The Christian Alternative to the Fashion Magazine.

In the JANUARY 2012 ISSUE:

Just Not that into Resolutions? Why That’s OK

Getting the Most BANG for your Gift Card Buck

Understanding Times and Seasons

Holiday Remix: Repurposing Candy Canes, Christmas Cards, Trees, Poinsettias and More!

Dear Gabby with Guest Columnist, Tamara Jane

Dear Tamara,
For about two months, I have been dating I am dating this guy, Ryan, who my parents really like. He treats me like he really does care. His name is Ryan and my parents love him. He treats me like he really does care. He comes to my church now every week and this Friday, he and his mom are staying the night in Jeff City to come and watch me at my state XC meet. We hang out a lot and we love to spend time with friends and family.

Anyway, I really admire your example – your gentle words and kind heart – and I would like to know how you have made thinks work with your boyfriend. I thought I should ask how to put down the rules to keep ourselves true to each other.

Hoping He’s the One in Hannibal

Dear Hoping,

I’m honored that you came to me for advice, and as someone to confide/trust in. I’m beaming with joy not only from honor, but from the story that you’ve shared with me. It sounds like you have a good guy – so happy for you!

I admire you for seeing the need to “lay down the law.” Not many girls these days view purity as something sacred and beautiful. Glad you still have your head on straight.
First, you need to give Ryan a heads-up about what you expect from him, yourself and your relationship. Make a list of boundaries and guidelines. Have him make one too, discuss what’s on your lists, combine the ones you both agree on, pray about the list, and show it to your parents or close friends to help keep you accountable. Make sure your list reflects your devotion to God and your morals.

One good guideline for any list is don’t be alone. I know there are times when you’re feel like you need to talk about something private, and in those times, you could go outside in an open area where people can see you from windows, or to a public park. Another list must is to pray – a lot – separately, and together. Other suggestions are to get involved in your youth group. Establish yourselves and your relationship in group settings. Go on double dates if you need more intimacy than a group provides.

Secondly, recognize that maintaining purity is tough and you’re going to need an escape plan for when the boundaries get crossed or guidelines violated and things get hot or risky. Try to avoid those sketchy situations all-together.

Sounds like you’re dating with a future in mind, and in that case, what you really need to do is get to know each other better. Some ways to do this are playing 20 questions, writing each other letters, and doing things together that put you in drastically different contexts. Try going somewhere where it’s appropriate for him to be on his best gentlemanly behavior, for example. You are a precious gift and he should treat you as such. Let him open doors, take your tray, slide your chair out, etc. Giving him opportunities to do these things will tell you a lot about him.

If you observe or hear from others things that make you cringe, talk about them with Ryan. There may be some completely logical or mitigating reason that you could never know without open communication.
But if I could give you one piece of advice that will aid in here and now in this relationship, as well as with your mate throughout your life it’s this: MEN NEED A LOT OF POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. They are tough on the outside, but tender on the inside. They need you to say “Good job”, “I noticed you doing this.. .awesome”, “Way to be”, “I appreciate that” and 100 others way to say, “You’re my hero.” In addition to almost constant (though sincere) praise, he needs to feel needed. Men like to “fix” things, so figure out ways in which he excels and then seek out ways for him to “help” you using those skills.

Finally, though I believe there is a God-given place in your heart for a man, don’t forget about your girlfriends. No guy can replace girlfriends and if he tries to be everyone to you, that should be a red flag. Likewise, you should not expect him to be everything to you. He doesn’t like to go the mall or watch chic flicks? That’s normal, and for those things, God created girlfriends.

That’s a lot to consider and there’s a lot more that could be said – a lot more to figure out as you go. Keep me posted as to how this works out.

Blessings!

A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers her into the presence of the great.
Proverbs 18:16

This is no Christmas story; it’s a practical application for all year round. Gift-giving upon first meeting is a distinguishing mark of courtesy – a great idea anytime you want to be distinguished as a courteous person!
My first day of college, I arrived to find a jar layered with colorful candy waiting for me on my desk in my dorm room. It was from my new “roomie.” More than 25 years later, we’re still great friends.
There are a lot of first meetings where we can improve our impression with a gift. How about the first time you meet a friend’s parents or your boyfriend’s parents? Or when you go for your college interview – why not bring a famous hometown trinket for the interviewer? First day on the job? You’ll impress your boss like no other employee ever has with a home-baked pie or some cookies. (Just pray she’s not diabetic.)
Once, I received an invitation for a graduation party for a lady from my church. She was a nontraditional student in her early 50s. I didn’t know her that well but I wanted to honor her effort with a gift. I decided to give her a little tea basket of my own composition. Finding honey, tea and some biscuits was easy but for the cup and saucer, I wanted something antique and very pretty. For being as busy a person as I am, I spent way too much time looking for that cup and saucer. I went into every second-hand store in town and concluded I must have been on the heals of an antique dealer who was buying up just what I needed right before I arrived. No store had anything suitable. Finally, I went to an antique flea market and found about 50 beautiful sets in all price ranges. I spent half an hour trying to find the one that was the right combination of elegance and cost.
All this time over the several days of my teacup search, I kept thinking about the lady I was going to give it to. I didn’t know much about her, so my thoughts weren’t too varied or profound; I just held an image of her in my head and thought of some of the things I’d heard her say. It was interesting to me to be thinking so much about this person I hardly knew. By the time I finished wrapping the gift and delivering it, I found myself warmed up to that woman and wanting to get to know her. And I really wanted to know if she liked my gift.
Less than three months later, I was sitting in her house having dinner – something that might never have happened without that gift-giving opportunity. I saw on the wall behind her stove a collection of about 25 boxes of tea and I spotted the one I had given her. She is a tea fanatic! I had no idea.
I know, this advice sounds so quaint it’s almost retro to the 1950s, but look who’s giving the advice – a king! The greatest king in all Jewish history (except for Christ himself) is saying, “You want to get in to see me? Don’t show up empty-handed!”
Do you think Solomon was so easily won over? Was he a real sucker for getting gifts? Probably not. The magic in a gift is that it creates in the receiver a sense of obligation to, at very least, say “thank you” in person, particularly if the giver is waiting just outside for such an opportunity. And in the giver, it builds affection for the person you are giving to as you take the time to contemplate what that person would like.
Even if you’re not trying to get an audience with an important person, learn to give gifts. Maybe you think, “I can barely pay my bills, how I am supposed to be a gift-giver?”
Well, here’s where I have to confess to being a real cheapskate. When I find an interesting gift item for a good price, I may buy two or three of them. I have a plastic storage container in the top of the closet in our guest bedroom that has a collection of gifts that are ready to give should I need one in a pinch. When I shop garage sales and second-hand stores, I hone in on items that still have the price tag on them. More than one person has received a gift from me that looks brand new but cost me less than a dollar at a garage sale.
As an aside – if you don’t shop garage sales and second-hand stores, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s a bit like a treasure hunt, but it’s fun and saves lots of money. I paid $20 for the antique desk I’m sitting at right now. One summer, my daughter found two pairs of Nike Airs in excellent condition for just a couple of dollars.
When giving gifts, it really is the thought that counts, and shopping for a gift for someone, or just creating a beautifully wrapped gift from those you picked out of the top of the guestroom closet, causes you to spend time in selfless thought about another person, and that is time well spent. By the way, I believe that time spent in selfless thought is what distinguishes a gift from a bribe. To give the right gift, you have to put another person’s interests above yours. When finding just the right bribe, you’re thinking foremost of what will work best to your advantage.
Whether you’re trying to get in to see a busy person, make a good impression on a first meeting, or responding to an invitation you’ve received, form the distinguishing good habit of giving gifts. It seems to be of another generation, age and time, but in fact, it is timeless yet rare. And rare stands out!

Hold this thought: I don’t show up empty-handed.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.
240 pp. $16.00 (Amazon’s listing for $11.43) ISBN 0310321913 ©2010 Zondervan
Visit Ann Voskamp’s www.aholyexperience.com.

What are you living for? Don’t answer that. Instead, take this short assessment and then let’s talk.
Part A. In the blank before each statement, write in the number of hours in the average week (including your weekend or days off) you do the following activities:
_____ Watch television (including news) and movies
_____ Read fiction, magazines or the newspaper
_____ Surf the Internet for leisure/social reasons or for non-essential shopping (clothes, accessories, electronics, etc.)
_____ Play sports or work out
_____ Hang out with friends, including going out to eat with them or talking on the phone with them
_____ Work on hobbies or pursue activities like dance or theater
_____ Play video games or other games
_____ Just chill (take a drive, sit on the porch, sunbathe)
_____ Listen to the radio (exclusively or while you drive, but not while you do other activities)
_____ Sleep (outside of your normal sleeping hours)
_____ Hair, nails or other spa appointments

Part B. Now fill in the blanks before the statements with the number of hours each week you do these activities.
_____ Read non-fiction or study the Bible
_____ Attend church activities or meet with someone for the purpose of counseling (giving or receiving)
_____ Pray, meditate or journal
_____ Work on an income-generating or money-saving hobby or interest (not your job)
_____ Study (for a class or test or to learn a skill or language on your own) or helping someone else study
_____ Work in charitable activities (planning or implementing fund raisers, helping others, volunteering at an organization, etc.)
_____ Playing an instrument
_____ Write (letters, short stories, poems, etc.)
_____ Cleaning house

Add your hours from Part A and Part B of the above, and compare the scores. I suspect that a good many completing this brief assessment clocked many more hours in Part A activities than they did in Part B activities. Some exceptions might be serious students taking challenging courses or… people like me, whose families think they are odd birds for not kicking back more.
I used to be a queen of leisure. When I was in high school, I spent as much time as I could in Part A activities and almost none in Part B activities. “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me” (I Cor. 13:11).

“Live to work,” goes the saying, but in fact, many of us are simply working to afford to live and what we actually live for is what we do outside of the J-O-B. In fact, the trend of the last few decades has been to hold on to child-like ways all the way to the golden years. It’s become the new American dream: a life of leisure and entertainment.
In contrast, there are those who are passionate about their work, seeing their job not only as a means of sustaining the rest of life, but meaningful in itself, and perhaps even a joy. That’s a blessed place to be in life, but also another subject. What we want to hone in on today is what we are doing with life outside of the money-making, bill-paying work.
If you look at the official statistics, Americans don’t actually spend all that much money on leisure and entertainment each year ($2,699 for the average household in 2009, according to Bundle.com). Yet that figure doesn’t include eating out (which would more than double that figure) nor non-essential shopping (like for most clothes and home décor, etc.) And, this figure has actually decreased during these last few economically depressed years. However, analysts found that people are using those leisure dollars to do more at home, rather than take expensive vacations, and so they are likely getting more leisure time out of the same or fewer dollars. For example, many used their dollars to upgrade their television and gaming equipment, and with the average American spending 28 hours a week with the television on, that’s an amazing return on investment of those leisure dollars.
The bigger concern, however, is not whether we are getting our money’s worth, but whether we are getting our life’s worth out of our leisure time. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” How often do we apply this test to determine God’s good, pleasing and perfect will to the areas of our lives we think are just fine? After all, there’s nothing sinful about hanging out with friends, reading a novel or playing soccer on the weekend. Sin or not sin? Not sin! Passed the test, right?
In a simple analysis, yes. But a person who wants to live like Christ lived has to go deeper. Among the very many non-sinful choices, are there some that are wiser than others? Some that imitate Christ better than others? Don’t think that a God who has your hairs numbered on a moment-to-moment basis doesn’t care what you do with your down time. He does and He has provided examples for us to emulate.
First, if we would care to really search the scriptures in this regard, we might be shocked to see that the Bible doesn’t profile in a positive manner any people who live for leisure. You will be hard-pressed to make a case that any Bible hero spent his down time playing bocce ball or horseshoes. Instead, our Bible heroes are people on missions or who are mentioned in tandem with their industry. Even David took advantage of his relatively inactive periods watching sheep and hanging out in a cave writing psalms.
Secondly, we have specific examples that indicate that God values industry over entertainment and leisure. Starting in Genesis when he placed Adam “in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Oh, you thought it was for Adam’s pleasure? And then God made woman as a what? A helper to Adam. So both men and women were there to work – not lay naked all day in the daisies. And that, folks, was before the fall!
After the fall, God told his people “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest” (Exodus 34:21). And in Bible times, as well as in modern times in many less developed countries, a work day does not consist of just eight hours. It was often as many hours as the sun shone, and then whatever could be done by candlelight. And thus it was the world over until about 100 years ago when modern conveniences made our workload so much lighter.
Think of stories you may have heard from your grandparents, or books like Little House on the Prairie. Thank God we don’t have it that hard anymore, but should I also say, “Thank you, God, that I now have time to watch four hours of television a night”? Television is an easy target, and a broad one, but please know that the other forms of time-passers listed in Part A can be every bit as deserving of attack as television.
On the other hand, many of the Part A activities (excepting video games) can be a healthy and fulfilling part of a life well-lived, a truly abundant life. The deciding factor of whether they detract or add to your abundant life in Christ may be the priority and amount of time you are giving these activities. We have the weekly day of rest and we have God-sanctioned extended periods of rest as well. These are the times to fill with Part A activities. And I believe God takes joy in seeing us relax and play.
However, on the average day, I believe it is more pleasing to God to be about industry, not leisure and entertainment, in our downtime.
My first clue that this is true is that it is counter-cultural. We are not of this world, and if the world’s idea of an abundant life is a relaxing evening after work and weekends on the lake, that is probably not God’s idea of an abundant life. My second clue is found in Proverbs 31. If you’re like me, it’s exhausting to even read the list of things that woman masters. In and among her waking early, cooking, mulling over real estate, planting, spinning and sewing, note two things: 1. There is no record of leisure activity and 2. Further, it specifically says she “does not eat the bread of idleness.” And my third and strongest clue is that Jesus Himself was a work-aholic. He worked to the point of exhaustion, so much so that one time He slept right through a squall on a small boat. The scriptures mention that He withdrew to places of solitude and we have the record of Him attending a wedding and dinner at some peoples’ houses. However, the gospels from beginning to end manifest that Jesus was all about His purpose. He had three short years of ministry and He made the very best of it.
How much time do we have before the Master demands to see what we have done with our talents? Do you think He’ll be pleased when we tell Him we were able to answer all the bonus questions on Jeopardy? What a stellar use of our intellect! The psalmist said, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” In other words, if we were to accurately reflect on just how little time we have in life, we would make wiser choices about how we spend each moment.
Need a concluding sentence…

SIDEBAR
Television Statistics
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.
I. FAMILY LIFE
Percentage of households that possess at least one television: 99
Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66
Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes
Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
Number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion
Value of that time assuming an average wage of S5/hour: S1.25 trillion
Percentage of Americans who pay for cable TV: 56
Number of videos rented daily in the U.S.: 6 million
Number of public library items checked out daily: 3 million
Percentage of Americans who say they watch too much TV: 49
II. CHILDREN
Approximate number of studies examining TV’s effects on children: 4,000
Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful
conversation with their children: 3.5
Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
Percentage of parents who would like to limit their children’s TV watching: 73
Percentage of 4-6-year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV
and spending time with their fathers, preferred television: 54
Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500
III. VIOLENCE
Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000
Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000
Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence helps precipitate real life mayhem: 79
IV. COMMERCIALISM
Number of 30-second TV commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
Number of TV commercials seen by the average person by age 65: 2 million
Percentage of survey participants (1993) who said that TV commercials
aimed at children make them too materialistic: 92
Rank of food products/fast-food restaurants among TV advertisements to kids: 1
Total spending by 100 leading TV advertisers in 1993: $15 billion
V. GENERAL
Percentage of local TV news broadcast time devoted to advertising: 30
Percentage devoted to stories about crime, disaster and war: 53.8
Percentage devoted to public service announcements: 0.7
Percentage of Americans who can name The Three Stooges: 59
Percentage who can name at least three justices of the U.S. Supreme Court: 17

Compiled by TV-Free America,1322 18th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036

Billboard shorts. The very idea here is to draw attention to the butt, and it works. Even women are checking out your butt if you have something printed on it. It’s the same concept of highway billboards, and as they assure us, “advertising works.”

Side Satchel Purses. For real? A purse? I love those little purses with the long straps that fit comfortably over the shoulder freeing my hands. So it was a little upsetting to learn that when I am wearing my purse across the body, and the strap cuts right down the middle and separates my breasts, defining them more, some guy is filling in the details in his mind. Further, when we walk, those cute side-satchel bags often get shoved to the back; once again, this is very convenient for the wearer, but it lands on our bottoms. And so it bounces along, as we do, with each step and, once again, calls guys’ attentions. Even the best-intentioned person can’t help but notice a bouncing object.

Words across the Chest. This style shirt is so ubiquitous that one would think guys would be desensitized to it. Some of the messages are quite innocent, if not even laudable. But here’s what happens: You’re walking into Walmart with a shirt that says, “Peru Mission Trip 2011” and people can’t help but try to read it. As you move, so do the words. And so after a guy finishes reading the shirt, his attention lingers to the platform behind the words. They’re looking at our chests again! Grrr.

V-necks Shirts. It’s another optical trick. The eye wants to follow the two sides to its point. And sometimes the point of the V is a jumping off place for the male imagination.

Tight Shirts. Same concept, broader category. I hope by now you’re getting the point that men are easily distracted and thrown off track by visual stimuli. Shirts that accentuate every curve we have been blessed with are basically an embossed invitation to the active male imagination.

High Kick Pleats. It’s the V-neck concept in reverse. Again, the eye wants to follow the sides to the point. And in many cases, with today’s ridiculously high pleats, it’s not a huge mental leap for a guy to go from the end of the pleat to seeing you in your skivvies.

Exposed Bra Straps. This “fashion” trend was made really popular in the mid 80s by Madonna. That should be our first clue that it’s completely godless. It’s odd how one popular person can come along and turn something that was previously iconic for white trash into something chic. I think we had it right before Madonna.

Tube Shirts or Halters that Expose Tan Lines (or lack thereof). OK, you’ve just had a tan sprayed on and you want to show it off. So out comes the tube top. To a guy, you might just as well havewalked out of the shower, and all that that implies. Or, you’re proud of your hard-earned tan and you want to show the world how far you’ve come by showing off those tan lines. Maybe the girls will be impressed, but the guys will not think a thing of your color, and will start to imagine what you might look like in a bikini, or worse. What other tan lines might you be hiding? Accessories. There are actually a lot of ways bling-bling can lead the male mind astray. I’ll just list a few: Bright reds, on lips and nails, big earrings, and facial piercings, all fairly or unfairly still call to mind a woman of less than stellar morals. Be especially wary of these things on first dates, when a guy is apt to take any little thing as a sign you want sex. Necklaces that rest on the chest (we’ve covered the why of this already), and jeans with heavily decorated pockets, as well as shirts with decorated breast pockets.

I suspect readers will have one of two reactions to this: Mouth wide open in disbelief (and a little disgust for men) or eyes rolling, thinking this a ridiculous list. And it does seem rather ridiculous that in this day and age women should have to restrict the liberties so hard won to what? Prevent some pervert from falling to lust? Men are men (from Mars, if you didn’t get the memo). They are, as God wired them to be, a lot more physical and visual, than women are.

So what’s a woman to do about that? Well, this well-accepted fact has led some extremists to cover everything but their eyes while in public. Do you think that solves the problem? Do men in Iran not lust? Probably they do. So why do we even try? Why not give up on modesty all together?

Let’s look at it from another perspective. Instead of saying, “I have to dress modestly so my brother doesn’t stumble,” (oh, that it were as easy as that!), say instead, “I want to make life a tad easier for my brothers in Christ by dressing in a way that doesn’t make it easier for them to stumble.” Romans 14:13b says, “Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” In our clothing choices, we can be a help or a hindrance to our brothers. I know, it’s no fun to have to consider other people over your own tastes and desires, but if you’re a disciple of Christ, that’s just the kind of life you’re called to, and not just in one area, but in every aspect of life. As Paul said, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). The great thing about fashion in the 21^st century is that there our choices so vast that we can comply with Scriptural mandates not to be a stumbling block in how we dress, while still finding tons of outfits that work for us. Dress as unto the Lord.

Get the freewarez lolz! (Did I even spell that right?!) For practically any type of software it is possible to find some sort of free alternative, usually called freeware (or open-source software). In fact, if you think you can’t afford a computer, visit a used computer store and ask for their bargain basement box with a decent hard drive and Wi-Fi and wave off the expensive software. Load up Linux from a CD (see below) and then head to the closest free Wi-Fi spot and start equipping your machine. Not all are equal in quality and you may end up wanting to opt for fancier programs that have a more polished look and extended functionality; but for most tasks you can deal with the free stuff – where there’s a will, there’s a way.
There are so many options for good freeware any sort of exhaustive list isn’t really possible in this space, but here are a few of my favorites.
Operating Systems
Linux is a type of operating system (based on Unix, the same thing that’s running beneath Mac OS X, actually) which is free. It comes in countless distributions (or distros) tailored to whatever purposes (data recovery, gaming, multimedia, education, server and even science). For a beginner I’d recommend Ubuntu, one of the more popular distros. You can download it and run it from a CD first to give it a try if you’d like.
Documents/Education
OpenOffice: Free office suite. Not as attractive of an interface as Office 2007/2010, but hey, it’s free.
PrimoPDF: Make anything a .pdf file with the print to pdf feature. Also handy for when you don’t have a printer and need to print a copy of a online purchase confirmation, etc.
GraphCalc: Don’t have one of those expensive graphic calculators? This program can do 2D and 3D graphing.
Google Earth: See satellite images of the earth overlayed with various information layers. It fits the images to the terrain so you can do a 3D fly-through as well. You can check out Mars, the moon and the stars too!
E-Sword: free Bible study software.
Video and Audio
Audacity: Audio editing software. Not exactly super handy for actually making music, but you can use it to filter and splice tracks together or convert from one format to another. Great for prepping music for use with video.
Realplayer: Ever wanted to save a video from YouTube? You can with the video downloader included in Realplayer.
VLC – The “play anything” player: Not it’s actual name (VLC media player), but this program is generally held in well-regard to be able to play almost any type of video, no matter the codec.
Mediamonkey: If you’ve tried iTunes but don’t care for it, and don’t like Windows Media Player either, give this media player a try.
imTOO Movie Maker Got raw video footage you want to jazz up? This freebie allows you to create movies from multiple videos with professional-looking transitions and music.
Internet
Skype: Video-chat, calling program. Use your computer as a phone, basically… not very useful without internet, obviously
Filezilla: For any older-school technology people out there, this is a good FTP client for uploading/downloading files. This is not a P2P (peer-to-peer) client.
Try PortableApps.com to find versions of free and popular software that can be installed to a flash drive that can port executable files so you can take it with you wherever you go. I used to have my favorite browser installed onto one so that where ever I went, I always had my favorite bookmarks, saved passwords, and browsing history with me for convenient browsing.
Photo and Graphics
GIMP: Think Adobe Photoshop alternative. You can use it for anything from editing photos to painting something from scratch or doing some graphics design.
Inkscape: This one is similar to Adobe Illustrator. Useful for vector-based graphics design.
Blender: I haven’t played with this one too much, but you can do some amazing stuff with this like 3D model design and even animation.
Photoscape: If GIMP is a little much for the simple editing you want to do, give Photoscape a try. It has a bunch of easy to use, handy and fun tools to make the most of your photos.
Picasa: A very well-designed easy to use photo editing and organization application. Includes handy things like face recognition and the ability to tie into your Google account online to share photos.
Games
BZFlag: 3D online multiplayer tank game with free-for-all, capture-the-flag, etc. Has an older look, but is fun nonetheless.
Battle for Wesnoth: Fantasy turn-based strategy game.
Utilities
Recuva: Ever deleted a file and then realized you still needed it? … and you just emptied the trash can? Well, the truth of the fact is, your 0’s and 1’s on the hard drive for your file are probably still there. This little utility can help you get those files back.
7Zip: Can handle almost any file compression format. We typically just think of .zip files, but his can also handle .tar, .tzip, .gzip., .7z., .rar, .lzh…. the list goes on.
CCleaner: Tool to help clean up various files that exist on your system.
Launchy: In Windows 7, the start menu now has a place you type to launch any program, or access any of your files, but that doesn’t exist back in XP. With this program, finding things in various places like my documents, bookmarks or that start menu is just a few keystrokes away. It’ll take what you type and make suggestions for what you might be looking for.
All the “A” Anti-virus Apps… there’s a bunch: AVG, Avast, Avira, Adaware.
WinDirStat: Running out of space on your hard drive? This program graphically shows you what files/folders are using the most space.
WinMerge: This one takes a bit more time to figure out, but the basic concept is you have two almost identical folders, but they aren’t exactly the same. This program allows you to compare the differences between to folders and chose which files from each you’d like to use where there are differences.
For even more free software try sites like SourceForge.net or CNET Download.com (fair warning, not all software on these sites are free to try, i.e., demo).

After watching the documentary film “Divided,” produced by the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC), all Christians should appreciate one point: Parents should be intimately involved in the discipleship of their families. But really, have all youth programs resulted in a “50-year failed experiment,” as NCFIC Director Scott T. Brown proclaims? The biggest disappointment in this film was the divisive way in which “Divided” makes this claim.
The premise is that age-segregated learning commonly used from children’s church to Sunday school to youth programs was developed by atheists for secular education and then adapted to church, and as such, is not Biblical. Supposedly, adopting this strategy has provided the excuse fathers need to relinquish their responsibility to disciple their families. The movie goes on to say that since there is no direct mandate in the Bible for the nurture of teenagers through youth programs, it is not Biblical to use such programs, even when they do work. The movie also portrayed youth programs as generally failing to teach truth, while throwing a bunch of immature kids together with the hope that they will train each other.
The call to fathers everywhere to disciple their children is a message which cannot be encouraged enough. But let’s face it; fathers didn’t need youth programs to justify bowing out of their divinely appointed leadership role. It started in the Garden of Eden when Adam allowed Eve to lead him astray. This failing is clearly not, as this movie suggests, caused by faithful youth pastors who have given a large portion of their lives to the redemption and spiritual development of teenagers. The propensity exists now as it has for centuries. If anything, a historical and cross-cultural review might show that fathers of this generation are more involved in parenting than they ever have been.
The statistic that 88 percent of all teenagers in youth programs walk away from the Church never to return is alarming. But how accurate is that number? A “bias estimate” of 40 percent is also mentioned in the film. Regardless of which is more accurate, other studies have shown that many youth leave the Church, not necessarily because of their youth program, but because they found the Church boring and irrelevant to their lives. This can make the attractions of the world teens live in all the more alluring. And something the stats don’t consider is the numbers that leave the Church but return, after having discovered the truths they grew up with – some of which were learned in healthy youth programs – to be reliable.
Glance at the film’s website (http://www.dividedthemovie.com), and you can’t miss the statement, “Modern youth ministry is contrary to Scripture.” The film asserts that since we are not specifically told to use these ministries, we must abolish them. In fact, we are in disobedience to God even if these programs do work because they cannot be Biblical if they have pagan origins. Following this line of reasoning – as some do – we should not celebrate birthdays, Christmas or even believe in the best model we have for God: the Trinity. As for the Biblical support of their position, “Divided” ironically points to passages where Jesus calls the children to Himself. These instances supposedly describe the Biblical way fathers are to disciple their children. Yet, the primary passages where this happened (Matt 19:13-15; Mark 10:13 and Luke 18:15, 16) describe Jews bringing babies and little children to Jesus for a type rabbinical blessing and prayer – not for discipleship or teaching. While I wholeheartedly agree that these passages display the heart of Christ for young ones and that they should encourage fathers to love their own children with the same intensity, to say that they express God’s disapproval of modern youth ministries is tragic. Following the movie’s argument, Jesus should have pushed them away and instructed their fathers to disciple them, because He was obviously not their father, but He didn’t. In fact, if we consider that He often had young people hanging around Him, wouldn’t Jesus fit the mold of most youth pastors today? He did things differently than the parents and religious leaders of the day. He was a young man who was exciting to hang out with. NCFIC takes their stance too far regarding things which Scripture does not clearly address, such as the way we evangelize and disciple youth. Further, in Jewish culture, a 13-year-old was a young man, not a child. There is no primitive church equivalent for the man-child of today’s culture: the 13 to 18-year-old male who is old enough to reason and work like a man but still lives like a child in society.
Should we, as NCFIC suggests, eliminate youth ministries? Fathers are clearly called to disciple their families, but they need all the assistance they can get, including youth ministries which point young people to Christ. To discard all youth programs because some fathers have used them as a way out of their responsibilities would be like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Instead of embracing a new direction which destroys good methods with the bad, we need to answer the more difficult challenge of examining each youth program, every event, even individual lessons, if necessary, to ensure that every aspect of our youth ministries reflect Christ and His gospel.
Has God not commanded the Church to reach out and touch the youth of our world in a winsome way in order to draw them to Christ? Paul became “all things to all people so that by all possible means,” he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22). Isn’t that the premise of most youth ministries? NCFIC sorely misses this parallel.

“Divided” can be viewed online for free at www.DividedtheMovie.com.