Christmas

He was created of a mother whom He created.

He was carried by hands that He formed.

He cried in the manger in wordless infancy.

He (Jesus Christ), the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute

The birth of the Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history,

Because it has meant the pouring into a sick world of the healing medicine of love which

Has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years...

Let us remember this season the, “Christ” in Christmas and ….

Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart,

A wide open heart that thinks of others first.

Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart

"Christmas, my child, is love in action." -- Dale Evans

 

As Time Flies

I remember I was 12 - wishing I was 13

When I was 15 -  I prayed to be sweet16

At 17, 18 looked so far and time went so awfully slow

tick tock

tick tock

The day of my 18th birthday!

A mile stone people - whoooopi

So the years dragged by slowly and I was just wishing that 21 would come around so that I could open up my own accounts and buy my own car.

21 Came around and it was not as great as I thought it would be ...

Suddenly I was 30

So on that day

I was given a huge bunch of cosmos flowers and I remember so strongly the words I said at 18......

"I want to live hard and die young before I reach 30"

Suddenly I realized that I had not even started living and the thought crossed me that I am 30 yrs old and I started crying thinking to myself..... you are old ......

35 Came and went

40 Came

They said that at 40 you start living.

Right .... ja right ....

Suddenly the years just started speeding up like a bullet train or shall I say a fighter jet

Whap, whap, whap

I realise that I am getting old quickly

Retirement is around the corner

I have not done what I wanted

I have waisted time with people and things

And at the end of my days
It will be said: Dust to Dust

When some stranger walks through the graveyard,
they will turn to their child and say:"do you know where the richest place in town is?'
The child will respond: "no Daddy, where?"
"Here in the graveyard, because many of these people God blessed with many talents,
and here, they all lie buried with all that rich treasure"

 

TOUCH

Robert W. Hatfield says that:

"affectionate touch is vital for all human ages".

Just what do we need human touch for?

While you might not notice the effects of not being touched right away, it can negatively affect your mood, your confidence  and your health.

Here are 6 reasons why you need to be touched on a regular basis.

1.              Feel connected to others.

We are social beings, and although we all fall in different places on the introversion – extroversion scale, we all need to have that sense of connection to other members of our tribe. While some of that connection can come from having conversations with others, touch also plays an important role in human communication.

                                              

2.             Reduce anxiety.

 Simply touching another person can make us feel more secure and less anxious. It can make us feel grounded and safe and not so all alone. It’s not just children who could use a warm, reassuring hug to make things a little better, so if you’re feeling like a bundle of nerves, go ahead and ask for a hug.

                                                      

3.             Bonding.

Touch is one of the ways romantic partners bond with each other and parents bond with their children. When partners and families get busy and let touch go out the window, they’ll often find that they don’t feel as close and relationships suffer. Regular touch is one of the ways that we continually renew our bonds with those we love.

                                                     

4.             Lowers your blood pressure.

Studies have shown that those that get regular touch often have lower blood pressure than those that don’t. Even having a pet can have beneficial effects! Touch can also slow the heart rate and help speed recovery times from illness and surgery.

                                                         

5.             Improve your outlook.

 It’s harder to get into a pessimistic funk when you feel the confidence of being connected to others. Touch can make people feel more optimistic and positive and less cynical and suspicious. A positive, trusting attitude towards others can reduce tension in our daily lives and improve our relationships.

                                                   

6.             Give us the sensory input that we crave. 

Scientists are just discovering how truly important it is to exercise all our physical senses for proper brain and emotional development. All the various kinds of touch from butterfly kisses to deep tissue massage send our brains the physical inputs it needs to make sense of the world. So, along with touching other people and pets, make time to explore different textures and touch sensations such as letting cool sand run through your fingers or taking a warm relaxing bath.

Don’t let yourself get too busy that you starve yourself of touch.

 It’s important for your physical, mental and emotional well being to touch others and let others touch you.

Cathy, looked around ......

 Cathy looked around the cloudy, foggy area. Slowly she took one step and she fell off a cloud. But instead of falling onto earth, she came to a long room with a man facing the wall.

"Hullo?" Cathy called.
The man turned around. His face was so familiar. "Hello, Cath."
"How do you know my name?" Cathy asked. She took a step back, and reached for the door. It was gone now.

"Well duh I know your name! I named you!" the man laughed.
Cathy thought for a minute. "Daddy?"
He ran for her. "Yes, I'm here!"Cathy started crying and threw herself to him. She breathed in his cologn. "I missed you Daddy."
"I missed you too," he replied softly.
"Where am I?", releasing herself. "Daddy, I'm scared."
"You're in Heaven, darling. Don't be scared. This is a safe place. Nothing goes wrong here," her dad assured.

A tear came out of her eye. "Why am I here?"
His face broke into millions of pieces. "Honey, you got into a car crash with your mom and your aunt.
You-" he stopped. He grabbed her and hugged her.
"Where's Mommy and Aunty Ann?" Cathy wondered. She grabbed his hand.
"Honey...your mommy and ant are still alive. They made it," he muttered. Cathy started crying. "That's not fair! I wanna live!"

He started walking. "Come on, I want to show you around."

I have a face I put in place

I have a face I put in place;

It's what I wear when folks are there.

For those only who want to see

 The way they think I ought to be.

I live in times that have no light,

Just cloudy darkness, endless night.

I no longer see the sun,

I laugh but never feel the fun.

When I arise to start a day,

I stumble as I make my way.

I don't know who's really me,

I'm not the one I used to be.

I have no heart to fill with joy,

I lost it when I lost my joy.

The future is so bleak to me,

I struggle to see the sun.

So when people stop to ask,

I hide behind my smiling mask.

It takes great courage to admit you have depression.

Because of the stigma of depression, many people think that seeking help implies some sort of personal lack--a lack that should be overcome by strength, fortitude, or gumption. This is not the case.
Seeking help for an illness (any illness) does not imply a lack of mental, physical, emotional, or moral character.
To the contrary, it takes great courage to admit something may be wrong. It is a sign of deep wisdom to consult professionals, seeking their advice and direction.
A common symptom of depression, as voiced by Hamlet: "How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!"
The common symptom of this disease is denial or lack of awareness.

Research shows that almost 15 million South African adults in any given year have a major depressive disorder. And six million  have another mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or other psychotic disorders. Yet a full 50% of people with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia don't believe they are ill and resist seeking help

The Three Primary Types of Depression

There are three primary forms of depression.
Major Depression. Like the flu, major depression has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Unlike the flu, major depressions often last for months. Left untreated, they tend to reoccur. 
Chronic Depression. Chronic depression is a low-grade, long-term depression that can go on for years. Long-term, low-grade depression is also known as dysthymia. dys, meaning disorder, and thymia for mood. Dysthymia, then, is a disorder of one's mood.
Manic-Depression. Here the lows of depression can alternate with days or weeks of maniaextreme elation, unreasonably grandiose thoughts, and inappropriate, sometimes destructive actions. This is also known as bipolar depression, because the manic-depressive person fluctuates from one emotional pole (down) to the opposite pole (up) in unpredictable, rapid swings. (By contrast, major depression is unipolar--it focuses on only one pole: down.)


The Symptoms of Depression

• Persistent sad or "empty" mood
• Loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities, including sex
• Decreased energy, fatigue, being  "slowed down"
• Sleep disturbances (insomnia, early-morning waking, or oversleeping)
• Eating disturbances (loss of appetite and weight, or weight gain)
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
• Thoughts of death or suicide, suicide attempts
• Excessive crying

Symptoms of Mania can include

• Excessively "high" mood
• Irritability
• Aggression
• Increased energy and activity
• Decreased need for sleep
• Increased talking, moving, and sexual activity
• Turn excessively to alcohol,  drugs or other addictive substances
• Grandiose notions
• Being easily distracted
• Disturbed ability to make decisions

The hate that I Hate

The Hate That I Hate

I hate the hate that resides in me now

I hate the hate that is so heavy it weighs me down
I hate the hate that keeps my emotions tightly wound

I hate the hate that charges my wall
I hate the hate that lies to strengthen my fall

I hate the hate that has me in chains
I hate the hate that courses through my veins

I hate the hate that is a shadow at my side
I hate the hate that has stolen my mind

I hate the hate that blinds me from the stars
I hate the hate that has created my war

I hate the hate that has stolen my grace
My scarlet letter written all over my face

"Take My Hand, Not My Life"

"Take My Hand, Not My Life"

"No law can give me the right to do what is wrong."

--Pres. Abraham Lincoln

Picture a family of five. The first child is blind, the second is dead, the third is deaf, and the fourth has tuberculosis. The mother also has tuberculosis. Given the poor health of the family, and the chances this child will not live very long, would you call for an abortion? If yes, you just killed Beethoven.

Picture an impoverished family. There are already 14 children and the mother is expecting a 15th. Given their circumstances, would you call for an abortion? If yes, you just killed John Wesley, one of the greatest evangelists of the 19th century.

Picture a 13 year old girl, pregnant after being raped by a man. Given her age and the nature of conception, would you call for an abortion? If yes, you just killed Ethel Waters, a famous singer.

Picture a baby born with cerebral palsy. Given the fact that he had palsy before birth would you consider and abortion? If “yes”, you have just killed Chris Nolan, who  writes using a muscle in his neck attached to his forehead has never spoken or signed a word in his life, yet his poetry has been compared to that of Joyce, Keats, and Yeats. At fifteen, his first book Dam-Burst of Dreams is accepted for publication.

 Picture this, three babies born with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers Syndrome, would you consider having an abortion if you knew this at 16 weeks of pregnancy?  If yes, you have just killed these three people:

Bobby Fischer, 1943-2008, World Chess Champion

Marilyn Monroe, 1926-1962, US actress

Henry Ford, 1863-1947, US industrialist

Finally, picture a teenage girl who is unmarried and pregnant. Her fiancé is not the father and he is angry. Given the problems this child may cause her relationship, would you call for an abortion? If yes, you have just declared the murder of Jesus Christ.

“Pro-choice people and abortionists are heroic for protecting a woman’s right to control and make choices regarding her own body.” First of all, a woman is controlling her body by not getting pregnant in the first place.

Once the sperm and egg meet, DNA different from her own is formed, she is no longer dealing with her own body, rather that of her child, which is of a different DNA and thus not her body anymore.

Abortion is control and murder of a life in the womb. Secondly, I cannot begin to fathom how they justify the glorification of a child’s death as “a choice” and “heroic”.

"Fewer women would have abortions if wombs had windows."

--Dr. Bernard Nathanson, former abortionist turned Pro-Life, in his 1979 book Aborting America

http://prolife101.com/?attachment_id=397