Selected Articles

[Reza1969]

Post the best articles on any subjects you run into while surfing the net here. Here's the first one for you:


Preteens Parenting Tip - When Your Children Ask About "The Facts of Life"

By Tri Bros Broda

“
Where do babies come from?” Why does this simple question turn lawyers, engineers, accountants and even doctors into bumbling dunces in front of their kids? Well, if you are a parent, it’s a foregone conclusion. The time will come when your child will ask you about ---.

Rather than fear this question, the best way to face this inevitability is to prepare for it. In fact, prepare for it well in advance so that you won’t be as flustered when they ask. Remember, your child will learn from what you say, as much as from how you say it.

Look around you. Sexual influences are everywhere: TV, billboards, magazines. Your child’s friends must be talking about it too. Would you rather have your child learn about --- from those influences or from you?

The first question about where babies come from can turn up in the preschool years. Don’t be alarmed! This isn’t even about intimacy yet. Your child’s curiosity about this is as natural as his curiosity about where the sun goes at night. At this age, you can satisfy the question with a simple explanation. Because daddies and mommies have so much love for each other, they want to share their love with a baby of their own. Then be creative about the biological part. Remember, your child is young and all he needs is a story. However simple, keep it as accurate as possible though, because you’ll build on this story as your child gets older. The concept of a seed is a good analogy for kids of this age to understand.

In a couple of years, the question may come up again. Only you as the parent can decide if your child is emotionally ready for more proper terms. If he is, then build on your earlier story and incorporate the concept of sperm from daddy meeting up with the egg in mommy (the “seed” from before) to help it grow into a baby. That straight-forward answer is enough for now. Then, add the story of how the baby grows for nine months in the mommy’s tummy. Your child’s fascination with the different growth stages of the baby in-utero should keep him sated for now.

Soon, your child will be in that interesting stage called the preteen years. From the ages of nine through 12, you’ll notice that your child has some added dimensions to his reasoning and logic skills. With his burgeoning independence, he’ll also be more exposed to the world around him. Whether he tells you or not, you can be sure that he’s absorbing many of the influences around him. Be it in school, through the media or because of technology, he’s learning much more than just what you teach him at home.

This time it may be your turn to initiate the subject of ---. Time may come when he’ll ask you questions again, but your instinct will tell you if you need to wait for that time or not. Your child is entering puberty. If you have a daughter, she could get her first period anytime. You can assume that your child is hearing about --- elsewhere, so take the initiative to provide correct information. Still, despite the age, check his moral readiness and emotionally maturity.

Again it is your discretion as parent as to what to say exactly, and how much to explain. This may be a more serious talk than those in the past. I will not attempt to dictate a spiel, because your family history, your family values and your child’s environment all factor into the content of your talk. In any case, set an open atmosphere where he’ll feel safe to ask you questions. It’s important to find out what he knows and how much he knows. You need not tell him more that he is asking. More importantly, straighten out any wrong assumptions he may have.

In the end, there will not be just one ‘sex talk’. As your preteen gets older, new questions will crop up. With each new dialog, be sure to underline the values you’d like your child to uphold.

If you prepare well and keep all this in mind, the dreaded ‘sex talk’ won’t be as dreaded anymore. Instead it will be a golden opportunity to build a stronger and healthier relationship with your child.

Is parenting a pre-teen child a problem to you? Do you want to know what you can do to understand them? Have you tried everything but none seemed to work?
Then let us help you! Make parenting your preteen children effortless. Besides, you need to guide them thoroughly in this stage, for it is where their formation to adulthood starts. Know how you can do all these the right way.

[Reza1969]

Who Do You Want To Be
By Robin Abernathy


What do you want to be when you grow up? It seems like a simple question, when we are young we are able to answer it easily. Just think back to when you were in school and the teacher would ask that question. You would see everyone’s hands shoot up eager to answer. “I want to be a doctor”, one child might say.” I want to be an actor”, another might say. The teacher would smile and ask the class. “Do you all think that he or she can be this or that”? And everyone without hesitation would say yes. That was a time wasn’t it. People believed in you and the world seemed full of possibilities. There were no fears or doubts because all you saw in front of you was a clear path to where you wanted to be. So what happened? Life happened.

The teacher should not have asked “what do you want to be, but who do you want to be. I might say an oceanographer to the first question; the second one would have me stumped. Why is it so important? Because who we want to be will affect what we want to be, and in so many different ways. Think about it. If you said that you wanted to be a doctor, then you would have to be a giving, caring person. You would have to be dedicated and thick skinned. You would have to be willing to sacrifice and work hard. So if you become a lazy, uncommitted person who was selfish and undedicated, then it would be hard for you to become a doctor. As a matter of fact you would probably stop pursuing it after a while once you saw how hard it was.

My point is that we become who we are by what’s taught to us when we are young. We are like sponges soaking up everything around us and then imitating what we see. And as we get older we are shaped by our life experiences. Some of which may make us better people and some of which may make us worse. Deep down we all know what kind of person we are, we may not want to admit to it, but we know. And how do you think that affects you in the future? More then you realize. Take me for example. I am a shy quiet guy. I have a hard time talking to people so it would be difficult for me to be anything that involves public speaking or having to communicate with strangers. However I am good at expressing myself though words on paper. So being a writer or working for some newspaper might be right up my alley.

The point is that when your young and the slate is clean and you get asked “what do you want to be when you grow up. Nobody never raises their hands and says. I want to be a failure or I want to live I poverty. Nobody says that I want to be a drunk or a quitter. Those are all characteristics that are ingrained in you through the years by what you do and see. When your young and naïve you have the characteristics of hope and ambition. The same as when you first start a class in school you have an A. All you can do is loose that A. The same s you can loose that hope and ambition. Those traits should stay with you no matter how old you get, or what experiences you go through. You should stay resilient, and instead of focusing on what you want to be, focus on who you want to become. Because if you master the first, the other is right behind it.
I'm Robin Abernathy and I reside in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I am currently pursuing a bachelor degree in english and then I hope to pursue my masters. I have been writing since I was a child and I love to read fiction and autobiographies. When I have time I go fishing or just read under a tree by the lake. I like writing aritcles that help people. I do not clain to be the best writer, but I always try to give the most I can of myself when I write. My personal blog is all about personal development. And my model is Steve Pavlina for those of you who know him he is a very motivating person. My blog deals with issues in different ways. I may write it poetically or I may write a short story to make a point or I might just speak directly to my readers, giving them my own thoughts. I love when my readers share there stories with me and i hope to hear many of them.

[Reza1969]

How To Finally Take Charge Of YOUR Life And Achieve All You Desire!
By Fabian Tan


If you don't consider yourself an open-minded person, you may want to leave this page right now, because you're about to blow your top.

The next time you are in a crowded shopping center, look around. How many people do you think are really broken hearted inside, their passion sucked out of them a long, long time ago?

Perhaps they once had dreams to take charge of their own life, now others take charge of their life and their finances.

Their boss decides their pay.

Their company decides whether they stay or go for another year.

All they look forward to are weekends and the next holiday.

Some may call it reality. I say it's a result of a hell of a lot of brainwashing.

Do you remember your first day in school? From the first day, everyone has to have the same hairstyle, wear identical shoes and wear the same shirts for physical exercise.

I don't have anything against discipline because it is extremely important for success, but the school system is really designed to train people to become employees.

Having your own opinion in school is wrong. Only the teacher's opinion matters. So what if he is wrong?

Look at the typical person's path in life:

Go to school --> Find a job --> Get married --> Buy a car --> Buy a big house --> Get mail boxes full of bills that somehow seem to increase each and every year

Because of the added expenses, the person has to stay in his job. He becomes desperate for a promotion. Soon, he starts to have sleepness nights. Then a child comes. He has to start thinking about the child's education fees.

Why? Because school never talks about money. From young, we learn that 'money is the root of all evil', 'Money is not important', 'Love is more important than money'.

Tell me, if I gave you a choice to cut off your leg or your hand, which would you choose? You can't choose between love or money, because they are both important in this world.

It's a question of knowing when to go against the grain. I'm not saying become a rebel to society, but one must know which choices are truly helping a person achieve the lifestyle he or she wants.

[Reza1969]

Challenge Yourself - How to Find Your Potential


Imagine a room with all your favourite things in it. The curtains are drawn over the windows and you can hear no noise from outside your room, but you don’t mind - you are busy looking at your familiar objects, listening to familiar sounds. All you need is in the room - you have no reason to leave it. It contains everything you know to be true, every experience you have ever had, every memory you have that makes you feel safe, secure, at peace. Occasionally you have ventured outside but it was too scary, too unknown for you so you came running back into your room, closing the door behind you with a sigh of relief.

Welcome to your Comfort Zone

In this place, you know every noise, every vision, every thought, every feeling. Nothing scares you or takes you by surprise more than you can handle. Nothing makes you challenge what you know to be true. Its whole purpose is to make you feel that the world is not a strange and scary place.

Bored yet?

Many people will be happy to stay in this room, not wanting anything other than what it provides. But you want to experience more, knowing that there is more to discover about the world and yourself. So how can you open the door with confidence rather than fear?

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

When taking on a new challenge, it is easy to be daunted by the thought of what you will have to face. But no matter how big the goal you have set yourself, you can still only walk one step at a time. Therefore, don’t worry about the final goal. Break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks that are not so intimidating. This way, you enjoy success many times in the future - for each step that you complete and for the ultimate goal.
It also means that your comfort zone is stretched slowly. Go back to our room. One step at a time, you could discover the adjoining room. Then maybe you look at the next one along, safe in the knowledge that your own room is not that far away. As soon as you feel comfortable in that room, maybe you venture upstairs. Soon enough, you have explored every other room without feeling overwhelmed or too far from where you feel safe. Now, instead of a comfort zone of one room, you feel comfortable in the whole house! Yet none of it would have been possible without that first step outside the door.

Think of someone who already has the kind of life you want. If you look at how they have achieved this, there are a lot of pieces to it: their behaviour, their attitude, their confidence, the amount of effort they are prepared to put in, the support they had. The list is endless. What was it about them that ultimately gave them the success? How would you go about acquiring the same? When faced with such a situation a simple exercise is to think “What would x do?” Then, do it!! This is called modelling, a technique used by motivational coaches such as Anthony Robbins to achieve success quicker by adopting the skills and behaviours of those who have already got there.

What if you don’t feel that you can do what they did? You have two options - work out what is stopping you from being like them and then work on changing this. Or, as the saying goes, “Fake it until you make it” - just pretend! If you act as if you have those behaviours, sooner or later, without you noticing, you really will!

In these days of stressed out executives and celebrities, it is easy to think that all stress is bad for you. But this is wrong. There are proven health benefits from putting yourself under controlled pressure - the problems arise when the pressure you are feeling is out of control or simply too much. Get the right balance and you truly identify your potential to achieve your goals and so much more.

Challenging yourself, both physically and emotionally can lead to a happier, more fulfilled life. When you prove to yourself that you are capable of so much more than you are doing now, your self-esteem soars and your confidence takes you further and further.
Knowing you are capable of more yet doing nothing about it leads to frustration, envy and disappointment. You must take ACTION on your dreams if you will ever know what you can become.

Ready to Move Out?

Take a look around your room once more. Are you ready to open the curtains, to take a peek outside to a future that awaits you? Are you looking at the door, thinking about opening and maybe taking one or two steps outside? With the right attitude, support and belief that you can achieve anything you want, you can.
Come on - the world is waiting ...
Hi, I’m Lee Lam and I am a Professional Confidence Coach. I run Right Key Coaching which was established three years ago. I find it fascinating that people are coming to realise that the quest for material wealth and social recognition is not actually making them happy at all – instead it tends to bring its own set of problems. Clients I have worked with all have one thing in common – they are fed up with their life as it is now and they are ready to make a change. I am so privileged to be in their lives at this time, as they really review their life and what it means to them.

To see the transformation to their spirits as they start to understand what they are capable of is absolutely mind-blowing. I have worked with some fundamentally awe-inspiring people, who have had the courage to work towards their dreams and I consider it my honour to be involved in that process.

[Reza1969]

Panic Anxiety Attacks – Anxiety Self Help
By Cynthia Kerry


Most of us through out our lives have experience stress or just feeling anxious. Sometimes when we are so worried about something in our lives in ends up we have an anxiety attack over it. That feeling when you first have one is such a horrible experience we don’t know what is happening to us which makes us feel even more anxiety because we panic and don’t understand what’s happening.

Some symptoms’ may include heart palpitations’, sweaty hands, a feeling that we want to run. You can experience many different sensations through out the body. Then once we experience this then we get scared about it happening again so then we end up in a viscous circle of being worried about having an anxiety attack and then when we do have one we hold on to it, or tense up and so it prolongs the anxiety attack even further. So we tend to live each day worrying about whether it’s going to happen again.

I have experience all this myself and felt it was just controlling my life. Till one day I said to myself is anxiety attacks going to control me or am I going to control anxiety attacks. I found a couple of books and read them. These are couple of points that helped me.

• The biggest and best you can do is first let it go. When you have an anxiety attack just allow it to happen, don’t hold on to it. I know that it is very hard to do but believe me when I first let it go I could not believe how fast it went away. Just allow it to happen, feel what’s happening in your body, don’t hold on to what’s happening just let it go.

• By breathing normally or best is have a mint, eat something, or start talking or sing to the music. It tends to get your breathing back to normal. That is one of the reasons we feel light headed or dizzy when we have an anxiety attack is because we are breathing so fast there is to much oxygen in the brain. So concentrate on your breathing and just breathe nice and slow.

• Vitamin B complex is great it helps you relax, get out and do more exercise it helps you release your frustrations it also induces endorphin’s which is the feel good hormone that is released through the body when we exercise. Notice after you exercise how good and relaxed you feel.

• Take time out in your life each day and think about your life, are you happy? What could you do to make it change? Ask yourself these questions, only you can make yourself happy. Don’t rely on others to make you happy that is not their responsibility it’s yours. So take control of your life and don’t allow others to control you.

• EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a great technique to use. You can use it in all aspects of your life. From Anxiety Attacks, Health, fitness, wealth. Go to emofree there is a wealth of information there for you to get started with this great technique.

Just remember Anxiety is not a physical condition it is an emotional condition and it’s a way for your body to tell you that your mind is not healthy. So take what your body is saying to you and do something about it before it does turn into physical sickness in your body. I experienced anxiety for about 10 years myself; I have been there and done that. I never thought I could get rid of it. Until one day I made the decision that I am going to control it, it’s not going to control me. Buy some books read them, take the advice and try what they say. You DON’T need drugs to control anxiety only you can control Anxiety.

“Change happens not by making ourselves change but by realizing what’s not working”

[Reza1969]

Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
By Angela Edwards


While the digital age presents new opportunities, it also poses new threats to young people. The Internet allows predators to make contact with unsuspecting children. It means the exploitation of children in one country can devastate families half a world away. It has turned child pornography into a global crisis.

Pornographic images of children are not exercises in free speech. They are criminal acts of child abuse. The United States is working to end this abuse through the government's Internet Crimes Against Children task forces. With the help of task force members, federal prosecution of child pornography and abuse has increased from 350 cases in 1998 to more than 1,400 cases in 2005.”

-First Lady Laura Bush

Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task force program exists under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice, as a portion of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This program trains individual states and government entities to set up their own task forces to combat cyber crimes against our most vulnerable of citizens, our children.

At its conception, New York Senator Hillary Clinton asked congress for funding of $25 million to get the program rolling. The ICAC Task Force Program was set up to help State and local law enforcement agencies augment and strengthen their investigative response to predators who use the Internet, online communication systems, or other computer technology to sexually exploit children. 46 Regional Task Force Agencies currently make up the program. Those agencies are relatively evenly spread across the nation, and the majority of states are represented.

Law enforcement has long been aware that the naiveté and trusting natures of most children make them easy targets for predators. Teenagers, while older and a few years wiser, remain vulnerable to victimization. These governing agencies know that more than 77 million kids are online today. They also realize that the nature of the Internet presents a never before faced complexity to investigating crimes, collecting evidence, identifying and apprehending offenders, and assisting child victims and their families.

One big reason for this is the anonymity of the Internet. Unless there is viable evidence that a person committed an online crime, the argument could be raised that “someone else” either hacked into the accused person’s accounts or used his computer while they were a visitor in the accused person’s home. Another reason for this is that the crimes often cross several jurisdictions, and the victim and the perpetrator are often separated geographically.

Predators can and do travel hundreds of miles to different states and countries to engage in sexual acts with children they met over the Internet. Many of these cases involve local, state, federal, and international law enforcement entities in multiple jurisdictions.

The national Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force provides training to the state and local branches of the ICAC, so that they are better equipped to handle this escalating online problem. Some of the training courses include the Investigative Techniques Training Program, the Child --- Offender Accountability Training Program, and the Undercover Chat Investigations Training Program.

Each local Internet Crimes Against Children task force is composed of federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel. Federal and local prosecution officials participate as well, as do local educators and service providers such as mental health professionals. The local task forces serve as valuable regional resources to assist parents, educators, prosecutors, law enforcement personnel, and others who work on child victimization issues.

[Reza1969]

How to Deal with Suicide and Euthenasia
By Corbin Wright


The following is a report that indicates how you might recognize suicidals, and how you might deal with them. But a warning: Suicide can be a very complex issue, and it might be better to have a professional deal with this issue if it comes up, but if this is very difficult to attain, this guide is a very good alternative to follow if you have no other solution to the problem.

CHOOSING TO LIVE by Dr. Thomas E. Ellis & Dr. Cory F.Newman

A suicidal person once said "It's like I want to be dead, but not forever:"

1) Suicide is an Ugly Word. - To help get rid of this stigma, you should think of suicide as a problem-solving situation. Basically there is no such thing as a rational suicide.

2)Who are the Suicidals? - Basically there are two types. They are either extremely depressed (mostly men), or they are extremely controlling (mostly women). The extremely depressed are interested in death (life is too painful) whereas the extremely controlling just want attention and are afraid of abandonment. One way in dealing with the extremely depressed, if you can eliminate the stigma in talking about suicide, is to set up two columns (one headed "advantages of living" and the other headed "advantages of dying") on a piece of paper, and have the potential Suicidal list the various advantages as he or she sees it. If the advantages of dying outweigh the advantages of living, the counselor has to work with the potential suicidal on the advantages of living. Some of the risk factors that one should look for in assessing whether one is suicidal or not are 1) has he or she tried it before, 2) has suicide been part of the family's history, 3) is the person deeply depressed or extremely withdrawn, 4) is there excessive substance abuse, and 5) is there a specific plan in place to commit suicide.

3)Who are the Suicidals - Continued - They are usually the people with strong negative backgrounds, either genetically or environmentally. And to help those with this heritage, it's good to continue encouraging those with these suicide tendencies to continue listing reasons for living on a piece of paper.

4) Should Suicidals be Changed? - No, but their decision-making skills have to be greatly improved, which means they have to see both sides of an issue in order to make an intelligent decision. This means they also have to see the advantages of suicide with their various downsides in order to make an intelligent choice. This should all be done on paper as well so that the potential suicidals can see it all written down before them.

5) Handling a Suicidal Impulse Crisis.- One should try to delay the suicidal impulse crisis, so that the crisis would no longer be so urgent to complete. And to do this you could encourage the Suicidal to sleep it off, talk to a trusted friend about their situation, (This is why the Suicide Prevention hotline is so important), or call 911 or any other emergency telephone number. A longer delaying tactic could be to have them reflect in writing on any unfinished business they would want to accomplish before they die, and encourage them to pursue these goals. Then they should start to enjoy living again. And a third possibility would be for the Suicidals to begin nurturing themselves by keeping themselves well groomed, listening to soothing music, enjoying good food, appreciating beautiful scenes or looking after their pets. But this will take some initial will power.

6) Thinking and Feeling -You feel what you think, whether consciously or unconsciously, but your thoughts are not necessarily facts.

7) How to Change One's Thinking - To change one's negative suicidal feelings, one has to change one's thinking. There are several ways in which to do this. There is the functional approach (after the negative thought surfaces, ask yourself where is it getting me), the logical/empirical approach (after the negative thought surfaces, ask yourself where is the evidence for such a thought), and the questioning approach (after the negative thought surfaces, ask yourself are there other possibilities for such a happening). You can try all these approaches and see what works best for you. Everyone is different. But always do this in writing because it stays with you much longer, and persevere in your efforts because it's only successful if you keep on trying. And if none of these methods work, try the behavior approach whereby do the opposite of what you're feeling, because eventually your behavior will start to effect and change your thinking.

8) Coping with Suicidal Feelings - There are also ways to accommodate your feelings while you're in the process of adjusting your thinking. This can be done by obtaining support from empathizers, ventilating your feelings appropriately, engaging in constructive distractions, or participating in enjoyable recreational activities, and practicing various relaxation techniques (ie, meditation).

9) Learning to Solve Problems - Suicidals actually believe that death is the solution to all problems, but suicide is really the problem to end all solutions. So if you want to solve problems, you have to forget about death. And if you're underestimating your ability to solve problems, you should look at your past experience in recalling if you solved other people's problems as well as your own.. If you did, it suggests that you still have the capability in solving problems. But what are the ingredients that you need in order to solve problems efficiently. There are actually 6. They are 1) that you have to have the problem-solving mind-set, 2) that you have to have the ability to define the problem, 3) that you have to have the ability to generate alternative ideas to solve problems (brainstorming), 4) that you have to evaluate these ideas and decide on a course of action, 5) that you then have to take this action and test the results, and 6) that you have to realize that the results don't have to be perfect.

10) Other Skills to Improve your Life - There are some other approaches you can use to lessen suicidal tendencies. Some of these are 1) learning how to become more assertive, 2) improving your relationship-enhancement skills by making your presence known to others, being responsive to kind words and invitations, making a point of treating others with consideration and respect, and learning relationship skills through how you associate with your pets, and 3) involving yourself strongly in helping other people.

11) Developing a Philosophy of Life - But behind all these techniques, one has to discover a new, but meaningful philosophy of life for these potential suicidals, so that they would CHOOSE TO LIVE a much more abundant life, as opposed to dying prematurely.

Appendix - Guide for Concerned Friends

Signs to Look for

1) The person talks about suicide.

2) The person makes final plans. (gives away prized possessions)

3) The person's behavior pattern changes in disturbing ways.

4) The person behaves in ways that are self-injurious or stem to invite danger or harm.

5) The person has experienced significant losses in a short period of time.

6) The person suffers from a chronic illness.

7) The person has suffered extreme social humiliation.

8) The person abuses mind-altering substances and has access to firearms or other instruments of self-destruction.

9) The person has tried it before.

10) Suicide seems to run in the family.

In any of these situations, don't overreact or under-react, take the middle ground and dialogue with the suicidal to see what's really going on with him or her in a very calm, and nonjudgmental way. But don't ever feel his or her feelings are your responsibility. They have to make the choice themselves whether they want to live or die.

Summary of the book by Corbin M. Wright

A Question on Internet: If a person is terminally ill, has excruciating pain that can't be relieved, and/or is so frustrated that they can't do anything for themselves anymore and desires to die, is mercy killing a viable option?

1) Corbin says: I personally don't feel that I can do this, but at the same time I feel it really would be a tough choice to make if a request like this were made.

2) Sandra says: A very sensitive subject indeed. However, life is precious to the Creator and his son so there really would be many things to consider. What really is mercy killing? My mother became ill with a terminal illness, and she had us sign a document not to use any artificial means to prolong her life. We did this and felt it was right, although I'm not sure you'd call this mercy killing.

3) Susan says: For one thing, I really don't think that anyone who hasn't first-hand experience with someone they love, dying in excruciating agony over a long/short term, can really understand the full-depth of this. My father died at the age of 48 after a long and excruciatingly painful illness, despite taking many painkillers. He was a strong Believer and did not ask anyone to relieve him of his suffering through mercy killing. I myself don't know whether I could stand the agony my father had to go through in his illness. Therefore I really think people should have this choice of assisted suicide. On the other hand, I know a couple who had a baby who doctors said had no chance of living a normal life, yet at the age of 4, this boy was living as normal alife as any normal 4 year old boy would.

4) Tom says: A number of people have asked me to help them die, but I couldn't do it. The only thing I did was to allow a person the blessing of release from this life.

5) Pamie says: My human self often feels the choice should be the individuals, my spiritual self feels God is giving the experience of this suffering for some purpose. I so wish the 2 selves would meet at times.

6) Sarah says: I think that there is a strong case for allowing people who are terminally ill and suffering dreadfully to die with dignity, and if they are unable to do it for themselves, I think that they should be allowed to be helped to die. It is almost certainly not according to Christian principles, but neither is forcing people to undergo appalling suffering and complete loss of dignity, not to mention the knowledge that their families and friends are also suffering watching them go through this. It really would be easier to ask a doctor to administer an overdose or whatever than to do it yourself. However, I believe that if I loved the sufferer very much I would be able and willing to do it. I cannot speak for anyone else. The problem then would be: Would I love the person enough to go to prison for it? That's hard. I don't know.

The names of the commentarians have been changed, except for myself, to protect the privacy of the Internet contributors, but their comments are accurate.
Corbin Melvin Wright was born in New York City in 1931, grew up on Long Island, graduated from Roanoke College in Virginia with a BA in Political Science, and from New York Theological Seminary with a Masters in Religious Education. Corbin became a committed Christian in 1958, and after a number of years became a committed Ecumenical Christian. Corbin worked as an accountant in various companies for about 25 years in New York City, then moved down to Argentina and worked for about 21 years as a Business English converstionalist teacher with some of the top managers. Corbin also became a Stephen Minister (trained counselor) while down here. He has been married twice (the last to an Argentine), widowed once, no children, one cat. If you wish to contact Corbin, you can write to him at (corbinwr@yahoo.com).

[Reza1969]

Is God Just?
By Patricia Nordman


“For Christ also suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

Always in sorrow God's love and justice are questioned. How could a good God be so cruel and so uncaring of those made in His image? Indeed, if He knew Adam and Eve would sin, why did He create them at all? I think in deep sorrow this becomes a crucial and valid question.

Perhaps we can take some comfort in Isaiah 57:1-2: "The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away while no one considers that the righteous man is taken away from evil." No one considers! How true. Jesus’ disciples were so bewildered when their lovely Companion and Friend died on the Cross. Dear God, they must have cried to heaven, Love nailed to a Cross? This Man they lived with, walked with and worked with for over three years was subjected to the cruelest of deaths. How could they know that out of this seeming failure would arise the Son of Man and Son of God in eternal glory; that humankind would be given God's beauty for Jesus’ ashes of suffering; that mankind would be anointed with the oil of joy, God's Holy Spirit; that the grieving world would be dressed with the garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness through this ultimate act of man's inhumanity to Man? How can we know that out of our dear and dead children's ashes will arise a good and goodness? Because our Father is just and His promises are true!

In Psalm 98:14 we are told not only of justice being the foundation of God's throne, but of the symbolism of the twin angels of mercy and truth (one version reads loving-kindness and faithfulness). Psalm 85:10 tells us: "Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed." What a lovely vision for questioning hearts! Psalm 25:10 assures us: "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth" and Psalm 26:3 reassures us: "For Your loving-kindness is before my eyes."

Wherever and whenever God goes, His justice, love and faithfulness accompany Him. It is reported that when Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theater, James Garfield shouted above the panic-stricken crowd, "Fellow Citizens, `Justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne.'" Here is the moral basis for God's Kingship. How then can we blame God for evil: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation" (Matthew 12:25). Remember, Friend, this is Jesus speaking! I believe with all my broken heart that one of Satan's most successful ploys is convincing us that God is responsible for earth's evils and sufferings. Satan must literally dance for joy when a person actually believes that the malignities and perversities of this life are "acts of God"! We are unjust who accuse God of being unjust. It is Satan who is the accuser of the brethren and who delights in our blaming God when calamity strikes. "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33) and grief is not peace but a terrible spiritual anarchy.

I realize that in desolation our hearts are hardly open to the logic and logistics of this aberrant world in which we live and we seem to battle forces we feel too much beyond our control. When we want--indeed, need--to question why we have been thrown into the "bottom of the monstrous world," as Milton so aptly termed it, we might consider that we are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19), and neither are our beloved dead. We were bought with the fearsome price of the agony and death of the Man of Sorrows Himself. If we believe in Jesus and the Atonement then we know He literally bought us and our children, and "if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:8). God has equitable jurisdiction as Creator and Redeemer. "Behold, all souls are Mine," God tells us in Ezekiel 18:4. This implies authority and ownership.

Calvin, whose puritanical pronouncements hardly belie a soft theology, recognized that God possessed "a paternal affection towards the whole human race which He created and formed." We can thank God, even with breaking hearts, that He wills all to be saved. Indeed, I believe that one of the greatest promises in His Word is in John 12:32 : "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." This surely is His highest and noblest will, considering how humankind has ignored, denied and despised the One to whom they owe life itself.

It is possible only with God as our Guide to believe that sorrow does work toward a good, and whatever good does sift its way to the top of our muddy waters comes from God's grace only. Someone has wisely observed that there is a faith which instead of moving mountains prevents mountains of evil from moving. Jeremy Taylor speaks great comfort to our hearts: "God, who in mercy and wisdom governs the world, would never have suffered so many sadnesses, and have sent them especially to the most virtuous and the wisest [people], but that he intends they should be the seminary of thought, the nursery of virtue, the exercise of wisdom, the trial of patience, the venturing for a crown, and the gate of glory."

In our quest for justice we always ask why, for we will always lose loved ones and our cherished plans will sometimes fail. Emily Dickinson pens it well:

Love's stricken "why"
Is all that love can speak --
Built of but just a syllable
The hugest hearts that break.

We ask why does the sun shine on the evil and the good, and the rain fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45)? Surely, if we have any sensibilities at all, so often it seems that justice and mercy are indeed on the scaffold and wrong on the throne of undeserved glory. In fact, wickedness shouts to be noticed and honored through every age. We need only note the idols and heroes the world worships.

The most agonized "why" ever on this grievous earth was the cry of dereliction from the Cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). There on that instrument of death Jesus moaned the why of all who feel God-forsaken and just forsaken; who see the darkness homing in relentlessly and inescapably. Why, my God? Why my son? Why Your Son? Why anyone's beloved child? Why death at all? But questions become useless and, worse, a stone in the way of the Rock of Ages. Our Father asks us to remove the stone from the tomb of our sorrow and believe that He has the answers. We may not know the answers here on earth, but He does have them!

[Reza1969]

Karma - The Truth About What It Is
By Marti Angel, MA



I’ve always thought that Karma was an evil curse and something that we were all destined to have no matter how hard we tried to change it. And essentially, that is what it is. As I began my career as a yoga instructor and a meditation coach, I realized that I needed to get a handle on what karma is and what it entails. This became especially important to me during a very difficult and trying time in my life. I suddenly found myself in a created situation that directly involved me, but was done without my direct input.

I wanted to know what contributing factors were causing such karma. What, besides my thoughts were playing a part in all of this? What was this debt I was paying for and how did it get so convoluted and painful? How did I end up with it? So, I began researching the subject in hopes of finding answers to all my questions. Immediately, I realized that many folks know what Karma is but don’t quite capture the true essence of it. I wanted an explanation that could be understood by everyone, even a child. What I was looking for was the “child version” of karma. Here is what I found:

Within my research I found that karma is a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing and will do. This tells me that Karma is everything that I have done in this lifetime or past lifetimes. I could have brought some debt with me into this lifetime some karmic debt that needed to be repaid. It also means that all my current actions will turn into karma when they become my past. This includes my future actions and the effect that they will have when they become my past.

Karma is not about retribution, vengeance, punishment or reward; karma simply deals with what is. The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to others. So what does Karma really mean? Is my Karma exclusively causing my current reality or is there a mix of someone else’s Karma mixing with mine? As I began to think about it and with further research I took to reading and rereading the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjili.

Then I realized that there are many types of karma that interact with each other in unison creating our current situations. The primary Karma creating current events in our life is personal karma. Karma that you are creating and that you have brought with you from past lifetimes. There is situational karma, the karma attached to situations happening to you right now due to the interaction of the karma of the people involved. There is universal karma, karma that is out of our direct control and that comes as a direct result of the universe. Even the planet Earth has its own karma.

All of these karmas seem to mesh together to create your current reality. Then there is “free will” that gets put into the mix and makes things even more complicated. So it makes sense then to know that this is not an evil curse but a mix of wills, if you please, that jumbles all together to create our world and reality as we are living in this moment. With all of this knowledge I wondered how I could affect my karma to insure that I get the most positive results. I realized that there is one thing that I can do to insure that I create the best of all worlds for myself. “ Do unto others as I would have them do unto me”. Sacred words to live by.
Remember that your health is your wealth!! Keep your thoughts positive! " take control of your health"

[Reza1969]

The Pursuit of Happiness - What is the Meaning of the Fruits of True Happiness?
By Andrew Chin



True happiness is said to be both an inner glow and an outer radiation that you can feel together with an total satisfaction.

Dictionaries will give you the meaning of happiness as an emotional feeling which parallels with pleasure, joy, and contentment. But then these things are just temporary. In your pursuit for happiness you have to dig deeper into the real meaning of happiness, a happiness that is true and never ending.

True happiness is a great feeling of satisfaction which is incomparable to the instant pleasures you get when you see your favourite soccer team winning. It is felt when you overcome an obstacle which has been presented to you. There are many people out there who do not know much about true happiness. This is the reason I have compiled this article on happiness, to let you learn how to find happiness and be happy.

What really makes you happy?

Is it the material things such as money, clothes, jewellery, brand name footwear and bags? Do you go for long-term states of happiness such as security, good health, and love? Which is most valuable to you? Have you gotten access to true happiness? When was the last time you felt really happy? Does happiness quotes and happiness poems make you fell good inside and out? Have you given your all to a certain challenge and you felt satisfied with all those efforts you have placed?

Recognizing true happiness is a must.

There are several occurrences when you have been misguided to the real deal in your pursuit to happiness and simple pleasure. To mark a definition between the two, it is vital that you know the exact difference that comes with both terms. Simple pleasure is a thing of feeling terrific about something. Examples of pleasurable experiences are a family cruise vacation, a spa treatment during the weekend, a great basketball game, and so on. Meanwhile, true happiness is far from feeling emotionally happy. It goes more way beyond enjoyment. In True happiness lies contentment and engrossment.

So what is it that let people have true happiness?

Researchers have identified several factors that can fully describe true happiness in a person. They say that people from all walks of life find happiness but are just too busy to pay any attention to it simply because they fail to recognize what true happiness and pleasure are.

True happiness in a person is actually a state where in you feel like going along with the flow. You seem to be going along with the flow that sets off smoothly, hassle free, and effortlessly. It can be compared to an experience wherein the ticking of the clock stops suddenly and you become totally oblivious of the things that surrounds you.

Among the significant clues of happiness are being totally immersed with what you are doing, when you have your full participation on an engagement, when you are enjoying to the extreme but you have certainly have no idea with regards to the day, to the passing time, to the other things taking place in your surroundings, and the genuine satisfaction that you feel. These are the instances that can inform you that you have got nothing but true happiness in your mind, heart, and soul.

There is chance of true happiness for every person. Do not be taken aback by the negativity that happiness is only meant for other people. In your pursuit for happiness, just remember that you also deserve to experience and find happiness. When it comes your way, you can attest to how lucky you are as a person. Therefore, take time to reconcile occurrences and things in your life. Give importance to the value of true happiness everyday.

"Do not worry, be happy" - famous happiness quote.

[Reza1969]

Did God create evil?

Question: "Did God create evil?"




Answer: At first it might seem that if God created all things then evil must have been created by God. However, there is an assumption here that needs to be cleared up. Evil is not a "thing" - like a rock or electricity. You can't have a jar of evil! Rather, evil is something that occurs, like running. Evil has no existence of its own - it is really a lack in a good thing. For example, holes are real but they only exist in something else. We call the absence of dirt a hole - but it cannot be separated from the dirt. So when God created, it is true that all that existed was good. One of the good things that God made was creatures who had the freedom to choose good. In order to have a real choice, God had to allow there to be something besides good to choose. So God allowed these free angels and humans to choose good or non-good (evil). When a bad relationship exists between two good things we call that evil, but it does not become a "thing" that required God to create it.



Perhaps a further illustration will help. If I were to ask the average person "does cold exist?" - his/her answer would likely be yes. However, this is incorrect. Cold does not exist. Cold is the absence of heat. Similarly, darkness does not exist. Darkness is the absence of light. Similarly, evil is the absence of good, or better, evil is the absence of God. God did not have to create evil, but rather only allow for the absence of good.



Look at the example of Job in Job chapters 1-2. Satan wanted to destroy Job, and God allowed Satan to do everything but kill Job. God allowed this to happen to prove to Satan that Job was righteous because he loved God, not because God had blessed him so richly. God is sovereign and ultimately in control of everything that happens. Satan cannot do anything unless he has God's "permission." God did not create evil, but He allows evil. If God had not allowed for the possibility of evil, both mankind and angels would be serving God out of obligation, not choice. He did not want “robots” that simply did what He wanted them to do because of their "programming." God allowed for the possibility of evil so that we could genuinely have a free will and choose whether we wanted to serve Him or not.



Ultimately, there is not an answer to these questions that we can fully comprehend. We, as finite human beings, can never fully understand an infinite God (Romans 11:33-34). Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought. God looks at things from an eternal perspective. We look at things from an earthly perspective. Why did God put man on earth knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and therefore bring evil, death, and suffering on all mankind? Why didn’t He just create us all and leave us in Heaven where we would be perfect and without suffering? The best answer I can come up with is this: God didn’t want a race of robots who did not have a free will. God had to allow the possibility of evil for us to have a true choice of whether to worship God or not. If we never had to suffer and experience evil, would we truly know how wonderful heaven is? God did not create evil, but He allowed it. If He hadn’t allowed evil, we would be worshipping Him out of obligation, not by a choice of our own free will.

[Asalbanoo]

Apostrophes need not be learning catastrophes
by Rolf Palmberg

What is the difference between

The boy's books are on the table, and
The boys' books are on the table ?
The position of the apostrophe in a noun (to indicate possession of something) often causes problems for ESL/EFL learners. Yet the rules are simple. In fact, learners only need to decide whether the possessive noun (the possessor, which, by the way, can also be a name) is singular or plural and whether or not it ends in -s in its written form.

The following rules apply:

If the possessive noun is singular, always add an apostrophe + s.
If the possessive noun does not end in -s (in its written form), always add an apostrophe + s.
If the possessive noun is plural and ends in -s (and this is a characteristic feature of the large majority of plural nouns), just add an apostrophe.
This is why you say James's books, the children's books, and even the boss's books. This is also why you don't know whether something belongs to one or several boys until you see the sentence in writing.

To simplify things further, all you really have to remember is Rule 3. If Rule 3 does not apply, always add an apostrophe + s.

(Note that American English does not always follow these rules.)

[Asalbanoo]

The First Christmas Card
Josef Essberger

Today, we send millions of Christmas cards every year. But in fact the Christmas card is a relatively modern invention.

In the Middle Ages, European wood engravers produced prints with religious themes. But the first real Christmas card, as we understand the term today, was designed in London, England in 1840. It went on sale in 1843. The designer was John Callcott Horsley, a well known British painter and member of the Royal Academy. He designed the card at the suggestion of his friend Sir Henry Cole, who was the first director of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Horsley produced 1,000 cards and offered them for sale at 1s (one shilling) each. They were printed on stiff card and coloured by hand, with the greeting: "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You". The card shows three pictures: in the centre, a family party; to one side the hungry receiving food; to the other side the poor being clothed. Puritans immediately denounced the card, since it showed people drinking in the family party. But with most people the idea was a great success and the Christmas card quickly became very popular.

Christmas cards were not the first greetings cards. Since 1796, with improvements in printing, merchants had been sending cards to their customers offering "best wishes" for the new year. In many countries, Christmas cards gradually became even more popular than New Year's cards.

As Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ, cards often show scenes of His nativity. Others show images associated with Christmas such as wintry scenes of snow-laden pines, Father Christmas (Santa Claus), stars, candles or holly. The traditional greeting written on a Christmas card is "Merry Christmas", but many other greetings are also used, such as "Happy Xmas" or "Happy Noel

[Reza1969]

Does God exist? Is there evidence for the existence of God?


Question: "Does God exist? Is there evidence for the existence of God?"



Answer: Does God exist? I find it interesting that so much attention is given to this debate. The latest surveys tell us that over 90% of people in the world today believe in the existence of God or some higher power. Yet, somehow the responsibility is placed on those who believe God does exist to somehow prove that He really does exist. To me, I think it should be the other way around.



However, the existence of God cannot be proven or disproved. The Bible even says that we must accept by faith the fact that God exists, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). If God so desired, He could simply appear and prove to the whole world that He exists. But if He did that, there would be no need for faith. "Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'” (John 20:29).



That does not mean, however, that there is not evidence of God’s existence. The Bible declares, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). Looking at the stars, understanding the vastness of the universe, observing the wonders of nature, seeing the beauty of a sunset – all of these things point to a Creator God. If these were not enough, there is also evidence of God in our own hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “…He has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” There is something deep down in our beings that recognizes that there is something beyond this life and someone beyond this world. We can deny this knowledge intellectually, but God’s presence in us and through us is still there. Despite all of this, the Bible warns us that some will still deny God’s existence, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1). Since over 98% of people throughout history, in all cultures, in all civilizations, on all continents believe in the existence of some kind of God – there must be something (or someone) causing this belief.



In addition to the Biblical arguments for God’s existence, there are logical arguments. First, there is the ontological argument. The most popular form of the ontological argument basically uses the concept of God to prove God’s existence. It begins with the definition of God as “that than which no greater can be conceived.” It is then argued that to exist is greater than to not exist, and therefore the greatest conceivable being must exist. If God did not exist then God would not be the greatest conceivable being - but that would contradict God's very definition. A second is the teleological argument. The teleological argument is that since the universe displays such an amazing design, there must have been a Divine designer. For example, if earth were even a few hundred miles closer or further away from the sun, it would not be capable of supporting much of the life it currently does. If the elements in our atmosphere were even a few percentage points different, every living thing on earth would die. The odds of a single protein molecule forming by chance is 1 in 10243 (that is a 10 followed by 243 0’s). A single cell is comprised of millions of protein molecules.



A third logical argument for God’s existence is called the cosmological argument. Every effect must have a cause. This universe and everything in it is an effect. There must be something that caused everything to come into existence. Ultimately, there must be something “un-caused” in order to cause everything else to come into existence. That “un-caused” something is God. A fourth argument is known as the moral argument. Every culture throughout history has had some form of law. Everyone has a sense of right and wrong. Murder, lying, stealing, and immorality are almost universally rejected. Where did this sense of right and wrong come from if not from a holy God?



Despite all of this, the Bible tells us that people will reject the clear and undeniable knowledge of God and instead believe a lie. Romans 1:25 declares, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.” The Bible also proclaims that people are without excuse for not believing in God, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).



People claim to not believe in God because it is “not scientific” or “because there is no proof.” The true reason is that once people admit that there is a God, they also must realize that they are responsible to God and in need of forgiveness from God (Romans 3:23; 6:23). If God exists, then we are accountable for our actions to Him. If God does not exist, then we can do whatever we want without having to worry about God judging us. I believe that is why evolution is so strongly clung to by many in our society - to give people an alternative to believing in a Creator God. God exists and ultimately everyone knows that He exists. The very fact that some attempt so aggressively to disprove His existence is in fact an argument for His existence.



Allow me one last argument for God’s existence. How do I know God exists? I know God exists because I speak to Him every day. I do not audibly hear Him speaking back to me, but I sense His presence, I feel His leading, I know His love, I desire His grace. Things have occurred in my life that have no other possible explanation other than God. God has so miraculously saved me and changed my life that I cannot help but to acknowledge and praise His existence. None of these arguments in and of themselves can persuade anyone who refuses to acknowledge what is so plainly clear. In the end, God’s existence must be accepted by faith (Hebrews 11:6). Faith in God is not a blind leap into the dark, it is safe step into a well-lit room where 90% of people are already standing.

[Reza1969]

Question: "Is God dead?"


Answer: The technical term for the teaching that "God is dead" is theothanatology, a three-fold compound from the Greek: theos (god) + thanatos (death) + logia (word).


German poet and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is most famous for making the statement "God is dead" in the Nineteenth Century. Nietzsche, influenced by both Greek philosophy and the theory of evolution, wrote, "God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? . . . Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods simply to be worthy of it?" (Nietzsche, The Gay Science, §125).


Nietzsche's purpose was to abolish "traditional" morality-Christianity, in particular-because, in his mind, it represented an attempt of self-serving religious leaders to control the weak and unthinking masses. Nietzsche believed that the "idea" of God was no longer necessary; in fact, God was irrelevant because man was evolving to a place where he could create a deeper and more satisfying "master morality" of his own.


Nietzsche's “God is dead” philosophy has been used to advance the theories of existentialism, nihilism, and socialism. Radical theologians such as Thomas J. J. Altizer and Paul van Buren advocated the "God is dead" idea in the 1960s and 1970s.


The belief that God is dead and religion is irrelevant naturally leads to the following ideas:


1) If God is dead, there are no moral absolutes and no universal standard to which all men should conform.


2) If God is dead, there is no purpose or rational order in life.


3) If God is dead, any design seen in the universe is projected by men who are desperate to find meaning in life.


4) If God is dead, man is independent and totally free to create his own values.


5) If God is dead, the "real" world (as opposed to a heaven and hell) is man's only concern.


The idea that "God is dead" is primarily a challenge to God's authority over our lives. The notion that we can safely create our own rules was the lie that the serpent told Eve: "ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Peter warns us that "there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2:1).


The "God is dead" argument is usually presented as a rational, empowering philosophy for artists and intellectuals. But scripture calls it foolish. "The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1). Ironically, those who hold to the “God is dead” philosophy will discover the fatal error in the philosophy when they themselves are dead.

[Reza1969]

Question: "What are the attributes of God? What is God like?"



Answer: The good news, as we try to answer this question, is that there is much that can be found out about God! Those who examine this explanation may find it helpful to first read through it entirely; then go back and look up selected Scripture passages for further clarification. The Scripture references are completely necessary, for without the authority of the Bible, this collection of words would be no better than man's opinion; which by itself is often incorrect in understanding God (Job 42:7). To say that it is important for us to try to understand what God is like is a huge understatement! Failure to do so will likely cause us to set up, chase after, and worship false gods contrary to His will (Exodus 20:3-5).


Only what God has chosen of Himself to be revealed can be known. One of God's attributes or qualities is "light", meaning that He is self-revealing in information of Himself (Isaiah 60:19, James 1:17). The reality that God has revealed knowledge of Himself should not be neglected, lest any one of us come short of entering His rest (Hebrews 4:1). Creation, the Bible, and the Word made flesh (Jesus Christ) will help us to know what God is like.


Let's start by understanding that God is our Creator and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1 Psalm 24:1). God said that man is created in His image. Man is above the rest of creation and was given dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the 'fall' but still offers a glimpse of His works (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation's vastness, complexity, beauty, and order we can have a sense of the awesomeness of God.


Reading through some of the names of God can be helpful in our search of what God is like. They are as follows:

Elohim - strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1)

Adonai - Lord, indicating a Master to servant relationship (Exodus 4:10,13)

El Elyon - Most High, the strongest One (Genesis 14:20)

El Roi - the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13)

El Shaddai - Almighty God (Genesis 17:1)

El Olam - everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28)

Yahweh - LORD "I Am", meaning the eternal self-existent God (Exodus 3:13,14).


We will now continue by examining more of God's attributes; God is eternal, meaning He had no beginning and that His existence will never end. He is immortal, infinite (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). God is immutable, meaning He is unchangeable; this means that God is absolutely reliable and trustworthy (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:26,27). God is incomparable, meaning there is no one like Him in works or being; He is unequaled and perfect (2 Samuel 7:22; Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25; Matthew 5:48). God is inscrutable, meaning He is unfathomable, unsearchable, past finding out in entirely understanding Him (Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 145:3; Romans 11:33,34).


God is just, meaning He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing favoritism (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30). God is omnipotent, meaning He is all-powerful; He can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions will always be in accord with the rest of His character (Revelation 19:6; Jeremiah 32:17,27). God is omnipresent, meaning He is ever-present, everywhere; this does not mean that God is everything (Psalm 139:7-13; Jeremiah 23:23). God is omniscient, meaning He knows the past, present, and future, even what we are thinking at any given moment; since He knows everything His justice will always be administered fairly (Psalm 139:1-5; Proverbs 5:21).


God is one, meaning not only that there is no other, but also that He is alone in being able to meet the deepest needs and longings of our hearts, and He alone is worthy of our worship and devotion (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is righteous, meaning that God cannot and will not pass over wrongdoing; it is because of His righteousness and justice that in order for our sins to be forgiven, Jesus had to experience God's judgment when our sins were placed upon Him (Exodus 9:27; Matthew 27:45-46; Romans 3:21-26).


God is sovereign, meaning He is supreme; all of His creation put together, whether knowingly or unknowingly, cannot thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20). God is spirit, meaning He is invisible (John 1:18; 4:24). God is a Trinity, meaning He is three in one, same in substance, equal in power and glory. Notice that in the first Scripture passage cited that 'name' is singular even though it refers to three distinct Persons- “Father, Son, Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:9-11). God is truth, meaning that He is in agreement with all that He is, He will remain incorruptible and cannot lie (Psalm 117:2; 1 Samuel 15:29).


God is holy, meaning that He is separated from all moral defilement and is hostile toward it. God sees all evil and it angers Him; fire is usually mentioned in scripture along with holiness. God is referred to as a consuming fire (Isaiah 6:3; Habakkuk 1:13; Exodus 3:2,4,5; Hebrews 12:29). God is gracious - this would include His goodness, kindness, mercy, and love - which are words that give shades of meaning to His goodness. If it were not for God's grace it would seem that the rest of His attributes would exclude us from Him. Thankfully this is not the case, for He desires to know each of us personally (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 31:19; 1 Peter 1:3; John 3:16; John 17:3).


This has been only a modest attempt to answer a God-sized question. Please be greatly encouraged to continue seeking after Him (Jeremiah 29:13).

[mir@]

Dear Reza1969,
I want to express my gratefulness for your interesting articles, especially those about God are really marvelous and attractive.

Also, those post in which audio files (with small sizes and good quality) are also included are really useful.

Please keep on doing.

Regards
:11:

[minizoro]

hello Mr.Reza
thank you alot because of great articls
is there any software which could read English texts for us?

[Petros]

!Free Salvation at a Great Price


The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of God's Holiness (Rom. 3:23). No matter how good you think you are, you fall short of God's righteous and perfect standards. Your sin before a Holy God is a serious matter. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"Rom. 6:23. We deserve death/separation from God. That separation amounts to eternal life in Hell. However, Rom. 6:23 tells us about God's FREE gift.

Salvation and forgiveness of sins is a Free Gift. Yes, we all deserve His wrath, but our Holy God is also a loving God that has provided a way to be saved from His wrath: You don't earn it you simply receive it by faith. However, it's a Free Salvation at a Great Price. Jesus died a cruel death on the Cross, suffering and bleeding for your sins. He paid the price of God's wrath for you! Perhaps you struggle with drug addiction or alcohol addiction, maybe you're wrestling with homosexuality or pornography, perhaps you're in prison for a serious crime, you may be a self-righteous person, what ever your sin problem is, you need to turn to Jesus Christ.

You must come to God by faith, believing He gave His Son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross for your sins. God loves you and wants you to come to Him. What must you believe in order to be saved? By faith, believe God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the Cross for your sins. Believe that He died in your place, for your sins. Remember, the wages of sin is Death - Jesus paid that debt. He was the only one who could. When you're saved from God's wrath you are given eternal life in Heaven.

Please understand the following important truth from God's word: The Holy God of the Bible will never simply dismiss sins, He must judge them with a Righteous judgment. From God's perspective, your sins can be judged in one of two ways. You can receive Jesus' payment for your sins when He died and suffered on the Cross providing pardon for your sins, or you can pay the penalty yourself by spending Eternity in Hell. Some have been led to believe that they can work their way into Heaven.

Some think that if they're as good as they can be and they try their best in life to be a good person, that God will simply allow them into His presence. This is not true! James 2:10 tells us "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." Every person born needs to realize that they stand as a sinful being before a Holy God that MUST punish sin.

And the only remedy for man's condition before God is the remedy that God Himself provided - Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. We want to help you with any questions you may have. This is the most important decision you will ever make. So don't take it lightly and don't put it off any longer

:Source

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[Petros]

Teens


?What is a role model

When we say someone serves as a role model, we mean the individual is someone others admire or try to emulate. For teenagers this often means the person is someone they want to be like — whether it’s because of the person’s lifestyle, athletic prowess or the attitudes the person shows.

Some of those role models are celebrities out of your teen’s reach (athletes and movie stars), while others are in his or her own circle of influence (youth ministers, teachers and other parents). What do those people have that make them attractive to your teen?


?What teens crave

Why do teens look up to the other adults in their lives? Whether or not we like it, parents are sometimes considered the enemy. Teenagers might see their moms and dads as judgmental and unconcerned about their lives. Two qualities, therefore, are crucial to being a role model.

1. A role model is understanding, not condescending.

When 13-year-old Jenny seemed especially upset about a boy not liking her at school, her father said, “That’s nothing to worry about. You’re too young to even think about boys.” When the dad spoke those words, he was telling Jenny that her concerns were not important. Yet it was serious in her 13-year-old world. Role models try to connect with a teen to understand what he or she is going through. They do so without belittling the teen’s problems or downplaying the triumphs.

2. A role model is a friend but also a leader. We often think that to be a role model to our teenager we must know the name of every new movie or be able to use teenage slang. That’s not necessarily true.

While most role models understand the teen’s life and are friendly, they also take on a leadership role with them. Role models provide answers, insight or suggestions about the teen’s struggles — oftentimes from their own experiences.


?How parents can be good role models

Be available. Let your teenager know your door is always open. While your son or daughter may not beat down your door every time he or she has a question, your teen is more likely to do so when you have left that door open.

Say phrases such as “I’m always here for you” or “I’d love to hear about your day.” Don’t apply pressure, but let your teen know you are there for him or her.

Listen to your teen. Being available to your teenager does not mean listening with one ear and then giving a long string of advice. Listen to your teen first, then ask follow-up questions. Don’t jump in with advice (even when you clearly see what should be done). Instead, proceed slowly, asking your teen what he or she thinks should be done.

Being a role model to your teenager may seem like an impossible undertaking. But realize that your young person needs someone just like you — someone who loves him or her and who can point in the right direction

:Source

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