to experience our true emotions and to learn how to cope with our feelings, so we can be fully capable of empathizing with others and fully human.

            Resentment. We seek freedom from resentment by being true to ourselves about our emotions. We acknowledge our true emotions, and we don't try to pretend that everything is fine when it is not. We share our feelings with one another appropriately and considerately because we want our lives to be real and based upon truth. By turning to Christ in prayer, we are able to break free of the negativity of resentment. We recognize God as the final authority, and we seek only to do God's will, so we are freed from giving undue power to authority figures and others that they do not truly possess. We understand that the only real power authority figures and others have is power that God has given to them. We come to realize that God is able to work through those in authority as well as through us. We willingly submit to authority figures when it is in our best interest to do so because we realize they are instrumental for carrying out God's living will. Just as Jesus laid down His life only to pick it up again, we also lay down our lives and submit to authority figures and others, when in accordance with God's will, so we can inherit eternal life through Jesus Christ.

            Anxiety and Depression. We believe that anxiety and depression occur when we feel powerless to change our situations. Instead of acting as victims, we find it more productive to ask Christ for courage to change the situations in our lives that cause us anxiety and depression. Maintaining a good attitude, good nutritional habits, adequate exercise, meditation, scripture, music, and connecting with nature also go a long way in keeping anxiety and depression under control. "Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad" (Proverbs 12:25).

            Jealousy. We find it useful to combat jealousy in our marriage relationship by remembering that nothing real can be threatened and nothing unreal exists. We believe that true love is a gift from God, so we take our commitment to our spouse seriously. We do what we can to avoid provoking jealousy in our marriage relationship. We realize we must trust one another. During our social interactions, we don't give others a reason to suspect that we may be interested romantically, and we expect our spouse to do the same. We remember to turn to Christ for love, protection, and guidance if we feel that our romantic relationship with our spouse is being threatened. We also talk with our spouse honestly and seek marriage counseling if needed. "Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, but who is able to stand before jealousy?" (Proverbs 27:4).

            We realize that our adolescents are prone to embarrassment, and we respect our teenager’s feelings. We refrain from acting inappropriately around our teenagers to spare them unnecessary embarrassment.
            We give our young children room to play, so they can deliberately perform embarrassing acts, such as tripping each other, pushing each other, and disarranging one another's clothing. Our children find playing to be fun, and play socializes our children in the development of poise. We teach our young children there is a time and a place for play and a time and a place to behave quietly.

            Ambivalence. "For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole" (Job 5:18). We realize it is normal to have cognitive uncertainty and mixed feelings toward other persons and situations. We understand that it is important to truthfully acknowledge our contradictory feelings. During prayer, we ask Christ to help us to sort out and resolve our ambivalence before deciding upon a course of action. Our human relationships and situations will always be of an ambivalent nature, but our relationship with Christ is always certain. We do not question that God is God and that we are His children. Jesus submitted to the will of God, and we follow His good example, so we can live in peace during times of change, incomplete knowledge, and complexity of social realities.

            Sympathy. We are all victims of circumstances and of social systems to some degree, some of us more than others, but we do not let adverse circumstances stop us from trying to improve the quality of our lives. We seek to understand and sympathize with one another rather than label or blame one another. We do what we can to help each other overcome oppression and adverse circumstances. "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do "not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16).

            We gain strength to love when confronted with selfishness, cruelty, deception, and manipulation by turning to Christ during prayer. We realize that evil, hate, and bigotry are real phenomena but that the power of Christ's love is the greater force. We choose to stand strong in love, so we can grow in wisdom, flexibility, sensitivity, understanding, acceptance, tolerance, knowledge, and fortitude.
            We love each other, so we give to each other in an unlimited way, freely, and without compulsion. Our giving is voluntary, uncoerced, and not contingent upon reciprocity. We love so we can experience harmony, communion, and de-alienation by reconciling ourselves to others. We love our way to love.
            We love our children, so we regard each child as another person to be respected, responded to, and understood, for his or her own sake. We can always find some ways in which each child excels. We encourage each child to develop his or her special talents and virtues, so each child can outshine the others on his or her own ground, so competition is not so threatening. Our children have a natural impulse to explore, to develop individuality, and to develop their own powers. We give our children freedom to play, while watching them lovingly, so they can move toward self-chosen goals. We do not deny a child the opportunity to reciprocate. We accept a gift a child has made with honest gratitude and praise because we do not want to hinder a child's self-respect and keep him or her dependent and inferior.

THE SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH CARE

            Jesus stated: "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me. " (Luke 7: 22-23; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982).

            We talk with our health care practitioners and request recommendations for natural remedies whenever possible due to the unwanted dangerous side effects of many prescription medications--especially medications that carry black box warnings that can cause serious health problems and early death. If the side effects of a prescribed treatment or prescribed medication are just as bad or worse than the symptoms of a disease or the risk of a disease, we think seriously before starting the treatment or medication. We believe that the benefits should outweigh the risks when consenting to treatment or to taking prescription medications. If we do careful research, we will sometimes discover that a treatment or medication that is immediately beneficial can result in needing multiple other treatments or multiple other medications if used over a period of time. We carefully weigh the pros and cons before starting any treatment, natural remedy, or medication. When necessary, we seek a second opinion from another physician. We pay careful attention to how any treatment, medication, or natural remedy we are taking affects us, and if there are problems, we talk with our health care providers immediately about discontinuing use and trying an alternative therapy. Most importantly, we turn to Christ during prayer, and we practice good health care habits and preventive medical care to stay healthy. We always remember that physicians and other health care providers can be helpful but they are not God!
            Another good reason to restrict our use of prescription medications is to reduce the pollution of our drinking water supply. Recent studies show that many of our drinking water supply systems now contain levels of pharmaceuticals so we use prescription medications only when absolutely necessary to protect our drinking water supply. Please do not panic. Do what you can to stop the poisoning of our water supply  by exerting pressure at the local, state, and federal levels. Most importantly  remember that Jesus has the answer to all of our problems today. Jesus has the power to protect us and to guide us to safety. Jesus will lead us out of modern dangers if we put our trust solely in Him. The love of Jesus does not contain any dangerous side effects. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Reject the lie and accept the healing love of Jesus. Help others to recover by giving them the gift of Jesus.

            We also practice the basics of good health and preventative medical care by sanitary living and the prevention of  infectious disease; eating a healthy well-balanced diet; exercising regularly; getting adequate rest and relaxation; balancing work with recreation and vacation; maintaining emotional balance; participating in life long learning; by maintaining a committed and healthy sexual relationship with only our spouse; by observing good health habits; having regular periodic physical examinations as recommended by our trusted physician; periodic dental checkups as recommended by our trusted dentist; by protecting our children from exposure to lead; not smoking and making sure our children are not exposed to second-hand smoke; reducing air and water pollution; reducing exposure to radiation; and by reducing exposure to loud noise. We have a regular-trusted doctor who we consult whenever an unusual, painful, or continuing symptom is experienced.
          We let our church leaders, government leaders, and health care providers know that we insist on maintaining control of our own healthcare to protect basic American freedoms. We let our leaders and healthcare providers know that we insist on freedom of choice when it comes to consenting to surgery, therapy, taking prescription medications, and to all other forms of treatment. We let our leaders and healthcare providers know that we want good health  insurance but we want health insurance to always remain elective and never mandatory. We let our leaders and healthcare providers know that our bodies belong to us to give to God and not to them to control and exploit. We let our leaders and healthcare professionals know that we want God to decide who lives and who dies. We let our leaders and healthcare providers know that we do not want them practicing population control, social control or balancing government and healthcare budgets by forced sterilization, euthanasia or genocide of our people--even our elderly demented, disabled, alcoholic and drug dependent, and our poor indigent homeless people. We let our leaders and healthcare providers know that our healthcare should always remain a VOLUNTARY CHOICE AND DECISION!

            We avoid disorders of the skin, scalp, hair, and teeth by taking a bath or shower daily, shampooing hair frequently, and by brushing and flossing our teeth daily as recommended by our dentist. We wear clothing that is clean and presentable, and we use deodorant when needed. Each family member has his or her own towel and wash cloth for private use. Towels for the use of guests are changed regularly. We change our bedding regularly, and we wash comforters as needed to keep clean. We do laundry regularly, and we store dirty laundry inside a hamper, so our home environment stays sanitary. We scour tubs, sinks, and toilets regularly to keep germs from spreading. We frequently vacuum carpets and dust furniture to maintain a sanitary environment. We discourage pet ownership so good health can be easily maintained. Those of us who choose to have pets practice careful pet ownership to avoid illness and disease. We also avoid contact with wild animals to protect against illness and disease. "What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen--even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!" (Psalm 8:4-9).
       
            According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2/18/2008), there are many types of germs (viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi) that cause many types of illnesses – including the common cold or flu, foodborne illness, Lyme disease, hantavirus, or plague. These germs can spread easily from one person to another – and have wide-reaching effects.
• About 10 million U.S. adults (ages 18 - 69) were unable to work during 2002 due to health problems.
• Salmonella infections are responsible for an estimated 1.4 million illnesses each year.
• Infectious diseases cost the U.S. $120 billion a year.
• More than 160,000 people in the U.S. die yearly from an infectious disease.

          The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2/18/2008), provides the following seven keys for preventing infectious disease:

1. Wash your hands often.
2. Routinely clean and disinfect surfaces.
3. Handle and prepare food safely.
4. Get immunized.
5. Use antibiotics appropriately.
6. Be careful with pets.
7. Avoid contact with wild animals.

        
WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN
            "Yet the righteous will hold to his way. And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger" (Job:9). According to the CDC keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. It is best to wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds. However, if soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based product to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast acting. ROUTINELY CLEAN AND DISINFECT SURFACES
          According to the CDC, cleaning and disinfecting are not the same thing. Cleaning removes germs from surfaces whereas disinfecting actually destroys them. Cleaning with soap and water to remove dirt and most of the germs is usually enough. But sometimes, you may want to disinfect for an extra level of protection from germs.

• While surfaces may look clean, many infectious germs may be lurking around. In some instances, germs can live on surfaces for hours--and even days.
• Disinfectants are specifically registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and contain ingredients that actually destroy bacteria and other germs. Check the product label to make sure it says "Disinfectant" and has an EPA registration number.

The CDC states to disinfect areas where there can be a large number  of germs and where there is a possibility that these germs could be spread to others.

In The Kitchen:

• Clean and disinfect counters and other surfaces before, during, and after preparing food (especially meat and poultry).
• Follow all directions on the product label, which usually specifies letting the disinfectant stand for a few minutes.
• When cleaning surfaces, don't let germs hang around on cleaning cloths or towels! Use paper towels that can be thrown away or cloth towels that are later washed in hot water or disposable sanitizing wipes that both clean and disinfect.

In the Bathroom:

• Routinely clean and disinfect all surfaces. This is especially important if someone in the house has a stomach illness, a cold, or the flu.

              
HANDLE AND PREPARE FOOD SAFELY
            The CDC states that when it comes to preventing foodborne illness, there are four simple steps to food safety that you can practice every day. These steps are easy – and they’ll help protect you and those around you from harmful foodborne bacteria.

CLEAN: Clean hands and surfaces often
            Germs that cause foodborne illness can be spread throughout the kitchen and get onto hands from cutting boards, utensils, counter tops, and food. Help stop the spread of these germs!
Here’s how:
• Clean your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based wipe or hand gel.
• Wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with hot soapy water after preparing each food item and before you prepare the next food.
• Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, wash them often using the hot cycle of your washing machine. If using a sponge to clean up, microwave it each evening for 30 seconds or place it in the dishwasher.
• Rinse all fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water. This includes those with skins and rinds that are not eaten. For firm-skin fruits and vegetables, rub with your hands or scrub with a clean vegetable brush while rinsing.

SEPARATE: Don’t cross-contaminate one food with another
            Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria spread from a food to a surface . . . from a surface to another food . . . or from one food to another. You’re helping to prevent cross-contamination when you:
• Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs from other foods in your grocery cart, grocery bags, and in your refrigerator. Be sure to use the plastic bags
available in the meat and produce sections of the supermarket.
• Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a different one for raw meat, poultry and seafood.
• Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry,
seafood, or eggs.
• Don’t allow juices from meat, seafood, poultry, or eggs to drip on other foods in the refrigerator. Use containers to keep these foods from touching other foods.
• Never re-use marinades that were used on raw food, unless you bring them to
a boil first.

COOK: Cook foods to proper temperatures
Foods are safely cooked when they are heated for a long-enough time and at a high-enough temperature to kill the harmful
bacteria that cause foodborne illness. The target temperature
is different for different foods.
The only way to know for sure that meat is cooked to a safe temperature is to use a food thermometer. Make sure it reaches the temperature recommended for each specific food.

CHILL: Refrigerate foods promptly
Cold temperatures slow the growth of harmful bacteria. So, refrigerate foods quickly. Do not over-stuff the refrigerator, as cold air must circulate to help keep food safe.
• Keeping a constant refrigerator temperature of 40º F or below is one of the
most effective ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Use an appliance
thermometer to be sure the temperature is consistently 40º F or below.
• The freezer temperature should be 0º F or below.
• Plan when you shop: Buy perishable foods such as dairy products, fresh meat and hot cooked foods at the end of your shopping trip. Refrigerate foods as soon as possibly to extend their storage life. Don’t leave perishable foods out for more than two hours.
• If preparing picnic foods, be sure to include an ice pack to keep cold foods cold.
• Store leftovers properly

 GET IMMUNIZED
          According to the CDC, getting immunizations is easy and low-cost – and most importantly, it saves lives. Make sure you and your children get the shots suggested by your doctor or health care provider at the proper time, and keep records of all immunizations for the whole family. Also, ask your doctor about special programs that provide free shots for your child.
• Children should get their first immunizations before they are 2 months old. They should have additional doses four or more times before their second birthday.
• Adults need tetanus and diphtheria boosters every 10 years. Shots are also often needed for protection from illnesses when traveling to other countries.
• Get your flu shot. The single best way to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated each fall.

USE ANTIBIOTICS APPROPRIATELY
            According to the CDC, antibiotics are powerful drugs used to treat certain bacterial infections – and they should be taken exactly as prescribed by your health care provider.
• Antibiotics don’t work against viruses such as colds or the flu. That means children do not need an antibiotic every time they are sick.
• If you do get sick, antibiotics may not always help. If used inappropriately, they can make bacteria resistant to treatment – thus making illnesses harder to get
rid of.
When in doubt, check with your health care provider – and always follow the antibiotic label instructions carefully.

BE CAREFUL WITH PETS
          The CDC states that animals can pass diseases to humans and the following tips should be kept in mind:

• Pets should be adopted from an animal shelter or purchased from a reputable pet store or breeder.
• All pets should be routinely cared for by a veterinarian. Follow the immunization schedule the vet recommends.
• Obey local leash laws.
• Clean litter boxes daily. Pregnant women should NOT clean litter boxes.
• Don't allow children to play where animals go to the bathroom.
• Keep your child's sandbox covered when not in use.

          The CDC states that babies and children under 5 are more likely to get diseases from animals so special guidelines should be kept in mind:

• Young children should not be allowed to kiss pets or to put their hands or other objects into their mouths after touching animals.
• Wash your child's hands thoroughly with soap and warm running water after contact with animals.
• Be particularly careful when visiting farms, petting zoos, and fairs.

AVOID CONTACT WITH WILD ANIMALS
          The CDC states that wild animals can carry diseases and that wild animals have the following risk:

• Mice and other wild animals can carry deadly diseases like hantavirus and plague.
• Bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes can transmit rabies
• Ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.

The CDC provides the following precautions you can take to avoid contact with a variety of species of wild animals:

• Keep your house free of wild animals by not leaving any food around and keeping garbage cans sealed.
• Clear brush, grass, and debris from around house foundations to get rid of possible nesting sites for mice and rodents.
• Be sure to seal any entrance holes you discover on the inside or outside of your home.
• Use insect repellent to prevent ticks. Do a routine "tick check" after spending time outdoors. Ticks should be removed immediately with tweezers by applying gentle, steady pressure until they release their bites.

             Nutrition. "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame" (Joel 2:26). We avoid foods containing unnecessary additives, and we also avoid going on unhealthy crash or fad diets. Instead, we eat a well-balanced, wholesome diet that consists of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, milk, cheese, eggs, poultry, fish, lean meats, beans and other legumes, seeds and nuts. We drink at least eight glasses of water each day to regulate digestion and body processes. We avoid salt because it can lead to high blood pressure and stroke. We avoid fats and sweets because these foods are high in calories and low in nutrients. We provide our children with an age-appropriate healthy diet as recommended by their health care providers.

            The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & U.S. Department of Agriculture (Stock Number 001-000-04719-1, Finding Your Way to a Healthier You: Based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005) provides the following important dietary guidelines for Americans:

Feel better today. Stay healthy for tomorrow.
            Here's how:  The food and physical activity choices you make every day affect your health—how you feel today, tomorrow, and in the future. The science-based advice of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005 highlights how to:

• Make smart choices from every food group.
• Find your balance between food and physical activity.
• Get the most nutrition out of your calories.

            You may be eating plenty of food, but not eating the right foods that give your body the nutrients you need to be healthy. You may not be getting enough physical activity to stay fit and burn those extra calories. Eating right and being physically active aren't just a "diet" or a "program"—they are keys to a healthy lifestyle. With healthful habits, you may reduce your risk of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain cancers, and increase your chances for a longer life. The sooner you start, the better for you, your family, and your future. 

Make smart choices from every food group.
            The best way to give your body the balanced nutrition it needs is by eating a variety of nutrient-packed foods every day. Just be sure to stay within your daily calorie needs.

    A healthy eating plan is one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts.
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

DON'T GIVE IN WHEN YOU EAT OUT AND ARE ON THE GO

It's important to make smart food choices and watch portion sizes wherever you are—at the grocery store, at work, in your favorite restaurant, or running errands. Try these tips:

• At the store, plan ahead by buying a variety of nutrient-rich foods for meals and snacks throughout the week.
• When grabbing lunch, have a sandwich on whole- grain bread and choose low-fat/fat-free milk, water, or other drinks without added sugars.
• In a restaurant, opt for steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautéed.
• On a long commute or shopping trip, pack some fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, string cheese sticks, or a handful of unsalted nuts—to help you avoid impulsive, less healthful snack choices.

Mix up your choices within each food group.

• Focus on fruits. Eat a variety of fruits—whether fresh, frozen, canned, or dried—rather than fruit juice for most of your fruit choices. For a 2,000-calorie diet, you will need 2 cups of fruit each day (for example, 1 small banana, 1 large orange, and 1/4 cup of dried apricots or peaches).

• Vary your veggies. Eat more dark green veggies, such as broccoli, kale, and other dark leafy greens; orange veggies, such as carrots, sweetpotatoes, pumpkin, and winter squash; and beans and peas, such as pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, split peas, and lentils.

• Get your calcium-rich foods. Get 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk—or an equivalent amount of low-fat yogurt and/or low-fat cheese (1½ ounces of cheese equals 1 cup of milk)—every day. For kids aged 2 to 8, it's 2 cups of milk. If you don't or can't consume milk, choose lactose-free milk products and/or calcium-fortified foods and beverages.

• Make half your grains whole. Eat at least 3 ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta every day. One ounce is about 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of breakfast cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta. Look to see that grains such as wheat, rice, oats, or corn are referred to as "whole" in the list of ingredients.

• Go lean with protein. Choose lean meats and poultry. Bake it, broil it, or grill it. And vary your protein choices—with more fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.

Know the limits on fats, salt, and sugars. Read the Nutrition Facts label on foods. Look for foods low in saturated fats and trans fats. Choose and prepare foods and beverages with little salt (sodium) and/or added sugars (caloric sweeteners).

Find your balance between food and physical activity.

Becoming a healthier you isn't just about eating healthy—it's also about physical activity. Regular physical activity is important for your overall health and fitness. It also helps you control body weight by balancing the calories you take in as food with the calories you expend each day.

• Be physically active for at least 30 minutes most days of the week.
• Increasing the intensity or the amount of time that you are physically active can have even greater health benefits and may be needed to control body weight. About 60 minutes a day may be needed to prevent weight gain.
• Children and teenagers should be physically active for 60 minutes every day, or most every day.

CONSIDER THIS: If you eat 100 more food calories a day than you burn, you'll gain about 1 pound in a month. That's about 10 pounds in a year. The bottom line is that to lose weight, it's important to reduce calories and increase physical activity.

Get the most nutrition out of your calories.

There is a right number of calories for you to eat each day. This number depends on your age, activity level, and whether you're trying to gain, maintain, or lose weight.* You could use up the entire amount on a few high-calorie items, but chances are you won't get the full range of vitamins and nutrients your body needs to be healthy.

Choose the most nutritionally rich foods you can from each food group each day—those packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients but lower in calories. Pick foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products more often.

* 2,000 calories is the value used as a general reference on the food label. But you can calculate your number at www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines.

NUTRITION: To know the facts…

Most packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts label. For a healthier you, use this tool to make smart food choices quickly and easily. Try these tips:

• Keep these low: saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, and sodium.
• Get enough of these: potassium, fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron.
• Use the % Daily Value (DV) column when possible: 5% DV or less is low, 20% DV or more is high.

Check servings and calories. Look at the serving size and how many servings you are actually consuming. If you double the servings you eat, you double the calories and nutrients, including the % DVs.

Make your calories count. Look at the calories on the label and compare them with what nutrients you are also getting to decide whether the food is worth eating. When one serving of a single food item has over 400 calories per serving, it is high in calories.

Don't sugarcoat it. Since sugars contribute calories with few, if any, nutrients, look for foods and beverages low in added sugars. Read the ingredient list and make sure that added sugars are not one of the first few ingredients. Some names for added sugars (caloric sweeteners) include sucrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, maple syrup, and fructose.

Know your fats. Look for foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol to help reduce the risk of heart disease (5% DV or less is low, 20% DV or more is high). Most of the fats you eat should be polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Keep total fat intake between 20% to 35% of calories.

Reduce sodium (salt), increase potassium. Research shows that eating less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium (about 1 tsp of salt) per day may reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Most of the sodium people eat comes from processed foods, not from the saltshaker. Also look for foods high in potassium, which counteracts some of sodium's effects on blood pressure.

            Exercise. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

            Exercise is good for us in many ways so we participate in aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes daily. We have discovered that the benefits of exercise include a feeling of well-being and relaxation, reduced depression, sound sleep, increased energy, improved personal appearance, improved sex life, improved health, and exercise slows the physical declines associated with aging.
            Some forms of exercise we enjoy include walking, jogging, rope jumping, swimming, bicycle riding, weight training, handball, racquetball, running in place, skiing, ice skating, roller skating, hiking, t'ai chi chu'an, karate, kung fu, judo, jujitsu, yoga, aerobic dance, and many others. We spend time in physical activity with our children, so they learn to value and develop an appreciation for sport and exercise.
            The Surgeon General provides the following important information about physical activity and health (11/17/1999, United States Department of Health and Human Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity):

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND HEALTH 

A NEW VIEW OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

THE BENEFITS OF REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

Regular physical activity that is performed on most days of the week reduces the risk of developing or dying from some of the leading causes of illness and death in the United States. Regular physical activity improves health in the following ways:

A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN:
Given the numerous health benefits of physical activity, the hazards of being inactive are clear. Physical inactivity is a serious, nationwide problem. Its scope poses a public health challenge for reducing the national burden of unnecessary illness and premature death.

PRECAUTIONS FOR A HEALTHY START:
To avoid soreness and injury, individuals contemplating an increase in physical activity should start out slowly and gradually build up to the desired amount to give the body time to adjust. People with chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, or obesity, or who are at high risk for these problems should first consult a physician before beginning a new program of physical activity. Also, men over age 40 and women over age 50 who plan to begin a new vigorous physical activity program should consult a physician first to be sure they do not have heart disease or other health problems.

Adults

Adolescents and Young Adults

  High School Students

IDEAS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
This report identifies promising ways to help people include more physical activity in their daily lives.

SPECIAL MESSAGES FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS:

Older Adults

Parents

Teenagers

Dieters

People with High Blood Pressure

People Feeling Anxious, Depressed, or Moody

People with Arthritis

People with Disabilities

Mood: Sleep also affects mood. Insufficient sleep can make you irritable and is linked to poor behavior and trouble with relationships, especially among children and teens. People who chronically lack sleep are also more likely to become depressed.

Health: Sleep is also important for good health. Studies show that not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep on a regular basis increases the risk of having high blood pressure, heart disease, and other medical conditions.

In addition, during sleep, your body produces valuable hormones. Deep sleep triggers more release of growth hormone, which fuels growth in children, and helps build muscle mass and repair cells and tissues in children and adults. Another type of hormone that increases during sleep works to fight various infections. This might explain why a good night’s sleep helps keep you from getting sick—and helps you recover when you do get sick. Hormones released during sleep also affect how the body uses energy. Studies find that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to be overweight or obese, to develop diabetes, and to prefer eating foods that are high in calories and carbohydrates.

It’s About Time
How sleepy you are depends largely on how well you’ve been sleeping and how much sleep you’ve been getting. Another key factor is your internal “biological clock”—a tiny bundle of cells in your brain that responds to light signals through your eyes and promotes wakefulness. Because of the timing of the biological clock and other bodily processes, you naturally feel drowsy between midnight and 7 a.m. and again in the midafternoon between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Night shift workers often find themselves drowsy at work. They also have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep during the day, when their schedules require them to sleep. Being sleepy puts them at risk for injuries on the road and at work. Night shift workers are also more likely to have conditions such as heart disease, digestive disorders, and infertility, as well as emotional problems. All of these problems may be related, at least in part, to their chronic lack of sleep. Adapting to new sleep and wake times can also be hard for travelers crossing time zones, resulting in what’s known as jet lag. Jet lag can lead to daytime sleepiness, trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night, poor concentration, and irritability. The good news is that by using appropriately timed cues, most people can change their biological clock, but only by 1–2 hours per day at best. Therefore, it can take several days to adjust to a new time zone (or different work schedule). If you’ll be moving across time zones, you might want to begin adapting to the new time zone a few days before leaving. Or, if you are traveling for just a few days, you might want to stick with your original sleep schedule and not try to adjust to the new time zone.

            The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, September 10, 2007, provides the following tips which can be used to improve sleep:

Sleep Hygiene Tips
            The promotion of regular sleep is known as sleep hygiene. The following is a list of sleep hygiene tips which can be used to improve sleep. Also included is a list of special relevance to adolescents, who may experience sleep difficulties due to circadian rhythm changes occurring during the teenage years and into young adulthood.

Adults:

1. Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning.
    
2. Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment, which is neither too hot or too cold.
    
3. Make sure your bed is comfortable and use it only for sleeping and not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or listening to music. Remove all TVs, computers, and other “gadgets” from the bedroom.
    
4. Physical activity may help promote sleep, but not within a few hours of bedtime.
    
5. Avoid large meals before bedtime.

Adolescents/Young Adults:

1. Avoid caffeinated drinks after lunch.
    
2. Avoid bright light in the evening.
    
3. Avoid arousing activities around bedtime (e.g., heavy study, text messaging, getting into prolonged conversations).
    
4. Expose yourself to bright light upon awakening in the morning.
    
5. While sleeping in on weekends is permissible, it should not be more than 2–3 hours past your usual wake time, to avoid disrupting your circadian rhythm governing sleepiness and
   wakefulness.
    
6. Avoid pulling an “all-nighter” to study.

            The Star Sleeper, National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute provides the following sleep tips for children:

SLEEP TIPS FOR YOUR CHILDREN

1. Set a regular time for bed each night and stick to it.

2. Establish a relaxing bedtime routine, such as giving your child a warm bath or reading him or her a story.

3. Make after-dinner playtime a relaxing time. Too much activity close to bedtime can keep children awake.

4. Avoid feeding children big meals close to bedtime.

5. Avoid giving children anything with caffeine less than six hours before bedtime.

6. Set the bedroom temperature so that it's comfortable – not too warm and not too cold.

7. Make sure the bedroom is dark. If necessary, use a small nightlight.

8. Keep the noise level low.
   

            The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, August 2003, NIH Pub No. 05-7040, provides the following important information about safe sleeping for infants to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS):

What is SIDS?
            SIDS stands for sudden infant death syndrome. This term describes the sudden, unexplained death of an infant younger than 1 year of age. Some people call SIDS "crib death" because many babies who die of SIDS are found in their cribs. But, cribs don't cause SIDS.

What should I know about SIDS?
Health care providers don't know exactly what causes SIDS, but they do know:

• Babies sleep safer on their backs. Babies who sleep on their stomachs are much more likely to die of SIDS than babies who sleep on their backs.
  
  
• Sleep surface matters. Babies who sleep on or under soft bedding are more likely to die of SIDS.
  
  
• Every sleep time counts. Babies who usually sleep on their backs but who are then placed on their stomachs, like for a nap, are at very high risk for SIDS. So it's important for everyone who cares for your baby to use the back sleep position for naps and at night.

Fast Facts About SIDS

• SIDS is the leading cause of death in infants between 1 month and 1 year of age.
  
  
• Most SIDS deaths happen when babies are between 2 months and 4 months of age.
  
  
• African American babies are more than 2 times as likely to die of SIDS as white babies.
  
  
• American Indian/Alaskan Native babies are nearly 3 times as likely to die of SIDS as white babies.

Here are 10 ways that you and others who care for your baby can reduce the risk of SIDS.

Safe Sleep Top 10

1. Always place your baby on his or her back to sleep, for naps and at night. The back sleep position is the safest, and every sleep time counts.
   
   
2. Place your baby on a firm sleep surface, such as on a safety-approved crib mattress, covered by a fitted sheet. Never place your baby to sleep on pillows, quilts, sheepskins, or other soft surfaces.
   
   
3. Keep soft objects, toys, and loose bedding out of your baby's sleep area. Don't use pillows, blankets, quilts, sheepskins, and pillow-like crib bumpers in your baby's sleep area, and keep any other items away from your baby's face.
   
   
4. Do not allow smoking around your baby. Don't smoke before or after the birth of your baby, and don't let others smoke around your baby.
   
   
5. Keep your baby's sleep area close to, but separate from, where you and others sleep. Your baby should not sleep in a bed or on a couch or armchair with adults or other children, but he or she can sleep in the same room as you. If you bring the baby into bed with you to breastfeed, put him or her back in a separate sleep area, such as a bassinet, crib, cradle, or a bedside cosleeper (infant bed that attaches to an adult bed) when finished.
   
   
6. Think about using a clean, dry pacifier when placing the infant down to sleep,
   but don't force the baby to take it. (If you are breastfeeding your baby, wait until your child is 1 month old or is used to breastfeeding before using a pacifier.)
   
   
7. Do not let your baby overheat during sleep. Dress your baby in light sleep clothing, and keep the room at a temperature that is comfortable for an adult.
   
   
8. Avoid products that claim to reduce the risk of SIDS because most have not been tested for effectiveness or safety.
   
   
9. Do not use home monitors to reduce the risk of SIDS. If you have questions about using monitors for other conditions talk to your health care provider.
   
   
10. Reduce the chance that flat spots will develop on your baby's head: provide "Tummy Time" when your baby is awake and someone is watching; change the direction that your baby lies in the crib from one week to the next; and avoid too much time in car seats, carriers, and bouncers.
    
    

            Babies sleep safest on their backs. One of the easiest ways to lower your baby's risk of SIDS is to put him or her on the back to sleep, for naps and at night. Health care providers used to think that babies should sleep on their stomachs, but research now shows that babies are less likely to die of SIDS when they sleep on their backs. Placing your baby on his or her back to sleep is the number one way to reduce the risk of SIDS. There has been no increase in choking or other problems for babies who sleep on their backs. Healthy babies automatically swallow or cough up fluids. Spread the word! Make sure everyone who cares for your baby knows the Safe Sleep Top 10! Tell grandparents, babysitters, childcare providers, and other caregivers to always place your baby on his or her back to sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS. Babies who usually sleep on their backs but who are then placed on their stomachs, even for a nap, are at very high risk for SIDS—so every sleep time counts!

       

            Work. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.(DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 99-101) provides the following information about stress at work and how stress can affect health:

            Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury.
            The concept of job stress is often confused with challenge, but these concepts are not the same. Challenge energizes us psychologically and physically, and it motivates us to learn new skills and master our jobs. When a challenge is met, we feel relaxed and satisfied. Thus, challenge is an important ingredient for healthy and productive work. The importance of challenge in our work lives is probably what people are referring to when they say "a little bit of stress is good for you.
            Health care expenditures are nearly 50% greater for workers who report high levels of stress (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine).

Job Conditions That May Lead to Stress

• The Design of Tasks. Heavy workload, infrequent rest breaks, long work hours and shiftwork; hectic and routine tasks that have little inherent meaning, do not utilize workers' skills, and provide little sense of control.
• Management Style. Lack of participation by workers in decision- making, poor communication in the organization, lack of family-friendly policies.
• Interpersonal Relationships. Poor social environment and lack of support or help from coworkers and supervisors.
• Work Roles. Conflicting or uncertain job expectations, too much responsibility, too many "hats to wear."
• Career Concerns. Job insecurity and lack of opportunity for growth, advancement, or promotion; rapid changes for which workers are unprepared.
• Environmental Conditions. Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, or ergonomic problems.

Early Warning Signs of Job Stress
Headache
Sleep disturbances
Difficulty concentrating
Short temper
Upset stomach
Job dissatisfaction
Low morale
 

Job Stress and Health: What the Research Tells Us (Encyclopaedia of Occupational Safety and Health)

• Cardiovascular Disease: Many studies suggest that psychologically demanding jobs that allow employees little control over the work process increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
• Musculoskeletal Disorders: On the basis of research by NIOSH and many other organizations, it is widely believed that job stress increases the risk for development of back and upper- extremity musculoskeletal disorders.
• Psychological Disorders: Several studies suggest that differences in rates of mental health problems (such as depression and burnout) for various occupations are due partly to differences in job stress levels. (Economic and lifestyle differences between occupations may also contribute to some of these problems.)
• Workplace Injury: Although more study is needed, there is a growing concern that stressful working conditions interfere with safe work practices and set the stage for injuries at work.
• Suicide, Cancer, Ulcers, and Impaired Immune Function: Some studies suggest a relationship between stressful working conditions and these health problems. However, more research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

            Some employers assume that stressful working conditions are a necessary evil-that companies must turn up the pressure on workers and set aside health concerns to remain productive and profitable in today's economy. But research findings challenge this belief. Studies show that stressful working conditions are actually associated with increased absenteeism, tardiness, and intentions by workers to quit their jobs-all of which have a negative effect on the bottom line.
            Recent studies of so-called healthy organizations suggest that policies benefiting worker health also benefit the bottom line. A healthy organization is defined as one that has low rates of illness, injury, and disability in its workforce and is also competitive in the marketplace. NIOSH research has identified organizational characteristics associated with both healthy, low-stress work and high levels of productivity. Examples of these characteristics include the following:

• Recognition of employees for good work performance
  
• Opportunities for career development
  
• An organizational culture that values the individual worker
  
• Management actions that are consistent with organizational values

            According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers who must take time off work because of stress, anxiety, or a related disorder will be off the job for about 20 days.

            "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17). Work is important to us because it is our means to independence. We ask God to guide us when we choose our employment. We choose work that is intrinsically satisfying because we spend much of our time on the job, and we realize we must like the work we do to maintain a positive outlook. If we suffer from chronic job stress we seek new employment before we become seriously ill and depleted.

            Recreation and Vacation. There is evidence that vacations can prevent heart failure. A 2000 study by the State University of New York at Oswego looked at about 12,000 men ages 35 to 57 and found that men who took yearly vacations reduced their overall risk of death by about 20 percent, and their risk of death from heart disease by as much as 30 percent. Using data from the famous Framingham Heart Study, researchers found that women who took a vacation once every six years or less were almost eight times more likely to develop heart disease or have a heart attack than those who took at least two vacations a year. Similarly, a study of more than 700 women studied between the ages of 45 and 65 through 64 revealed that frequent vacations cut the risk of death among all women by half.
            American Alliance for Health,  Physical Education,  Recreation & Dance  (AAHPERD, 7/3/2008) provides the following information on the benefits of recreation:

Regular participation in Recreation and physical activity can:

• Relieve stress
  
• Cultivate positive character development by encouraging responsibility, respect, honesty, loyalty, integrity, creativity and flexibility
  
• Strengthen family bonds
  
• Stimulate creativity
  
• Enrich communication
  
• Boost energy
  
• Help teach life skills such as problem solving, cooperation, compromise, coping skills, perseverance and positive attitudes
  
• Build unity
  
• Increase productivity
  
• Promote personal interaction between family members
  
• Help with maintaining a healthy lifestyle

            An individual’s lifelong leisure habits often build on early experiences that contribute to a person’s development and lifestyle. Many adults continue to participate in recreational activities they were introduced to when a child or try a new sport or hobby after being inspired by a family member to try it. Traditions are created and passed on through processes like this. Recreating together as a family in activities that promote physical, emotional, mental, and social development and growth can strengthen family bonds. Get your family together, have some fun and make memories to last a lifetime!

            "that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you" (Romans 15:32). In Loving Family, we make enjoyable recreation a part of our life throughout the year. We visit museums, zoos, and historical sites. We attend movies, plays, and concerts. We enjoy home videos appropriate for family viewing. We enjoy television, but we monitor the programs we allow our children to watch, and we make certain that the television is not turned on until school homework and other responsibilities have been completed. Public Broadcasting Stations (PBS) are known for good family television programming, so we enjoy and support PBS. At community park and recreation centers, we enjoy arts and crafts, skateboarding, soccer, softball, shuffleboard, kite flying, swimming, picnics, basketball, and roller skating. We visit state and National park areas for hiking, camping, boating, swimming, skiing, or fishing. We plan vacation trips by reading guidebooks and travel brochures or by talking with a travel agent.

            Emotion. We maintain emotional balance by living in the present day by day instead of living in the past or in the future, by talking our problems out with a trusted person, and by finding realistic solutions to our problems. We keep stress minimal with proper nutrition and exercise. We also keep our emotions balanced by setting realistic goals, remembering others also have good motives, keeping free of resentments, maintaining a good attitude, and by remembering we are not alone when we have trouble. Most importantly we pray, meditate, and constantly strive to improve our conscious contact with Christ to maintain emotional balance. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).

            Specialized training in restaurant management, drafting, mechanics, electronics, bookkeeping, accounting, etc. is offered at various vocational schools. Courses are usually short between six months and a year but may last longer.
            Public schools offer adult education courses, often at night, for people who want to develop special skills, increase their general knowledge, or pursue a particular hobby. Fees for these courses are usually minimal.
            Home study courses provide opportunities to take courses in vocational subjects, standard high school subjects, and college-level studies. Study time can be scheduled around work and other commitments.
            Many companies offer special training either on the job or after hours. Depending upon the business, training can improve technical skills or general knowledge. Some companies pay all of the expense for the training while others pay only part of the cost.
            The local library or college office can provide assistance in choosing a course or program of study. Before enrolling, it is a good idea to discuss educational interests with others we respect and trust, such as a teacher, priest, minister, friend, parent, or an older sibling. Visiting various schools or colleges is also a good idea. We check with our local library or accreditation council to make sure the institution we decide to attend is accredited. There are numerous scholarships, grants, and loan programs available for those of us who are interested in further learning. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven, and tossed by the wind" (James 1:5-6).

            Sexuality. We avoid sexual problems in our marriage by maintaining a committed, loving, supportive, and communicative relationship with our spouse. If sexual problems arise due to physical or psychological problems, we seek treatment as a couple from our trusted physician who may refer us to a reputable clinic or sex therapist. We prevent sexual diseases such as herpes, gonorrhea, and syphilis by waiting until marriage to become sexually active, by being faithful to our spouse, and by having sexual relations only with our marriage partner. We inform our teenagers that they should not have sex before marriage so that they can avoid emotional trauma and sexually transmitted diseases.
          We live by God's code for sexual relations provided in Leviticus 18:5-30 so we can live a good life that is blessed by God and not defiled:
"5: Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
6: None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD.
7: The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8: The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
9: The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10: The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11: The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
12: Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
13: Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
14: Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
15: Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
16: Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
17: Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
18: Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
19: Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
20: Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.
21: And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
22: Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
23: Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
24: Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:
25: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
26: Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
27: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)
28: That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
29: For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.
30: Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God."


            Lead. We have our children tested for lead poisoning when we take them to the doctor for regular checkups. We are careful not to expose our children to lead by keeping our home clean and free from dust; changing out of work clothes when we get home from work; testing our water; testing painted surfaces for lead; making sure our children do not chew on anything that is covered with lead paint; not using older imported or handmade dishes that may contain lead; avoiding hobbies that use lead; washing our children's hands often; and by not using home remedies or cosmetics that contain lead. We feed our children a diet that is rich in iron and calcium to protect against lead poisoning. We hire a professional to remove lead paint safely from our home so our family is not poisoned by the large amount of lead dust that is generated by the scraping and sanding of lead paint.
          The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 747-K-00-003, October 2000, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 7404) indicates that lead poisoning is a serious problem for young children--the younger the child, the greater the risk. The EPA provides the following important information on how to protect your children from lead poisoning.



Lead awareness and your children
            About 1 in 22 children in America have high levels of lead in their blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You may have lead around your building without knowing it because you can’t see, taste, or smell lead. You may have lead in the dust, paint, or soil in and around your home, or in your drinking water or food. Because it does not break down naturally, lead can remain a problem until it is removed. Before we knew how harmful it could be, lead was used in paint, gasoline, water pipes, and many other products. Now that we know the dangers of lead, house paint is almost lead-free, leaded gasoline has been phased out, and household plumbing is no longer made with lead materials.

How lead affects your child’s health
            The long-term effects of lead in a child can be severe. They include learning disabilities, decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing, and even brain damage. If caught early, these effects can be limited by reducing exposure to lead or by medical treatment. If you are pregnant, avoid exposing yourself to lead. Lead can pass through your body to your baby. The good news is that there are simple things you can do to help protect your family.

1. Get your child tested.
            Even children who appear healthy may have high levels of lead. You can’t tell if a child has lead poisoning unless you have him or her tested. A blood test takes only ten minutes, and results should be ready within a week.

Blood tests are usually recommended for:

•  Children at ages 1 and 2.
•  Children or other family members who have been exposed to high levels of lead.
•  Children who should be tested under your state or local screening plan.

To find out where to have your child tested, call your doctor or local health clinic. They can explain what the test results mean, and if more testing will be needed.

2. Keep it clean.
            Ordinary dust and dirt may contain lead. Children can swallow lead or breathe lead contaminated dust if they play in dust or dirt and then put their fingers or toys in their mouths, or if they eat without washing their hands first.

• Keep the areas where your children play as dust-free and clean as possible.
• Wash pacifiers and bottles after they fall on the floor. Keep extras handy.
• Clean floors, window frames, window sills, and other surfaces weekly. Use a mop, sponge, or paper towel with warm water and a general all-purpose cleaner or a cleaner made specifically for lead. REMEMBER: NEVER MIX AMMONIA AND BLEACH PRODUCTS TOGETHER SINCE THEY CAN FORM A DANGEROUS GAS.
• Thoroughly rinse sponges and mop heads after cleaning dirty and dusty areas.
• Wash toys and stuffed animals regularly.
• Make sure your children wash their hands before meals, nap time, and bedtime.

3. Reduce the risk from lead paint.
            Most homes built before 1960 contain leaded paint. Some homes built as recently as 1978 may also contain lead paint. This paint could be on window frames, walls, the outside of your house, or other surfaces. Tiny pieces of peeling or chipping paint are dangerous if eaten. Lead paint in good condition is not usually a problem except in places where painted surfaces rub against each other and create dust. (For example, when you open a window, the painted surfaces rub against each other.)

• Make sure your child does not chew on anything covered with lead paint, such as painted window sills, cribs, or playpens.
• Don’t burn painted wood. It may contain lead.

4. Don’t remove lead paint yourself.
            Families have been poisoned by scraping or sanding lead paint because these activities generate large amounts of lead dust. Lead dust from repairs or renovations of older buildings can remain in the building long after the work is completed. Heating paint may release lead into the air.

• Ask your local or state health department if they will test your home for lead paint. Some will test for free. Home test kits cannot detect small amounts of lead under some conditions.
• Hire a person with special training for correcting lead paint problems to remove lead paint from your home, someone who knows how to do this work safely and has the proper equipment to clean up thoroughly. Don’t try to remove lead paint yourself.
• All occupants, especially children and pregnant women, should leave the building until all work is finished and a thorough cleanup is done.

5. Don’t bring lead dust into your home.
            If you work in construction, demolition or painting, with batteries, or in a radiator repair shop or lead factory, or if your hobby involves lead, you may unknowingly bring lead into your home on your hands or clothes. You may also be tracking in lead from the soil around your home. Soil very close to homes may be contaminated from lead paint on the outside of the building. Soil by roads or highways may be contaminated from years of exhaust fumes from cars and trucks that used leaded gas.

• If you work with lead in your job or hobby, change your clothes and shower before you go home.
• Encourage your children to play in sand or grassy areas instead of dirt which sticks to fingers and toys. Try to keep your children from eating dirt, and make sure they wash their hands when they come inside.

6. Get lead out of your drinking water.
        Most well or city water does not naturally contain lead. Water usually picks up lead inside your home from household plumbing that is made with lead materials. Boiling the water will not reduce the amount of lead. Bathing is not a problem because lead does not enter the body through the skin.

• The only way to know if you have lead in your water is to have it tested. Call your local health department or your water supplier to see how to get it tested.
• Household water will contain more lead if it has sat for a long time in the pipes, is hot, or is naturally acidic.
• If you think your plumbing might have lead in it:

1. Use only cold water for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula.
2. Run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours.
3. Call EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 for more information.

7. Eat right.
            A child who gets enough iron and calcium will absorb less lead. Foods rich in iron include eggs, lean red meat, and beans. Dairy products are high in calcium.

• Don’t store food or liquid in lead crystal glassware or imported or old pottery.
• If you reuse plastic bags to store or carry food, keep the printing on the outside of the bag.

            Smoking. We do not smoke, and we make certain our children are not exposed to second-hand smoke. Smoking or being exposed to second-hand smoke is dangerous to health and linked to cancer and many other serious diseases. "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning" (2Peter 2:19-20).

            The Department of Health and Human Service, Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Fact Sheet on Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking  (updated 1/2008)  provides important information as follows about the health effects of cigarette smoking. According to the CDC, smoking harms nearly every organ of the body; causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 438,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States.  More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.

HEALTH EFFECTS OF CIGARETTE SMOKING

Cancer

• Cancer is the second leading cause of death and was among the first diseases causually linked to smoking.
• Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and almost 80% of lung cancer deaths in women. The risk of dying from lung cancer is more than 23 times higher among men who smoke cigarettes, and about 13 times higher among women who smoke cigarettes compared with never smokers.
• Smoking causes cancers of the bladder, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, cervix, kidney, lung, pancreas, and stomach, and causes acute myeloid leukemia.
• Rates of cancers related to cigarette smoking vary widely among members of racial/ethnic groups, but are generally highest in African-American men.

Cardiovascular Disease (Heart and Circulatory System)

• Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smokers are 2–4 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
• Cigarette smoking approximately doubles a person's risk for stroke.
• Cigarette smoking causes reduced circulation by narrowing the blood vessels (arteries). Smokers are more than 10 times as likely as nonsmokers to develop peripheral vascular disease.
• Smoking causes abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Respiratory Disease and Other Effects

• Cigarette smoking is associated with a tenfold increase in the risk of dying from chronic obstructive lung disease. About 90% of all deaths from chronic obstructive lung diseases are attributable to cigarette smoking.
• Cigarette smoking has many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects, including an increased risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density than women who never smoked. Women who smoke have an increased risk for hip fracture than never smokers.

    The U.S. Surgeon General provides important information on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke (United States Department of Health and Human Services, Factsheet 7, revised 1/4/2007). There is No Risk-Free Level of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke.

The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that breathing even a little secondhand smoke poses a risk to your health.

• Scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Breathing even a little secondhand smoke can be harmful to your health.

Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer.

• Secondhand smoke is a known human carcinogen and contains more than 50 chemicals that can cause cancer.
• Concentrations of many cancer-causing and toxic chemicals are potentially higher in secondhand smoke than in the smoke inhaled by smokers.

Secondhand smoke causes heart disease.

• Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can have immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system, interfering with the normal functioning of the heart, blood, and vascular systems in ways that increase the risk of heart attack.
• Even a short time in a smoky room can cause your blood platelets to become stickier, damage the lining of blood vessels, decrease coronary flow velocity reserves, and reduce heart rate variability.
• Persons who already have heart disease are at especially high risk of suffering adverse affects from breathing secondhand smoke, and should take special precautions to avoid even brief exposure.

Secondhand smoke causes acute respiratory effects.

• Secondhand smoke contains many chemicals that can quickly irritate and damage the lining of the airways.
• Even brief exposure can trigger respiratory symptoms, including cough, phlegm, wheezing, and breathlessness.
• Brief exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger an asthma attack in children with asthma.
• Persons who already have asthma or other respiratory conditions are at especially high risk for being affected by secondhand smoke, and should take special precautions to avoid secondhand smoke exposure.

Secondhand smoke can cause sudden infant death syndrome and other health consequences in infants and children.

• Smoking by women during pregnancy has been known for some time to cause SIDS.
• Infants who are exposed to secondhand smoke after birth are also at greater risk of SIDS.
• Children exposed to secondhand smoke are also at an increased risk for acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes respiratory symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.

Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate secondhand smoke exposure.

• The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the preeminent U.S. standard-setting body on ventilation issues, has concluded that ventilation technology cannot be relied on to completely control health risks from secondhand smoke exposure.
• Conventional air cleaning systems can remove large particles, but not the smaller particles or the gases found in secondhand smoke.
• Operation of a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system can distribute secondhand smoke throughout a building.

At School:
Reduce materials and recycle what is used
Perform a waste audit in the school
Maintain heaters, air conditioners, refrigerators, and other energy using equipment, to reduce the amount of energy used
Install energy efficient lighting
Print copies on both sides of each sheet of paper
Use non-mercury-containing thermometers
Start an Eco-Club or form a pollution prevention team

            Radiation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (5/15/2008) provides the following important information about Medical X-Rays:

Description
            X-rays refer to radiation, waves or particles that travel through the air like light or radio signals. X-ray energy is high enough that some radiation passes through objects (such as internal organs, body tissues, and clothing) and onto x-ray detectors (such as film or a detector linked to a computer monitor). In general, objects that are more dense (such as bones and calcium deposits) absorb more of the radiation from the x-rays and don’t allow as much to pass through them. These objects leave a different image on the detector than less dense objects. Specially trained or experienced physicians can read these images to diagnose medical conditions or injuries.

Procedures
            Medical x-rays are used in many types of examinations and procedures. Some examples include

• x-ray radiography (to find orthopedic damage, tumors, pneumonias, foreign objects, etc);
• mammography (to image the internal structures of breasts)
• CT (computed tomography) (to produce cross-sectional images of the body)
• fluoroscopy (to dynamically visualize the body for example to see where to remove plaque from coronary arteries or where to place stents to keep those arteries open)
• radiation therapy in cancer treatment

Risks/Benefits
            Medical x-rays have increased the ability to detect disease or injury early enough for a medical problem to be managed, treated, or cured. When applied and performed appropriately, these procedures can improve health and may even save a person’s life. X-ray energy also has a small potential to harm living tissue. The most significant risks are:

• a small increase in the possibility that a person exposed to x-rays will develop cancer later in life; and
• cataracts and skin burns only at very high levels of radiation exposure and in only very few procedures.

The risk of developing cancer from radiation exposure is generally small, and it depends on at least three factors—the amount of radiation dose, the age at exposure, and the sex of the person exposed:

• The lifetime risk of cancer increases the larger the dose and the more x-ray exams a patient undergoes.
• The lifetime risk of cancer is larger for a patient who received x-rays at a younger age than for one who receives them at an older age.
• Women are at a somewhat higher lifetime risk than men for developing radiation-associated cancer after receiving the same exposures at the same ages.

Information for Patients
            You can reduce your radiation risks and contribute to your successful examination or procedure by:

• Keeping a “medical x-ray history” with the names of your radiological exams or procedures, the dates and places where you had them, and the physicians who referred you for those exams;
• Making your current healthcare providers aware of your medical x-ray history;
• Asking your healthcare provider about whether or not alternatives to x-ray exams would allow the provider to make a good assessment or provide appropriate treatment for your medical situation;
• Providing interpreting physicians and referring physicians with recent x-ray images and radiology reports; and
• Informing radiologists or x-ray technologists in advance if you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant.

            We reduce exposure to radiation by keeping our dental and medical X-rays to the minimum required. We keep a record of our medical x-ray history and we make our current healthcareproviders aware of our medical x-ray history. We discuss alternatives to x-ray exams with our healthcare providers and we use alternatives whenever possible. We are careful to notify our radiologists and x-ray technologists in advance if we are pregnant or think we may be pregnant. If we are pregnant we do not not have an x-ray unless it is absolutely necessary.

            Loud Noise. "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles" (Proverbs 21:23). We insist that noise be controlled in our home and work place because chronic exposure to loud noise can damage hearing. We keep the volumn down when listening to music and we wear earplugs when using loud equipment to help protect our hearing.
            According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (Department of Health and Human Services 7/23/08), noise is all around you, from televisions and radios to lawn mowers and washing machines. Harmful sounds - sounds that are too loud or loud sounds over a long time - can damage sensitive structures of the inner ear and cause noise-induced hearing loss. More than 30 million people in the U.S. are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis. Hazardous sound levels are louder than 80 decibels, which isn't as loud as traffic on a busy street. Listening to loud music, especially on headphones, is a common cause of noise-induced hearing loss. Keeping the volume down when listening to music and wearing earplugs when using loud equipment can help protect your hearing.

♥SAFETY

            Jesus stated: "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:47-49; Holy Bible, NKJV, 1982)

            We keep adequate lighting in halls and stairways, and we mark the bottom and top step with a bright colored strip to avoid falls on stairways. We do not allow children to play on stairs or banisters, and we install a gate at the top and bottom of each stairway to protect small children from falling until they are able to climb stairs safely. We install handrails on all stairways, and we use carpeting or stairmats on stair surfaces so stairs are nonskid. We use slippers on feet when walking up or down stairs, and we keep clothing, toys, and books off of steps to avoid tripping. We also fasten rugs firmly to the floor, avoid highly waxed floors, keep extension cords safely out of the way, wipe up spills promptly, replace worn carpets, and keep mats at doorways to avoid tripping.  We keep a bath mat with a non skid bottom on the bathroom floor and we install grab bars in the tub and shower to prevent falls related to bathing. We use a sturdy light stepladder to avoid falling when getting something from a high shelf instead of standing on chairs or other furniture.
            To protect against outdoor falls, we put put bright lights over all porches and walkways, we install handrails on both sides of the stairs, we put ladders away on their sides in a shed or garage, and we fix broken or chipped steps and walkways as soon as possible. We also keep sidewalks and paths clear to avoid tripping. For outside work, we use an unpainted wood ladder of good quality. We use great care when using a metal ladder near electric wires. We make certain that the footing for the ladder is solid and not slippery. We do not place the top of the ladder against any surface that can crumple. We never allow children to climb on ladders or play near a ladder that someone is using. We assist our older relatives with home safety to protect them from unnecessary falls.

         Poisoning.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Centers For Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention (3/18/2008) provides the following facts about poisoning: Unintentional poisoning is second only to motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. Children, adolescents, and adults are all affected by unintentional poisoning. More than 23,000 unintentional poisoning deaths occurred in the United States in 2005. Almost all of them were due to drugs. The poisoning death rate has been rising in the U.S. in recent years. An estimated 703,702 patients were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments in 2006 for unintentional poisonings. Almost 25% required hospitalization or transfer for a higher level of care. In 2006, poison control centers reported about 2.4 million incidents where people were exposed to poison. About 85% of these exposures were unintentional, and more than 92% occurred in the home. Just over half the poison exposures reported to poison control centers affect children younger than six years; exposures in this group commonly involve cosmetics and personal care products, cleaning substances, pain relievers, topical medications, foreign bodies, cough and cold preparations, and plants. Adult exposures often include pain relievers, sedatives, or cleaning substances. 
          The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Centers For Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, (3/13/2008) provides the following safety tips to prevent poisoning (adapted from the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ poison prevention tips for children and adults):     
Drugs and Medicines

• Follow directions on the label when you give or take medicines. Read all warning labels. Some medicines cannot be taken safely when you take other medicines or drink alcohol.
• Turn on a light when you give or take medicines at night so that you know you have the correct amount of the right medicine.
• Keep medicines in their original bottles or containers.
• Never share or sell your prescription drugs.
• Keep opioid pain medications, such as methadone, hydrocodone, and oxycodone, in a safe place that can only be reached by people who take or give them.
• Monitor the use of medicines prescribed for children and teenagers, such as medicines for attention deficit disorder, or ADD (SAMHSA 2006).
• Dispose of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs.  Follow the federal guidelines for how to do this. (ONDCP 2007).

Household Chemicals and Carbon Monoxide

• Always read the label before using a product that may be poisonous.
• Keep chemical products in their original bottles or containers. Do not use food containers such as cups, bottles, or jars to store chemical products such as cleaning solutions or beauty products.
• Never mix household products together. For example, mixing bleach and ammonia can result in toxic gases.
• Wear protective clothing (gloves, long sleeves, long pants, socks, shoes) if you spray pesticides or other chemicals.
• Turn on the fan and open windows when using chemical products such as household cleaners.
• Read the carbon monoxide poisoning prevention guidelines.

 
Keep Young Children Safe from Poisoning

• Put the poison control number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every home telephone and save it on your cell phone. The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Keep all drugs in medicine cabinets or other childproof cabinets that young children cannot reach.
• Avoid taking medicine in front of children because they often copy adults.
• Do not call medicine “candy.”
• Be aware of any legal or illegal drugs that guests may bring into your home. Do not let guests leave drugs where children can find them, for example, in a pillbox, purse, backpack, or coat pocket.
• When you take medicines yourself, do not put your next dose on the counter or table where children can reach them.
• Never leave children alone with household products or drugs. If you are using chemical products or taking medicine and you have to do something else, such as answer the phone, take any young children with you.
• Do not leave household products out after using them. Return the products to a childproof cabinet as soon as you are done with them.
• Identify poisonous plants in your house and yard and place them out of reach of children or remove them.
• Read how to prevent lead poisoning.

What to do if a poisoning occurs

1. Remain calm
2. Call 911 if you have a poison emergency and the victim has collapsed or is not breathing. If the victim is awake and alert, dial 1-800-222-1222. Try to have this information ready:

• the victim’s age and weight
• the container or bottle of the poison if available
• the time of the poison exposure
• the address where the poisoning occurred 

3. Stay on the phone and follow the instructions from the emergency operator or poison control center.
                     "...It is an unruly evil, full of evil poison" (James 3:8). We read the labels of the products we use in our home so we know what products in our home are poisons. If the label has the words "Caution", "Warning", "Poison" or "Danger", we keep the product out of the reach of children and we lock the product away. We follow the directions on the label when using a dangerous product.
            We prevent poisoning by drugs and medications by using the following precautions: we follow the directions for use; we carefully measure doses and track medicine given/received; we never refer to medication as candy to children; we never remove medications from their original containers and transfer them to unlabeled or mislabeled receptacles; we keep original labels intact; we inspect the label or directions several times before taking any drug or giving it to a child; we discard remaining, unused medicine when an illness ends for which it was prescribed; we insist upon "childproof" caps; we keep all drugs away from small children by locking cabinets that contain medications; we take all medicines and medical supplies out of purses, pockets, and drawers and put them in a cabinet with a child safety lock; and we keep each family member's medicines in a separate place, so they don't get mixed up.
            We prevent poisoning by household chemicals, such as cosmetics, drain openers, toilet bowl cleaners, floor and wall cleaners, furniture polishes, soaps and detergents, ammonia, aerosols, paint removers, car fluids, lawn and garden products, and pesticides by using the following precautions: we store chemical products securely in locked cabinets where children can not reach them, we never rebottle or repackage chemical products, we clean up spills involving dangerous products as soon as they happen, we close the lids and put all toxic products away immediately after using them, we never store toxic products near foods and drinks, we are especially careful with products that have fruit shown on the label which could easily be confused as being edible, we avoid overbuying of substances used only occasionally, we never leave the room even for a minute while using a household product that may be poisonous because a child may ingest some of the product.
          Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a deadly gas that you cannot see or smell. The gas collects when fuels are burned. We have a service person check heaters, stoves and fireplaces every year to see that they work well. We have a carbon monoxide (CO) detector near the bedrooms to let us know if the gas level is too high. We push the "test" button on the detector so everyone in the family will know the sound it makes. We never run a motor or vehicle engine inside an attached garage, as deadly carbon monoxide can enter the home this way. We use portable generators and barbecue grills outside only and not in the home or garage.
            We avoid poisoning by plants and berries by using the following precautions: we never eat any plant or berry not known to be safe food; we keep all unknown plants and berries away from small children; we learn to recognize poisonous plants and berries; we eradicate poisonous plants and berries from our backyards; and we teach our children never to eat any unknown plant or berry in case they encounter poisonous plants in their own backyard or be tempted by them on hiking trips.

Cigarette Lighters and Matches

Each year more than 200 deaths are associated with fires started by cigarette lighters. About two thirds of these result from children playing with lighters. Most of the victims are under five years old.

Recommendations:

• Keep lighters and matches out of sight and out of the reach of children. Children as young as two years old are capable of lighting cigarette lighters and matches.
• Never encourage or allow a child to play with a lighter or to think of it as a toy. Do not use it as a source of amusement for a child. Once their curiosity is aroused, children may seek out a lighter and try to light it.
• Always check to see that cigarettes are extinguished before emptying ashtrays. Stubs that are still burning can ignite trash.

Materials That Burn

Your home is filled with materials and products that will burn if ignited. Upholstered furniture, clothing, drapery fabrics, and liquids such as gasoline and volatile solvents are involved in many injury-causing fires each year. Most of these fires could be prevented.

Upholstered Furniture

In 1989, there were 18,600 residential fires associated with upholstered furniture; about 900 people lost their lives. About one half of these fires were caused by smoking materials. Property losses amounted to over $ 100 million from fires started by cigarette ignition of upholstered furniture.

Recommendations:

• Look for furniture designed to reduce the likelihood of furniture fire from cigarettes. Much of the furniture manufactured today has significantly greater resistance to ignition by cigarettes than upholstered furniture manufactured 10 to 15 years ago. This is particularly true of furniture manufactured to comply with the requirements of the Upholstered Furniture Action Council's (UFAC) Voluntary Action Program. Such upholstered furniture may be identified by the gold colored tag on the furniture item. The legend on the front of the tag in red letters states "Important Consumer Safety Information from UFAC."
• Always check the furniture where smokers have been sitting for improperly discarded smoking materials. Ashes and lighted cigarettes can fall unnoticed behind or between cushions or under furniture.
• Do not place or leave ashtrays on the arms of chairs where they can be knocked off.

• Look for fabrics made predominantly from thermo-plastic fibers (nylon, polyester, acrylic, olefin) because they resist ignition by burning cigarettes better than cellulosic fabrics (rayon or cotton). In general, the higher the thermoplastic content, the greater the resistance to cigarette ignition.

Mattresses and Bedding

Smoldering fires in mattresses and bedding materials caused by cigarettes are a major cause of deaths in residential fires. In 1989 over 35,000 mattress/bedding fires caused about 700 deaths.

Recommendations:

• DO NOT smoke in bed. Smoking in bed is a major cause of accidental fire deaths in homes.
• Locate heaters or other fire sources three feet from the bed to prevent the bed catching on fire.
• Consider replacing your old mattress with a new one if you are a smoker. Mattresses manufactured since 1973 are required to resist cigarette ignition.

Wearing Apparel

Most fibers used in clothing can burn, some more quickly than others. A significant number of clothing fires occur in the over 65 age group principally from nightwear (robes, pajamas, nightgowns). In 1989 about 200 clothing fire deaths were reported; about three fourths occurred in the 65 and older age group. The severity of apparel burns is high. Hospital stays average over one month.

Small open flames, including matches, cigarette lighters, and candles are the major sources of clothing ignition. These are followed by ranges, open fires and space heaters. The most commonly worn garments that are associated with clothing ignition injuries are pajamas, nightgowns, robes, shirts/blouses, pants/slacks and dresses.

Recommendations:

• Consider purchasing fabrics such as 100% polyester, nylon, wool and silk that are difficult to ignite and tend to self extinguish.
• Consider the flammability of certain fabrics containing cotton, cotton/polyester blends, rayon, and acrylic. These are relatively easy to ignite and burn rapidly.
• Look at fabric construction. It also affects ignitability. Tight weaves or knits and fabrics without a fuzzy or napped surface are less likely to ignite and burn rapidly than open knits or weaves, or fabrics with brushed or piled surfaces.
• Consider purchasing garments that can be removed without having to pull them over the head. Clothes that are easily removed can help prevent serious burns. If a garment can be quickly stripped off when it catches fire, injury will be far less severe or avoided altogether.
• Follow manufacturer's care and cleaning instructions on products labeled "flame resistant" to ensure that their flame resistant properties are maintained.

Flammable Liquids

One of the major causes of household fires is flammable liquids. These include gasoline, acetone benzene, lacquer thinner, alcohol, turpentine, contact cements, paint thinner, kerosene, and charcoal lighter fluid. The most dangerous of all is gasoline.

Recommendation:

• Take extra precautions in storing and using flammable liquids, such as gasoline, paint thinners, etc. They produce invisible explosive vapors that can ignite by a small spark at considerable distances from the flammable substance. Store outside the house.

EARLY WARNING AND ESCAPE

Many fire deaths and fire injuries are actually caused by smoke and gases. Victims inhale smoke and poisonous gases that rise ahead of the flames. Survival depends on being warned as early as possible and having an escape plan.

Recommendations:

• Purchase a smoke detector if you do not have one. Smoke detectors are inexpensive and are required by law in many localities. Check local codes and regulations before you buy your smoke detector because some codes require specific types of detectors. They provide an early warning which is critical because the longer the delay, the deadlier the consequences.
• Read the instructions that come with the detector for advice on the best place to install it. As a minimum detectors should be located near bedrooms and one on every floor.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions for proper maintenance. Smoke detectors can save lives, but only if properly installed and maintained.
• Never disconnect a detector. Consider relocating the detector rather than disconnecting it if it is subject to nuisance alarms, e.g. from cooking.
• Replace the battery annually, or when a "chirping" sound is heard.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions about cleaning your detector. Excessive dust, grease or other material in the detector may cause it to operate abnormally. Vacuum the grill work of your detector.

Escape Plan

Planning ahead, rehearsing, thinking, and acting clearly are keys to surviving a fire. How prepared are you?

Recommendations:

• Establish advanced family planning for escape. It is an important partner with smoke detectors and it will prepare you for a fire emergency.
• Include small children as a part of the discussion and rehearsal. It is especially important to make sure they understand that they must escape; they can't hide from fire under a bed or in a closet.
• Your life and that of your family can be saved by foresight, planning, discussing and rehearsal.

            To avoid starting a fire, we use electrical equipment properly and we do not plug in too many appliances at once. If a fuse blows, we determine the cause of the blown fuse, and we call an electrician if the cause cannot be found. We never use a coin as a temporary measure. If a hot spot is discovered in the wall and there is no heating or plumbing line running in that location, we suspect an electrical problem and call an electrician.
            When purchasing a kitchen range, we make sure it bears the seal of the American Gas Association, or for electrical ranges, the UL seal. We always keep gas burners clean and free from spilled food. We have the burners adjusted by a professional if the flame is yellow and flickering instead of blue and upright. We never disregard the smell of gas; if the odor is strong, we open the windows, get out of the house, and call the gas company from a neighbor's telephone. On the way out, we do not turn on any switches, pull out electric plugs, or light a match due to the danger of an explosion.

            We keep a fire extinguisher with a UL or FM label with instructions for use on each floor of the home, and we check the dial on the equipment periodically to be certain that it still has sufficient pressure to be useful in an emergency. We learn how and when to use a fire extinguisher. For additional fire prevention and control, we install fire and smoke detectors on every level of the home inside or near every bedroom and we test the equipment monthly to make sure they work. We put new batteries in the smoke alarms once a year. For best detection and notification protection, we install both ionization and photoelectric type smoke alarms. Some models provide dual coverage. The type will be printed on the box or package. We consider having a home fire sprinkler system installed in a new home or during remodeling. We make a fire escape plan for our family to use in a fire or smoke emergency that includes a method of escape for each member of the household and a designated place outside the house for family members to meet, and we practice the plan at least twice each year. We post fire instructions and emergency telephone numbers in clear view of children and adults near the telephone. If a small home fire cannot be put out quickly with water or fire extinguishers, we get out as fast as possible, and we make sure that everybody else in the house gets out too. We do not stop to collect personal belongings. If the exit is more than a few steps away, we crawl instead of walking or running to avoid asphyxiation from carbon monoxide and smoke poisoning. Once we get out of the home, we stay out and do not go back inside for any reason. We call 9-1-1 from a neighbor's phone to request assistance from the fire department. "above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one" (Ephesians 6:16).