Tag: study

Gun ownership and firearm deaths go together

A new study that was published online in the American Journal of Medicine reports that gun ownership is a bigger factor than mental illness when it comes to firearms deaths. But the data suggest that both play roles.

NPR writes:

In the study, doctors in New York looked at data on gun ownership, crime rate, firearms-related deaths and depression from 27 developed countries, including the United States, Japan, Great Britain and South Africa.

The United States had the highest rate of civilian gun ownership, at almost 90 guns per 100 people. The next two countries on the list were Switzerland and Finland, with about 45 guns per 100 people. Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom had the lowest gun numbers, ranging from less than 1 gun per 100 in Japan to 6 in the U.K.

The countries with more civilian guns also had the highest rates of firearms deaths, with the United States leading the list at 10 deaths per 100,000, based on an international mortality database.

Outlive your life – Laundry Love

Earlier this year I was asked by Bluefish.TV to tell the story of our Laundry Love Initiative in Red Oak.

A few of their guys came out to the laundromat and interviewed Todd and I about Laundry Love for a video project they were working on with Max Lucado — Outlive Your Life.

The filming actually took place on two separate dates. The first video was the interview with Todd and I — and then the rest of the filming took place on a special Friday Night Laundry Love. Since most of our group was unavailable that night, some friends brought their small group and joined us for the “b-roll footage.”

The book, Outlive Your Life, was released in October — and our story was included as part of the companion DVD small group package.

Not that I expected anything less — but I’m really pleased with the end result.

They did a great job telling the story from an “outsider perspective.”

I’m so thankful to be a part of Red Oak Laundry Love — and love telling the story to others.

When we started the initiative, I was totally unsure as to how it would play out.

Our group was excited in the beginning — but as time went on — fewer and fewer people showed up.

There was also uncertainty on my part about starting something like Laundry Love, knowing in the back of my mind that Laurie and I were seriously considering selling our house and moving.

There was even more uncertainty when the two laundromats we approached said they weren’t interested in helping us.

But I knew there was a need (both for the community and our community group) and so we moved forward with it.

Ultimately, we just picked one of the two laundromats, started showing up to do our laundry and just “happened to pay for other’s laundry along the way.”

And in the end, I believe the owners were excited about the results.

There was no fancy fanfare, no ads, no flyers announcing we’d be there. We just showed up at the same time, every month and cared on whoever we could.

And each and every week — no matter how I felt walking into the Laundromat — I walked out blessed and excited.

We kept the Laundry Love Initiative going for a full year in Red Oak before Laurie and I moved to Forney.

And now I’m dying to get another Laundry Love going in our new community.

I truly believe we’ve been blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.

Here’s to hoping it gets many others interested in starting their own Laundry Love Initiatives or something similar. And here’s to getting another Laundry Love group started in the Forney area ASAP.

Also, I’d be amiss if I didn’t say a huge thank you to Greg Russinger and Charles Lee for their willingness to befriend the under-resourced in their community and to cast the vision that’s led to the creation of 65+ Laundry Love initiatives around the country.

Thanks for all you do guys!

Find out more here or at just4one.org.

Wednesday study :: Ephesians 1:3-11

Ephesians 1:3-11:

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

In the comments below:

  • write something theses verses tell us about Jesus/God
  • write something these verses tell us about human nature
  • write down any new discovery you have made reading these verses
  • write down the most exciting verse in your opinion and why
  • write anything you don’t understand or want to ask about
  • write down something these verses say we should do

Remember, when sharing or responding to comments, this is a space of grace. Thanks! Look forward to reading what you share!

Hard to believe

This just in from USA Today:

Study: More fast food means added weight

You may want to sit down for this one. According to the article:

People who eat several fast-food meals a week are significantly heavier than those who don’t eat fast food very often, according to a new study released Monday.

Amazing. Simply amazing what science can reveal these days. After all these years I guess this means my kindergarten teacher was right after all.

Online study tools

After Brian’s message yesterday I went online to look for an online daily reading plan for the Bible.
I found one at OneYearBibleOnline.com — which gives you a reading for every day of the year and you can pick from any number of versions including King Jimmy, NIV, The Message and others. What online tools/resources do you use to spur your faith?