Everybody needs a good laugh. Learn about the many benefits of laughter and develop an action plan for improving humor in your life.

Join Inova EAP for this FREE Webinar on December 20th! 

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Password: 360231

Once logged in, click on 'Online Seminars' - click on 'View All' - title ‘Lighten Up With Laughter.’

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Revelation 12: 10-11 (NIV) - “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.’”

The genre of the book of Revelation falls under the category of apocalyptic writings. It is a hefty word, but it basically means a story of another heavenly world to encourage the faith of the believers living in the present world. The Apostle John sees amazing visions and in between, there are interjections of analysis and insights. In this passage, there is heavenly proclamation of the salvation that comes with the kingdom of God and power of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The triumph of the believers is found in the salvation through the death and resurrection of our Lord and the life that follows - the word of their testimony. Then follows the most interesting commentary of the believers: “they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

It is an astonishing fact in history how Christians have endured persecution, even death for the sake of Christ. It begs the question: how does one prepare for such times? How does a person not love their life so much as to shrink from death?

As you recall from the message, the Taliban knew the people who attended the church in Tajikistan, and they knew where they lived and their families. The persecution was a daily reality. They knew that coming back to church after the bombing was a great threat to their own lives and also for their family members. And as I interacted with them, they were ordinary people, many really young, just simply believing in the gospel and following the leading of the church.

Response and prayer: Lord, thank you that true victory and triumph is found in you. Help me to live each day in the manner of “the word of their testimony.” That each day my mindset, my heart will be gospel living. Help me to trust and surrender my life to you so as not “to shrink from death.” In Jesus’ name, amen.

Sing in response: “Lord, I need you.” by Matt Maher
https://youtu.be/LuvfMDhTyMA

-MK

1 Peter 1:22-25 (NLT) - “You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say, ‚People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.”

The Apostle Peter is addressing the Christians in a region that was undergoing much persecution. In the beginning of this initial chapter, he reminds them of the preciousness of their faith that is in the blood of Jesus Christ. Thus resulting in the natural outcome of that faith, which is expressed in loving each other deeply. This deep love is not a self-propelled love, not even character based. It is loving, solely on the basis of the new life of salvation indwelt by the Spirit, the eternal living word of God.

So, we do have a real opportunity here! Loving deeply is a real possibility through the Spirit of God. Let us ask for this!

As you recall from the message how the church was caring for one another, as even the explosions were occurring, people stayed back to help those who had been hurt. How were they able to stay to help instead of running away to save their own lives? It’s not like they had training for situations like that. Deep love comes from God.

Response and Prayer: Lord, thank you for my salvation through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. I have been born again, a new creature in Christ with a new nature indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Lord, please help me to love, beyond my personal understanding or even desire. May it be the true deep love that only comes from you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Sing in response: “Abide with me” by Matt Redman
https://youtu.be/eJvIsJxiOUM

-MK

A UMBC delegation of Ph.D. students and their mentors traveled to Seoul, South Korea in early November to discuss with international colleagues how engineering and engineering education can improve lives at the 2016 Global Student Forum (GSF) and World Engineering Education Forum (WEEF).

The GSF theme of “global partnership for development” included four tracks that aligned with United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges. Students from around the world collaborated to tackle assigned tasks on those tracks. Gloria Opoku-Boateng, Ph.D. student in information systems, worked with her team to create a community empowerment program to reduce extreme poverty and hunger. The project, dubbed “iHelp,” won its category at the GSF.

For Saadi Habib, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, speaking with students from more than 15 countries through the project-based GSF program was eye-opening. “I realized what I see as a problem and a solution in the U.S. is not necessarily true in other countries or even in the entire U.S,” he shared, noting that challenges that appear purely technical can have multiple, context-dependent solutions.

The GSF program is connected to the international Student Platform for Engineering Education Development (SPEED) and was designed to complement the larger WEEF gathering, which took place just afterward and focused on “Engineering Education for Smart Society.” There, UMBC participants gave research presentations and joined in panels focused on pedagogy and mentoring.

Habib and Hector Medina, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and Meyerhoff Graduate Fellow, presented on how to develop a successful engineering laboratory course. Renetta Tull, associate vice provost for graduate student development and postdoctoral affairs, spoke on inclusive engineering.

Opoku-Boateng delivered a research talk on her research in engineering artificial intelligence in consumer apps for personalized pain prediction and management. She reflected, “Presenting here helped me understand that clearly presenting solutions to engineering problems is as important as finding those solutions.” She also seized the opportunity to receive and offer mentoring, sharing her experience with navigating the transition from undergraduate to graduate education.

Unable to attend the event, but present in the minds of his colleagues, was Adegboyega Akinsiku, Ph.D. student in human-centered computing, who was scheduled to speak about project-based learning. Shortly before the conference, Akinsiku discussed the importance of mentoring at the White House Conference on Inclusive STEM Education for Youth of Color. His mother, who proudly attended the White House talk, passed away shortly before the Korea trip.

Akinsiku’s experience at the White House, and Opoku-Boateng, Habib, and Medina’s time in Korea, left them with a strong sense of mission. Getting a clearer sense of the range of challenges and possible solutions out in the world, “I start to think with a broader perspective of designing, building, engineering, and developing technology for social good,” says Opoku-Boateng. “That is what truly makes a mark.”

The South Korea trip was the fourth in a series of experiences organized through the International Engagement and Broadening Participation in STEM project, spearheaded by Renetta Tull and sponsored by the UMBC Graduate School and some of its initiatives that are funded by the National Science Foundation. The participating UMBC students are also all part of the LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate program and PROMISE, Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP). Other UMBC mentors and participants included Julia Ross, dean of the college of engineering and IT; Tim Topoleski, professor of mechanical engineering; Autumn Reed, program coordinator for faculty diversity initiatives; and Yarazeth Medina, PROMISE coordinator.

Image: From left to right, UMBC graduate students Hector Medina, Saadi Habib, and Gloria Opoku-Boateng; David Delaine, assistant professor of engineering education at the Ohio State University; a student attendee from Colombia. Photo by Hector Medina.