Vegetarianism
May 23, 2008
Millions worldwide suffer from malnutrition and the threat of starvation. One-third of the grain in the world is being used to feed to animals to fatten up for slaughter. The amount of grain fed to animals being raised for slaughter is higher in the United States than other parts of the world. We could feed straving humans this grain instead of fattening up a cow for a fast food restaurant to make a hamburger. A vegetarian diet reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer. It makes weight loss easier and lowers cholesterol. Animals are given hormones and antibiotics, both of which humans can do without in excessive amounts. An added benefit to being a vegetarian is that we do not have to worry about mad cow disease or salmonella poisoning. Rainforests are being destroyed at a rapid rate to make room for cattle to graze. There is a lot of cruelty and abuse present when animals are being raised for slaughter.
Vegetarianism shows a respect for all of life or creation. The following quotes are from the Bible. If you believe the Bible is God’s word, then it appears that he did not have factory farming in mind:
Art, Women, and Creativity
May 22, 2008
Women have been given the greatest gift of creativity there is-the capacity of creating and having a child. Even if a woman has never had children, just the biological possibility, is life defining.
The theory has often been that artists create their best work when they are young and after that “peak” in their career, their art becomes stale and predictable. The assumption is that an artist’s work is the most important early in their lives. I would beg to differ, especially when it comes to women.
I have a theory that women come into their own as artists later in life, after the possibility of having children has passed and while the potential of having children is beginning to diminish.
Because of the biological ability to have children, women understand intuitively that creativity is a life long process, not a destination. The tremendous urge to create is still there after the capacity to have children is gone.
The passion and drive to create is combined with the wisdom learned from life’s inevitable lessons. Women frequently find that their “artistic voices” become more confident and self-assured later in life. That is why women often come into their own artistically in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and on up; Georgia O’Keeffe, Louise Nevelson and Grandma Moses are three examples.
Simple Pleasures: Ingredients to Feed Your Spirit.
May 21, 2008
“When we do something we love, again and again, our life comes to hold the fragrance of that thing. ~ Wayne Mullen
Cold air slips through the cracks in my doorway and around my windows. My cats lie curled up in balls; asleep on plump pillows. They hibernate most days now and only awaken from their dreamy slumbers for bites of kibble. They are unaware of our troops in the Middle East or our economy problems here at home.
What sustains you during tough times? Do you have a network of support? What are the things that comfort you when life seems to be filling your plate with more of the things you find unappetizing? Now is the perfect time to focus on simple daily rituals and pleasures as we live through more turbulent days ahead. Let’s call these, recipes for rapture.
Judgement Day
May 20, 2008
For it is written in Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men will have to give account of the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your word you will be condemned. Now that’s something to think about. More importantly to know the word of God by studying your Bible. Know it in you heart and mind. For it is said in Matthew 4:4 It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that come from the mouth of God. Look at Isaiah 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. God have a purpose for us all. Now look at 2Timothy 2:15 it says Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
Tale of an Ark
May 19, 2008
The ark must have been much larger than the dimensions in the Bible, 450′ x 75′ x 45′, simply just would not have worked. There are 350,000 kinds of beetle alone. Not counting all the other kinds of insects. That is a lot of cages. The cages had to be made very well considering that at that time there were not items available for cage construction like plastics, glass and metal. That must have been hard work just dealing with the insects. Each bug has a different diet and environment.
There are 925 species of bats, 200 species of primates, 192 species of hoofed animals and 270 kinds of carnivores, just to name a few. Now wouldn’t it have been difficult to keep the carnivores from thinking that all the other passengers, including Noah and family, were brought on board as their food? A kind of all you can eat buffet?
There are 2000 different types of rodents. Anyone who has ever had a rodent for a pet knows that you cannot keep them in wooden cages; they chew through wood.
The Original Nobility: Patricians and Knights
May 19, 2008
By “nobility” I refer to that class in society which once had hereditary political, financial and social privileges guaranteed by law. By “original nobility” I follow the German (and now internationally accepted) definition and refer to those families who were ennobled (or generally recognised as nobles) before the year 1400. With “patricians” I refer to those families who from time immemorial were recorded as local and regional leaders, and usually as a base for their power had vast landed properties. With “knight” I refer to the warrior class that emerged and developed during 900 - 1300 AD.
The original nobility was comprised of those two categories, the patricians and the knights. The patricians soon developed into the higher nobility, and were often granted land and titles by the king or ruler. To administer the vast and scattered estates they needed local commanders, who in their turn needed well armed warriors to defend the properties. During the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries the duties and privileges (e.g. to maintain an armed force and enjoy tax exemption) became formalised and hereditary.
Our Feelings and Attitudes Around Happily Ever After
May 18, 2008
Our feelings and attitudes have a huge impact on our ability to achieve ‘happily ever after.’ Are feelings and attitudes the same thing or different? Does one cause the other to happen? Which one has more power over how we respond? Does the person experiencing them have any choice in the matter? What if they are in conflict?
Feelings are what they are. We can’t force them. You fall madly head over heels in love with someone or you don’t. ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink’ comes to mind as I try to explain feelings. There is no magical way to change how we feel. Our feelings aren’t right or wrong, they just exist. Feelings are very powerful and definitely have a control over how we make choices and how we move through life. Think about the money, time, and focus we put into trying to feel good and avoiding feeling bad. It goes against human nature to want to feel bad.
Tongue of the Power
May 17, 2008
The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. Proverbs 20: 5. It has been said that to be careful what you ask for you just might get it. The Bible says; ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7. What a blessing to know that whatever you ask for you will receive it as long as it is in line with the word of Jesus Christ. Did you know that we have powerful tools we can use which is our speech, and minds. The Bible tells us over and over again that if we ask for anything in Jesus name we shall receive it.
Paul?s Letter to 21st Century Christians
May 16, 2008
Dear Readers, I received a letter this week that is written in Greek that I have translated and would like to share with you. It is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and it is addressed to: all my brothers and sisters living in the 21st century. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
For many years I have longed to see you. I have heard a great deal about you and all the marvelous things you are doing.
News have reached me that your scientific and technological advances are phenomenal. You have at your disposal automobiles so luxurious that the average man in my day would never have conceived such a possibility. I have heard about your ingenious skyscrapers and huge builders. I understand some folks become a bit dizzy and faint, just looking up at them. It boggles my mind just contemplating the fascinating achievements you have attained.
Those Dirty Mexicans–Oh, Really?
May 15, 2008
When my wife and I announced that we were moving to Mexico, one of my wife’s relatives asked us,
“Why do you want to live with those dirty Mexicans?”
Besides wanting to slap some sense into this person, I was particularly sickened (as in wanting to projectile vomit Linda Blair-style) by this hideous and most heinous stereotype. I have wanted to know since then where this originated.
I think, after doing what writers do-too much research, I have finally found it.
Apparently, historians, those guys we all love to read, have been recording these views for years. David J. Webber wrote extensively on the origins of anti-Mexican stereotypes. (Thank you very much, David. It took only two years to find you!). Webber has carefully written on the views that are responsible for today’s prevalent stereotypes of the Mexican people. He wrote,
“Mexicans were considered, he wrote, “bigoted, greedy, tyrannical, fanatical, treacherous, and lazy”. These characterizations of the inhabitants of Mexico congealed especially during the decades following Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821?” [1]
Many have written about the American-Mexican relations of that period. These writings, when taken as a whole, form a tidy little picture of how an American ideology portraying Mexicans as inferior evolved, thus justifying the American government’s action against Mexico. Remember the Alamo?
