The Birth Of Christ ~ Boyz II Men

Merry Christmas from Reach Magazine TV!

Well they traveled over hills and mountains
On a cold December night just like this
For they knew what was going to happen
Mary would give birth to the prince of peace
Our Lord
From the manjor what they saw in the distance
Was a misty silloutte of three kings
Bringing all the most prescious jewels to our savior
Knowing he would soon be called the king of kings
Our Lord
On Christmas day
They saw a star in the east and followed it
On Christmas day
That marked the birth place of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
All free from sin
Here to give us a chance at everlasting life again
So the world
So cold you better let him in
To your heart
From the sight of the blessed child was full of beauty
As they looked upon the one who would save our world
To their knees they dropped and started to worship
Giving thanks to God above for the prince of peace
Our Lord
No one knew back then that on that evening
That the miracle of miracles came true
That a God above would come down from heaven
In the form of a child
That would set us free
Our Lord

Living the Sweet Life

Nothing puts a smile on your face like a cookie does and in observance of National Cookie Day, the Reach Magazine TV crew is enjoying a huge batch of chocolate chip, sugar and chocolate cookies at the office and you can already see the smiles.

Reach Magazine TV host Sherrie Marlene says,”My all time favorite cookie is chocolate chip” and offers advice to go sweeten your family’s or co-workers days by bringing them some for lunch or baking them for dessert.

Try baking some super delicious cookies like these Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies!

• Prep: 15 min
• Cooking: 9 min
• Cooling time: 15 min cooling
• Yields: 60

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

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Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

World AIDS Day

We’ve all seen the Red Ribbons on cars, backpacks, jackets, etc. But do you really know what the Red Ribbon is all about?

The Red Ribbon is to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in which a total of 33 million people living worldwide are infected, 1.1 million of which are living in the U.S.

December 1st is World AIDS Day and was established over 20 years ago to honor those that have passed from this destructive epidemic, as well as educate the uneducated on the disease and inform people how to stay safe from it.

HIV/Aids Facts:

Everyday, 7,397 people contract HIV–that’s 308 people every hour

In 2008, about 2 million people died from AIDS and another 2.7 were estimated to be infected

More than two-thirds (67%) of all people living with HIV, 22 million, live in sub-Saharan Africa–including 90% of the world’s HIV+ children

Some good news is that the UN released new research stating that the number of new AIDS cases has decreased world wide, most likely because of new HIV prevention programs and educational programs being established.

Another positive of World AIDS Day and other programs of the like are to create a realization of the AIDS epidemic in our society. Many people living with the disease may feel some kind of stigma being associated with something so destructive and for them, coming out and sharing their story to the world is a very hard thing to do.

With these programs in place, many are realizing that living with the disease is terrible, but living with it and being afraid to talk about it to their loved ones is even worse.

To learn more about World AIDS Day and the HIV/AIDS epidemic you can visit these sites:

World Aids Campaign

LightForRights.com

World Aids Day

Universal Children’s Day and Other Observances

If you’re a mother or a father, you know that your children mean the world to you and you would do anything to preserve their welfare and their happiness. They are our future astronauts and presidents and just like anyone, they have their own rights too.

Today, Nov. 20, is Universal Children’s Day which was established by the United Nations (UN) as a global observance to promote the welfare and togetherness of children.

UNICEF, the United Nation’s Children’s Fund, promotes this day as well as children’s rights and has done so for the last 20 years.

Even though children probably don’t know it, their rights are the same as any other human. As part of education for this day teachers and parents are urged to teach their kids about “rights”, what they are, why are they so important, and maybe make light on less fortunate                  countries where children’s rights may not be practiced as respectfully.

(Photo credit: Stockphoto.com/Jani Bryson)

“If we don’t create a culture of education, tolerance and respect for our fellow man at a young age, kids will never have those basic moral foundations as adults and will not be able to function properly in society,” said Reach Magazine TV host, J-Love.

Interesting enough, we here at Reach Magazine TV found out that this week, Nov. 15-21, is also Bullying Awareness Week.

Bullying is definitely not ok to do to anyone, no matter if they did you wrong or what.  Teach your children to be the bigger person and work out their arguments with their friends without resorting to name calling or even hitting. The best thing you can do to a bully is to simply ignore him or her.  If they don’t receive the attention their craving then you’re the winner.

Geography Awareness Week and International Education Week are also observed this week and are great topics to teach your children about, especially since we live in such a culturally diverse country.

Try bringing these observances up at dinner time and have a nice meal at home with the family discussing ways we can all do our part to teach others how to stay aware.