4 Christmas Carols for you

(For) 4 Christmas Carols

This article is a continuation of a thought discussed with Pastors and ministers/ by Bishop Jim Earl Swilley on December 3, 2008 at Body Builders at the Church in the Now.

He focused on the 4 major popular Christmas movies by comparing them with each other to show us the epiphanies we discover when we allow ourselves to examine our past, present and future. I took the liberty of researching the most famous popular movies and pulling over information for the on-line encyclopedia to give you a well rounded over-veiw of these movies and the lessons they bring to us every year.’


The first discussion will be featured actor James Stewart and It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American film produced and directed by Frank Capra and loosely based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern.
The film takes place in the fictional town of Bedford Falls shortly after World War II and stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve gains the attention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) who is sent to help him in his hour of need. Much of the film is told through flashbacks spanning George's entire life and narrated by Franklin and Joseph, unseen Angels who are preparing Clarence for his mission to save George. Through these flashbacks we see all the people whose lives have been touched by George and the difference he has made to the community in which he lives.
The film is regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas television around the world and the spirtitual lesson learned in this movie was much like what Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz learned which was your true happiness and joy is going to come from your community, your friends and within yourself. George Bailey learned that his life truly did make a difference to his town (Bedford Falls), his wife otherwise she would have ended up an unhappy spinster, his brother because George saved his life. It is very much like us when we are at crossroads in our lives and are forced to make difficult decisions. Dorothy said…Oh Auntie Em, there is no place like home. And she was right, there is no place like home because your home is where your heart is.

George Bailey, stated that it truly is a wonderful life. Many of our problems come from our vision, if our eye is unhealthy (our paradigm),our entire being is effected.

Charlie Brown Christmas

On their way to join the rest of the Peanuts gang all skating on a frozen pond, Charlie Brown confides in Linus that even though the holidays are approaching he is still feels depressed despite all the presents and cards and tree decorating. His depression and aggravation only get exacerbated by the goings-on in the neighborhood. Though his mailbox is empty of Christmas cards, he tries sarcastically to thank Violet for the card she "sent" him, though Violet knows she did no such thing.
Charlie Brown (shouting after Violet as she walks away):Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?
Ultimately Charlie Brown visits Lucy in her psychiatric booth. On her advice, he gets involved in directing a school play about the Nativity. She also sympathizes with Charlie Brown about holiday depression, always getting "a lot of stupid toys" instead of what she really wants: real estate.
On the way to the auditorium, Charlie Brown is drawn to Snoopy, who is frantically and gleefully busy decorating his doghouse. Demanding an explanation, Snoopy hands Charlie Brown a flier about a neighborhood lights and display contest. Charlie Brown walks away in frustration at his own dog's being bitten by the commercial bug. He then gets accosted by Sally, who wants Charlie Brown to take dictation for a letter to Santa, in which she ultimately asks him (Santa) to "just send money", particularly tens and twenties, causing Charlie Brown to run away in exasperation of even his sister's commercial corruption.
Charlie Brown arrives at the rehearsals, but try as he might, he cannot seem to get control of the situation as the uncooperative kids are more interested in modernizing the play with dancing and lively music. Charlie Brown, on the other hand, is determined to not let the play become commercial by directing the traditional side of the story.
Thinking the play requires "the proper mood", Charlie Brown decides they need a Christmas tree. So Lucy takes over the crowd and dispatches Charlie Brown to get a "big, shiny aluminum tree...maybe painted pink". With Linus in tow, Charlie Brown sets off on his quest. But when they get to the tree market, Charlie Brown zeroes in on a small baby tree which, ironically as well as symbolically, is the only real tree on the lot. Linus is reluctant about Charlie Brown's decision, but Charlie Brown is convinced that decorating it will be just right for the play.
They return to the school auditorium with the tree, only to be verbally castigated by everyone, especially Lucy, about his choice of tree. Second guessing himself, Charlie Brown begins to wonder if he really knows what Christmas is about, loudly asking in despair. Linus quietly says he can tell him, and walks to center stage to make his point. Under a spotlight, Linus quotes Scripture, particularly the second chapter of the
Gospel of Luke, verses 8 through 14:
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Charlie Brown now realizes he does not have to let commercialism ruin his Christmas. (this was very signficant and still is for this simple cartoon to touch millions of lives over the years to simplistic tell the world what the true meaning of Christmas is.

With a newly found sense of inspiration, he quietly picks up the little tree and walks out of the auditorium, intending to take the tree home to decorate and show the others it will work in the play.
On the way, he stops at Snoopy's decorated doghouse, which now sports a first prize blue ribbon for winning the display contest. Letting his dog's commercialism roll off his back, Charlie Brown takes an ornament off the doghouse and hangs it on his tree, but the ornament's weight is too much for the small branch and pulls it to the ground much to Charlie Brown's shock.
Charlie Brown (seeing the ornamented branch droop to the ground):I've killed it. AUGHH! Everything I touch gets ruined! (he walks away, his head hanging in shame)
Unbeknownst to Charlie Brown, the rest of the gang, having also heard Linus' recitative, began to realize they were a little too rough on Charlie Brown and quietly followed him from the auditorium. Linus goes up to the little tree and gently props the drooping branch back to its upright position, ornament and all:
Linus:
I never thought it was such a bad little tree. (wrapping his blanket around the base of the trunk)It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.
The rest of the kids grab the other decorations off of Snoopy's doghouse and add them to the tree. When they're done, even Lucy concedes to Charlie Brown's choice:
Lucy (in wonderment):Charlie Brown is a blockhead, but he did get a nice tree.
The kids then start humming the traditional Christmas carol, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." When Charlie Brown returns, he demands to know what is taking place. When he sees what they have done with the tree, he cannot believe his eyes, and all the kids shout:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHARLIE BROWN!

At this point, the kids, now with Charlie Brown, begin singing "Hark.." as the end credits roll... and the snow again begins to fall.
Themes
The story touches on the over-commercialization of Christmas, and serves to remind viewers of the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ, continuing a theme explored by satirists such as Stan Freberg and Tom Lehrer during the 1950s.

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (commonly known as A Christmas Carol ) is what Charles Dickens described as his "little Christmas Book and was first published on December 19, 1843 with illustrations by John Leech. The first of the author's five "Christmas books", the story was instantly successful, selling over six thousand copies in one week. Although originally written under financial duress to help Dickens to pay off a debt, the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time.[3]
Contemporaries noted that the story's popularity played a critical role in redefining the importance of Christmas and the major sentiments associated with the holiday. A Christmas Carol was written during a time of decline in the old Christmas traditions. "If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease", said English poet Thomas Hood.

Ebenezer Scrooge encounters "Ignorance" and "Want" in A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of one night, which if it doesn't change his ways he will end up like his friend Jacob Marley, walking the Earth forever, being nothing but invisible and lonely. Mr. Scrooge is a financier/money-changer who has devoted his life to the accumulation of wealth. He holds anything other than money in contempt, including friendship, love and the Christmas season.

Stave I: Marley's Ghost

Chrstmas Eve, seven years to the day after the death of his business partner Jacob Marley, Ebenezer Scrooge and his downtrodden clerk Bob Cratchit are at work in Scrooge’s counting-house. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, arrives with seasonal greetings and an invitation to Christmas dinner, but Scrooge dismisses him with "Bah! Humbug!", declaring that Christmas is a fraud. Two gentlemen collecting charitable donations for the poor are likewise rebuffed by Scrooge, he insists that the poor laws and workhouses are sufficient to care for the poor, and that "If they would rather die [than go there], they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population". As he and his clerk prepare to leave, he grudgingly permits Cratchit one day's paid holiday the following day, but the morning after Christmas he must be there on time, otherwise there will be a deduction from his wages.
Scrooge returns home to his cheerless rooms in an otherwise deserted building, and a series of supernatural experiences begins. His door knocker appears to transform into Marley's face; a "locomotive hearse" seems to mount the dark stairs ahead of him; the pictures on the tiles in his fireplace transform into images of Marley's face. Finally all the bells in the house ring loudly, there is a clanking of chains in the bed and on the floor, and the ghost of Marley passes through the closed door into the room.

The ghost warns Scrooge that if he does not change his ways, he will suffer Marley's fate, but Scrooge's fate would be even worse. He will walk the earth eternally after death, invisible among his fellow men, burdened with chains, seeing the misery and suffering he could have alleviated in his life but now powerless to intervene. Marley has arranged Scrooge's only chance of redemption: three spirits will visit him on successive hours that night, and they may help change him and save him from his fate. As Marley leaves, Scrooge gets a nightmare glimpse of the tormented spectres who drift unseen among the living, and, shattered, he falls into bed.

Stave II: The First of the Three Spirits

The Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange mixture of young and old, male and female, with a light shining from the crown of its head, appears at the stroke of one. It leads Scrooge on a journey to some of his past Christmases, where events shaped his life and character. He sees his late sister Fan, who intervened to rescue him from lonely exile at boarding school, and, recalling his recent treatment of Fan's son Fred, Scrooge feels the first stirrings of regret. They revisit a merry Christmas party given by Fezziwig, Scrooge's kindly apprentice-master, and Scrooge thinks guiltily of his own behaviour toward Bob Cratchit. Finally, he is reminded how his love of money lost him the love of his life, Belle, and the happiness this cost him. Furious, Scrooge turns on the spirit, snuffs it like a candle with its cap, and finds himself crumpling up in his bed sheets and wakes up and feels remorseful.

Stave III: The Second of the Three Spirits

Scrooge wakes at the stroke of two, confused to find it is still night. After a time he rises and finds the second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, in an adjoining room, on a throne made of Christmas food and drink. This spirit, a great genial man in a green coat lined with fur, takes him through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace. They observe the meagre but happy Christmas celebrations of the Cratchit family and the sweet nature of their lame son Tiny Tim, and when the Spirit foretells an early death for the child if things remain unchanged, Scrooge is distraught. He is shown what others think of him: the Cratchits toast him, but reluctantly, and "a shadow was cast over the party for a full five minutes". Scrooge's nephew and his friends gently mock his miserly behaviour at their Christmas party, but Fred maintains his uncle's potential for change, and Scrooge demonstrates a childlike enjoyment of the celebrations.
They travel far and wide, and see how even the most wretched of people mark Christmas in some way, whatever their circumstances. The Ghost, however, grows visibly older, and explains he must die that night. The Ghost tortures Scrooge. He shows Scrooge two pitiful children huddled under his robes who personify the major causes of suffering in the world, "Ignorance" and "Want", with a grim warning that the former is especially harmful. At the end of the visitation, the bell strikes twelve. The Ghost of Christmas Present vanishes and the third spirit appears to Scrooge.
Stave IV: The Last of the Three Spirits

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes the form of a grim spectre, robed in black, who does not speak and whose body is entirely hidden except for one pointing hand. This spirit frightens Scrooge more than the others, and harrows him with a vision of a future Christmas with the Cratchit family bereft of Tiny Tim. A rich miser, whose death saddens nobody and whose home and corpse have been robbed by ghoulish attendants, is revealed to be Scrooge himself: this is the fate that awaits him. Without it explicitly being said, Scrooge learns that he can avoid the future he has been shown and alter the fate of Tiny Tim, but only if he changes. Weeping, he swears to do so, and awakes to find that all three spirits have visited in just one night, and that it is Christmas morning.

Stave V: The End of It

Scrooge changes his life and reverts to the generous, kind-hearted soul he was in his youth before the death of Fan. He anonymously sends the Cratchits the biggest turkey in the butcher shop, meets the charity workers to pledge an unspecified but impressive amount of money, and spends Christmas Day with Fred and his wife.

The next day Scrooge catches his clerk arriving late and pretends to be his old miserly self, before revealing his new person to an astonished Cratchit. He assists Bob and his family, becomes an adopted uncle to Tiny Tim, and gains a reputation as a kind and generous man who embodies the spirit of Christmas in his life.

Explanation of the book's title

Originally a medieval round dance and then a word for a particular type of ballad[6], by Dickens' time the word carol had come closer to its modern meaning, being a joyful hymn specific to Christmas. Dickens takes this musical analogy further, dividing the novella into five "staves", instead of chapters.

Major themes

The story deals extensively with two of Dickens' recurrent themes, social injustice and poverty, the relationship between the two, and their causes and effects. It was written to be abrupt and forceful with its message, with a working title of "The Sledgehammer." The first edition of A Christmas Carol was illustrated by John Leech, a politically radical artist who in the cartoon "Substance and Shadow" printed earlier in 1843 had explicitly criticised artists who failed to address social issues. Dickens wrote in the wake of British government changes to the welfare system known as the Poor Laws, changes which required among other things, welfare applicants to "work" on treadmills, as Scrooge points out. Dickens asks, in effect, for people to recognise the plight of those whom the Industrial Revolution has displaced and driven into poverty, and the obligation of society to provide for them humanely. Failure to do so, the writer implies through the personification of Ignorance and Want as ghastly children, will result in an unnamed "Doom" for those who, like Scrooge, believe their wealth and status qualifies them to sit in judgment on the poor rather than to assist them.

Scrooge “embodies all the selfishness and indifference of the prosperous classes who parrot phrases about the ‘surplus population’ and think their social responsibilities fully discharged when they have paid their taxes.”

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (TV animated version)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is well-known picture book by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1957. It is written in rhymed verse, with illustrations by the author, and features the famous character, The Grinch. It was adapted into as a short animated film in 1966, and again into a feature film in 2000.

The Grinch, a bitter, cave-dwelling creature with a heart "two sizes too small," lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, a steep, 3,000-foot (910 m) high mountain just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is Max, his faithful dog. From his perch high atop Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can hear the noisy Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville. (The Whos of this book may or may not be the minuscule Whos of Horton Hears a Who; In the Broadway musical Seussical, the Grinch's Whos and Horton's are one and the same, the Grinch being microscopic and living on the dust speck as well. In the live-action movie, Whoville is located in a snowflake.) Envious of the Whos' happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and, by means of burglary, deprive them of their Christmas presents and decorations and thus "prevent Christmas from coming". However, he learns in the end that despite his success in stealing all the Christmas presents and decorations from the Whos, Christmas comes just the same.

He then realizes that Christmas is more than just gifts and presents. His heart grows three sizes larger, he returns all the presents and trimmings, and is warmly welcomed into the community of the Whos.

All four movies shows how the main characters have ephiphanies about there life in this season of miracles. What is your epiphany?

Don’t just sit there, blog something.
I love you all! Yve

We are the Word Made Flesh

On yesterday, I had the privilege of attending Body Builders at theChurch in the Now in Conyers Ga. and it was absolutely phenomenal. Somany truths and profound thoughts was shared with a great bunch ofordained pastors, that Bishop Jim Earl Swilley ministers to once per month.
I am going to share some thoughts deposited by the Holy Spirit gaveplace before us like a banquet fit for queens and kings. Now, this isrich and so I want your "careful attention" and your feedback.

Pr. Jon Scott shared about the stretching that goes forward in childbirth in the natural. And he stated that "stretching is necessary forenlargement". Now that will preach. Some of my fellow/fella members ofCITN know that Pr. Debye has spoken about the difference between stressand stretch. Instead of saying we are stressed out, we need to say thatGod is stretching us.
*Isaiah 54:2
*Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them *stretch* forth the curtainsof thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thystakes; translated from King James Version.

We are the redeemed of the Lord and we have the say so, therefore whatwas talked about was how traditional denomonational churches (ove r20,000 religions world wide) are drying up and they are desiring thetrue love being preached instead as usual religious rhetoric.
Power of our words
Bishop mentioned that we really can have what we say and that our lifeis a direct result over words we have spoken over our lives.
Bishop read from John 1 from John in the Now:
Chapter 1
In the beginning, or in the eternal "now" before the creation of time,was the Word...the Logos...the Christ. And that timeless Christ/Word existed with God and, in fact, that Word actually was God, Himself.

1. He was originally omnipresent with God.
2. All things int he realm of space andtime came into existence through the specific expression of that "now" Word, and without the expression of that Word was not even one thingmade tht has come into being int he material universe.
3. In His being washoused the source of life, and that life was the light that illuminatesall of humanity.
4. And the light shines on in the darkness, for darknesshas never been able to absorbed the light, nor will it ever be able to overpower it or put it out.
5. There was a man who was God-sent, and hisname was John.
6. John came to bear witness of the light that everyone, everywhere, might believe in it through him.
7. He was not the Light, but came that he might verify the truth that is in the Light.
8. And there itwas, the true Light, coming in perfection to illuminate every individual on the planet.
9. He came into the world that He, Himself, had created, buthat same world did not recognize Him, initially.
10. He appeared to thatwhich already belonged to Him; He entered into His own domain and creation. But that creation did not welcome or receive Him.
11. Yet, to allwho did receive and welcome Him by the believing in the power of Hisname, He granted the authority to walk in the full reality that theywere the children of God...

Here is where I believe Bishop stopped reading to make his point which was if we could sum up anyone's life itwould be in two or three sentences.

He went on to say that each one has a thesis or a theme to our life.

For example; They may say of me Yvonne is love (I pray they can say that at the end of my course) or she communicated the oracles of God in a concise accurate way or she was an awesome communicator who loved Godand people, for example.

Therefore because we are the children of God we have been granted the authority to walk in the full reality that they were the children of God.

Bishop went on to explain that because of the authority and dominionwe have WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A MANIFESTATION OF WHAT WE SAY!
In this discourse Bishop Swilley explained that because we see through our eyes of authority and our eyes of dominion/the Thing changes. Is that an awesome thought or what.

Over the next couple of days or week, I will post some of thoughts that the H.S. and Bishop Jim Earl Swilley shared with the mature body, but I can't do this without you. I need your input.

DON'T JUST SIT THERE, BLOG SOMETHING (lol)

LOVE, YVE

The Thanksgiving Joy of Harvest ..

Saturday, November 29, 2008

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The Thanksgiving Joy of Harvest Dr. Jack Hayford The term "HARVEST" appears frequently in Scripture, as the people of the Bible lived in an agricultural society. At Thanksgiving, the imagery of harvest frames our own nation's history, inspiring us with things reflective of Early America. Yet Thanksgiving is about more than that. It is a call for us to celebrate not only God's provision and restoration, but also His promise and presence--even amid delays, restricting circumstances, or tears. Thanksgiving also calls us to constancy, for the journey to harvest will usually be harder than we think, longer than we expect, and more rewarding than we can ever imagine. Scripture says, "Though weeping may endure for a night, joy comes in the morning" (Ps. 30:5). For many of us, it's been a demanding year. But as you and I come to Thanksgiving, the joy of celebration makes everything else incidental. When we finally see the harvest, it no longer matters how tough things were, how much time they took, or how heavy the pressures were. What's important is that we have answered the call to faith. There is joy in that call. The Bible likens this joy after travail to a woman who has delivered a child. After the difficult months of pregnancy and the pain of labor, the baby is born, and what it took for that to happen doesn't matter anymore. There is only the songs of rejoicing. These songs are a celebration of God's purpose through and beyond trial. It reminds us that triumph ultimately outlasts trial. And the triumph is en route, folks. Even if we can't see what God is doing, there's evidence in our hearts that He will be faithful. This song is an invitation to constancy of focus--to go forth with sacks of seed, not just one. So today, ask yourself: What are you sowing? Even with the wind in my face, the sand in my eyes, the weeping from circumstance or adversity, we must keep sowing the promise of God. Not as one who is mindless or superstitious, but as one who knows that the God who makes a promise to His people never forgets it. God has done more things of love and goodness in our lives than any of us can imagine. When you face the thing that hasn't happened yet, keep sowing. With a heart of Thanksgiving, find joy in the harvest to come. Do you have joy today with thanksgiving from what God has done this year? Silent Night History The carol was first performed in the Nicola-Kirche (Church of St. Nicholas) in Oberndorf, Austria on December 24, 1818. Mohr had composed the words much earlier, in 1816, but on Christmas Eve brought them to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service[1]. In his written account regarding the composition of the carol, Gruber gives no mention of the specific inspiration for creating the song. According to the song's history provided by Austria's Silent Night Society, one supposition is that the church organ was no longer working so that Mohr and Gruber therefore created a song for accompaniment by guitar. Silent Night historian, Renate Ebeling-Winkler says that the first mention of a broken organ was in a book published in the U.S. in 1909. Some historians believe that Mohr simply wanted a new Christmas carol that he could play on his guitar. The Silent Night Society says that there are "many romantic stories and legends" that add their own anecdotal details to the known facts. Silent Night Museum and Memorial Chapel in Oberndorf The Nicola-Kirche was demolished in the early 1900s due to flood damage and because the town's centre was moved up the river to a safer location, with a new church being built there close to the new bridge. A tiny chapel, called the "Stille-Nacht-Gedächtniskapelle" (Silent Night Memorial Chapel), was built in the place of the demolished church and a nearby house was converted into a museum, attracting tourists from all over the world, not only but primarily in December. The original manuscript has been lost, however a manuscript was discovered in 1995 in Mohr's handwriting and dated by researchers at ca. 1820. It shows that Mohr wrote the words in 1816 when he was assigned to a pilgrim church in Mariapfarr, Austria, and shows that the music was composed by Gruber in 1818. This is the earliest manuscript that exists and the only one in Mohr's handwriting. Gruber's composition was influenced by the musical tradition of his rural domicile. The melody of "Silent Night" bears resemblance to aspects of Austrian folk music and yodelling. Another popular story claims that the carol, once performed, was promptly forgotten until an organ repairman found the manuscript in 1825 and revived it. However, Gruber published various arrangements of it throughout his lifetime and we now have the Mohr arrangement (ca. 1820) that is kept at the Carolino Augusteum Museum in Salzburg. It is believed that the carol has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time. It is sometimes sung without musical accompaniment. Although written by Catholics, it is given special significance in Lutheranism. The song was sung simultaneously in English and German by troops during the Christmas truce[2] of 1914, as it was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew. The song has been successfully recorded by over 300 artists, particularly successful by Stevie Nicks, Bing Crosby and Mahalia Jackson, and an instrumental version by Mannheim Steamroller. In 1943 the Austrian exile Hertha Pauli wrote the book "Silent Night. A Story of a Song", in which she explained to American children the origin of the song. The book was illustrated by Fritz Kredel and published by Alfred a. Knopf. [3] A 1988 dramatised television documentary called Silent Mouse tells the story of the creation of the carol from a mouse's point of view. It featured Lynn Redgrave as narrator, and Gregor Fisher in one of the leading roles.

Progressive Politics Examiner: President-elect Obama\'s weekly address

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Jesus said, Get behind me Satan and PUSH

that is Push me into my destiny, Bishop Jim Earl Swilley expressed yesterday, November 23, 2008from the pulpit as he ministered to us from Gen. 27 and Ecclesiastes pertaining to sowing in famine. He spoke many oracles of God on Sunday but these was particularly interesting. Basically mainstream Christiandom believes that Satan or the adversary has equal amounts of power with God Almighty. However, at CITN, we believe that Satan or the devil or the adversary works for God since, after all God made Satan. So what Bishop Swilley is maintaining here is even in our worst circumstances and situations, they are all working together for our good and ultimately we win because God wrote the back of book since He is the author and finisher of our faith.

Bishop's 7 points on November 23, 2008 are;
1)Sow in famine
2)See the big picture
3)Speak the word only
4)Sacrifice with Joy
5)Say what you really believe. God says if you establish a thing, He will decree it
6)Stay connected
7)Settle into your destiny/Acts 17:28 - In Him we move breath and have our being in Him.

Today I was reading an excerpt from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers and found the following article'

SHALLOW AND PROFOUND
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31 Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow concerns of life are not ordained of God; they are as much of God as the profound. It is not your devotion to God that makes you refuse to be shallow, but your wish to impress other people with the fact that you are not shallow, which is a sure sign that you are a spiritual prig. Be careful of the production of contempt in yourself, it always comes along this line, and causes you to go about as a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than you are. Beware of posing as a profound person; God became a Baby. To be shallow is not a sign of being wicked, nor is shallowness a sign that there are no deeps: the ocean has a shore. The shallow amenities of life, eating and drinking, walking and talking, are all ordained by God. These are the things in which Our Lord lived. He lived in them as the Son of God, and He said that "the disciple is not above his Master." Our safeguard is in the shallow things. We have to live the surface common-sense life in a common-sense way; when the deeper things come, God gives them to us apart from the shallow concerns. Never show the deeps to anyone but God. We are so abominably serious, so desperately interested in our own characters, that we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life. Determinedly take no one seriously but God, and the first person you find you have to leave severely alone as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.

Lemons and Sugar

LEMONS and SUGAR
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone .
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you take another look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
So......... If you are a loving friend, send this to everyone,including the one that sent it to you. If you get it back, then they really do love you. And always remember.... when life hands you Lemons, ask for Sugar and call me over!
Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, But you know they are always there.
'Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway'
I would rather have one rose and a kind word from a friend while I'm here than a whole truckload when I'm gone.
Happiness keeps You Sweet,
Trials keep You Strong,
Sorrows keep You Human ,
Life keeps You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing,
But Only God keeps You Going SMILE, even through your tears!!!!!
Seize the day-NEVER have regrets!!!!
Live your life like GOD intended, to your fullest potential.

One of my dearest friends sent this to me this week and I sent it to many of my contacts and received an overwhelming response so I thought I would share it with you, my bloggers and ask for your responses.

I love you all, Yvonne

Where is the love?

On Bishop Jim Earl Swilley, bloginthenow.blogspot.com/ He inserted a picture of a Hand with the word written on it.

Love is one of my favorite topics to explore so here you will find some excerpts from my fellow bloggers writings here from (blog in the now BITN/that I thought were very note worthy!

Water Walker says:

This morning when I was watching TBN, as a new twist this week, as part of my devotion, I had the opportunity to watch Joyce Meyer’s televised show. There was a sweet little story on love she told.

There was a little boy standing outside of a shoe store one day and this lady observed him just standing there, so she walked up to him and said "what ya doin"? The little boy replied, asking God to give me a pair of shoes.

So she took the little boy into the store and purchased 6 pair of socks and asked the merchant for a basin on water. She received permission to take him to the back to wash his feet, as she wanted to spare him the embarrassment of washing his feet in front of the other patrons. When she was finished, she asked the salesmen to bring out the shoes and fit the boy for the shoes he prayed for.

Once they left the store, the boy thanked her and looked at her and asked "Are you God's wife".

That little story really blessed my heart. Joyce says that we should never pray and ask God to do something we can do for our neighbor. Jesus said love your neighbor as you love yourself. Joyce said many times we are able to sow seeds of love to others, but many of us don't want to let go of our "stuff", so we say, well I will pray for you. That is error, if someone is hungry and you can feed them, the thing to do is to feed them. If someone needs a ride, and you have transportation and opportunity to give them a ride, you should bless them with a ride, if someone you in your way (neighbor) has a financial emergency, and you can sow money, and you have the wherewithal, you just make it available, as God leads.

I have seen this dynamic in Christianity a lot lately; it is almost as though people are living by the adage "God bless the child who has his own" more than they are the scripture which speaks about not shutting up our bowels of compassion, or doing unto others and loving your neighbors as ourselves.

A great part of it is fear and lack of understanding of the importance of giving. God gave us a beautiful example of love, for God so loved the world that He gave, He gave, He gave…as many are the sons of God, they shall be called the children of God.

As long as the earth remains, there shall be seed, time and then harvest. I agree as Christians, we ought to find opportunities to sow love to our neighbors, who is everyone who is in our path.

Our steps are ordered of God and when you smile at some one or hold a door, or speak a kind word, or really listen to someone, which is a great seed of love.

WE are to be as He is in the earth…Jesus said you will know my disciples by the love they have one for another. Where is the love?

Water Walker

Robyn says;

"Hear, Israel, and be carful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey . . . These commandments . . . Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your HANDS and bind them on your FOREHEADS." Deut. 6:4“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb . . . The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face and HIS NAME WILL BE ON THEIR FOREHEADS.” Rev. 22:1-4“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord . . . you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; . . . instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow . . .”School of the Bible by Bishop Swilley: “. Repentance enables us to cease worship of the beast which limits us to a numbers system (666) or the idea that we can only survive and flourish through our natural logic or intellect. NOW we understand that OUR GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL OUR NEED, NOT ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF THE MATERIAL WORLD but according to HIS riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We can then begin a lifestyle of Lamb-worship which will ultimately perfect our hearts and purify our minds and will bring us into a land that supernaturally flows with milk and honey! Love NEVER fails

God IS Love. CITN corporately and all CITNers individually – be at peace. Walk in love and walk in Love’s supernatural and holistic provision and prosperity! word verification - copyropcopy right off paper - which entirely I did from School of the Bible IV. The picture just inspired me.

robyn

Ketley D said:

Peacemaker, You truly are a peace……Maker!Many times you as the light can walk in some place, when you look you can see whoever was around disappearing; and wonder why? Now come to realize it’s not anything you did, it just that the light in you shine too bright into their darkness and they cannot take it. so, they disappeared.

NOW FOR THE TOPIC AT LARGE…..LOVE!!!I always like to express myself in LOVE.LOVE: is the medicine of mankind. We can live if we have LOVE.(DR.Karl.Menninger)

The great tragedy of life is not that men perish but that they cease to LOVE (W. Somerset Maugham)

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in LOVE even when not feeling it. I believe in God even when He is silent.LOVE seeketh not itself to please, nor for hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair. (William Blake)

LOVE is a strong emotion and once released it is quite POWERFUL. (KD)If “LOVE makes the world go around,” as the old song goes, then it’s about high and mighty time we discovered just what “REAL LOVE” is.LET US UNCOVERD ITS ESSENTIAL CHARCTER!By asking these questions:1. WHAT IS LOVE?2. WHAT MAKES IT GROW HEALTHY & STRONG?There is no greater invitation to LOVE than in LOVING first. (KD)

Now, let us replace the word “LOVE” in 1COR. 13:4-8a, with GOD and experience the power of His Love.God is patient, God is Kind, God does not envy, God does not boast, God is not rude, God is not self seeking, God is not easily angered, God keeps no record of wrongs, God does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always, always perseveres. GOD IS LOVE, as LOVE never fails. GOD NEVER FAILS.

His Love enables me to call every country my country, and every man and woman my brother and sister. (K.D)

Faith is the key to fit the door of hope, but is no power anywhere like LOVE for turning the key. (Elaine Emans)

It is natural to LOVE those who LOVE us, but it is SUPERNATURAL to LOVE those who hate us. (K.D)

LOVE for is God ecstatic, making us go out from ourselves; it does not allow the lover to belong any more to himself, but he belongs only to the Beloved.(ST. DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE)To me LOVE is never afraid of giving too much. (KD)So, for us to LOVE and to LOVED better than ever before!LET US NOT LOOK DOWN ON ANYONE; ONLY GOD SITS THAT HIGH.PEACE and LOVE

KD

What is in your spirit about love???

Yve

Walk in Divine Wealth

Some of the bloggers and intercessors was at intercessory prayer this beautiful and crisp morning fall morning and although Bishop and Pr. Debye wasn't ITB, their spirits was there and we prayed and the Holy spirit met us there as we exhorted each other.


It is really cool when you have the opportunity to plant seeds for the body, God always honors that. I had a phenomenal day after that. Thank you for opportunity to come ITB and pray on a Friday morning.
The holy spirit was moving deeply on the hearts of the intercessors in preparation for THE BLAST (October 5, 2008)and THE GLOBAL PEACE FESTIVAL on Tuesday October 7, 2008!

The Lord gave us a word this morning that I believe is rhema from Isaiah 54...
"To me this is like the days of Noah,when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,never to rebuke you again.
10 Though the mountains be shakenand the hills be removed,yet my unfailing love for you will not be shakennor my covenant of peace be removed,"says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,I will build you with stones of turquoise, [a]your foundations with sapphires. [b]
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,your gates of sparkling jewels,and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD,and great will be your children's peace.
14 In righteousness you will be established:Tyranny will be far from you;you will have nothing to fear.Terror will be far removed;it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;whoever attacks you will surrender to you.
16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmithwho fans the coals into flameand forges a weapon fit for its work.And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,and this is their vindication from me,"declares the LORD..
There are three things that stand out here for me
1) Some of the weapons formed against us is formed by God himself...when He says that he created the destroyer to work havoc. The weapons formed against have indeed been formed God himself says that will not prevail or prosper against us.
2) Whoever attacks us, will have to surrender to us...which takes me to a word the Lord has given me in this night-hour/the adversary has to give back what he has stolen or surrender to us. Now I believe...that'll preach
3) God promises us turquoise and rubies and other riches...which is speaking to the transferrance of wealth that I believe is taking bless in this season of shaking (certainly this confirms Bishop's word a couple Sunday's ago on shaking). I believe that when the dust settles, true believers will have true wealth.
The word that the Holy Spirit has given me is "divine wealth"...instead of saying I have no money, which is what it looks like in the natural...He instructed me to change my words to "I am walking in divine wealth". That is calling those things that are not as though they were.
I tried a little experiment this week and stop saying...I have no money...but declaring let the poor say I am rich...I walk in divine wealth (we can say the same about our health)...and I have been receiving money in the mail this week, free meals, a wealth of resources for non-profits...so there really is a transferring going on. I believe that we are blessed so much...that we don't stop and recognize because we as Americans are spoiled and we just expect to always have everything we need.
WE truly do possess plenty and much of it we take for granted and as Pr. Debye states, we didn't even do anything to deserve the blessings but nevertheless we always expect it.
Something happens when you start to truly bless God, in everything...we are created to worship and bless him.
Peace and blessings,Yve

Hearing of the Word Now

The Lord used me today to be a doer today and not just a hearer only today.

I went downtown to minister at Urban Man Ministries to the homeless and meet a man named Shalom (peace), he is a reformed Muslim. Anyone he serves and ministers for the ministry although he is homeless himself. The Holy Spirit used me to minister love to him today, daddy's love and told him that if He had the faith of a mustard seed that God could provide the home he needed so desperately.

You see, he was just released from Grady on yesterday after being diagnosed with a Chronic illness and knew he could not weather the streets of Atlanta. He told me that he had not eloquent prayers and sometimes he really didn't know what to say.

Say Jesus, just say Jesus ~ there is something about His name. There is power in his name, there is deliverance in His name, there is healing in His name. So we started to say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus and the father dispatched angels....

We experienced body ministry and I told him that daddy was waiting with that robe and ring and was prepared to kill the fatted calf for him. What a glorious time it was in the parking lot in downtown Atlanta today.

Well, I told him that every morning when the sun rises it speaks to my spirit that although we may be homeless or looking at evictions or foreclosures or repossessions, that today, right now God could change that circumstance instantly by His spirit.

Every new sunrise represents new mercies, new anointing, new chances and new opportunities. I watched his face light up as God gave him hope to believe that all things really are possible.

It is not by our might or by our power but by His spirit.

If I was not there, I would have a hard time believing this, but I want you to know that a ministry couple came up and started to talk to the Pastor Fishman and the other ministers because the other 100 homeless men and women had dispersed after they had eaten.

This couple, founders of Fragment Ministries, Gerald and Paula Cloud had a home for this man, and all they required was that he was willing to do the work of the ministry and study the bible one hour a day. Ironically, when I asked him earlier what he really wanted to do with his life, he said, I just want to serve God. He went on to tell me about his past and I told him that all of that was put to death on the cross. The unfailing love of God endures forever....

Glory to God, Shalom is off the street and in a clean safe comfortable environment.

WE serve a God who is a ever present time in a time of trouble! He knows our uprising and down-sitting and He cares about us, each of us! WE are daddy's favorite. So, as we are lead by the spirit, we never know when or where we can be His hands and feet in the earth!

He is just looking for us to be doers of the word ~ I am glad to be in His service, what a honor it is to serve you, Abba Father!

If you have a response, please put comment on my blog-spot for an interactive response for the body of Christ to share!

I believe that the Lord is calling the church to get off the pews and start exercising and being the word made flesh!

What is in your spirit!

Yve

Yvonne
yveinthenow.blogspot.com

Plans, Purpose Press and Praise

On this past Sunday, Pastor Ben (Nadiope Bwamiki Bernard William/founder and senior Pastor of Good Shepherd's Ministries Inc of Mbya Kampala, Uganda in East Africa delivered a inspirational exhortation for us to have purpose, praise while we walk out our destiny God has pre-ordained for us. Then in the afterglow in the lobby , he reiterated that no matter what we are going through we must walk in our purpose and keep on praising no matter what circumstance and situation.

This word bore witness with my spirit as I have been in a very interesting season of faith and water walking/it is the best of times in the spirit and financially it has been the worst of times in the natural. Through all of this the steadfast love of "daddy' is simply amazing. Therefore I studied out the some scriptures of plans, purpose, pressing and some praise. Can you praise him and walk in your purpose as your press towards the mark of the higher calling in him? What is your testimony...I would love to hear from you.

Namaste,

Yve

Plans

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Purpose

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose

Colossians 1:16b (Message)

Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him.

Isaiah 44:2a (CEV)

I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.

Romans 12:3 (Message)

The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us.

Isaiah 26:3 (tev)

You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you

Ecclesiastes 3:11

God has…planted eternity in the human heart.

1 John 2:17 (NLT)

This world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever

James 4:8a

Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Romans 11:36 (LB)

For everything comes from God alone. Everything comes from God Alone. Everything lives by His power, and everything is for His glory.

Psalm 147:11 (CEV)

The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love.

Romans 6:13b (TEV)

Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes

Psalm 25:14a

Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him.

Press

Phillipians 4:14

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus

Philippians 3:12-14

Pressing on Toward the Goal

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me

Praise

Praise is comely for the upright.

I will enter into gates with thanksgiving in my heart, enter into his courts with praise..

Praise the Lord, all ye lands…

Prosperity in the Now

Namaste,

God instructed me to speak the word only over my finances. It seems tht everyone is believing God for His will pertaining to our finances to be established in this earth (our earth) so that we can focus on being a blessing to the kingdom of God and to mankind. So as we focus and meditate on His word, He will dispatch angels to accomplish the word in which it is sent. So make it personal, personalize these scriptures for your life, your ministry, your family knowing that it is all in His name, the mighty name of Jesus.

I speak a blessing of prosperity, peace and restoration to you today.

Namaste...

Prosperity Scriptures

Deuteronomy 8:18 (Amplified Bible)But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

Proverbs 10:22 (Amplified Bible)
22The blessing of the Lord--it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].

Psalm 35:27Let those who favor my righteous cause and have pleasure in my uprightness shout for joy and be glad and say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.

DEUTERONOMY 28:2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

DEUTERONOMY 28:3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

DEUTERONOMY 28:4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

DEUTERONOMY 28:5 "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

Love Connection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U is an awesome story about this incredible love. This is a tear jerky so be armed with tissues

Ironically enough Bishop Swilley AYITN was about love on Sunday so love is always the excellent way!

A Year in the Now;

LOVE CONNECTION!

"Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them." (Matthew 22:37-40 – The Message)

Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because love always wins, and the love of God is abundantly deposited in my heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Faith will be a major part of my day, as will hope and love. These three will abide and remain, but the greatest of these will be love!
Today I will love audibly, telling the people I love that I love them at every given opportunity, knowing that I may not have the chance to say it tomorrow. But I will not limit my expression of love to words only. I will love visibly as well, by confirming what I say with what I do, because sometimes actions speak louder than words.
Today I will love unselfishly, remembering that I do not own the people who are in my life. I will accept and receive people as they are, releasing my desire to control or change them for my own purposes or pleasure. I will pray that God's will be done in their lives, rather than imposing my will on them in the flesh, and will act accordingly.
Today I will love tangibly. When it is possible and appropriate, I will not be reluctant to reach out and touch someone, without the fear of rejection on my part. I will let Jesus bring healing to someone through me today by letting Him touch them through me.
Today I will love aggressively, going the extra mile to reach those who have been hurt, and have put up a wall of protection around themselves. I will not give up easily, but will manifest my true belief in the ministry of reconciliation by being persistent. "A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city . . ." (Proverbs 18:19), but I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me!
Today I will love maturely, doing what is right for the ones I love, rather than doing what is easy. If tough love is required, then tough love will be given. Faith works by love, and love works by faith, and faith without works is dead!
Today I will love truly. I will be loyal and forgiving, even with the ones who don't deserve it, because of the unconditional love and grace that God has poured into me. I will walk in supernatural love today, and today I will live in the now!
Father, help me to love like You today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Acid/Alkaline balance

Healthy eating is healthy Longevity.The ability to feel totally renewed with vigour and radiant good health depends upon your Acid/alkaline balance of your blood. A slightly alkaline body is crucial for good health. Balancing the Acid/alkaline balance in the body helps one to feel good with abundant energy. Aches and pains disappear. The term pH stands for “Potential of Hydrogen”. It is the measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The pH level indicates the body’s Acid/alkaline balance and tells the health of the individual.The scale of pH runs from 0 to 14.Zero is totally acidic and 14 is totally alkaline. The middle of the scale at 7, is neutral. Quality water has a pH of 7.It is extremely rare that a person is too alkaline. It is more likely to occur in someone who consumes little or no protein. For the vast majority though, the problem is more on the acidic side. Human Blood should be slightly alkaline. (7.34- 7.45) Below or above this range means disease. A pH below 7.0 is acidic. A pH above 7.0 is alkaline.Acid in the body can be caused by eating too many proteins, grains, sugars and dairy products, strenuous exercise, excess stress. Excess acid is excreted in the urine and is a signal that the body chemistry is not in balance. The acid level in the body can be a major factor in determining an individual’s level of health.When the body is too acidic* Free radical damage occurs with greater ease* Antioxidant activity is impaired* Vitamins and minerals from foods are not properly absorbed* Friendly bacteria in the intestine die ,and the immune system is impaired.* Connective tissue becomes weakened, causing skin and hair to lose their tone.* Sleep patterns are disturbed* Colds, infections, headaches and flu become more common.* Physical and mental energy is depleted affecting stamina and moods.To maintain health the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. To restore health the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.To maintain a proper pH balance you should consume 75% alkalizing food, and 25% acid forming foods, as an alkaline reserve should be accumulated to effectively buffer acid forming foods. Eat a lot of raw foods . Fruits and vegetables could be eaten raw and can also be juiced. Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. Try to consume green powered foods (superfoods) containing spirulina, chlorella, alfalfa ,barley, wheat grasses beet juice powder, soy lecithin, dairy-free probiotic cultures and herbs. This would immediately reduce the excess acidity, and boost your a energy level.

Your mental state is also an important factor in health, and can have an impact on your pH levels. Meditation, Reflexology, massage, acupuncture, therapeutic touch, calming music, and yoga are all activities that buffer the acids of daily living and promote an alkaline body. So how do you monitor your pH levels to maintain alkalinity? First you buy, in the drug store pH paper. Next choose either your saliva or urine, and collect a sample of either one. Place the pH paper in contact with the specimen you chose and immediately compare the paper’s colour to the colour code provided on the ph dispenser.To get an accurate reading of the state of your health it is recommended that pH levels be recorded three times a day, morning, afternoon and night, for 30 days. Perform the test at the same time every day.Healthy eating is healthy Longevity. The ability to feel totally renewed with vigour and radiant good health depends upon how acidic or alkaline your blood is.A slightly alkaline body is crucial for good health. Balancing the acids in the body helps one to feel good with abundant energy.

Aches and pains disappear. The term pH stands for “Potential of Hydrogen”. It is the measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The pH level indicates the body’s acid/alkaline balance and tells the health of the individual.The scale of pH runs from 0 to 14.Zero is totally acidic and 14 is totally alkaline. The middle of the scale at 7, is neutral. Quality water has a pH of 7.It is extremely rare that a person is too alkaline. It is more likely to occur in someone who consumes little or no protein. For the vast majority though, the problem is more on the acidic side. Human Blood should be slightly alkaline. (7.34- 7.45) Below or above this range means disease. A pH below 7.0 is acidic. A pH above 7.0 is alkaline.Acid in the body can be caused by eating too many proteins, grains, sugars and dairy products, strenuous exercise, excess stress. Excess acid is excreted in the urine and is a signal that the body chemistry is not in balance. The acid level in the body can be a major factor in determining an individual’s level of health.When the body is too acidic* Free radical damage occurs with greater ease* Antioxidant activity is impaired* Vitamins and minerals from foods are not properly absorbed* Friendly bacteria in the intestine die ,and the immune system is impaired.* Connective tissue becomes weakened, causing skin and hair to lose their tone.* Sleep patterns are disturbed* Colds, infections, headaches and flu become more common.* Physical and mental energy is depleted affecting stamina and moods. To maintain health the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. To restore health the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods. To maintain a proper pH balance you should consume 75% alkalizing food, and 25% acid forming foods, as an alkaline reserve should be accumulated to effectively buffer acid forming foods. Eat a lot of raw foods . Fruits and vegetables could be eaten raw and can also be juiced. Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. Try to consume green powered foods (superfoods) containing spirulina, chlorella, alfalfa ,barley, wheat grasses beet juice powder, soy lecithin, dairy-free probiotic cultures and herbs. This would immediately reduce the excess acidity, and boost your a energy level.Your mental state is also an important factor in health, and can have an impact on your pH levels. Meditation, Reflexology, massage, acupuncture, therapeutic touch, calming music, and yoga are all activities that buffer the acids of daily living and promote an alkaline body. So how do you monitor your pH levels to maintain alkalinity? First you buy, in the drug store pH paper. Next choose either your saliva or urine, and collect a sample of either one. Place the pH paper in contact with the specimen you chose and immediately compare the paper’s colour to the colour code provided on the ph dispenser.To get an accurate reading of the state of your health it is recommended that pH levels be recorded three times a day, morning, afternoon and night, for 30 days. Perform the test at the same time every day.

Namaste - I salute the God within you

Meanings in global culture of holy greeting Namaste

I am taking this opportunity to paste part of the Wikipedia definition of the holy greeting - Namaste.

Namaste is one of the few Sanskrit words commonly recognized by Non-Hindi speakers. In the West, it is often used to indicate South Asian culture in general. "Namaste" is particularly associated with aspects of South Asian culture such as vegetarianism, yoga, ayurvedic healing, and Hinduism.
In recent times, and more globally, the term "namaste" has come to be especially associated with yoga and spiritual meditation all over the world. In this context, it has been viewed in terms of a multitude of very complicated and poetic meanings which tie in with the spiritual origins of the word.

Some examples:
"I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me." -- attributed to author Deepak Chopra[citation needed]
"I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Integrity, of Wisdom and of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One."[3][4]
"I salute the God within you."
"Your spirit and my spirit are ONE." -- attributed to Lilias Folan's shared teachings from her journeys to India.[citation needed]
"That which is of the Divine in me greets that which is of the Divine in you."[5]
"The Divinity within me perceives and adores the Divinity within you."[6]
"All that is best and highest in me greets/salutes all that is best and highest in you."

Namaste

Vaughn

The Poisoning of America's Water Supplies

Happy 4th bloggers,

As you know, I am a seeker of the truth and knowledge because I know that knowledge is power. I have been posting some articles by different authors and sources for a couple of months know and somehow I can't seem to get pass the knowledge of water and what it means to our families, our health and our lives. Someone sent this to me this morning and I am startled by it even though I had read many of these facts. This article is not intended to bring you down but to educate you on this important topic!

Please take the time to read it and comment for yourself and for your loved ones.

I pray you enjoy your family and friends on this beatiful summer day that the Creator created just for you!

Peace, vaughn

NaturalNews.com printable articleOriginally published July 3 2008
The Poisoning of America's Water Supplies
by Mark Sircus Ac., OMD (see all articles by this author)

(NaturalNews) Every day in the United States more than 240 million people turn on their faucets in order to drink, bathe, and cook, using water from public water systems. But more people are arriving to the point where they will not let a drop of water touch their lips in their own homes unless that water comes from a bottle shipped from a fresh water source. And even then we still have trouble in the home. Researchers at the University of Texas found that showers and dishwashers liberate trace amounts of chemicals from municipal water supplies into the air [i].

"The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." - American Indian Proverb


Squirting hot water through a nozzle, to produce a fine spray, increases the surface area of water in contact with the air, liberating dissolved substances in a process known as "stripping." So if we want to avoid those chemicals drinking bottled water is not enough. Chemically sensitive individuals would also have to wear a gas mask in the shower, and when unloading the dishwasher if they want to avoid chemical contamination. And even then the skin will absorb directly in the shower chemicals like fluoride so we cannot assume we are safe from the contaminants even if we are drinking pure water. The majority of people still take the purity of their tap water for granted when they shouldn't.

When we look deeper we can see that even in a rich country like the United States, we all have reason to be concerned about not only drinking, but even bathing in water that comes from public treatment systems. Albuquerque, Fresno, and San Francisco are examples of cities that have water that is sufficiently contaminated so as to pose serious potential health risks to pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems, according to Dr. David Ozonoff [ii].

What we find in these waters are contaminants that occur with surprising regularity, regardless of location, such as chlorination by-products, lead, and coliform bacteria. Other contaminants, such as Teflon and rocket fuel occur less frequently but pose major health concerns. If we include the fact that fluoride is actually poisonous we have water that is slowly killing some Americans and depressing the health of almost everyone who drinks and showers in it.

And the problems with water just do not end. In August 2005 we learned that common household brass plumbing fixtures may release far more lead into drinking water than previously believed. As a result, even new homes built with brass fixtures like ball valves and water meters could end up with potentially unsafe lead levels. In a report trumpeted by the National Science Foundation, Virgina Tech researchers charged that the standards used to certify the brass plumbing supplies found at most hardware stores may be inadequate to predict lead contamination of water. This contradicts years of assumptions that lead contamination primarily comes from old leaden pipes or public water systems with lead contamination problems [iii]. Contrary to popular belief, many plumbing supplies sold today are not lead-free but contain up to 8 percent lead content in brass fixtures [iv]. Lead makes brass and other metals more malleable, helping manufacturers create intricate shapes.

The consequence though is extraordinarily high for exposure to lead in drinking water which results in delays in physical and mental development, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in blood pressure. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure according to the American EPA [v]. The Romans had their engineers turn the populace into neurological cripples when they started using lead in their water systems but they did not have to deal with either fluoride or mercury. The three together, mercury, lead and fluoride become a kind of devil's triangle of chemical toxicity that is only made worse by aluminum and a host of other hostile chemicals that are clogging up our bodies.
Water pollution by drugs is an emerging issue that is extremely important. Pharmaceuticals are now attracting attention as a whole new class of water pollutants. At the recent American Chemical Society conference, Chris Metcalfe of Trent University in Ontario reported finding a vast array of drugs leaving Canadian sewage treatment plants. Padma Venkatraman, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins concluded that antidepressants, anticonvulsants, anticancer drugs and antimicrobials are among the pharmaceuticals most likely to be found at "toxicologically significant levels" in the environment.

These drugs and many more [vi] are finding their way into public water systems because pharmaceutical industries, hospitals and other medical facilities as well as households dispose of unused medicines and even human excreta can contain incompletely metabolized medicines. Millions of doses of prescription drugs that Americans swallow annually to combat cancer, pain, depression and other ailments do not disappear harmlessly into their digestive systems but instead make their way back into the environment where they may contaminate drinking water and pose a threat to life, according to researchers at John Hopkins medical center.
These drugs pass intact through conventional sewage treatment facilities, into waterways, lakes and even aquifers. Discarded pharmaceuticals often end up at dumps and land fills, posing a threat to underlying groundwater. And farm animals also are a huge source of pharmaceuticals entering the environment because of the massive use of hormones, antibiotics and veterinary medicines used in their care. Along with pharmaceuticals, personal care products also are showing up in water. Generally these chemicals are the active ingredients or preservatives in cosmetics, toiletries or fragrances. For example, nitro musks, used as a fragrance in many cosmetics, detergents, toiletries and other personal care products, have attracted concern because of their persistence and possible adverse environmental impacts. Some countries have taken action to ban nitro musks. Also, sun screen agents have been detected in lakes and fish.
It is hard to tell which is worse, the toxic chemicals and drugs that are leeching into the public water systems or the noxious chemicals deliberately put in the water by public health officials. Standard water treatments result in health threats yet health officials are loath to admit any problem that we should beware of.

Chlorination of drinking water supplies virtually eliminates most disease or bacterial contamination, but creates traces of several toxic by-products in drinking water -- such as chloroform, trihalomethanes and other chlorinated organic compounds. In recent years municipal water districts across the United States are changing the way they disinfect public water supplies. Many are adding ammonia to chlorinated water to produce chloramines [vii], or chloraminated water. They are doing that in order to meet standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While chloramination has been used as a way to lower the level of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) created by chlorination, it has led to extreme water toxicity.

Chloraminated water kills fish and reptiles and there is no reason to believe it is safe for human consumption.
"I almost died," Denise Kula Johnson of Menlo Park said the day after chloramines were added to her water supply. "I was in the shower and suddenly I could not breathe. I passed out on the floor. I was terrified."

"The government is hiding the fact that the drinking water is not usable," says medical scientist Dr. Winn Parker who tells us that the most at-risk groups from chloraminated water are the fetus in the first trimester, children to age three, people over age 60 and those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Women in the 35-45 age group are at risk of recurring rashes on the inner thighs and chest, he added. Parker is calling for government funding of alternative disinfection methods, such as ultra-violet and reverse osmosis, which would make harmful chemical disinfection methods obsolete. "We need to amend the Constitution," Parker said, "to give the people in each state the right to vote on what goes into their water."[viii] A recently discovered disinfection byproduct iodoacetic acid, found in U.S. drinking water treated with chloramines, is the most toxic ever found according to Dr. Michael J. Plewa, a genetic toxicology expert at the University of Illinois [ix].

"Individuals who consume chlorinated drinking water have an elevated risk of cancer of the bladder, stomach, pancreas, kidney and rectum as well as Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma." [x] - Dr. Michael J. Plewa
When Washington DC changed in 2000 to chloramines, this newly treated water reacted with the lead in the pipes to poison the drinking water. Lead levels were found in Washington's water 3,200 times the EPA's "action level" and 4,800 times the UN's acceptable level for the toxic heavy metal. Americans have been conditioned to believe that the problem with lead has mostly disappeared but nothing could be further from the truth. According to the Washington Post, "In New York City, the nation's largest water provider has for the past three years assured its 9.3 million customers that its water was safe because the lead content fell below federal limits. But the city has withheld from regulators hundreds of test results that would have raised lead levels above the safety standard in two of those years.

"[xi] "The drinking water lead crisis in Washington D.C. poses serious public health risks to thousands of residents of the national capital area, and casts a dark shadow of doubt over the ability, resources, or will of federal and local officials to fulfill their duty to protect our health," said Paul D. Schwartz, National Policy Coordinator, Clean Water Action [xii].
After switching to chloraminated water, children in Washington ingested more than 60 times the EPA's maximum level of lead with one glass of water [xiii].

Jim Elder, who headed the EPA's drinking water program from 1991 to 1995, said he fears that utilities are engaging in "widespread fraud and manipulation. It's time to reconsider whether water utilities can be trusted with this crucial responsibility of protecting the public. I fear for the safety of our nation's drinking water. Apparently, it's a real crap shoot as to what's going to come out of the tap and whether it will be healthy or not."
Cities across the country are manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting millions of Americans at risk. - Washington Post [xiv]

Underground aquifers can become contaminated with bacteria and viruses because of insufficient topsoil layers to filter rainwater as it trickles down to recharge the groundwater. Livestock manure, human sewage sludge, fertilizers, weed killers [xv] and pesticides seep down into groundwater supplies. The intensification of agricultural practices -- in particular, the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides -- has had a huge impact on water quality. The main agricultural water pollutants are nitrates[xvi], phosphorus, and pesticides. Rising nitrate concentrations threaten the quality of drinking water, while high pesticide use contributes substantially to the direct poisoning of our water supplies.

The Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM, 1992) concluded that "groundwater is threatened by pesticides in all European states." WHO (1993) has established drinking water guidelines for 33 pesticides but an awareness is growing that in all matters water related we are not being protected from serious harm. There really is no limit to the concerns and chemicals that make drinking public water a bad idea.

There really is no end to the serious problems with tap water that are being seriously underestimated. The National Academy of Sciences has concluded that arsenic is so dangerous in drinking water that stringent levels set by the Clinton administration and later suspended by the Bush White House were not strict enough. For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency set an acceptable arsenic level of 50 parts per billion in drinking water. But recent studies suggested that this level was too high and increased the risk of bladder and lung cancer. A report by the National Academy of Sciences in 1999 said the standard should be made stricter "as promptly as possible." President Bill Clinton ordered the limit to be lowered to 10 parts per billion in 2006 and scientists doubt if even this low level of concentration is safe [xvii].
References:
i. (http://www.agonist.org/story/2005/8/4/44118/79781)
ii. National Resources Defence Council. Ozonoff is chair of the Environmental Health Program at Boston University School of Public Health and a nationally known expert on drinking water and health issues ((http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/usci...)
iii. (http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke%5C29130.html)
iv. Drinking Water Act in 1996 banned plumbing devices with pure lead pipe but still allows low levels of lead. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. However, new homes are also at risk: even legally "lead-free" plumbing may contain up to 8 percent lead. The most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures which can leach significant amounts of lead into the water, especially hot water.
v. (http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead/index.html) Amendments made to the federal Safe
vi. Detected contaminants include caffeine, which was the highest-volume pollutant, codeine, cholesterol-lowering agents, anti-depressants, and Premarin, an estrogen replacement drug taken by about 9 million women. Also chemotherapy agents were found downstream from hospitals treating cancer patients. Final results from the study are expected to be released in the fall. For additional information about the U.S.G.S. study check the website: (http://toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc.html)
vii. Chloramine is a disinfectant put into many municipal water supplies. In recent years it has often replaced chlorine for two main reasons. The first is that it is much longer lasting, so it continues to provide a disinfectant action in supply pipes, where chlorine typically loses its capacity to disinfect. The second is that it does not react with organics nearly as readily as does chlorine. The reaction products of chlorine and organics (chlorinated organics) are very toxic to people, and water supply operators elect to use chloramine to reduce this toxicity.
viii. Bollyn, Christopher. The Unhealthy Consequences of Chloraminated Water. ((http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/c...)
ix. ((http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...)
x. Sep 2004 ((http://www.watertechonline.com/News.asp...)
xi. (http://www.americanfreepress.net)
xii. US House of Representatives, Committee on Government ReformHearing on the District of Columbia's Lead Contamination ExperienceStatement of Paul D. Schwartz, National Policy Coordinator, Clean Water ActionMay 21, 2004. (http://www.dcwatch.com/wasa/040521i.htm)
xiii. From April 2 to May 8 of 2004, utility officials switched back to chlorine, a yearly change intended to rinse bacteria from the pipes before summer. During that time, officials said yesterday, lead level test results in homes with lead service lines were 25 percent to 30 percent lower than they would have predicted. ((http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar...)
xiv. ((http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar...)
xv. The weed killer atrazine affects the levels of a number of hormones needed for normal development and function of the reproductive system, including estrogen, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone. Atrazine has been linked to sexual malformations in frogs that were exposed to water containing just 1/30th as much atrazine as the EPA regards as safe in human drinking water. Sanders, Robert. Popular weed killer atrazine feminizes native frogs across Midwest, could be impacting amphibian populations worldwide 30 October 2002. University of Berkely. ((http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/rele...)
xvi. Nitrate in drinking water is also associated with increased risk for bladder cancer, according to a University of Iowa (UI) study that looked at cancer incidence among nearly 22,000 Iowa women. The study results suggest that even low-level exposure to nitrates over many years could cause increases in certain types of cancer, said Peter Weyer, Ph.D., associate director of the UI Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) and one of the study's lead authors. The study was published in the May 2001 issue of the journal Epidemiology. "From a public health perspective, source water protection is a main concern. Sources of nitrate which can impact water supplies include fertilizers, human waste, and animal waste," Weyer said. "All of us, rural and urban residents alike, need to be more aware of how what we do as individuals can impact our water sources and, potentially, our health." ((http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/ndwc/articles/O...)
xvii. New York Times September 11, 2001
About the authorMark A. Sircus Ac., OMD, is director of the International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA)http://www.imva.info/. Dr. Sircus was trained in acupuncture and oriental medicine at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Sante Fe, N.M., and in the School of Traditional Medicine of New England in Boston. He served at the Central Public Hospital of Pochutla, in México, and was awarded the title of doctor of oriental medicine for his work. He was one of the first nationally certified acupuncturists in the United States. Dr. Sircus's IMVA is dedicated to unifying the various disciplines in medicine with the goal of creating a new dawn in healthcare.
He is particularly concerned about the effect vaccinations have on vulnerable infants and is identifying the common thread of many toxic agents that are dramatically threatening present and future generations of children. His book The Terror of Pediatric Medicine is a free e-book one can read. Dr. Sircus is a most prolific and courageous writer and one can read through hundreds of pages on his various web sites.
He has most recently released his Survival Medicine for the 21st Century compendium (2,200 page ebook) and just released the Winning the War Against Cancer book. Dr. Sircus is a pioneer in the area of natural detoxification and chelation of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. He is also a champion of the medicinal value of minerals and is fathering in a new medical approach that uses sea water and different concentrates taken from it for health and healing. Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, his first published work, offers a stunning breakthrough in medicine, an entirely new way to supplement magnesium that naturally increases DHEA levels, brings cellular magnesium levels up quickly, relieves pain, brings down blood pressure and pushes cell physiology in a positive direction. Magnesium chloride delivered transdermally brings a quick release from a broad range of conditions.International Medical Veritas Association: http://www.imva.info/