IN THIS ISSUE
CHARM: Changing the future of our Healthcare for the Best
Do You See What I See?
Forget
Resolutions!
To serve the Greater Austin area churches by providing an extension of the life-saving message of the gospel into the community at large.
AFF seeks to serve the Christ-like community by highlighting where there are opportunities to participate with each other, draw ideas from and learn from one another to Grow, Reach and Serve the Greater Austin area.
Hammer head sharks don't attack like regular sharks...I learned that from watching a doctormentary.
-IZZY
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2012 is here. It seems like just a few days ago we were longing for cooler temperatures and more rain and it happened! In the heat of things it often seems as though we will never experience a reprieve. However, time marches on (and quite fast, I might add), the seasons change, a year comes to an end, and here we go all over again with a new year, new beginnings, and new resolve. Thats the best part of a new year the stimulus to begin again to reach new goals!
We are more than excited about our cover story this month which I hope youll read in its entirety. With uncertain times in the healthcare field, this new business CHARM is thriving due to their success in facilitating health and regeneration by helping their patients avoid hospitals and harmful medications. What about starting a revolution as your New Years resolution? Intriguing? Read about it in A Few Good Men. With the fires in Bastrop coloring the landscape of 2011, along with the prolonged drought, a new beginning is welcome, right? Head to Heart writer Tom Coker shares his reflections and observations in making 2012 a great year! And Body Life shares the absolute necessity of gaining spiritual sight, when Pastor John Pound asks, Do you see what I see?
Whatever your experience in 2011, whether your business thrived or barely survived, if you put on a few extra pounds or lost a few inches, or even if you stumbled in your relationships with others, a new year is here. Sure, January 1, 2012 is just another day, like all of the others. Or is it? You can start again, forget last year, and press on with new energy from above.
We at AFF wish you all a Happy and Joyous New Year! Please continue reading and supporting Austins faith and family publication that brings you inspiration and hope each month and pray for our continued successin bringing you the best
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Miranda is the author of Blessed Are the Jesus Chicks (Smyth & Helwys), a practical guide for the working Christian mom. She also owns BCreative, a communications consulting firm focused on marketing for nonprofits and small businesses.
She lives in Georgetown with her husband and two (stinky but sweet) boys.
Amanda is originally from the great state of California. She moved to Mountain Brook, AL with her family at age 13. She attended Azusa Pacific University outside of Los Angelas, CA where she studied math and science. She worked in corporate America for five years before landing the most important job in the world, being a stay at home mom.
She and her husband Lee have 4 awesome kids, Asher, Izzy, Millie Kate and Axel
Susan is Austin Faith & Family's advertising sales guru. Her expertise runs deep, with a degree in advertising from UT Austin and 13 years of experience working at ad agencies, and radio and TV stations in Dallas and Austin.
After 13 years of working in advertising and broadcast media in Dallas and Austin, Susan took a nine month hiatus to do mission work, mainly in Africa. God opened her eyes to the needs of the poor around the world, and upon her return to the U.S. she spent two years working in inner city ministry in East Austin. There she met her husband, Todd, while they were both serving at Mission possible. They have a daughter, Salem, and live in East Austin with their yellow lab, Bentley, and orange tabby, Monty.
Marcy is a native Austinite and graduated from The University of Texas. She taught middle-school math for 10 years and then began working from home for an insurance company, and a magazine company. She has also written Catching Fireflies, a fun, family devotional book, that is endorsed by Focus on the Family and available on her website at www.marcylytle.com .
Marcy is married to Jon, her best friend, and has two children, Kamrin (married to Tyler) and Conner. She resides in Pflugerville, Texas.
Kyle comes to the monthly production team as a recent arrival to Austin. After spending 4 years working in the Ohio newspaper industry, his layout and design expertise are a welcome addition to Austin Faith and Family. Everyday, Kyle's drive for creative thinking is only shadowed by his gratefulness to have made the opportunity of working for AFF happen.
Kyle loves the urban life. He lives downtown with his long-time girlfriend Lyndsay and their cats, Bubbles & Pumpkin.
Ricca has over sixteen years of experience working with nonprofits and community organizations, with a focus on youth and missions programs. She is especially interested in finding new ways to help solve some of the imbalances she sees in city life, and feels that Austin Faith and Family helps bring balance to the Austin community by helping to support families and local businesses.
She resides in Pflugerville with her husband and four children, their Yorkie, Mattie, and their hermit crabs.
Office Number:
512.584.6888
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PO Box 2496
Round Rock, TX 78680
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Calendar Entries: marcy_austinfaithandfamily.com
November 2
Grief Share: Surviving the Holidays is a helpful, encouraging seminar for people facing the holidays after the death of a loved one. 7:00p -8:30 - no charge. Visit www.lakewaychurch.org FMI.
Sarah's Hope: Fertility and Recurrent Miscarriage Support at 7:00p - at the Vitae Clinic in Austin - While it is a ministry based on Catholic teaching, the group is open to anyone, regardless of religious affiliation.
November 4
Charity Garage Sale - Shop at the Annual Settlement Home for Children Charity Garage Sale from 10:00a to 5:00p at Palmer Events Center. All proceeds support the programs for abused and neglected at The Settlement Home for Children.
November 5
The Austin Civic Orchestra will host An Intimate Evening at the Long Center at 8:00p - will be performed in the Debra and Kevin Rollins Studio Theatre.
Texas Science and Engineering Festival - 10:00a to 5:00p at Austin Convention Center - FREE
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown - 12:30p and 3:30p at Whisenhunt Stage at Zach Scott. This musical is perfect for families and kids ages 5 & up!
Christmas at the Caswell House - Mother & Daughter Tea - 2:00p to 3:00p at Daniel H. Caswell House. When it comes to tea parties, Wonderland has nothing on Christmas at the Caswell House.
Ballet Austin II's - Peter and the Wolf - 7:00p at AustinVentures Studio Theatre at Ballet Austin. Recommended for children 2 to 8 years old and their family. Come in your favorite Halloween costume!
MOSES and the burning within - a new musical adapted from the book of Exodus. 3:00p and 7:30p at Triumphant Love Lutheran Church - Purchase tickets at www.tllc.org.
November 6
MOSES and the burning within - a new musical adapted from the book of Exodus. 3:00p at Triumphant Love Lutheran Church - Purchase tickets at www.tllc.org.
November 7
Christian Music Night at Mozarts Coffeehouse 7:30p 10:00p Lake Austin Blvd.
FREE COMMUNITY WORKSHOP ON SLEEP: 6:15p 7:15p - Pure Chiropractic Wellness Office - 3107 S. IH35 #787, Round Rock (Target Shopping Center) - RSVP 512-246-9355
November 9
Introduction to Natural Family Planning 7:00p - St. John Neumann Catholic Church, St. Timothy Room - 5455 Bee Cave Rd.
November 10
DINNER W/THE DOC _ SALTGRASS STEAKHOUSE, ROUND ROCK, 6:30p 8:00p - Hosted by Pure Chiropractic Wellness & Dr. Rodriguez - RSVP 512-246-9355
November 11
Unveiled & Empowered - 7:00 p - at Igleshia El Shaddai - To remove the veil over the women of God in Austin area and empower them to succeed in every area of their lives. Register _ www.UnveiledEmpowered.org.
Veteran's Day Mass and Celebration - 7:00p - St. John Neumann Catholic Church - celebrate an evening Mass to honor the men and women who serve our country.
November 12
Unveiled & Empowered - 9:30a. At Igleshia El Shaddai - To remove the veil over the women of God in Austin area and empower them to succeed in every area of their lives. Register _ www.UnveiledEmpowered.org.
Holiday Bazaar - 9:00a to 4:00p at Clay Madsen Recreation Center, Round Rock - Admission is free.
TOTAL FOOD MAKEOVER: 9:00a-11:30a - Learn how thousands of people have transformed the way they look at food, grocery shop, & eat with real quality & nutritious food! Call 512-246-9355 to register.
November 13
Enjoy the combined choirs of Emmaus Catholic Parish, the Lake Travis United Methodist Church and The Lakeway Church as they present their annual Thanksgiving Concert benefitting the Lake Travis Crisis Ministry - at Emmaus Church on Lohmans Crossing beginning at 2:30p FREE.
November 14
ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE & PATIENT APPRECIATION DAY - Pure Chiropractic Wellness Office - Round Rock - Drop off 5 organic canned foods benefiting the Round Rock Serving Center - Come in from 7:00a to 5:00p for a day of refreshments & new patient check-ups - RSVP 512-246-9355
FREEE MAXT3 CLASS - 6:00p-7:00p - Change your hormones in our unique 12-minute work-out! Pure Chiropractic Wellness Office - RSVP 512-246-9355
November 17
Free Prenatal and Newborn classes for new or expectant parents - 6:00p to 7:00p at the Pediatric Center of Round Rock - Space is limited, please call (512) 733-5437.
November 18
JEREMY CAMP concert, with FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI at Shoreline Christian Center brought to you by Austin Faith & Family and Greg Carnes Production Visit www.austinfaithandfamily.com or www.gregcarnesprod.com FMI.
November 19
Highland Mall Santas Arrival Parade - with a multi-cultural parade. Enjoy performers from around the world and wear traditional holiday dress to celebrate! Starts at 10:00a.
November 20
Austin Empty Bowl Project - 11:00a to 3:00p at The Marchesa Hall & Theatre in Lincoln Village. All proceeds benefit Kids Cafe, a program of the Capital Area Food Bank.
November 21
November 25
Read.Play.Shop - 10:00a to 12:00p at Lakeline Mall - Story Hour at Lakeline Mall.
Handmade Holidays Marketplace - Shop over 15 local artisans - Open 12:00p 6:00p daily. Lower level near the West Main entrance of Highland Mall.
November 26
November 28
November 30
Storytime with Santa - Listen to wonderful holiday stories presented by Austin Public Library Youth Services and Santa! Every child receives a holiday bell and photos with Santa available for purchase.
LOOKING FORWARD:
December 2
Casting Crowns with Sanctus Real and The Afters in concert at the Bell County Expo Center at 7:00p. Tickets available at Texas Box Office (512) 477-6060 or online at www.texasboxoffice.com.
December 6
Positive Connection brown-bag business lunch series featuring speaker Lewis Timberlake- 11:30a 12:45p. $5 bag lunches available by RSVP to Steve at austinpc_att.net. First time visitors: mention AFF and get a free lunch!
Each month, Austin Faith & Family will randomly select two winners to receive one free studio session and one free 11x14 photo from Taylor Made Portrait Studio.
To enter to win, fill out the form below. Please include your full name, physical address, and the number in your family.
Moving With Young Children
Are you being transferred? Have you been ordered a permanent change of station with the military? Did you just happen upon you dream house on the other side of town? Moving may be new and exciting, but the first thought if you have children involved is not one of joy. It is fear. Last time you moved before you had children, you loaded Friday, transported, unloaded, decorated, and hosted a party for Sunday's game. Now you have children. Even carefully planned, this could take months.
The first question to ask yourself is whether you should hire a moving company or not. If this is a military or corporate move, the service is probably offered to you, but be sure to check with the company footing the bill to see what options are available to you. For a price, a company will pack your things, load them, and transport them. Upon arrival at the new destination, unloading and even unpacking are services offered as well.
It may have been easy at your point of origin to find care for the little ones while you worked on tasks like packing, or while the truck was loaded, but in a new and strange place, the options for childcare will be lacking. You will need to be strategic. It sounds really nice to some people to have the professional moving company complete everything from beginning to end, and for some it is very nice to have things unpacked and to see all the packing and trash removed. Try, however, to place your family in the situation. Your things will not be unpacked and safely tucked away. They will be unpacked. The arranging and putting away is up to you. This is not an ideal situation for those with tots. You house will be a virtual toy box of dishes, breakables, and other enticing things.
Consider, on the beginning end, requesting for the workers to put your kids' belongings in the boxes that will come off the truck first. With a little tip and perhaps a free lunch complete with cold soda, you could convince the movers to unpack the toys and put together swing sets and such before proceeding with other tasks. Your kids have likely not seen their stuff in awhile and will be excited to get busy building, playing, and imagining. Snag a big box or two, throw some blankets, crayons, paper, and tape their way and they could be busy for days making forts, playhouses, magic trunks, or whatever it is that is so fascinating about boxes and tape.
Most of all just be patient and look at moving as an adventure. You will not be ready for the football game on Sunday, or the next Sunday, but you may make baseball season in the spring. Breathe deep and try to make memories.
How to Pray for Your Family
by Frank King
Even in these turbulent times, you can have a strong family. One of the vital ingredients to your achieving this end is that of faithfully praying for your family. That's because you will need God's help daily. In this post, I want to share with you some pointers on how to pray for your family. Specifically, I will address three vital areas:
1. Pray for God to help you and your children make sound decisions. There is something about the way we are wired that makes this area a serious challenge. "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death," the Bible says (Proverbs 14:12). Sometimes, we may wonder why people make obviously dumb decisions. This verse tells us that things can look right to us at first but end up being a disaster.
One bad decision can cost you for a lifetime. As parents we need to pray to God to guide the minds of our children so they can make sound decisions. Of course, the best decision they can make is to accept Christ as their Savior, if they have not already done so. We also need to pray that God will help us in our decision-making. For the verse above applies to all of us. In a nutshell, it says that we have this amazing ability to be deceived by the appearance of things.
2. Pray to God for success in the area of marriage. A strong marriage is vital to a strong family. But for every marriage, there is at least a one in two chance that it will end in divorce. I think it's safe to say that most couples who get married don't want to become a part of this terrible statistic. The truth is that people are so hard to figure out. A relationship that appears to be a dream come true can turn out to be your worst nightmare.
So how do you pray for your family in this area? You should pray often for God to bring the right godly person into the lives of your sons and daughters. For those who are already married, pray that God will bless the marriage to be strong and to last a lifetime. And for those family members whose marriages are already troubled, pray that God will miraculously heal those relationships.
3. Pray for God's daily protection. Being the father of six children, believe me when I say you need to pray for your children daily. Let us not be naïve about what we are up against. We have an enemy out there, namely, the devil. He hates you and your children: "Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to destroy your marriage, your children, your relationship with God, and everything else you value.
That's why, friend, we must keep our family covered with prayer. Bless your children in the name of the Lord. Call the names of your family members before the Lord, and ask Him to give His angels charge to keep them in all their ways.
Hopefully, from what I have written you get the gist of how to pray for your family. Of course, the premise of this post is that you believe God hears and answers prayer when His people pray in faith. I pray for my household daily, and I can tell you that regularly praying for your family really works.
Moving with Young Children
Party Movie Nights - 9:00p at Deep Eddy Pool, Austin - Enjoy family movies and take a dip in the pool on a hot summer night. All movies begin at dusk.
The Naked Foot 5k - 8:30a to 10:30a at Brushy Creek Lake Park - for the entire family benefiting the charity Soles4Souls- bring a pair of shoes to donate and then run in our 1 miler or 5k (barefoot or in shoes).
Hunting and Fishing Day - 8:00a to 1:00p at Old Settlers Park, Round Rock. FREE. Join us and Kids Outdoor Zone - family-oriented event, with fun and educational hands-on activities that everyone will enjoy. International China Concern Walk the Wall 2011 A 10km walk for Chinas disabled children 9:30a 12:00p Hill Country Bible Church - http://www.walkthewall.org/.
September 25
CASA Superhero Run - 7:00a to 10:00a at The Domain - Be a superhero for abused and neglected children at the 2011 CASA Superhero Run.
September 30
"Living My Life Like its Golden" - Free Women's Leadership Conference. Kick-off Celebration: 7:00p - 9:00p Elgin Middle School, 1351 North Avenue C. FMI or to register please visit: http://sites.google.com/site/siscovergirls/.
Collide Retreat - a Christian retreat for ACC students. Come connect with other ACC students as we pursue Christ - Sept 30 through Oct 2 at Highland Lakes. Cost is $40. FMI visit www.Collideretreat.com.
