Be a good boy?

More than an Event

By Eileen Quinn | June 22, 2015

As I was reading Andrew’s book, Grace, the Power of the Gospel, it startled me to read this:

We’ve been corrupted through thinking things contrary to the Gospel. If we could just break free from a performance mentality to truly understand God’s grace, we would wind up living holier accidentally than we ever have on purpose (p. 110).

Even after being born again, I still chased after “being good.” It was years before I heard the message that grace was the power of the Gospel and that it would set me free from trying to live out my salvation through performance. An incident in my life really highlights that although I had received the Good News of the Gospel and had been radically saved, my moral upbringing also had to be surrendered to receive the grace for living the Gospel.

As I was dropping off my two-year-old at childcare, I heard myself say, “Be a good boy for Miss Sandy.” Then one night before bed, my son hugged me and said, “Mama, you’re a good boy!” I laughed, knowing that this was a compliment of love flowing out of his heart. But then I gasped as I realized,I’m training him to be a good boy, just like I had been trained to be a good girl. The performance mentality had seeped into my marriage and was springing up in me as a mother.

Ignorantly, I had gone from receiving the Gospel by faith to trying to live out my salvation by being “good.” Andrew describes it this way:

When the Scripture says that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, it’s not just talking about how to be born again and have your sins forgiven. It also means that the Gospel—the grace of God—is the power of God…unto everything that comes to us as a result of being born again. It’s talking about your relationship with God (pp. 14-15).

This truth always confronts any religious thoughts still buried in us. Andrew says the Enemy is quite happy to have us as Christians receive “the event” of salvation but then “earn the things of God…to put our faith in what we’ve done instead of faith in Christ as our only means of receiving from God. This is his biggest weapon against us!” (pp. 15-16, emphasis mine).

Even if I train my son to love Jesus, unless I receive the power of grace to work in me as a mother, I will have trained him to be a “good boy” rather than to have a relationship with Jesus, which is another gospel! If you'd like to learn more about establishing the true Gospel of grace in your heart, check out Andrew's teaching called Grace, the Power of the Gospel. This teaching is available in many formats: CD, DVD, book, and by television broadcast. If this has ministered to you, please post a comment below.

1 Comment

Share Article | Topics: Website Resources

cocoa nibs

After roasting and winnowing, the cocoa nibs are ground into a paste called chocolate liquor (a.k.a cocoa mass). Despite the name, chocolate liquor has absolutely no alcoholic content.

Chocolate liquor can either be used directly in the production of chocolate bars or further processed to separate the fat, known as cocoa butter, from the cocoa solid, leaving cocoa presscake. Cocoa butter is used in chocolate bars and beauty products. Cocoa presscake is milled into cocoa powder to be used for baking cocoa and hot cocoa.

Conching

Once the beans are processed into chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, the manufacturing of finished products can begin. To make chocolate bars, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter are blended with other ingredients such as sugar, vanilla, and milk (for milk chocolate). These ingredients are then refined. For Equal Exchange chocolate bars, this means the particle size of the ingredients is refined to such a small size that they cannot be felt by the human tongue, giving the chocolate much of its smooth texture. This mixture is then "conched," or mixed and aerated at high temperatures. This process thoroughly blends the ingredients, taking out some of the acidity of the cacao and further developing the flavors that will appear in the final bar.

Traditionally, conching has been an extended process of mixing the ingredients for long periods of time, often for days. It is now common for companies to use soy lecithin, an emulsifier, to help blend the ingredients, allowing them to drastically cut down on conching time and costs. We are proud to say that Equal Exchange does not use soy lecithin in any of our products. Instead, our bars are crafted using extended conching for a period of 24-72 hours depending on the bar. It is our belief that this method creates a superior chocolate that is both incredibly smooth and full of well balanced flavors.

After the conching is complete, the chocolate is then "tempered" through a slow, stepped decrease in temperature. During this process, the chocolate is cooled and then warmed, then cooled further and warmed once again, and so on until it reaches the correct temperature, creating an even crystallization of the ingredients throughout the chocolate. If done well, tempering is what gives the chocolate its smooth texture and snap when broken in two. After the chocolate is properly tempered, it is ready for additional ingredient inclusions such as almonds, coffee beans, or sea salt. The chocolate is then poured into molds, which form the shape of the bar. The chocolate cools until it becomes solid and is then removed from the molds as chocolate bars. Once the bars are cooled, they are wrapped in their inner wrapper to keep the chocolate fresh for 12-24 months. They are then labeled, packed in cases and stacked on pallets ready to be shipped to and to be eaten!

Finally the quality control:

We want to make sure every chocolate and cocoa product that leaves our warehouse is of the highest quality. Our Chocolate Tasting Panel meets weekly (and sometimes more) for intense product evaluation. Tasting Panel is a hand-picked group of the best mouths at Equal Exchange, from various departments. The members have undergone extensive sensory training and calibration as a group, honing their skills and continually developing their pallets. Panel often compares a new shipment of chocolate to a previous shipment, to ensure consistency. Another task is to write a descriptive analysis of a product's aromas, flavors, aftertaste, mouth feel, and so on, using a special "intensity" scoring system. 

Now you have your super chocolate...

begin flavor development

Once the cacao beans have been removed from the pods, they are fermented to remove the mucilage, stop the bean from germinating, and to begin flavor development. Many farmers traditionally ferment the beans in a large pile on the ground in between banana leaves or sacks. Some producer groups, such as our producer partners in the Dominican Republic, the farmers of CONACADO Co-op, bring the beans to a central fermentation area where they are fermented in wooden boxes for a period up to six days. Fermentation is essential to the development of a high quality cacao bean that will be transformed into gourmet chocolate.

Drying

After fermentation, the beans are dried, bringing the humidity of the beans down to between 6% and 8% for storage and export. Cacao beans are often dried in the sun, which can happen on tarps, mats, or patios. They are continually raked so that they will dry more evenly. The drying process can take up to a week; however, if the beans are dried too long they will become brittle. If they are not dried long enough they run the risk of becoming moldy. Some producers also have access to automatic driers, which are used when the weather is rainy or cloudy and they are unable to sun dry the beans. Once dried, cacao beans can be stored for 4-5 years.

When the dried cacao beans arrive at the processing plant they are first cleaned to remove any debris. Next, the beans are roasted to darken the color and to further bring out the flavor characteristics of the cacao. The beans can be roasted at different temperatures and for different lengths of time, depending on different variables such as humidity, size of the beans, and the desired flavor. After roasting, the beans are "winnowed" to remove the shells from around the bean, leaving only the roasted cocoa nib, which is the key ingredient for making chocolate.

sit back, bite into a delicious piece of Equal Exchange chocolate

Do you know where chocolate comes from?

 Have you ever seen a cacao bean or a cacao pod? Most people have only experienced the end result, like a chocolate bar or a cup of hot cocoa. These divinely delicious products can be magical – inspiring our palates, bringing back fond memories, and simply making us happy.

Cacao (a.k.a. cocoa beans) comes from the cacao tree or Theobroma cacao. Theobroma is a Greek word that means "food of the gods." The cacao tree is an evergreen found in over 50 tropical countries, and estimated to be grown by 2 million to 2.5 million producers, 90% of whom are small-scale farmers with 12 acres or less.

The tree can grow up to 30 feet but is often pruned to make harvesting easier for the farmers. Once a tree is planted, it can take up to five years before it produces cacao pods, and it can continue to produce pods year round until it is 25 or 30 years old. Every year, cacao trees grow thousands of flowers on their trunks and branches. Only a small percentage (as low as 1%) of these flowers will actually produce a cacao pod or masorca. This pod, which is the fruit from the tree, can be similar to the size and shape of a football and grows out of the trunk and branches of the tree. Pods can be found in a range of colors from dark brown to orange, red, yellow, and green. A cacao pod will begin to ripen 5-6 months after it flowers. Each pod contains beans, the seeds of the fruit that are shaped like a flat almond, surrounded by a sweet pulp. There are roughly 30-50 beans in a typical pod. These beans are what ultimately get transformed into cocoa powder or chocolate.

The manufacturing of chocolate is a precise and scientific process, and yet, it still holds some of this magic and inspiration. From the cacao farms that can feel like enchanted forests, to the manufacturing plant, each step impacts the final quality of the chocolate and each step is a combination of science and art. Due to the great care and pride that our producers put into their work, these beans can be transformed into chocolate that will wow the senses and put a smile on your face.

So, sit back, bite into a delicious piece of Equal Exchange chocolate, and read about how it was crafted – from bean to bar.

Once the pods are ripe, they are cut down from the trees, typically with machetes or, for the higher pods, using long poles with a cutting edge. They are cut with care so that the stalks are not damaged and can produce fruit the following year. Though pods can be harvested year round there are two major harvest times: the main harvest and the mid-harvest, which falls about six months after the main harvest.

When will the truth come out?

  It seems that many of the world leaders or spokes persons continually fail to tell or address the whole truth today!   Instead they continue to push-dominating socialist programs which deny the basic freedom for millions...

     ====================================================

“When I look out at all these young women, I see myself. In so many ways your story is my story.”In saying this, Michelle Obama is implying that both she and the Muslim girls she is addressing face oppression, discrimination, and disadvantage. She is, in other words, advancing the false Muslims-as-victims narrative that Islamic advocacy groups such as Hamas-CAIR work so hard to cultivate in the U.S. She does not, of course, address the fact that the primary source of the oppression and discrimination that these Muslim girls face and will face in the future is their own families — primarily their fathers and husbands.

Michelle Obama could have called upon these girls to reject the Sharia misogyny that devalues women’s testimony and inheritance rights, reduces women to commodity status via polygamy, sanctions their beating, and makes them vulnerable to genital mutilation and honor killing. But she didn’t dare do that...

  When will the real whole truth come out???

Michelle sees herself in the British sharia courts where the appalling treatment of women and children at the hands of the sharia court “justices” goes unpunished? Sharia law courts, a parallel legal system in the UK, legislate extensive abuse of women, refusal to grant divorces, charging of the woman but not the man for divorce proceedings, and even the taking away of the woman’s children, and rulings contrary to British law.

“Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God’s guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them.” (Qur’an 4:34)

Michelle Obama also said: “Maybe you see the news and see people talking about your religion, and wonder if anyone will ever see beyond your headscarf.”

Her husband said the same thing in his notorious speech in Cairo in 2009: that the US would protect the right of women to wear hijab. But who is infringing on that right? 

No one. And who is not seeing beyond the headscarf?

 Michelle Obama meant “Islamophobes,” but the real people these girls have to fear regarding their headscarves are the Muslim men who will kill them if they don’t wear it. Aqsa Parvez was murdered by her father and her brother for not wearing the headscarf. Innumerable other Muslim women have been similarly victimized. Who speaks for them? 

Who stands for their rights? 

Not Michelle Obama.

Tell us, Mrs. Obama, about your oppression and disadvantage from the highest and most powerful office in the free-est country in the world. Tell us how wronged you were in between your multiple daily wardrobe changes of the most expensive designer clothes in the world. Tell us how awful it was for you to get accepted and attend Princeton University (along with your brother) in your youth and make your own choices to live your life any way you wanted to.

Vicious hypocrite.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Michelle sees herself in the gender apartheid under Islamic law? 

Was Michelle held down by her mother and other female relatives while they cut her clitoris off? 

The UK’s “failure to stop FGM is a ‘national scandal.’” There have been 170,000 victims and no prosecutions until this year.  What about #BringBackOurClits? - 

See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2015/06/michelle-obama-uk-visit-when-i-look-at-young-british-muslim-women-i-see-myself.html/#sthash.n8kAf2Wf.dpuf

***  This is either intentional lies - or a total falsehood  or else it is the example of an uneducated person supporting a system of domination and death for the Islamic women mentioned in this address..

Don't settle for a Band-Aid..

Many Back Pain Treatments Are Ineffective and Unnecessary, and Here’s Why...

August 16, 2013 | 177,364 views

• Spread the Word to
  Friends And Family
  By Sharing this Article.
• 
  

---

By Dr. Mercola

An estimated 80 percent of Americans will suffer from chronic back pain at some point in life. Nearly 30 percent may be struggling with persistent or chronic back pain right now,¹ leading many to resort to prescription painkillers, expensive steroid shots or even surgery.
This despite the fact that, in most cases, back pain is a result of simple mechanical problems relating to poor posture or improper movement, which are best prevented and managed by regular exercise and strengthening your back and abdominal muscles.
It is estimated that back pain accounts for more than 10 percent of all primary care doctors visits each year, and the cost for treatment stacks up to $86 billion annually.² According to recent research, much of this treatment is unnecessary, while simultaneously failing to successfully address the problem.
As reported by The New York Times:³

“Well-established guidelines for the treatment of back pain require very conservative management — in most cases, no more than aspirin or acetaminophen (Tylenol) and physical therapy.

Advanced imaging procedures, narcotics and referrals to other physicians are recommended only for the most refractory cases or those with serious other symptoms. But a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine⁴ suggests that doctors are not following the guidelines.”

Back Pain Is Often Over-Treated

The team reviewed more than 23,900 outpatient visits for back pain that was unrelated to more serious conditions (such as cancer) over a 12-year period (1999-2010), and found that during this time:⁵

• Use of Tylenol and other NSAIDs declined by just over 50 percent
• Prescriptions for opiates increased by 51 percent
• CT and MRI scans also rose by 57 percent
• Referrals to specialists increased by 106 percent
• Use of physical therapy remained steady at about 20 percent

Needless to say, the trend shows that back pain is increasingly being treated with addictive drugs and diagnostic exams that expose patients to potentially unnecessary and dangerous levels of radiation. Back pain is actually one of the primary reasons why so many American adults get addicted to pain killers.
Furthermore, the existing treatments do not cure back pain—they only treat the symptoms. Senior author, Dr. Bruce E. Landon, a professor of health care policy at Harvard, told The New York Times⁶ that back pain actually tends to improve by itself in most cases, adding:

“It’s a long conversation for physicians to educate patients. Often it’s easier just to order a test or give a narcotic rather than having a conversation. It’s not always easy to do the right thing.”

Opiates are not the only dangerous drugs being pushed for back pain. One of the most egregious examples of Big Pharma disease mongering⁷ is the emergence of ads suggesting your back pain may be caused by ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton, which includes the spine.

“Do you have back pain? Are you dismissing it as resulting from "lifting too much" at the gym or "bad posture”? one radio ad asks. “You might have ankylosing spondylitis.”

The drug advertised is Humira, which has a price tag of about $20,000 a year. It is reprehensible for drug companies to promote this expensive and dangerous drug for an exceedingly rare cause of low back pain, which likely is responsible for less than a tenth of a tenth of one percent of low back pain!
Side effects of the drug⁸ include tuberculosis, serious infections, increased risk of lymphoma and other cancers, hepatitis B infection in carriers of the virus, allergic reactions, nervous system problems, blood problems, heart failure, certain immune reactions including a lupus-like syndrome, liver problems, new or worsening psoriasis, and many more. Considering the fact that most cases of low back pain are not caused by inflammatory conditions, you probably do not need this drug, although your doctor may very well give it to you should you ask.

Don’t Settle for Band-Aids—Treat the Root Cause of Your Back Pain

With the exception of blunt force injuries, low back pain is commonly caused and exacerbated by: 

Poor posture	Poor physical conditioning facilitated by inactivity	Internal disease, such as kidney stones, infections, blood clots
Obesity	Psychological/emotional stress	Osteoporosis (bone loss)

Since poor posture and/or improper movement is to blame for most cases of back pain, one of the best things you can do to prevent and manage back pain is to exercise regularly and keep your back and abdominal muscles strong. Foundation Training—an innovative method developed by Dr. Eric Goodman to treat his own chronic low back pain—is an excellent alternative to the Band Aid responses so many are given. The program is inexpensive and can be surprisingly helpful, as these exercises are designed to help you strengthen your entire core and move the way nature intended.
Many people fail to realize that many times back pain actually originates from tension and imbalance at a completely different place than where the pain is felt. For example, the very act of sitting for long periods of time ends up shortening the iliacus, psoas and quadratus lumborum muscles that connect from your lumbar region to the top of your femur and pelvis. When these muscles are chronically short, it can cause severe pain when you stand up as they will effectively pull your lower back (lumbar) forward.
The reality is that the imbalance among the anterior and posterior chains of muscles leads to many of the physical pains experienced daily. By rebalancing these muscles, you can remedy many pains and discomforts. Teaching your body to naturally support itself at the deepest level is going to be far more effective than strapping on an external back brace, which over time can lead to even weaker musculature.
Another option is Esther Gokhale who is a posture expert that I interviewed earlier this year. I’ll be running that interview shortly. Both of these strategies are far more effective than the typical conventional medical approach for low back pain. Additionally, chiropractic or osteopathic care as discussed below can also frequently be very valuable.

Most Body Pain Can Be Traced to Poor Postural Patterns

Besides having a weak core, another MAJOR cause of neck, back, and other areas of pain is due to the shortening of your suboccipital muscles in the back of your neck. This occurs when you sit and walk around with your head in a forward-tilted position, which is becoming symptomatic of the modern lifestyle where everything you attend to is right in front of you on one screen or another.
According to Dr. Goodman, back pain is just one possible result of this kind of postural imbalance. It can also result in shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, jaw pain, knee pain, IT band pain, and more. To address this, Dr. Goodman has expanded Foundation Training into a broader program he now calls “Modern Moveology.”
The basic Foundation Training program takes about 20 minutes, and is ideally done daily. You can purchase the Foundation Training DVD from my online store. Once Dr. Goodman releases his Modern Moveology catalog of exercises, I will offer that for sale as well. FoundationTraining.com also offers several free videos, and their thought provoking first book called: Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move with Confidence.

Chiropractic and Osteopathic Care May Also Be of Benefit

Seeing a qualified chiropractor is certainly a wise consideration if you suffer from back pain. I am an avid believer in the chiropractic philosophy, which places a strong emphasis on your body's innate healing ability and far less reliance on band-aid responses like drugs and surgery.
A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine⁹ even revealed that chiropractic care is often more effective than medication for treating musculoskeletal pain. After following 272 neck-pain patients for 12 weeks, researchers found that those who used a chiropractor or exercised were more than twice as likely to be pain free compared to those who took medication.
Another option is to consult a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO). As many of you know, I am an osteopathic physician, which I chose because DOs practice a "whole person" approach to medicine, treating the entire person rather than just symptoms. DOs receive additional training in adjusting the musculoskeletal system, and osteopathic manipulation has also been found to reduce chronic low back pain. In one recent study¹⁰ involving 455 people, participants received eight weeks of either osteopathic manipulation, a sham treatment, or ultrasound therapy. Sixty-three percent of those who'd had osteopathic manipulation reported a moderate improvement in their pain while half said they had a substantial improvement.
That said, it’s been my experience that only a small percentage of DOs are truly skilled in this area, as many have instead chosen to follow a more conventional allopathic model. So if you choose to see a DO for osteopathic manipulation, make sure they provide this service and have ample experience.

Two Other Non-Invasive Treatment Options for Back Pain

Neuro-structural integration technique (NST) is yet another non-drug pain relief option. NST is a gentle, non-invasive technique that stimulates your body's reflexes. Simple movements are done across muscles, nerves and connective tissue, which helps your neuromuscular system to reset all related tension levels, promoting natural healing. It is completely safe and appropriate for everyone from highly trained athletes, to newborns, pregnant women, and the elderly and infirm. To find an NST therapist near you, see our NST Therapists Page. You can also purchase a DVD set to learn more about this technique.
Last but not least, yoga, which is particularly useful for promoting flexibility and core muscles, has also been proven beneficial if you suffer with back pain. The Yoga Journal¹¹ has an online page demonstrating specific poses that may be helpful. A recent study in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine¹² also found that once-weekly yoga classes appear to produce as much benefit for lower back pain sufferers as taking classes twice a week. According to one of the authors:¹³

"Given the similar improvement seen in once weekly yoga classes, and that once a week is more convenient and less expensive, we recommend patients suffering from lower back pain who want to pursue yoga attend a weekly therapeutic yoga class."

Even More Tips to Beat Back Pain

Preventing back pain is surely easier than treating it. Besides the recommendations already covered above, which included getting chiropractic adjustments, Foundation Training, Egoscue exercises, and NST, below are several more tips for beating back pain. With this many alternatives available, there are few good reasons to turn to pharmaceutical or surgical band-aids that do nothing to treat the underlying causes of your pain, but might cause additional harm in the process:

1. Exercise and physical activity will help strengthen the muscles of your spine. Make your exercise time count by including high-intensity sessions. You probably only need this once or twice a week at the most. You'll also want to include exercises that really challenge your body intensely along with those that promote muscle strength, balance and flexibility.
2. If you spend many hours every day sitting down, pay careful attention to consciously sucking in your belly and rotating your pelvis slightly up. At the same time make sure your head is back with your ears over your shoulders and your shoulder blades pinched. This will help keep your spine in proper alignment. You can hold these muscles tight for several minutes and do this once every hour. The upcoming interview with Esther Gokhale will go into far more details.
Also, to combat the detrimental health ramifications of excessive sitting, make a point to stand up at least once every 10 minutes. In addition to regularly standing up, I also do a few squats while I’m at it. To learn more about the importance of regularly getting out of your chair, please see my interview with Dr. Joan Vernikos, former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division and author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals.

3. Optimize your vitamin D and K2 levels to prevent the softening of the bones that can often lead to lower back pain.
4. Ground yourself. Grounding yourself to the earth, also known as Earthing, decreases inflammation in your body, which can help quiet down back pain and other types of pain. Your immune system functions optimally when your body has an adequate supply of electrons, which are easily and naturally obtained by barefoot/bare skin contact with the earth. Research indicates the earth’s electrons are the ultimate antioxidants, acting as powerful anti-inflammatories. Whenever possible, take a moment to venture outside and plant your bare feet on the wet grass or sand.
5. Address psychological factors. Few people want to be told that their pain is psychological or emotional in origin, but there's quite a bit of evidence that backs this up.
Underlying emotional issues and unresolved trauma can have a massive influence on your health, particularly as it relates to physical pain. Dr. John Sarno,¹⁴ for example, used mind-body techniques to treat patients with severe low back pain and has authored a number of books on this topic. His specialty was those who have already had surgery for low back pain and did not get any relief. This is one tough group of patients, yet he had a greater than 80 percent success rate using techniques like the Emotional Freedom Technique (he has now retired from practice).

6. Get regular massage therapy. Massage releases endorphins, which help induce relaxation and relieve pain.
7. Keep your weight spread evenly on your feet when standing. Don’t slouch when standing or sitting to avoid putting stress on your back muscles.
8. Always support your back, and avoid bending over awkwardly. Protect your back while lifting – this activity, along with carrying, puts the most stress on your back.
9. Wear comfortable shoes. For the ladies, it would be good to not wear heels most of the time.
10. Drink plenty of water to enhance the height of your intervertebral disks. And because your body is composed mostly of water, keeping yourself hydrated will keep you fluid and reduce stiffness.
11. Quit smoking as it reduces blood flow to your lower spine and your spinal disks to degenerate.
12. Pay attention to how—and how long—you sleep, because studies have linked insufficient sleep with increased back and neck problems. Pay attention to your sleep position. Sleep on your side to reduce curving of your spine, and stretch before getting out of bed. A firm bed is recommended.

Addressing the Root of Your Pain Might Save You More Than Dollars

Once you understand that back pain is typically the result of poor posture or improper movement, the remedy becomes clear. Certainly, addictive pain killers and surgery will not address these issues. So if you’re among those seeking medical care for persistent back pain, I’d advise you to consider your options before filling that prescription or going under the knife.
As shown in the featured research, the use of potent drugs and back surgeries are now becoming more the trend—not because they’re effective, but because many doctors simply do not take the time to educate their patients on the causes of the pain. And in fact, many doctors may still be under-educated on this issue as well.
While drug addiction and surgical interventions can have significant long-term ramifications and may in the long run lead to deteriorating health, most back pain can be prevented and treated by a variety of natural measures, including Foundation Training, osteopathic manipulation, chiropractic care, Earthing, yoga, EFT, and more.

3 things that could change your life?

 We all need some help and direction to get through this life time experience!
 These are 3 books which can do that for you if you can come to understand who you really are ...
 The first 2 I have read and studied to enrich my life and relationship with our Lord God...

  Remember prayer, praise and pursue is the key part of understanding where you will spend Eternity?

Don't Limit God - Book How do you see yourself? Many of the Israelite's couldn't enter into the Promised Land, because they saw themselves as grasshoppers (Numbers 13:33). The Bible says they "limited the Holy One of Israel" (Psalm 78:41). If you are truly going to experience God’s will for your life, you need to see yourself the way He sees you. Then, as you think in your heart, so will you be (Proverbs 23:7). In this book, you will discover how Andrew did just that. His story will inspire and challenge you as he reveals how he had limited God through the way he saw himself.  You, too, will go from small thinking to imagining yourself successful! The Believer's Authority - Book The controversial subject of the authority of the believer in Christ is widely discussed in the church today. Andrew Wommack, internationally known Bible teacher, brings a fresh perspective to this important spiritual truth that may challenge everything you’ve been taught including: • If believers have been given authority, then when, how, and toward what should it be exercised?  Don’t assume the answer; discover the true battleground and learn how to recognize the real enemy. • Most people believe God created our enemy, Satan, but did He?  Understanding the answer will set you free to exercise your authority as a believer. • Is spiritual warfare, as taught in many churches today, valid? Can believers use their authority to fight the devil and his demons in the air, or is the real battle in the mind? The answer is an important prerequisite to winning spiritual battles. Digging into the scriptures, Andrew reveals the spiritual significance of your choices, words, and actions and how they affect your ability to stand against the attacks of Satan and to receive God’s best. Discover the powerful truths behind true spiritual authority and begin seeing real results. How To Find, Follow, And Fulfill God's Will - Book Most people have lost a sense of destiny, God's will for their lives. Many even believe you just can't know God's will - that in His sovereignty, He will make it happen regardless of what you do. Too long this viewpoint has kept Christians from knowing the full potential He planned for them.  But no more. God created you with a specific purpose, and the good news is, He wants you to find it. Just knowing God's will, however, isn't enough. You need to understand the part you play if you're going to follow it. You might be surprised to learn it involves following the desires of your heart. But before you set off, make sure you're ale to distinguish His will from your own selfish desires. One of the most important lessons of all is that you can't fulfill God's will any way you want. His strength and timing, and your obedience and patience are just a few of the things it takes. This book explains this and much more, including how Andrew found, has followed, and is fulfilling God's will for his life.  This will help you on your way to doing just the same!

Help Line: (719) 635-1111 (prayer and orders) Privacy Policy       © 1997-2015 Andrew Wommack Ministries

How is this gon't ta work??

The Obama administration is moving forward with regulations designed to help diversify America’s wealthier neighborhoods, drawing fire from critics who decry the proposal as executive overreach in search of an “unrealistic utopia.”

A final Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule due out this month is aimed at ending decades of deep-rooted segregation around the country.

The regulations, which will use grant money to provide incentives for communities to build affordable {what exactly is affordable?} housing in more affluent areas, is under fire from some conservatives - who argue that:

 “American citizens and communities should be free to choose where they would like to live and not be subject to federal neighborhood engineering at the behest of an overreaching federal government.”

So what do liberals think of the new regulations?

Civil rights advocates praise the plan for breaking the “history of putting affordable housing in poor communities.”



[** Explain to me exactly how this works?   People who are living on the Gov't dole and can not afford their own rent are now going to be magically start living in much more expensive housing and paying more things  which they could ill afford such as mortgage or rent, insurance, upkeep, and then seem be upwardly mobile?? 
 I do not see it folks!} the Parentheses note by blog author...]
 


Democrats like Nancy Pelosi no doubt will pay lip service to the regulations in order to maintain their image of standing for diversity and the poor. However, how will liberals living in New York City and San Francisco’s elite neighborhoods react when their own neighborhoods are “diversified” under the regulations?
 Just as the likes of Pelosi fought for special Obamacare exemptions for her own district, can we expect similar such exemptions to be fought for with regard to the housing regulations?
 We’re guessing that, like Obama-care regulations, Pelosi and other libs will support the new housing regulations — for others, just not themselves.

In what might be seen as some sort of Democrat political death wish, the Obama administration is taking aim at diversifying wealthy neighborhoods — many of which, it must be noted, are home to its most ardent supporters.

According to The Hill:

[Note: this story was written by Michelle Jesse]

It appears ?

Why all the hype?


Well with all the well oiled political - social programs in place today in the mass media it is difficult to know who is doing what to whom and why...

 It seems that Big Money uses any venue to get their messages across to an unsuspecting public - who are eager and willing to do anything to appear popular - to heck with the truth!

 With all the different special " save the {whatever} planet; going around that it is now a fast pace race to see who is the; kindest, friend-est, best looking, most powerful, or just plain top dog etc. on the world popularity stage!  

 Wither it is being green, or safe, or any of the several phobias today, just about anyone who is anyone one wants to appear best or at least in the top 10%... 

If this sounds about right then maybe you need a reality check so you can get out of the comma...   

Life is not a popularity event! 

 Wake up folks..

 

Talk is not cheap Part 2 of

***   What you say can and will often get you into trouble!

 Why go there?

  Much of what we hear and see daily is not true, misleading or a lie....

 Because the world does not value the importance of the truth in our speech...

 Words are power  - example : If this were not so then - with all the ways for God to have created the earth; why did HE use Words?  

 Because words are power and should be used in a manner which should build up not tear down! 

 Do you realize that how you use your words  - shape your eternal existence?

 What can you do to learn and use the best most positive words?

 Christ had the best command of words here is how He used then:

 ==========================================

From: awmi.net devotionals

HOLY GHOST TEACHER

John 7:15 "And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this man know such, having never educated?"

 

JOHN 7:1  Jesus received His wisdom and knowledge by direct revelation from the Spirit of God rather than by the teachings of man. Jesus had been learning, but not through man. The Holy Ghost was His teacher. Jesus had to be taught the things of God. This looks contrary to Colossians 2:3, which says that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus.

 If Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, why would He have to learn or be taught? 


The harmony between these apparently opposite statements is that Jesus' spirit man was 100% God and had all of the wisdom and understanding of God in it, but it was manifest in natural flesh. It wasn't sinful flesh but it was flesh, nonetheless, and had to be educated. Jesus was not taught by man, but He was taught by the direct revelation of the Holy Spirit. The knowledge was within Him but it had to be drawn out.

At the new birth, a born-again man's spirit "is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:10). "We have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16), and "an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 Jn. 2:20). All of these things are a reality in our spiritual man.

However, just as Jesus had to be taught, so we must draw this wisdom and knowledge out of our spirits and renew our minds with it (Rom. 12:2).

 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.…

This is one of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit to the believer. Through the new birth, we have received the mind of Christ in our spirit man and are in the process of growing in wisdom by drawing this knowledge out of our spirits and renewing (or reprogramming) our minds. This wisdom has to be drawn out by faith, time spent in the Word, and prayer.