Live • Give • Grow

A Portrait of Community

The Idea: Members of Peace Lutheran Church in Danville, California, chose to commemorate their church’s 50th anniversary in 2007 by creating a large mosaic with help from members of the broader local faith community.

The Details: Mounted on Peace Lutheran’s outer wall, the mosaic is 14 feet in diameter and made up of more than 43,000 colorful, quarter-inch tiles.

“We wanted something that would both capture a sense of the history of our congregation—its priorities and values over the years—and something that would convey the spirit we’re being led to in the future,” says the Rev. Steve Harms, Peace Lutheran’s senior pastor (pictured).

Created with help from local artists Richard Caemmerer and Jennifer Mitchell, the mosaic includes symbols representing various faith communities throughout the Danville area. At the heart of the mosaic is an open space for interchangeable, two-foot-wide pieces created by each faith community for display on their holy days.

The Result: For Peace Lutheran members and members of the greater Danville community, the mosaic is a permanent reminder to celebrate differences and a perfect metaphor for togetherness.

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Work-Free Vacations

Cell phones, laptops and Wi-Fi make it easier than ever to take your work with you on vacation. But to truly recharge, you have to let go, says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com. Here are a few hints from Haefner. Add them to your next pre-vacation to-do list to help you unplug while away.

Check your calendar. Schedule your vacation a few weeks after a big work event, such as a presentation. Leaving when you don’t have a heavy workload will help you enjoy your time off and come back fully rested.

Be prepared. A few weeks before you leave, start compiling a list for your coworkers of important contacts, phone numbers and deadlines, plus answers to questions that might come up while you’re gone. This will avoid leaving them in the lurch.

Leave instructions. If you must leave a personal contact number behind, let coworkers know it should be used for emergencies only. While away, let work-related calls go to voice mail. Then, it’s up to you when you return the call—perhaps after hours when you can leave guidance, but not get pulled into the details.

Take the lead. If you are a supervisor, set an example for your crew by going on vacation without taking your work with you.

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Sound Advice

“Would you like to save 10 percent today by opening a store credit card?”

If you’ve given in to this tempting offer, you may be juggling more credit card debt than you can handle. That, according to Debra Harvey, vice president of consumer banking at Thrivent Financial Bank, can wreak havoc on your credit score.

It works like this: More cards mean more potential for credit card debt. Debt spread over many cards also can be harder to track and keep in check. Unchecked credit card debt can lead to a low credit score, which raises red flags for lenders when you’re shopping for a loan and want to get the best interest rate—and for insurance companies when you’re applying for coverage.

To those with a pocket full of plastic, Harvey says: “Pay off old credit cards in full and close unnecessary store accounts gradually. Start with those that you’ve opened in the last few years.” Why? Those cards haven’t had time to build a credit history, whereas cards that have been opened a while and are in good standing reflect well on your overall credit score. Closing the accounts gradually is key—closing multiple cards at once can negatively affect your credit score, even if you’ve paid off your balances in full.

“Once you’ve paid down your balances and cut up old cards,” she adds, “limit charges to one or two low-interest, multi-purpose credit cards and pay off the balance each month.”

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Broken Heart Syndrome

When doctors began using the name “broken heart syndrome” to describe a well-known heart condition, it stirred up international interest.

What is it?

“Broken heart syndrome (BHS) is when people suddenly develop heart muscle weakness following some acute physical or emotional stress,” says cardiologist Ilan Wittstein, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

What are the symptoms?

Patients may have shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, irregular heartbeats or low blood pressure, very similar to a heart attack. In fact, the only way to tell the difference is through a series of tests conducted at the hospital. How is it different? Blood tests show that BHS patients have extremely low levels of the cardiac enzyme troponin, not a blocked artery—the cause of most heart attacks. And though the heart muscle appears weak in both cases, the heart of a BHS patient heals completely in days to weeks without surgery or physical therapy.

Who’s at risk?

Only 2 percent of patients who are taken to the lab with a suspicion of a heart attack are diagnosed with BHS. But of those who receive a diagnosis of BHS, 90 percent are women. “The majority of women who are diagnosed with BHS are post-menopausal and the average age is 60,” says Wittstein, who also suggests BHS may be linked to reduced estrogen levels. Because symptoms of BHS are so similar to those of a heart attack, it is important to seek immediate treatment if you feel any chest discomfort.

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Smart Talk on Cell Phones

Confused by your cell phone contract? Frustrated with fees that seem to pop up out of nowhere? Gregory Karp, author of Living Rich by Spending Smart: How to Get More of What You Really Want, shares three ways to cut costs.

1. Simplify. Eliminate bells and whistles like special ringtones, games and Internet access. They’re fun at first, but the fees add up. If you have a text-messaging plan, make sure it is right-sized to your family’s needs—you’ll get charged big bucks for going over your allotted number of texts. 

2. Pre-pay. You can’t avoid taxes and fees on cell phone service. But by opting for a pre-paid plan, you can avoid surprise charges—like that nasty fee for going over your minutes. You pay for the phone and then buy minutes from your provider only as you need them, as with a long-distance calling card. Because you pay for minutes in advance, you won’t face overage fees—if you don’t have the minutes, you can’t make the call.

3. Ease out. If you want out of your plan early, you’ll likely have to pay a price—up to $200 depending on your carrier. Avoid cancellation fees by swapping contracts with other cell phone customers at www.celltradeusa.com, a Web site for consumers who are looking to access or get out of service contracts without added fees.

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