A Gift All Wrapped in Swaddling Clothes

Christmas morning of my fifth year I woke to find a wooden rifle under the tree, carefully carved by my dad, complete with a dowel barrel and a hole for my trigger finger. I can almost smell the fresh paint mingled with the fragrance of pine branches. And though I don't recall playing with it, I remember the awe I felt in knowing my dad made it just for me.

Not all gifts, however, are so personally intended. After that horrendous brown vase I got at a Christmas party, at least I had the perverse joy of watching someone open "How to Raise Rhesus Monkeys" that had been foisted off on me the year before. Then there's a punch-out calendar to sit on my desk reminding me all year long to buy Farmer's Insurance. And the mortuary that gives away bottles of hand lotion every year--my family always calls it "embalming fluid."

What takes the joy out of giving are the obligatory gifts--the expected office exchange, the box of candy you keep by the door to hand the Smiths when they come to call as you know they will, once a year. And don't forget the gift for great Aunt Hattie whom you haven't liked since she pinched your cheeks when you were little.

Really difficult are the gifts that come with long invisible strings dangling from them, gifts so very expensive that you could never afford to reciprocate. Gold and diamond jewelry from a suitor. You don't want to hurt his feelings, but ....

I wonder how Mary and Joseph felt as they watched richly robed wise men kneel before their child offering alabaster jars of precious myrrh, inlaid boxes heavy with the scent of frankincense, and iron-bound chests laden with gold--gifts fit for a king. How could they possibly repay?

I guess the most troublesome gift at Christmas is the Child Himself. What do we say? We smile nicely and pat the humbly- wrapped present. "How nice of you, God, to have been so thoughtful," we mumble politely. But the Gift lies on the dresser unopened year after year. Perhaps because we don't expect to find much inside except a useless religious trinket. Perhaps because we don't feel any need for God just now. Perhaps because we know that if we unwrap the Gift we'll be obligated to the Giver beyond what we can ever repay. And so it sits ... and so it sits until in loneliness, in pain, in utter desperation we tug at the ribbons and tear off the wrappings, hoping against hope we'll find inside what we've longed for. And so it is. Unconditional Love!

God sent a gift
one Christmas morn,
a wondrous gift,
a precious gift.

God sent a gift
one Christmas morn
by peasant maid
and craftsman hand.

God sent a gift
one Christmas morn
and wrapped it up
in swaddling clothes,
For me, He did.
Yes, for me He did.

God sent a gift
one Christmas morn
and wrapped it up
in swaddling clothes.

For me.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Travelers

Christmas recalls the story of travelers propelled by the unhurried rhythm of their animals:

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Why did these wisemen undertake such a journey?

A tall astronomer, advisor to the Persian king, springs from his midnight vigil in the palace courtyard. "Casper, come! Look along the rod I've sighted toward the constellation of the Jews." Casper peers into the blackness. "Do you see it? That brilliant star is new tonight! It must signify the birth of a mighty king."

A soft whistle escapes him as he spots it. "There it is!" He's talking rapidly now. "I've read ancient Hebrew scriptures which tell of this ruler's star."[1] Rising, he announces, "We must see him. We must go!"

Traversing the caravan routes of Persia, Babylon, and Syria for 1,200 miles, they ford broad rivers, pass ancient cities, cross barren deserts. Three months they trek westward, day after day, "following yonder star."

In Jerusalem they inquire, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him."[2] Worship? So the Babe is more than a king!

Now they follow the shining star till it rests over a simple Bethlehem home. At early dawn neighbors gather to watch the richly- robed travelers dismount. Joseph meets them at the door.

"We've come to see the child, the King." The wise men fall before the Babe, faces to the floor, royal counselors doing homage, worshipping the Christ child. Outside, their servants unload weighty chests from the camels and set gifts before the King. Heavy fragrances of frankincense and myrrh mingle to fill the room as one by one the boxes are opened.

A touch of the boy-child's tiny fingers, a final longing look, and the men rise to go. Camel bells soon fade in the brisk morning air.

We, too, travel at Christmas, visiting family and friends. Yet, like the wisemen, the most important journey we make these hectic holidays is to draw nigh Jesus himself with the gift of our hearts.

 

Christmas Hardships

"Do you really expect me to go to Bethlehem?" Joseph banged down his chisel on the scarred bench.

Ephraim, his cousin, had just entered the low workshop. "You don't have a choice, Joseph. If you don't go the Romans will confiscate your house and your precious tools. Just try to carve a yoke with your fingernails."

"What are we, cowards?" the carpenter retorted. "Mark my words, Ephraim, this 'Enroll-in-your-ancestral-city' business is nothing more than a way to squeeze more taxes out of us. If we give into those foreign tyrants now they'll just be back for more money."

"What's more," Joseph continued, "you're crazy if you think I'd take Mary on a trip this month. She'd probably have the baby on the way!"

"Couldn't you just leave her with your mother for a couple of weeks? She'd be all right. Nobody says the women have to go. It's the heads of households who have to register."

"Register, hah! Be taxed, you mean."

"So why not leave her at home?"

Joseph brushed the woodchips aside and motioned for his cousin to sit down. The carpenter spoke in a low but earnest voice. "Mary's aunt has made life miserable for her ever since she found out Mary was pregnant. Some people were willing to let it go. Not Tabitha."

"She got my wife all stirred up about it," Ephraim volunteered.

"Not just your wife. Most of the women in this town go out of their way to avoid her. At the village well they whisper, "Little slut!" just loud enough for her to hear. Many's the day she's come running home in tears."

"People sure can be cruel," Ephraim said. "At least you and Mary went ahead and got married."

Joseph bit his lip, but didn't say more.

Ephraim got up. "Well, you are going to Bethlehem, aren't you? You'd be a fool to get the Romans on your back. You know what they did to old Ben."

Joseph stood up slowly. "Yes, I'll go. But Mary'll have to come along. There's no way I'd leave her in Nazareth by herself!"

However, when Joseph talked to Mary about it, she didn't seem nearly as sure as her husband. "How could I walk all that way?" she said. "I waddle now. I just can't make it."

"Mary, we'll bring old Jake. You can ride him when you get tired."

"Have you ever ridden on Jake?"

"Well, no."

"That animal is the most bony, jolting mule in Nazareth. I'd rather walk!"

She did ride, though ... some of the way. Joseph would finally stop for the day when Mary just couldn't take any more. He'd help her down off Jake, then he'd fix a fire while she would unload their heavy blankets and try to find some shelter under a tree or large rock.

Mary would always be the center of attention among the few women traveling that time of year.

"I remember when I was carrying Levi," one would start. "Made my feet swell. I couldn't do anything for months."

"That's nothing," replied another, "my sister got so big everyone thought she was carrying twins. But her time came there was only one baby. Died though."

Joseph glanced over at Mary in the flickering firelight. He could see fear flit across her face. Her hands moved to her swollen belly so she could feel the baby's reassuring kick.

The women didn't notice. The first one went on, "Oh, the pain's so awful! I'm glad I'm too old to have any more babies."

Joseph put his arm around Mary's shoulders and pulled her close. Only one more night on the road before Bethlehem.

They reached the sleepy village of Joseph's ancestors just about dusk the fifth day. Joseph went to the inn and nearby houses trying to find a place to sleep. "God," he whispered as he combed the town, "can't You find us a decent place to have this baby?" Nothing.

All at once he saw Mary's face tighten. She tried to suppress a groan as she fought with the pain. It was a long moment before she relaxed, but he could see worry written all over her.

Joseph went back to the innkeeper again. "Are you sure there isn't any room? My wife's about to have a baby. We've got to find a place out of this wind tonight!"

The innkeeper thought a while. "Did you try the house at the end of the street? They sometimes take people in."

"I tried an hour ago."

"Any relatives in town? Any second cousins?"

"No."

Mary was shivering now, in obvious discomfort. "Joseph," she said weakly, "I've got to lie down somewhere."

"Well, there's the stable in the back," offered the innkeeper at long last. "Of course, it's full of animals from all the visitors in town for that blasted Roman census. But if you can find a place in the corner, I guess that'd be okay." He paused. "Just don't keep the animals awake all night."

It was the other way around. The dozen donkeys in the strange barn never stopped moving. And the smell was overpowering to Mary who had been fighting nausea as her pains got stronger.

In the wee hours of the morning Joseph knocked on the innkeeper's door again.

"What do you want this time of night?" the innkeeper snarled when he finally came to the door.

"Is there a midwife in town?"

"Oh, it's you. A midwife? Yes, old Martha lives in a little house about three blocks from here. You go down the main road, turn left at the two-story house, and go to the alley. You can't miss it. You go down the alley and across the pasture. She lives in a shack just behind the third house after that."

"I ... I really don't think I should leave my wife. Her pains are coming awfully fast now.... Could you go?"

"Jonathan!" the innkeeper yelled into his darkened house. "Get up and fetch old Martha. A lady's having a baby in the barn. Hurry!"

He turned to Joseph as he closed the door. "Have some pity, man. My whole family's awake now."

Pretty soon the door opened again and a young lad ran off in the chilly air. After a while he returned, walking slowly so he wouldn't outdistance the old midwife whose arthritis certainly didn't to take to cold winter nights. The boy was shivering by the time he got to the stable.

"Here's Martha, sir," he muttered quickly, and darted back into the warmth of his house.

The old lady put them at ease right away. She had Joseph fetch water and cloths from the innkeeper. It must have been nearly two in the morning by the time the baby came, and another hour before Joseph dug into his robe for a few coins to give the old woman as she hobbled away.

Then he returned to his wife and took her hand as they looked into the puffy face of their son. Alone at last.

"I'm so tired, Joseph," Mary said, settling back into the blanket-covered straw.

The baby finally stopped crying and drifted off to sleep.

Joseph stirred a few minutes later as some men peered from the darkness into the lamp-lit stable. He nudged Mary awake and reached for his staff.

"What do you want?" Joseph said to the men in a forced whisper. "Don't wake the baby."

"We're shepherds," one called out. The baby started crying.

"We saw angels out on the hills an hour ago." The entire story tumbled out as the shepherds edged into the stable to see the baby. Joseph relaxed his grip on the staff.

The shepherd continued, "And the angel told us, 'To you is born this day in the City of David a Savior which is Messiah the Lord.' The angel even told us about the swaddling cloths and the manger here."

"The angel told you about the manger, too?" Joseph interrupted.

"Oh, yes. That's how we knew where to look."

Joseph glanced over at Mary. Her eyes met his. He squeezed her hand.

"This baby is the Messiah, isn't he?" Joseph said quietly. "After all these hassles I had started to question. But..." He paused. "It's almost like God planned the whole thing: the trip neither of us wanted to take." He chuckled. "He must have seen you on bony old Jake." Joseph laughed out loud. "Even this smelly old barn and it's manger."

He stood up, still chuckling. "What do you know? In spite of the problems--no, in the midst of the problems--God's been at work all along."

The Story of Silent Night, Stille Nacht

The phrase repeats itself over and over again in his mind:

Silent night, holy night,
Stille nacht, heilige nacht.

Father Joseph Mohr, Parish Priest

It's the first line from a poem this young Austrian priest had written two years before. Now he can't get the phrase out of his mind. "Silent night, holy night."

Tonight is Christmas Eve and St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, north of Salzburg, will be chock-full of people. Father Joseph Mohr has a homily in mind, a message for his flock on this sacred night, but he needs a carol, something special to cap off the service.

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright...

The words won't go away. "I need a tune!" he says out loud, shaking his head. "I wonder if Franz can help me. I hope it's not too late." Franz Gruber is the schoolteacher in the nearby village of Arnsdorf -- a gifted musician, organist at the Arnsdorf church, and occasional substitute organist at St. Nicholas. "Franz will help me!" he says to himself. "He can't resist a musical challenge."

Franz Gruber, Schoolteacher and Organist

Quickly now he slings on his heavy coat, dons a fur cap and gloves, and ventures into the brisk December morning. The snow is crunchy underfoot as he makes his way across the churchyard towards Arnsdorf, just a 20 minute walk. "Silent night, holy night ... silent night, holy night." The rhythm of the words echoes with each step.

Elizabeth opens the door at his knock. "Father Mohr, how nice of you to stop by. Franz will be glad to see you." She takes his coat and ushers him in. Franz is picking something out on his guitar.

"Franz, remember that poem I told you about: 'Silent Night'?" says Mohr. "I know it's too late to ask, but could you help put a tune to it? I want to sing it tonight for Christmas Eve."

Gruber's face lights up. A challenge. A song. He takes the lyrics from the priest and begins to say them over and over, looking for a cadence. Then he hums a line and scratches it down.

Mohr soon tires of the process and begins to play with the children. But within an hour or so, Gruber seems to have a melody and is working out the chords on his guitar. "Father, how does this sound?" he calls and begins to sing the words:

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm all is bright...

He stops to make a correction in the manuscript, and then continues:

...'Round yon virgin, Mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace!
Sleep in heavenly peace!

Father Mohr is ecstatic. On the second verse Gruber's deep voice is joined by Mohr's rich tenor. Elizabeth, baby on her hip, who has been humming along, now joins them on the last verse. The song fills their home with its gentle words and memorable melody.

New Year's Eve at St. Nicholas Church, Oberndorf, 1818

That night, December 24, 1818, the song fills St. Nicholas Church at Midnight Mass. Mohr sings tenor, Gruber bass, and the church choir joins the refrain of each verse, while Mohr accompanies on the guitar. By the time the last notes die away, the worshipers are a-buzz with joy and wonder at the song. On Christmas Day, the song is being hummed and sung in dozens of homes around Oberndorf. "Silent night, holy night."

And in Oberndorf, they would sing their beloved carol again and again each Christmas. The song might have stayed right there had it not been for an organ builder named Karl Mauracher, who came to repair the pipe organ at Arnsdorf in 1819 and made several trips to Oberndorf over the next few years, finally building a new organ for St. Nicholas in 1825.

The Song Finds Its Way to Emperors and Kings -- and to America

Whether Mauracher found the music and lyrics on the organ or they were given to him by Gruber, we don't know. But he carried the song to the Ziller Valley east of Innsbruk, where he shared it with two local families of travelling folk singers, the Rainers and the Strassers, who began to sing it as part of their regular repertoire. The following Christmas of 1819, the Rainer Family Singers sang "Stille Nacht" in the village church of Fügen (Zillertal).

Three years later they sang it for royalty. Emperor Francis I of Austria and his ally Czar Alexander I of Russia were staying in the nearby castle of Count Dönhoff (now Bubenberg Castle). The Rainer Family performed the carol and were invited to Russia for a series of concerts.

In 1834 the Strasser Family Singers sang "Silent Night" for King Frederick William IV of Prussia. He was so taken with what the Strassers called their "Song of Heaven," that he commanded it to be sung by his cathedral choir every Christmas Eve. It spread through Europe and in 1839 the Raniers brought the song to America as the "Tyrolean Folk Song." Since then it has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects.

Various English translations blossomed, but the definitive English version of the song was penned by Rev. John Freeman Young and first published in The Sunday-School Service and Tune Book (1863).

Why Is "Silent Night" So Popular?

Why has "Silent Night" become our most beloved carol? Is it the words -- tender, intimate, gentle? Or the tune -- so peaceful, so memorable, so easy to play or pick out with one hand on the piano?

It is not a joyous, fast-paced carol like Handel's "Joy to the World." Nor theologically-rich like Charles Wesley's "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." Nor does it have a complex tune like "Angels We Have Heard on High."

Rather, "Silent Night" is quiet and reflective, calling us to meditate on the scene. It is the ambience conveyed by both the gentle words and melody that create from this carol an oasis of peace.

"All is calm, all is bright."

It calls us to dwell on the Madonna and Child --

"'Round yon Virgin, mother and Child,
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace."

You feel as the "shepherds quake at the sight." You can imagine as "heavenly hosts sing Alleluia." And you begin to sing "Alleluia to the King" right along with them.

Rays of backlit brilliance highlight many a religious painting, but here the picture of light is painted in words:

"Glories stream from heaven afar...."

"Son of God, love's pure light,
Radiant beams from Thy holy face...."

Just Who is in this manger? What is the significance of this birth? What is Christmas about -- really? Perhaps most of all, "Silent Night" is beloved because it reminds us in its simple, but exceedingly clear way, the truth behind it all -- the truth that changes everything:

"Christ, the Savior is born!"

Sing it again this Christmas and let its gentle peace wash over you and its bold assertion renew your soul.

"Jesus, Lord, at thy birth!
"Jesus, Lord, at thy birth!"

 

The Virgin Mary, Handmaid of the Lord

Mary sat on the floor in the sunlight which flooded through the window of her parents' house. She was thinking, daydreaming. Young teenagers were allowed that luxury. She'd overheard the old biddies at the well chattering about her as she had gone to get water that morning....

"Did you go to the betrothal celebration yesterday?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. I wept through the whole thing. It was so beautiful."

"It's about time Joseph got himself a wife! A man his age ought to have a flock of children racing in and out of his shop by now."

"But he's so old for her. If he were twenty, maybe, a fourteen-year-old bride would be all right. But thirty?...

"Oh, he'll make her a good husband, mark my words. But I don't know about her. What kind of cook is she?"

Just then they had noticed Mary and the jabbering ceased. She could see them looking at her, though, sizing her up. It's not as if it's the first time they've seen me, Mary thought. I was born in Nazareth.

Bethrothed. Engaged. Mary smiled. Every girl's dream has come true for me. People already look at me as Joseph's wife. How can I stand to wait another whole year for the wedding ceremony? Oh, well, all the other girls wait, too, and they survive. Her thoughts began to picture what the wedding would be like....

Suddenly she heard a commanding voice: "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

She glanced up, and then gasped. A huge man stood over her. Mary instinctively cringed back into the corner. What kind of greeting was that for a peasant girl? What was going on here?

"Do not be afraid, Mary," the man went on, "you have found favor with God."

Favor with God? Who was this man? Mary relaxed a bit. He didn't seem threatening....

The man proceeded. "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus..."

What? She had just been betrothed a day....

The man didn't pause. "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

The ancient throne of the fabled King David? Certainly she was descended from David, as were thousands of others in Israel. But her son? Her son would be the Messiah prophesied of old? She was stunned. She looked around the room. The man made it sound so immediate, so imminent. Who was this man, speaking so boldly the promises to Israel? She looked up. An angel? Could it be? It seemed as if he was waiting for her to respond.

"Ah... how will this be," she stuttered, "since I am a virgin?" He must know she wasn't married yet!

The angel answered, but more slowly now, as if he had delivered his proclamation, and now was taking time to explain it. "Dear child," he began, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

Her thoughts raced. So it wasn't going to be Joseph's child after all, but one conceived by God's Holy Spirit. Who would ever believe that? What would Joseph say? Divorce me as soon as I started to show, probably! How could he ever understand? And who would ever consider marrying the mother of a ... She couldn't bring herself to even think that bitter word. She could feel her face starting to flush and her ears burn.

And what would I do with such a child? I'm not some princess in a palace raising a king! Just a poor girl in an obscure mountain town. Doesn't he know how they treat children in this town whose mothers get pregnant before they marry?

But the angel was still speaking. "... Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month."

Elizabeth? She was nearly sixty! Mary hadn't seen her for years. How could it be? But it was! Elizabeth? She must be bubbling over joy right now! Six months pregnant? That would give the women in her town something to talk about!

The angel had stopped now. He was just standing there. Friendly, but with the bearing of a royal messenger awaiting an answer for his lord.

What should she say? Part of her wanted to shout, Oh, yes! The mother of Messiah. How exciting! How grand! What an honor...

But inside she felt a trapped, crawling sensation. What would it mean to become pregnant out of wedlock? Divorce, shame, shunning. A son who would never be really accepted by her neighbors. A boy they call cruel names. And she ... she would never be asked to marry. She'd live out her days alone, in her parents’ home....

Mary weighed the glory and the cost. But finally she knew what she must do. Glory and cost weren't the point at all, she realized. God has chosen me to be His special servant. He wants me to do this special thing for Him. And, even though it costs me everything I hold dear, I will do it! I will say Yes ... for Him!

Mary looked up at the man. And then reached out to the window sill to pull herself up until she was standing her full fourteen-year-old height before the towering angel. Her eyes met his, and she said very quietly. "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

She thought she could see the great man smile gently for a long moment. Then he turned and was gone. Even as she felt the tears starting to well up within her, Mary stood tall.

Child of Promise: A Prayer for Christmas Morning

Who are you little baby? Who are you little Christchild, lying so quietly in manger straw? Who are you that angels should herald your presence and stars announce your birth? That wisemen and shepherds -- the high and the low -- should bow before you? Who are you, child of Bethlehem, son of David? What is your future? What is your promise?

Seven centuries before your birth the ancient Scriptures speak of you….

For to us a child is born,
To us a son is given,
And the government will be on his shoulders,
And his name will be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
There will be no end.^*

What is this government? What is this peace, O Christmas baby? Are you a warrior-to-be? Are you a king? What promise do you hold?

How can you be the Mighty God while flecks of straw, blown from the stable floor, dot your fine hair? How is this?

How can you be the Everlasting Father while not yet an hour old? How is it?

How can you be a Wonderful Counselor before you've learned? A teacher before you've been taught? What is the wellspring of your wisdom?

What is this mystery set before us, enigmatic newborn lying in a stable manger, born of parents poor, yet destined for this greatness? You must be the One we've hoped for, longed for all our lives. The One who will set us free from our depressions and oppressions, within and without.

Little wonder angels cannot contain their Good News of Great Joy. Little wonder heavenly host sing in chorus,

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men....^**

Be my peace, O Prince of Peace. Let its gentle, joyful blanket comfort my nervous soul, and still the warring of your earth.

Be my government, O Christ. Govern not my own heart only, but also this desperate world in which I live.

Be my Everlasting Father and my Counselor. By your counsel guide me out of confusion and turmoil into the sunlight that always shines above my low-lying clouds.

Welcome, Christchild. All my life I have needed you. O Child of Promise, this Christmas morning I give to you my heart. Amen.

True Story: Lizard

This is a true story that happened in Japan. In order to renovate the house, someone in Japan tear open the wall. Japanese houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls. When tearing down the walls, he found that there was a lizard stucked there because a nail from outside hammered into one of its feet. He sees this, feels pity and at the same time curious, as when he checked the nail, it was nailed 10 years ago when the house was first built.

What happened? The lizard has survived in such position for 10 years!?!!
In a dark wall partition for 10 years without moving, it is impossible and mind boggling. Then he wondered how this lizard survived for 10 years without moving a single step - since its feet was nailed! So he stopped his work and observed the lizard, what has it been doing and what has it been eating?
Later, don't know from where appears another lizard, with food in its mouth... AHHH! He was stunned and touched deeply. For the lizard that was stuck by nail, another lizard has been feeding it for the past 10 years...*sob*Such a love, such a beautiful love!! Such love happened even on this tiny creature... What can love do? It can do wonders!! Love can do miracles!!

Imagine it has been doing it for a tired some 10 yrs, without giving up hope on its partner. Imagine what a small creature can do that a creature blessed with the brilliant mind can't. I am touched when I heard this story. And started wondering the relationship between them: family, friends, lovers, brothers,
sisters......As the technology advances, our access to information become faster and faster. But the distance between human beings, was it getting closer as well?

NEVER ABANDON YOUR LOVED ONES.
Share this story with everyone that has touched your life and make you
grow and understand and feel more about your life. Share it with everyone! May everyone is loved... a quote from Cae Hiew: "Love makes your heart young again and magically erase all your wrinkles."
So, start loving!

7 Dont's After Meal

* Don't smoke-Experiment from experts proves that smoking a cigarette after meal is comparable to smoking 10 cigarettes (chances of cancer is higher).

* Don't eat fruits immediately - Immediately eating fruits after meals will cause stomach to be bloated with air. Therefore take fruit 1-2 hr after meal or 1hr before meal.

* Don't drink tea - Because tea leaves contain a high content of acid. This substance will cause the Protein content in the food we consume to be hardened thus difficult to digest.

* Don't loosen your belt - Loosening the belt after a meal will easily cause the intestine to be twisted & blocked.

* Don't bathe -Bathing will cause the increase of blood flow to the hands, legs & body thus the amount of blood around the stomach will therefore decrease. This will weaken the digestive system in our stomach.

* Don't walk about - People always say that after a meal walk a hundred steps and you will live till 99. In actual fact this is not true. Walking will cause the digestive system to be unable to absorb the nutrition from the food we intake.

* Don't sleep immediately - The food we intake will not be able to digest properly. Thus will lead to gastric & infection in our intestine

Faith And Prayers

   A spillage of media sadness through images and detailed stories of defects
in human society hit all of us like a flood of tears. We are inundated with
explosions, people hurrying in fear, faces often blood-splashed. And we can
imagine the whine of ambulances in a-frenzy.

These details threaten to overcome our inner strengths, subdue our passion
for living, and the question is- How to protect our loved ones and the
society in which we are so comfortable? Will it require our high tech
capabilities, or Repressive monitoring of our daily movements in society?

In most of Europe, and definitely in North America we have so much largesse
the balance of the world looks to us with envious eyes. And we begin to use
our well-financed armies and technology to secure a screen of false
ointment that really only protects our physical structures.

Within our minds and hearts, we harbor a new fear that what we have become
accustomed to in our lifetime is now threatened by unknown forces and the
faces behind these actions are not only disruptive, but we do not
understand them.

And so these threats continue to leap from the pages of our newspapers
showing colored pictures of devastation through bombs, bullets and the
deliberate cause of unwanted human anguish.

Surely we know building fences, which segregate countries, ie Israel and
Palestine; and the securing of airways at international airports simply
presents morsels of opportunity for those dedicated to roles of violence.

I believe too many individuals, thinking they were suppressed from a
lifetime of opportunity have simply have given up their dreams for societal
change. And I believe we should give some of their children a chance at the
brass ring of life.

Unfortunately, many of their parents have little education and a lifetime
of sad memories. And all that is left is the capture of an occasion, a
brief entrance on the pages of an inky newspaper, moments of rapture such
as the Irish gunmen, Mid-East suicide bombers and others who gave up on
mankind and discussed co-operative gestures.

In the name of Nationalism they seem to feel these highly visible actions
are precious moments of fame as they try to change the world. Sad to say
they do not fully appreciate how much they are really destroying it. And,
too often, innocent civilians are caught up in misjudgments, such as
Afghanistan, Bosnia and the September 11 tragedy in New York City.

Faith is the heartbeat of the world; Religion and Tradition sometimes a
chain not only around our ankles, but may hinder positive relationships.

Can we survive without love for each other regardless of gender, age, color
or background? No! We need Faith & Prayer Houses around the world as
participants with a common mission come together in strength and go on to
present a vision of fellowship in the world.

Something must be done to accomplish a sense of peace in our world.
I believe FAITH & PRAYER are the key to this happening. My thoughts are
designed to place persons with oppositional views in a test situation where
they show a willingness to forsake total personal freedom on behalf of a
security conscious world.

We must look to other avenues than the rush to acquire new toys, electronic
surveillance equipment, increased policing and other modes of questioning
of all who come within their watchful eye.

I am against giving up all freedoms for a more secure world. It is simply a
shame we overreact to the damage being done by a small band of Rebels
intent on promoting their brand of justice. Yes, perhaps there will be a
small sense of security that something is being done mostly for political
gain. This, in my estimation is not a cynical view.

Simply, it is an opinion on the silliness of the modes of security used.
Some brilliant people, with misdirected intelligence, look to the hundreds
of millions of dollars spent as a challenge to their egos. And
unfortunately find ways to overcome these protective shields, in spite of
the myriad of costly surveillance newly imposed on a frightened target
population.

The Model for security I suggest is based on dealing with the root issues.
I suggest the building of, or revamping seven edifice locations throughout
the world, with individual quarters situated around a common eating and
recreational area. Each building should harbor one representative from
seven major cultures in the world.

I truly believe Faith is a knowing and understanding of all things
possible. That a union of voices, humankind’s good will and co-operation
are able to be part of the tune. And the recognition of tremendous
abilities within the human race can be harnessed to achieve team goals.

As an example, this can take place in the setting up of Teaching Schools
situated in strategic areas of low tolerance. Where it is known and fully
understood that color and prejudice presents a problem. This may be in
Northern Canada, Mexico, United States, Soviet Union, Mainland Europe,
England or Africa.

Participants can be selected by a body within the United Nations as a model
for understanding, with curriculum developed to highlight individual
strengths, so they may teach tolerance for each other one day. I believe
forty-nine persons selected be a mixture of men and women not yet in
possession of a high school education, but possess untested capabilities.

They should be persons who hunger for a chance to get ahead and prove
themselves worthwhile citizens in this community of nations.

Prayer is the second foundation stone, which I believe most important in
the development of our ability to protect ourselves without sacrificing all
of our freedoms. After all, isn’t it true each army usually prays to their
God, usually before a most difficult challenge?

This is a most sensitive time when unwanted thoughts are usually erased in
pursuit of a personal bonding with their Creator.

As these selected young people reside in their Faith & Prayer sites they
can become role models for understanding each other. I perceive this
situation is where they give up all their freedoms, since they are now in
isolation from the familiar family and territory in which they were raised.

And hopefully through association, they may soak up the importance within
the lives and culture of each individual who now count as friends. 

Accentuating a developed friendship over a seven-week period, plans may be
formulated to organize the next group of persons. All who complete this
mission can perhaps be offered full scholarships for further learning.

Some may contest my ideas as simplistic, and unworkable. How do they know?
I am a believer in the human soul and its ability to overcome, if the right
reason came along. All the high technology in the world cannot overcome the
human spirit.

The Americans did not subdue the Vietnamese people in their struggle, nor
the Russians break the spirit of resistance in the Afghan people.

Imagine if we could somehow bring together seven peoples from seven
distinct backgrounds, and have them learn from each other? Customs,
language, dress, artifacts and other significant cultural items could be a
part of their Kiosk built within these seven locations.

I do envision these buildings with a central area providing kitchen and
dining, entertainment and general meeting areas, including seven additions
for each participant. All the décor will be designed in their cultures and
provide a showcase for others to witness and enjoy.

There should also be interpreters available to assist and live in each
Faith & Prayer House. And also act as a ‘Mom and Dad’ couple overseeing the
participants in the program who should be between eighteen and twenty-five
years of age. We must begin a program with the ideals of the young.

I know this world has many gifted, and humanistic persons willing to be
part of something as positive and far reaching as this program. And I am
sure they would be delighted to live in and supervise the seven persons.

As to cost: Each country should have benefactors willing to underwrite all
or share in the constructions costs, and provision of food. International
companies should be pleased to assist with educational gifts on behalf of
those successful in completing the full program.

It would not be fair to restrict the movements and future employment of
these graduating candidates, but hopefully they will either remain with the
program in some fashion, or return to their country of origin. And they may
have a good influence on its future. Remember this is a long-term program
and worth the investment and organizing required. A year of planning, one
to build and recruit should be the time period before beginning programs
the third year.

And each candidate should provide a weekly report of their impressions to a
Board of Directors for each of the seven regions. The tiniest ripple in a
body of water does have significance.

Yes, we do have a choice between security and freedom. However I believe
too much security requires an abdication of our rights, and yet too much
freedom allows some to run amuck within the definition of their own
identity. They must not be allowed to hijack our future. And we also must
not allow too restrictive policing harness our own personal growth.

Ideas expressed here, begun on a small scale, can be carefully monitored to
see if this program is worthy of developing into a more meaningful
adventure. As humans we can conquer the moon. What about the earth?

And wouldn’t it be nice, if we did?

---

***************************************************
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Richard L. Provencher was born September 10th 1942 in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada, 650 Km NW of Montreal. Experiences as a Miner, Newspaperman, Welfare Officer, Social Services Administrator, and United Way Executive-Director, combine with a love of Nature to form the basis of his writing. He has many poems and short stories in print and Online in various Canadian, USA and other journals. His Juvenile, Poetry and Short e-Books are online. Richard lives in Truro, Nova Scotia with his wife, Esther. They have four grown children.

From Teenage Thorn To Adult Rose

“You can either complain that rose bushes have thorns,
Or rejoice that thorn bushes have roses.”
-- Author Unknown

A teenage child is like a rose bush – one of God’s wonderful creations engulfed by beauty, yet protruding with an armor of defensive thorns. For a parent, a teenager can be a wonderful creature to admire from a distance, but sometimes impossible to get close to without a protective shield in place to guard against the child’s prickly eminence. 

Think of the rose bush. In order to intimately admire it we must be fully protected by insulation thick enough to shield us from the painful pricks and jabs of the thorns, yet thin enough to allow us to maintain our mobility and sense of touch. Our gardening gloves offer this type of insulation – they softly encapsulate our skin, yet still enable us to pull the thorny stems close, absorb the beauty of the roses, and inhale their soft, fresh scent. In this same way, wearing gloves of emotional strength, parental maturity and unconditional Christian love can insulate us from the thorns of fear, hostility and anger that protrude from our teenage children whenever their modes of defensiveness are engaged. The key is not to allow this insulation to make us thick skinned. Somehow, we must still preserve our ability to feel.

This “insulation” process can be tricky. Sometimes we can overly insulate ourselves from our children’s spiteful jabs, and we end up creating a wall that actually barricades us from them. Being insulated is not synonymous with being apathetic. We cannot insulate ourselves so much that we lose our sense of feeling and mobility and are left feeling fearful of embracing our children or of praising their inner beauty.

Sometimes it is hard to remember that the defensive thorns of a teenager are his “protectors” from the dangers of the world. Just as God gave the rose bush its thorns as protection against its hostile environment, he provided his children with the wisdom to design their own thorns as well. These self-designed thorns protrude from a teen’s eminence like the quills of a porcupine – serving as protective shields from worldly pain, sorrow and humiliation. Bitterness, anger and self-conscious behaviors are some of the biggest thorns of all. And yet, these ugly thorns are incongruently intertwined with an inner beauty that we cannot help but admire, even if it is from a distance. Of course, more times than not, we end up getting hurt or “jabbed” by unkind teenage words or actions during our attempts to admire this obscured beauty. But witnessing the beauty of their laughter, the gleam of hope in their eyes, or the products of their giving heart makes it worth enduring the pain from a few nasty pricks. As parents, we must try to remember this.

All too often, teenagers wish to be admired and loved from a distance rather than to share an intimate moment of closeness with their parents. On the rare occasion that they allow us to get close, maybe even hold them, we are usually forced to place our arms somewhere in between the sharpness of their thorns. But we can learn to be at peace with this.

Think about it. We want our rose bushes to turn into something healthy and beautiful, so we try to look beyond the thorns and remain consistent with our care taking – we begin to understand that thorns have purpose and that they are extensions of the rose that are contiguous to its beauty. We try to be loyal with our feeding and nurturing duties. The same holds true for our children. Blooming teens must be fed and nurtured consistently to maintain their physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. This enables them to grow, flourish and eventually flower into loving, responsible adults. A teenager should be fertilized with the nutrients of love, admiration and respect; fed and watered with God’s Word, and allowed to reach towards the rays of the sun for its life-sustaining light.

However, helping something beautiful flourish also includes fending off the invasive enemies in the world. Our children must be carefully and tenderly pruned in order to protect them from these worldly enemies, cruelties that can attack them like a disease or fungus, beginning at their roots. The “weed killer” of discipline must also be used so that a teen does not choke or die from the wild, uncultivated invaders – the “weeds” that try to raid their territory and drain the nutrients from their otherwise healthy, fertile soil. These weeds of turmoil can include drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, juvenile delinquency and more. If a teen’s cultivated foundation is tampered with, it can weaken his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual strength. Consistent, firm discipline with our children is the key to maintaining a strong, durable foundation for them that is resilient, yet unbreakable.

One important thing to remember is that not all thorns are visible – some are hidden. But a parent can learn to recognize these, too. For instance, it is usually obvious when a teenager is angry: A frown, glare or scowl begins to protrude from his eminence. These are his “thorns” of hostility – warning signals that announce his wishes to be left alone. However, we are forced to be more intuitive about the hidden thorns and what causes the release of this quill-like armor. Becoming more attuned to the hidden thorns requires getting to know your child and recognizing certain edgy behaviors that may actually be warning signals. Edginess can be a symptom of anything from anxiety and fear to hunger and lack of sleep. To distinguish its causes, we can learn to become more attuned to our teenager’s school and social activities as well as his eating and sleeping habits. As with a rose bush, experiencing a few pricks teaches us to avoid thorny areas in the future; it prevents us from aggravating the places we already know have thorns. Instead, we either admire from a distance, or decide to handle only the blooms, which must be done with care and tenderness. 

So, what are we to do about the thorns that continue to hinder our care taking? What protection allows a parent to shield himself from these thorns, yet still admire and cherish the beauty of his child? The only insulator is a mind-connected heart, a Christian heart filled with emotional strength, compassion and unconditional love that is connected to a mind holding the Christian-based wisdom of parental maturity. As long as the parental heart remains connected to a mind filled with knowledge about guidance and discipline, we are insulated. Once our heart becomes our insulator, it serves as our shield of protection. A heart that remains filled with unconditional love and compassion will always be accessible to our children. Eventually, we will learn to adapt to our children’s emotional environment like a chameleon, changing colors with their emotions so that we can blend into their life without disrupting it, and finally remaining an integral part of it forever. We will also learn to give thanks for their thorns, for these are the self-developed protectors that God gave them to help them survive in an unpredictable world. Without thorns, rose bushes would be helpless and hopeless – without thorns, our children would never get the chance to bloom.

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.
--Proverbs 20:29 NLT

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Melinda Neeley is a freelance writer from Morrilton, Arkansas. During her early years as a journalist, she was a reporter for the Log Cabin Democrat and a feature writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She was also editor of several local newsletter publications and publications assistant for the Small Business Advancement National Center at the University of Central Arkansas. Her published writings include: “House of Stone,” Reflections: A Poetry Quarterly, Winter 96-97; “The Cemetery Women,” www.healingwordspress.com, Fall 2003; and “From the Hollow of a Bell,” Ascent Magazine, www.bcsupernet.com/users/ascent/, February 2004. "From the Hollow of a Bell" was also released last spring in a short story anthology, Clerestory, published by DLSIJ Press. Currently, she and her husband run their own construction firm. She also enjoys writing mini biographies for people who wish to have lively, inspirational accounts of their lives recorded on archival paper. You may contact Melinda via e-mail at yellowhammer@tcworks.net. 

 

 

6 Alasan Harus Cukup Minum Air Putih

KEBIASAAN membawa botol air minum dalam perjalanan atau saat pergi ke mana pun mungkin belum menjadi tren di masyarakat. Bila haus di tengah jalan, kebanyakan dari kita lebih suka membeli sebotol minuman ringan beraroma teh atau soda atau pun air mineral.

Kebutuhan tubuh akan cairan memang tak bisa dibantah. Cairan penting dalam memelihara keseimbangan serta proses metabolisme tubuh. Bila asupan cairan ke dalam tubuh tak seimbang dengan pengeluaran, maka dipastikan Anda akan mengalami gangguan atau pun dehidrasi.

Dalam memenuhi kebutuhan cairan, sebaiknya pilihlah minuman yang baik dan tak menimbulkan risiko bagi kesehatan. Salah satu yang terbaik tentunya adalah air putih, meski faktanya cairan ini kalah populer ketimbang minuman beraroma dan beranekarasa yang beredar di pasaran.

Nah supaya Anda tidak meremehkan khasiat air putih, berikut adalah enam fakta ilmiah betapa kebiasaan minum cukup air putih setiap hari penting bagi tubuh.

1. Mempertahankan keseimbangan cairan tubuh.
Fakta medis menunjukkan tubuh manusia 60% terdiri dari cairan. Fungsi-fungsi cairan ini adalah untukproses pencernaan, penyerapan, sirkulasi, produksi air ludah, transportasi nutrisi dan mempertahankan suhu tubuh.

2. Membantu mengendalikan kalori.
Sejak lama, orang yang sedang menjalani program diet melakukan kebiasaan banyak minum air putih sebagai strategi menurunkan berat badan. Meskipun air tidak menghasilkan efek magis, menggunakannya sebagai pengganti minuman berkalori tinggi tentu saja akan sangat membantu.

"Program diet akan berhasil jika Anda memilih air atau minuman non- kalori sebagai pengganti minuman yang kalori. Lalu diet dengan makanan yang kaya cairan yang lebih menyehatkan, berisi dan membantu Anda memangkas kalori,"ungkap peneliti dari University State of Pennsylvania Barbara Rolls, PhD, penulis buku The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan.

3. Membantu membangkitkan otot.
Sel-sel yang tidak mampu mempertahankan keseimbangan akan cairan dan elektrolit, akan berakibat pada kelelahan otot. Ketika sel-sel otot tidak memiliki cairan yang cukup, mereka tidak akan berfungsi dengan baik dan kemampuannya berkurang.

Minum air saat berolahraga juga sangat penting. American College of Sports Medicine merekomendasikan bahwa dua jam sebelum berolahraga sebaiknya seseorang meminum 17 ons cairan.

4. Membuat kulit tetap bercahaya.
Kulit Anda sebenarnya mengandung banyak air dan berfungsi sebagai benteng dalam mencegah ekses hilangnya cairan tubuh. Namun begitu, jangan harap bahwa kelebihan cairan dapat dijadikan sebagai cara ampuh menghilangkan kerutan dari garis pada kulit .

5. Memelihara fungsi ginjal
Cairan tubuh merupakan media yang juga mentransportasikan sisa atau limbah untuk keluar dan masuk ke dalam sel. Racun utama dalam tubuh adalah nitrogen urea darah, sejenis cairan yang dapat melewati ginjal untuk kemudian diprose dan dieksresikan dalam bentuk urin.

Ketika tubuh memiliki cukup cairan, urin akan mengalir bebas, jernih dan bebas bau. Ketika tubuh tidak punya cuku cairan, konsentrasi urin, warna dan bau akan lebih kentara karena ginjal harus menyerap cairan ekstra untuk menjalankan fungsinya. Tak heran bila Anda minum sedikit air, risiko Anda mengalami batu ginjal akan meningkat terutama pada iklim hangat atau panas.

6. Mempertahankan fungsi normal usus.
Asupan cairan yang cukup akan membuat makanan yang melewati saluran cerna dapat mengalir lancar dan mencegah terjadinya kosntipasi. Ketika Anda tidak punya cukup cairan, usus akan menyerap cairan dari feses atau tinja untuk tetap menjaga hidrasi. Alhasil, tentu saja buang air besar Anda akan bermasalah.

LETTER FROM GOD

Saat kau bangun di pagi hari, Aku memandangmu dan berharap
engkau akan berbicara kepadaKu, walaupun hanya sepatah kata,meminta
pendapatKu atau bersyukur kepadaKu atas sesuatu hal indah yang terjadi di
dalam hidupmu kemarin, tetapi Aku melihat engkau begitu sibuk mempersiapkan
diri untuk pergi bekerja.Aku kembali menanti.

Saat engkau sedang bersiap, Aku tahu akan ada sedikit waktu bagimu untuk
berhenti dan menyapaKu, tetapi engkau terlalu sibuk.

Di satu tempat,engkau duduk di sebuah kursi selama lima belas menit tanpa
melakukan apapun.
Kemudian Aku melihat engkau menggerakkan kakimu. Aku berpikir engkau ingin
berbicara kepadaKu, tetapi engkau berlari ke telepon dan menelepon seorang
teman untuk mendengarkan gosip terbaru. Aku melihatmu ketika engkau pergi
bekerja dan Aku menanti dengan sabar sepanjang hari. Dengan semua
kegiatanmu, Aku berpikir engkau terlalu sibuk untuk mengucapkan sesuatu
kepadaKu.

Sebelum makan siang Aku melihatmu memandang ke sekeliling, mungkin engkau
merasa malu untuk berbicara kepadaKu, itulah sebabnya mengapa engkau
tidak menundukkan kepalamu. Engkau memandang tiga atau empat meja
disekitarmu dan melihat beberapa temanmu berbicara kepadaKu dengan lembut sebelum mereka makan, tetapi engkau tidak melakukannya.Tidak apa-apa. Masih ada waktu yang tersisa, dan Aku berharap engkau akan berbicara kepadaKu, meskipun saat engkau pulang ke rumah kelihatannya seakan-akan banyak hal yang harus kau kerjakan. Setelah beberapa hal tersebut selesai engkau kerjakan,engkau menyalakan televisi, Aku tidak tahu apakah kau suka menonton televisi atau tidak, hanya saja engkau selalu ke sana dan menghabiskan banyak waktu setiap hari di depannya, tanpa memikirkan apapun hanya menikmati acara yang ditampilkan. Kembali Aku menanti dengan sabar saat engkau menonton TV dan menikmati makananmu tetapi kembali kau tidak
berbicara kepadaKu. Saat tidur Kupikir kau merasa terlalu lelah. Setelah
mengucapkan selamat malam kepada keluargamu, kau melompat ke tempat tidur
dan tertidur tak lama kemudian.

Tidak apa-apa karena mungkin engkau tidak menyadari bahwa
Aku selalu hadir untukmu. Aku telah bersabar lebih lama dari yang kau
sadari. Aku bahkan ingin mengajarkanmu bagaimana bersabar terhadap orang
lain. Aku sangat mengasihimu, setiap hari Aku menantikan sepatah kata, doa
atau pikiran atau syukur dari hatimu.
Baiklah... engkau bangun kembali dan kembali. Aku akan menanti dengan penuh
kasih bahwa hari ini kau akan memberiKu sedikit waktu. Semoga harimu
menyenangkan.

ALLAH TRINITAS MAHA KUDUS
To Hariady, thanks ya. GBU.

Finding The Blessings

I always loved the story of the Over-Crowded House by Harold Klemp in The Book of ECK Parables, Volume 1. But I did not know I would live it!

In this story a complaining woman is told by the wise man of the village to solve the problem of her crowded house by bringing all the farm animals inside to live with the people. The conditions become so crowded, that when the wise man tells her it is time to take the animals out of the house, she feels blessed. The point is that her life had to be more difficult, before she could appreciate the blessings she had in the first place.

I lived in a big house on the prairie. I fell in love with a wonderful man from New York City and we married.

His whole one-room apartment was smaller than my living room! He had four small closets. One closet had been converted to a kitchen and another into a bathroom. Our deep love for each other helped me disperse most of my possessions and fit into our new life.

New friends told me how lucky I was to have such a large studio apartment. I did not know I was lucky until I saw that their apartments were smaller, more expensive to rent and received less daylight.

Two years later, we not only fit into the apartment, but thanks to my ingenious woodworker husband, we have plenty of room. Our living space is attractive and efficient.

Last summer, I received a new blessing. The adjoining one-room apartment became vacant, and we rented it. Now we have a place to work, read and write articles in the middle of the night, and receive guests.

At first I felt lost with two rooms and wandered inefficiently back and forth. Something I needed was always in the other room.

"Having trouble with this new freedom?" my perceptive husband asked. In fact, I was. And therein was the lesson.

Home is what we make it. And the blessings in our lives are always there. We must recognize them.
________________________________________
***************************************************
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Linnie York has lived in a teepee and a penthouse. She has lived at 8,500 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park, in New York City, and on a 27,000 acre ranch in the Southwestern United States. She has owned a weaving shop in Amish Pennsylvania, a small sales organization, taught home school, worked as a nanny, a hospital administrator and home-birthed four children. Throughout all these experiences, she writes in a journal daily and is currently compiling the over 140 journals. Linnie paints, reads and writes voraciously. She is a published poet and artist. She is happily married and enjoys volunteer activities, with Eckankar being the major one.
For more of Linnie and her paintings & writings, please visit www.linnieyork.com

Champion Ways

“How much further to the waterfall?” the little boy asked.
“Up around the bend, champion,” the old man answered with a chuckle.
“That’s what you said last time, Paw-Paw.” The boy paused. “What’s a champion?”

The old man gazed down upon his grandson before answering.
“A champion is someone who believes they can win and who keeps on trying until they do,” he said.
“You mean champions don’t always win?” the boy queried.
“No, son. Champions don’t always win—but they believe that they can and eventually they do. Most champions lose many times before they win.”

“That sounds hard, Paw-Paw,” the boy remarked.
“Sometimes. You have to grow a champion muscle.” The old man pointed down the path. “Do you see that butterfly?”

“Yes, sir.”
“Where did it come from?”
“From a cocoon,” the boy replied. “You showed me that on the purple butterfly bush.”

“How did it get out?” the old man continued.
“It grew its wings and broke through.” The boy beamed.
“What happened when you helped one of the butterflies break through?” the old man prodded in a soft voice.

The boy’s face dropped. “Its wings weren’t strong enough and it fell to the ground where it died.”
“That’s right. In order to fly, butterflies need to first grow strong.” The old man placed his palm on the boy’s shoulder. “People are the same way. To be a champion, we have to become strong. Usually though, it’s not the actions that need to be strong—it’s the belief.”

”What do you mean, Paw-Paw?” the boy asked.
The old man stopped and bent down to eye level.
“Do you remember when you learned how to ride your bike?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you remember how you fell down?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you remember how you had cuts and scrapes and had to go get Band-Aids and even cried a few tears?”
“Yes, sir—but not that many,” the boy declared.
“Why did you keep getting up?” The old man pushed.
“Because I knew I could do it,” the boy stated. “If Sammy could do it, then I knew I could, too.”

“That’s right,” the old man nodded. “Sometimes you have to borrow somebody else’s belief until yours becomes strong enough that you don’t need it. You saw Sammy do it and you believed that if he could, so could you.” The old man grinned at the boy. “Was is that hard to get up after you fell?”

“No,” the boy barked.
“Of course not,” the old man affirmed. “It never is if you believe. Champions know that.”

The old man took the boy’s hand and began to stand.
The boy tugged on his finger and held him still. His brown eyes looked straight at the old man. 
“I’m always going to be a champion, Paw-Paw,” the boy declared. “’Cause I can always get up.”
“Yes, you can,” the old man smiled. “Yes, you can.”

That’s A View From The Ridge…

NOTE: This piece was inspired by renowned motivator and master coach John Di Lemme who spends his life bringing out the champion in all of us. To learn more about John’s gift to the world, visit his website at www.FindYourWhy.com. 

***************************************************
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ridgely began scribbling as soon as his fingers could curl around a pen. So began a love affair, interrupted periodically by schooling, business and any number of self-initiated distractions to mask the fear of pursuing his childhood dream-to be a writer. 
The journey took him through Law School, a number of private companies, going public, a large merger and back to his desk, a computer with a keyboard and the daily challenge of following the dream. 
Along the way, Ridgely founded and/or acted as publisher for Network Marketing Lifestyles magazine, Domain Street magazine and the Upline Journal along with dozens of books, audio and video materials. He writes several books per year, in addition to The Daily Column. 
Ridgely holds an undergraduate degree from The University of Virginia, a law degree from Whittier College School of Law, is fluent in five languages and has spoken to audiences throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, Mexico and North America

 

SLEEPING WITH LIGHT ON MAY CAUSE CANCER

Tidur dgn Lampu Menyala Dpt Meyebabkan Kanker


KIDS who sleep with the light on could risk leukaemia, parents were warned yesterday.
Anak2 yg tidur dgn lampu menyala beresiko mengidap leukemia. Para orangtua diperingatkan kemarin.

Scientists have found the body needs darkness to produce a chemical that fights cancer.
Para ilmuwan menemukan bahwa tubuh perlu suasana gelap dlm menghasilkan zat kimia pelawan kanker.

Even switching the light on for the toilet, staying up late, travelling across time zones, or the light from street lamps can stop enough melatonin
being made, they say.
Bahkan ketika menyalakan lampu toilet, begadang, bepergian melintas zona waktu, lampu2 jalanan dpt menghentikan
produksi zat melatonin.

The body needs the chemical to prevent damage to DNA and its absence stops fatty acids reaching tumours and preventing them growing.
Texas University Prof Russell Reiter, who led the research, said: 'Once you go to bed you should not even switch the light on for a minute.
'Your brain immediately recognises the light as day and melatonin levels drop.'
Tubuh memerlukan zat kimia utk mencegah kerusakan DNA & ketidaan zat tsb menghentikan asam lemak menjadi tumor dan
mencegah pertumbuhannya. Prof. Russle Reiter dr Texas Univ. yg memimpin penelitian tsb mengatakan "Sekali Anda tidur & tidak mematikan
lampu selama 1 menit. Otak Anda segera mendeteksi bahwa lampu menyala seharian & produksi zat melatonin menurun".

Rates of childhood leukaemia have doubled in the past 40 years.
Jumlah anak2 pengidab leukimia menjadi duakali lipat dlm 40 thn terakhir.

About 500 youngsters under 15 are diagnosed with the disease each year and around 100 die. A conference on childhood leukaemia in
London yesterday heard that people were being subjected to more light at night than ever..
Sekitar 500 anakmuda dibawah 15thn didiagnosa menderita penyakit ini pertahun & sekitar 100 orang meninggal.
Sebuah konferensi ttg anak penderita leukimia di adakan di London kemarin menyatakan bhw orang menderita kanker akibat terlalu lama
memakai lampu waktu tidur dimalam hari dibanding dgn yang tidak pernah memakai lampu wkt tidur.

This suppressed the production of melatonin which normally happens between 9pm and 8am.
Hal ini menekan produksi melatonin dmana normalnya terjadi antara jam 9 mlm s/d 8 pagi

Past research has shown those most affected, like shift workers, had higher levels of breast cancer.
Penelitian terdahulu telah menunjukkan bahwa orang2 yg paling mudah terserang adalah mereka pekerja shift lebih beresiko terkena kanker payudara

Blind people, who are not vulnerable to fluctuations of melatonin, have lower rates of cancer, it was found.
Kenyataannya, Orang2 buta tidak rentan thdp melatonin beresiko lebih rendah mengidap kanker.

Parents are advised to use dim red or yellow bulbs if their youngsters are scared of the dark.
Para orang tua disarankan utk menggunakan lbohlam suram warna merah atau kuning jika anak2nya takut pd kegelapan.

Faith And Prayers

   A spillage of media sadness through images and detailed stories of defects
in human society hit all of us like a flood of tears. We are inundated with
explosions, people hurrying in fear, faces often blood-splashed. And we can
imagine the whine of ambulances in a-frenzy.

These details threaten to overcome our inner strengths, subdue our passion
for living, and the question is- How to protect our loved ones and the
society in which we are so comfortable? Will it require our high tech
capabilities, or Repressive monitoring of our daily movements in society?

In most of Europe, and definitely in North America we have so much largesse
the balance of the world looks to us with envious eyes. And we begin to use
our well-financed armies and technology to secure a screen of false
ointment that really only protects our physical structures.

Within our minds and hearts, we harbor a new fear that what we have become
accustomed to in our lifetime is now threatened by unknown forces and the
faces behind these actions are not only disruptive, but we do not
understand them.

And so these threats continue to leap from the pages of our newspapers
showing colored pictures of devastation through bombs, bullets and the
deliberate cause of unwanted human anguish.

Surely we know building fences, which segregate countries, ie Israel and
Palestine; and the securing of airways at international airports simply
presents morsels of opportunity for those dedicated to roles of violence.

I believe too many individuals, thinking they were suppressed from a
lifetime of opportunity have simply have given up their dreams for societal
change. And I believe we should give some of their children a chance at the
brass ring of life.

Unfortunately, many of their parents have little education and a lifetime
of sad memories. And all that is left is the capture of an occasion, a
brief entrance on the pages of an inky newspaper, moments of rapture such
as the Irish gunmen, Mid-East suicide bombers and others who gave up on
mankind and discussed co-operative gestures.

In the name of Nationalism they seem to feel these highly visible actions
are precious moments of fame as they try to change the world. Sad to say
they do not fully appreciate how much they are really destroying it. And,
too often, innocent civilians are caught up in misjudgments, such as
Afghanistan, Bosnia and the September 11 tragedy in New York City.

Faith is the heartbeat of the world; Religion and Tradition sometimes a
chain not only around our ankles, but may hinder positive relationships.

Can we survive without love for each other regardless of gender, age, color
or background? No! We need Faith & Prayer Houses around the world as
participants with a common mission come together in strength and go on to
present a vision of fellowship in the world.

Something must be done to accomplish a sense of peace in our world.
I believe FAITH & PRAYER are the key to this happening. My thoughts are
designed to place persons with oppositional views in a test situation where
they show a willingness to forsake total personal freedom on behalf of a
security conscious world.

We must look to other avenues than the rush to acquire new toys, electronic
surveillance equipment, increased policing and other modes of questioning
of all who come within their watchful eye.

I am against giving up all freedoms for a more secure world. It is simply a
shame we overreact to the damage being done by a small band of Rebels
intent on promoting their brand of justice. Yes, perhaps there will be a
small sense of security that something is being done mostly for political
gain. This, in my estimation is not a cynical view.

Simply, it is an opinion on the silliness of the modes of security used.
Some brilliant people, with misdirected intelligence, look to the hundreds
of millions of dollars spent as a challenge to their egos. And
unfortunately find ways to overcome these protective shields, in spite of
the myriad of costly surveillance newly imposed on a frightened target
population.

The Model for security I suggest is based on dealing with the root issues.
I suggest the building of, or revamping seven edifice locations throughout
the world, with individual quarters situated around a common eating and
recreational area. Each building should harbor one representative from
seven major cultures in the world.

I truly believe Faith is a knowing and understanding of all things
possible. That a union of voices, humankind’s good will and co-operation
are able to be part of the tune. And the recognition of tremendous
abilities within the human race can be harnessed to achieve team goals.

As an example, this can take place in the setting up of Teaching Schools
situated in strategic areas of low tolerance. Where it is known and fully
understood that color and prejudice presents a problem. This may be in
Northern Canada, Mexico, United States, Soviet Union, Mainland Europe,
England or Africa.

Participants can be selected by a body within the United Nations as a model
for understanding, with curriculum developed to highlight individual
strengths, so they may teach tolerance for each other one day. I believe
forty-nine persons selected be a mixture of men and women not yet in
possession of a high school education, but possess untested capabilities.

They should be persons who hunger for a chance to get ahead and prove
themselves worthwhile citizens in this community of nations.

Prayer is the second foundation stone, which I believe most important in
the development of our ability to protect ourselves without sacrificing all
of our freedoms. After all, isn’t it true each army usually prays to their
God, usually before a most difficult challenge?

This is a most sensitive time when unwanted thoughts are usually erased in
pursuit of a personal bonding with their Creator.

As these selected young people reside in their Faith & Prayer sites they
can become role models for understanding each other. I perceive this
situation is where they give up all their freedoms, since they are now in
isolation from the familiar family and territory in which they were raised.

And hopefully through association, they may soak up the importance within
the lives and culture of each individual who now count as friends. 

Accentuating a developed friendship over a seven-week period, plans may be
formulated to organize the next group of persons. All who complete this
mission can perhaps be offered full scholarships for further learning.

Some may contest my ideas as simplistic, and unworkable. How do they know?
I am a believer in the human soul and its ability to overcome, if the right
reason came along. All the high technology in the world cannot overcome the
human spirit.

The Americans did not subdue the Vietnamese people in their struggle, nor
the Russians break the spirit of resistance in the Afghan people.

Imagine if we could somehow bring together seven peoples from seven
distinct backgrounds, and have them learn from each other? Customs,
language, dress, artifacts and other significant cultural items could be a
part of their Kiosk built within these seven locations.

I do envision these buildings with a central area providing kitchen and
dining, entertainment and general meeting areas, including seven additions
for each participant. All the décor will be designed in their cultures and
provide a showcase for others to witness and enjoy.

There should also be interpreters available to assist and live in each
Faith & Prayer House. And also act as a ‘Mom and Dad’ couple overseeing the
participants in the program who should be between eighteen and twenty-five
years of age. We must begin a program with the ideals of the young.

I know this world has many gifted, and humanistic persons willing to be
part of something as positive and far reaching as this program. And I am
sure they would be delighted to live in and supervise the seven persons.

As to cost: Each country should have benefactors willing to underwrite all
or share in the constructions costs, and provision of food. International
companies should be pleased to assist with educational gifts on behalf of
those successful in completing the full program.

It would not be fair to restrict the movements and future employment of
these graduating candidates, but hopefully they will either remain with the
program in some fashion, or return to their country of origin. And they may
have a good influence on its future. Remember this is a long-term program
and worth the investment and organizing required. A year of planning, one
to build and recruit should be the time period before beginning programs
the third year.

And each candidate should provide a weekly report of their impressions to a
Board of Directors for each of the seven regions. The tiniest ripple in a
body of water does have significance.

Yes, we do have a choice between security and freedom. However I believe
too much security requires an abdication of our rights, and yet too much
freedom allows some to run amuck within the definition of their own
identity. They must not be allowed to hijack our future. And we also must
not allow too restrictive policing harness our own personal growth.

Ideas expressed here, begun on a small scale, can be carefully monitored to
see if this program is worthy of developing into a more meaningful
adventure. As humans we can conquer the moon. What about the earth?

And wouldn’t it be nice, if we did?

---

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Richard L. Provencher was born September 10th 1942 in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada, 650 Km NW of Montreal. Experiences as a Miner, Newspaperman, Welfare Officer, Social Services Administrator, and United Way Executive-Director, combine with a love of Nature to form the basis of his writing. He has many poems and short stories in print and Online in various Canadian, USA and other journals. His Juvenile, Poetry and Short e-Books are online. Richard lives in Truro, Nova Scotia with his wife, Esther. They have four grown children.