Thanksgiving Day, is a holi day celebrated mainly in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean islands, observed as a day of gratitude to God, with prayers and feasts, for the good events that took place during the year.
HISTORY
The first, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the New England region in the form of Christian festivals in thanks giving for the year's good har vests.
For this reason, Thanksgiving is celebrated in the autumn (northern hemisphere), after the harvest has been gath ered.
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Plymouth, Mas sachusetts, by the settlers who founded the village in
1620.
The following year, after bad harvests and a harsh winter, the colonists had a good corn harvest in the summer of 1621 .
By order of the governor of the village, in honor of the progress of this vintage in previous years, the feast was scheduled in the early au tumn of 1621 .
Plymouth men killed ducks and turkeys. Other foods that were part of the menu were fish and corn. About ninety Indians would have partici pated in the festival. Every one ate outside at large ta bles.
THE HOLIDAY IN THE UNITED STATES
For many years, Thanksgiving was not instituted as a nation al holiday, being observed as
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Plymouth, Massachusetts, by the settlers who founded the village in 1620.
in only certain states, such as New York , Massachusetts , and Virginia . In 1863 , thenPresident of the United States , Abraham Lincoln , declared that the fourth Thursday in November would be National Thanksgiving Day.
But in 1939 , President Frank lin Delano Roosevelt instituted that this day would be celebrated in the third week of November, in order to help commerce by increasing the time available for advertising and shopping before Christ mas (at the time, it was consid ered inappropriate for advertising products at sale before Thanksgiving).
Because Roosevelt's declara tion was not mandatory, 23 states adopted the measure instituted by Roosevelt and 22 did not, with the remainder taking both Thursdays (the third and fourth weeks of November) as Thanksgiv ing.
The United States Congress, to resolve this impasse, then instituted that Thanksgiving would definitely be celebrat ed on Thursday of the fourth week of November and that it would be a national holiday.
THANKSGIVING PARADE IN NEW YORK
In both the United States and Canada, Thanksgiving is usu-
ally a day when people use their free time to be with their family, having large gather ings and family dinners.
It is also a day when many people dedicate their time to religious thoughts, prayers, and Masses.
Thanksgiving Day is celebrated with large parades and also in the United States, with the holding of American football games .
The main dish on Thanksgiv ing is usually turkey, which gives Thanksgiving the nickname "Turkey Day".
In addition, cookies are also very traditional on that date. In 1967, there was a Thanksgiving massacre during a demonstration, and in 1969, indigenous people occupied Alcatraz prison on this date.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade celebrating Thanksgiving featuring everyone's favorite balloons - Snoopy, Goku from "Dragon Ball" and the Godfather from the DreamWorks movie.
The 96th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is set to be held on November 24th, 2022 in New York City, and will be shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to 12 noon EST. ◙
in 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted that Thanksgiving would be celebrated in the third week of November.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade celebrating Thanksgiving featuring everyone's favorite balloons.Marly Vasconcellos Sales Associate
We can see that historically the lands of New Jersey and other states in the United States were violently disputed with clashes between Native Indians and European explorers.
With the invasion of Europeans in American lands, and their contact with Europeans came contagious diseases, such as smallpox, killing thousands of Americans, leaving them at a disadvantage in the fight for their lands.
With this disadvantage in relation to the Europeans, they were forced to trade their lands at low prices and often even without any cost.
So begins the story of buying and selling land and property
in the United States. In a state of tensions and fear, the division of lands and properties begins.
And throughout history a whole system of laws for land
and property ownership were formed, reaching what we now call Real Estate. And now this system is very facilitated and practical.
Through a licensed profes
sional who has access to all the homes that are for sale in your state, you will be able to find the home of your dreams. When you find it, a simple process begins.
When your offer is accepted and signed by the seller it becomes a purchase and sale contract. This contract will be forwarded to the buyer's attorney, who will review the contract for a period of 3 days.
The latter will contact the seller's attorney and agree on conflicting clauses in the con tract. After all the necessary negotiations and when all the clauses satisfy both parties, then what we call the “Attorney Review” period, which is these 3 days of contract review, ends.
And then the inspection phase begins, which can last from 10 to 14 days. The buyer has the right to hire a private inspector to inspect the house and detect any problems. This report is intro duced to the owner and the buyer will be able to order needed changes.
The seller has the right to ful
Through a licensed professional who has access to all the homes that are for sale in your state, you will be able to find the home of your dreams.
fill or not fulfill the buyer's orders. And the latter has the right to cancel the con tract if its demands are not met. Or you can continue the purchase process even if you have not been answered.
If the house is being sold “as is” then the buyer will not be able to request any type of renovation. You will have to buy the house as is.
After the inspection and hav ing the seller and buyer come to an agreement then the fi nancing process begins. The agent of a bank or mortgage company will enter all the requested papers and the un derwriter will review them and issue approval for the mortgage.
A bank or mortgage com pany agent will enter all the requested papers and the un derwriter will review them and issue the mortgage ap proval
FINANCING
But the underwriter can still ask for more documents. This process takes from 30 to 60 days, depending on the buy er's request to respond to the bank's demands.
When the “commitment let ter”, which is the bank's ap proval for the financing, is al ready presented, the city, by the buyer or seller, (depends on the agreement between the two) is requested to in spect.
THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY
During this period, the trans fer of names in the title of the property is also requested.
A security company will ar range for the issuance of this new security. When the funding is fully approved, the
title prepared for transfer of names and the city inspec tion completed and approved then we usually have the closing day carried out in one of the offices of the lawyers, the seller or the buyer.
The entry of the financing will be taken by the buyer with a certified check. Funding pa pers will be signed and title papers as well.
A representative of the title company will be present, leading the process. All pa pers signed and completed so the buyer will immedi ately receive the keys to their dream home and be able to move in and take possession of their new home.
And the professionals involved will have fulfilled their missions in this process, which is: to guide, lead and represent your client in the best possible way and make dreams that seem impossi ble, POSSIBLE.
Yes, the dream of your own home is perfectly possible if it is guided in the best possible way. Look for a qualified realtor near the area you want your home and achieve your dream.
Good luck!
After the inspection and having the seller and buyer come to an agreement then the financing process begins.
the dream of your own home is perfectly possible if it is guided in the best possible way. Look for a qualified realtor near the area you want your home and achieve your dream.Hever Wilson Financial Advisor Specialist
the magic formula of pros perity continues.
Many artists, philosophers and thinkers have devoted their time to defining what can be represented as pros perity. However, a few de cades ago, some endocri nologists and neuroscientists joined in the same purpose.
The objective is to study whether the feeling of prosperity is a biological process and what can trigger such a
feeling from a physical point
Looking from another angle, they observed that everyone who felt more prosperous also said they felt happier.
In doing so, they sought to understand the link between prosperity and happiness.
So, they don't care if people are happier thanks to love or money, but what happens in the body when joy is triggered and how to "force" the
They then discovered that there are four natural sub stances in our bodies that we can define by different names and even as “prosperity hor mones”, which are endor phins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.
However, the imbalance of these substances has nega tive consequences for health and well-being, such as in
Endocrinologists observed that everyone who felt more prosperous also said they felt happier.
somnia, stress, weight gain and bad mood.
In addition, the absence of these substances is also relat ed to diseases such as depression and Parkinson's.
There are several ways to acti vate these natural hormones in our bodies without the need for drugs or substances that are harmful to our body.
Endorphins are considered the body's morphine, a kind of natural analgesic, decreasing joint and muscle pain, its release brings a feeling of comfort and well-being in addition to improving the state of mood and joy.
Along with regular exercise, laughter is one of the easiest ways to induce the release of endorphins.
Encouraging a sense of humor during work hours and finding lots of things to laugh about throughout the day is a great way to avoid emotional or mental imbalances.
One thing to keep in mind, us ing aromatherapy: The smell of vanilla and lavender has been linked to the production of endorphins.
Studies have shown that dark chocolate and spicy foods can trigger the release of endor phins in the brain.
Keep some fragrant oils and some dark chocolate on your desk for a spontaneous en dorphin rush.
Dopamine acts on motor control, cognition, compen sation, pleasure, mood, and some endocrine functions.
It is stimulated in the reward cycle, stimulating our brain to complete tasks, it is trig gered when a goal is given and when it is accomplished.
This hormone is often de scribed as responsible for feelings like love and lust, but it is also accused of being responsible for addictions.
People with low dopamine levels end up working without purpose and with little enthusiasm to set goals and targets.
Therefore, it is advisable to break big goals into small tasks, in this way, not just cel ebrate once the final goal has been achieved; thus, allowing our brain to create a series of small triumphs with the consequent release of dopamine.
And it's crucial to celebrate every time you hit a small goal. This ensures a continu ous stream of dopamine re leases.
Serotonin travels through your bloodstream when you feel important.
In the last four decades much has been studied how to ma nipulate the serotonergic sys tem and these studies have led to significant advances in the treatment of depression.
It seems little, but depres sion, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), has been the main cause of disability in the world and af fects more than 300 million people.
Our brain has a hard time dif ferentiating what is real and what is imagined, which pro duces serotonin in both cases.
If you need a serotonin boost during a stressful day, take a few moments to reflect on your past accomplishments and achieved goals. Getting out in the sun for 20 minutes to allow our skin to absorb UV rays, which promote the production of vitamin D and serotonin, is a good recipe.
While too much UV light is
Encouraging a sense of humor during work hours and finding lots of things to laugh about throughout the day is a great way to avoid emotional or mental imbalances.
Dopamine is often described as responsible for fee-lings like love and lust, but it is also accused of being responsible for addictions.
not good for you, some daily exposure is healthy for boost ing serotonin levels.
Finally, oxytocin is related to the development of maternal behaviors and at tachments. Oxytocin is often dubbed the “emotional bond ing hormone” and “hug hor mone” as oxytocin is released when we are in the presence of people that we have affec tive bonds.
It is believed that it also has a function of improving libido, acting together with testosterone in men and progesterone in women.
It is released by men and women during orgasm and by mothers during childbirth and lactation.
According to studies done on men in monogamous rela tionships, oxytocin increases fidelity.
Growing oxytocin is essential for creating strong emotional bonds and improving social interactions.
trust, and
build healthy relationships. Often referred to as the hug hormone, this is a simple way to keep oxytocin flowing.
In short, during all my professional experience, training people from different professional careers, I could observe that people only achieve prosperity, in fact, if they can be happy in their tasks and with defined purposes.
For this, the emotional of the individual needs to be in har mony with the other areas, because otherwise there is no happy human being, much less prosperous.
Therefore, knowing how to activate these hormones, first in ourselves and then in our collaborators, will be a fun damental key that will open doors to a feeling of success and prosperity.
In other articles I will bring examples of successful cases that changed their destiny by simply activating the hor mones of prosperity at the right time.
Serotonin travels through your bloodstream when you feel important. In the last four decades much has been studied how to manipulate the serotonergic system and these studies have led to significant advances in the treatment of depression.
Matutina is a Brazilian mu nicipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its popula tion as of 2020 was 3,741 people living in a total area of 260 km². The city be longs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaiba and to the micro region of Patos de Minas. It became a municipality in 1953.
My interview today is with "Mineira" Ebe Becker. She has been living in New York for almost 20 years and has an interesting story to tell.
- Ebe, what is your place of origin in Brazil - state, cityand how long have you been living in the United States?
EBE: I was born in Matutina, MG, where I left at the age of eight months to go to São Go tardo, where I lived until the age of 18. I've been living in NY for 19 years.
- Did you move directly to New York?
EBE: Yes, I came to learn Eng lish.
- How was this changing of countries for you? Was it planned or did it just hap pened in your life?
EBE: In my plans I would have stayed in NY for six months to improve my English. I never dreamed of living in the Unit ed States, not for this long, anyway. It happened because I met my husband, while wait
ing for the subway at Line Six Station, heading to NYU on my first day of school!
- Tell us a little about your adaptation process?
EBE: I think the adaptation process is a dynamic thing. It always happens while you are living outside your country.
I believe that the more you compare your reality with that of your family, your friends, or people you know
who are still back in the coun try, the more difficult this process becomes.
I also see that the more con nected you are with them, with the typical things of your country, the more bar riers will present themselves to your daily life and/or adaptation. It is of the essence to accept that it is really impossible to have all your family and all your friends with you in another country where you alone chose to live.
I feel really privileged to work here in NY.Journalist Arilda Costa McClive interview with Ebe Becker
Pay close attention to this detail!
- What do you like most about the professional and personal side living here in the USA?
EBE: I find the technological support on the professional side very interesting, with fast, safe, reliable and effi cient access.
On the personal side, I really like the security, freedom and especially cultural activities available. I certainly understand that this doesn't happen across the country, but we're talking about New York.
- You are a real estate agent in one of the biggest and most important cities in the world, tell us a little about this expe rience.
EBE: I feel really privileged to work here in NY. Certainly, the opportunity to experience the diversity that the city of fers us is really a super en riching experience. I believe the work itself is the same.
At the end of the story what really makes a difference is interpersonal knowledge.
The ability to know how to listen, ask questions, under stand, and put yourself in the other person's shoes fits well anywhere in the world.
- Tell us a little about your work.
EBE: I started my career as a furniture broker in Brasil ia. Where, I also majored in physical therapy. I really like working with both sides. However, in New York, I work only in real estate.
When the client contacts me, usually through a friend or someone who knows me, he knows he has support in all areas of life in New York. I really am their point of ref
erence for any aspect of the rest of their life in NY.
- You work a lot with the Bra zilian community. What inspires you the most to make a difference and help Brazilians in New York?
EBE: Yes, I work a lot with the Brazilian community with great pleasure. What inspires me the most to make a differ ence in the lives of Brazilians in New York is really the comfort I feel in the people who contact me, especially people who don't live here.
You know that moment when a person breathes a sigh of relief and says, “Now I under stand. Thank you so much for helping me understand the System”, this is priceless.
- We are living in times of a pandemic and uncertainties, what do you advise people who are going through this problem?
EBE: Exactly what I tell myself in the mirror in the morning; this too will pass and if you choose to live other moments you need to stay strong.
- What impressed you most during this period?
EBE: How fragile we are and how we resist what is new without even asking a simple question, 'what else is pos sible to achieve now?'
- What are your plans for when this pandemic passes?
EBE: Definitely keep doing what I'm already doing! Smil ing, exercising, living. The lightness, and filling the heart with gratitude is so necessary to live life.
- An advice you would give in these times of quarantine?
EBE: Discover what is most important in life and fill all your moments with it. I say this because a mind full of positive and productive things will not give room for the opposite.
- From Brazil, what are your best memories?
EBE: Go up to the foot of a "Jaboticaba" tree and stay there for hours!
- One of the unforgettable experiences you have lived here?
EBE: Aside from meeting with my husband, this really is my best experience here, one day I left a bag with important belongings hanging on a chair where I was sitting on the sidewalk of a restaurant. Three hours later I realized that I had lost my bag. It was handed to the restaurant's cashier with everything in side, the same way I left it.
- In all these years in America, what were the most important lessons?
EBE: That you live your choic es and that they must be made many times without
having experiences.
- An important reference in your life?
EBE: My family!
- Are you currently living your "American dream”, or do you have more projects in the drawer?
EBE: Wordless… millions of projects… my mind never stops!
- Do you have any advice for those who want to try life in the US?
EBE: I would ask questions (laughs)... what is really the most important thing in your life? Could you live with only yourself? I mean in all aspects, financial and emotional.
Can you confidently answer these questions? In other words, ask yourself these questions before you make the choice.
- Name three things that are still on your wish list.
EBE: Discover the world! Visit the world! Live in the world! Create wings! Use them!
- What is your mantra Ebe?
EBE: What are my options?
- Do you have plans to live in Brazil again?
EBE: Not for now….my plans are to be able to go to Brazil more often.
- How would you like to be remembered in the future?
EBE: Lightness Facilitator! Be light, live lightly, emit lightness, overflow lightness and exhale lightness!
- Thank you very much and good luck to you!
EBE: I appreciate the oppor tunity to be able to express some of my thoughts here! ◙
My best memory from Brazil: Go up to the foot of a "Jaboticaba" tree and stay there for hours!
Today, having experienced the joys and challenges of being a mother, I begin to have new thoughts about the one who gave birth to me. The idea of giving birth brings with it a profound in tention, among others, that our path would be illuminated, and our intense love would pave the journey, making it perfect.
In our culture, we are taught that our mother will give her body and soul in the care of our survival, at the moment we are born, this poor woman must abdicate her dreams, desires, and fi nally, her life to us. We must be cared and provided for, protected, and loved at any cost; her existence is justi fied in ours.
Certainly, this is an old con tract, developed, perpetuated, and enforced by our patriarchs, through genera
tions and the ages, and we, the children, sign it and de mand it with great vigor and pleasure.
But this agreement is not al ways able to be maintained...
Hence our suffering origi nates, our essence begins de veloping with the belief that there is something wrong with us, because our parents, most especially our mother, did not love us the way we needed her to.
We assume the blame and believe that the fault is ours. Around that time, we do not know how to reason, how to verbalize or how to defend ourselves. We are too young to understand that our par ents have their own limitations, thus making it impossible to realize that original promise and the complete fulfillment of our existence.
Some of us arrive in adult hood and learn that it was
not our fault that we did not receive the love the way we needed. Surely if our parents knew how to love us exactly so, that emotional pain, would not exist...
Friday, an old writer already asked, "Please, Mom, don't go down from the pedestal I put you on."
It is with great suffering that we find that our mother is not everything we imagined... But if we gave her freedom of speech and of being, she might have asked: “But who decided to elevate me to such heights? A place impossible for one to remain at? Who motivated this fantasy that I, by giving birth, would turn myself instantly into this perfect being, capable of total love, sensitivity, and surren der?”
Today, after becoming a moth er, I know that I love my child, this little being who God has
entrusted to my care, in an unconditional and limitless way; and for being a daughter I understand that this feeling does not raise me up to per fection, and unfortunately, I will also fail at times, thus causing suffering in this being who I love with madness, my daughter.
As I write I ask God to give my child kindness and wisdom to understand my short comings and forgives my limitations, and if so, I will know that my work as a mother has been well done and then I will feel fulfilled as a mother and as a woman.
... And when that old pain revisits me, making me ques tion who I am, I will remem ber the psychologist Yalom's words: "Give up having a per fect past."
Then I will thank God because all these experiences make me a better human being, able to feel and understand the pain of others...
... And to my mother, what else can I say? It is all right; you did your best!
It worked; I am here! Now I understand and I forgive you...
I am your legacy. Thank you so much for loving me like you did, in your own unique way… ◙
“When I stopped seeing my mother with the eyes of a child, I met the woman who helped me to give birth to myself.” Nancy Friday
As I write I ask God to give my child the kindness and wisdom so that she understands my short comings and forgives my limitations
The saved community is merciful, more forgiving than condemning, and exception ally welcoming.
“If your brother sins, go and point out his fault, just be tween the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won him over." Matthew 18:15
This is the purpose for you to seek out your brother who has sinned against you, so that you may win your broth er.
In what context did Jesus say these words?
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. “What do you think?
If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wan ders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell
you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wan der off.
In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should
perish." Matthew 18:10-14.
“My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and some one should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins." James 5:19-20.
The Father's heart means to convert those who have strayed from the truth.
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, interces sion and thanksgiving be made for all people— This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."
1 Timothy 2:1, 3-4.
When an presbyter sins the Holy Spirit teaches that he is to be rebuked in the presence of all. By who?
The presbyters. So that the other presbyters may also have fear. It's not in the presence of everyone, of the church.
Any conclusion that leads to saying that it is before the church is not supported by the text.
“If your brother sins, go and point out his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won him over." Matthew 18:15
The hermeneutically ana lyzed text easily determines that these are presbyters and not the whole church.
“The presbyters who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor (double salary), especially those whose work is preach ing and teaching.
For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is tread ing out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”
Do not entertain an accusa tion against an presbyter un less it is brought by two or three witnesses. But those presbyters who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning." 1 Timothy 5:17-20.
I have watched young men and women being pushed out of the church and I know of many sons and daughters of pastors who have left the Church because of reproofs and harsh disciplines that are not supported by the Bible.
Many were disciplined while many wrong behaviors in the church were tolerated.
The church became an envi ronment of partiality, hypoc risy and judgment that helped to hurt so many lives that to day walk away, because the Love that heals and restores was lacking.
If your son or daughter, if your brother or sister has sinned, has committed what is sinful, he must be treated with great love so that he will come to repent and be forgiven, so that he will be restored.
The willingness of many to deal with the sin of the brethren with severe discipline, without compassion and mercy only adds to the ranks
of those who leave the church wounded.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8
What is this love that cov ers or forgives a multitude of
We sympathize with the wick ed, immersed in the vilest be havior and we accept them in the community of saints because they professed Jesus, but we harden with those who are brothers and sisters and treat them with rigor when they commit sins.
At no time should we agree with the sin and error of those who have not repented and do not want to repent.
We must not accept into the bosom of the church one who has not heard the admonition and wants to continue his wrong path.
“If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector." Matthew 18:17
But what scares me is to have seen people like these being disciplined with joy and cel ebration as if such discipline was an act of purification for God.
The Father's heart for those who are lost remains full of mercy and love.
The command of the Holy Spirit is to love one another ardently which will lead us to seek the sinner's restoration and not his condemnation.
This love is what covers a multitude of sins. ◙
If your son or daughter, if your brother or sister has sinned, has committed what is sinful, he must be treated with great love so that he will come to repent and be forgiven, so that he will be restored.
The Father's heart for those who are lost remains full of mercy and love.
You may think you don't need to worry about life in surance until, or if, you have children. After all, there's no one who relies on you to feed, clothe, and educate them.
Remaining uninsured, however, could prove to be a big financial mistake, even with out dependents. Here's why.
Life insurance can shield your surviving loved ones from fi nancial hardships they may face if you pass away unex pectedly.
This could apply to anyone
who relies on your ability to provide for them financially, including aging parents or a spouse who doesn't work outside the home.
Even if your spouse has a full or part-time job, consider what would happen if the income you bring in was per
Would he or she be able to handle all living expenses — including large bills like mort gage payments? Would he or she be able to continue pay ing off any debts you share?
Many partners would not be able to cover the expenses of their current lifestyles with out two incomes. So, consid ering life insurance to each other is a critical financial planning step.
If you decide to look into life insurance, you will have to decide how much you and your spouse need to protect each other.
There are several ways to de
Life insurance can shield your surviving loved ones from financial hardships they may face if you pass away unexpectedly.
termine how much coverage you will need. One method is to multiply your salary by five or 10.2 This may make the most sense, however, when you have minor dependents who will need financial help to see them through college and early adulthood.
If you and your partner sim ply want to protect each oth er, you may need coverage that will cover only one to two years of expenses.
Perhaps the most accurate way to measure how much you will require is to consider the amount your surviving would need to handle his or her actual financial needs, whether it's paying off the mortgage, satisfying debts, or providing care to aging parents.
Life insurance can provide you with peace of mind and the knowledge that your sur viving loved ones won’t face serious financial hardship after you're gone.
ESTATE PLANNING FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
An estate plan is not just for high-net-worth individuals, it’s for everyone who is sin gle, has a spouse, has a part ner, has dependents, owns a business, has investments, has retirement funds, owns property, or has material pos sessions of value such as a car.
An estate plan may reduce estate taxes and shield your beneficiaries from having to go through probate. It means your last wishes will be heard. You can name a guardian for any young children and can even direct how you wish a beloved pet to be cared for after you are gone.
Having an estate plan can also prevent a mess by bringing clarity to your beneficiaries, and it can protect assets from unforeseen creditors.
The estate plan may contain a
will or living trust, the names of your beneficiaries, the ap pointment of an executor, a letter of intent that tells a beneficiary or executor what you wish to be done with spe cific assets, funeral details,
and special requests.
It should contain a healthcare directive with a power of attorney appointing a trusted person to make medical decisions for you when you can no longer voice your opinion, and a durable power of at torney appointing a trusted friend or relative to make fi nancial and legal decisions for you, if you become inca pacitated.
It may also contain a trust or trusts for passing on assets to your beneficiaries. Life insurance can be an important component in the overall es tate plan.
You should update your estate plan whenever a major change occurs in your life, such as purchasing a home, moving in with a significant other, getting married, hav ing, or adopting a baby, sell ing your business, getting a divorce, retiring, or having a beneficiary die before you do. Review your plan when federal and state laws on estate taxes change.
If you should die without a will (which is called “intestate”), the state and federal governments will have stan dard procedures for distrib uting your assets, and they may not be in line with your wishes.
Your beneficiaries may have to pay more in estate taxes, and probate may take consid erably longer than it would if you had a will in place.
Consult a professional finan cial advisor on tax and estate planning.
Trusts can be complicated to set up, so consult a professional trusts and estates attorney or certified public account before you begin. ◙
Life insurance can provide you with peace of mind and the knowledge that your surviving loved ones won’t face serious financial hardship after you're gone.
Strong and positive family relationships are enjoyable for their own sake – it just feels good to be part of a warm and loving family.
But positive family relation ships are important for lots of other reasons too. They
help children feel secure and loved, which gives them confidence to explore their world, try new things and learn, make it easier for your family to solve problems, re solve conflict and respect dif ferences of opinion give children the skills they need to
build healthy relationships of their own. This is why it’s worth maintaining and improving the relationships you share with your children and other family members.
There are plenty of simple things you can do to develop positive family relationships.
Positive family relationships are an important part of strong families. Strong families grow from love, security, communication, connection –and a few rules and routines too.
QUALITY TIME AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS.
Quality family time is about making the most of the time you spend together as a family. Here are some ways you can make quality time happen in your family:
Use everyday time together to talk and share a laugh. For example, family meals and car travel can be great times to catch up on the day.
Have time together when devices are turned off and out
Do regular, fun things together as a family. This can be as simple as a family soccer game at the local park on Saturdays, or a family board games night each week.
of sight. This helps to keep everyone focused on what you’re doing or talking about at the time.
Have one-on-one chats with each family member to strengthen individual rela tionships. It can just be five minutes before each child goes to bed.
Do regular, fun things together as a family. This can be as simple as a family soccer game at the local park on Saturdays, or a family board games night each week.
TEAMWORK AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
When your family is work ing as a team, everyone feels supported and able to contribute. It’s easier to work as a team when everyone understands where they stand, so it helps to have clear expectations, limits, and boundaries.
You can encourage teamwork in some of these ways:
Share household chores. Even very young children can enjoy the feeling of belonging that comes from contributing.
Include children in decisions about things like family activities and holidays. Give everyone – including young children – a chance to have their say before you make the final decision. Family meetings can be a good way to do this.
Let children make some of their own decisions, depend ing on your children’s abilities and maturity. For example, you might let your 12-yearold child decide whether to walk or cycle home from school.
Create family rules together that state clearly how your family wants to look after and
treat its members. For exam ple, ‘In our family we speak respectfully to each other’. Rules like this help everyone get along better and make family life more peaceful.
Work together to solve problems. This involves listening and thinking calmly, consid ering options, respecting other people’s opinions, finding constructive solutions, and working towards compromis es.
APPRECIATION FOR EACH OTHER AND FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Valuing each other is at the heart of good family relation ships. Here are some ways you might be able to do this:
Take an interest in each other’s lives. For example, make time to go to each other’s sporting events, drama performances, art shows and so on.
Include everyone in conver sation when you’re talking about the day’s events. For example, ‘What was the high light for you today, Izzy?’
Share family stories and mem ories. These can help children appreciate things that aren’t obvious, or that they’ve forgotten – for example, Mum’s sporting achievements when she was younger, or the way a big sister helped care for her little brother after he was born.
Acknowledge each other’s differences, talents, and abili ties, and use each other’s strengths. For example, if you praise and thank your teen age child for listening to a younger sibling reading, your child will begin to see them selves as helpful and caring. ◙
https://www.webmd.com/
Work together to solve problems. This involves listening and thinking calmly, considering options, respecting other people’s opinions, finding constructive solutions, and working towards compromises.
Share family stories and memories. These can help children appreciate things that aren’t obvious.
The cell was dark and cramped. He had been there for over a year.
His crime was simply not to agree with the oppressive regime that dominated his country and that committed one atrocity after another.
The charges leveled against him were false. Sometimes the memory of the oppor tunities he had to get away from his country, to with draw, must have crossed his mind.
The memory of his young bride was always with him. Through a guard who had be friended him, he was able to send letters to friends and to his fiancée.
He didn't know what to ex pect. In the midst of all these uncertainties he wrote a poem, and its first stanza was:
I feel surrounded by good powers, well protected and indeed comforted: This is how I wish to spend my days and have a year of joys with you.
His name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Toward the end of the war, a few weeks before Hit ler's suicide, he was hanged.
A Nazi doctor who watched his execution later wrote:
“I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer kneeling on the floor, fer vently praying to God. I was touched by the way this lovely man prayed, so dedicated and so sure that God heard him.
At the execution site, he said one more prayer and climbed the gallows steps boldly, calmly. His death occurred in seconds.
In the nearly fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I had nev er seen a man die like this, so submissive to the will of God.”
What is this faith that makes
Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew who he believed in, and he knew that He is able to keep us until the last day
a wronged man – and in the midst of so many uncertain ties – maintain such a calm and hopeful posture?
It is the faith of Paul, who states at the end of his second letter to Timothy:
In my first defense, no one came to support me; every one abandoned me.
May this not be charged to them. But the Lord remained by my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gen tiles might hear it.
And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.
To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:16-18)
The world started the year 2020 with several certainties. Everyone had plans and projects and was very confident that much of what they dreamed of would happen.
However, almost all of this is being challenged. Plans are being erased and any project, at the very least, suspended.
Everyone is faced with the fact that either because of the pandemic, or because of the economic crisis that will come from it, the world will not be the same as when we started the year.
Notice Paul's words. He be gins by stating that everyone abandoned him, no one de fended him.
For an old and sick man, at the end of his life, that alone would be enough to sink into bitterness and depression; yet his words are full of grace:
"Let it not be charged to them." This is a man at peace whose tranquility is not de termined by circumstances.
Our hearts are revealed, and our faith is purified in the midst of crisis.
Verse 17 goes on to describe this hopeful posture. He re joices, not because he will be delivered (in the preceding verses he indicates that he knows he will be killed), but because – by God's action –many have heard the gospel.
While waiting in a Nazi prison cell in 1943 a few weeks before Advent, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a friend
CONTINUING FROM PAGE 19
In these days of a pandemic, what is your prayer?
“God, deliver us from sick ness”, or “Lord, use me to proclaim your hope in the midst of crisis”.
Recently, in a conversation with Arthur Lupion, a mis sionary in Uruguay, I heard his affirmation that there is no situation that frees me to love God or my neighbor less than before.
On the contrary, our hearts are revealed, and our faith is purified in the midst of crisis.
It is precisely with this faith and with this hope that Paul concludes the paragraph: “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will bring me into his heavenly kingdom”.
Paul, like Bonhoeffer, had his eyes on the Author and Fin isher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2 ).
He knew who he believed in, and he knew that he is able to keep us until the last day (2 Timothy 1:12).
These are times of opportu nity. Yes, there is a lot of sad ness, there is a lot of fear, and we will have a lot of tragedies.
However, this is a time to show the reason for our faith.
Our faith is not based on pub lic meetings. It is not based on carefully prepared schedules.
These may even be manifes tations of our faith, but not its foundation.
The foundation of our faith is our relationship of surrender and love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
My prayer is that God's people will rise to show, in their words and in their daily lives, who our savior is. ◙
Paul states at the end of his second letter to Timothy: The Lord remained by my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it.
These are times of opportunity. Yes, there is a lot of sadness, there is a lot of fear, and we will have a lot of tragedies. However, this is a time to show the reason for our faith.
Daniel Lima: Graduated in Psychology, Master in Christian Educationand Doctor in Leadership Development at Fuller Theological Seminary.