The peeps at Via Alley now have the Card Speaker in. We like these as much as the Balloon Speaker.

Welcome to the world of Luxury Entertainment. I-AudioVideo.com is home to some of the most needed Entertainment solutions.

Some of the products at I-AudioVideo.com include; extensive selections of Cables for Audio & Video, Audio & Video for Cars, Digital Media Players, Distributed Audio & Video, DVD Home Player Systems, Recorders, Headphones, Home & Portable Audio, Peripheral Sharing & Split Video Split Systems, Projectors, Speakers, Televisions & Home Video, Video Specialty Products and Accessories.

Falcon Capital Group, forerunners in the E-Commerce Industry, is the founder of I-AudioVideo.com. And thus all of our products selections are backed by a years of experience in the e-commerce industry.

Our ever increasing consumer base around the world is justified with our Shipping & Return Policy, which is a result of extensive research on consumer demands, and our Top notch Customer Service.

At Audio Video we are committed to providing solutions for all your Audio & Video needs.

BOSE it the leading sound system producing company around the world. BOSE philosophy is Research Technology and Performance that is Research fuels technology and superior technology leads to superior performance. Bose is investing their 100% profit into research and produces superior quality products. One such product is Acoustimass 5 speaker system.
Bose Acoustimass 5 speaker system is an ideal system for stereo or home theatre utility. This speaker system is not bulky or large in size, one may wonder how could this product can provide good quality sound by just seeing it. But these are designed such that with its compact size this will provide exceptionally best quality than any other large speakers.
The highlighting features of this product when compared to other audio systems are Acoustimass module for working in concert with small speakers for full range of theatre sounds and effects, Direct/Reflecting speaker technology to provide live performance quality, Magnetic shielded speakers, automatic protection circuitry prevents drivers from being overdriven, and many more features.
Acoustimass stereo speakers can be turned into a home theater system by simply adding the compatible Bose VCS-10 center-channel speaker. For full five-speaker surround sound, we can add the VCS-30 center-surround speaker package. Bose Acoustimass 5 speaker system is priced 400$ and is available in Amazon with Super value shipping.

Photographed by willem velthoven

Mobile music taken to a new level. I don’t know who these people are but their car audio surely is impressive. I saw them on the buiksloterweg ferry between Amsterdam Central Station and Tolhuistuin / Overhoeks

– License

We have just brought in a special, limited-edition build of our Newton HD speakers! Perhaps the most beautiful speakers we’ve ever designed, they are the perfect compliment to any flat-panel television.

Hello everyone

Helen here from the Mobile Heroes team…

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s less than two weeks to go until Heroes of the Mobile Screen http://mobileheroes.net … and there’s still new stuff to announce…

So, first up – lovely sponsors who are helping to make all this happen for us. We can now confirm that Blackberry is a gold sponsor and Windows Live and Windows Phone are silver sponsors. WINplc is event sponsor. Smaato is sponsoring the lanyards, Kemp Little LLP is supporting the event and we’ll have a few more to announce this week. And not only that, Blackberry has given us a bunch of Mobile World Congress passes to give away to delegates coming to the conference. Keep an eye on the Heroes twitter feed http://twitter.com/hotms and blog http://mobileheroes.net/blog to find out how to get your mitts on those lovely free passes.

Secondly, we have lots of lovely new speakers announced including Hugo Barra from Google, Oded Ran from Microsoft, George Nimeh from Iris, Phil Cox from Silicon Valley Bank, Giles Rhys Jones from Ogilvy, Mark Watts Jones from Orange and still more to be confirmed. Read all about them over at http://mobileheroes.net/speakers

Thirdly. You can still get involved. Well, of course you can buy a ticket (everyone who buys a ticket really makes our day and lots of lovely people have already bought tickets!). But there’s also a way you can score a free one… We’re still looking for companies who are targeting teens (age 17/18) with their mobile product, service, game, application or device and who want to get some constructive feedback from their teenage audience. Don’t worry, it’s not scary. Julia Shalet (pictured) is running this session and she knows what she’s doing and has briefed the teenagers thoroughly. And she’ll also brief the companies we choose thoroughly too so it becomes a useful experience for everyone involved. Anyway, we’ve had some people apply already, but we want to remind you that there’s still time to apply and we really do want to see what you’re made of. If you’re interested, please email me ( helen [at] mobileheroes [dot] net ) or Dominic ( dominic [at] mobileheroes [dot] net ) to express your interest or to find out more about what’s involved.

And finally, there are still some sponsorship opportunities to support the networking party afterwards. If you want to get involved in that, then please talk to me – ( helen [at] mobileheroes [dot] net ).

*Also a big thanks to our media and association partners for their support. Mobile Marketing Association, AIME, Mobile Data Association, IPC Media, Mobile Entertainment Magazine, Mobile Europe, Mobhappy, Mobile Zeitgeist, GoMoNews, Mobile Industry Review, The Really Mobile Project and many many more*

Don’t forget to spread the word as well to your clients and colleagues. This isn’t just for mobile industry insiders.

See you all on the 7th!

Larry was one of our last minute additions to the program. Because of this, his talk was quite a bit shorter than we would’ve liked, but I think he manages to hit the mark brilliantly in the time allotted. An artist with a most unusual medium, Larry uses his talents not just to entertain, but to educate and bring people together. He has worked with disparate groups all over the world, and was able to get people who didn’t even share a common language to help build some of the most amazing structures I’ve ever seen.

On a personal note, if you got to meet Larry at the conference you learned the same thing about him as I did: he’s one of the nicest, most genuine people I’ve ever met. I am very glad I got the chance to meet him and learn more about him, and I thought his talk was both inspiring and highly entertaining. Enjoy…

I was inspired to come up with a new “section” for this blog to discuss networking successes that came out of TEDxRochester. Larry, for example, made some great connections at the Strong Museum of Play. In speaking with other folks after the conference this seems to have happened for quite a few attendees, and I’d love to document some of them as enticement for next year’s TEDxRochester.

Which brings me to a request: publishing this video today is apropos as I just saw a tweet from Larry this morning that he’s having trouble acquiring a corporate sponsor and promoter for next year’s Balloon Manor. The economy kept Balloon Manor from happening this year, but we need to make sure it happens in 2010. TED, and by extension TEDx, is about networking great minds together to accomplish great things. I would love to see the TEDxRochester community rally around Larry to help him get this done!

By Rabbi Bill Kuhn

Now is the time to support the State of Israel as never before.  As Israel is under existential threat on several fronts, it is the obligation of Jews around the world to speak up and to use every resource and means available to save our spiritual homeland.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, said in his Shabbat morning sermon at the Biennial convention in Toronto on November 7th, “When the history of Reform Judaism is written a century from now, its authors will ask…did we do enough to assure the security and well-being of the State of Israel?”

“The greatest danger is clear:  the government of Iran, with support from Russia and China, is inching toward the nuclear threshold; this is the same government that threatens to destroy Israel with such regularity that it is no longer news.  How did it happen that the Jewish State is once again unable to take its very existence for granted?  How did it happen that Israel’s survival today is more precarious than it has been since the Yom Kippur War?”

“What Israel needs from us now is unconditional support.  It needs our visits, our dollars, our love and our engagement.  And it needs our political activism.  We must call upon our government to impose the toughest possible economic sanctions on Iran if it fails to abandon its nuclear program. ..Time is running out.  The only way Iran will stop its nuclear program is if it feels real pain.  And God and history will not excuse us if we are silent.”

Of course, when we give our support to Israel, we can still be critical of her.  In good Jewish tradition, there are always multiple opinions about every subject.  There are 37 political parties in Israel!  Why?  Because everyone has a different opinion about the best way to run the country.  Just because we have differing opinions does not mean that we can turn our backs on Israel.

Today in America, there are varying opinions about Israel’s policies.  For years, the AICPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) has been the stalwart voice of support in Washington, D.C. on Israel’s behalf.  Recently , a new organization called “J Street” has emerged as another voice in support of Israel.  J Street’s literature says that they were “founded to promote meaningful American leadership to end Arab-Israeli and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts peacefully and diplomatically.  [They] support a new direction for American policy in the Middle East and a broad public and policy debate about the U. S. role in the region.”  They are for a two-state solution and for diplomatic engagement by the U.S. to help achieve peace.

Rabbi Yoffie spoke to a national gathering of J Street in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago, at which he stated his long-held view that Israel’s continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank frustrates peace efforts.  He also said that U.S. Jewish leaders have their “heads in the sand” when it comes to Israeli settlements.  He was applauded by the J Street crowd for these statements.

However, Yoffie was roundly booed by the audience when he criticized Richard Goldstone, the South African jurist who chaired the United Nations commission that issued a report stating that Israel and Hamas might be guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  “Richard Goldstone should be ashamed of himself,” Yoffie said.

In fact, most mainstream Jewish organizations and the vast majority of Israelis seriously condemned Goldstone’s report, which was part of the so-called U.N. Human Rights Council.  David Harris, the American Jewish Committee’s Executive Director (who spoke at Rodeph Shalom last November) described the Goldstone report as “pusillanimous.”  “Goldstone convicted Israel before its investigation even began, and barely mentioned the suffering of Israelis living with endless Hamas rocket attacks, and paid grossly disproportionate attention to Israel.”

The Goldstone report concluded that Israel’s 2008-2009 military campaign against the terrorist group Hamas was actually aimed against Gaza’s residents as a whole.  The report alleges numerous specific human rights violations by both Israel and Hamas.  “But by attempting to criminalize Israel’s strategy of crippling Hamas, the report in effect declared the entire anti-terrorism campaign to be a war crime.”  [Wall Street Journal, Oct. 19. 2009]

Hamas set up its base of operations in the midst of Gaza’s civilian population.  By trying to defend itself against Hamas, Israel was condemned.  But the Goldstone report has little or no legitimacy, as it is yet another example of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s viscerally anti-Israel bias, “as is evidenced by the stunning fact that 80% of its resolutions adopted over the past three years have focused on Israel alone.  Can this be deemed an objective body?” [David Harris].

When Eric Yoffie condemned this scurrilous report, the J Street conference booed him.

It is important to support Israel, as it is important to criticize when needed.  We know that some of the Israeli soldiers over-reacted in the face of the Hamas violence. If they were guilty of war crimes, they should be tried and punished. But there are those who say Israel should not defend herself against those who would destroy her.  What is the sense of this?

When our children and grandchildren ask us what we did to support and to save Israel during our life time, what will we say?  “Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” but also, let us act.

L’shalom

Treat yourself to a superior visual experience through a ‘Home Theatre’. Whether you have a complete theater set or custom-made setup or neither, home theaters have never ceased to thrill its viewers. And with the component prices seeing a huge decline, home theaters are no more a possession of just the elitist. So what must you consider before having your own home theater system? Find out…

Since the LCD screen is the focal point of a home theatre arrangement, make sure you compare different LCD TV models. Check for your properties like the monitor resolution, the refresh rate, response time, contrast ratio and colour support. You really wouldn’t any of these in come in the way of your high-definition visual experience.

Since the LCD screen is the focal point of a home theatre arrangement, make sure you compare different LCD TV models. Check for your properties like the monitor resolution, the refresh rate, response time, contrast ratio and colour support. You really wouldn’t any of these in come in the way of your high-definition visual experience.

I’m in that stage in my professional life where I am at conferences, meetings, seminars and exhibitions often, very often. Luckily, most of the time I am asked to give the keynote or presentation but I cannot avoid having to sit in and listen to a plethora of other speakers, executives and gurus. To be honest, there is nothing I enjoy more than listening in to a good speaker. But I am astounded that there are so many bad speakers around. Most of the time, when I look around I see people with glazed looks and brain-dead features open-eyed falling asleep. And that is a shame, because all the people called on stage obliviously are knowledgeable, smart, and credible (well, at least they should be ). So where does it go wrong? Well, it’s not because somebody has three letters on his business card labelling him or her “boss” that that person is the most talented speaker. Use your upscale C-level people to determine content. Let the most gifted speaker deliver the keynote. Speaking is an art. It requires understanding of the audience, a flexible knowledge of the topic and an adaptive attitude towards the social behavior in the room. Golden rules are simple. If you want the audience to read, send them a book or an email. Slides with text on, force your audience to read: they’ll never listen to you and will fade away within seconds. Moreover, text filled slides prevent you from being flexible. I NEVER saw a good presentation with a lot of text on the slides. So, do your homework and build a deck with good, humorous, intriguing and capturing pictures or graphs and build your story around it. The best presenters are people telling a story, taking you for a fascinating journey. If you tell the story right, your audience will walk with you. Use the presentation to illustrate and highlight. Good presenters interact, smile, are dynamic, vocally creative and masters in playing the room. There are not a lot of them around. Treat them well…

Danny Devriendt

The hardcore JDM Honda guys have some Carrozzeria audio accessories they like to track down and add to their car, turns out so do the Scion guys. I’ve never seen these before they’re pretty damn cool.

Maybe that’s why I love to watch dancers. You can tell when someone is in complete control of himself. Watch speakers who have charisma; the ones who draw you in like a magnet. They intuitively know when to use big gestures, when to move around on the stage, when to speed up and slow down their speaking pace.

They’re controlling space with movement and gestures. They’re controlling time with pauses and rate of speech. It feels good to be in their company. Who says we can’t control time and space!

Remember the last time you listened to someone who felt out of control? Maybe they talked too long. Maybe there was no pause between words. Or maybe they had distracting hand gestures. These varying degrees of being in charge of your own space all register with your audience.

One of my last clients realized how her inability to stop and pause was affecting her business. She’s now making a difference in the world by drawing people toward her rather than pushing them away. If you’re struggling to move forward, it might be an easy fix. A coach can help you see blind spots.

Rejoice in our cornucopia of savings!

Wow that was cheesy….but I had to say it….

Seriously though, we have some great deals on our award-winning speakers, just in time for the holidays!

As we approach Thanksgiving and reflect on our business resources, I wanted to share two that I recently found and am thankful for …

Do you ever need to get some quick information without searching the thousands of sites on Google?

A quick way to do this is to hire a kgb agent.

For full disclosure, I am NOT on their payroll, nor do I get a “finder’s fee.” I just happen to be LinkedIn with Brett Saks, VP, HR & Organizational Effectiveness for kgb USA — and started exploring their website and services. Check out their site – http://www.kgb.com/ — it’s full of funny commercials, and cool ideas.

Moving on to another great resource …

If you’re a professional speaker who wants to hang with other professional speakers, the National Speakers Association (NSA) is the place for you!

The value of NSA membership relates to the education and member community. For full disclosure, I am on the Board of National Directors, but get no “kickback” for new recruits!

I just got back last night from NSA’s fall conference in Phoenix. My head is spinning with new ideas and people to use as resources. If you want to know more about NSA, check out http://www.nsaspeaker.org/.

If you have any other business resources that you think I should know about, and would like to share with others, please drop me a message.

I am currently talking to two organizations now about entering into affinity relationships for their equipment and other resources that will help presenters. Will keep you posted …

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love it when things come together as planned!

This week has been one of those weeks for me. I am so delighted with how the Women in Ministry series on my blog has turned out. Many of you have commented on how it has ministered to you, encouraged you, and challenged you.

The divine inspiration for this blog series occured several weeks ago and as I prayed through it, God reminded me of each of the women who wrote last week and how much they have ministered to me throughout the years. It brought a smile to my face and I knew that I had to share their wisdom and encouragement with each of you!

It has been a consistent blessing for me that my path has crossed with each of these lovely ladies.

In many cases, it is quite a miracle that our paths crossed at all!

For instance, I met Melanie at a She Speaks conference several years ago. I learned about Mel during a session given by Lysa TerKeurst, Director of Proverbs 31 ministries. Lysa was encouraging each of us ladies with the following story:

“Many of you may be scratching your head wondering why you are here. You are not a writer or a speaker but you know God has called you to be here at this conference this weekend. I promise you, God has a plan for your attendance. One of our attendees last year was baffled as to why she was here, she just knew God wanted her to be here. She came with questions, she left with a book contract!”

I remember hearing that story the first  year I attended She Speaks thinking, “Gosh I would love to meet that woman!” My agenda for attending was – obviously – a book contract. But after the first day of meeting with publishers I was so deflated that I left Saturday night.

The next year I decided to try the conference again. Again, I heard Lysa share the same story. Again, after the first day I was discouraged and ready to leave. Would I ever get the stinkin book contract?!? Psheesh!

But something inside me was nagging at me to stay, so I did.

Sunday morning I sat down at breakfast next to this amazing woman who was talking about marriage. Instantly I was drawn to her wisdom. I felt like I was being mentored on relationships, just sitting next to her. She answered all of my questions with such poise and humility – and I will never forget the authenticity with which she was willing to share her own experiences.

That woman, was of course Melanie and I made the connection toward the end of the discussion – but by that time we had already exchanged emails and promised to pray for each other.

Three years later, I have watched God move in Mel and her family’s life in amazing ways and I am so blessed to be a part of her journey.

I thought I was going for a book contract but the blessing I have received from my friendship and partnership with Melanie is so much greater.  To see God work in the burgeoning of Mel’s ministry (and now her hubby Scott’s new venture Carolina Courts) has shown me how mighty the hand of God is in a woman’s life and I am so grateful for my divine intersection with Mel!

My intersection with Leaha is quite similar.

Leaha’s husband and Asif and I worked together for only seven weeks in 2001. One day at lunch Asif and I were gabbing and realized that we were both Christian. I was going through a particularly difficult time in my life and Asif and Leaha committed to praying for me, though they barely knew me.

During the two months that Asif and I worked together, God used him to speak into my life in very transforming ways. Throughout the next few years, God used Leaha in the same way. One of them would challenge me and then the other one would encourage me – it was a perfect partnership!

When Asif and Leaha launched into full-time ministry with Campus Crusade, it was a no-brainer for me to become one of their ministry partners. Throughout the last decade we have shared joy and tears, trails and victories. God has knit our lives together in a wonderful friendship.

I cannot imagine my life without Asif and Leaha!

So why am I telling you all this?

You never know who is sitting next to you at work, they might become one of your strongest advocates in ministry. You never know why you are attending a meeting, a conference, or an event. It could be that your agenda is just the vehicle to get you there. Once you arrive however, if you are open to God’s leading, there may be a completely different God-ordained-agenda awaiting you.

Be flexible. Stay open to the people who cross your path today. Remain attuned to God working around you.

I promise that if you do, you will be blessed by God in ways that you could never imagine.

The site of the day – PG Web Portal Pro – portal web site software.

Text emails work, and HTML emails look nice, but about sending a real audio email to someone? Wouldn’ that be chilly?

I’m not flourishing to thread you along because sad fact is, there is no good parenthetically a via to send an audio email. Sending an audio control in an email report is NOT reliable due in ginormousbig part to the safe keeping settings of innumerable email clients.

All is not lost, there’s actually catchy good choice and while the audio technically isn’t inside the email message, most peeople do refer to them as audio emails, or audio postcards.

Send someone a bulletin such as this:

Ross,

Turn your speakers on and click the link below…

I have a special audio postcard for you!

http:// exampple.com/word.html

Thanks,

Jay

connection will lead them to a trap page with your message. Make inescapable audio hold sway over on that page has been set to “auto play” which means the sound starts as soon as the call loads – no poverty for them to hit the Play button.

Asking the user to turn on their speakers before clicking the fasten together lets them know they’re going to be hearing something and makes the audio “permission-based. Otherwise, if someone’s secretly surfing at work and their speakers start blaring, they may transfer quiickly and not come ignore.

So the handle is:

Person gets an invitation in email to listen to an audio message.

They click the link.

page opens and audio starts playing.

That’s about as close to a audio email as you’re goiing to get, and it wworks bleeding well.

Reasons to Use an Audio Postcard

Email marketing has been a proven winner but with spam filters proliferating like rabbits it’s harder and harder to effect on a executed offer from your outbox to a prospect’s inbox.

way fulfil that is to make your email deeply small and include a interdependence couple to a web page. The want is that folks will click the link, which will open a browser window, and then they can read your entire promotion.

That works, but creating an audioo postcard will give you a better click-through rate (the number of people who see the link in the email and actually click). People surface to be more inclined (at least right now) to click a unite that’s wealthy to terminate decrease them heed an audio missive than to click a link that will just allow them to read more information.

Ussing audio postcards is a proven method representing getting your note out to more peoplle.

We are very excited to announce the lineup of speakers for the second Spark Club meeting Thursday December 3 at CoHabitat. The speakers have been chosen because they can speak about social entrepreneurship, innovation or how they have worked to bring about change in their community. Our speakers will be Tyler Sharp, Julie McCullough-Kim and Salah Boukadoum. Read on for their bios.

Tyler during a recent trip to Pakistan

Tyler Sharp

Tyler Sharp is a photographer, writer and videographer. After studying photography & video in Los Angeles, he left for Africa and since has travelled extensively shooting photo essays, writing stories and filming for various TV shows and organizations.

His work has been shown in Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston. When Tyler is not travelling on assignment, he lives in Dallas Tx. His photographic sketchbook can be found on Flickr.

Tyler is currently working on My-Stroke.com to help stroke survivors create a network of peers and find a place to learn how to get active.

Julie is the owner of The Make Shop

Julie McCullough Kim

Julie McCullough Kim, a self-taught designer, created the Enju Store. She is also the founder and shop-gal of Make Shop * Studio and the Urban Street Bazaar as well as co-founder and executive producer of The Pin Show (PINS LLC), an independent fashion event in Dallas, TX.

Julie’s mission is to bring affordable design to the masses without sacrificing quality or ethics, all the while impacting our local economy. Through her other efforts she hopes to assist other independent fashion designers to pursue these same practices.

Salah is a serial entrepreneur now running Soap Hope

Salah Boukadoum

Dallas-based Salah Boukadoum has launched and sold a series of businesses during his 15-year career as an entrepreneur.  Most recently he was CEO of Atrana Solutions, a 60-person technology venture, until its sale in 2005 to a publicly traded corporation. Salah’s current social venture, Soap Hope, is a for-profit Internet retailer with a deeply integrated anti-poverty mission, including investment of 100% of its profits into sustainable microfinance programs. Prior to founding his first company, Salah was an internationally-touring classical pianist; his experiences as he traveled in Africa sparked a lifelong interest in tackling the issue of poverty.  Salah’s current personal mission is to recruit 1,000 businesses to emulate Soap Hope’s social business model, called Good Returns, to create dramatic positive change in our world.

Not really sure how i feel about these… Yes unique, Yes innovative, Yes a fashion statement… however.. there is a limit somewhere… I think this would be cool for like best buys geek squad.

So we all know that fashion and technology have been dancing with each other for years now. This latest WTF moment by designer Erik De Nijs, Erik has stitched together this eye catching pair of “Beauty and the Geek” jeans. Built into the knees are a pair of crotch rocking speakers that really let you rock out to the tunes of your ipod/itunes. Around back you have the added convenience of a back pocket for your “mouse”so you make sure you never leave home without it.  And for you gamers, there is even a joystick controller located just behind the front zipper… lmfao… (no not really).

Designer: Erik De Nijs

I’m a strong believer in the concept that learning is trenscendent – the concept that every bit of education can be applied in other, sometimes seemingly unrelated endeavors.

This week I attended “Camp NSA” for incoming chapter presidents of the National Speakers Association, a non-profit association for those in the professional speaking business. Here are a few of the common themes of the training and the lessons that can be applied to music:

1. Facilitation
The President of a chapter facilitates a board of directors. A facilitator, not a CEO. If coordinating the efforts of a band, regardless of whether or not you’re the self-appointed leader, your job is to create an environment where the talents of others come forward and shine. The singer might get the spotlight most often, but everyone gets a chance to demonstrate their expertise and get appreciation from the audience.

2. Conflict Resolution
In any group or organization, there are going to be conflicts that must be resolved. Avoid “triangulation,” where discussions are taking place behind the backs of members of the group. In bands there are egos and conflicts. Get agreement up front that encourages healthy debate among members, but remain unified once a decision is reached.

3. Make it a Positive Experience
Recruiting board members becomes increasingly difficult if the experiences of past board members have not been particularly positive, and the same is true of a band. Recognize members for their contributions, and ensure that they are enjoying the experience. Board members are often volunteer positions, and musicians don’t always make enough money for that to be the primary motivation for being in the band.

4. Learn From Experience
In a non-profit, boards should document past successes and failures for the benefits of future boards, otherwise you end up reinventing the wheel over and over again. Bands should take time to reflect on great gigs, songs, live shows, and merchandise to examine them so that they can replicate successes.

5. When kicking around ideas, be open-minded
Let new ideas come forward freely. Modify, offer suggestions, enhance, redefine, say “Let’s try this,” but don’t judge. Same for music. Let the band play around with new musical ideas so that several approaches have been tried. A new bass line or drum beat might cause you to look at a song from a completely different perspective.

I’m very pleased to announce that Tanuj  Vohra, Partner Director of Program Management, Visual Studio Test Business has been confirmed as a speaker at the Australian ALM Conference.

Tanuj is Partner Director of Program Management for the Visual Studio Test Business at the Microsoft. In his current role, Tanuj is responsible for the current execution and future roadmap for the test tools in Microsoft Visual Studio Team System.

Guest Blogger, Michele Ruth Jones

Founder of the Time To Fly Foundation and author of Your Call To Freedom! An Interactive Guidebook with Bible Based Tools To Heal From Abusive Relationships

Is Healing Available After Abuse?

Michele is the Founder and President of the Time To Fly Foundation (TTF) TTF launched in 2001, a faith based grass roots organization charged to help women and children overcome the devastation of domestic abuse, break the generational cycle of violence and strengthen the family unit with the unconditional love and truths of Jesus Christ. This domestic abuse prevention and intervention program is provided free of charge to participants. Expenses are supported by individuals, small businesses, corporate matching gifts, grants and endowments

After twenty years as a professional in Corporate America, she retired to devote efforts to the vision and development of Time To Fly Foundation.

While volunteering at domestic violence shelters Ms. Jones realized two areas of need women still face.

During your stay in shelters, external wounds heal; yet the inflicted “unseen” wounds of emotional damage, broken spirits and heart can last a life-time unless they are appropriately addressed.

Having personally experienced the effects of marital abuse; she triumphantly received healing, hope and restoration through the love and transforming power of Jesus Christ. As Isaiah 61:1 declares, TTF is sent to heal the broken hearted, proclaim freedom to the captives and release God’s people from the deception of darkness.

Addressing The Wounds of The Broken Spirit

“But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”   I Samuel 16:7

Part of the charge of TTF mission is educating the public and the church on the various forms of abuse and its spiritual dynamics. They include verbal, emotional psychological, sexual and physical.

Abuse and family violence impacts women from every socio-economic demographic, ethnicity and educational level.

Due to limited space and funding shelters are primarily equipped to customarily aid woman who endure physical abuse. What happens to the other 25% of women who endure verbal, emotional and psychological abuse?

Sadly, they suffer in silence as the internal devastation deepens; yet they have no “proof” to offer.

In reality, each of these women is the “walking wounded” of our time. Some of the wounds and manifestations include: shame, guilt, condemnation, anger, low self esteem, self destructive patterns of choice, bulimia, emotional eating, and fear of the unknown. Some of the societal costs include- increased medical or psychological care, reduced work productivity, low morale and absenteeism.  

In a supportive, non-judgmental/caring environment, the TTF program offers restoration to the three dimensions of a woman’s life:

her spirit,

her soul and

her body.

Our goal is giving the participant tools to become self-sufficient and a productive member of society.

TTF presently serves those in the Washington DC Metro Area using a holistic approach of both spiritual and practical life skills training.

The TTF Approach…Are you Ready To Step Into The Light?

Understanding the unique dynamics of abuse…

TTF offers a three-step approach for the prospective participant.

Step 1: You are first invited to visit the website for an overview of the mission and to determine if it’s what you are truly seeking.

Step 2: You are then invited to reserve a seat in one of the free Introductory Workshops- “Rebuilding Her City Walls!”

Step 3: Upon completion of the workshop the participant is invited to apply for the extensive 9 week/ 40 hour course- “Discover The True You!”

Statistics show 80% of the women that attend the workshop are ready to go forward, while the remainder are not sure if they want to explore the next step or invest the time. In the past eight years 99% of the women participating in the course successfully complete it!

For participants to complete the 9-week course, our team has faithfully watched God “move mountains” just for them! We’ve witnessed demanding work schedules rearranged, seen babies delivery dates changed, free transportation surfaced, childcare needs met and physical/ emotional limitations overcome as women endeavored to trust God despite their external conditions.

One participant shared she was terrified with night blindness and fear of getting lost at night, yet after she applied she stated “ I’ve tried everything else and it hasn’t worked and I have no more money for counseling. God you’ve got to help me make it to those night sessions.” Well, 9 weeks later that same woman successfully completed the course and discovered a new strength and relationship with Christ that was unknown to her months ago!

Our Aftercare program provides ongoing encouragement, accountability and fellowship to program graduates. Over 80% of TTF graduates inquire to become trained volunteers in various areas within the organization.

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

TTF President and volunteers 2008 recipients of Domestic Violence Awareness Proclamation by Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

The past eight years has truly been a walk of faith in stepping “out of the boat” from the “security” of the corporate world to trusting God with the vision that He placed in my heart of Time To Fly Foundation. My passion is to inspire someone else to step out of boat, take the Master’s hand and watch what He will do through (and many times despite) you!

In the eight years I’ve cried out, prayed endless hours, lost count journaling, and sought God for confirmation, direction, and provision for the weight of the work. Each time He has graciously and abundantly come through.

God has given us the plan, brought others alongside of me, continues to send women and children, continues to raise up volunteers each year and continues to give us favor.

The proven work of TTF has been recognized by the White House, Department of Justice, County governments and women’s centers. 

Honestly when I lay my head down at night, I cry tears of joy thanking God for encouraging me to trust Him! These days are more rewarding than signing my largest corporate contract—the eternal reward of knowing His work has SAVED a life both physically and most of all spiritually.

As Mary said – “whatever He tells you to do—do it!” All I can say is you will be blessed, your life more enriched than you can ever imagine and in the process you WILL get to know Him—The Faithful One- more!

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Prayer Requests

• We are seeking God’s provision to replicate the program to meet the countless requests from other counties, cities and states. Our desire is to train and equip in more venues. Your support helps set the captives free!

• We are in search of grant writers and interns for our outreach programs. If you are interested, please contact us.

Contact Information

For more information on TTF please visit www.timetofly.org for workshop schedules, volunteer opportunities and sponsorship of a session.

Put a lot of stamps in your passport

Author Khaled Hosseini speaks at Elon University’s Fall Convocation about his novels, Afghanistan and the importance of seeing similarities in others

By Kristi Lee Jacobsen

Novelist George Eliot wrote, “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” This quote welcomes visitors to The Khaled Hosseini Foundation Web site. Brightly colored images of Afghanistan citizens and refugee camps catch the eye immediately. Their actions, body language and facial expressions are all similar to our own.

Hosseini participated in a question-and-answer session in Alumni Gym Tuesday as part of Fall Convocation. Throughout the convocation, students were reminded that their similarities with people of other nations outweigh their differences. Hosseini’s novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” which demonstrates the similarities between people’s lives, is the university’s 2009-2010 common reading selection.

Hosseini is a native to Kabul, Afghanistan and immigrated to the United States when he was a 15-year-old. He graduated from Santa Clara University and went on to earn his medical degree from the University of California at San Diego.

Hosseini has lived most of his life in the United States, but he has not lost his love for Afghanistan. He founded his foundation in 2007 to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan citizens by building shelter for refugees and giving grants to organizations who provide opportunities and education to women and children.

His most acknowledged accomplishment, however, is being the author of two New York Times best-sellers, “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

“The success of ‘The Kite Runner’ took me by great surprise,” Hosseini said, during convocation. “In some ways that book was kind of a map on how not to write a best seller. All the good people died…it was very unfamiliar, depressing and violent.”

He went on to explain how the novel, on the other hand, found a way to bind people together. The readers saw similarities between themselves and the characters, which may be why the novel has been translated into 42 languages.

With such success for his first novel, Hosseini decided to write a second. “In ‘The Kite Runner,’ I was writing a book about the world of men,” he said. “There was another aspect that I wanted to speak about. Women are the answer to the future of Afghanistan.” He expressed to the crowd that he had a sense of mission when he was writing this novel, “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” He needed to tell a story that was very rich and politically and socially relevant.

“Women have faced struggle in Afghanistan for a long, long time and there have been efforts to give them more breathing room, but at every turn it has been met with resistance,” explained Hosseini. “Women have been forced to endure very challenging conditions.”

In fact, Hosseini explained that in all distressed countries there is one thing in common: uneducated, struggling women. He went on to quote the African proverb, “When you educate a boy you educate an individual, when you educate a girl you educate a community.” He said he believes that women will pass on their knowledge from person to person.

His high opinion of women stems from his observations in Afghanistan. “Women in Afghanistan are such great models,” said Hosseini. “They have been the backbone of the family and they have carried the banner under very difficult conditions…they make do with so little.”

His novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is aimed at increasing the world’s awareness of the problem of suffering women. One line in the novel explains Hosseini’s personal beliefs: “A society has no chance of success if its women are undereducated.”

The discussion turned to the current conflict in Afghanistan. The author said that poverty and impacts of the war also concern him.

He said that families in Afghanistan are a very powerful source of identity. There is always constant interaction with extended family members. He describes it is, “a great blessing, but a source of great pain.” He noted that since the Afghan families are so large, there is a much greater chance of heartbreak.

“I don’t know of a single Afghanistan person, to this day, that has not been touched by this massive tragedy,” Hosseini said.

He concluded the convocation with some advice for the students. “The days when we lived in a world where what happened across the globe didn’t affect us, those days are over,” Hosseini said. “Technology has changed everything. We live in a small world. We must learn about each other because what happens across the world will boomerang and affect us.”

He went on to elaborate on the underlying theme of the convocation. He explained that we are all interconnected and must learn about each other and realize that the people that live in foreign lands are a lot like us.

“Our similarities are greater than our differences,” he said. “Travel, put a lot of stamps in your passport.”

For more information on Khaled Hosseini and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, visit http://www.khaledhosseini.com