Health

Hold to His Hand

Danny and Liisa, Liisa and Dan,
Walking together through life hand in hand
Raising a family, doing their best
Through thick and thin and every hard test
Holding to God and trusting His way
Living and laughing and loving each day.
Till one day God called
And He said, “Come home, Dan,
I’d like you to sing in my heavenly band
I’ll care for your family — trust Me on this,
They’re special to Me and I know they will miss
You, Dan, as their father,
But I want them to trust
And have faith in Me — that is a must.”
So now picture with me a brand new Dan
Walking with Jesus hand in hand
Now do you not hold to Jesus’ hand too?
Are you seeing the picture in this life so new?
You on one side, and Dan on the other
Jesus between you still holds you together
Yes, we must let go and not wish him back
Though our hearts break and we feel such a lack
God has a grand purpose, a wonderful plan
Keep trusting and hold to His unchanging hand.

My wife Ruby wrote this yet-unfinished poem for Liisa. (I just made up the title — Ruby hasn’t titled it yet.)

For those interested in the family connection, Dan’s mother is my first cousin Janet (Shetler) Ewing.

Danny and Liisa Ewing and some of their children

While I Waited

Here I sit, waiting for my slow (31.2 KB) dial-up connection to muddle its way through Amazon’s Pro Seller (or whatever it’s called by now) site.

So I looked at headlines at Drudge and Newsmax.

Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists

Simple activities such as gardening or mending a bicycle can protect mental health and help people to lead more fulfilled and productive lives, a panel of scientists has found.

[…]

“A big question in mental wellbeing is what individuals can do,” Felicia Huppert, Professor of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, who led part of the project, said. “We found there are five categories of things that can make a profound difference to people’s wellbeing. Each has evidence behind it.” These actions are so simple that everyone should aim to do them daily, she said, just as they are encouraged to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables.

Five steps to sanity. That shouldn’t be too hard.

Palin: Election Result Rests ‘In God’s Hands’

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin describes herself as a “hard-core pro-lifer” and expresses confidence that in spite of disheartening polls, “putting this in God’s hands, that the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on Nov. 4.”

She is right.

At Work: For the People

Here’s “proof” that some CongressFolks are still doing stuff:

Brand new push in Congress to prevent Shariah invasion

Congressman Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that seeks to prevent Islam’s radical Shariah law from gaining a foothold in the U.S. legal system, as it has in other countries.

Tancredo introduced HR 6975, the Jihad Prevention Act, last week. If made into law, the bill would allow American authorities to prevent advocates of Shariah law from entering the country, revoke the visa of any foreigners that did champion Shariah law and revoke naturalization for citizens that seek to implement Shariah law in the U.S.

The radical form of Islam’s Shariah religious law includes several statutes often objectionable to Western minds, including stoning for adulterous women, amputation for thieves and the death sentence for converting from Islam.

That one has no chance of becoming law.

And the chances for this one are somewhat better, though not by much:

Another Bright Idea

An act sponsored by 25 representatives asking the government to reconsider its ban on incandescent light bulbs has been stalled in committee – and the leading sponsor is faulting Democratic leadership.

The Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act highlights growing concerns over the safety and environmental impact of compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs. Before the sale of incandescent bulbs is banned, the representatives are asking the comptroller general to prove replacement with CFLs will be cost-effective, reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent in the United States by 2025 and that the bulbs will not pose a health risk to the general public.

[…]

As WND reported, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was signed into law in December, phasing out the use of traditional, incandescent light bulbs in favor of CFLs beginning in 2012 and culminating in a ban on incandescent bulbs in 2014.

Concerns about mercury in the bulbs and mercury vapor released when a CFL is broken led Bachmann and a group of legislators in the House to second-guess the government’s choice.

Headlines…and Perspective

Before the headlines, something to give you perspective: It’s What Disciples Do

A Limit to Religious Freedom

Christian group blamed for mumps outbreak

Conservative Christians who refuse vaccinations have been linked to an outbreak of mumps in British Columbia. The controversy has raised ethical issues, and sparked debate over the limits of religious rights.

Douglas Todd, religion writer for The Vancouver Sun, has covered the story extensively.

Todd cited medical ethicists who questioned the Christian group’s position. Alister Browne, director of ethics and law at the University of British Columbia medical school, said, “I don’t think this issue is a small matter.” He added that the ethical importance of a society protecting the health of children and others against infectious disease must be weighed against a person’s right to religious freedom, and the level of risk to others when immunizations are refused.

Michael McDonald, a professor in the Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics at the University of British Columbia, went further. He argued that adults in the Chilliwack community may be ethically required to accept vaccinations to protect their children and members of the larger society, since the health and safety of others — particularly children — is a justified “limit to religious freedom.”

Do you agree?

And another less PC question: If these were Muslims, would Mr. McDonald say the same thing?

I’m sure you don’t know the answer to the second question. But surely you know the answer to the first.

When You’re Depressed

How do you handle discouragement?

Better yet — how do you beat it?

(I fear too many of us — well, I, anyway — enjoy too much wallowing in it.)

Andrée Seu wrote in WorldMagBlog:

For what ails you

The best thing to do when you’re depressed is to live as though you’re not depressed. (That advice applies to fear and other suffering as well.)

[…]

And then I pray God’s promises over it—“I will never leave you or forsake you”; “My power is made perfect in weakness”; that sort of thing. It helps, also, to make a list of what you need to do that day, and just start doing it. Press into life and live it.

I simply have to remember that.

And this:

Psalm 139:10

“Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”
Above all, love God!