Melva Gifford

I should have thought of this checklist in the fall or winter. ahh well. So it’s either a little bit late or really early. Ask these questions when buying a new coat and you might be more likely to make a choice you are pleased with.

Main things to consider when buying a new or used coat. They are appearance, maintenance and function.

Appearance:
-Why buying a hood with the coat you will want to determine if you want a loose one or one that is tight around the head.
-Do you want a hood that is detachable?
-What are the pros and cons of having a furry rim around the hood?
-Belts can be a great accessory for appearance or they can get in the way. or they can close the coat loosely without having to button up.
-some people like reversible coats.
-Pockets can be useful or can interrupt the flow of appearance in a coat

Maintenance:
-Determine what the cost difference is for cleaning or the longevity of the material.
-What type of coats are more likely to absorb body odor?
-what materials are known to last long?
-I found no local laundry willing to clean a leather coat and I don’t know about fur coats.
-Is some material less likely to get scuffed up?

Coat functionality:
-You want a coat that will serve its purposed but won’t be over kill. For example some coats have removable interior lining so you can increase or decrease temperature.
-Some people don’t often get cold arms and a warm vest or wind breaker may be adequate.
-others may want their entire body covered and so may have the bottom of the coat to reach the knees.
-Consider the pros and cons of zippers verses button when you have your gloves on.
-Wool is reported to still maintain body heat even when it gets wet.
-Polyesters are known to not breath very well.
-Some coats may have documentation of how cold the coat will protect against.
-Do you want a coat that will adjust to thicker clothes as well as thin?
-does the coat has a stain guard already on it or is it water proof?
-Do the edges and interior of the coat look finished or does it display rough edges that might indicate lower quality?

Suggested web sites:
– http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/fashion/winter-coat-shopping-advice
– http://63.240.88.209/Fashion/Fashion-Spotlight/The-Big-Chill-Winter-Coat-Guide
– http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/ycn-143bf80e-5ac8-32b9-b68b-205eaff906b0/winter-coat-shopping-tips-173800581/
– http://tips.become.com/winter-coats/Shopping-For-Winter-Coats.html

I hope this object lesson can be useful to youthful ministries, family devotionals and family home evenings.

There is a lot of use for a person who knows a lot of information about a lot of things but, there is also a use for people who have a great deal of knowledge about a specific topic. A cook has the skill of making things taste good. Programmers have the ability to make software and hardware perform specific functions. Construction workers help in the creation of roads and buildings. A software/hardware tester is useful in ensuring that the function for a specific product is working properly. Human resources personnel are useful when they can help employees be the best they can be and management can help in encouragement and motivating a team.

Different types of brooms are useful because they have a specific function. A hard bristle broom is often useful because the course brushes often possess the strength to move heavy objects. A soft bristle broom is good to catch light dirt and direct it into a dust pan. A hand held brush is good for small areas such as under the fridge while a tooth brush might get in between tracks of a sliding door. Just like brooms can serve a special purpose because of their specialization so we as employees can contribute to the success of the whole team by our unique traits and specific functions. That can include special personality traits as well.

In honor of the Memorial Day, it is nice to remember how the different branches of the military achieve specific objectives. There are functions that only the Navy and Air Force can do because of their specific training, resources and skill sets. Army and Marines work to their specific functions as well as Special Ops. I offer a big thank you to the men and women who volunteer their time and lives to the protection of their country. May God bless them and their families.

Well I gave my presentation at Conduit. There were about 30 people in the room. I told three stories, discussed some popular fiction books and gave examples from history of heroic traits of real people. The presentation was well received.

Intro: (This is not verbatim but just the general ideas that are discussed.
We love the heroes in movies and books because we love seeing characters who use their brains, who are brave even when they’re scared and press on even when it’s hard.

Heroes succeed because of brains, courage and perseverance.

Trait one: Brains
Audio Story: War with Grandma

Discuss what Peter had to do to win the water balloon fight against his grandma.
Books:Fable haven book: Story about Kendra and Seth go to stay with their grandparents at a magic creature preserve.
Spider wick book: Jarid, Simon and Mallery gain access to book about magical creatures.

Here are some real people who used their brains to solve a problem:
– Benjamin Franklin: when he was just a boy, he created fins and a kite to help him swim in a pond.
– A 5th grader used plastic pencil bags to store food during a science fair. Plastic bags became known as zip lock bags.
– A seven year old boy decided to make a list of traits of what kind of man he wanted to be when he grew up. This same George Washington became the first President of the United States.
– At 15, TV Philo Farnsworth at age 15 came up with the concept of the television by using his experiences of plowing a field. OL: masking tape across a paper to imitate a plowed field and how the first TV screens refreshed a displayed imaged.
– At 17 George Washington became a land surveyor in America
– James Madison a founder father of the United States, studied a lot about old governments and used the best of those elements when he helped in the creating of the united states government.

Trait two: Courage:
Audio Story: Ocean Voyage Books:Discuss key characters of Harry Potter and how each key character displayed courage. Have a group discussion.

Real People:
– Ben Franklin when he lived in Britain had the assignment of being the first post master general.
– When the colonists began to rebel the high society of England mocked and called Ben Franklin a colonial traitor. He said nothing.
– A young Lieutenant George Washington went with General Brattic and headed for Fort Decane with 1300 British soldiers. George was one of the 86 officers. On the way to the fort, they were ambushed. Two horses were shot under George and four bullet were shot through his coat while George rushed about the battle field to relay General Brattic’s orders. George felt God protected him.

Third Trait: Perseverance
Heroes are great because they often grab the opportunity when it becomes available or solved a problem:
Audio story: Franklin in a tavern uses ‘his horse eats osters to get the best seat in a tavern.
Books:Lord of the rings: discussed various challenges that different characters faced: Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin, Aragon and discussed Mordoor, Sauron

real people:
– Ben: saw a problem of glasses that helped with either near or far sightedness, so he created bifocals.
– Washington fought an eight year war against 30,000 trained British troops against 10,000 untrained civilian colonial troops.
– The founding fathers sometimes didn’t get along, but worked together to help create the United States of America
– Lewis and Clark faced multiple challenges as they explored the land of the United States. –
– Thomas Edison faced over 10,000 attempts of trying to create a working light bulb. He told a reporter it was not 10,000 failures but 10,000 ways the light didn’t work.

A review of Lord of the Rings most memorable speech: Sam’s soliloquy.
Sam’s Soliloquy
Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.
A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam?
Sam: There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

Save the wizard scenario:
If there’s time go with the kids on the ‘Save the Elemento wizard’ scenario. An Elemento wizard has the ability to capture the elements of nature into a ring that can later be released against an enemly. During one battle is cornered in a ravine. He has four elements left to defend himself. 3-6th graders have learned various levels of science.
Heroes often have mentors in their youth that helps them gain the traits of hero isems. We collect knowledge and experience in our lives for later use.
– 3rd grade: earth rotation, day night, friction
– 4th grade: evaporation, weather, soil erosion, fossils, trees & plants
– 5th grade: physical properties of matter, erosion, magnets, electricity
– 6th grade: moon cycles, orbit, solar system, astronomy, microorganisms

Brain storm as a group how to help the wizard and discuss the pros and cons of using each defense.
Four items:
A Big bee nest, a lava flow, a tornado, a Mine shaft with multiple entrances.
Needed items:
Clock ; scarf ; recorder ; 1000 pages of book ; photos, masking tape on plastic.

I have a hard time remembering the difference between the words Effect and Affect. So here are some ideas.

Effect means to make a change or to alter something.
Effect is when I make a lot of effort to accomplish something and affect the results. E/effect E/effort similarity

An Activity that gives me results or Affects. A/activity a/affects similarity.

A couple of months ago, I attended Story@Home story telling / family history conference. (http://www.cherishbound.com/blog/storyathome/ ) I found the conference to be very good and had valuable information. Here are the last of my notes about blogging.

– Content is king
– A good blog post is 300-700 words average.
– What’s your voice. Ways to find out.
1. Examine what you like to read.
– 2. What are you drawn to? (If you read all kinds of books what do all those books share in common?) That similarity is what you connect to.
– Everything in a critique must edify
– Blogs from 500-700 words in a post a day
– Short simple paragraph and sentences. Have about three sentences per paragraph.
– Keep blogs brief.
– Display literate language – Include proper grammar (grammar girl is a good site to check)
– Be careful of humor. Sarcasm can be cruel.
– People are more important than projects, products
– Jump into the stream
– Interact your blog with social media. (Facebook, YouTube, Google Plus, Twitter, Linked-In)
Facebook is good for social issues. Facebook wants a personal part of you.
Twitter = place to post a link to your blog, is fast paced and limits to 140 characters. Normally has a snarky vibe. Suggest you follow Chris Brock, Jay Gord ( who discuss business and links)
Linked-In All business can contribute content from blogs
Google Plus – tech savy people and artists.
– Blogs can further your career
– Do an internet search for SEO “Engine optimization

I hope this lesson will be of use for family devotionals, youth ministries or family home evenings. Tonight’s object lesson is comparing the sharp edges of knives to trials in our lives.

There is a wide variety of challenges we face throughout our lives. Some are small and very specific to us while others can not only affect us, but members of our family or maybe even city or country. How we react to those challenges can often determine what the end results may be and in building our character.

Sometimes past action or a bad decision can create our own trials. What we learn from a ‘problem’ can often be a source of wisdom and increased perception. They can also help soften our hearts toward other people’s challenges because we’ve experience similar events and so we can better relate. Often challenges can toughen us up to be ready to face something that may be bigger or harder that can happen later in our lives.

We may not realize later that often a trail can help us. It may teach us how to not do something. One example in history is Thomas Edison who spent thousands of attempts to create the light bulb. He never gave up. Someone asked what did he think of all those failures toward creating the light bulb. He answers that he found 10,000 ways that it didn’t’ work. Yet his eventual success has blessed us all by his persistence. Throughout his life he invented over 1000 different things.

I had one friend who couldn’t relate to an excessive allergy of another friend. She got mono and suddenly her perception of illness took on whole new meaning and in turn, softened her heart to the challenges and ailments of other people. She became more humble toward the Lord and has actually thanked God for her bad health for the purpose of teaching her humility and for providing an opportunity for her to seek out God comfort more intensely. She no longer takes the blessings she does have for granted. Having mono she is grateful when she has the energy to do anything at all

During the occasional time of my ill health, I’ve learned to be more compassionate toward others that are in excessive pain. Or experiencing excessive weakness, we can better understand others hardships in physical weakness.

We can decide what trails can teach us when building our character.

There are many different kinds of knives. There is a cleaver that with a mighty swing can often cut through bone and meat by a butcher. Hand knives with schraded blades are nice when you need to cut through the tough skin of a fruit or vegetable. The smooth edge of a knife is nice for gently buttering a piece of bread. Knives can hurt the object they are cutting but they serve a purpose for preparing our food.

Collect a variety of knives from the kitchen and have different family members use them for different purposes. Maybe choose a dessert for the end of class that will involve the use of knives. While using the knives, have the conversations by parent, grand parent or teacher give some specific examples of how different challenges in their past have helped their perceptions in life.

I had an appointment with a vacuum salesman today. I watch the presentation and he’ll shampoo two rooms to my house. “Sure,” I said. A previous salesman’s from a different vacuum company had given a presentation about a year before and really laid the guilt trip on me for not being willing to buy his vacuum. He asked if I wanted to live with the dirt in my house.

This one took me down on a little of the guilt trail but not too much and not in such an as obvious of a manor. He was not as offensive and heavy handed as the previous salesman. But I could tell when I was being ‘played’. He had some good one liners which I liked he admitted he had come up with some and had borrowed some other lines from other representatives. And he would make various compliments about items in my house to butter me up. 

During the presentation he did a lot of emphasizing of how the vacuum did such a good job. All salesmen’s have a dirt detector that will deposit the dirt on a white piece of paper so that you can see how well the vacuum picks up. This current vacuum seemed to match the same quality of work as the competitor.

The salesman did a good job in presenting how the vacuum can be used for multiple purposes that were not mentioned by the competitor. I liked the thought of vacuuming a mattress to catch all the dead skin though, I have the theory that it could also be thread particles that are also deposited on the ‘catch dirt’ paper. Then he gave me the price – ouch!

This is where the other ‘play’ was done. Where the salesman calls the supervisor and offers alternative prices when I’m not willing to bite because I don’t want to go into debt paying for a vacuum at the price they were offering. This back and forth went about three times.

While he was on the phone he was actually giving a sales pitch to me while ‘pretending’ he was talking to the supervisor. So I don’t know if there was really a person on the other end. It’s possible the operator just drops off after answering the phone so the salesman can give me an additional sales pitch without being obvious. During the possible ‘pretend conversation’ he told the supervisor how much I loved the vacuum and that he was sure I would take the offer etc. etc.

During this discussion I was offered a lower payment per month and yet when I would add the months together, it was more expensive by several hundred dollars so that ploy didn’t work. Use a calculator so that you can see how much something is going to cost. Doing the calculations can help catch when I’ being ‘told’ I was given a ‘better deal’ it was actually worse.

I do like the vacuum because we had this brand as a child. I made a counter offer. His ‘silent voice’ supervisor made an offer. I doubt the salesman would admit if there really was a person on the other end if I asked. So I didn’t. I did tell him once to not ‘play’ me. I accepted the offer given and now I have a new vacuum. But it was interesting to see the techniques employed.

I just wanted to present some of the techniques I saw in this salesman’s presentation. I wonder what the base cost is without the hike up? hummm