The following is an excerpt that made me want to dance, laugh, and cry all at the same time (but I happened to be on a plane when I was reading it, so didn't *smile*). Anyway, I just had to blog it and share with you all.
"The Great Dance does not wait to be perfect until the peoples of the Low Worlds are gathered into it. We speak not of when it will begin. It has begun from before always, There was no time when we did not rejoice before His face as now. The dance which we dance is at the centre and for the dance all things were made. Blessed be He!"
"Never did He make two things the same; never did He utter one word twice. After earths, not better earths but beasts; after beasts, not better beasts, but spirits. After a falling, not a recovery but a new creation. Out of the new creation, not a third but the mode of change itself is changed for ever. Blessed is He!"
"It is loaded with justice as a tree bows down with fruit. All is righteousness and there is no equality. Not as when stones lie side by side, but as when stones support and are supported in an arch, such is His order; rule and obedience, begetting and bearing, heat glancing down, life growing up. Blessed be he!"
"They who add years to years in lumpish aggregation , or miles to miles and galaxies to galaxies, shall not come near His greatness. The day of the fields of Arbol [earth] will fade and the days of Deep Heaven itself are numbered. Not thus is He great. He dwells (all of Him dwells) within the seed of the smallest flower and is not cramped: Deep Heaven is inside Him who is inside the seed and does not distend Him. Blessed be He!"
"All which is not itself the Great Dance was made in order that He might come down into it. In the Fallen World He prepared for Himself a body and was united with the Dust and made it glorious for ever. This is the end and final cause of all creating, and the sin whereby it came is called Fortunate and the world where this was enacted is the centre of worlds. Blessed be He!"
"The Tree was planted in that world but the fruit has ripened in this. The fountain that sprang with mingled blood and life in the Dark World, flows here with life only. We have passed the first cataracts, and from here onward the stream flows deep and turns in the direction of the sea. This is the Morning Star which He promised to those who conquer; this is the centre of worlds. till now all has waited. But now the trumpet has sounded and the army is on the move. Blessed be He!"
"Where Maleldil [God] is, there is the centre. He is in every place. Not some of Him in one place and some in another, but in each place the whole Maleldil, even in the smallness beyond thought. There is no way out of the centre save into the Bent Will which casts itself into the Nowhere. Blessed be He!"
"All things are by Him and for Him. He utters Himself also for His own delight and sees that he is good. He is His own begotten and what proceeds from Him is Himself. Blessed be He!"
"All that is made seems planless to the darkened mind, because there are more plans than it looked for. In these seas there are islands where the hairs of the turf are so fine and so closely woven together that unless a man looked long at them he would see neither hairs nor weaving at all, but only the same and the flat. So with the Great Dance. Set your eyes on one movement and it will lead you through all patterns and it will seem to you the master movement. But the seeming will be true. Let no mouth open to gainsay it. There seems no plan because it is all plan: there seems no centre because it is all centre. Blessed be He!"
If you have never read CS Lewis' Space Trilogy, then you must put that on your reading list. Wasn't that beautiful? What happened in our world (the fall of Adam and Eve) has just been defeated and avoided in this other world, and this is the celebration (you saw references to the Fall, if you remember). These are angels and men praising "Maleldil", who is God Almighty in these books, for his greatness and his sovereignty.
Blessed be He!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Please, Open your Mind and be Willing to have it Changed--it Could Save Lives.
Watch the video at the link below and then read this article. The government, as in so many other issues, has blinded our minds to what is really going on, just so they can make a few bucks (I should actually say, the Medical Industry). Where has the rule gone that science has to be TESTED and hold sound before it's taught as FACT. And yet all these people promoting, carrying out, and receiving vaccinations are repeatedly ignoring evidence that points vaccinations out to be very dangerous and unnecessary.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCBlxqmOMKM&feature=player_embedded
The video by Thinktwice Global Vaccine Institute offers a good summary of what every person should know about the seasonal flu vaccine; how it’s made, and its effectiveness.
Signs and Symptoms of Influenza
As most of you probably know, influenza is a contagious viral respiratory infection. Symptoms include:
Fever
Chills
Runny nose
Sore throat
Cough
Muscle aches
Fatigue
Decreased appetite
Typically, the condition will improve after two to three days of bed rest, although some symptoms may persist for about a week.
What many people do NOT know, however, is that death caused directly by the flu virus is very rare. The vast majority of so-called “flu deaths” are in fact due to bacterial pneumonia – a potential complication of the flu if your immune system is too weak.
Other complications can include ear- or sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic health conditions.
The elderly and people with other pre existing medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, are at higher risk of developing pneumonia after a bout of the flu.
The Flu Vaccine Does Not Prevent the Flu, nor Protect Against the Vast Majority of Flu-Related Deaths
The conventional treatment for bacterial pneumonia is an antibiotic, not a viral flu drug, so to think that taking a flu vaccine will prevent death from pneumonia doesn’t really make sense.
“But the vaccine will prevent the flu, which will prevent the possibility of developing pneumonia,” some might say.
That sounds good in theory, but the statistics simply do not support this assertion.
Because study after study, and master studies that compile the results from several studies to get a more objective result, keep coming to the same conclusion: Flu vaccines DO NOT WORK, and in many cases do more harm than good.
In fact, one shocking statistic brought to light in this video is that BEFORE the CDC advocated vaccinating children under the age of five, the number of children dying from the flu was very low, and on the decline.
Then, in 2003, just after children aged five and under started getting vaccinated, the number of flu deaths SKYROCKETED. The death toll was enormous compared to the previous year, when the flu vaccine was not administered en masse to that age group!
How anyone can consider a strategy that yields a higher death toll to be a “success” is a mystery to me.
The Problem with Flu Death Statistics
However, as frightening as much of this may sound, it’s important to keep things in perspective. According to the statistics shown in the video above, more Americans die from asthma, and even malnutrition each year, than the flu.
Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grossly distort the facts about flu deaths, making the flu virus seem far more dangerous than is warranted. On the CDC’s main flu page, they state that about 36,000 people die from the flu in the United States each year.
But if you search a little harder, you can find the actual number of people who died from the flu in 2005 (this is the most recent data that’s available) was 1,806. The remainder was caused by pneumonia. In 2004, there were just 1,100 actual flu deaths.
The statistics the CDC gives are skewed partly because they classify those dying from pneumonia as dying from the flu, which is inaccurate.
How is the Flu Vaccine Made?
This is another area that many people do not understand or take into consideration before getting a seasonal flu shot.
In January or February of each year, health authorities travel to Asia to determine which strains of the flu are currently active. Based on their findings in Asia, they assume that the same strains of viruses will spread to the U.S. by fall.
At this point, U.S. vaccine manufacturers start making that season’s flu vaccine, which will contain the strains found in Asia. However, if the viral strains circulating in the U.S. that season are not identical to those in Asia, the vaccine you receive is a complete dud.
And to add insult to injury, you’ve just been injected with a laundry list of harmful ingredients.
What’s in the Seasonal Flu Vaccine?
The flu strains selected are cultivated in chick embryos for several weeks before being inactivated with formaldehyde, which is a known cancer-causing agent. Then they’re preserved with thimerosal, which is 49 percent mercury by weight.
Even many health care professionals are confused about this and are not aware that the preservative thimerosal is mercury. As a quick side note, one of my chief writers told me that, “the doctor’s office told me the vaccine does not contain mercury, just something called thimerosal.”
Please, don’t be fooled by this incredible ignorance. If you have carefully studied this issue there is a great possibility you may know more than your physician about this topic. Don’t back down if they tell you something you otherwise know to be true.
According to the CDC, the majority of flu vaccines contain thimerosal. Some contain as much as 25 mcg of mercury per dose. This means that it may contain more than 250 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety limit for mercury.
By now, most people are well aware that children and fetuses are most at risk of damage from this neurotoxin, as their brains are still developing. Yet the CDC still recommends that children over 6 months, and pregnant women, receive the flu vaccine each year.
In addition to mercury, flu vaccines also contain other toxic or hazardous ingredients like:
Aluminum -- a neurotoxin that has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease
Triton X-100 -- a detergent
Phenol (carbolic acid)
Ethylene glycol (antifreeze)
Betapropiolactone - a disinfectant
Nonoxynol - used to kill or stop growth of STDs
Octoxinol 9 - a vaginal spermicide
Sodium phosphate
How Safe is the Flu Vaccine?
Serious reactions to the flu vaccine include, but are not limited to:
Life-threatening allergies to various ingredients
Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a severe paralytic disease that is fatal in about 1 in 20 cases)
Encephalitis (brain inflammation)
Neurological disorders
Thrombocytopenia (a serious blood disorder)
How Effective is the Flu Vaccine?
Remember that the potential effectiveness of a flu vaccine is dependent on the ASSUMPTION, made nearly a year in advance, that Asia’s viral strains will be the ones hitting the U.S. When they guess wrong, the vaccine is worthless from the very start.
But does that mean they withdraw the flu vaccine when they discover it contains the wrong strains? NO! They just keep giving it out anyway.
But even if they were to overcome that hurdle and actually select the correct strains, there’s still no evidence that it does anyone any good to get a flu vaccine.
Study after study comes back showing the same dismal results: the flu vaccines are not an effective method of prevention of the flu, and they do not save lives. As mentioned earlier, they may even be responsible for an increased death rate in some groups.
Sometimes determining efficacy is as easy as reading the information coming straight from the vaccine manufacturer.
How about this quote taken directly from the flu vaccine FLULAVAL’s package insert (which you likely never see when getting the flu shot) for the 2009-2010 formula:
" FLULAVAL is an influenza virus vaccine indicated for active immunization of adults 18 years of age and older against influenza disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and type B contained in the vaccine. This indication is based on immune response elicited by FLULAVAL, and there have been no controlled trials demonstrating a decrease in influenza disease after vaccination with FLULAVAL.”
That’s right, NO controlled trials demonstrating ANY decrease in your risk of contracting the flu at all after vaccination! (It also states that each dose contains a total of 25 mcg of mercury.)
For those of you who are still unconvinced, know that there’s plenty of scientific evidence available to back up the recommendation to avoid flu vaccines. In addition to studies mentioned in the video, here are several other examples showing that flu vaccines do not work for any age group:
A study published in the October 2008 issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine found that vaccinating young children against the flu had no impact on flu-related hospitalizations or doctor visits during two recent flu seasons.
The researchers concluded that "significant influenza vaccine effectiveness could not be demonstrated for any season, age, or setting" examined.
A 2008 study published in the Lancet found that influenza vaccination was NOT associated with a reduced risk of pneumonia in older people.
This supports an earlier study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine also confirms that there has been no decrease in deaths from influenza and pneumonia in the elderly, despite the fact that vaccination coverage among the elderly has increased from 15 percent in 1980 to 65 percent now.
In 2007, researchers with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, and the National Institutes of Health published this conclusion in the Lancet Infectious Diseases: “We conclude that frailty selection bias and use of non-specific endpoints such as all-cause mortality,have led cohort studies to greatly exaggerate vaccine benefits.”
A large-scale, systematic review of 51 studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2006, found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo in children. The studies involved 260,000 children, age 6 to 23 months.
Last but not least, I think it says a lot that 70 percent of doctors and nurses, and 62 percent of other health care workers do NOT get the yearly flu shot.
The reasons why they opted to not get vaccinated were:
They didn't believe the vaccine would work
They believed their immune systems were strong enough to withstand exposure to the flu
They were concerned about side effects
Might Influenza be Little More Than a Symptom of Vitamin D Deficiency?
Vitamin D, “the sunshine vitamin,” may very well be one of the most beneficial vitamins there is for disease prevention. Unfortunately it’s also one of the vitamins that a vast majority of people across the world are deficient in due to lack of regular exposure to sunshine.
Published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection in 2006, the hypothesis presented by Dr. John Cannell and colleagues in the paper Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin D raises the possibility that influenza is a symptom of vitamin D deficiency.
The vitamin D formed when your skin is exposed to sunlight regulates the expression of more than 2,000 genes throughout your body, including ones that influence your immune system to attack and destroy bacteria and viruses. Hence, being overwhelmed by the “flu bug” could signal that your vitamin D levels are too low, allowing the flu virus to overtake your immune system.
At least five studies show an inverse association between lower respiratory tract infections and 25(OH)D levels. That is, the higher your vitamin D level, the lower your risk of contracting colds, flu, and other respiratory tract infections:
A 2007 study suggests higher vitamin D status enhances your immunity to microbial infections. They found that subjects with vitamin D deficiency had significantly more days of absence from work due to respiratory infection than did control subjects.
A 2009 study on vitamin D deficiency in newborns with acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) confirmed a strong, positive correlation between newborns’ and mother’s vitamin D levels. Over 87 percent of all newborns and over 67 percent of all mothers had vitamin D levels lower than 20 ng/ml, which is a severe deficiency state.
Newborns with vitamin D deficiency appear to have an increased risk of developing ALRI, and since the child’s vitamin D level strongly correlates with its mother’s, the researchers recommend that all mothers’ optimize their vitamin D levels during pregnancy, especially in the winter months, to safeguard their baby’s health.
A similar Indian study published in 2004 also reported that vitamin D deficiency in infants significantly raised their odds ratio for having severe ALRI.
A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health andNutrition Examination Survey examined the association between vitamin D levelsand recent upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in nearly 19,000 subjects over the age of 12.
Recent URTI was reported by:
17 percent of participants with vitamin D levels of 30ng/ml or higher
20 percent of participants with vitamin D levels between 10-30 ng/ml.
24 percent of participants with vitamin D levels below 10ng/ml
The positive correlation between lower vitamin D levels and increased risk of URTI was even stronger in individuals with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Another 2009 report in the journal Pediatric Research stated that infants and children appear more susceptible to viral rather than bacterial infections when deficient in vitamin D. And that, based on the available evidence showing a strong connection between vitamin D, infections, and immune function in children, vitamin D supplementation may be a valuable therapy in pediatric medicine.
How to Prevent the Flu without Getting a Flu Shot
For most people the flu shot does not make you healthy; it does just the opposite and weakens your immune system.
If you follow a healthy lifestyle, you will not have to worry about getting the flu. Take it from me -- I’ve never received a flu shot, and I haven’t missed a day of work due to illness in over 20 years. The key steps that I follow to stay flu-free, which I suggest you follow too, include:
Get plenty of sunshine, safe tanning bed exposure or supplemental vitamin D3
Eat right for your nutritional type, including avoiding sugar
Get adequate sleep
Address emotional stress
Related Links:
U.S. Government Ignores Flu Vaccine Death
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Surely God doesn't SEND Pain...!
HIS BOTTLE OF TEARS
Stacy McDonald
www.yoursacredcalling.blogspot.com
"You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?" (Psalm 56:8)
He numbers my wanderings—He watches, records, and walks with me. He always has; even though it hasn’t always seemed like it. He even remembers the things He’s allowed me to forget. He has seen it all. So many times I thought I suffered alone; feeling like nobody cared—nobody understood. But, He was there – storing and counting my tears.
Now, if that was it—if all God did was stand beside me, watching my pain, it would seem a little cruel. It may be somewhat comforting, validating perhaps, to know He was there witnessing my hurts; but, it would be a hollow, scary kind of comfort. Who is this God who grieves with me, but is unable to stop my pain?
I was told that God watches with sadness as we suffer; but, that He has virtually nothing to do with it—no control. He grieves with us, but He can't do anything about the circumstances which caused our suffering. And I became afraid.
Are you afraid? Have you ever wondered: “If God really loves me, why doesn’t He do something?” “Why didn’t He keep this from happening” “Why doesn’t He take away the pain?” “Why can’t I get past this?”
"But to You I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You. Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all day long like water; they engulfed me altogether. Loved one and friend You have put far from me, and my acquaintances into darkness." (Psalm 88:13-18)
Why is it we’re rarely told that God orchestrates our lives according to His will? How can we find comfort in a god who sits wringing his hands in despair while we suffer—powerless to do anything?
"Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and well-being proceed?" (Lamentations 3:37-38)
Yes, He is in control of our lives…even the painful parts. He knows us intimately—and He knows our suffering the same way. Yet, he allows the “woe and the well-being” to occur in our lives for our good and His ultimate glory. Coming to terms with that fact is comforting. God is in control. Knowing that our pain isn’t wasted provides healing, somehow—He uses it all.
"Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." (Lamentations 3:32-33)
Many of us have scars from our pasts—perhaps even deep festering wounds. Sometimes these wounds are hard to identify because we have stuffed them—hidden them…even from ourselves. Perhaps they have healed over, only on the surface. Occasionally, we’re stunned by sudden stinging signs of a deeper hurt—signs that appear and are briefly exposed by the bumps and bruises of everyday life. And we wonder.
"Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth…” (Isaiah 54:4)
When will I forget the shame? How can I face my forsakenness? What if someone sees the real hurt that fuels my fears? Even I can’t look.
If I slip and reveal too much, everyone will behold my disgrace. They will know my worthlessness—my ugliness. They will see how low and unwanted I have always been.
But if I can forget, maybe they can too. If I can hide myself, I can’t be rejected. If I can blind myself to who I really am, maybe I will go away—at least that part of me—the cowering girl with the haunted eyes.
"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me." (Psalm 27:10)
But I won’t go away. Closing my eyes to my wretchedness will not hide my wicked heart, or my twisted worthlessness—even from myself.
Run—Hide—Pretend—Forget—Remember—Cry—Hate—Run—Hide…
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities." (Psalm 51:7-9)
In my “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” state I asked Jesus to cloth me in the white garments He offered—garments purchased with His own precious blood—garments that covered my wretchedness and gave me worth and value. In His mercy, He anointed my eyes and I was finally able to see (Rev. 3:17-18). He washed me clean and gave me a new name.
"You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you…." (Isaiah 62:4)
"For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God." (Isaiah 54:6)
So, why do I try to live in the land of the forsaken when I have been invited to the land of the cherished? (Eph. 5:29) Why do I close my healed eyes to what He has changed and walk in the torment and fears of the forsaken? Why do I hide in the comfort of familiar pain, cowering alone deep in my soul, when I have been called to be a city on a hill? (Matt 5:14) Sometimes pain is comfortable—it’s what we know.
"But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:21-24)
Yes! This is my battle! I know the truth; but, I struggle. I know I’m loved, and am no longer forsaken; but, too often, I don’t feel it, so I don’t walk in it. Oh “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) Help me to walk in the truth of your love toward me simply because I know it’s true. Help me to see my life, and even my pain, as a sacrifice to you—to embrace my past as something that will be used to better glorify You.
"You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate..." (Isaiah 62:3-4)
Fear torments—fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of being hated, fear of being unwanted, unloved…even just tolerated. Those who have known deep rejection know how difficult it is to articulate the irrational fears that plague you—that chase you down in the dead of night—and sometimes in the day. There is One who knows better than any other—He knows it all.
Rejection was my foe. He stood over me with a gleaming dagger, mocking me—imminent victory gleaming in his eyes. My heart pounded. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the fate I knew I deserved. “I wouldn’t want me either,” I thought.
Yet, suddenly, with each beat of my heart, the footsteps of my Beloved pounded in my head. Could it be?
A voice charged with passion and authority thundered through the air, “She is Mine.” It is all He said.
From where I lay, I could see the nail marks in His feet.
I looked up and realized my foe was gone. All that remained of him was the dagger in my own hand.
Lord, save me from myself. You rescued me from Your own wrath and from the tormentors who had laid claim to my soul. Why then do I secretly struggle to live in victory over the very bondage I loathed—even when I see and know the truth? Why do I so often see myself with worldly eyes? “Oh God, I believe; help my unbelief!”
"But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?" (Galatians 4:9, ESV)
Lord, help us all to see ourselves the way You see us—to know and remember that You have orchestrated our steps. You have walked in and experienced our pain. You have loved us in our ugliness, and washed us clean. Remind us that regardless of who lets us down, You never will. Regardless of who may forget us, you will never forget.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." (Isaiah 49:15-16)
Lord, You have my name engraved on the palm of Your hands; engrave that truth on my mind and heart.
Let my spirit be consumed with the fact that You will never leave me nor forsake me (Heb. 13:5). "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11)
Help me to walk in victory over that treacherous foe You have already defeated; help me to recall and use the testimony of Your mercy and grace in my life to overcome the lies of this world (Revelation 12:11).
The words burned through my mind with a healing heat, searing their meaning into my soul: “She is Mine.”
Safe—wanted—loved—cherished.
"I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me." (Song of Solomon 7:10)
Stacy McDonald
www.yoursacredcalling.
"You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?" (Psalm 56:8)
He numbers my wanderings—He watches, records, and walks with me. He always has; even though it hasn’t always seemed like it. He even remembers the things He’s allowed me to forget. He has seen it all. So many times I thought I suffered alone; feeling like nobody cared—nobody understood. But, He was there – storing and counting my tears.
Now, if that was it—if all God did was stand beside me, watching my pain, it would seem a little cruel. It may be somewhat comforting, validating perhaps, to know He was there witnessing my hurts; but, it would be a hollow, scary kind of comfort. Who is this God who grieves with me, but is unable to stop my pain?
I was told that God watches with sadness as we suffer; but, that He has virtually nothing to do with it—no control. He grieves with us, but He can't do anything about the circumstances which caused our suffering. And I became afraid.
Are you afraid? Have you ever wondered: “If God really loves me, why doesn’t He do something?” “Why didn’t He keep this from happening” “Why doesn’t He take away the pain?” “Why can’t I get past this?”
"But to You I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You. Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all day long like water; they engulfed me altogether. Loved one and friend You have put far from me, and my acquaintances into darkness." (Psalm 88:13-18)
Why is it we’re rarely told that God orchestrates our lives according to His will? How can we find comfort in a god who sits wringing his hands in despair while we suffer—powerless to do anything?
"Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that woe and well-being proceed?" (Lamentations 3:37-38)
Yes, He is in control of our lives…even the painful parts. He knows us intimately—and He knows our suffering the same way. Yet, he allows the “woe and the well-being” to occur in our lives for our good and His ultimate glory. Coming to terms with that fact is comforting. God is in control. Knowing that our pain isn’t wasted provides healing, somehow—He uses it all.
"Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." (Lamentations 3:32-33)
Many of us have scars from our pasts—perhaps even deep festering wounds. Sometimes these wounds are hard to identify because we have stuffed them—hidden them…even from ourselves. Perhaps they have healed over, only on the surface. Occasionally, we’re stunned by sudden stinging signs of a deeper hurt—signs that appear and are briefly exposed by the bumps and bruises of everyday life. And we wonder.
"Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; for you will forget the shame of your youth…” (Isaiah 54:4)
When will I forget the shame? How can I face my forsakenness? What if someone sees the real hurt that fuels my fears? Even I can’t look.
If I slip and reveal too much, everyone will behold my disgrace. They will know my worthlessness—my ugliness. They will see how low and unwanted I have always been.
But if I can forget, maybe they can too. If I can hide myself, I can’t be rejected. If I can blind myself to who I really am, maybe I will go away—at least that part of me—the cowering girl with the haunted eyes.
"When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me." (Psalm 27:10)
But I won’t go away. Closing my eyes to my wretchedness will not hide my wicked heart, or my twisted worthlessness—even from myself.
Run—Hide—Pretend—Forget—
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities." (Psalm 51:7-9)
In my “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” state I asked Jesus to cloth me in the white garments He offered—garments purchased with His own precious blood—garments that covered my wretchedness and gave me worth and value. In His mercy, He anointed my eyes and I was finally able to see (Rev. 3:17-18). He washed me clean and gave me a new name.
"You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you…." (Isaiah 62:4)
"For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God." (Isaiah 54:6)
So, why do I try to live in the land of the forsaken when I have been invited to the land of the cherished? (Eph. 5:29) Why do I close my healed eyes to what He has changed and walk in the torment and fears of the forsaken? Why do I hide in the comfort of familiar pain, cowering alone deep in my soul, when I have been called to be a city on a hill? (Matt 5:14) Sometimes pain is comfortable—it’s what we know.
"But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:21-24)
Yes! This is my battle! I know the truth; but, I struggle. I know I’m loved, and am no longer forsaken; but, too often, I don’t feel it, so I don’t walk in it. Oh “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) Help me to walk in the truth of your love toward me simply because I know it’s true. Help me to see my life, and even my pain, as a sacrifice to you—to embrace my past as something that will be used to better glorify You.
"You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate..." (Isaiah 62:3-4)
Fear torments—fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of being hated, fear of being unwanted, unloved…even just tolerated. Those who have known deep rejection know how difficult it is to articulate the irrational fears that plague you—that chase you down in the dead of night—and sometimes in the day. There is One who knows better than any other—He knows it all.
Rejection was my foe. He stood over me with a gleaming dagger, mocking me—imminent victory gleaming in his eyes. My heart pounded. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the fate I knew I deserved. “I wouldn’t want me either,” I thought.
Yet, suddenly, with each beat of my heart, the footsteps of my Beloved pounded in my head. Could it be?
A voice charged with passion and authority thundered through the air, “She is Mine.” It is all He said.
From where I lay, I could see the nail marks in His feet.
I looked up and realized my foe was gone. All that remained of him was the dagger in my own hand.
Lord, save me from myself. You rescued me from Your own wrath and from the tormentors who had laid claim to my soul. Why then do I secretly struggle to live in victory over the very bondage I loathed—even when I see and know the truth? Why do I so often see myself with worldly eyes? “Oh God, I believe; help my unbelief!”
"But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?" (Galatians 4:9, ESV)
Lord, help us all to see ourselves the way You see us—to know and remember that You have orchestrated our steps. You have walked in and experienced our pain. You have loved us in our ugliness, and washed us clean. Remind us that regardless of who lets us down, You never will. Regardless of who may forget us, you will never forget.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me." (Isaiah 49:15-16)
Lord, You have my name engraved on the palm of Your hands; engrave that truth on my mind and heart.
Let my spirit be consumed with the fact that You will never leave me nor forsake me (Heb. 13:5). "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11)
Help me to walk in victory over that treacherous foe You have already defeated; help me to recall and use the testimony of Your mercy and grace in my life to overcome the lies of this world (Revelation 12:11).
The words burned through my mind with a healing heat, searing their meaning into my soul: “She is Mine.”
Safe—wanted—loved—cherished.
"I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me." (Song of Solomon 7:10)
MY NOTES: I've talked to many Christians who believe God "allows" things to happen, and I've always struggled with that definition because if God is sovereign over everything (which hopefully every Christian would agree with!) then how come some "things" (hurricanes, tornadoes, death, pain--you name it) he "allows." Does this mean he sees bad things coming, but can only wring his hands in consternation? Definitely not! I believe thinking that about God is a direct affront on his Majesty. OK or is it that he COULD stop them if he wanted, and just decides it's too much work, or it'll do them good anyway, or what?
I loved this article because it spoke of who God really IS. Everything else pales in comparison. Think about it this way: I think all true Christians would agree that if Jesus Christ had not died for our sins, there would be no way out of the Hell that was waiting for us, right? Right. Basically, none of us have gotten eternal life by our own works. Therefore, if WE DO NOT DESERVE ANYTHING BETTER THAN HELL-then isn't anything ABOVE AND BEYOND HELL A COMPLETE AND TOTAL GIFT? Grace... God doesn't owe us a single thing.
Just some food for thought. Please feel free to leave comments, but before you do, I ask you to pray and seek the Lord, and what is the real truth of this matter. God bless.
-Katie
I loved this article because it spoke of who God really IS. Everything else pales in comparison. Think about it this way: I think all true Christians would agree that if Jesus Christ had not died for our sins, there would be no way out of the Hell that was waiting for us, right? Right. Basically, none of us have gotten eternal life by our own works. Therefore, if WE DO NOT DESERVE ANYTHING BETTER THAN HELL-then isn't anything ABOVE AND BEYOND HELL A COMPLETE AND TOTAL GIFT? Grace... God doesn't owe us a single thing.
Just some food for thought. Please feel free to leave comments, but before you do, I ask you to pray and seek the Lord, and what is the real truth of this matter. God bless.
-Katie
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Re-Learning the Presidents!
Have you ever seen the show "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader"? If you haven't, it's an hilarious TV show where the guest (or victim) is required to answer questions from a typical 5th grade text book. The guest can be helped by 5th graders, five of whom are up on stage with him/her. It's similar to "Who wants to be a Millionaire" but, in my opinion, more fun (maybe because I actually know the answers to most of the questions--Millionaire is mostly pop culture, which I know little to nothing about!).
Anyway, if the guest answers a series of 5th grade questions correctly, he/she gets a million bucks! It's a fun show, and it was sad and funny at the same time how many adults who LOOKED intelligent didn't know answers to simple questions (like how many Es are in the word mathematics-they didn't show the word-or what continent has the largest rain forest in the world). I watched one adult man in his 40s miss both of those! So yeah, it's a cool show.
All that to say, one of the questions related to the chronological order of presidents and I was ashamed I didn't know the answer! So I studied up a little on that subject, and here are some interesting facts as the product of my research. :)
There have been more one term presidents than there have been two term. Since there has been a total of 43 presidents, sixteen were two term, twenty were one term, and seven were assassinated, resigned, or died natural deaths. It's also interesting to me how Franklin Roosevelt served three terms! (I put him under the two term bracket.) Here is the list I found, for your enjoyment:
A list of U.S. Presidents, listed in the order in which they entered office.
Anyway, if the guest answers a series of 5th grade questions correctly, he/she gets a million bucks! It's a fun show, and it was sad and funny at the same time how many adults who LOOKED intelligent didn't know answers to simple questions (like how many Es are in the word mathematics-they didn't show the word-or what continent has the largest rain forest in the world). I watched one adult man in his 40s miss both of those! So yeah, it's a cool show.
All that to say, one of the questions related to the chronological order of presidents and I was ashamed I didn't know the answer! So I studied up a little on that subject, and here are some interesting facts as the product of my research. :)
There have been more one term presidents than there have been two term. Since there has been a total of 43 presidents, sixteen were two term, twenty were one term, and seven were assassinated, resigned, or died natural deaths. It's also interesting to me how Franklin Roosevelt served three terms! (I put him under the two term bracket.) Here is the list I found, for your enjoyment:
A list of U.S. Presidents, listed in the order in which they entered office.
- George Washington (1789-1797)
- John Adams (1797-1801)
- Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
- James Madison (1809-1817)
- James Monroe (1817-1825)
- John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)
- Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
- Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
- William H. Harrison (1841)
- John Tyler (1841-1845)
- James K. Polk (1841-1849)
- Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
- Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)
- Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
- James Buchanan (1857-1861)
- Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
- Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
- Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
- Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
- James A. Garfield (1881)
- Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
- Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)
- Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
- Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)
- William McKinley (1897-1901)
- Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
- William H. Taft (1909-1913)
- Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
- Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
- Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
- Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
- Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
- John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
- Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
- Richard M. Nixon (1969-1974)
- Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977)
- Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
- Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
- George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)
- Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
- George W. Bush (2001-2009)
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A New Discovery (or is it really new?)
Another Shocking Warning About Swine Flu Vaccine
The swine flu vaccine has been hit by new cancer fears after a German health expert gave a shocking warning about its safety.
Lung specialist Wolfgang Wodarg has said that there are many risks associated with the vaccine for the H1N1 virus. The nutrient solution for the vaccine consists of cancerous cells from animals, and some fear that the risk of cancer could be increased by injecting the cells.
The vaccine can also cause worse side effects than the actual swine flu virus.
Sources:
 | Dr. Mercola's Comments: |
Finally some good news to report about the swine flu mess.
This site, and many others seeking to shed light on this deceptive manipulation, are making a huge impact and the people are refusing to believe the government propaganda.
Vaccine safety advocates everywhere are beginning to make a serious dent. According to a recent Fox News poll, the majority of people in the US now believe the swine flu vaccine may be deadlier than the actual virus.
Additionally, there is more good news when it comes to what health care professionals believe. Research published in the August 25 issue of the British Medical Journal reveals that more than half of doctors and nurses in public hospitals would also refuse the H1N1 vaccine, due to concerns about side effects and doubts about its efficacy.
New Potential Health Risks of the Swine Flu Vaccine Emerge
Just last week I reported on the confidential correspondence between the British Health Protection Agency and 600 neurologists, warning them to be on the lookout for cases of Guillain- Barré Syndrome once the swine flu vaccine campaign begins.
I’ve published earlier articles about some of the more dangerous ingredients in this vaccine, such as mercury, and squalene, which has been linked to the development of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Now, German lung specialist Wolfgang Wodarg has come out about even more potential health risks associated with the swine flu vaccine. Interestingly, Dr. Wodarg also holds political office, as the chairman of the health committee in the German parliament and European Council.
According to Dr. Wodarg, the swine flu vaccine contains animal cancer cells, and there’s no data indicating whether or not this may cause an allergic reaction when injected.
It also raises questions about the risk of contracting cancer.
He also told the German press that the widespread fear of the pandemic was an “orchestration,” stating,
“It is great business for the pharmaceutical industry. Swine flu is not very different from normal flu. On the contrary, if you look at the number of cases it is nothing compared to a normal flu outbreak.”
More Documentation about Swine Flu Vaccine Safety
A recent article by Dr. Blaylock also highlights the many reasons why the vaccine may be far more dangerous than the virus. If you have interest in this issue I would strongly encourage you to read Dr. Blaylock’s article.
He states that the Baxter swine flu vaccine, called Celvapan, uses cultured cells from the African green monkey, which has previously been implicated as having transmitted a number of vaccine-contaminating viruses, including the HIV virus.
Likewise, Johannes Löwer, president of the Paul Ehrlich Institute, believes the side effects of the vaccine can be far worse than the actual swine flu virus, which typically causes only mild symptoms, requiring just a few days in bed.
As you may already know, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) consistently claim the seasonal flu kills about 36,000 Americans each year. After investigating that figure, it has been found to be a gross exaggeration based on flawed data compilation, but still, the swine flu has claimed FAR fewer lives than the seasonal flu in any given year, and no draconian measures have ever been taken to curtail the seasonal flu.
Based on a rational view of the numbers involved, the widespread fear over the swine flu certainly appears completely unwarranted.
I’d also like to point out that even though the World Health Organization’s web site claims that there has been at least 2,185 deaths from the swine flu worldwide, stating that: “Given that countries are no longer required to test and report individual cases, the number of cases reported actually understates the real number of cases,” the truth is likely quite different..
Why?
Because some countries, such as Great Britain, are now recording any and all cases of flu as the swine flu, based on nothing more than an online questionnaire.
How would this practice lead to an understatement of the real number of swine flu cases?
Without laboratory verification, it’s quite likely that a very large number of these so-called swine flu cases are in fact cases of seasonal flu.
Industry Versus Independent Research Findings -- Who are You Going to Believe?
Dr. Blaylock claims to have reviewed a number of studies on the immune adjuvant squalene, and found that several of the human test studies found it to be very safe. However, upon further investigation, they were all done by the pharmaceutical companies using the adjuvant.
However, a great number of the studies done by independent research facilities all found a strong link between squalene or MF-59 (which contains squalene) and autoimmune diseases.
Dr. Blaylock warns,
“Studies of other immune adjuvants using careful tracer techniques have shown that they routinely enter your brain following vaccination.
What most people do not know, even the doctors who recommend the vaccines, is that most such studies by pharmaceutical companies observe the patients for only one to two weeks following vaccination—these types of reactions may take months or even years to manifest.”
This is a major point.
If you were to develop an autoimmune disease years down the line, how would you ever be able to prove that your disease originated in a needle?
And worse, even if you could prove it, it wouldn’t do you any good, because vaccine manufacturers have cleverly manipulated government into granting them immunity against lawsuits, should any harm be caused by this experimental vaccine.
Why You Should Avoid Other Anti-Virals as Well
British researchers recently warned that the antiviral medication Tamiflu is “inappropriate for healthy adults.”
"Recommending the use of antiviral drugs for the treatment of people presenting with [flu] symptoms is unlikely to be the most appropriate course of action," they concluded.
The study, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, recommends that healthy people who get the swine flu should NOT be treated with antivirals like Tamiflu or Relenza, unless they suffer complications from the flu.
Based on their findings, either drug will reduce your illness by about HALF A DAY.
For people with health conditions like diabetes or asthma, Relenza was able to cut sickness by just under one full day, and Tamiflu by three-quarters of a day, on average.
Seriously… Are the potentially serious side effects really worth the risk, to gain maybe half a day? You’ll STILL spend five or six days in bed, with or without the shot, as it does not necessarily PREVENT the flu, it just reduces the length of your illness by a few hours if you do get it!
Free Book on Vaccine Dangers
All truth passes through 3 stages:
First it is ridiculed
Second, it is violently opposed
Third, it is accepted as self evidentThis famous quote by Arthur Schopenhauer is one of my favorites, and is, I believe, how history will in the end view the issue of vaccines.
Right now, we are in the second stage, and you can see that by statements such as the one made by the chief medical editor at NBC News, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, who is quoted as saying that “people should reject conspiracy theories about the vaccine’s safety, trust the government, and get your damn vaccine.”
Don’t fall for such irrational attempts to emotionally manipulate you away from the facts.
For a great review of why mandatory vaccinations are unconstitutional and illegal, I recommend the book “Horrors of Vaccination Exposed and Illustrated; Petition to the President to Abolish Compulsory Vaccination in the Army and Navy,” by Charles M. Higgins.
Written in 1920, the book is now in the public domain and can be read and downloaded for free by clicking this link. It discusses the dangers of vaccinations, the cover-ups of vaccine deaths, and explains your constitutional rights and the medical trends that are stripping those rights away, and is every bit as relevant today as it was when it was first written.
If you prefer a hardcopy version, you can also purchase the book, as it has recently been republished.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Swine Flu Continued...
Warning: Swine Flu Shot Linked to Killer Nerve Disease
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/01/Swine-Flu-Shot-Linked-to-Killer-Nerve-Disease.aspx
A warning that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the UK Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.
Sources:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/01/Swine-Flu-Shot-Linked-to-Killer-Nerve-Disease.aspx
A warning that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the UK Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.
The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, was leaked to The Daily Mail, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.
It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.
The letter refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:
- More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu
- The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times
- The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear
- The U.S. Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected
Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.
Sources:
| | Dr. Mercola's Comments: |
As mentioned in this article, the 1976 swine flu vaccine campaign caused more harm than good, and there are indications that the current campaign may end up being a devastating repeat or worse.
At that time, one person died from the actual swine flu, while 25 people died from adverse reactions to the vaccine, and several hundred people developed crippling Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
According to The Daily Mail, the British Health Protection Agency sent letters to 600 neurologists on July 29th, warning them to be on the lookout for cases of Guillain- Barré Syndrome once the swine flu vaccine campaign begins.
Why the warning was not sent out to general practitioners, who will be administering the shot, seems an odd choice if public safety is indeed the main concern.
This confidential correspondence between the British public health agency and neurologists in the U.K. is the first clue that all is probably not well with this fast-tracked pandemic vaccine.
Are You Willing to Let Them Experiment on Your Child?
According to a recent report from CNN, the U.S. is set to receive as many as 600 million doses of swine flu vaccine, enough for 300 million Americans.
Based on the recommendations from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) advisory group on immunization matters, the top priority groups that stand to receive the vaccine first include:
Pregnant women
Children over the age of 6 months with chronic health conditions
Adults with chronic health conditions such as chronic respiratory disease, asthma, or obesity
Health care workers
However, pregnant women, children, and those whose immune systems are already compromised are also at even greater risk to suffer severe side effects from the vaccine, as the adjuvants in the vaccine are designed to reduce your immune function.
Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) recently warned about the campaign underway to turn schools into virtual vaccination clinics. In many U.S. states, school has already started, so the decision of whether or not to vaccinate your child may become an issue you’ll have to deal with in the coming weeks.
Swine Flu Drug of Choice Causes Side Effects in Half of All Children
In the U.K. the hysteria over swine flu led to flu drugs being offered online, without a doctor’s prescription. This is incomprehensible, considering their risk. Just a couple of weeks ago I reported on brand new study findings that the swine flu drug of choice, Tamiflu, caused one or more side effects in OVER HALF of all children who received it!
Side effects included:
Nausea – 29 percent
Stomach pain or cramps – 20 percent
Neuropsychiatric side effects including inability to think clearly, nightmares, and “strange behavior” – nearly 20 percent
Sleep problems – 12 percent
The British Medical Association’s lead expert on swine flu went on the record stating that Tamiflu is now being overused.
Keep in mind that, although the swine flu has spread across the world it appears to have decreased in severity. The vast majority of cases are very mild, requiring only a few days in bed.
In fact, the regular seasonal flu is still far worse, and more deadly, than the swine flu.
How Vaccines Can Cause so Much Harm
The intended effect of a vaccination is to help you build immunity to a potentially harmful organism. However, your body’s immune system is already designed to do this in response to organisms that invade your body naturally.
Most disease-causing organisms enter your body through the mucous membranes of your nose, mouth, pulmonary system or your digestive tract. These mucous membranes have their own immune system, called the IgA immune system, which fights off invading organisms at the point of entry, reducing or even eliminating the need for activation of your body’s immune system.
A vaccination, however, delivers either live or attenuated (dead) viruses directly into your tissues and blood stream through injection, completely bypassing your body’s first line of defense. And when combined with an immune adjuvant, your body’s immune system kicks into high gear in response to the vaccination. If your immune system is too weak to deal with the assault, severe side effects can occur.
Injecting organisms into your body to provoke immunity is contrary to nature, and vaccination carries enormous potential to do serious damage to your health.
To emphasize this point further, when ingested, the vaccine adjuvant squalene is actually recognized by your immune system as an oil molecule native to your body. It has antioxidant properties and is found throughout your nervous system and brain.
The difference between “good” and “bad” squalene is the route by which it enters your body. Injection is an abnormal route of entry which incites your immune system to attack all the squalene in your body, not just the vaccine adjuvant.
As a result, your immune system will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally, and where it is vital to the health of your nervous system.
For more information about squalene, and the hazards it poses when included in flu shots, please review my recent special report on the topic, if you have not already done so.
Is Silver a Good Choice for the Swine Flu?
While I believe colloidal silver does have some merit, there may be significant problems in using it for swine flu. We were initially going to carry one of the finest silver products in our store, but I recently learned of new information that changed my mind.
While silver will likely work to kill the swine flu virus, in many healthy individuals it is likely to elicit a severe cytokine storm reaction. This is basically a severe allergic inflammatory reaction that can occur in your lungs, and could be fatal.
Additionally, silver is a heavy metal and there is no need for it in your body. So when used acutely it may have benefit, but in the long run you will need to eliminate the silver ions in your body with some type of detoxification process.
I am currently consulting with some of the leading experts on a swine flu product that I hope to have by the end of the year that will use completely natural ingredients that build your immune system, and will not result in a potentially fatal cytokine storm.
In the Meantime Consider Vitamin D as it Prevents Seasonal Flu
Just last week I reported on Canada’s decision to investigate the role of vitamin D in protection against the swine flu. This is great, but there are already overwhelming evidence showing that your vitamin D levels play a significant role in your likelihood of getting the flu.
Vitamin D has been a hot research topic these past few years, and has been shown to have remarkable impact on nearly every single disease studied.
Here is a list of four studies published this year, showing an inverse association between respiratory tract infections and 25(OH)D levels. That is, the higher your vitamin D level, the lower your risk of contracting colds, flu, and other respiratory tract infections:
A 2007 study suggests higher vitamin D status enhances your immunity to microbial infections. They found that subjects with vitamin D deficiency had significantly more days of absence from work due to respiratory infection than did control subjects.
A 2009 study on vitamin D deficiency in newborns with acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) confirmed a strong, positive correlation between newborns’ and mother’s vitamin D levels. Over 87 percent of all newborns and over 67 percent of all mothers had vitamin D levels lower than 20 ng/ml, which is a severe deficiency state.
Newborns with vitamin D deficiency appear to have an increased risk of developing ALRI, and since the child’s vitamin D level strongly correlates with its mother’s, the researchers recommend that all mothers’ optimize their vitamin D levels during pregnancy, especially in the winter months, to safeguard their baby’s health.A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey examined the association between vitamin D levels and recent upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in nearly 19,000 subjects over the age of 12.
Recent URTI was reported by:
17 percent of participants with vitamin D levels of 30 ng/ml or higher
20 percent of participants with vitamin D levels between 10-30 ng/ml.
24 percent of participants with vitamin D levels below 10 ng/ml
The positive correlation between lower vitamin D levels and increased risk of URTI was even stronger in individuals with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Another 2009 report in the journal Pediatric Research stated that infants and children appear more susceptible to viral rather than bacterial infections when deficient in vitamin D. And that, based on the available evidence showing a strong connection between vitamin D, infections, and immune function in children, vitamin D supplementation may be a valuable therapy in pediatric medicine.
Granted, so far none of the research has focused on vitamin D’s impact on pandemic flu. If your body has never been exposed to the antigens there is chance that vitamin D might not be enough.
However, there’s no evidence suggesting that vitamin D supplementation would cause you any harm or make your illness any worse.
On the contrary, if you are coming down with flu-like symptoms and have not supplemented with vitamin D, Dr. Cannell, one of the world’s leading vitamin D experts, recommends taking 50,000 IU’s a day for three days to treat the acute infection.
Some researchers, including Dr. Cannell, believe the dose could even be as high as 1,000 units per pound of body weight for three days.
Ultimately, your best bet is to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D around 60 ng/ml year-round. Please note that this is far higher than most doctors will refer to as “normal.” Rather it is the optimal level you’ll want to maintain for disease prevention.
I strongly recommend you watch my one-hour free vitamin D lecture along with my video on vitamin D’s role in flu prevention for more in-depth information about vitamin D’s role in flu prevention.
Taking care of your health to reduce or eliminate your risk of contracting the flu is always going to be your safest bet. In addition to optimizing your vitamin D levels, this past article details my other recommendations for avoiding the flu naturally, and I strongly urge you to start incorporating these changes into your life today.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Infamous (and much overrated) Swine Flu
Couldn't resist posting this article my mom sent me on vaccinations and swine flu. Makes me so sad. There are so many people who make millions off of drugs, and who have a huge influence on the media, so this truth is buried underneath convenient lies. And it's not just vaccines that are wrong when it comes to the health situation in America (!) But don't get me started :) I don't claim to understand everything in this article, but I thought it made some good points. Enjoy!
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/04/Squalene-The-Swine-Flu-Vaccines-Dirty-Little-Secret-Exposed.aspx
GULF WAR SYNDROME Drug to be used in SWINE FLU VACCINES for CHILDREN!
By Dr. Mercola
According to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, your children should be the first target for mass swine flu vaccinations when school starts this fall.[i]
http://articles.mercola.com/
GULF WAR SYNDROME Drug to be used in SWINE FLU VACCINES for CHILDREN!
By Dr. Mercola
According to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, your children should be the first target for mass swine flu vaccinations when school starts this fall.[i]
This is a ridiculous assumption for many reasons, not to mention extremely high risk.
In Australia, where the winter season has begun, Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon is reassuring parents the swine flu is no more dangerous than regular seasonal flu. "Most people, including children, will experience very mild symptoms and recover without any medical intervention," she said.[ii]
Sydney-based immunization specialist Robert Booy predicts swine flu might be fatal to about twice as many children in the coming year as regular influenza. Booy estimates 10-12 children could die from the H1N1 virus, compared with the five or six regular flu deaths seen among children in an average year in Australia.[iii]
“Cure the Disease, Kill the Patient”
Less than 100 children in the U.S. die each year from seasonal flu viruses.[iv] If we use Australia’s math, a very rough estimate would be another 100 children could potentially die of swine flu in the United States in the coming year.
If children are the first target group in the U.S. per Sebelius, that means we’re about to inject around 75 million children with a fast tracked vaccine containing novel adjuvants, including dangerous squalene, to prevent perhaps 100 deaths.
I’m not overlooking the tragedy of the loss of even one child to an illness like the H1N1 flu virus. But there can be no argument that unnecessary mass injection of millions of children with a vaccine containing an adjuvant known to cause a host of debilitating autoimmune diseases is a reckless, dangerous plan.
Why are Vaccinations Dangerous?
The presumed intent of a vaccination is to help you build immunity to potentially harmful organisms that cause illness and disease. However, your body’s immune system is already designed to do this in response to organisms which invade your body naturally.
Most disease-causing organisms enter your body through the mucous membranes of your nose, mouth, pulmonary system or your digestive tract – not through an injection.
These mucous membranes have their own immune system, called the IgA immune system. It is a different system from the one activated when a vaccine is injected into your body.
Your IgA immune system is your body’s first line of defense. Its job is to fight off invading organisms at their entry points, reducing or even eliminating the need for activation of your body’s immune system.
When a virus is injected into your body in a vaccine, and especially when combined with an immune adjuvant like squalene, your IgA immune system is bypassed and your body’s immune system kicks into high gear in response to the vaccination.
Injecting organisms into your body to provoke immunity is contrary to nature, and vaccination carries enormous potential to do serious damage to your health.
And as if Vaccines Weren’t Dangerous Enough on Their Own …
… imagine them turbocharged.
The main ingredient in a vaccine is either killed viruses or live ones that have been attenuated (weakened and made less harmful).
Flu vaccines can also contain a number of chemical toxins, including ethylene glycol (antifreeze), formaldehyde, phenol (carbolic acid) and even antibiotics like Neomycin and streptomycin.
In addition to the viruses and other additives, many vaccines also contain immune adjuvants like aluminum and squalene.
The purpose of an immune adjuvant added to a vaccine is to enhance (turbo charge) your immune response to the vaccination. Adjuvants cause your immune system to overreact to the introduction of the organism you’re being vaccinated against.
Adjuvants are supposed to get the job done faster (but certainly not more safely), which reduces the amount of vaccine required per dose, and the number of doses given per individual.
Less vaccine required per person means more individual doses available for mass vaccination campaigns. Coincidentally, this is exactly the goal of government and the pharmaceutical companies who stand to make millions from their vaccines.
Will There Be Immune Adjuvants in Swine Flu Vaccines?
The U.S. government has contracts with several drug companies to develop and produce swine flu vaccines. At least two of those companies, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, are using an adjuvant in their H1N1 vaccines.
The adjuvant? Squalene.
According to Meryl Nass, M.D., an authority on the anthrax vaccine,
“A novel feature of the two H1N1 vaccines being developed by companies Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline is the addition of squalene-containing adjuvants to boost immunogenicity and dramatically reduce the amount of viral antigen needed. This translates to much faster production of desired vaccine quantities.”[v]
Novartis’s proprietary squalene adjuvant for their H1N1 vaccine is MF59. Glaxo’s is ASO3. MF59 has yet to be approved by the FDA for use in any U.S. vaccine, despite its history of use in other countries.
Per Dr. Nass, there are only three vaccines in existence using an approved squalene adjuvant. None of the three are approved for use in the U.S.
What Squalene Does to Rats
Oil-based vaccination adjuvants like squalene have been proved to generate concentrated, unremitting immune responses over long periods of time.[vi]
A 2000 study published in the American Journal of Pathology demonstrated a single injection of the adjuvant squalene into rats triggered “chronic, immune-mediated joint-specific inflammation,” also known as rheumatoid arthritis.[vii]
The researchers concluded the study raised questions about the role of adjuvants in chronic inflammatory diseases.
What Squalene Does to Humans
Your immune system recognizes squalene as an oil molecule native to your body. It is found throughout your nervous system and brain. In fact, you can consume squalene in olive oil and not only will your immune system recognize it, you will also reap the benefits of its antioxidant properties.
The difference between “good” and “bad” squalene is the route by which it enters your body. Injection is an abnormal route of entry which incites your immune system to attack all the squalene in your body, not just the vaccine adjuvant.
Your immune system will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally, and where it is vital to the health of your nervous system.[viii]
Gulf War veterans with Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) received anthrax vaccines which contained squalene.[ix] MF59 (the Novartis squalene adjuvant) was an unapproved ingredient in experimental anthrax vaccines and has since been linked to the devastating autoimmune diseases suffered by countless Gulf War vets.[x]
The Department of Defense made every attempt to deny that squalene was indeed an added contaminant in the anthrax vaccine administered to Persian Gulf war military personnel – deployed and non-deployed – as well as participants in the more recent Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP).
However, the FDA discovered the presence of squalene in certain lots of AVIP product. A test was developed to detect anti-squalene antibodies in GWS patients, and a clear link was established between the contaminated product and all the GWS sufferers who had been injected with the vaccine containing squalene.
A study conducted at Tulane Medical School and published in the February 2000 issue of Experimental Molecular Pathology included these stunning statistics:
“ … the substantial majority (95%) of overtly ill deployed GWS patients had antibodies to squalene. All (100%) GWS patients immunized for service in Desert Shield/Desert Storm who did not deploy, but had the same signs and symptoms as those who did deploy, had antibodies to squalene.
In contrast, none (0%) of the deployed Persian Gulf veterans not showing signs and symptoms of GWS have antibodies to squalene. Neither patients with idiopathic autoimmune disease nor healthy controls had detectable serum antibodies to squalene. The majority of symptomatic GWS patients had serum antibodies to squalene.”[xi]
According to Dr. Viera Scheibner, Ph.D., a former principle research scientist for the government of Australia:
“… this adjuvant [squalene] contributed to the cascade of reactions called "Gulf War Syndrome," documented in the soldiers involved in the Gulf War.
The symptoms they developed included arthritis, fibromyalgia, lymphadenopathy, rashes, photosensitive rashes, malar rashes, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, abnormal body hair loss, non-healing skin lesions, aphthous ulcers, dizziness, weakness, memory loss, seizures, mood changes, neuropsychiatric problems, anti-thyroid effects, anaemia, elevated ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Raynaud’s phenomenon, Sjorgren’s syndrome, chronic diarrhoea, night sweats and low-grade fevers.”[xii]
Post Vaccination Follow-Up Might as Well Be Non-Existent
There is virtually no science to support the safety of vaccine injections on your long-term health or the health of your children. Follow-up studies last on average about two weeks, and look only for glaring injuries and illnesses.
Autoimmune disorders like those seen in Gulf War Syndrome frequently take years to diagnose due to the vagueness of early symptoms. Complaints like headaches, fatigue and chronic aches and pains are symptoms of many different illnesses and diseases.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for vaccine purveyors and proponents to look seriously at the long-term health consequences of their vaccination campaigns.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Snow in July
Ah I have been silent for a while. Well, I have been pleasantly busy :)
The 4th of July was the other day, and we went hiking. Robert was driving home when low and behold, my dad yelled, "Is that snow!!!?" I was reading Gone with the Wind intently so had not been looking about at our surroundings, but when I heard that, I did! Sure enough, a white substance was on either side of the road (mostly melted, but still there to be sure!). At first we all said it was hail, but it surely was not. Snow! On the 4th of July. What a strange state Colorado is. But I love it :)
Just had to share that tidbit. Keep an eye on our family blog www.cochranfamily101.blogspot.com and soon you will see pics of the hike! Didn't get any of the snow as it was rather dark out and rainy, but I hope you enjoy the others!
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. God bless!
The 4th of July was the other day, and we went hiking. Robert was driving home when low and behold, my dad yelled, "Is that snow!!!?" I was reading Gone with the Wind intently so had not been looking about at our surroundings, but when I heard that, I did! Sure enough, a white substance was on either side of the road (mostly melted, but still there to be sure!). At first we all said it was hail, but it surely was not. Snow! On the 4th of July. What a strange state Colorado is. But I love it :)
Just had to share that tidbit. Keep an eye on our family blog www.cochranfamily101.blogspot.com and soon you will see pics of the hike! Didn't get any of the snow as it was rather dark out and rainy, but I hope you enjoy the others!
I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. God bless!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Give it Up... Let Go
""There Is A River"
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own,
For all of your tears, are the wages for things you have done
And all of those nights
Spent alone in the darkness of your mind
Give it up, Let go
These are things you were never meant to shoulder
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own
For all of those tears, love will atone
So, give up the right
To control the waves that empty out your life
Above wild skies
Are the rays that break the shadows we design
Give it up, let go
These are things you were never meant to shoulder
Give it up, let go
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own
For all of those things, love will atone
I know the world can turn in different ways
Most of the time, we're simply hanging on
And under the signs of how we all behave
We might find the place that we belong
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own
For all of these things, love will atone
For all of those nights, that you cried all alone
All of your tears, love will atone
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own,
For all of your tears, are the wages for things you have done
And all of those nights
Spent alone in the darkness of your mind
Give it up, Let go
These are things you were never meant to shoulder
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own
For all of those tears, love will atone
So, give up the right
To control the waves that empty out your life
Above wild skies
Are the rays that break the shadows we design
Give it up, let go
These are things you were never meant to shoulder
Give it up, let go
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own
For all of those things, love will atone
I know the world can turn in different ways
Most of the time, we're simply hanging on
And under the signs of how we all behave
We might find the place that we belong
There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own
For all of these things, love will atone
For all of those nights, that you cried all alone
All of your tears, love will atone
Thursday, March 26, 2009
What does This World Need?
I have been thinking. Just to warn you, whenever I say this in my family, many members will say, "Uh oh! Not again!" They are mostly joking, but partly serious I think, since most of my shared thoughts include a new habit we can develop, a new idea to make money, or a new meal idea :) That is partly a joke--I do think of other things too!
Anyway, I have been thinking. There are so many different types of "Christians." Those who are Baptists, those who are Presbyterian; those who are reformed, those who are Armenian; those who date, those who court; those who believe in spiritual gifts, and those who think they are past history; those who wear skirts all the time, and those who don't care what they wear; those who sing hymns, those who rock out every Sunday morning on all the latest praise and worship songs created; girls who wear make-up, girls who don't--because of principal ; those who listen to contemporary Christian music, and those who believe any drum beat is wrong; those who believe in sending children to public school, and those who believe it is the parents' job ALONE to educate their children.... (to name a few)
So, which one, in each of these examples, is the RIGHT way? Are all Christians right and Jesus isn't particular about these things?
Or is somebody wrong.
That is a sobering thought. A lot of times I believe that Christians become comfortable in their lives and begin taking on the look, feel, and sound of the world without even knowing it. If we are not actively fighting against the world and it's passions, then passively those very ideas will invade out lives.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." -Romans 12:2
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." -1 John 2:15
The first verse doesn't just give a no-no and then move on. It gives a no, and then gives an ACTIVE command, that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds! This takes work!! Self-control and self-government to force our minds from their natural inclinations (since all men are born in sin) and into the right avenues TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD. I get so excited about this. We can actually KNOW the will of almighty God! Think of all the heart-ache we could save ourselves if we just knew God's will.. Well, my friends, there is a way to know it. Praise the Lord!
All that to say, just because one becomes a Christian doesn't mean that he or she has somehow arrived and now has to do no more work! Oh no, the work is just beginning... The work to know what is of God, and what is of the world. More and more I am convinced that something cannot be both. Either something (habit, desire, thought, deed, event) is of GOD, or it is of the WORLD. There is no middle ground! I am not totally sure of this yet, but that is where I am leaning... Simply because there is absolutely NO sin in anything God does, so everything of God would have NO sin, and so everything else would be sin, right?
Maybe I am getting into semantics here :)
I just want to honor the Lord, and I am confused when I see Christians who are so diverse. How can BOTH lifestyles honor the Lord?
I would love to hear your thoughts. In the meantime, here's a song by Casting Crowns that really got me thinking about all this stuff
What this world needs
is not another one hit wonder with an axe to grind
Another two bit politician peddling lies
Another three-ring circus society
What this world needs
is not another sign-waving super saint that's better than you
Another ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth
Another prophet in an Armani suit
What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them in their time of need
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs
What this world needs
is for us to care more about the inside than the outside
Have we become so blind that we can't see
God's gotta change her heart before he changes her shirt
What this world needs
is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance
Blending in so well people can't see the difference
And it's the difference that sets the world FREE!
People aren't confused by the Gospel
They're confused by us.
Jesus is the only way to God, but we are not the only way to Jesus
The world doesn't need my tie, my hoodie, my denomination or my translation of the Bible
It just needs Jesus
Jesus is going to save the world, but maybe the best thing we can do, is get out of the way...
I think the world is partly confused because we looks just like them... Anyway, just something to think about.
May you show someone today the Love of Christ.
Anyway, I have been thinking. There are so many different types of "Christians." Those who are Baptists, those who are Presbyterian; those who are reformed, those who are Armenian; those who date, those who court; those who believe in spiritual gifts, and those who think they are past history; those who wear skirts all the time, and those who don't care what they wear; those who sing hymns, those who rock out every Sunday morning on all the latest praise and worship songs created; girls who wear make-up, girls who don't--because of principal ; those who listen to contemporary Christian music, and those who believe any drum beat is wrong; those who believe in sending children to public school, and those who believe it is the parents' job ALONE to educate their children.... (to name a few)
So, which one, in each of these examples, is the RIGHT way? Are all Christians right and Jesus isn't particular about these things?
Or is somebody wrong.
That is a sobering thought. A lot of times I believe that Christians become comfortable in their lives and begin taking on the look, feel, and sound of the world without even knowing it. If we are not actively fighting against the world and it's passions, then passively those very ideas will invade out lives.
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." -Romans 12:2
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." -1 John 2:15
The first verse doesn't just give a no-no and then move on. It gives a no, and then gives an ACTIVE command, that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds! This takes work!! Self-control and self-government to force our minds from their natural inclinations (since all men are born in sin) and into the right avenues TO KNOW THE WILL OF GOD. I get so excited about this. We can actually KNOW the will of almighty God! Think of all the heart-ache we could save ourselves if we just knew God's will.. Well, my friends, there is a way to know it. Praise the Lord!
All that to say, just because one becomes a Christian doesn't mean that he or she has somehow arrived and now has to do no more work! Oh no, the work is just beginning... The work to know what is of God, and what is of the world. More and more I am convinced that something cannot be both. Either something (habit, desire, thought, deed, event) is of GOD, or it is of the WORLD. There is no middle ground! I am not totally sure of this yet, but that is where I am leaning... Simply because there is absolutely NO sin in anything God does, so everything of God would have NO sin, and so everything else would be sin, right?
Maybe I am getting into semantics here :)
I just want to honor the Lord, and I am confused when I see Christians who are so diverse. How can BOTH lifestyles honor the Lord?
I would love to hear your thoughts. In the meantime, here's a song by Casting Crowns that really got me thinking about all this stuff
What this world needs
is not another one hit wonder with an axe to grind
Another two bit politician peddling lies
Another three-ring circus society
What this world needs
is not another sign-waving super saint that's better than you
Another ear pleasing candy man afraid of the truth
Another prophet in an Armani suit
What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love them in their time of need
A Savior who will rescue
A Spirit who will lead
A Father who will love
That's what this world needs
What this world needs
is for us to care more about the inside than the outside
Have we become so blind that we can't see
God's gotta change her heart before he changes her shirt
What this world needs
is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance
Blending in so well people can't see the difference
And it's the difference that sets the world FREE!
People aren't confused by the Gospel
They're confused by us.
Jesus is the only way to God, but we are not the only way to Jesus
The world doesn't need my tie, my hoodie, my denomination or my translation of the Bible
It just needs Jesus
Jesus is going to save the world, but maybe the best thing we can do, is get out of the way...
I think the world is partly confused because we looks just like them... Anyway, just something to think about.
May you show someone today the Love of Christ.
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