Romans 15:23-25 (NIV)
23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there.

Reflection:

Paul was completely immersed in the Gospel. He had done everything he was supposed to do in the East and now was planning to go to a land located at the end of the known world, Spain. In an era where there were no automobiles, trains or planes, the distance of Paul’s journeys was significant. From Jerusalem to Rome is an estimated 1400 miles and from Rome to Spain another 600-1200 miles (depending on the region). But before embarking on this long journey to Spain, he had to first go back a few hundred miles to Jerusalem to deliver a special offering (collected by the Gentiles) for the poor Jerusalem believers. God gave him a big vision for His mission, and he was going to go all out for this; he was not going to stop!

Paul not only wanted to see his friends and coworkers in the Roman church again, but he also desired to take the Gospel to the next uncharted territory. Paul’s passion and life testimony truly embodied the gospel. May we also become that immersed in the Gospel with our own lives, receiving big dreams to share the good news with all people.

Responding to the message:

Let’s spend time in prayer, asking the Lord to give us His heart of urgency and eagerness to take the Gospel to the lost and the brokenhearted. May we receive visions and big dreams to share this good news to all!

News outlets across the state are reporting on a compelling finding from The Hilltop Institute at UMBC: Maryland’s economy will get a notable boost from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

A Baltimore Business Journal article on the announcement cites Hilltop’s finding that 26,000 new jobs will be created in Maryland by 2020 as a result of implementing the federal law’s provisions. The ACA will also bring in $237 million in tax revenues and generate savings of $672 million by transferring costs to federal programs. Additional coverage appeared in The Gazette, Maryland Reporter and Washington Examiner.

These findings were generated through the Hilltop Health Care Reform Simulation Model, which projects the costs and savings to states as they implement the provisions of the ACA. This dynamic tool can account for changes in data, conditions and policy over time. The Hilltop Institute at UMBC is a non-partisan health research organization—with an expertise in Medicaid and in improving publicly financed health care systems—dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations.

On July 24, WBAL-TV interviewed education professor Sarah Shin as part of a story on the Peyton family of Harford County, who are blending their American and Costa Rican heritage by raising their children bilingual.

Reporter Sarah Caldwell spoke with Shin, who is the author of the book Bilingualism in Schools and Society: Language, Identity, and Policy, about raising bilingual children. Shin told Caldwell that it’s best to start early. “The fact that children are not able to really put together coherent sentences does not mean that they aren’t processing language,” she said. Shin also said the creation of opportunities for children to interact with speakers of a second language could be beneficial, such as a bilingual babysitter, playgroup, or nursery or preschool.

UMBC political science professor Roy T. Meyers has been named recipient of the Frieder Naschold Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Field of Public Management for his paper “The Remarkable Case of Disappearing Earmarks in the United States: The Limits of Transparency Reforms” (download full pdf).

The Naschold Award recognizes the best paper presented at the conference of the International Public Management Network (IPMN) and is given once every other year. Meyers will formally receive the honor at the IPMN 2013 Conference in Siena, Italy.

Meyers also recently participated in the Memos to National Leaders project, coauthoring four memoranda (full PDF) that outline the bold and practical actions needed to repair our federal budget process. The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) launched this project to address current policy challenges facing the United States. Their recommendations represent “a consensus of the best thinking by public management practitioners and researchers across the country.”

Earlier this summer, UMBC Associate Professor Ilsa Lottes (Sociology and Anthropology) presented a lecture on human rights at the Center of Excellence in Sexual Health Education at JAMK University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland. Lottes traveled to Finland as a Fulbright Specialist in the areas of sexual health and research methods.

Lottes is an expert on sexual and reproductive health in both the United States and Finland, with much of her research focusing on the views of college students. In this lecture, Lottes describes the basic principles of human rights and how sexual rights have been incorporated into human rights discourse to guide sexual health policy. Her lecture was also shared by video with conference participants in Russia.