Genesis 16 (NIV 2011)

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Genesis 17
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Reflection:
Despite Sarai mistreating Hagar, who is pregnant with Abram’s child, God still showed mercy and blessings towards Hagar. She is caught between this couple, who are supposed to be God’s blessing to others, but are at the moment using her to get an heir. In light of this, God changes Abram and Sarai’s name, fulfilling his promises over their lives. No longer will their names be of their old land and way of living. God is making them into something new, which was evidenced in the flesh of Abraham and all the males with him. It is a new name and a new life, in which only God can give. God cares for and leads His people, even in spite of our ways.

Response:
A person’s name today may not mean as much as it did in the past. Nevertheless, it evokes a thought as to why someone is called by a particular name. We see this when parents are deliberate in choosing their child’s name. When our God called us out of darkness and into his light, he did so to set us apart as a redeemed people and we are to follow the Lord with the whole of our lives. We therefore stand by this “name,” Christians, to distinguish us from our past. May we receive a greater understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.  As a church, with the power of the Spirit, let’s pray that we will live out our name today with greater understanding of who we are.

The government of Italy will support in 2012 the creation of a cathedral for the official teaching of the Italian language in Angola.

Full story:

http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/sociedade/2011/7/31/Italy-create-language-teaching-cathedral,6e4dfcbb-f904-4fb5-81e3-9f923c94aa50.html

BEIJING - China's exports of contemporary and pop cultural products are deficient compared with traditional products, resulting in the international community's lack of understanding of the country's current situation, a senior cultural official said Tuesday.

"Our efforts in overseas cultural exchanges aim to make Chinese culture more attractive and respectable among overseas people, as well as seeking understanding and cooperation to provide the world with an up-to-date, comprehensive and accurate depiction of China, " Minister of Culture Cai Wu said.

Cai noted that the country's overseas cultural exchanges should be well rounded, focusing on "not only positive achievements but also various social imbalances and shortcomings."

Cai's remarks came as the country's art-house films and performances reflecting social realities have long been in official negligence in both market promotion and overseas promotion compared with mainstream patriotic products backed by the government.

"Chinese characteristics are essential, but at the same time, we should also find common ground between us and the outside world and reflect the influences of international pop cultures in our country," Cai said.

However, Cai warned against luring overseas attention with "cultural scum that will damage the country's image."

Cai called for more quality books, dramas, performances and films that embody profound meanings and can reflect the country's current development.

The number of foreign commercial performances approved by the Chinese government reached 911 in 2010, up 62 percent from 2006, according to the Ministry of Culture.

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering would like to welcome new lecturer, Shawn Lupoli, to the department. Mr. Lupoli will be teaching CMSC 201 (Introduction to Computer Science) and CMSC 104 (Problem Solving and Computer Programming) at UMBC this Fall.

Shawn Lupoli’s interest in robotics sparked when he was pursing an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Frostburg State University. “The hands-on experience ignited my imagination,” says Mr. Lupoli of the robotics course that appealed to his inner-electrician. As a Master’s student at Towson University, Mr. Lupoli used LEGO, Vex Robotics and Fischertechnik robot kits as teaching tools in his Computer Science courses to engage his students with fun, hands-on projects.

“I’ve always wanted to teach,” says Mr. Lupoli, who was influenced by his father, who has been an Industrial Technology teacher at Perryville Middle School for thirty-four years. After receiving his Master’s in Computer Science from Towson University, Lupoli dove into teaching introductory computer science courses. He has over ten years of teaching experience, and has been a Computer Science Instructor at Mount St. Josephs High School in Baltimore, Anne Arundel Community College, Virginia Tech University, and Radford University, among other colleges. Most recently, Mr. Lupoli was an Assistant Professor at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC).

“When I was teaching at Virginia Tech and Radford, I fell in love with the University atmosphere,” he says, which is what drew him to the lecturer position at UMBC. “For me professionally, there are more opportunities here than I would ever have at a community college,” he adds. Mr. Lupoli sees teaching at UMBC as a welcome challenge, and hopes to eventually expand his teaching to subjects such as operating systems and data structures.

This Fall, Mr. Lupoli will teach CMSC 201 (Introduction to Computer Science) and CMSC 104 (Problem Solving and Computer Programming). Eager to get the semester started, Mr. Lupoli says one of his goals for the Fall is to get settled in and get used to the nuances of UMBC. But, the success of his students is his ultimate concern, says Mr. Lupoli, who explains that one of his favorite things about teaching is seeing the "I got it" light turn on in a student's head.  “I strive to make the students understand,” says Mr. Lupoli, “I strive for student success.”

Performers from 8 countries are getting ready for Western North Carolina’s Folkmoot Festival. Public events showcasing their traditional music and dance begin Friday and run through the end of the month. Wednesday participants from Guadeloupe took the opportunity to visit the Cherokee Reservation to learn about their culture and finding similarities like the use of drums. While here they are staying at Waynesville’s Friendship Center. Participants say it feels like a home away from home. Folkmoot performances will take place in 11 counties all over Western North Carolina.

please click the link below for full information:

http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wlos__

At yesterday’s House meeting, Republican Representative Gabrielle Giffords cast her first vote since being shot in the head at a Tucson grocery store this past January.

Giffords was met with a standing ovation as fellow representatives crowded around to welcome her back. On her return she stated

I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics. I had to be here for this vote. I could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy

Her determination and will gave a stressful vote a sweet moment of success.

Ladies and Gentleman, the day we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. DEBT DOOMSDAY.

After months of debate, Congress has only 24 more hours to decide on a plan that will help increase our $14.3 trillion debt limit. Without it Americans may face huge financial consequences in the upcoming months.

And it all comes down to the Senate. Yesterday the House of Representatives passed a debt-ceiling bill that will raise the debt limit and hopefully save $2.4 trillion dollars over the next ten years. All the Senate needs now is a 60 vote super-majority.

Will Congress make it on time? The clock is ticking!

Today is traditional day we celebrate and honor wi-fi in the US: 8.02.11. In other parts of the world it is celebrated on February eighth.