Posts tagged child
The Christmas Story of the Birth of Jesus
Dec 24th
His power knows no limits. For those who call his name profound miracles have happened even in this day. The following is the story of the first miracle.
The Christmas Story of the Birth of Jesus – Paraphrased from the Bible:
This Christmas story gives a biblical account of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas story is paraphrased from the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke in the Bible.
References:
Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20.
The Conception of Jesus Foretold
Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of theHoly Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.
At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel’s words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, “How will this be?” The angel explained that the child would be God’s own Son and, therefore, “nothing is impossible with God.” Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.
Surely Mary reflected with wonder on the words found in Isaiah 7:14 foretelling this event, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (NIV)
The Birth of Jesus:
While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary’s apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.
Although Joseph’s initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary’s story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God’s will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.
When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah’s earthly father.
Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (NIV)
At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.
The Shepherd’s Worship the Savior:
Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.
There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.
The Magi Bring Gifts:
After Jesus’ birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. (Most likely Jesus was already two years of age by this time.) They bowed and worshiped him, offering treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.
By Mary Fairchild, About.com Guide
Boulder County to celebrate opening of Josephine Commons, named for a mine owner AND a human rights activist
Oct 11th
Boulder County, Colo. – Just one year after its groundbreaking, project managers, elected officials, and residents will gather on Thursday, Oct. 18 to celebrate the grand opening of Josephine Commons, one of Boulder County’s largest affordable housing developments.
The grand opening celebration will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 18 at Josephine Commons, 455 N. Burlington Ave. in Lafayette. Congressman Jared Polis and the Boulder County Commissioners will be among those who will speak. There will be tours of the buildings and property, and the public is invited to attend.
Planning, construction, and operations of Josephine Commons are being overseen by the Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA), a division of the county’s Department of Housing and Human Services (BCDHHS). The county received a Certificate of Occupancy in late August for Phase I of the project, and had leased all of the apartments within five days. “The very quick lease-up is certainly a testament to the need for low-income housing in Boulder County,” said Frank Alexander, who is director of both the BCHA and BCDHHS. “It’s heartening to know that this project is helping boost the self-sufficiency and dignity of so many of our seniors.”
Phase I of Josephine Commons features 74 units on 3.4 acres of county-owned land in east Lafayette. This includes 70 apartment-style units in a mid-rise building. The 78,000-square-foot three-story main building also features a library, great room and large commercial kitchen. The project’s Phase II, Aspinwall at Josephine Commons, will feature 72 additional townhomes and duplex units for low-income seniors and families, and will break ground in mid-2013.
Funding for the $17.9 million Phase I of Josephine Commons has come largely from private investors through Low Income Housing Tax Credits arranged by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. Significant support also came from Boulder County taxpayers through $400,000 in Worthy Cause funding. And $550,000 in Colorado Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds were provided by the Colorado Division of Housing. Other business support included a $12 million construction loan from Citibank.
Josephine Commons is named afterone-time owner of the Rocky Mountain Fuel Company, which once ran a coal mine where the development now sits. In the early 1930s, Roche stood out as a champion of workers’ rights, instituting the highest wages in the mining industry, fighting against child labor, and inviting unionization of her mines.
Also significant is the fact that the retired coal mines were used as renewable energy for Josephine Commons. Geothermal wells were drilled to depths of 400 feet, passing through the old mine shafts. Pipes were then installed to feed the heating and cooling systems, a process that greatly reduces the energy required for temperature control in the buildings. The project also features more than 100 kilowatts of rooftop and carport solar panel electricity generation.
Boulder County reintegrating administration of CCAP
Aug 9th
Co-locating Child Care Assistance Program with county’s other human services will boost efficiency, access
Boulder County, Colo. – As need continues to increase in the community for help with child care costs, Boulder County is moving to reintegrate administration of a key program that provides that assistance.
The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) is a statewide resource for families who need help covering the costs of child care as they’re working, seeking a job, or pursuing an education.
In Boulder County, CCAP has been administered by a third-party private vendor, Aspen Family Services. County leaders recognized an opportunity for streamlining the CCAP enrollment process by integrating it with other self-sufficiency-supporting services that the county oversees.
“Child care assistance is an extremely important support for parents who are struggling to find and keep jobs,” said Christina Ostrom, Family and Resident Support Services Division Manager for the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services (BCDHHS). “We know that quality child care along with strong work supports, access to healthcare and food assistance, and stabilizing financial benefits is a combination that leads to self-sufficiency.”
Since 2008, BCDHHS has seen a 150 percent increase in need for Food Assistance (formerly known as “food stamps”), and a 63 percent increase in need for Medicaid services. During this time, the county has continued to work to more efficiently meet this increase in need and to ensure clients understand the full range of services available to them.
BCDHHS staff have access to state and county eligibility systems and databases, which means the transition of CCAP into the department will reduce wait times for clients after they submit applications for the program. County staff will also be able to quickly connect clients with other services they may need in addition to child care assistance.
“This is an exciting time for the county,” said Boulder County Commissioner Cindy Domenico. “We have an opportunity to bring vital services together to strengthen and widen our safety net, and this will help countless families get the comprehensive help they need now.”
CCAP covers much of the cost of child care for qualifying families through a network of providers across the county. In order to reach more families with this assistance, Boulder County recently returned eligibility guidelines for the program to 2009 levels to include families with incomes up to 225 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (for example, $3,474 gross monthly income for a family of three). A portion of the CCAP program in Boulder County, including this expansion, is funded by Ballot Initiative 1A, a temporary property tax increase passed by voters in 2010 to backfill human services budget cuts. In addition to expanding eligibility, this funding has allowed the county to further support quality child care options in the community.
Ongoing operating expenses for in-house CCAP administration will be cost neutral for the county. BCDHHS will reintegrate administration of CCAP in Boulder County during the first quarter of 2013. A series of meetings will be held in August to share information with county partners on the transition.
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