Is It Time to Accelerate Bequests?
by Robert F. Sharpe, Jr.
For the last several years, unprecedented reductions in federal gift and estate taxes have altered the charitable gift planning landscape. While transfer taxes were once a concern to a sizeable number of taxpayers, current exemption levels mean that such taxes now affect only a small percentage of the wealthiest Americans.
Consider 2012, the most recent year for which both Internal Revenue Service and national death statistics are available. In that year, some 2.54 million Americans passed away. Of that group, just 8,423 estates exceeded the $5.12 million threshold for gift and estate tax exemptions and only 3,738 estates actually owed taxes. This means that 99.9 percent of decedents in 2012 weren't subject to federal transfer taxes.
While 19 states and the District of Columbia also impose estate or inheritance taxes, just 38 percent of Americans live in these jurisdictions. The states that don't impose these taxes include a number of highly populous ones that are also home to many of the wealthiest Americans— states such as California, Florida and Texas.
What does this mean for those working with donors who are planning to make larger gifts to be completed now and in future years? Is tax planning no longer a relevant consideration for those considering large gifts as part of their estate and financial planning? Let's explore this question.
First, the majority of charitable estate gifts have always come from those who base these decisions on more than simply the desire to reduce taxes. The act of naming a charity in an estate plan—and, in effect, raising it to the level of a family member—requires a great deal of donative intent. Remember that estate taxes are not 100% and family members will always receive more if no charitable gifts are included, whether or not estate taxes are due.
Nevertheless, taxes are a valid consideration for many when planning an estate gift. Wealthier donors who are interested in making the greatest possible impact should take a comprehensive look at a gift in light of current estate and gift tax laws.
In some cases, it may be appropriate for a development officer to broaden the discussion with a donor or advisor to include other tax issues and concerns, such as the desire to reduce income and capital gains taxes, protect assets, provide income for oneself and/or loved ones and ensure other desirable outcomes that can result from more thoughtful gift planning.
Charitably-minded individuals will often say they wish they could give more than they feel they should. The reasons they don't make these gifts typically revolve around a number of common concerns, including fears they'll die before taking care of loved ones, they may outlive their resources or they may suffer a debilitating illness or economic reversal. These reasons often lead donors to decide to defer a gift until the end of their lifetime.
Fortunately, a number of charitable gift planning tools can make these seemingly impossible gifts possible. Examples are charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, pooled income funds and gifts of real property with the use retained by a donor for life or other period of time. In many cases, "accelerating" bequests through the use of common gift planning tools such as these can result in immediate tax benefits that often largely replace the estate tax savings that for many no longer exist.
Take the case of 79-year-old William, a childless widower with $4.5 million in assets. He's planning to leave $4 million to his nieces and nephews and the remainder of his estate, estimated at $500,000, to a charitable interest he has supported for most of his life. In today's tax environment, this $500,000 bequest would result in no federal estate tax savings for William.
William owns securities worth $500,000 with a cost basis of $150,000. These securities yield dividends of just 1 percent, or $5,000 per year. A sale to diversify these holdings may result in capital gains taxes of as much as $52,500 at the federal level and possibly more in state taxes. He is understandably reluctant to sell and diversify these assets.
What alternatives might he consider? If he were to fund a 5 percent charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) using the appreciated securities, his income would increase from $5,000 to $25,000 the first year. No capital gains tax would be due at the time he funds the trust, and the trust, as a tax-exempt entity, won't be liable for tax on future capital gains as they are realized.
Given his age and a current federal discount rate of 2 percent (June 2015), William would be entitled to an immediate charitable income tax deduction equal to 65 percent of the amount transferred, or $331,000. In his 28 percent tax bracket, this alternative could save him over $93,000 in federal and state income taxes over a period of as long as six years, depending on a number of factors.
From William's perspective, he has increased his spendable income while enjoying capital gains and income tax savings that could exceed $140,000 over time.
While he can't recover the funds in the trust, these assets are also beyond the reach of creditors or those who might take advantage of him in later years. The charity that is the remainder beneficiary will enjoy the knowledge that it will benefit from the remainder of the trust and will receive the funds unburdened by the expense and delay of probate. William also likes the fact that the charity will have an interest in overseeing the work of those managing the trust because of their interest in the value of the remainder when it is received.
This is another consideration that is of interest to William's asset managers. The trust offers the ability to diversify assets on a tax-free basis inside the trust while they continue to actively manage the assets for the remainder of his life.
It's also possible that William may decide at a future point that he no longer needs the income from the trust. In this case, he could give up his right to all or a portion of his remaining income interest and allow his gift to fully or partially come to fruition during his lifetime. He would then enjoy additional tax savings as a result of this decision.
Robert F. Sharpe, Jr. is Chairman of Sharpe Group.


text:
Solas ArticlesJack Miller on Prayer
Jack Miller on Prayer
Date Published 11th January 2021 11th January 2021
At Solas, we often say that while proclaiming and defending the gospel is our method; everything we do depends on prayer for its power and fruitfulness. As we start into this New Year, we want to focus our minds on prayer, that this coming year will not just be busy, but productive!
The first person I ever saw doing evangelism in a restaurant/cafe type setting was C. John "Jack" Miller. He was visiting a church in Danbury in Essex, with a team from New Life Church, Glenside. They booked an Indian restaurant for the afternoon, and we invited people from the town in for food, and Jack spoke. It was an amazing thing to watch, as was the way in which he responded to people's questions at the end. Those were great times. Jack Miller's very fruitful ministry was undergirded by a remarkable commitment to prayer. What follows is an extract from one of his books, which we have been given permission to publish here. It describes the way in which the prayer life of his church was transformed. It's a longer read than most of our articles, but is well worth the investment, Pour yourself a coffee, find a comfortable chair and learn from Jack Miller.
(-ed)
THE PRAYING LOCAL CHURCH
As I drove up to the church building in our California city that Wednesday evening, I wasn't surprised to see the parking lot empty. I was usually the first person to arrive for prayer meeting. A few moments later I was arranging chairs and reviewing my thoughts for the evening's Bible study.
But after waiting about ten minutes, I became puzzled. Usually Maria was here by this time, and Tom and Mary, and Brian. Our midweek prayer meeting was never large, but we always had at least a small group turn out. I glanced again at my watch. It was ten to eight! Twenty minutes had gone by and I was still alone. At eight o'clock I went to look at the parking lot. There was not a single car to be seen.
With a sinking feeling, I made my way back to the prayer room. Obviously no one was coming. What had happened? Who killed the prayer meeting?
Several people over the previous year had not exactly helped build it. One brother sometimes argued with me over details of the Bible study. Another probably prayed too long during the prayer time. But as I struggled with questions, I sensed a disturbing answer pushing forward into the light. It was: "You killed the prayer meeting!"
I had killed the prayer meeting? That was an alarming thought. The pastor had done the prayer meeting to death? But if I as pastor had killed the prayer meeting, I did not have a clue as to how and why it had happened.
Turning from this dismal picture, I will share a second scene that has never left me. Ten years later I drove again into a church parking lot, this one belonging to a small country church in Pennsylvania that I was serving as pastor. It was in July 1971, and the lot was filled with cars. So many people were packed into the church basement that you could hardly enter the door or find a place to sit. We had to adjourn to the sanctuary to provide space for all the people.
On that night, four people made professions of faith, lives of believers were changed, and a carload of passing teenagers stopped to see what all the excitement was about at this once sleepy church.
"What's happening, what's going on?" their leader asked. "I've driven by here many times, but I've never seen this kind of action. What's up?"
This teenager was the president of the student council at a local high school, a fine student, and an outstanding athlete-and secretly addicted to drugs. A few weeks later someone sent him some evangelistic literature through the mail, and he surrendered his life to Christ and became active in our prayer meeting.
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
What made the difference between the prayer meeting that failed and the one that came alive? The earlier gathering lacked the touch of the power of God. In the second one the King was present, moving, working, and leading. It was His meeting. He had graciously chosen to be present and to glorify Himself by changing us and answering our prayers.
Seen from the human side, people came to the prayer meeting because they expected God to work in their lives. They expected to know God better for having come, and they were convinced that He was ready to answer their prayers. I cannot remember their being disappointed. Each week we heard reports of prayers being answered and lives changed. One thing really brightened up the meetings: it was not unusual for the unconverted people we had prayed for a few weeks before to become Christians and begin to attend the prayer meetings. Sometimes people were converted during the Wednesday meeting itself.
Much of the change, thought was in me and in my view of the Holy Spirit. My understanding of God and His commitment to supply the Holy Spirit was shallow and intellectualistic. I was especially afraid of anything in worship or prayer that might be emotional or what I saw as "spooky." At bottom, it was a matter of trust. I relied heavily-sometimes almost entirely-on my mind as a Christian thinker and on my hard work as a pastor. Prayer and what the apostle Paul calls "the fellowship of the Spirit" were "dispensable supplements" for me as a pastor. What really mattered for me was frequent and regular visiting of people, studying the Bible carefully, preaching biblical truths with contemporary relevance, and often using the media to publicize the programs of our local church. In all this I had a naïve confidence that biblical truths clearly expressed would almost automatically change lives.
Fortunately a second failure eventually did a great deal more to clear the cobwebs from my busy pastoral brain. Elsewhere in this book I have told about it-my humbling struggle with an overwhelming sense of defeat in the spring of 1970, and my subsequent intense study of the promises of God. I still valued clearheaded thinking about the Bible and intense pastoral labour. But I began, haltingly but really, to give up my confidence in any human adequacy and my own abilities. I tried to rely more exclusively on "prayers and the supply of the Spirit" (Phil. 1:18 MILLER) for the power to serve Christ effectively.
Increasingly I saw myself as a desperately needy person, like the man who goes to his friend at midnight and says, "I have nothing" (Luke 11:6). Before this, my problem in praying was that I had something-namely, reliance on myself, my training, my study, and my work. But the man at midnight has no bread for himself or for others. In his total need he forgets all sense of dignity. The standard translations of verse 8 speak of the man's "persistence," but that is hardly what the original language indicates. A better translation would be "shamelessly persistent" or even "shamelessly pushy." Once I began to pray boldly like this man in my hunger for God and His help, He began to impart to me in a new way the presence of the Holy Spirit.
And that is the whole point of this passage that compares bread and food to the Holy Spirit. God promises in Luke 11 :13: "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" What came home to me with power is the centrality of the Spirit's working for all of the Christian life and service. In my need I came to appreciate what Herman Bavinck stresses in his excellent essay "The Gift of the Spirit. " 1 He says that all the promises of Scripture-for protection, health, daily physical bread, etc. find their root in the one supreme promise: the commitment of the risen Christ to impart the Holy Spirit as the power source for the church in answer to prayer.
In practice this meant for me that I began to pray for the Spirit's presence to be with almost everything I did. I especially began to pray with "shameless boldness" for His working in our prayer meeting. I also prayed for each person who was likely to come, for anyone who had a part in leading the prayer meeting, and for my own leadership during the prayer time. I asked God to give us His Spirit that we would know how to pray, that our hearts would be surrendered to His missionary will, and that we would leave the prayer meeting freed of guilt and fear and ready to witness fearlessly for Christ. In brief, my plea, based on the promise of the Spirit given in Luke 11: 13, was for Him to meet with us and change us into a community of faith working through love. Frequently I asked the Father to visit us with His Spirit to equip us with three things:
His self-forgetting love for others
His wisdom for praying specifically and intelligently
his boldness for prayer and risk-taking witness
TWO KINDS OF PRAYER MEETINGS: MAINTENANCE OR FRONTLINE?
This prayer meeting in Pennsylvania was intended to function as a frontline battle station. the earlier meeting in California was largely designed to maintain the existing life and ministry of our congregation. Believers came to the earlier meeting to be edified by a Bible study that took up most of the hour and to pray for the internal needs of the church. Expectancy seemed to be at a low ebb among the attenders, evidenced by the fact that none of us bothered to keep a record of prayers offered and answered. I also do not think that Christians came to this prayer meeting expecting to meet God in a life-changing encounter.
By contrast, people came to the frontline prayer meeting to be changed. They discovered what Augustine has emphasized, that man's chief need is to fellowship with God, to find fulfilment in Him, and to experience the abiding presence of Jesus (Pss. 27:4; 36:7-9; John 14:18–23; 15:1-10). So they came to be changed, and they were changed because Jesus kept His promise to be wherever two or three gather in His name (Matt. 18:19-20}. From Him they received grace to confess and forsake their sins, to be touched with His compassion for the lost, and to go forth to "put feet on their prayers" through witnessing by words and deeds of love.
Speaking of maintenance-style prayer meetings, Steve Harper says bluntly that "they are not really prayer meetings." In his useful little book Prayer Ministry in the Local Church, he concludes, "They are usually Bible studies with five minutes of prayer tacked on at the end. " 2 Ours in California actually was given to prayer, but its conception and format were designed more to preserve the status quo of the inward-looking church than to break down its rigidities. By contrast, the frontline prayer assembly has a revolutionary purpose. The prayer of those who attend it is summarized in the words "Thy kingdom come." Their Spirit-imparted desire is to see the power of God's kingdom revealed and to see the social segregation of the turned-in church replaced by a welcoming community of faith and love. Such a frontline prayer meeting becomes itself an expression of kingdom power when the following conditions are met:
Faith/expectancy: A minimum of two or three believers gathered together to devote themselves to prayer and confidently claim Jesus' promise to be present with them (Matt. 18:20; Acts 1:13-14; 2:42).
Oneness of purpose: A seeking of "agreement" {Matt. 18:19) or "one-mindedness" (Acts 1 :14; 2:1; 4:24; Rom. 15:5-6) on key subjects for prayer.
Authority: A humble but bold claiming of the authority of Jesus' name in making requests of the Father (Matt. 18:20; John 15:16; 16:24).
Commitment: A surrender to the will of Christ as revealed in the Great Commission, and a willingness to take "risks" in obeying that will (Acts 1-4).
You can see more clearly what this kind of prayer involves in practice when you consider the content and format of a typical frontline prayer meeting. For example, in 1971 one of our prayer meetings might have had the following order and elements in it:
Opening-reading a promise concerning the Holy Spirit from John 7:37-39, singing several "singable" songs exalting Christ, praying for the Spirit's presence;
Testimonies of answers to prayer and thanksgiving, and opportunities to confess sins and claim the Father's forgiveness;
Reading and brief exposition of Matthew 18:19-20 on the nature of corporate prayer;
Agreement and prayer for key subjects-overseas missionaries, preaching of the Word on Sunday, unsaved friends and neighbours, seriously ill people, youth work and Sunday school;
Songs of praise for the answers anticipated;
Dividing up into small groups to pray for felt needs-fears and anxieties, family problems, employment, finances.
This prayer time would usually last almost an hour and a half, but the elders of the Chapel and I would stay around for at least another hour to help people "put feet on their prayers." One purpose of this follow-up time was to guide believers into avenues of service for Christ in the church and community. Later. when New Life Church was born in 1973, this after-period became a "commitment time" for mobilizing deacons for outreach to nursing homes and the poor and for stimulating sluggish Christians to reach out more boldly in witness. With our heads cleared by the evening of prayer, we often came to see much more clearly the needs of the community around us and to seek out spiritual gifts for ministering to these needs.
To build this kind of action-oriented prayer meeting, I personally invited all kinds of people to attend, something that I had not done with the earlier prayer meeting. I told them, "It's the best meeting in the church. Come and expect great things to happen." Those who responded were usually people who felt a need to know God better and were becoming teachable.
In the beginning I was most successful in persuading businessmen to come to pray, since they were often willing to be discipled by me. Eventually I sent almost all my counselling cases to this meeting. Next I zeroed in on the teenagers of the church, made friends with them, and shared with them my excitement over what God was doing Wednesday nights. Soon a dozen teenagers were attending. This was not cheap salesmanship, but persuasion issuing from the Spirit's building in me a biblical vision of the meaning and power of corporate prayer.
By the summer of 1971 I was absolutely convinced of the supreme importance of corporate prayer if the ingrown fellowship is to recover New Testament normalcy.3
I was equally convinced that a normal Christian life requires participation in corporate prayer. My earnestness and sincerity in these matters were certainly a gift of God and not arising from myself, but God graciously used His working in me to persuade others that group prayer activates revival in the church and missionary outreach; without it all Christian work limps and falters. 4 A major influence on my thinking in this regard has been Jonathan Edwards's essay "An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God's People, in Extraordinary Prayer, forthe Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom on Earth," Works (Worcester: Isaiah Thomas Jr., 1808), 3:355-494 5
STEPS FOR BUILOINO FRONTLINE PRAYER MEETINGS
What steps does the local church leader take to implement this kind of New Testament praying in the congregation? I wish to stress the importance of humility and patience with others when we are captivated by a new vision of what a frontline prayer meeting can do for the body. The leader can easily embrace a new conception of prayer and then outpace the congregation so that he has no one following when changes are introduced. So the first step in teaching about prayer is to become a better model yourself, in both private and corporate praying. For instance, have you faced up to the degree your own life and ministry drag because of prayerlessness? If you are the pastor of the church, do you pray for the congregation before you preach-and do you pray afterward for the effects of the Word to continue? Do you pray regularly through the church directory for every member of the church? Do you constantly give thanks before the church for the love of God revealed in the Cross?
To improve your practice of prayer, I can recommend no better helps than Charles H. Spurgeon's "Effective Prayer" and the account of J. 0. Fraser's praying in the well-known chapter 11 of Mrs. Howard Taylor's Behind the Ranges. Set a simple goal for yourself: not to give yourself and God any rest until you have taken into your own life the lessons on effective praying proposed by Spurgeon and Fraser.
The second step should be to deepen your knowledge of corporate prayer by the close study of prayer in Luke and Acts.
For rich insights into the subject, examine Harvie M. Conn's article "Luke's Theology of Prayer" in Christianity Today (December 22, 1972) and David Bryant's excellent book Concerts of Prayer. To appreciate the historical impact of corporate prayer, immerse yourself in J. Edwin Orr's book The Fervent Prayer, a survey of the effect on the churches of North America and the United Kingdom of prayer for revival by small groups.
The third step is to seize every opportunity to talk with others informally about frontline praying. Introduce them to great passages on prayer like Luke 11: 1-13 (the friend at midnight) and the pattern of group prayer followed by outreach action found in Acts 1-4. Then when you are with two or three Christians discussing these teachings, suggest that you pray right then and there along the lines indicated in Luke-Acts and in this chapter. Whenever you meet anyone with a need, encourage that person to pray with you for the felt need and then to reach beyond to pray for God to send revival to the church and to bring in a missionary harvest.
In his seminars on prayer, David Bryant stresses that every human need ought to be related to the missionary vision of the Scriptures. For example, he says that a Christian may have a felt need to lose weight, but the prayer for strength to diet is not answered because the motivation is self-centered; the person wants to look better for his or her own sake. But let the person change the motivation and ask God for grace to lose weight so as to glorify Him by becoming a more attractive and wholesome witness to Christ; then, Bryant believes, such God centred praying will prove to be more effective.
The fourth step is, if you are a pastor, to become more public in your teaching about prayer and in implementing changes in the programs of the church to give prayer its premier role. Preach a series of sermons on prayer, its nature and role in the normal church. Plan your pastoral prayers more carefully, and pray ahead of time that God will give you grace to speak for the congregation to Him, but doing so deeply aware of His presence rather than the presence of human beings. Arrange for more time to be devoted to prayer at the board meetings of the church.
Do not begin by making radical changes in the format of the traditional prayer meeting. Start by improving its quality. Reduce your Bible study to twenty minutes, but plan it so that it relates to prayer and the promises of God. In effect you are setting forth the principles of effective praying and have opened up at least fifteen additional minutes for the actual task of praying. Carefully plan beforehand how this time will be used by you and the people gathered for prayer.
Gradually make the changes in the format of the prayer meeting more thoroughgoing. Continually struggle in prayer yourself for wisdom to make the prayer meeting more God-centred and less problem-centred. You are in the toughest battle facing the Christian church. Prayer meetings constantly tend downward, to become either intellectualistic Bible studies or anxiety-sharing sessions where religious arguments break out. Christian people and their leaders are ready to do almost anything except get down to praying with power and authority in the name of Christ.
A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT: THE SPY IN THE HEART
By now you may feel overwhelmed by your own inadequacy in prayer. You may also conclude that your congregation does not have any frontline praying at all. But on this point you could make a grave mistake by overlooking the spy who lives in the heart of every believer. I am thinking of the Holy Spirit, who constantly labours in us to open us up to God's Word and will. We may be completely closed off to a line of biblical teaching and not know it, but then in our presumption we end up in situations in the church that threaten to swallow us up. At that time the Spirit begins to force questions upon us, probings from heaven that surface irresistibly in our minds. We may press these down, but the questions persist.
What we are experiencing is the Holy Spirit doing an "inside job" on us, opening doors and letting in truth that seems quite alien to us naturally. And this is always true of prayer. Prayer is always mysterious, partly alien, and to pray effectively is to break through what Richard Lovelace has called "invisible barriers." But released by the Spirit, we do learn to pray as individuals and as congregations. The Spirit is sovereign. Prayer is His gift, and He will succeed in teaching His church to pray.
You may not be the pastor in the local church. But all pacesetters can depend on the spy's living in their fellow Christians to open them up to the approach to prayer set forth in this chapter. You can begin by sharing literature on prayer with your pastor and other officers in the church. As you do, pray for the Spirit to be opening their minds to biblical teaching about corporate prayer and prayer based on the promises of Scripture. You can converse with them as to the meaning and application of the various passages on prayer that are found in Scripture. A leader of the Sunday school can stimulate interest in praying together at leadership meetings and foster the organization of an adult Sunday school class on prayer. You can either lead such a class yourself or select a carefully chosen leader who knows both how to teach on prayer and how to pray.
PRAYING FOR THE PASTOR
Most of all, you can make the pastor sense how much you are behind him by your prayers. I have found nothing more stimulating to my own prayers than knowing that members of the church are earnestly interceding with a heart of love for me and my work in the church and community. One woman in particular at the Chapel in the late sixties was a bridge leading me into the world of prayer. At first I was resistant when she prayed fervently for me and my ministry every Wednesday evening. Gradually this praying began to stimulate my faith, and I began to pray more for my own ministry.
Then, as my heart softened, this dear lady began to ask me questions. She queried me with a smile and without guile, "Since we call it a prayer meeting, wouldn't it be better to have a shorter Bible study on Wednesday evening and give more time to prayer?"
My response was somewhat confused. I asked, "Don't you like the Bible study?"
Her reply won my heart. "I love it. and I really am eager to see more people come to it. But maybe it could be on another night, so that on Wednesdays we could pray more." Gradually I began to devote more time on Wednesday evenings to prayer, and I focused the Wednesday Bible study itself on the promises as a basis for effective corporate prayer. Eventually I began a Bible study on Monday evenings, and as its attendance grew, many of the people who came to Christ because of it began coming to the prayer meeting on Wednesday evening.
I thank God for this faithful Christian woman who was a real pacesetter from God for me and our church. What she did 1 think most people can do. She prayed for me and the work with power and love. She did it in private, and she did it in my hearing on Wednesday evenings. She also gently entreated me to put the focus in the prayer meeting on praying and then exercised patience with me as I slowly responded.
FULL OF FAITH
Now accept a word of encouragement from the pastor who killed the prayer meeting. At the beginning we do not have to be full of faith. I certainly was not. Nonetheless, as we as leaders travel this path of corporate prayer, we will arrive at a place where we never expected to be, people full of faith, seeing God do mighty things through our prayers and labours. What we have always wanted will come to us as a gift of the King as we pray and as we lead others to pray with us.
It was about 1962 when the prayer meeting died under my inept leadership. More than a decade later when we were considering the beginning of New Life Church, we initiated a small prayer meeting in our home. As we claimed the promise of the Spirit's presence, we found ourselves gripped by the assurance that God was going to work. He did. Two of the people attending the prayer meeting came under conviction and gave their lives to the Lord. From that impetus we decided that it was clear the Holy Spirit was moving and that the King was beginning a harvest in our community.
It's enough to stir your faith to action!
List the key elements that lead to the decline or death of a prayer meeting.
List the key elements that lead to a prayer meeting's becoming a power source for renewal and missions.
Which elements listed under the first two questions are to be found in your local church prayer meeting or meetings?
Meet with two other people who attend this prayer meeting, and discuss with them weaknesses and strengths of the prayer time. Share with them several key ideas from this chapter and brainstorm on ways to make the prayer meeting more biblical.
Meet again with the two people mentioned above lo pray together for your church's regular prayer meeting.
Develop a simple plan for improving the prayer meeting. Include the following: Inviting new people to come; focusing a shortened Bible study on the promises; appointing a secretary to keep a record of requests and to report on them weekly; praying ahead of time for each person who is likely to attend; choosing hymns and songs that focus on the resurrection power of Christ.
BRUCE, A. B. "Lessons in Prayer," The Training of the Twelve. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 4th ed., n.d.
BRYANT, DAVID. Concerts of Prayer. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1984.
HALLESBY, 0. A. Prayer. Trans. by Clarence J. Carlsen. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1937.
ORR, J. EDWIN. The Fervent Prayer: The Worldwide Impact of the Great Awakening of 1858. Chicago: Moody, 1974.
SPURGEON, CHARLES HADDON. Effective Prayer. Grand Rapids: Evangelical Press, n,d.
Taken from Outgrowing the Ingrown Church by C. John Miller. Copyright © 1986 Zondervan
[Copyright Holder]. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com, and available here:
Herman Bavinck, "The Gift of the Spirit", Our Reasonable Faith, (Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans, 1956) pp386-403.
Prayer Ministry in the Local Church" (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976) p.45.
By this time I saw that the premier means by which we claim the power of the Spirit for witness is through the corporate prayer of the church. Striking evidence supporting this conclusion is seen in Pater's transformation after Jesus' resurrection. Before the resurrection he was the man who slept while Jesus prayed. But afterward he is "devoted to prayer" with the other disciples (Acts 1:13-14), and he is filled with extraordinary boldness in his preaching as a consequence of this commitment to corporate prayer (Acts 2:16–41).
evangelismJack MillerPrayerRenewalrevival

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Musharraf steps down as Pakistan army chief
By Zeeshan Haider
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - General Pervez Musharraf finally quit as Pakistan army chief Wednesday, trading the post for a second five-year term as president and fulfilling a promise many Pakistanis doubted he would keep.
He passed the baton of command to his hand-picked successor, General Ashfaq Kayani, at a ceremony at army headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, is to be sworn in as civilian president Thursday, having relinquished his position in the one institution that guaranteed his power.
"The system continues, people come and go, everyone has to go, every good thing comes to an end, everything is mortal," a tearful Musharraf told top brass and government leaders at the change-of-command ceremony.
The opposition parties of ex-prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif welcomed the resignation. They are both mulling their participation in a January 8 general election they say can't be fair under emergency rule that Musharraf imposed on November 3.
"It is a pleasant moment in the history of Pakistan. Now our army will get a full-time general as its leader," Bhutto told reporters in Karachi.
Musharraf's power and influence in the nuclear-armed country, which is key to the U.S. campaign against al Qaeda and its strategy in neighboring Afghanistan, are bound to be diminished. The question is by how much.
U.S. welcomes Musharraf decision to quit military
FACTBOX: Five facts on Pakistan's new army chief, Kayani
"Naturally, the support of the army, that's what has been vital," said a former army commander, Mirza Aslam Beg, who declined to take power when President Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq was killed in a 1988 plane crash.
Beg said he expected significant changes, beginning with more aggressive opposition demands to end emergency rule. Musharraf is due to address the nation Thursday and he could use the occasion to end the emergency.
U.S. President George W. Bush, who had been urging Musharraf to resign as military chief, was pleased by the move, but he urged Musharraf to end emergency rule before the election "in order to get Pakistan back on the road to democracy."
"He told me he would take off his uniform, and I appreciate that, that he kept his word," Bush said in an interview with
CNN.
Government officials said Musharraf's resignation would have no impact on efforts to combat terrorism.
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Pakistani stock investors also welcomed the resignation as a step toward stability. The major share index ended 0.63 percent up, boosted by talk the emergency was about to be lifted.
NEEDS SUPPORT
It has been a messy transition.
Musharraf had assured Washington that everything would be done according to the constitution, which obliged him to quit the army before the end of the year.
The trouble was he had to suspend the constitution, declare emergency powers and purge the Supreme Court to make it happen.
Otherwise the judges might have annulled his October 6 re-election by the outgoing parliament on the grounds that he contested it while still a serving officer.
How long he will be president will depend on the parliament that emerges from elections, particularly as Bhutto and Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in 1999, have been allowed back.
Musharraf will need support in what analysts expect to be a hung parliament. He could face impeachment over maneuvers to stay in power, which rivals say violated the constitution.
Ordinary Pakistanis welcomed Musharraf's departure from the army and some said it was time he left politics too.
"I think his role in Pakistani politics is ending now, and it's only a matter of time before he will be kicked out by the people, or by the army itself," said Abdul Aziz Khan, a retired banker in Karachi.
Musharraf's trump card remains the military, which backed his use of emergency powers. Having run the country for more than half of the 60 years since its creation in 1947, the military has an ingrained skepticism when it comes to civilian leaders.
The poker-faced, chain-smoking Kayani, well regarded by U.S. counterparts, is seen as loyal to Musharraf.
Musharraf has said that he expects Pakistan to be governed by a troika, made up of himself, Kayani and the new prime minister.
In those circumstances, it is unlikely a prime minister would go against Musharraf unless they were sure the army had come to regard him as a liability. That might require big street protests or a withdrawal of support from Washington.
Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; editing by Robert Birsel and Roger Crabb


text:
Der Sportplatz Leipzig war zwischen 1892 und 1936 die größte Sportanlage in Leipzig. Auf dem ehemaligen Areal des Sportplatzes befinden sich heute die Kleinmesse sowie teilweise das Trainingszentrum von RB Leipzig.

Geschichte

1891 gründete sich der Verein Sportplatz Leipzig mit dem Ziel, in der Stadt einen öffentlich zugänglichen Sport- und Turnplatz zunächst mit dem Schwerpunkt Radsport zu schaffen. Dabei sah sich der dieser weniger als Sportclub, sondern mehr als gemeinnützige Vereinigung. 1892 überließ Leipzig dem Verein pachtweise die sogenannte Gabel-Wiese in Lindenau, ein am westlichen Rand der Frankfurter Wiesen gelegenes Areal. Nördlich der heutigen Jahnallee war das Gelände durch die Kleine Luppe und einen Fahrdamm begrenzt, der 1905 zum Cottaweg ausgebaut wurde. Dazwischen verlief das Kuhburger Wasser, ein Nebenarm der Kleinen Luppe, der später während der Entstehung des Elsterbeckens stillgelegt wurde.

Im September 1892 wurde der Sportplatz eröffnet, zu diesem Zeitpunkt waren auf dem Gelände bereits eine große Radrennbahn mit Tribüne sowie mehrere kleinere Sport- und Spielplätze vorzufinden. Ein Jahr später wurde die Holztribüne der Radrennbahn durch ein Feuer zerstört, durch ein Darlehen der Stadt Leipzig konnte diese neu und größer wieder aufgebaut werden. 1899 und 1904 fanden Umbauten der Radrennbahn statt, so wurden beispielsweise die Kurven steiler gestaltet. Die Lindenauer Zement genannte und 500 Meter lange Bahn zählte zu den schnellsten Strecken Deutschlands, auf ihr wurden mehrere deutsche, Europa- und Weltmeisterschaften im Bahnradsport ausgetragen. 1901 fuhr Thaddäus Robl hier einen Stundenweltrekord heraus. Die Radrennbahn wurde in der Folgezeit auch für vielbesuchte Motorradrennen genutzt.

Der große Innenraum der Radrennbahn, zunächst das Wettspielfeld genannt, wurde seit Eröffnung des Sportplatzes für diverse Sportarten und -feste genutzt, bevor dafür teilweise eigene Anlagen auf dem Areal entstanden. Disziplinenübergreifend konnte hier Turnen und Leichtathletik betrieben werden, so fanden hier beispielsweise Qualifikationswettkämpfe deutscher Leichtathleten für die Olympischen Sommerspiele 1908 in London sowie zahlreiche Turnfeste zum Sedantag statt. Die ersten Hockeyspiele des Leipziger Sportclubs wurden ebenfalls hier ausgetragen wie ab den 1920er Jahren Boxwettkämpfe. In den Wintermonaten wurde das Wettspielfeld als öffentliche Eislaufbahn präpariert und diente außerdem als Trainingsstätte von Leipziger Eishockeyvereinen, in dieser Zeit stand für die Boxer ein eigenes Gebäude auf dem Gelände zur Verfügung.

Der erste Tennisplatz befand sich ebenfalls im Innenraum der Radrennbahn, aufgrund der der steigenden Popularität der Sportart entstanden weitere Anlagen, 1913 konnte man auf dem Gelände auf mehr als 40 Plätzen spielen. Die Anzahl ging in den folgenden Jahren aufgrund zahlreich entstandener Tennisplätze in Leipzig stark zugunsten anderer Spezialplätze stark zurück, im Jahr 1926 standen den Spielern nur noch 16 Plätze und ein Klubheim zur Verfügung. Mit hohen Zuschauerzahlen verbunden fanden ab 1893 Vorführungen und Wettbewerbe im Ballon- und Motorflugsport statt, durchgeführt vom Leipziger Verein für Luftfahrt. Dieser konnte auf dem Gelände noch einen Schuppen nutzen, um an den Fluggeräten zu arbeiten.

Der größte Fußballplatz auf dem Gelände wurde nach und nach zu einem Stadion ausgebaut, welches bis zu 20.000 Zuschauer fassen konnte und den damaligen internationalen Platzstandards entsprach. Diese Anlage übernahm den Namen Wettspielfeld von der Innenfläche der Radrennbahn. Mehrere Leipziger Fußballvereine, darunter der SV Lipsia 1893, der Leipziger Ballspiel-Club, der SC Wacker Leipzig und der VfB Leipzig – erster deutscher Fußballmeister – fanden auf dem Sportplatz ihre erste Heimstätten, bevor sie eigene Anlagen beziehen konnten. Zwischen 1897 und 1905 wurden auf dem Sportplatz durch den Verband Leipziger Ballspiel-Vereine mehrere regionale Meisterschaften ausgespielt. Das erste Länderspiel einer deutschen Nationalmannschaft in Leipzig fand am 17. November 1912 gegen die Niederlande auf dem Sportplatz statt (Endstand 2:3). Im Stadion und auf mehreren kleinen Trainingsplätzen wurde auch Feldhandball und Rugby gespielt.

Zwischen dem ehemaligen Kuhburger Wasser und dem heutigen Cottaweg befand sich zwischen 1905 und 1915 das Licht-, Luft-, Sonnen- und Sportbad des Vereins. Das fast 12.000 Quadratmeter große Gelände mit Liege- und Sitzmöglichkeiten, kleineren Wasserbecken sowie verschiedenen kleinen Sport- und Spielplätzen war ein beliebtes Freizeitziel der Leipziger Bevölkerung. Unabhängig vom eigentlichen Sportplatz konnte man sich gegen ein geringes Entgelt hier ganzjährig erholen (im Winter für die Abhärtung). Zeitweise besuchten täglich bis zu 3.000 Besucher die Anlage.

1925 hatte der Sportplatz Leipzig eine Gesamtfläche von etwa 180.000 Quadratmetern. 37 Fußball-, 14 Feldhandball-, 31 Hockey-, 3 Rugbymannschaften sowie 800 Leichtathleten und 300 Tennisspieler waren auf dem Platz nachweisbar. 718 offizielle Veranstaltungen fanden in jenem Jahr statt. Der Verein selbst hatte zu diesem Zeitpunkt fast 600 zahlende Mitglieder, die neben einem Jahresbeitrag auch mindestens einen Anteilschein zur Unterstützung des Sportplatzes erwerben mussten.

Zwischen 1898 und 1924 musste der Verein keine Pachtgebühren an Leipzig entrichten, trotzdem agierte der Verein zeitlebens in Schulden. 1926 veröffentlichte der Verein Sportplatz eine Denkschrift, um sich in die damalige geplante Neubebauung der Frankfurter Wiesen einzubringen. Laut dieser sollte der Platz komplett neu errichtet und flächenmäßig bis an das Elsterbecken erweitert werden. Neben zwei Stadien sollten eine große Sporthalle, ein Schwimmbad, ein Tennisstadion sowie kleinere Sportanlagen für Hockey, Fußball, Tennis, Turnen, Reiten und Schießen entstehen, finanziert durch Lotterien und Darlehenscheine. Das Gesamtkonzept fand durchaus Beachtung, der Leipziger Stadtbaurat Hubert Ritter übernahm Teile der Sportplatzpläne in seine Schrift Neue Stadtbaukunst. Leipzig. Im ebenfalls durch Ritter initiierten Generalbebauungsplan der Stadt Leipzig aus dem Jahr 1929 wurden die Pläne allerdings nicht mehr berücksichtigt. Im April 1935 wurde der eigentlich bis zum Jahr 1950 geltende Pachtvertrag mit dem Verein Sportplatz aufgelöst, weil die Leipziger Kleinmesse auf das Areal des Sportplatzes umziehen sollte, da auf deren bisherigem Gelände, dem sogenannten Messplatz an der Frankfurter Straße, ein Aufmarschfeld der NSDAP entstehen sollte. Mit Ausnahme der weiter genutzten Radrennbahn wurde der Sportplatz Anfang 1936 eingeebnet, im April des Jahres eröffnete dort die Kleinmesse.

Für das Jahr 1940 war in Leipzig die Gutenberg-Reichsausstellung geplant worden, die letztendlich kriegsbedingt nicht stattfinden sollte. Als Ausstellungsgelände war dafür das Kleinmessegelände ausgewählt worden. 1938 wurde der letzte Rest des Sportplatzes, die Radrennbahn, gesprengt. Kurz zuvor, am 21. September 1938, fand auf der Rennbahn der letzte Wettkampf statt, der Große Abschiedspreis der Steher mit internationaler Beteiligung.

Ausgeübte Sportarten auf dem Platz
 Bahnradsport
 Boxen
 Eishockey
 Feldhandball
 Feldhockey
 Fußball
 Leichtathletik
 Motor- und Ballonflugsport

 Motorsport
 Rugby
 Tennis
 Turnen

Literatur
 Denkschrift zur Erbauung des Leipziger Stadions, Hrsg.: Verein Sportplatz J.P. Leipzig 1926.
 Das Licht-, Luft- und Sportbad des Vereins Sportplatz Leipzig. In: Leipzig geht baden. Vom Pleißestrand zum Neuseenland. PRO Leipzig, Leipzig 2004, ISBN 978-3-936508-06-2, S. 50–51.
Thomas Nabert, Nannette Jackowski, Wolf-Dietrich Rost: Sportforum Leipzig. Geschichte und Zukunft, PRO Leipzig, Leipzig 2004, ISBN 978-3-936508-02-4, S. 12–81.
 Ulrich Krüger: Ein Platz für den Fußball. Die frühen Jahre des Leipziger Vereins Sportplatz. In: Leipziger Blätter (2006), Nr. 48, S. 66–68.
 Gabriele Klunkert: Die Leipziger Kleinmesse und ihre Stätten. Das Schicksal des Leipziger Volksfests im ersten Drittel des 20. Jahrhunderts. In: 100 Jahre Kleinmesse auf den Frankfurter Wiesen. 1907-2007, hrsg. vom Leipziger Schaustellerverein e.V. Passage-Verlag, Leipzig 2007, S. 18–25.
 Hans-Jürgen Berg: Von der Moritzburger Bahn zum "Lindenauer Zement". Verein Sportplatz baute das erste Leipziger Sportzentrum mit Radrennbahn. In: Sportmuseum aktuell. Zeitschrift des Fördervereins Sächsisches Sportmuseum Leipzig e.V. 17(2009), Nr. 1, S. 6–7.
Marko Kuhn: Sportanlage Cottaweg. Multitalent und Publikumsmagnet. In: Volker Rodekamp (Hrsg.): In Bewegung. Meilensteine der Leipziger Sportgeschichte (thema.M. 20). Leipzig 2018, ISBN 978-3-910034-80-8, S. 116–127.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Leipzig
Fußballstadion in Sachsen
Fußballstadion in Europa
Abgegangenes Bauwerk in Leipzig
Sportgeschichte (Sachsen)
Stadion in Leipzig
Erbaut in den 1890er Jahren
Zerstört in den 1930er Jahren
Ehemalige Veranstaltungsstätte in Sachsen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Russian President endorses Egyptian army chief's presidential bid, sparking outrage from the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday endorsed Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's undeclared bid to head his country, sparking outrage from the United States.
AFP reports that Putin's announcement was made as the two leaders negotiated a massive Moscow weapons deal.
Sisi came to Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy for talks aimed at securing Russian assistance - stagnant since the late Soviet era - that could replace subsiding support from Cairo's more recent ally Washington.
However, it was recently reported that Congress is prepared to allow U.S. President Barack Obama to restore $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt.
Putin told Sisi that he fully backed Egypt's new constitution and crucially made no mention of Cairo's crackdown on protests or the army-backed overthrow in July of Morsi.
"I know that you, mister defense minister, have decided to run for president of Egypt," Putin told Sisi in televised remarks quoted by AFP.
"I wish you luck both from myself personally and from the Russian people."
The 59-year-old Egyptian field marshal has not officially declared his presidential ambitions but is overwhelmingly expected to run in elections likely to be held before the end of April.
A Kuwaiti newspaper had quoted Sisi as saying last week that he felt obliged "to meet the demands of the Egyptian people" and run for head of state. The army later denied the report.
Sisi and Fahmy had earlier on Thursday met their Russian counterparts to negotiate a $2-billion arms deal the two sides initially discussed in Cairo in November, a month after Washington suspended the assistance to the Egyptian army over Morsi's ouster.
"Our visit offers a new start to the development of military and technological cooperation between Egypt and Russia," Sisi told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
"We hope to speed up this cooperation," he added.
Top officials revealed no details of Thursday's military discussions while signaling that both sides were interested in the speedy conclusion of a deal.
"It was decided to accelerate preparations on an intergovernmental agreement on military and technological cooperation," a joint statement released by the Russian foreign ministry after the talks said.
Responding to Putin's backing of Sisi, the State Department scolded Putin, saying it was up to the Egyptian people to decide who will be their leader.
"Of course we don't endorse a candidate and don't think it's, quite frankly, up to the United States or to Mr. Putin to decide who should govern Egypt," said State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf, according to AFP.
"It's up to the Egyptian people to decide," she added.
"It's not up (to) us to endorse a candidate, and really not up to anyone else outside of Egypt to either," Harf told reporters.


There are cultural givens (presuppositions the culture holds) that have damaged our views of children, family, and the exalted calling of motherhood. But the Bible can restore us to its givens and restore the family as God has purposed it to be.
Describe these cultural givens: Live is primarily about me; children are to help me fulfill myself; children are a liability.
Describe these Biblical givens: Life is primarily about serving others; children are a blessing from the Lord; motherhood is an exalted calling.
How do the Biblical givens help us understand the role of mothers?
What should you do with this Biblical perspective?
How should it impact or change your life?


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This is from early in Jack Lemmon's career. He had made three or four movies, including Mr. Roberts and It Should Happen to You (co-starring with Judy Holliday), but he hadn't really arrived as a big-time box office draw. The Apartment and Some Like it Hot were in his near future. This is one of those "service comedies" that were so popular in the '50s, that tended to make it look like war had been a lot of fun. So many guys had been in the military and knew the language and situations that I guess it was a guaranteed audience. I imagine their wives wanted to see what their men had experienced. These movies tended to take place in the rear areas, or involve an odd SNAFU, like Operation Petticoat or The Wackiest Ship in the Army. (Come to think of it, in any war, at least since WWII, more men serve in the rear areas than in combat zones.) Here Lemmon plays Pvt. Hogan (oddly enough, the same name he had in a movie we just saw: Under the Yum Yum Tree), one of those guys who knows how to get things done, one way or another, in war or peace. It takes place just post-war, and involves a bunch of mostly non-coms setting up a big party under the noses of the officers, and in particular an asshole major played very well by Ernie Kovacs. Hogan spends most of his time bamboozling the officers and ordering sergeants around. It reminded me of Ex-PFC Wintergreen in Catch-22, the man who was really calling the shots in the European Theater, no matter what the generals thought.


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Video Marketing – Creating engaging videos to help explain your products and to tell the story behind your business. These videos can also yield entertainment value.
Public Relations: Building relationships with journalists to gain media visibility. Also connect with top bloggers in your industry to contribute thoughts and content on behalf of your business.
Get a FREE online SEO Score! Website Audit!
Want to do even more research on SEO?
These are two of the best sites to read to get an appreciation of how search engines work and how you should be approaching SEO for your businesses website.


Spinal decompression is a non-surgical, non-invasive treatment for different neck and low back problems. A spinal decompression machine is computer-controlled, mechanized type of spinal traction. It is better than manual spinal traction because a spinal decompression system is more exacting and provides therapy that is consistently accurate.
What types of spine problems are treated?
Who cannot undergo this therapy?
Spinal decompression is administered on a special, padded table. Comfortable straps secure you to the table while computer technology administers your therapy. The computer calculates where and at what angle the spine's discs are distracted (gently pulled), the intensity, periods of relaxation, and therapy duration.
As the spine's discs are distracted, negative pressure is created between specific intervertebral discs and then, at relaxation, pressure is relieved. As distraction and relaxation modes are alternated, the discs pull in oxygen and nutrients essential to stimulate healing.
Many cervical (neck), and lumbar (low back) conditions are treated using a spinal decompression machine.
Although spinal decompression is safe for many patients, it is not appropriate for all patients with neck or back pain or problems. Similar to other treatments—like non-operative or surgical—your doctor's evaluation and diagnosis are essential.
This list above is not all inclusive. To find out if you are eligible for this therapy, please talk with your doctor.
The treatment is gradual and progresses according to the previous session. A total of 20 treatments over 4- to 6-weeks is recommended.
Stretching and strengthening your body's core—the ligaments and muscles that support your neck and back is important. Sometimes passive physical therapies such as moist heat or massage are administered.
We hope this information about spinal decompression machines has answered your immediate questions. Remember, your doctor is your most valuable source to answer your questions about spinal disorders, treatment and your healthcare.


The modern conservative movement is controlled by sociopaths.
Rush Limbaugh took to the air on AM Hate Radio to warn his listeners that Hurricane Florence is being overly hyped. In fact, the reason the media is sounding the alarm is, I kid you not, for political reasons.
Rush Limbaugh has claimed that forecaster's predictions that Hurricane Florence could have a devastating and potentially life-threatening effect when it batters the East coast has been exaggerated in order to "politicize" climate change.
"These things have become very politicized as you know, folks. Hurricanes and hurricane forecasting is much like much else that the left has gotten its hands on, and they politicize these things. For those of you asking, 'What's the politics of a hurricane?' Climate change is the politics of hurricanes. The forecast and the destruction potential doom and gloom is all to heighten the belief in climate change."
This is how a sociopath thinks. Never mind that Hurricane Florence is currently a Category 4 storm. Ignore the fact that it's barreling straight for the coast of North and South Carolina and that it's almost the size of both states combined. Don't worry that the Carolinas rarely get hit this hard so people don't really understand exactly how bad it can get, especially inland where they think it's safe. Nope, Rush is telling two red states full of his devoted listeners that the experts are full of crap.
But why? He knows it's not true. He knows how dangerous hurricanes are and how deadly it will be for states like the Carolinas (and southern Virginia). So why lie to his audience about it? Because to Limbaugh, like most of the leaders of the modern conservative movement, ideology is more important than the lives of the rubes they control.
This is why Republicans cut food stamps to the poor even though millions of the people affected will be their own voters. This is why the NRA floods our streets with guns even though we have more gun violence than any other industrialized nation. This is why the religious right pushes abstinence-only education knowing that it will increase disease, poverty, and misery. The lives of the people they manipulate are a secondary (at best) consideration to the ideology they serve.
Remember this when you go to vote in November. Republicans are willing to let people die in natural disasters just to score political points. That's a party that needs to be destroyed for the good of the nation.
Update: I completely forgot to mention that Limbaugh, as well as Ann Coulter, did this last year as well before Hurricane Irma made landfall. This is not an isolated incident. This is just who these people are.


SmallHD has upgraded the firmware of their line of monitors with a major league update that brings some new features, and fixes a few bugs. Just in time for the holidays.
I know, it's not strictly a holiday centric story, but I'm feeling a bit festive today. OS3.3 offers some features including autonomous calibration of your monitor without having to connect it to a computer, customized false color settings through IRE ranges, adding a battery percentage notification to keep track of your battery life, and a new spot meter for the Luma waveform utility.
Users of these models can download OS vs. 3.3 at SmallHD.com here.
While you're over there, check out SmallHD's 12 Days of FOCUS. In the lead to the holidays, SmallHD is going to be giving away one FOCUS camera monitor a day during the first twelve days of December. Since we're already at December 5, the FOCUS SDI models have all been given away. But you still have a chance at 3 FOCUS OLEDs and four FOCUS OLED SDIs.
All you need to do is head over to this webpage, and scroll down until you see the link to the form. It's about 3/4 the way down. Click on the link and answer a few quick questions, plus give your email information. Winners are being announced via Email and through Instagram Stories Each Day. Sweepstakes ends December 12th.


Estimates from 2014 suggest that fewer than 250 mature Cross River gorillas remain, making them the world's rarest great ape.
For a limited amount of time AFF will be supporting Tigers because they are living in the same areas Sumatran Orangutans and are facing the same problems.
Our animals are disappearing. We're changing that. And you can help!


A grand setting is the perfect backdrop for your dream home, creating an elegant mood and just the right ambiance.
Tuscany Reserve is comprised of just 58 exclusive custom homesites artfully arranged along winding streets, private cul-de-sacs and scenic parklands.
Like its namesake in Italy, loved for its rolling hillsides and old-world character, Tuscany Reserve is destined to be a special place.
Its desirable location, off Eight Mile Road, west of Beck Road in Novi, Michigan, is one of Metropolitan Detroit's most beautiful areas.


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The McConahay Building in Kansas City, Missouri is a two-story Tapestry Brick building designed by prominent Kansas City architect Nelle E. Peters in 1922.

From the building's completion (in May 1922) to June 1923 the McConahay building housed Laugh-O-Gram Films, Walt Disney's first commercial film studio, which occupied a five-room suite of studios on the second floor. Here, he developed the cartoon character Mickey Mouse based on resident mice that he trained. He frequently ate at the Forest Inn Cafe in the building's first floor.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.  The application for listing describes the building as "a fine local example of tapestry brick design architecture; exterior facades are of brickwork interspersed with cut stone and/or terra cotta blocks to form geometric designs".

Historical status generally protects buildings from demolition, but it had deteriorated to the point where this had been considered.  A local organization, Thank You Walt Disney, Inc., has acquired the building and is in the process of restoring it.

References

External links
 Thank You Walt Disney, Inc.

1922 establishments in Missouri
Commercial buildings completed in 1922
Buildings and structures in Kansas City, Missouri
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
National Register of Historic Places in Kansas City, Missouri
Laugh-O-Gram Studio


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1989: The Incredible Hulk Goes to Trial
May 7, 2012 | By Christy Slewinski
On this day in 1989, NBC presented The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, a telefilm featuring the key characters - and stars, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno - from the CBS series, The Incredible Hulk. In the film, which was directed by Bill Bixby, mild-mannered David Banner is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Banner's lawyer is none other than Matt Murdock, known to Marvel comic fans as Daredevil. Rex Smith co-starred as Daredevil, while John Rhys-Davies (of Indiana Jones fame) played Daredevil's nemesis, Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin. Legendary comic-book creator Stan Lee makes a cameo in the film, playing a jury foreman. Would the film fit into David Bianculli's recent "Un-Marvelous" round-up? Sadly, yes.


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Home/Latest News/What PDP said about Gov Wike on his 55th birthday anniversary
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) set aside the crisis currently rocking the party to celebrate with the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike on his birthday anniversary.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Governor Wike turned 55 on 13 December.
PDP in a statement released its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba described Wike as a courageous, passionate and visionary leader; and a very resourceful administrator and statesman.
The party prayed to the Almighty God to bless the Rivers State Governor with many more years in good health.
The statement reads in full: "The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congratulates the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Governor Nyesom Wike as he celebrates his birthday today.
"Governor Wike is a courageous, passionate and visionary leader; very resourceful administrator and statesman who remains committed in his roles towards the development of our dear nation, Nigeria.
"As a committed member of our great Party, the PDP, Governor Wike continues to excel in delivery of landmark and legacy projects in citizen empowerment, human capital and infrastructural development in line with the manifesto, policies and programmes of the PDP, for which he is celebrated across our country and beyond as 'Mr. Project".
"Our Party notes with pride how Governor Wike repositioned Rivers State with exceptional achievements in critical sectors including road development, electricity, oil and gas, transportation, education, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, security among others for which the Federal Government bestowed on him, the Distinguished Award in Infrastructure Delivery at the 2022 Nigeria Excellence in Public Service Award.
"The PDP celebrates Governor Wike on this special day and prays to the Almighty God to bless him with many more years in good health in the service of our country and humanity at large. Happy birthday, Your Excellency!"
Similarly, despite their political differences, the candidate of the PDP for the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, and his vice, Ifeanyi Okowa rejoiced with Governor Wike as he marked his birthday.
In his birthday wishes for Wike shared via Twitter, Atiku left it short and straight to the point.
"As you turn 55 today, I pray that all lines fall in pleasant places for you. Enjoy your special day," Atiku tweeted with graphics specially designed for the Rivers State Governor to mark the birthday.
As you turn 55 today, I pray that all lines fall in pleasant places for you. Enjoy your special day. -AA pic.twitter.com/c8FboHQ9ra
— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) December 13, 2022
Meanwhile, Okowa's birthday wishes for Governor Wike were contained in a statement released by his spokesperson, Olisa Ifeajika.
The statement reads: "The people of your state, the South-South and Nigerians are proud of your sterling and laudable accomplishments in the administration of Rivers.
"As you celebrate this year's anniversary of your birth, it is my prayer and that of the government and people of Delta that God grants you greater wisdom and good health to continue rendering service to Him and mankind".
Recall that Wike is having a running battle with Atiku and Okowa as well as the national leadership of the PDP in aftermath of the party's presidential primary election.
Since the Rivers Governor lost the PDP presidential primary in May and subsequently lost the vice presidential candidate slot as well, he has relentlessly attacked the integrity of both men, including the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
Wike's bitterness, from his several remarks, is that the next Nigerian president ought to come from the southern region, where he comes from since President Muhammadu Buhari is from the north.
Since the return of democratic rule in Nigeria on 29 May 1999, the choice of who becomes the country's president has been alternating between the North and the South.
55th anniversary birthday Gov PDP Wike
Former Lagos Governor's Son, Laolu Is Dead
Slain female BRT passenger, Bamise finally laid to rest in Lagos
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Blaze, shots heard from prison in Iran capital amid protests
Watch colourful moment Argentina lift 2022 World Cup trophy


Sometimes customers make mistakes and want to cancel the order. The module allows them to do so without communicating with the vendor.
Conditions can be defined for order cancellation.
Customers can cancel orders easily without contacting and waiting for the store owner to cancel it.


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The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #38 Star Wars HC
CBPG-HC-038B
(2008) Cover: Doug Wheatley
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is back with its 38th edition and it is packed with all sorts of details from the world of comics, including feature articles on the fabled DC ashcan comics, the Gaines file copies and the history of Star Wars in comics. The Guide remains the most complete listing of comics from the 1500s to the present.
(1982) Cover: Norman Mingo (featuring Bob Overstreet) In addition to pricing and market reports, this edition's feature articles include "Norman Mingo and...
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #38 Star Wars SC
(2008) Cover: Doug Wheatley The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is back with its 38th edition and it is packed with all sorts of details from the world of...
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #33 All Star #8 SC
(2003) Cover: John K. Snyder III (new interpretation of All Star Comics #8) "A Brief History of the Justice Society" by J. C. Vaughn,...
The Overstreet Price Guide To Star Wars Collectibles
2018 Since the first film debuted in 1977, Star Wars has dominated the collecting landscape like no other franchise. With record prices set in the world of action figures, and the spirited pursuit of...
The Overstreet Price Guide To Batman
2019 The Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight Detective. Batman. Over eight decades what began as a simple comic book concept in the pages of Detective Comics #27 has grown into an iconic cultural...
Overstreet @ 50: Five Decades of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide SC
2020 Cover: Joe Jusko The 50-year history of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is documented and celebrated in this lush history of the book collectors and dealers alike have...


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Books by R. Albert Mohler Jr., James Montgomery Boice, De...
Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching
- R. Albert Mohler Jr., James Montgomery Boice, Derek W. H. Thomas, Joel R. Beeke, R. C. Sproul, R. C. Sproul Jr., Sinclair B. Fer
Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism
- Joel R. Beeke
Living By God's Promises (Deepen Your Christian Life)
- Joel R. Beeke, James A. LaBelle
Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer
- Joel R. Beeke, Brian G. Najapfour
A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life
- Joel R. Beeke, Mark Jones
The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings (Family Guidance)


A blanket ban on all diesel vehicles in the UK's new Clean Air Zones would have a devastating impact on local communities, leading to a rise in unemployment and social deprivation, a former Government transport advisor warns today.
Local authorities with roads breaching legal pollution levels have until March next year to publish their draft plans to tackle air pollution in their areas – and diesel vehicles are widely expected to be targeted with new restrictions or fines. Oxford and Cambridge are among the local authorities who have already announced their intention to ban all diesel vehicles, including buses.
But while Clean Air Zones are vital to addressing this public health emergency, implementing a blanket ban on all diesel vehicles would have disastrous consequences for the environment, economy and society, according to David Begg, Visiting Professor at Plymouth University and former chairman of the Government's Commission for Integrated Transport.
Prof Begg is calling on local authorities to halt blanket bans and instead target older diesel cars, which are the biggest contributors to air pollution, making up 41 per cent of nitrogen dioxide emissions from road transport, compared with 30% for diesel vans and 6% for buses and coaches.
He warned that banning all diesel vehicles from city centres would "demonise and penalise" the latest generation of clean British diesel buses, which bring huge environmental and economic benefits. Such a ban, he warns, could prompt an 80% cut in bus services, leading to a 22% cut in employment; an 11% reduction in adult skills; and a 29% increase in social deprivation.
Prof Begg's warning comes as an unprecedented bus sector coalition led by Greener Journeys, the sustainable transport campaign, urges local decision-makers to recognise the economic, environment and social benefits of the new generation of clean British diesel buses, technically known as Euro VI buses, and put them at the heart of their plans to improve local air quality.
Fitting older bus engines with exhaust clean-up technology – known as retrofitting – or repowering the bus with a new engine and exhaust after-treatment system can bring them up to Euro VI emissions standards. It is the quickest and most cost-effective way for local authorities to tackle roadside pollution.
Real-world testing of bus engines shows that the latest generation of certified clean buses emit 95% fewer NOx emissions than the previous generation. Furthermore, these buses emit fewer emissions overall than the average diesel Euro 6 car despite having 15 to 20 times the capacity. Unlike cars, they are subjected to rigorous independent on-road testing and certification.
"While local government rightly try to take dirty diesel vehicles off the streets, there is a danger they will demonise and penalise a new generation of independently-tested clean diesel buses that are in fact part of the solution, not the problem, to excessive air pollution.
"Britain's streets are clogged with high polluting diesel cars which are causing a public health emergency and costing tens of thousands of lives each year.
"If local authorities are serious about tackling air pollution, they must put this new generation of clean British diesel buses, and buses retrofitted to the same low-emission standard, front and centre of their plans.
Members of the coalition include the UK's leading bus manufacturers, engine manufacturers, bus operators, an exhaust after treatment supplier and sustainable transport groups: Alexander Dennis (ADL), Arriva, Baumot UK, Cummins, First, Go-Ahead, Greener Journeys, Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, National Express, Optare, Stagecoach, Trent Barton and Wrights.
Prof Begg's article can be read in full on the Greener Journeys website from Tuesday 14 November.


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Faerie News
The Eccentricities of Gentlemen
DIY Beauty & Hair
The Beauty Witch
Single Issue (Print)
Single Issue (Digital)
Enchanted Living Magazine
AllFeaturedOn The Cover
A Writer's Cozy Lair
Modern Witch: Spells, Recipes & Workings
Sneak Peek of our Pre-Raphaelite Issue!
An Ode to The Cruel Prince
AllArtDIY/CraftsPhotography
Warm-Baked Artistry
Enchanting Photography by Zephyr & Luna
Chasing The Light
Toby Froud and The Dark Crystal
AllEssaysFictionGeneralMythologyPoetryQ&AThe Eccentricities of Gentlemen
At Home in the Forest
The Root Queen's Winter
Witch of the Wood
AllBeautyDIY Beauty & HairStyleThe Beauty Witch
The Beauty Witch: JANUARY
The Beauty Witch: DECEMBER
Witchy Beauty
The Beauty Witch: NOVEMBER
A Hygge Holiday In Middle Earth
More Than Myth: Icelandic Warlocks and Witches
The Exhibition of A Lifetime
The Portland Art Museum's Passion for Paris and Art Nouveau
The Wild-Crafted Cuisine of Baiersbronn
AllEntertainingFoodHome
Hygge at Home
Hygge: The Art of Living Well
Home Magic Talking Tarot with Rachel True
Talking Tarot with Rachel True
Grace Nuth
Actress Rachel True believes that delving into the tarot helped put her in the right mind-set to receive the role of Rochelle in the 1996 film The Craft. True was given her first tarot deck at the age of eight and began working with the cards by simply telling herself stories about the pictures—which, as she points out, is ultimately part of how the deck works anyway. She began actually reading the cards for herself at twelve, but it wasn't until an experience in 1994, two years after she moved to L.A. to pursue a career in acting, that she had the chance to learn the tarot inside and out.
Her television broke, she explains, and that was the catalyst. Instead of getting it repaired, she decided to put her attention elsewhere and explore the full extent of the tarot cards' symbolism and meaning. "I wanted to understand the different levels going on in these cards," she says, "so I went in and studied that. And about nine months later someone came by and fixed my TV and around that time my friend called and said there was a movie floating around about four high school witches. I was told they weren't reading any black girls for those main roles, so I went through a lot of hoops to get an audition. But I think those nine months before the script landed in my lap that I spent connecting to my spiritual studies, connecting to my higher self and then grounding to the earth, were very instrumental." Needless to say, True received a leading role in The Craft, a film that inspired many young spiritual seekers of the mid-1990s to explore the ancient art of witchcraft.
True doesn't identify as Wiccan herself, but she accepts many of its tenets. "I do believe in the power of earth, air, fire, and water," she says. "Absolutely. I know you can use your will to manifest things. I've never been a label person, so I stay away from that, but I say use your power for good."
Now True is further celebrating her love of the tarot with her own deck and book. True Heart Tarot, arriving in fall 2020 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is not only a fully functioning tarot deck but also a memoir of the author's acting career, presenting acting memorization techniques to help the reader learn the tarot more intimately as well. "When we're learning lines as actors, we aren't just memorizing the line, because that's static on a page," True says. "We have to feel. What is the feeling behind that line of dialogue? I want people to feel the card, because if you learn the feel of the card, you never forget its interpretation. If we can get you to understand the feeling, that feeling gets locked into your body like muscle memory instead of into your brain through memorization."
The tarot, True explains, is a way to get in touch with the higher self inside of you. Carl Jung said that "we can predict the future when we know how the present moment evolved from the past." True embraces this belief and has seen how the tarot has helped her work through difficulties without overtaxing other people with them. "It's a way to therapize yourself so you don't have to call your friends up and ask them to live in the minutiae of your brain," she says. "I realized tarot can help me. That is magic—to go from feeling like a victim to moving forward through tarot and other practices to figure out what you want."
She may prefer not to use labels for her personal spiritual path, but True openly acknowledges the magic inherent in her life: "My everyday life is just enchanted. Even as a small kid, I always felt like I could pick up energy, pick up feelings, pick up the unseen. I was very intrigued by that. I do slide off to fairyland, get lost in my art, and I feel I have a youthful energy because I have the feeling that there are still things for me to accomplish before I get older—maybe it's this book, while I'm still hip enough for the kids to care. But there is everyday magic everywhere."
Self-portrait by Rachel True.
Find Rachel True on Instagram @trueracheltrue and Twitter @racheltrue, and/or visit patreon.com/racheltrue for her ongoing tarot workshops. Her book and tarot deck, True Heart Tarot, are forthcoming from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in September 2020.
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Grace Nuth is a writer, artist, and model living in central Ohio with her husband, black cat, and a garden full of fairies. She also co-wrote The Faerie Handbook, out in November 2017 from Harper Design. To follow her projects, please visit gracenuth.com.
Life of A Love Witch; Earth, Water, Fire & Air Spells
@faeriemagazine
Enchanted Living Magazine is a quarterly print magazine that celebrates all things enchanted. Every issue features exquisite photography, original fiction and poetry, travel pieces (from bioluminescent bays to Scottish fairy hills and castles), artist profiles, recipes, home décor, otherworldly beauty tips, craft tutorials, and much more—with a dash of faerie (and mermaid, and dragon!) magic sprinkled throughout. "It's as though Martha Stewart Living and Edmund Spenser's ''The Faerie Queene'' had a magazine baby." — NY TIMES