This article appeared in the April issue of the Nebraska Family Times. If you would like a FREE copy of that issue, e-mail shelly@shellyburke.net.

Friends Usurp Family on Facebook

New default settings for family on Facebook demote children, spouses and parents to the bottom of the page while elevating friends to the top, a change some parents find disconcerting.

Marnie Swedberg, author of SANE: Social Networking Success in 15 Minutes a Day, states, "Facebook has had a wonderful family first policy until now, a policy that has helped families stay foremost in each others' minds when on the website by posting family members in the most prominent position. This policy has been reversed."

Families on Facebook make up much of its 500 million users, half of whom log in every day.

"Facebook family connections happen every second of every day," says Swedberg, whose personal networks rank in the thousands. "I have three young adult kids myself and I like to see them every chance I get, even on Facebook. More importantly, I want to communicate that they rank number one in my world both on- and off-line."

Facebook is impacting our culture. What happens on Facebook has the potential to change things in the world of face-to-face. By demoting the visibility of family, and promoting the position of friends, Facebook is communicating a change in values, however subtle.

The good news is that it is easy to re-position your family first on your personal Facebook profile page. Simply follow these steps:

1. Login to your Profile Page.
2. On the left bar, identify the word "Friends" or "Family" under your photo.
3. Click on the editor's pencil icon that appears when you mouse over one of those words.
4. Find "Featured Friends."
5. Left click on the word "Family" and drag it above "Friends."
6. Save.

From Christian Newswire

April is National Organ Donation Month

What you need to know

Transplantation is one of the most remarkable success stories in the history of medicine. But despite continuing advances in medicine and technology, the need for organs and tissue is vastly greater than the number available for transplantation.

Transplantation gives hope to thousands of people with organ failure and provides many others with active and renewed lives.

Learn the facts

Fact: Anyone can be a potential donor regardless of age, race, or medical history.

Fact: All major religions in the United States support organ, eye and tissue donation and see it as the final act of love and generosity toward others.

Fact: When you are on the waiting list for an organ, what really counts is the severity of your illness, time spent waiting, blood type, and other important medical information, not your financial status or celebrity status.

Fact: An open casket funeral is possible for organ, eye and tissue donors. Through the entire donation process the body is treated with care, respect and dignity.

Fact: There is no cost to the donor or their family for organ or tissue donation.

Statistics

Although there have been advances in medical technology and donation, the demand for organ, eye and tissue donation still vastly exceeds the number of donors.

o More than 100,000 men, women and children currently need life-saving organ transplants.

• Every 10 minutes another name is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.

• An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.

• In 2009, there were 8,021 deceased organ donors and 6,610 living organ donors resulting in 28,465 organ transplants.

• Last year, more than 42,000 grafts were made available for transplant by eye banks within the United States.

• 90% of Americans say they support donation, but only 30% know the essential steps to take to be a donor.

Please consider becoming an organ donor. Here’s how:

As a resident of Nebraska, you should take the following steps to ensure your decision to become a donor is carried out:

• Sign up online in the Nebraska Donor Registry at http://www.donoregistry.org/Register/ne/en.

• Indicate your wishes on your driver's license or state ID when you apply for or renew it.

• Talk to your family about your decision to become an organ donor.

Nebraska does not require family consent to carry out your decision to be an organ, eye or tissue donor. However, keeping everyone informed will help avoid any confusion or delays. Print a family notification card at www.donatelife.net.

-------------------------------

Want to learn more about donation in Nebraska?
Please contact:
Cindy Schabow
Donate Life Nebraska
Phone: 402-559-3788
Email: cschabow@cox.net

A Personal Story of Organ Donation

Lori and Dave Clausen’s daughter, Rachel, was in a car accident on September 18th, 2009. Lori says, “When we realized we were not going to get the miracle we were praying for, we chose to make our 16 year old daughter the miracle for someone else, only to discover that was a decision Rachel had already made for herself when she got her driver’s license. For us it was a decision we have never regretted. We don’t think of it as our daughter living on in someone else; to us she helped some else live their own life more fully. We have learned more about organ donation since that time, and when we hear of someone receiving a transplant, we not only say a prayer for the recipient, but also for the family somewhere that chose to give hope to others in the middle of their own grief. We know first hand how precious that gift is and hope someday to hear from the recipients of our daughter’s organs. It would be a blessing to us to know that something good was able to come out of her death.”

April Editor's Letter

The last few weeks have been filled with sadness and joy for me, after my two private duty patients died. I cared for Lisa several times a week for more than 5 years, and I supervised Josh’s care for several years as well. Private duty nursing is unique in that these nurses develop a close relationship not only with the patient, but with their families as well.

Lisa and Josh were both disabled for many years, and required high levels of care from their parents, nurses, and other caregivers. I was blessed to get to know both of them and their families…they and their families taught me so much about life and difficult circumstances. Some of the neatest moments I have experienced as a nurse were when Lisa and Josh recognized me and smiled at me. We are sad, because they are no longer here with us...yet we are so happy knowing they are in heaven, healthy and whole.

On March 13th our niece, Leighton, was baptized. Several weeks ago my sister asked Tim and I to be sponsors, and we immediately said "yes." What a joy to be asked to be part of her spiritual life!

During the service, as Tim and I, the other sponsors, and my sister's family were going up to the front of the church for the baptism, Tim pulled a piece of paper out of his suit jacket pocket. He looked a little startled and then showed it to me. My eyes immediately filled with tears; it was the funeral service folder for my grandfather, who died almost exactly a year ago. His picture is on the front of the service folder, and seeing his face reminded me that he, too, had been baptized many years ago...and because of that baptism and his faith, he was in heaven. And now as we brought Leighton to baptism, she, too, would enter God's kingdom when she left this earth, just as Josh and Lisa had both been brought for baptism and now were in heaven.

I do not believe in coincidences...I believe that when things like this happen they are "God-incidences." I'm so thankful that God reminded me of His promise to my patients, to grandpa, to Leighton, to Tim and I and our children...to my friend who lost her daughter in a car accident...to another friend whose grandson died...to everyone who believes in Him...because of His love for us, and His sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, we will ALL have that promise of heaven…if we only believe.
----------------
Tim has been busy with the usual activities of early spring months—calving! We’ve had more than 100 calves so far. There are a lot of mother cows and their babies in “my” pasture—the pasture I can see from almost every window in our house—and I just love watching the calves run and jump and play in the morning when their moms are eating.

Tim and I went to a weather spotter’s training class last week. It was very interesting to learn more about the clouds and storm systems that product tornadoes. While we definitely hope NOT to see any tornadoes, we’ll know a lot more about the storms that produce them.

Morgan stays busy with her school activities and friends, and she’s thinking more about her college options. We’re going to visit several Nebraska colleges this spring. She’s even considering going to Midland College—my alma mater!

Cody is on his way home right now, to spend a few days of his spring break with us. He is eagerly looking forward to a trip to China this spring. He’ll be seeing the great sights of China and also studying some of the agriculture of the area.
----------

I hope you enjoy this issue of the Nebraska Family Times! In looking over the articles I’ve chosen and written, a wide range of topics is covered. Please let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered! It’s been fun to print more articles from local authors. If you are interested in writing a book, CD, or movie review, or article for the paper, please e-mail me with your review, or your ideas. I appreciate hearing from readers, whether it’s about something you enjoy about the paper, or something I could do better.
----------

And I close with a verse from Lisa’s funeral, and two verses from a song at Josh’s funeral, both of which I hope remind you of the hope we have in Jesus.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:4

He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.

He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Jesus, still the same;
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives;
I know that my Redeemer lives!

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Habitat for Humanity is Coming to Columbus!


”Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1

By Shelly Burke, Editor

If all goes according to plan, a needy family will see their dreams of a new home start to come true on May 1st, 2011, when ground will be broken for a Habitat for Humanity home near Bradshaw Park in Columbus, NE.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness by providing housing for people whose current housing is inadequate, unsafe, or substandard.

Dan Staack, President of the local Habitat Board of Directors, said the quest to build a Habitat for Humanity home in Columbus began 3 years ago. It took about 2 ½ years to work through the application process and develop support in Columbus. On August 1, 2010, Columbus was granted permission to operate a chapter by Habitat for Humanity International.

The Family Selection process is underway, and qualified families may still apply for the home to be built in Columbus. (Contact information at the end of this article.) A family will be selected by mid-April. The houses are not given away; recipients of a Habitat for Humanity home must be able to make monthly interest-free mortgage payments. They must also invest “sweat equity” hours in physical work in partnership with Habitat to build their home. Each home takes about 15 weeks to build.

Habitat for Humanity depends extensively on donations and volunteers. Staack says “First and foremost, please ask readers to pray for our chapter, that we can meet our goal of building our first home this summer. God gives all of us different talents and treasures. All do not swing a hammer. Some cook (for volunteers), some can paint, some are good at presentations, some can landscape while others are good at organization and would be welcome on boards or committees.” Donations of tools, material, permanent storage facility, building sites, and money are needed.

Staack continues, “Any monetary donations become what I like to call a revolving fund of humanity. What comes into Columbus stays in Columbus for future homes.” As an example of the “revolving fund,” the Grand Island chapter of Habit for Humanity started in the late 1980’s. They are building five homes this year, and three of them are being built using money from mortgage payments coming in from previously built homes.

The Habitat for Humanity organization started in 1975, and since then 400,000 homes have been built world-wide, and an additional 100,000 homes are expected to be built annually.

To inquire about qualifications to have a Habitat for Humanity home built for you, volunteer time (you’ll be asked to fill out a form indicating skills and availability) or donate supplies or money, call (402) 564-4663; leave a message and your call will be returned.

Additional information from http://www.habitatforhumanity.org/

Favorite Links

I enjoy checking out websites that others suggest, and today I'm going to share some of my favorite links with you. Several of them will inspire you, several will help you save money, and one of them is my favorite non-profit organization. Please share YOUR favorite links in the comments; I'll publish selected ones in a future post.
To inspire you:

"Fragrant Offerings," blog posts by Deb Burma, at http://www.debburma.blogspot.com/
"Crosswalk," a Christian site featuring Bible study tools, devotions, and articles about a wide range of topics relevant to Christian living, found at http://www.crosswalk.com/.

To help you save money:

"Living on a Dime," containing many articles about saving money, getting out of debt, and living a more prosperous life. Check out this Kansas family at http://www.livingonadime.com/.
"Dollar Stretcher" articles cover frugal living ideas for all areas of life, at http://www.stretcher.com/
...And my favorite local, non-profit organization:

The Columbus Rescue Mission in Columbus, NE, and the Living Water Rescue Mission in York, NE (soon to open). Read inspiring stories, testimonials, and current needs at http://www.columbusrescuemission.blogspot.com/. The hard work of Chaplain Ted and his staff and volunteers is truly changing lives, and bringing them to Christ.
I hope you enjoy these sites...and remember, send me your favorites!

April Issue Hits the Stands!

The April issue of the Nebraska Family Times has been printed, delivered, and mailed!

It is always neat to see the paper in “real life”—by the time it comes out in print I’ve read and re-read every article and I’ve seen the paper in “newspaper form” on the file Jennifer e-mails me. However, the color accents in the paper show up as blue on the computer screen, no matter what color they are on the actual paper. And there’s just something about holding the paper in my hands that makes it real (I don’t think I’ll ever get a Nook or other electronic reader!).

I think this issue looks great! Jennifer chose a very striking graphic for the front page, as you can see from the picture.

The April Nebraska Family Times features an article about the Columbus chapter of the Habitat for Humanity, which is planning to build a home in Columbus starting in May. The paper also contains articles titled, History of the King James Bible, Boys Wrestling Girls—A Clash of Worlds and Worldviews, and School Becomes Curse-Free. Local Christian writer and speaker Deb Burma is also featured.

You can pick up your issue of the Nebraska Family Times at various locations around Columbus. If you would like to receive a FREE issue of the paper, e-mail me at shelly@shellyburke.net or call (402) 993-2467.

April Paper is Complete!

WHEW--the April paper is at the Wayne Herald, where it will be printed.

I had most of the articles done and to Jennifer on Wednesday, but I needed a little more time to complete my Editor's Letter. It's the last thing I do every month. I had the editor's letter and a few fillers (short articles to fill any extra space in the paper) by Thursday afternoon.

First thing Friday morning I checked my e-mail for the proof of the paper. It's always amazing to me to see all the articles I've gathered, together in newspaper form. When I send articles to Jennifer I indicate which page they should appear on (some can go wherever they fit) but she arranges them, chooses the font for the titles, and picks out pictures and graphics.

The proof is kind of confusing. Pull out a full sheet of a newspaper, and you'll see that the page numbers on the left side and the right side are not consecutive. Jennifer sends me the proof with the pages laid out like they'll be printed, so, for example, the back page and the front page are on the same computer screen.

I enjoy seeing how all of the articles come together. I proofread the titles and the articles I've written, and make sure that longer articles are continued on the page indicated. I also check to make sure all the advertisements that should appear, are in the paper. Once in awhile I ask Jennifer to find a different graphic, if the one she used isn't what I had in mind. (Last time I did that she said she hadn't been happy with the graphic either, so we both looked for one we liked better).

It's great to work with Jennifer--we've worked together long enough that she knows how I like things set up, and she's always willing to make any changes I ask. She also remembers all the details like making sure the Volume and Issue number are changed each month.

If there are corrections, I e-mail Jennifer and she makes them, e-mails the corrected proof back, and, if there are no more corrections, I give her the "OK" to send the paper to the printer. I'm a perfectionist, so check everything on the proof several times. I know that once I give the "OK" to send the proof to the printer, no more changes can be made! (Once in awhile, when I read the printed paper, I find an error I missed during proof reading...but I'm not going to tell you what mistake I missed or what issue it's in!)

Once I give the OK to send the paper to the printer, I breathe a big sigh of relief---and start to clear off my desk, which is usually buried under a pile of papers by the time I finish the paper!