Horses and wine both carry a tremendously appealing mystique, which stretches back deep into classical mythology. A combination of the two is irresistible. I have just had the pleasure of making another wine tasting tour on horseback. My trip was based at the Cowboy Hideaway, which is dramatically perched near the top of a mountain over a thousand feet above the valley floor, and beautiful Clear Lake. The valley floor is fertile ground for grapes, nut trees, vegetables, lavender and other products which bring fragrances, culinary enjoyment and Bacchanalian delights to mankind. It is a pity that the ancient Greeks did not discover this land. They would have reveled in its bounty!

To begin with, we visited the Benziger Family Winery. To me, the impressive thing about this place was the complete reliance on natural compost and manure to keep the grape vines healthy and provide the nutrients needed for abundant harvests. Grape skins and seeds go back into the soils; no grappa produced here.

The winery behind us, we continued on through vineyards, orchards and oak forests to the Cowboy Hideaway. We left the paved road, entered the ranch gate and drove steeply upward on a sharply winding dirt driveway toward our home for the week. When we reached the top and climbed out the views were stupendous. My first impression on entering the lodge was the spacious dining/kitchen/sitting room. Social activity revolves around this room and all can contribute to the manner of cooking dinner while tasting and sharing the wines found during the day at the wineries visited. Comfortable bedrooms radiate out from this main room. The deck outside was a marvelous spot from which to view the surrounding country. We were lucky enough to have a full moon to bathe mountains, lake and valley in silvery light.

After breakfast, we wound our way back down to the bottom of the ranch where our sturdy, gaited Rocky Mountain horses waited. We spent that first day riding around the ranch on some steep trails and had a picnic with a magnificent view. On the following days, we sometimes rode from the ranch or we went by van to other spots and met the horses, which had been brought by trailer. The most enjoyable of all was the trip to Seabiscuit’s old ranch and retirement home. This beautiful place has been lovingly restored and there are many interesting memorabilia on display. We had a fine ride through the towering redwoods and were able to open the horses up at times in wide clearings.

On the last evening my son, Bayard, came and provided the wine. He also did a terrific job of cooking the lamb, which was delicious, and it was a lovely evening for all of us. The moon was full that night and view of Clear Lake, shimmering like silver, and the valley floor was fabulous. It was a fitting end to a glorious week of horseback riding in California.

What is the cross? Was it a medieval tool to ward off vampires? Is it a fashion statement warn by rockers, rappers, and reggae crowds? Is it a bumper sticker on the back of a mini-van or on a chain dangling from a rear view mirror? Or is it a symbol by which many religious people habitually bow? What is the cross?

Simply stated, the cross was a tool of execution. The Roman Empire invented and used crucifixion as their primary and practical means of carrying out the death penalty. It was primary because it was horrific. It was practical because it sent a terrifying message; the Empire was not to be taken lightly.

Crucifixion was both physical torture while psychologically degrading. It was not meant to break the criminal in order to get him to recant. It was the final death blow, to the body and the spirit. While the physical-medical-scientific aspects of crucifixion can be found in the encyclopedias, one thing is for sure, it was a bloody spectacle. Some criminals, if not most, were introduced to the cross after having been flogged. The back, already bloodied and torn by a crude whip, was then placed on a beam, and the wrists and feet were than nailed to the death tree. Nailed!

To be sure, death came slowly by way of the cross. With hours of bodily suffering and emotional anguish, the pain and humiliation was too much for any human to bear. Crucifixion was a common form of capital punishment in Rome’s day, just as the electric chair has been in our country. So I have to ask, when have you ever seen someone sporting a miniature electric chair, a hangman’s noose, a gas chamber, or a syringe from someone’s neck? The cross is not fashionable. It is death.

Historically we know that many offenders died by means of Roman crucifixion. So what sets apart the cross from every other form of punishment throughout history? What makes the cross a recognized monument throughout the world? Is it not the person that hung on the tree two thousand years ago that draws our attention? So the question is rather, who is this Jesus that died on the rugged cross? And what was His crime?

Skeptics mock Him, while others worship Him. But what did Jesus say of Himself? If you dare, you can take up the Bible for yourself and read the accounts of His life, death, and yes, His resurrection. Jesus made astounding claims in the Bible. One of the boldest declarations He made was when He told His disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the father but by me” (John 14:6). His statement there is one reason many find Jesus so unattractive today. You see, Jesus was very matter-of-fact. Did He say, I am a way, or one of many ways? Or, I am a truth, or one of many truths? If you look closely you will notice Christ’s emphatic emphasis on the word “the.” So when Jesus announced that He is “the way, the truth, and the life,” what were the implications? Quite simply, all other ways to God and heaven are false, fabrications, and farces. And all other deities are counterfeits. Now before you pick up stones, remember that these words came out of the mouth of Christ Himself.

Furthermore, if you investigate the Gospel of John you will discover the same Jesus claimed to be the expected Messiah (John 4), said He came from above (John 3), stated that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18), and declared that He and the Father are one (John 10). John’s Gospel also states that this Jesus not only created the world, but that He came in the flesh among His creation (John 1).

Jesus is God incarnate. That is who hung on the cross. And that is what makes the cross eminent.

What was Christ’s crime? Other than declaring that He was God and the only way of salvation, He also forgave sins and dined with sinners. For these He was ushered to the cross. But was this not the reason He came into the world, to save sinners? Jesus said of Himself, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

So the next time you pick up the Bible and read the Gospels, ask yourself if what I wrote is true? And whenever you see a cross on a church building, around someone’s neck, or tattooed on someone’s limb, remember who it was that hung on the cross and that His crucifixion was for our redemption…not to make a fashion statement..

It is not easy to deal with your depression as a Christian. If you have such a problem, the first step is that you should talk to a professional who can get you started in the right path of getting better. Getting help from a counselor or other professional is very important and can provide you much help and insights in dealing with your current problem.

A person should also start talking and praying to God. A person can go to church or to a quiet place during the day to tell God that they are having a problem. Prayer can be very effective in dealing with your depression.

In addition, learn to take it one day at a time. Instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week or coming month, try to focus on today. Each day can provide us with different opportunities to learn new things and that includes learning how to deal with your problems. Focus on the present and stop trying to predict what may happen next week. Next week will take care of itself.

A good way to manage your problem is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make your fearful or anxious, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, the first thing you can do is to divide the task into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.

Sometimes, we may be nervous doing a certain task that may be scary. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you and your team have to play in the championship hockey game in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself playing the game in your mind. Imagine that your playing in front of a large audience. By playing the game in your mind, you will be better prepared to perform for real when the time comes. Self Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation.

Sometimes we encounter a scary situation that gets us all upset. When encountering these events, always remember to get all of the facts of the given situation. Gathering the facts can prevent us from relying on exaggerated and fearful assumptions. By focusing on the facts, a person can rely on what is reality and what is not.

As a Layman and not as a professional, I realize it is not easy to deal with all of our fears and other problems, however there are all kinds of help available. Remember to take advantage of the help that is around you. The key is to be patient and not to give up. In time, you will be able to find those resources that will help you with your problems.

Using the magnificent technique called Future Life Progression, you will now see 9 years in the future and ascertain if you get engaged to the female you are dating. The wonderful hypnosis technique was 1st discovered eleven years ago and has been played with ever since by hypnotists. It has currently taken till the twenty first century for this sensational hypnosis therapy to be made readily available to everyone. Check out Tarot Cards and learn their meanings from Anne Jirsch.

The Future Life Progression therapy technique first starts by putting a female into a relaxed state using future life progression and this typically takes around seven minutes. The induction hypnosis method will make men and women feel phenomenal and girls and boys will then be made to relax even further. The therapist will commonly ask you to then imagine you are in a flying spaceship and you are moving forward until you get to your fifth year. This will be when you go forward seven years and then you might be able to see with your own eyes your very own future.

There are loads of tremendous uses for Future Life Progression, aka FLP, you can often view if you are engaged, you might well view if you are still residing in the same town and you can often also see if you are working in the same organisation.

DVD recorders are able to be used with a digital television to record your favourite comedies programs and motion pictures in addition to look at pre-recorded items. Amazing image & sound quality, then again the video recording facility means that they are realistically more expensive than DVD players & furthermore they can also be harder to operate than VCRs. The assortment of recordable configurations available at this time can also add to the confusion.

Having the accurate connections linking your Digital Versatile Disc recorder & your TV and tape recorder can absolutely make a noticeable dissimilarity to the quality of the audio and image.

The connections to consider:

S-video connection: This is the next best thing to component video & is an alternative for all DVD Players that don’t take account of component output and also tellies that don’t take account of component input. You possibly will require a separate cable nonetheless the image difference should be definitely worthwhile.

SCART leads: A widespread form of DVD connection used in the United Kingdom items is the SCART lead. This carries both audio & video signals. SCART connections are traditionally found on Digital Versatile Disc players in addition to tellies. Gold covered SCART leads give a substantially better connection. A SCART connection will certainly give you a significantly better picture than S-Video will & is close to component standard. SCART cables are not by and large integrated inside players. You ought to expect to shell out roughly about £25. Prices reduced on Panasonic DVD Recorder at Sound and Vision!

Audio connectors: Digital Versatile Disc recorders, especially the more classy makes, are expected to have numerous audio outputs. Outputs can consist of phono, digital coaxial and digital optical. If you are trying to connect to a different hi-fi system this could possibly be a considerably essential trait to have.

Progressive scan is the most recent word in the DVD recorder industry and whereas the more luxurious recorders do include it, it can not really be used unless on the other hand you have a digital telly. With it your image can be refreshed at sixty times each and every second which makes for a remarkable more or less flicker less picture and is greater to anything offered by the different interlaced scanning products.

We work in a society that thrives on an endless jargon of terms for building financial security and success. We can transfer “deposits,”multiply “dividends,” manipulate “stock portfolios,” and calculate “capital gains”. We understand depreciation of assets and can analyze and refocus options. We push buttons and punch keys. We re-route traffic, mark paper trails, and can “buy high and sell low.” As marketplace ministers, however, we need to perfect our ability to “roll” our problems over to God.

We are spirit beings living in the natural world. We are “passing through,” fulfilling our individual God-given assignments. By choice, we are not our own master, but rather lean on the unchanging nature of our God. Our assignments include living the life of Christ, depending on God, and leading and teaching as He did during His “natural” walk on earth.

This life we lead requires that we handle our problems and challenges differently than we handle the stock market. By “rolling” our problems over to the author and finisher of our fate, we acknowledge the gift of grace (which is the unmerited favor of God) and power we have been given. We also open doors of success in our business and personal lives.

We must learn to enter the “rest” of God, comfortable that when the time is right what we need for our business and personal success will be in place. We must keep the “Word” before us, remembering that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age (Ephesians 6:12). Our power and victory over business or personal challenges, therefore, cannot be attained through earthly means neither through our earthly actions.

We must turn away from our natural responses and stop “taking charge” over making things happen. We must transform our thinking and roll issues and situations over to God. We must seek His wisdom, knowledge, and His perfect timing. “Not my will but thy will”(Luke22:42) must be our lifelong philosophy. In so doing, we demonstrate to all who observe the supernatural power we have within us to overcome and withstand the obstacles and succeed in our personal and business endeavors.

As children of the living God, our response to our business struggles have far reaching impact on those who observe us. We cannot afford the luxury of wallowing or whining and complaining, fearing and fretting, or being anxious and distressed. Our steps are observed and critiqued by those who may be weak in faith, or who do not believe at all in the power of prayer through submission.

We must remember we exist on this earth to be living examples that the God we serve will take care of us in time of trouble and struggle, stress or pain. Because of this fact, we cannot allow ourselves to be impatient or decide we will help God resolve our problems. We have a responsibility to remind ourselves and others that God’s timing is perfect, and He is working it out. “Unless God builds a house, those who labor will labor in vain. (Psalm 127:1) When we operate outside of God’s timing, we waste valuable energy and resources. We also begin to travel in circles accumulating fear, frustration, ill health and doubt in the futureall of which are darts of attack from the enemy.

Living the “roll over” life can reap enormous benefits which cannot be manifested without some actions on our part. We are required to have faith, be obedient and be committed. Faith in the power of God, obedience to the Word of God, and commitment to the Will of God are ingredients to the successful rolled over lifestyle we must seek in order to defeat the plots and plans of the enemy.

Faith is an action word. We must actively believe that God is in charge, with full oversight and control of our lives. In order to have faith in the power of God, you must recognize how to access that power.

We each have within us the key to accessing the power of God. Through praise and worship, we please God and invite Him to help us. God will not become involved in our lives without our invitation. “I will praise and Lord at all times. His praise will continually be on my lips” (Psalm 34:1). These statements are not merely friendly phrases. Their use can activate the fullness of God power. Praise and worship are our “rolling over” song and prayer that enable use to move out of the way so that God can help us fulfill His will for our lives. His will is “that you prosper as your soul prospers, (3 John 2).

Being obedient to the Word of God will require that you read the Word in order to know what the Word says for your lives. It means taking the time to hear, absorb, question, and learn by “studying to show thyself approved” (II Timothy 2:15). Once you read the Word of God, you are responsible for making it part of your daily life. In this way, not unlike Jesus, you can boldly go before God in prayer as his child asking for wisdom and power to change negative situations so that you can be fruitful and multiply in your business and personal life.

For business people, obedience and commitment to the Word and will of God is paramount to living successful and fruitful lives. Our “walk” must demonstrate ethical principals. There are no trade-offs or detours.

Each business decision must begin and end with Christ-like attitudes and responses. Professionalism, punctuality, follow up and follow through must be the focus. Profit motive, at all cost, must not be the standard of operating and profit planning must be tempered with supernatural wisdom and guidance through prayer. In this way, the business is built on a solid foundation, not sinking sand.

Non-conforming will be a daily battle, with worldly views and carnal thinking around every turn of operation. It becomes your mandate, therefore, to renew and transform your thinking toward God centered living. Psalm 37:4 advises that we delight ourselves in the Lord and he will give us the desires of our heart. God wants to give us what we desire, in conformance to His good and perfect will for our lives. We must be vigilant and cautious not to: *Get in a hurry and decide to give God a hand in the process *Go ahead of God *Forget to ask God for His will for our lives *Seek His face at all times in all decisions, with all challenges *Wait on the Lord with patience and confidence (Faith) that He will see us through *Believe that God knows the perfect timing of what we need and that….. *He is working it out for us.

Living the “Rollover” life requires that we have an attitude of totally relinquishing power over our lives, in faith, to God. It is a call to separate ourselves from self controlling situations and allowing a power greater and more resourceful and creative to take charge.

Essential elements to this transition includes acceptance that there is a greater power than you, the importance of your willingness to submit and cooperate fully, and an openness to trying another way to connect your vision to personal and professional success. Remember, behind the scenes, God is working it out.

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As you will see in the Scripture verses I will list in this article, God the Father places an extremely high value on the pursuit of knowledge - especially spiritual knowledge. He says that gaining knowledge is greater than all the silver, gold and material things of this world.

The Bible tells us we have to grow in the knowledge of God. Once you get saved - that is just the beginning. From there, God expects you to grow in the knowledge of Him, His Son Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit and all of Their ways. As I mentioned in the article I did titled “The Power of the Word of God” - the number one way that you grow in spiritual knowledge on this earth is by reading and studying the Bible for yourself. There is no other way.

God has arranged to have all of the spiritual knowledge that we will ever need about Him, His Son and His Spirit to all be contained in this one Book. You also grow in the knowledge of God through your own personal adventures that you have with Him in your own daily walk, along with learning from other Christians - especially those who are anointed and gifted to teach from His Word.

Once again, God uses some very intense language in these verses. You can really tell that He is trying to let all of us know the extreme importance of growing in this knowledge. The reason for this is that God’s ultimate aim for us is our sanctification and transformation. He wants us to become more holy like Himself.

However, before God will allow this sanctification process to really kick into full gear through the Holy Spirit - He wants you to fully understand exactly what He is doing and why He is doing it. In other words - you have to have the knowledge as to what God is doing and exactly why He is doing it.

Even small children will pick up on this principle very quickly. Tell a child that he is not to do something - and what is the first thing he will do? He will ask you why he can’t do that particular thing. And then if the child is old enough to understand what that reason is - you then proceed to tell him why it is not in his best interest to do that particular thing. In other words - you are giving your child the knowledge that he needs to have so he knows why he should or should not do something specific.

It’s the exact same way with God the Father. God loves to transmit knowledge to His children across the board on anything that they may need His knowledge on in this life - but what prevents many of His children from receiving this knowledge directly from Him is that they have never been taught how to hear from Him when He does start to try and communicate with them or they do not press in and enter into a seeking mode with Him to get Him to release this knowledge to them.

If there is one major secret I have learned from the Lord on getting Him to release more of His knowledge to you - is that you have to go into a seeking mode with Him. God will not spoon-feed you forever. The Bible says to ask - and then you will receive. Seek - and then you will find. Knock - and then the door will open be open to you. Notice in all three of those conditions that you have to be the one to initiate it. You have to be the one to ask, to seek and to knock. If you do - then God will answer you, open doors for you and let you find the answers to your questions and problems.

King David tells us that we have to meditate on the word of God. To meditate does not mean to blank your mind out waiting for God to talk to you. Meditate means to think about, to chew on, to try and figure out what specific Scripture verses mean and how they specifically apply to your life.

What I have personally found out is that the Holy Spirit will literally guide your thoughts into the revelation that you are seeking after as you are trying to figure out what the answers are. In other words - you will find the knowledge you are needing as you are seeking after it. The Holy Spirit can either guide your thoughts into what the correct answers are by you just using some of your brain power to try and figure things out or He will guide you as to where those answers are located at.

You can literally learn how to “pull” knowledge directly from God by going into these seeking modes with Him! As you will see in some of the Scripture verses I will list below - it is the job of the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us things in this life. In other words - the Holy Spirit is our personal guide and personal teacher in this life. The Holy Spirit can and will communicate to you if you are open to receiving this kind of supernatural communication from Him.

I will be doing a much more in-depth article in the near future on the wide variety of ways that the Holy Spirit will communicate to you - especially in the area of receiving knowledge from Him. But for this article - I just want to give you the main foundational verses from the Bible to let you know that God does want to transmit His knowledge to you across the board on anything that you will need His knowledge on in this life. Not only can God give you all the spiritual knowledge that you will seek after - but He can also give you His knowledge across the board on anything else that you may need His knowledge on in this life.

God can give you His knowledge on how to become better parents for your children, better spouses for your mates, better at whatever specific job or jobs He will be calling you to do. If God is calling you to be a policeman, an attorney, a doctor, a nurse, a stay at home mom, an architect, a laborer, a sports star - He can give you His knowledge in each of those specific areas so as to make you better at each of those jobs. There is absolutely nothing that God cannot give you His knowledge on if you are open to receiving it and are not afraid to start seeking and pressing in after it!

Many, many Christians are missing out on this part in their walk with the Lord. God will supernaturally communicate His knowledge to you - but you first have to realize that He does want to communicate His knowledge to you and then you have to learn how to pick it up and properly read it when He does start to communicate to you. Again - I will go into much more detail on how to really hear from God in another article - but in this article, I want to show to you by the Scripture verses I will list below, that God really does want to impart and transmit knowledge to you.

As you will see in the way that I will present the appropriate Scripture verses on this subject to you - we are dealing with an incredible profound reality - in that God Almighty Himself - a Being with perfect knowledge on all things - is willing to communicate and transmit His knowledge to us through the Holy Spirit - who is literally living on the inside of us! Think about this - that you have the knowledge of God already residing on the inside of you in the Holy Spirit who is already living on the inside of you!

The Scripture verses I will list below will show you the extreme importance that God is placing on each and everyone of us in that we seek to obtain this kind of knowledge from Him. In some of these verses, God is making some very powerful and profound statements. He says:

That we are to GROW in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

That His people are literally destroyed and will go into captivity for lack of knowledge.

That gaining His knowledge and wisdom will help you walk safely in this life, help preserve you and help keep you on the right path that He has set up for you to follow in this life.

That gaining knowledge, wisdom and understanding is better than all of the gold, silver and rubies of this world and that it does not even begin to compare to anything else that you may desire in this life! In other words, gaining the knowledge of God in this life is bigger and better than any materialistic thing that you could ever buy, want or desire in this life!

To think that God Himself is making this kind of statement in that acquiring knowledge is more important than anything else that we can acquire in this life is as big and powerful of a statement that He can make about what is really most important in this life!

Notice in the first bullet point above that we are to grow in the knowledge of God. I believe that the main reason God is telling us that gaining knowledge is more important than anything else we can seek after in this life is because we cannot grow in God unless we obtain His knowledge and then seek to implement these truths into our lives and walk with Him.

After you get saved - God then expects you to start to spiritually grow and mature in your walk with Him. You cannot become more holy, more transformed and more sanctified unless you are spiritually growing. And you cannot start to spiritually grow unless you are first seeking after the knowledge that will cause this spiritual growth to occur in the first place!

If you really study the people who are most alive in this life - it is the seekers - it is the people who are constantly learning, constantly trying to improve their knowledge base on whatever it is they are seeking after. It is the knowledge seekers that are making the great discoveries that are changing the course of human history with the discoveries that they have made. And they could not have made those discoveries without first seeking after the knowledge that would eventually lead them to those specific discoveries.

As you will see in some of the profound Scripture verses I will list below - God will make you seek and search after knowledge - much in the same way treasure hunters will search for buried treasure. Talk to any true knowledge seeker - and they will tell you that most of their joy comes from the journey of trying to find the knowledge that they are seeking after. Once the discovery has been made and they have found everything that they may need on a particular subject - then it is off to the next great adventure.

Nothing will stimulate your mind and emotions and make you feel more alive than seeking after the knowledge on something that you may really be interested in and be very passionate about. However, many in our country have become “brain dead” and mentally lazy as a result of becoming couch potatoes by watching too much TV. God has incredible knowledge adventures set up for each and everyone of us if we are willing to get up out of our ruts, step out of our safe boats and start seeking after the things that He wants us seeking after.

Before I go into the Scripture verses on all of this - I will leave you with one last thought.

The knowledge of God is like a treasure chest that has no bottom to it! There is no limit to the amount of knowledge that God can release to you if you are willing to dive into that treasure chest and start seeking after it. Think about this long and hard - that the one and only all powerful and all knowing God of the entire universe is willing and able to transmit His knowledge to you on whatever it is you are wanting His knowledge and wisdom on.

Every single Christian has this incredible treasure chest of knowledge and wisdom literally residing on the inside of them in the person of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is only too anxious and just waiting for you to tap into Him to get this knowledge to start to be released to you!

This incredible knowledge adventure is waiting for each and every Christian who is willing to get off the couch and start using the brain power that the Lord has given to each and everyone of us to start to seek after this kind of knowledge.

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Mobile Internet Broadband is the existing name applied to clarify countless sorts of devices that provide you with the most modern faze located in technology, this is wireless broadband high speed Wireless Internet access without the wires & without a fixed line connection. Wireless broadband gives you the convenience to use your laptop where ever you yourself are located. All you are required to do plug in your USB modem & off your able to go, simple wireless everywhere you are. There are numerous outstanding various offers to go for amoung many types of suppliers. The providers are O2, Vodaphone, and Orange. These providers have all taken the lead in supplying wireless mobile internet, although these mobile phone networks have primarily focused on marketing the service to mac book users. Compare Orange Broadband deals and save money with Compare Broadband UK.

Wireless has developed into being decidedly fashionable & virtually 3 million United Kingdom Mobile and Wireless Broadband consumers now connect wirelessly to the internet at the office. This is a number that constantly growing as many clients get clever to the benefits of broadband internet. Broadband uses high speed internet access this because it ordinarily has a high rate of information transmission. Not only is it 10 to one hundred times speedier than a dial up account it doesn’t tie up the phone line so you can make & pick up telephone calls as usual whilst your able to use the Broadband You will be billed a flat monthly price for an always on connection so there is no need to dial in to get online, simply turn on the computer & you’re connected.

I have run from only two storms in my whole life. Once the year before Katrina, my wife and me retuned the next morning from the first storm that turned away from New Orleans like most of the storms before it.. Katrina wasn’t so merciful. In fact it seems we may never return now, but by no choice of our own.

With less than twenty four hours to go before hurricane Katrina hit land my wife and I started to pack up the car to leave St Bernard Parish Louisiana. We had to have the brakes repaired only an hour before we left. We had to depend on the kindness of a neighbor who was frantically working on the car as we loaded it with those things the officials said we should take with us.

We loaded a few changes of clothing our important papers and our dog, Patches. We went to pick up an older gentlemen whose daughter could not pick him up because she lived north of Lake Ponchartrain which was already nearly impassible. He was a member of our church and we faithfully picked him up for every service because he could hardly walk on his own. Looking back now we know he would not be alive if we had not gone to get him out of his house.

We drove through the night. At first we could not go over fifteen miles an hour across the twin spans, an eight mile long bridge across the lake a bridge that today is largely destroyed. The winds came just behind us only hours later and washed the spans that weigh thousands of tons into the water like toothpicks in a bathtub. In time we got up to about fifty but not once did we ever reach the speed limit. We arrived at a friends house near Birmingham Alabama where we stayed for two days. We contacted the old gents family and arranged for his family to come and pick him up. The power went out several times throughout the second night as the winds gusted and threatened Old Birmingham.

On the third day only hours after Katrina had moved above Jackson Mississippi did we began the 450 mile trek to my wife’s sisters house in West Baton Rouge Parish. We listened to the radio reports with some measure of hope that all was not that bad. Our hearts began to sink as hour by hour reports came in about broken levees and rising waters.

Over the next two weeks we followed all the news reports and searched for friends and pictures from our neighborhood on the internet. During the first week it was totally impossible to get a call through to anywhere from Alabama to East Texas. It was a long dark moment of knowing nothing at all about anyone or anything we ever knew.

The news began to trickle in slowly but none of it was good. We saw pictures of our neighborhood with water up to the roofs. We slowly got reports from people we knew who were scattered all across the country in places they had gone to take refuge. Some of them said they would never return.

Next came reports and pictures of toxic laden mud through out our Parish and talk of houses that needed to be bulldozed into the ground that was said to be uninhabitable. Rescues of people, animals and the retrieving of bodies went on with all the pictures being shown daily on Baton Rouge TV stations. If things weren’t glum enough then we began the business of trying to call FEMA and Red Cross.

My wife must have dialed FEMA over 500 times before getting through. Then we were promised a packet in the mail after they took our information. We have still not reached the Red Cross and they are still talking about gathering 40,000 volunteers to help answer the phones. The insurance company that covered our house informed us that their coverage would cover our house only and no more but they are not sure they can do anything without seeing the house. But no one is seeing our house not even us. The St. Bernard Parish President Junior Rodrigues held a news conference in the capitol building here last night and spoke of months before residents could return, not weeks. Only hours before this bad news came in we went to get shots to protect us from a host of diseases that we could get if and when we do return.

Our bank accounts were not accessible and money doesn’t grow on trees even in this fertile Mississippi valley so I thought I’d make an appeal on my own little one page website. Now we feel as if we are caught between the warnings people are hearing about fraudulent sites collecting for Red Cross and other organizations and indifference. No one as yet has responded to the appeal but then only 35 or 40 people a day click on my site.

My wife volunteered her help in feeding some 200 people in a shelter here. She helped prepare the food and serve it. The food was provided by a small Baptist church in Erwinville Louisiana. Later we visited the people in the shelter and are continuing to do so when we are not knocking our heads on the wall in the biggest communications nightmare in the history of the telephone. We asked one family if there was something we could get for them in the shelter, they asked for a bible. We purchased it the next day and delivered it to them in person. That warmed us greatly, not the giving of the bible but the request for it. Unlike stories out of the Superdome this was a wonderful family of black Americans that had a different set of values. And thousands like them are suffering and waiting to begin their lives again, just as we are.

We have had several invitations to go and live with family and friends in other towns and in other states but we are staying close to New Orleans to attempt a look see and to retrieve what we can. So far all we are hearing is “stay away” and of course the endless buzzing of the busy signal from the aid organizations.

We are a praying couple, and when we talk to Jesus we are sure he is saying, I love you and I will take care of it all. We believe Him and we are very grateful that his line was not busy.

HELPING THE DYING

I have had no experience with death and dying. My grandparents and a few other friends and relatives died in my lifetime but I was too young and not skillful enough to help them at the times of their deaths.

The content of this article has been sourced from the Tibetan book on Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. This is a modern classic and introduces the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in a way which can be applied in our modern, westernized world. The chapter titled Heart Advice on Helping the Dying is itself worth 50 times the cost of the book. To obtain your copy please click on the link above.

A dying person at the time of death is in such a situation that he or she is leaving behind all that he has clung to and been familiar with all his life. Wealth, fame, prestige, family, friends, power all is being left behind. Rinpoche asks us to put ourselves in the place of the person who is dying at the time of death. He asks us to imagine ourselves on an ocean-liner or a journey to the unknown. You have no choice in the matter, the ship is already on its way out and our friends and family are on the shore to wish us goodbye. What would we want from our friends who had come to see us off in that situation? Remember you can never come back and that you have no choice - you have to leave. With a little use of the imagination we will be in a better position to help the person at the time of death and dying.

Sogyal Rinpoche gives a lot of important advice. I have attempted to summarize some important points in this article. For more detailed help please read his book.

1.At the time of death and dying give the person room to express her feelings. Allow her to express any and all her feelings. The dying person feels fear, panic, grief, rage, in different proportions. By allowing her to express those feelings by empathizing with them we can offer immeasurable help.

2.Give the suffering person permission to die. Rinpoche speaks of persons whom he had met or heard of who were approaching death and were dying. But they were burdened by their responsibilities, by the fact that their family depended on them. Sogyal Rinpoche says that many dying persons refused to let go and suffered many weeks of suffering and agony. By giving such a person permission to die his family would make his passage much easier.

3.Establish trust and open communication; be yourself. Your job is to behave naturally and let the person open up. Use humor skillfully in such situations. This will establish better communication.

4.Do not interrupt, deny or diminish the person’s feelings. At the time of death the dying person needs to feel and express his feelings. This is the way he can be free of them and meet his end peacefully.

5.Do not intrude your spiritual beliefs. Do not try to convert or impose your spiritual beliefs on the dying person at the time of death. It will not help. On the other hand if the dying person expresses a wish to learn about your beliefs, do not hold back.

6.At the time of death the dying person may make you the target of his grief and rage. This is not unexpected. The person who is dying is in the deepest crisis of his life. Don’t take it personally if he takes out his feelings on you.

7.Do not expect too much of yourself. This is only so much that you can do. In the ultimate analysis people will die as they have lived. Do not expect miracles.

8.Technique to help you empathize. Rinpoche says that dying persons long to be touched, long to be treated as living persons and not as diseased. A great deal of consolation can be given to the very ill simply by touching their hands, looking into their eyes, gently massaging them, holding them in your arms or breathing in the same rhythm gently with them.

Rinpoche also describes 2 techniques for feelings and expressing unconditional love towards the dying at the time of death. Very often, due to past issues and sufferings, we may have feelings of guilt and anger towards the dying at the time of death. Rinpoche says that if you try to put yourself in the place of the dying person you will have a better idea of what the person needs and feels. You will then be in a position to accept the dying person unconditionally.

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