Please be advised that from now on if you would like to keep informed about the Peru trip please go to the following link as this blog has been designed just for Peru 2007.
http://2007peru.blogspot.com/index.html
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
God Bless my Ministry to Peru
March 5, 2007
Dear _________________________________,
Hi! As many of you know that on August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina happened and God then open the doors through the Salvation Army for me to go to Biloxi Mississippi to help out with the after math of this disaster. Ever since then God has laid it heavy upon my heart to explore the opportunities to go on a mission trips to a 3rd world country. It is my belief that every thing happens in Gods world in his time if we get out of his way and allow him to do his work. He will open doors for us when he feels the time is right.
Well I am excited to tell you that God answer pray and has presented a way for me to participate on a short-term mission’s team to Lima, Peru. Cedar Creek Community Church in Cambridge, International Care Facilitators (ICF, a non-denominational care giving agency), and Kids Alive have teamed together to provide this missions opportunity. We will be involved at the Lima Children’s Home, a group home for 40 children and the Manchay Care Center that is expanding their facilities to accommodate many more than their current 70 children into their day care program.
Please feel free to check out my personal blog site for information about the project at the following website
http://alexisbennett1961.blogspot.com/index.html As the project for this year progresses I will blog to keep everyone up to date as to what is happening.
Our scheduled departure is on August 10, 2007. During the 2 weeks in Lima we will have time to minister in a variety of ways with the children and the staff at both centers. Much of our time will be spent in assisting with the construction work at the Manchay Care Center. We are praying there will also be opportunities for me to use many of my other skills as well. Manchay is a very poor community on the outskirts of Lima. This will be a wonderful opportunity to get practical hands-on experience and exposure to the global mission field.
As a short-term missionary with ICF Ministries for this project, I have committed to help raise prayer and financial support for this work. $1,250 is needed for airfare by April 15th, and the remainder, $1750, by July 1st. If you are able to help out financially, please complete the form at the bottom of this letter and send to the address shown. The $3000.00 we raise helps to pay for our airfare, accommodations, food and for the ministry while we are there.
Specifically I am asking for your support of a $50.00 to $100.00 donation but any amount is truly appreciated. For the past few years I have asked your support towards the Relay for Life for the Canadian Cancer Society and this year instead I am asking for your support in helping to support this mission trip for me.
Most of all, I need your prayer support. If you can pray for me, please pray that:
1. I will be able to raise the $3000.00 to go on this mission trip
2. I will be a blessing to the members of my team and to others I contact.
3. I will learn what God has to teach me through this mission’s project.
4. God will grant me good health and safety as I travel
5. God will provide for all my needs.
God Bless you! And thank you for your support.
Alexis C. Bennett
You will receive a receipt for income tax purposes for your donation.
(Please detach this form and submit with your donation for tax receipt)
Alexis Bennett
28 Blenheim Rd
Cambridge, Ontario
N1S 1E6
Your Name:
Address:
Postal Code:
Telephone #:
Donation Amt $:
(If donating by cheque or money order, please make payable to: “ICF Ministries Inc.”)
Fundraiser Name: Alexis Bennett
Thursday, February 22, 2007
MY OH MY OH MY------WHAT HAPPENED??????
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My Head hurts, my neck, my back, shoulders, knee also hurt, can't understand why!!!!!! Can you???????????
So it was a nice warm Sunny Sunday and I was driving from church to my friends house for a nice Sunday dinner. I was thinking how nice the morning meeting was, how lucky I was to be alive, have a great family and wonderful friends. I was thinking about how nice it would be if spring was here and was going to stay, when I turned around the corner from Crombie onto Middleton and bang before you knew it I had driven into a parked car.
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I still am not one hundred percent sure what happened. I truly believe that the sun must have gotten into my eyes and I did not see the car. This was my very first accident and it sure does shake you up. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance to be checked over. They ran a bunch of xrays, put a collar on my neck and checked for spine injury and head injury.
After a few hours at our famous Cambridge Memorial hospital they said I was free to go and that I was not to stay alone for the first 24 hrs in case of head injury. Well by Tuesday my head ache and my aches and pains had not subsided very much so off to emergency I went again. Once again after a few hours they sent me home and told me I should get some massage therapy on my neck and back because of whip lash and also I had a concussion. They said concussions can last for months and hopefully only days and the head ache should start to go away.
I can not believe how wonderful my insurance company has been in helping me out with everything. With in a few hours of reporting the accident they had a rental car here at my home. They authorized immediately for me to get a massage when I told them about this and the massage therapist suggested physio so they immediately approved that as well. I also broke my glasses in the accident and they authorized me to go and get an eye exam and new glasses as well.
Now I am not stupid I realize my insurance will probably go up but if it has to go up they might as well be paying for the things I pay insurance for.
I was also charged in this accident and I should have been cause it clearly was my fault. So when the police officer came to the hospital to see me it did not surprise me at all when he handed me the ticket. I have a wonderful lawyer in the family and he says we will be able to get this reduced in cost and points and that it should not effect my insurance as badly.
I am so thankful to God that this was not more serious and that there was no other people involved and that it was just a car. It is still very disturbing but it could have been far more serious. God is watching over me and helped to keep me safe. I am so grateful for this. My God is an awesome God!
Friday, January 12, 2007
Reflections
Well another year has gone by. What was there that was good for me and what was bad for me? Did I learn any good lessons? Are there things I want to change or keep the same?
One of the lessons I learned at the end of the year as I helped out a friend of mine in his flower shop is that I really can not work a regular scheduled job. I can not work for someone else. I need to be my own boss, set my own hours that work for me. On days when I am not feeling well to have the flexibility to work when I feel up to it. What does this mean for me? Will I ever go back to the workforce who knows? If left up to me the answer to this will always be no.
I learned I enjoy helping others more than I ever thought. I have had the opportunity to help in organizations and committees I never thought I would get the opportunity to and really enjoyed it. I think this year I am going to do more volunteering outside my church world. I am praying and seeing where this will lead me.
We must never take for granted what we have because there is always no matter what someone else far worse off than our selves. Look around us each day and we will notice someone. What can we do to help them today?
Lately I see a man around town pushing a shopping cart around saying I need $2.00, handyman, need work. Should we give him that $2.00 or can we offer to see if there are other ways we can help him.
This Christmas my mother was ill with flu like bug. She has had it for just over a month now. She is finally starting to feel better. But you know when there are
family traditions and certain ways to do things and the matriarch of the family is not up to pare and not feeling much like directing or doing it means the rest of the family has to realize it is our turn to step up to the plate and make Christmas happen. It also makes you start to realize that our parents are not getting any younger and maybe it is time for Christmas to move to someone else’s home.
As a child growing up Christmas was always at my grandparents and then all of a sudden one day it was being shared from our house to my uncle and aunt’s house, and eventually just our family at our house and theirs at their house.
So maybe it is just time for it to be shared amongst our selves. After all we already share the vegetables’ and the Christmas pudding mom and me stuff the turkey
and pop it in the oven. It is mostly the setting of the table and the decorating that mom worries far too much over. She usually likes to set the table by the first of December, Family joke. And this year the table was missing 6 people as they were at the inlaws. So this year we had 15 at 1 table next year we have 21.
Ok what did I learn over Christmas, the turkey definitely taste far better when you
cook it upside down. All the juices drain through the turkey keeping it far moisture than if cooked the right side up. Yes I did put the turkey in the pan upside down, accidentally on my mother’s directions. I asked her if I had it in the right way and she said yes. Now why did I ask because we have done this before, now we are going to make it a tradition as long as I am cooking the turkey?
New Years Resolutions... a topic for another blog
So until then Happy New Years everyone! May this year Bless you all, keep you all in good health or better health than last year
One of the lessons I learned at the end of the year as I helped out a friend of mine in his flower shop is that I really can not work a regular scheduled job. I can not work for someone else. I need to be my own boss, set my own hours that work for me. On days when I am not feeling well to have the flexibility to work when I feel up to it. What does this mean for me? Will I ever go back to the workforce who knows? If left up to me the answer to this will always be no.
I learned I enjoy helping others more than I ever thought. I have had the opportunity to help in organizations and committees I never thought I would get the opportunity to and really enjoyed it. I think this year I am going to do more volunteering outside my church world. I am praying and seeing where this will lead me.
We must never take for granted what we have because there is always no matter what someone else far worse off than our selves. Look around us each day and we will notice someone. What can we do to help them today?
Lately I see a man around town pushing a shopping cart around saying I need $2.00, handyman, need work. Should we give him that $2.00 or can we offer to see if there are other ways we can help him.This Christmas my mother was ill with flu like bug. She has had it for just over a month now. She is finally starting to feel better. But you know when there are
family traditions and certain ways to do things and the matriarch of the family is not up to pare and not feeling much like directing or doing it means the rest of the family has to realize it is our turn to step up to the plate and make Christmas happen. It also makes you start to realize that our parents are not getting any younger and maybe it is time for Christmas to move to someone else’s home.
As a child growing up Christmas was always at my grandparents and then all of a sudden one day it was being shared from our house to my uncle and aunt’s house, and eventually just our family at our house and theirs at their house.
So maybe it is just time for it to be shared amongst our selves. After all we already share the vegetables’ and the Christmas pudding mom and me stuff the turkey
and pop it in the oven. It is mostly the setting of the table and the decorating that mom worries far too much over. She usually likes to set the table by the first of December, Family joke. And this year the table was missing 6 people as they were at the inlaws. So this year we had 15 at 1 table next year we have 21.Ok what did I learn over Christmas, the turkey definitely taste far better when you
cook it upside down. All the juices drain through the turkey keeping it far moisture than if cooked the right side up. Yes I did put the turkey in the pan upside down, accidentally on my mother’s directions. I asked her if I had it in the right way and she said yes. Now why did I ask because we have done this before, now we are going to make it a tradition as long as I am cooking the turkey?
New Years Resolutions... a topic for another blog
So until then Happy New Years everyone! May this year Bless you all, keep you all in good health or better health than last year
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Food for thought around Christmas
As the Children all over the world would say 22 more sleeps, so what can we do in those days to make life easier for those less fortunate than ourselves.
I read and listen to all the upcoming events of the season and wonder how most people get through the seasons relatively sane. Most people of work parties for both spouses, kids parties for school, sporting events and some social clubs, adult parties of friends and families, events at church and then there may even be a few events around the community that might be of some interest to you.
In all the hustle and the bustle I feel most people get caught up in the commercialization of the seasons and forget what Christmas is all about. Because of all the religions and multi-culturism in our societies we are not even allowed to say Merry Christmas but to say Happy Holidays.
There are so many even in our own community that needs our help. They need us to reach deep into our hearts and see the needs around us.
On Friday evening I was heading to get something to eat, and it was very cold, raining hard, and I noticed this older women struggling with her parcels walking with a cane trying to rush probably to get home. My heart told me to turn my car around and stop to offer her a ride home. Now she only had a few blocks to go, but she was so very grateful. We had a few moments to exchange a few words of kindness and she was obviously a Christian woman because she said God told her it was safe to go with me and she prayed silently to herself on the drive to her apartment. She said God blessed her tonight with a ride since she was cold, broke and did not have enough money for the bus home. I asked her if she would like a coffee, she said no God had provided enough for today. I gave her $10 and told her to have dinner on me. She said thank you and God Bless. Got out of my car, and scooted away quickly into her apartment building.
We have homeless people in Cambridge who need coats, food, love and a kind word. We have lonely people who need us to take a few minutes to pass them a smile share a hello to them and to offer a Merry Christmas to them.
We have many children on our wish trees around the city that need us to give donations of gifts so they can help to put a smile on a Childs face who other wise might not have a Christmas. Each of us know what we can do to help or make a difference so my wish this year is that we forget about all the gift giving and give gifts that can make a difference to someone else’s life.
Sponsor a family, buy a gift for world vision on behalf of someone as their gift, and supply a turkey for a family who could use it, open your hearts and reach out to others who need us.
Doing these small things help me to not stress out as much over Christmas, helps me to forget about the hustle and the bustle and to get out of self to serve others.
Merry Christmas Everyone
I read and listen to all the upcoming events of the season and wonder how most people get through the seasons relatively sane. Most people of work parties for both spouses, kids parties for school, sporting events and some social clubs, adult parties of friends and families, events at church and then there may even be a few events around the community that might be of some interest to you.
In all the hustle and the bustle I feel most people get caught up in the commercialization of the seasons and forget what Christmas is all about. Because of all the religions and multi-culturism in our societies we are not even allowed to say Merry Christmas but to say Happy Holidays.
There are so many even in our own community that needs our help. They need us to reach deep into our hearts and see the needs around us.
On Friday evening I was heading to get something to eat, and it was very cold, raining hard, and I noticed this older women struggling with her parcels walking with a cane trying to rush probably to get home. My heart told me to turn my car around and stop to offer her a ride home. Now she only had a few blocks to go, but she was so very grateful. We had a few moments to exchange a few words of kindness and she was obviously a Christian woman because she said God told her it was safe to go with me and she prayed silently to herself on the drive to her apartment. She said God blessed her tonight with a ride since she was cold, broke and did not have enough money for the bus home. I asked her if she would like a coffee, she said no God had provided enough for today. I gave her $10 and told her to have dinner on me. She said thank you and God Bless. Got out of my car, and scooted away quickly into her apartment building.
We have homeless people in Cambridge who need coats, food, love and a kind word. We have lonely people who need us to take a few minutes to pass them a smile share a hello to them and to offer a Merry Christmas to them.
We have many children on our wish trees around the city that need us to give donations of gifts so they can help to put a smile on a Childs face who other wise might not have a Christmas. Each of us know what we can do to help or make a difference so my wish this year is that we forget about all the gift giving and give gifts that can make a difference to someone else’s life.
Sponsor a family, buy a gift for world vision on behalf of someone as their gift, and supply a turkey for a family who could use it, open your hearts and reach out to others who need us.
Doing these small things help me to not stress out as much over Christmas, helps me to forget about the hustle and the bustle and to get out of self to serve others.
Merry Christmas Everyone
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Open Mind
Please read the next few post with a very open mind with out any judement. Please read them for eductional purpose only, to learn more about illnesses that are just as serious as a physical disease such as cancer, heart disease and so forth.
It has been said for years that is is far easier for a person to understand a physical disease oppose to a psycological illness, so it is my intent to educate you on the fact that just because it is not a disease you can see or understand it still is a disease and an illness.
I look forward to further posts and your comments and/or imput on these subjects.
It has been said for years that is is far easier for a person to understand a physical disease oppose to a psycological illness, so it is my intent to educate you on the fact that just because it is not a disease you can see or understand it still is a disease and an illness.
I look forward to further posts and your comments and/or imput on these subjects.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that's triggered by your memories of a traumatic event — an event that directly affected you or an event that you witnessed.
The disorder commonly affects survivors of traumatic events, such as sexual assault, physical assault, war, torture, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, an airplane crash, a hostage situation or a death camp. Post-traumatic stress disorder also can affect rescue workers at the site of an airplane crash or a mass shooting. It can affect someone who witnessed a tragic accident.
Not everyone involved in a traumatic event experiences post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the disorder affects more than 5 million adults each year in the United States. Post-traumatic stress disorder is twice as common in women as it is in men.
Treatment may involve a combined approach including medications and behavior therapy designed to help you gain control of your anxiety.
What is PTSD?
It is common for people to feel that no matter what they’ve faced or lived with, no matter how extreme, they should be able to carry on. But sometimes people face situations that are so traumatic that they may become unable to cope and function in their daily lives. Some people become so distressed by memories of the trauma – memories that won’t go away – that they begin to live their lives trying to avoid any reminders of what happened to them.
A person who feels this way months after a traumatic experience has passed may be suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, a serious and common health condition. For these people, getting beyond the trauma and overcoming PTSD requires the help of a professional.
PTSD may develop following exposure to extreme trauma.
Extreme trauma is a terrifying event or ordeal that a person has experienced, witnessed or learned about, especially one that is life-threatening or causes physical harm. It can be a single event or repeated experience.
The experience causes that person to feel intense fear, horror or a sense of helplessness.
The stress caused by trauma can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Research suggests that prolonged trauma may disrupt and alter brain chemistry. For some people, this may lead to the development of PTSD.
Statistics
An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives, and up to 20 percent of these people go on to develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
An estimated 5 percent of Americans – more than 13 million people – have PTSD at any given time.
Approximately 8 percent of all adults – one of 13 people in this country – will develop PTSD during their lifetime.
An estimated one out of 10 women will get PTSD at some time in their lives. Women are about twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. This may be due to the fact that women tend to experience interpersonal violence (such as domestic violence, rape or abuse) more often than men.
Almost 17 percent of men and 13 percent of women have experienced more than three traumatic events in their lives.
The estimated risk for developing PTSD for people who have experienced the following traumatic events is:
- Rape (49 percent)
- Severe beating or physical assault (31.9 percent)
- Other sexual assault (23.7 percent)
- Serious accident or injury; for example, car or train accident (16.8 percent)
- Shooting or stabbing (15.4 percent)
- Sudden, unexpected death of family member or friend (14.3 percent)
- Child’s life-threatening illness (10.4 percent)
- Witness to killing or serious injury (7.3 percent)
- Natural disaster (3.8 percent)
Who's at risk for developing PTSD?
Those at risk include:
Anyone who has been victimized or has witnessed a violent act or who has been repeatedly exposed to a life-threatening situation.
Survivors of:
- Domestic or intimate partner violence
- Rape or sexual assault or abuse
- Physical assault such as mugging or carjacking
- Other random acts of violence such as those that take place in public, in schools or in the workplace
Survivors of unexpected events in everyday life:
- Car accidents or fires
- Natural disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes
- Major catastrophic events such as a plane crash or terrorist act
- Disasters caused by human error such as industrial accidents
Children who are neglected or sexually, physically or verbally abused or adults who were abused as children
Combat veterans or civilian victims of war
Those diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or who have undergone invasive medical procedures
Professionals who respond to victims in trauma situations such as emergency medical service workers, police, firefighters, military, and search and rescue workers
People who learn of the sudden, unexpected death of a close friend or relative
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
People respond in different ways to extreme trauma. Many people who experience extreme trauma do not develop PTSD. However, for those who do, PTSD symptoms usually appear within several weeks of the trauma, but some people don’t experience symptoms until months or even years later.
Three categories – or "clusters" – of symptoms are associated with PTSD.
Clusters
Re-living the event through recurring nightmares or other intrusive images that occur at any time. People who suffer from PTSD also have extreme emotional or physical reactions such as chills, heart palpitations or panic when faced with reminders of the event.
Avoiding reminders of the event, including places, people, thoughts or other activities associated with the trauma. PTSD sufferers may feel emotionally detached, withdraw from friends and family, and lose interest in everyday activities.
Being on guard or being hyper-aroused at all times, including feeling irritability or sudden anger, having difficulty sleeping or concentrating, or being overly alert or easily startled.
People with PTSD may have low self-esteem or relationship problems or may seem disconnected from their lives. Other problems that may mask or intensify symptoms include:
Psychiatric problems such as depression, dissociation (losing conscious awareness of the “here and now”) or another anxiety disorder like panic disorder.
Self-destructive behavior including:
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Suicidal impulses
- High-risk sexual behaviors that may result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV
- Other high-risk behavior that may be life-endangering, such as fast or reckless driving
Physical complaints, any or all of which may be accompanied by depression, including:
- Chronic pain with no medical basis (frequently gynecological problems in women)
- Stress-related conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia
- Stomach pain or other digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome or alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation
- Eating disorders
- Breathing problems or asthma
- Headaches
- Muscle cramps or aches such as low back pain
- Cardiovascular problems
- Sleep disorders
The disorder commonly affects survivors of traumatic events, such as sexual assault, physical assault, war, torture, a natural disaster, an automobile accident, an airplane crash, a hostage situation or a death camp. Post-traumatic stress disorder also can affect rescue workers at the site of an airplane crash or a mass shooting. It can affect someone who witnessed a tragic accident.
Not everyone involved in a traumatic event experiences post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the disorder affects more than 5 million adults each year in the United States. Post-traumatic stress disorder is twice as common in women as it is in men.
Treatment may involve a combined approach including medications and behavior therapy designed to help you gain control of your anxiety.
What is PTSD?
It is common for people to feel that no matter what they’ve faced or lived with, no matter how extreme, they should be able to carry on. But sometimes people face situations that are so traumatic that they may become unable to cope and function in their daily lives. Some people become so distressed by memories of the trauma – memories that won’t go away – that they begin to live their lives trying to avoid any reminders of what happened to them.
A person who feels this way months after a traumatic experience has passed may be suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, a serious and common health condition. For these people, getting beyond the trauma and overcoming PTSD requires the help of a professional.
PTSD may develop following exposure to extreme trauma.
Extreme trauma is a terrifying event or ordeal that a person has experienced, witnessed or learned about, especially one that is life-threatening or causes physical harm. It can be a single event or repeated experience.
The experience causes that person to feel intense fear, horror or a sense of helplessness.
The stress caused by trauma can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Research suggests that prolonged trauma may disrupt and alter brain chemistry. For some people, this may lead to the development of PTSD.
Statistics
An estimated 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives, and up to 20 percent of these people go on to develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
An estimated 5 percent of Americans – more than 13 million people – have PTSD at any given time.
Approximately 8 percent of all adults – one of 13 people in this country – will develop PTSD during their lifetime.
An estimated one out of 10 women will get PTSD at some time in their lives. Women are about twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. This may be due to the fact that women tend to experience interpersonal violence (such as domestic violence, rape or abuse) more often than men.
Almost 17 percent of men and 13 percent of women have experienced more than three traumatic events in their lives.
The estimated risk for developing PTSD for people who have experienced the following traumatic events is:
- Rape (49 percent)
- Severe beating or physical assault (31.9 percent)
- Other sexual assault (23.7 percent)
- Serious accident or injury; for example, car or train accident (16.8 percent)
- Shooting or stabbing (15.4 percent)
- Sudden, unexpected death of family member or friend (14.3 percent)
- Child’s life-threatening illness (10.4 percent)
- Witness to killing or serious injury (7.3 percent)
- Natural disaster (3.8 percent)
Who's at risk for developing PTSD?
Those at risk include:
Anyone who has been victimized or has witnessed a violent act or who has been repeatedly exposed to a life-threatening situation.
Survivors of:
- Domestic or intimate partner violence
- Rape or sexual assault or abuse
- Physical assault such as mugging or carjacking
- Other random acts of violence such as those that take place in public, in schools or in the workplace
Survivors of unexpected events in everyday life:
- Car accidents or fires
- Natural disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes
- Major catastrophic events such as a plane crash or terrorist act
- Disasters caused by human error such as industrial accidents
Children who are neglected or sexually, physically or verbally abused or adults who were abused as children
Combat veterans or civilian victims of war
Those diagnosed with a life-threatening illness or who have undergone invasive medical procedures
Professionals who respond to victims in trauma situations such as emergency medical service workers, police, firefighters, military, and search and rescue workers
People who learn of the sudden, unexpected death of a close friend or relative
What are the symptoms of PTSD?
People respond in different ways to extreme trauma. Many people who experience extreme trauma do not develop PTSD. However, for those who do, PTSD symptoms usually appear within several weeks of the trauma, but some people don’t experience symptoms until months or even years later.
Three categories – or "clusters" – of symptoms are associated with PTSD.
Clusters
Re-living the event through recurring nightmares or other intrusive images that occur at any time. People who suffer from PTSD also have extreme emotional or physical reactions such as chills, heart palpitations or panic when faced with reminders of the event.
Avoiding reminders of the event, including places, people, thoughts or other activities associated with the trauma. PTSD sufferers may feel emotionally detached, withdraw from friends and family, and lose interest in everyday activities.
Being on guard or being hyper-aroused at all times, including feeling irritability or sudden anger, having difficulty sleeping or concentrating, or being overly alert or easily startled.
People with PTSD may have low self-esteem or relationship problems or may seem disconnected from their lives. Other problems that may mask or intensify symptoms include:
Psychiatric problems such as depression, dissociation (losing conscious awareness of the “here and now”) or another anxiety disorder like panic disorder.
Self-destructive behavior including:
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Suicidal impulses
- High-risk sexual behaviors that may result in unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including HIV
- Other high-risk behavior that may be life-endangering, such as fast or reckless driving
Physical complaints, any or all of which may be accompanied by depression, including:
- Chronic pain with no medical basis (frequently gynecological problems in women)
- Stress-related conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia
- Stomach pain or other digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome or alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation
- Eating disorders
- Breathing problems or asthma
- Headaches
- Muscle cramps or aches such as low back pain
- Cardiovascular problems
- Sleep disorders
Chronic Depression
Chronic Depression
What is it?
Depression is a strong feeling of sadness. Many people experience depression in response to a loss or sad event. In these cases, an episode of depression usually lasts for six to nine months. However, when depression lasts longer, and the depressive symptoms go away for a short time only to return again, it is termed chronic depression. While everyone experiences sadness at one time or another, these feelings are generally temporary. Chronic depression is long-lasting, interferes with daily activities, and causes a loss of interest in things that were normally pleasurable to the patient.
Who gets it?People who have a family history of anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder; are always anxious; or have an alcohol or drug abuse problem are more likely to develop depression. Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression.
What causes it?While depression is frequently a response to a sad or traumatic event, the cause of chronic depression is often not known. Factors that are known to contribute to depression are heredity, a chemical imbalance in the brain, and significant levels of stress. Heredity refers to the fact that people who have family members with any type of depressive disorder are more likely to also experience depression. Studies of brain functioning have revealed a complex system of neurotransmitters that produce chemicals that transfer signals from nerve cell to nerve cell. Some of these neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are responsible for feelings of well-being. Drugs that correct neurotransmitter imbalances are very effective in treating depression, which supports the theory that there is some type of chemical imbalance that triggers depression. Chronic depression can occur when stresses in a person's environment become overwhelming, such as years of childhood abuse and neglect. It can also be caused by chronic illness, such as AIDS, Parkinson's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, certain chronic cardiac conditions, and hormonal disorders.
What are the symptoms?The symptoms of chronic depression may come and go, with periods of depression alternating with periods of no symptoms at all. Chronic depression usually begins gradually, with vague feelings of sadness that gradually build in intensity. The individual may begin to have difficulty sleeping, or want to sleep more than usual. He or she may experience changes in eating habits, feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, low energy levels, restlessness, loss of interest in normal activities, decreased sex drive, feelings of guilt for no reason, difficulty maintaining relationships, and difficulty concentrating. In severe cases, the individual may have thoughts of death, or may attempt suicide. People with chronic depression have at least two of these symptoms for a period of two years or more. People with chronic depression are generally gloomy and extremely critical of themselves and others. They are usually seen as extremely negative people, who seem to expect failure and take no pleasure in anything.
What is it?
Depression is a strong feeling of sadness. Many people experience depression in response to a loss or sad event. In these cases, an episode of depression usually lasts for six to nine months. However, when depression lasts longer, and the depressive symptoms go away for a short time only to return again, it is termed chronic depression. While everyone experiences sadness at one time or another, these feelings are generally temporary. Chronic depression is long-lasting, interferes with daily activities, and causes a loss of interest in things that were normally pleasurable to the patient.
Who gets it?People who have a family history of anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder; are always anxious; or have an alcohol or drug abuse problem are more likely to develop depression. Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression.
What causes it?While depression is frequently a response to a sad or traumatic event, the cause of chronic depression is often not known. Factors that are known to contribute to depression are heredity, a chemical imbalance in the brain, and significant levels of stress. Heredity refers to the fact that people who have family members with any type of depressive disorder are more likely to also experience depression. Studies of brain functioning have revealed a complex system of neurotransmitters that produce chemicals that transfer signals from nerve cell to nerve cell. Some of these neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are responsible for feelings of well-being. Drugs that correct neurotransmitter imbalances are very effective in treating depression, which supports the theory that there is some type of chemical imbalance that triggers depression. Chronic depression can occur when stresses in a person's environment become overwhelming, such as years of childhood abuse and neglect. It can also be caused by chronic illness, such as AIDS, Parkinson's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, certain chronic cardiac conditions, and hormonal disorders.
What are the symptoms?The symptoms of chronic depression may come and go, with periods of depression alternating with periods of no symptoms at all. Chronic depression usually begins gradually, with vague feelings of sadness that gradually build in intensity. The individual may begin to have difficulty sleeping, or want to sleep more than usual. He or she may experience changes in eating habits, feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, low energy levels, restlessness, loss of interest in normal activities, decreased sex drive, feelings of guilt for no reason, difficulty maintaining relationships, and difficulty concentrating. In severe cases, the individual may have thoughts of death, or may attempt suicide. People with chronic depression have at least two of these symptoms for a period of two years or more. People with chronic depression are generally gloomy and extremely critical of themselves and others. They are usually seen as extremely negative people, who seem to expect failure and take no pleasure in anything.
Fear of Abandonment
Fear of Abandonment
by Simon Hearn
The fear of being left all alone to cope in a hard and scary world is universal; everyone feels it sometimes. But there are people whose lives are far too controlled by this fear. These insecure ones don’t trust their abilities to cope by themselves. While it is fine to be interdependent with others in life, it is important to be one’s own person and know where one is going, whether or not there are always people to support you.
If threatened with having to be alone, those whose lives are controlled by fear of abandonment tend to compulsively reach out to find someone, anyone, to have around them. They may panic if someone doesn’t call back right on time or is late for a meeting. Sometimes these efforts not to be alone can become quite desperate and extreme. The fearful one can become angry, threatening, pleading, blackmailing, all in an effort to lock the other to them. “You can’t leave me.” Emotional blackmailing may get to the point of including threats such as “I’ll hurt or kill myself if you leave.”
A person who fears abandonment may also have an attitude that “I must never do anything to bother or upset important people in my life— I must keep them happy to keep myself safe.” He or she may offer to do the unpleasant jobs just to bribe the other into staying around—the dishes, taking out the garbage. Sometimes it may involve being the loud, nutty entertainer.
There are those who may always be departing from relationships to avoid rejection. But they immediately start reaching out for someone/anyone new to hold on to. In new friendships, there will be this pattern of exaggerating how much the two have in common, and how they will now always feel and do the same in all things. While that’s normal in the honeymoon phase of any relationship, these folks want to stay in that psychologically merged, “perfect” state of union all the time. In this way such people can really play the chameleon, pretending they’ve always belonged, and always did belong, to some new group or scene. The underlying desperation is usually apparent to others sooner or later.
In relationships this person may always be asking, “Do you love me? Do you really, really, really love me? Promise you’ll never leave? Can we do every single thing together?…” which naturally pushes others away.
Usually such people have lived for a long time with the feeling that they are inwardly emotionally alone, with no one to rely on. They truly have experienced having important people abandoning them at a time when they were still too young and vulnerable; or parents were physically present, but emotionally elsewhere. When the child needed them they weren’t around; the caregivers were unable to be strong trees to lean on, usually due to their own emotional inabilities.
People with major abandonment fear generally have a weakened sense of self; they feel more happy, confident and real when someone else is there to prop them up and protect them from the boogeyman. The boogeyman represents their own inner fears and urges: if I’m alone, I won’t be able to cope with the emotions that come up, or with outer world challenges. It is too hard to be me and I don’t have the supports and resources to make it in this hard world.
Therapy is based on the idea that inside that anxious scared person there is a competent, self-supporting person who wants to come out. The goal is not to be coldly self-sufficient, never needing people. The aim is to be your own person and move from needing relationships to wanting relationships. In this way the therapist is always saying, “I think you can do it. You can make that decision on your own. You can cope with your life. You can solve problems using your logical mind and your feelings. You can soothe yourself when you are anxious and alone. You can develop pride and self-respect as someone who contributes to the world.” Deep down all of us want to be grown up, balanced and mature; we just don’t know how and are sometimes scared. The therapist stands by the pool and encourages, and will catch you if you start to drown, but you have to do your own swimming.
by Simon Hearn
The fear of being left all alone to cope in a hard and scary world is universal; everyone feels it sometimes. But there are people whose lives are far too controlled by this fear. These insecure ones don’t trust their abilities to cope by themselves. While it is fine to be interdependent with others in life, it is important to be one’s own person and know where one is going, whether or not there are always people to support you.
If threatened with having to be alone, those whose lives are controlled by fear of abandonment tend to compulsively reach out to find someone, anyone, to have around them. They may panic if someone doesn’t call back right on time or is late for a meeting. Sometimes these efforts not to be alone can become quite desperate and extreme. The fearful one can become angry, threatening, pleading, blackmailing, all in an effort to lock the other to them. “You can’t leave me.” Emotional blackmailing may get to the point of including threats such as “I’ll hurt or kill myself if you leave.”
A person who fears abandonment may also have an attitude that “I must never do anything to bother or upset important people in my life— I must keep them happy to keep myself safe.” He or she may offer to do the unpleasant jobs just to bribe the other into staying around—the dishes, taking out the garbage. Sometimes it may involve being the loud, nutty entertainer.
There are those who may always be departing from relationships to avoid rejection. But they immediately start reaching out for someone/anyone new to hold on to. In new friendships, there will be this pattern of exaggerating how much the two have in common, and how they will now always feel and do the same in all things. While that’s normal in the honeymoon phase of any relationship, these folks want to stay in that psychologically merged, “perfect” state of union all the time. In this way such people can really play the chameleon, pretending they’ve always belonged, and always did belong, to some new group or scene. The underlying desperation is usually apparent to others sooner or later.
In relationships this person may always be asking, “Do you love me? Do you really, really, really love me? Promise you’ll never leave? Can we do every single thing together?…” which naturally pushes others away.
Usually such people have lived for a long time with the feeling that they are inwardly emotionally alone, with no one to rely on. They truly have experienced having important people abandoning them at a time when they were still too young and vulnerable; or parents were physically present, but emotionally elsewhere. When the child needed them they weren’t around; the caregivers were unable to be strong trees to lean on, usually due to their own emotional inabilities.
People with major abandonment fear generally have a weakened sense of self; they feel more happy, confident and real when someone else is there to prop them up and protect them from the boogeyman. The boogeyman represents their own inner fears and urges: if I’m alone, I won’t be able to cope with the emotions that come up, or with outer world challenges. It is too hard to be me and I don’t have the supports and resources to make it in this hard world.
Therapy is based on the idea that inside that anxious scared person there is a competent, self-supporting person who wants to come out. The goal is not to be coldly self-sufficient, never needing people. The aim is to be your own person and move from needing relationships to wanting relationships. In this way the therapist is always saying, “I think you can do it. You can make that decision on your own. You can cope with your life. You can solve problems using your logical mind and your feelings. You can soothe yourself when you are anxious and alone. You can develop pride and self-respect as someone who contributes to the world.” Deep down all of us want to be grown up, balanced and mature; we just don’t know how and are sometimes scared. The therapist stands by the pool and encourages, and will catch you if you start to drown, but you have to do your own swimming.
Information about fear of rejection
Fear of rejection is the:
Irrational fear that others will not accept me for who I am, what I believe, and how I act.
State of being of individuals who are over-dependent on the approval, recognition, or affirmation of others in order to feel good about themselves. In order to sustain personal feelings of adequacy these individuals are constantly concerned with the reactions of others to them.
Driving force behind many people that keeps them from being authentic human beings. They are so driven by the need for acceptance of others that they lose their own identity in the process. They mimic the ways in which others act, dress, talk, think, believe, and function. They become the three-dimensional clones of the ``role models'' they so desperately need to emulate in order to gain acceptance.
Energy-robbing attitude that leads to self immobilization, self-defeating, and self-destructive behavior. This attitude encourages ongoing irrational thinking and behavior, resulting in personal stagnation, regression, and depression.
Driving force of some people for all actions in their lives. It plays a part in their choices concerning their education, career direction, work behavior, achievement level, interpersonal and marital relationships, family and community life, and the ways in which they spend leisure time.
Act of giving to others more power than I give to myself over how I feel about myself. What the others say or feel about me is the determinant of how I feel about myself. I am completely at the mercy of others for how happy or sad I will be. My self-satisfaction and belief in myself is in their hands. Fear of rejection is the abdication of power and control over my own life.
People who operate out of a fear of rejection:
Resort to passive/aggressive behavior; that is dishonest, sneaky, and allows for no open communication.
Privately express a great deal of anger or depression over how unfortunate and unhappy their current lifeBstyle is. Yet, when helped to look at alternatives involving confrontation with others, they take a ``yes, Y but'' attitude.
Are confused as to their true identity, wearing ``masks'' to please others.
Become so obsessed with functioning, looking, and acting in a ``prescribed'' manner that they become rigid, inflexible, and closed to alternative behavior. This is true even if they are unhappy in the lifeBstyle they hold to so rigidly.
How do others react to people who operate out of a fear of rejection?
People who care for the person who operates out of fear of rejection:
Encourage the person to be more assertive.
Plead with the person to change their style of life and to become true to themselves.
Become turned off to the person's behavior, which they know to be unreal.
Become frustrated when their offers of help to the person continuously go ignored.
Find themselves asking the person how they are feeling in fear that they will tell them.
Become nervous around the person, afraid that their discomfort with the person's unfortunate choice of life style will be misread as rejection or disapproval.
Find it difficult to carry on a normal conversation with the person because the problems emanating out of fear of rejection are, sadly, always evident.
Recognize that the person for whom they care is in a self-defeating, dead-end cycle.
Begin to avoid the person so much so that it looks like an out and out rejection of the person for whom they care.
Result: The person who operates out of a fear of rejection ends up pushing away the very friends, family, and helpers who care for him. The pulling away of these caring ones appears to be rejection, and the vicious cycle goes on with negative results.
Those whom the person fears being rejected by:
Take the person for granted.
Do not recognize that he is making great sacrifices to be accepted by them.
Ignore the rights of the person.
Apply pressure consciously or unconsciously for the person to continue to conform to their desires or wishes.
Play on guilt feelings and press for ``their way'' so that ``awful'' consequences can be avoided.
Are unaware that the person fears their rejection and do not take this person seriously.
Ignore the input or ideas of the person and never incorporate the person into their inner circle.
Find it humorous how the person bends over backwards to please them.
Manipulate the person to do a multitude of favors for them and are ready to dump the person once the favors become unnecessary.
Openly reject the person once they have ``used'' him and have no further use for him. Often they'll reject him once he gets up the nerve to confront them about how they really feel about him.
Result: The person who operates out of a fear of rejection ends up being rejected by the very people from whom he fears rejection.
People who act out of a fear of rejection may:
Lack healthy self-concepts, self-worth, or self-esteem because they were never fully affirmed in their families of origin.
Have had a traumatic experience of rejection, for example, in a divorce or separation that deeply scarred them.
Be bound up in irrational thinking and realize that this behavior is neither rational nor necessary.
Have lacked appropriate role models in life who accepted them for who they really were.
Be insecure in their personal identity, with a debilitating lack of self-confidence.
Have never been exposed to healthy ways of dealing with conflict or disagreement.
Lack the social skills to adapt to a reference group.
Have suffered from social isolation in their early lives.
Lack certain personal accomplishments, which they feel set them apart and which contribute to their lack of self-confidence.
Be unaware that they are operating out of a fear of rejection and may even deny it if it is pointed out to them.
Have a physical condition that they believe makes them unattractive to others.
Have been told all their life that they were ``second best'' or different.
Irrational fear that others will not accept me for who I am, what I believe, and how I act.
State of being of individuals who are over-dependent on the approval, recognition, or affirmation of others in order to feel good about themselves. In order to sustain personal feelings of adequacy these individuals are constantly concerned with the reactions of others to them.
Driving force behind many people that keeps them from being authentic human beings. They are so driven by the need for acceptance of others that they lose their own identity in the process. They mimic the ways in which others act, dress, talk, think, believe, and function. They become the three-dimensional clones of the ``role models'' they so desperately need to emulate in order to gain acceptance.
Energy-robbing attitude that leads to self immobilization, self-defeating, and self-destructive behavior. This attitude encourages ongoing irrational thinking and behavior, resulting in personal stagnation, regression, and depression.
Driving force of some people for all actions in their lives. It plays a part in their choices concerning their education, career direction, work behavior, achievement level, interpersonal and marital relationships, family and community life, and the ways in which they spend leisure time.
Act of giving to others more power than I give to myself over how I feel about myself. What the others say or feel about me is the determinant of how I feel about myself. I am completely at the mercy of others for how happy or sad I will be. My self-satisfaction and belief in myself is in their hands. Fear of rejection is the abdication of power and control over my own life.
People who operate out of a fear of rejection:
Resort to passive/aggressive behavior; that is dishonest, sneaky, and allows for no open communication.
Privately express a great deal of anger or depression over how unfortunate and unhappy their current lifeBstyle is. Yet, when helped to look at alternatives involving confrontation with others, they take a ``yes, Y but'' attitude.
Are confused as to their true identity, wearing ``masks'' to please others.
Become so obsessed with functioning, looking, and acting in a ``prescribed'' manner that they become rigid, inflexible, and closed to alternative behavior. This is true even if they are unhappy in the lifeBstyle they hold to so rigidly.
How do others react to people who operate out of a fear of rejection?
People who care for the person who operates out of fear of rejection:
Encourage the person to be more assertive.
Plead with the person to change their style of life and to become true to themselves.
Become turned off to the person's behavior, which they know to be unreal.
Become frustrated when their offers of help to the person continuously go ignored.
Find themselves asking the person how they are feeling in fear that they will tell them.
Become nervous around the person, afraid that their discomfort with the person's unfortunate choice of life style will be misread as rejection or disapproval.
Find it difficult to carry on a normal conversation with the person because the problems emanating out of fear of rejection are, sadly, always evident.
Recognize that the person for whom they care is in a self-defeating, dead-end cycle.
Begin to avoid the person so much so that it looks like an out and out rejection of the person for whom they care.
Result: The person who operates out of a fear of rejection ends up pushing away the very friends, family, and helpers who care for him. The pulling away of these caring ones appears to be rejection, and the vicious cycle goes on with negative results.
Those whom the person fears being rejected by:
Take the person for granted.
Do not recognize that he is making great sacrifices to be accepted by them.
Ignore the rights of the person.
Apply pressure consciously or unconsciously for the person to continue to conform to their desires or wishes.
Play on guilt feelings and press for ``their way'' so that ``awful'' consequences can be avoided.
Are unaware that the person fears their rejection and do not take this person seriously.
Ignore the input or ideas of the person and never incorporate the person into their inner circle.
Find it humorous how the person bends over backwards to please them.
Manipulate the person to do a multitude of favors for them and are ready to dump the person once the favors become unnecessary.
Openly reject the person once they have ``used'' him and have no further use for him. Often they'll reject him once he gets up the nerve to confront them about how they really feel about him.
Result: The person who operates out of a fear of rejection ends up being rejected by the very people from whom he fears rejection.
People who act out of a fear of rejection may:
Lack healthy self-concepts, self-worth, or self-esteem because they were never fully affirmed in their families of origin.
Have had a traumatic experience of rejection, for example, in a divorce or separation that deeply scarred them.
Be bound up in irrational thinking and realize that this behavior is neither rational nor necessary.
Have lacked appropriate role models in life who accepted them for who they really were.
Be insecure in their personal identity, with a debilitating lack of self-confidence.
Have never been exposed to healthy ways of dealing with conflict or disagreement.
Lack the social skills to adapt to a reference group.
Have suffered from social isolation in their early lives.
Lack certain personal accomplishments, which they feel set them apart and which contribute to their lack of self-confidence.
Be unaware that they are operating out of a fear of rejection and may even deny it if it is pointed out to them.
Have a physical condition that they believe makes them unattractive to others.
Have been told all their life that they were ``second best'' or different.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Tippsy and Zippy
Well most of you know that I adopted an abandon kitten 2 weeks before Thanksgiving and I named her Tippsy. Well I took Tippsy to the cottage for Thanksgiving and my sisters two boys fell in love with her and they wanted a new cat or kitten but my sister was not sure if she was ready for the committment. Well as the first day went by my sister was slowly falling in love with this cute little girl.
I wanted to get my sister and nephews a kitten for their birthdays, but I was told no. Now my reason for this was 21 yrs ago I gave my sister a kitten she named Gizzy, and she had a kitten they named Bicky. Now Gizzy died 2 yrs agon and Bicky died just before the summer. So you see since she had 21 yrs of cats from me I wanted to give that gift once again.
So as the weekend carried on I gave more and more of the responibility to my nephews. Since Tippsy mother left the litter at 4 weeks I was feeding her with an eye dropper every few hours, I taught her to use the kitty litter, and I basically hand raised her. The boys took to this responsibility quickly and I must add were very good at it.
Well by Sunday my sister and the boys were convinced Tippsy was going home with them. Now they had to convince their father. He was a push over once he saw their dog Tazzy with Tippsy. Taz is an Australian cattle dog and she protected and cared for the kitten well. So on Monday I very willingly left the boys and my sister and husband with their birthday present of Tippsy.
I rushed home on the Monday called my friend on the farm where I got tippsy and rushed out to pick up her sister which I decided to call Zippy. Zippy is such a great little kitten, so much fun but is at the stage where she is into everything.
I am including some pictures of Tippsy with the eyedropper feeding and Zippy in her reclining chair. I will share more about Zippy in her own post soon.
I wanted to get my sister and nephews a kitten for their birthdays, but I was told no. Now my reason for this was 21 yrs ago I gave my sister a kitten she named Gizzy, and she had a kitten they named Bicky. Now Gizzy died 2 yrs agon and Bicky died just before the summer. So you see since she had 21 yrs of cats from me I wanted to give that gift once again.
So as the weekend carried on I gave more and more of the responibility to my nephews. Since Tippsy mother left the litter at 4 weeks I was feeding her with an eye dropper every few hours, I taught her to use the kitty litter, and I basically hand raised her. The boys took to this responsibility quickly and I must add were very good at it.
Well by Sunday my sister and the boys were convinced Tippsy was going home with them. Now they had to convince their father. He was a push over once he saw their dog Tazzy with Tippsy. Taz is an Australian cattle dog and she protected and cared for the kitten well. So on Monday I very willingly left the boys and my sister and husband with their birthday present of Tippsy.
I rushed home on the Monday called my friend on the farm where I got tippsy and rushed out to pick up her sister which I decided to call Zippy. Zippy is such a great little kitten, so much fun but is at the stage where she is into everything.
I am including some pictures of Tippsy with the eyedropper feeding and Zippy in her reclining chair. I will share more about Zippy in her own post soon.
Reflections of November 11th Remembrance Day
Around this time last year I had just returned home from Biloxi Mississippi from doing a two week relief work for the Salvation Army. My role there was to be part of the prayer team. A year has gone by and I have been Blessed to receive so gifts as a result of this short Mission trip.
Lately all we see in the media is a lot of negative media of unnecessary deaths as a result of war. We see military, marines, and so forth fighting in wars. We never hear about the good things they do. The help they give at times of natural disasters, and disasters like 9/11 caused by mans free will.
When I was in Biloxi I saw all service personal come together in harmony to help serve their fellow man, women, child alike. I saw all religions, Salvationist, Catholics, Anglicans, Mormon, Mennonites, Muslims, etc.. helping to do what ever was needed in order to restore the communities the best way they could.
Lately I have been watching a lot of real life movies such as Flight 93, United 93, World Trade Centre and again I saw all communities working together in harmony instead of fighting each other. It helps to restore faith that their is good in man kind.
The media projects our World as a very negative place to live. All kinds of depressing things happening, sexual abuse, tainting of food, spoiled consumer food products, crime crime and more crime, war war and more war, crooked politicians, missing children and very little focus on the good things in the World.
God is working all around us in in all of these difficult times if we look and watch for it. On Remembrance day I had the opportunity to spend time with one of our local Cambridge Soldiers Chris Brook who has served in Afghanistan. It was an honour to meet him, shake his hand and thank him for serving for our Country. To thank him for the good things he does each day, to share about God and faith, to just speak with him to understand what it is like for him.
So to me Remembrance Day is far more than remembering the veterans, but to remember the soldiers serving right now, remembering the fallen soldiers of this war right now, and to reflect on the other things they do in serving other than in wars.
Thank you for all you do and for the many different ways you serve, protect and help each day. God Bless you and keep you safe.
Lately all we see in the media is a lot of negative media of unnecessary deaths as a result of war. We see military, marines, and so forth fighting in wars. We never hear about the good things they do. The help they give at times of natural disasters, and disasters like 9/11 caused by mans free will.
When I was in Biloxi I saw all service personal come together in harmony to help serve their fellow man, women, child alike. I saw all religions, Salvationist, Catholics, Anglicans, Mormon, Mennonites, Muslims, etc.. helping to do what ever was needed in order to restore the communities the best way they could.
Lately I have been watching a lot of real life movies such as Flight 93, United 93, World Trade Centre and again I saw all communities working together in harmony instead of fighting each other. It helps to restore faith that their is good in man kind.
The media projects our World as a very negative place to live. All kinds of depressing things happening, sexual abuse, tainting of food, spoiled consumer food products, crime crime and more crime, war war and more war, crooked politicians, missing children and very little focus on the good things in the World.
God is working all around us in in all of these difficult times if we look and watch for it. On Remembrance day I had the opportunity to spend time with one of our local Cambridge Soldiers Chris Brook who has served in Afghanistan. It was an honour to meet him, shake his hand and thank him for serving for our Country. To thank him for the good things he does each day, to share about God and faith, to just speak with him to understand what it is like for him.
So to me Remembrance Day is far more than remembering the veterans, but to remember the soldiers serving right now, remembering the fallen soldiers of this war right now, and to reflect on the other things they do in serving other than in wars.
Thank you for all you do and for the many different ways you serve, protect and help each day. God Bless you and keep you safe.
Hello
Hello Family and Friends this is the New home of the Alexis B Blogger site.
I am hoping that the beta version in blogger is finally working out all of its kinks. It has been weeks since I have been able to log in and blog.
So much has been going on in my world. More than I can or care to share here but I will share bits and pieces as I see fit in the up coming post.
Well it is nice to know that my site is up and I can finally blog.
Keep popping on by to see what is new.
I am hoping that the beta version in blogger is finally working out all of its kinks. It has been weeks since I have been able to log in and blog.
So much has been going on in my world. More than I can or care to share here but I will share bits and pieces as I see fit in the up coming post.
Well it is nice to know that my site is up and I can finally blog.
Keep popping on by to see what is new.
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