God loves humanity with such intensity that
His heart burns with a raging fire for lost souls. 
Oh! if we would just let one glowing ember from God’s own heart
drop into ours and set us on fire for souls!  Just imagine it! 
Let us pray that the banked embers of our hearts be
set ablaze with God’s flaming passion for souls!!!
                                                          Me

Dieu To/ NorwichBulletin.com
NORWICH DIEU TO 06-27-2009 Lurlene Madsen, 59, of Quaker Hill, lung cancer survivor watches the Relay for Life walkers as a sudden rain storm washes over Norwich Free Academy’s track. Madsen is part of the “Happy Chappy” Relay for Life team. Photo by Dieu To/ Norwich Bulletin

• By EMILY GROVES

  Norwich Bulletin
  Posted Jun 27, 2009 @ 10:58 PM
  Last update Jun 27, 2009 @ 11:29 PM 

  Norwich, Conn. —

   Kathy Dubois wasn’t sure she would make it to the opening ceremonies and survivor lap at Saturday’s Southeastern Connecticut Relay for Life at Norwich Free Academy.

  But Dubois, of Lisbon, rushed from the hospital, where she was being treated for complications. . . . Read more 

On Saturday morning the plan was that Glen & Trish & 4 kids would meet me here, at 10 am, to load my wheelchair in Trish’s van and I would follow them in my truck.  Timing didn’t quite work out that way.  We arrived to hunt for a parking spot at 10:57. Opening ceremonies were beginning.  By the time we finally parked and got me & my wheelchair & my walker to the track the Survivor’s lap had begun.  The sun was bright and the air comfortable.  It was a beautiful morning.  Trish got my purple Survivor’s t-shirt for me but there was no time to change. I hung it over the front bar of my walker and hit the track at a speed that shocked everyone and left my son momentarily in my dust.  Woo-hoo, it felt good! I never could stand being in the back on a track!  But, alas, the battle for air cut my speed to a snail’s pace.  But, hey, I was walking!  God is so good! (Less than 6-wks ago it was all I could do to walk to the living room and sit down & fight for air.) I made almost a quarter of the track before I had to give in to the wheelchair.  Oh, how wonderful it was while it lasted! 

As we made our circuit I was struck by all these strangers around the outside and inside of the track applauding, smiling, and whistling for us as we went by.  Even though our start was well behind the big group no one walked away; no one cheered any less. I looked into the smiling faces of all these people giving up their weekend for this Relay.  Many of these lovely people had already buried their cancer stricken loved one.  Yet, here they were cheering for those who were still in the fight.  They were cheerfully giving up their weekend for this Relay for Life.  They could have been at the beach or amusement park or yard party or any number of entertainment choices.  But they chose to honor their loved one and their commitment to help fight this insidious disease. 

No one, no matter how bad they felt, could make that lap and not be filled with encouragement and a renewed will to fight on.  There was not a lamenting spirit or any air of self-pity.  There was a fullness of life and hope and courage and, yes, even joy. 

The Survivor’s Lap was followed by the Caregiver’s Lap. The Caregivers were applauded and cheered as enthusiastically as the Survivors.  Glen kept me with him for his lap as did many others whose Survivor could go around again.  No one left or sat down or got distracted.  They kept up the cheering.  They honored the Caregivers. 

Then for the rest of the day and night, until 9 am Sunday, there were walkers on the track.  Participants signed up for numerous time slots and the track was never empty of walkers.  They were walking to honor those who have fought this battle and those who are still fighting this battle.  Walking to honor the people they love.  Some walking in celebration of their victory as they honored others. And they were all shapes and sizes and ages.  I was surprised at how many teenagers were out there walking the track, helping in other areas.  I was really impressed. 

Imagine it.  500 people from various backgrounds, economic status, generations, races, religions, & political views.  And they were having fun.  Live band, good food, games, raffles, camping, and 500 caring, cheerful, fun-loving people!  It was a fantastic recipe for fun & success. All united for one common cause: to defeat an enemy that has killed so many, that has robbed so many of their quality of life. 

Please remember the survivors in your prayers, and their families, and especially their caregivers.

PRAY & GO

I have been away from this blog for almost a year now.  I experienced some serious health issues and a major move.  Both of which had a negative impact on my desire to participate in the public forum.  But, I am finally getting my strength back and getting back in the saddle.  I thought I wouldn’t come back to this since it had only barely begun but it wouldn’t stay in the “leave behind” category.  So, good, bad, or indifferent here I go again. 

 

I kind of feel like I’m waking up in the middle of a bad dream.  Why?  I never imagined what kind of economic and cultural challenges & tax-payer funded bailouts of the Big Boys we’d be experiencing.  Not to mention, I certainly never imagined I would find myself identified as an “extremist” by my own government.  Not just by one designation but by several!  Oh my, what has happened to our country?  Something has gone terribly wrong.  Pinch me if I’m having a nightmare!

 

Unfortunately, it is all only too true, and then some.  We have all contributed to this state of affairs. Our parents and grandparents did not have access to the wealth of information we enjoy now.  They couldn’t know most of what was going on in D.C. or being slipped in by the lawmakers and Administrations.  Much of what we wish they had cut off at the pass wasn’t even on their radar.  The mainstream media wasn’t as totally left wing as it is now but they often colored their reporting also and didn’t share news that didn’t fit their viewpoint.  When I was raising my kids we, too, only had the mainstream media.  The so-called “Fairness Doctrine” had radio choked down to wheezy gasps until Pres. Reagan broke off the unconstitutional chains.  

 

Now, however, we no longer have an excuse.  Information has been exploding on the Internet and we are free to collect news from all view points.  We can share it and discuss it with people all across the nation, and around the world!  We can actually look at the bills on-line!  With cable we can evenwatch sessions in Congress.  My point is, we have no excuse for being uninformed.  And those of us with the most access have a responsibility to share the information with our family and friends who don’t.

 

And as Christians we have a God-given responsibility to participate in the civic affairs of our society at all levels of government.  Noah Webster, one of our Founding Fathers had this to say about our Christian duty:

 

“Let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God [Exodus 18:21]. … [I]f the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted . . . If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.”  [Noah Webster, The History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie and Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337, 49.  As quoted by David Barton in his essay, Ten Steps To Change in America, posted on-line at WallBuilders.com.]

 

 Further on in the same article, David Barton makes the unequivocal statement [emphasis mine]:

“Godly candidates are most often defeated not by activists and radicals, but by inactive Christians! This means that we do have the power to make a difference. When Christians begin to believe that we can make a difference and begin to act like the majority we are, we will make a difference. The ability to change the current situation is in our hands. As Edmund Burke explained:  All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” [ emphasis mine]

 

 How can we allow ourselves or our brothers & sisters in Christ to remain discouraged and apathetic? I strongly recommend that you read Barton’s article, Ten Steps To Change in America.  If we put those steps into action we can stop many very bad pieces of legislation on the leftist agenda in Congress and we can revolutionize the 2010 elections. As Disciples & Ambassadors of Christ it is part of Good Stewardship to responsibly participate in the civic affairs of our country from the lowest level office to the highest.

 

We can make a real difference.  We can turn the tide. Now.  Before it is too late.  Our Lord is watching each of us.  We must carry His Love & His Righteousness into the public square and engage the enemy with the power of God in His spirit-activated people. 

 

Praise the Lord, there is evidence that more and more members of the born-again Christian community are awakening. Let us work together for the good of this nation and for the Glory of God.  Let us fight (spiritually and legally) with our all for the precious souls of our compatriots and our country. 

 

Let us be “good stewards” of the bounty we enjoy as U.S. citizens.  Let’s get out there and beat the bushes and make our clarion call from the rooftops!  Let’s make a Real difference for Christ in our nation!  Millions of souls are in the balance.

 

 But, let us not be guilty of running out with big mouths, big ideas, no plans, and no prayer.  To enter the fray without prayer covering is like running outside naked.  We are spiritually powerless without prayer.  Prayer before, during, and after.  General prayer.  Personal prayer.  Focused prayer.  Closet prayer.  Public prayer.  Praying always without ceasing.

• Have you ever wondered if God really has a plan for your life?  Have you ever wondered what it is?
• Have you ever wondered why you can’t figure out what God’s will is for you ?
• Have you ever wondered why you have the parents you have?
• Have you ever wondered why you were born when and where you were? For instance, why not back in Jesus time? Or a hundred years ago? Or ten years later?

If you are a God-loving Christian then most likely you have pondered those questions more than once. The answer to, “What is God’s will for my life?” is the one that answers the universal questions of all human beings, “Why am I here?  What is my purpose?”

God has no accidents. You are here for a reason and, yes, He does have a plan for your life. Yes, you do have a special destiny. That destiny, God’s plan, however, does not override your freedom of will; you always have a choice.

Yesterday I read an engaging article by Daniel Darling entitled, “Stop Wrestling, Start Serving: The Non-Mystery of God’s Will“.  It is a practical nuts-and-bolts article on recognizing God’s will for your life.  He starts it with this story:

“There is an old story preachers tell about a man trapped on the top of his house during a flood/hurricane/tsunami (insert your own natural disaster). The water is swiftly rising. As this man sits on his roof, fearful of being swept away by the current, he cries out to God, ‘God please deliver me!’”

He finishes the amusing but poignant story and goes on to state and expand on the truth that God’s will is not some vague, ethereal thing out there beyond our reach. Addressing the frustration many  Christians  wrestle with he goes on to make two fundamental assertions on which his essay rests.

“It really doesn’t have to be this way. Here are two truths that should change the way we think about God’s Will.

• “1.  It is Satan who wants us to be confused, directionless, and ineffective.
• “2.  It is God who has a preordained plan for us, who has given us specific steps, and who wants to see our lives matter.”

“So, knowing those truths, how do we wrap our arms around that seemingly mysterious thing called ‘God’s Will’? Here are four concrete ways in which God speakes to us:

• “1. God speaks through circumstances.

  “2. God speaks through opportunities.

  “3. God speaks through spiritual counselors and mentors.

  “4. God’s will is revealed in God’s Word.”

Under each heading he discusses in lively and practical ways the personal discernment of God’s will using illustrations and common sense.  This is an easy to read and apply message for every day people desiring to follow God’s Will for their own lives.

“1. God speaks through circumstances.
Its funny, Christians routinely blast atheists and atheism, but we ourselves often act as if there is no God. We complain about the uncontrollable events in our lives as if we’re just here by chance, left to sort life out on our own.”But life isn’t dog-eat-dog. God is in charge of this world. God is in charge of our little world. And the events that He allows
continue reading

 

 

 

 

 

Culture of Life or Culture of Death?

By A. Lurlene Madsen

In March 2005 we were drawn in to the incredibly sad drama of a fractured family fighting over the life of one woman.  Who could see the video clips of Terri Schiavo and not be moved with compassion?  We watched as Terri’s parents and siblings fought valiantly for her life.  We listened as Pope John Paul the II forcefully spoke out to save her life. We saw the governor of Florida fight to save her life.  We saw Congress pass special, time-sensitive legislation and President Bush fly from his ranch back to D.C. to sign it into law — all in an effort to save Terri’s life. 

Yet, to our shock and dismay, we saw the entire judicial path thumb their collective noses at the congressional directive to take a new look into the case and the new evidence.  Their arrogance and defiance ordered the death of an innocent woman who could not fight for herself.   Her crime?  She had a severe brain injury and her otherwise healthy body was being fed & hydrated with a feeding tube.

She valiantly clung to life for 13 days as they starved and dehydrated her healthy body.  Her death on Thursday morning, March 31, was caused by a court-ordered death sentence; a ”cruel and unusual punishment” forced onto an innocent woman.

Before we could digest Terri’s death the ailing Pope John Paul II took a final serious turn for the worst.  Then the world that watched the Terri Schiavo tragedy watched as the ailing Pope declined and died.  The Pope died with dignity in his papal apartment with a feeding tube.  He died with joy at his home-going to be with Christ.  He fought for the saving of Terri’s life and laid down his own life joyfully at God’s calling him home.  Even as he lay on his death bed slipping in and out of consciousness he had his secretary help him write a note to his aides that said, “I am happy and you should be as well . . . Let us pray together with joy.”  He passed away peacefully on April 2, 2005.

The difference between the two deaths is stunning.  The first was fraught with rancor and deceit and selfish machinations as the fight for life and death continued until Terri’s last breath.  The second was one of peace and dignity and the joy of going home to be with the Lord.

In his article, If Polls Correct, Many Americans Misguided, appearing in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, April 2, 2005, Call Thomas said this in reference to Terri Schiavo’s judicially forced death:

“This will not be the end of such cases, but the beginning, or more accurately, a continuation on the line of death that began in the womb in 1973 with Roe v. Wade and will now quickly advance toward the ‘retirement’ villages.  The angel of death that moved through ancient Egypt at the first Passover was called ‘the destroyer.’  Our courts are his modern incarnation.

“No life is safe because every life now depends on the whims, desires, comfort level and pleasure of others.  From an ‘endowed’ right to life, we have quickly moved to a court-imputed right to die.  Increasingly we do not speak of life at all, but death.  America truly is, as the suffering Pope John Paul II has described it, a ‘culture of death.’”

Those who camp in the “Culture of Death” have been vigorously and systematically working to create a pervading public attitude that agrees with their deadly anti-God view.  They have achieved a significant degree of success in dragging the public consciousness backwards to the pagan culture before Christ.  And they consider themselves “progressive”?

Centuries ago, before Christianity swept around the world, the pagans commonly set out unwanted babies to die in the elements.  The elderly, the disabled, the unwanted, the unbeautiful, were left to die.  In short, any one who was inconvneient or a burden or imperfect was put out in the wilderness to die.  Human life had no value.

The spread of Christianity and its Gospel of Life changed all that.  God values life.  All human life is sacred to Him.  We are human beings created in the image of God.

Then along came Adolph Hitler.  In the early days of the Nazis it became common practice to “euthanize” the elderly, the infirm, the handicapped, the mentally retarded, and the generally undesirable.  In fact, before he began gassing the Jewish people he had already mudered more than half a million people whose lives the Nazis’ considered were not worth living.

Who has the right to say whether or not a life is worth living?  Joni Erickson-Tada said in a 2005 interview that at first she didn’t want to live as a quadriplegic.  But she has gone on not only to live a very full life but has positively impacted hundreds of thousands of people by her life.  Her point was that before facing tragedy one does not see how you can live that way.  Once you are living it you find there is so much more to life and so much more to give than you were able to imagine.  No life is without value.

 Pope John Paul II spent his life spreading the Gospel of Christ.  And he fully taught Christ’s message that all human life is valuable and sacred, no matter the condition.  He always maintained that other people can draw from the reservoir of love in the suffering of another.  Anyone who has ever spent real time ministering to the very sick or disabled can testify to the truth of that. 

Consider God’s Word:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; ….  Jeremiah 1:5

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behod, it was very good.   And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.  Gen 1:16,27,31

I join with the Schindler family and many others in praying that Terri Schiavo’s court-ordered death is not in vain.  I stand with them and call for March 31st to be a Terri’s Day Observance.  I pray we never forget Terri or give up in this battle for the Right to Life.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” 
U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776

LIFE IS SACRED.  ACT ON THAT TRUTH.

 

© 2005, 2007 by A.Lurlene Madsen

http://www.priestsforlife.org/ 

http://www.Terri’sDay.org 

MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Remember Terri, 3 years after ‘deliberate dehydration’
‘Her death was beginning of a new chapter in the movement’
WorldNetDaily

 Family members and friends of a brain-injured Florida woman who died after U.S. courts allowed her husband to deprive her of food and water are launching an effort to observe “Terri’s Day” each March 31, in recognition of the anniversary of her “death by deliberate dehydration,” says a priest who is a pro-life activist.

“This third anniversary should be an occasion for all of us to both remember the injustice done to Terri, and reach out to others with prayer and concrete action when they need the kind of help Terri needed,” said Bobby Schindler, Terri’s brother.

Schiavo, on whom WND reported extensively, died of starvation and dehydration in March 2005, two weeks after a federal judge ruled her husband could order doctors to withhold food and water.

Her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, battled unsuccessfully through Florida’s state courts and federal courts to spare her life. She was not on artificial life support but needed a feeding tube to eat and drink, a measure her husband opposed.

Congress got involved by allowing the Schindlers to argue their case in federal court after their appeals in state courts failed. The Senate approved by unanimous consent a compromise plan that the House later endorsed and President Bush signed.

 Continue reading

Terri’s Foundation and Priests for Life Call for ‘Terri’s Day’ Observance 

March 31, 2008 (Priests for Life)
Contact: Jerry Horn, Priests for Life, 540-220-0095 STATEN ISLAND, NY, March 31 /Christian Newswire/ — The family of Terri Schiavo, along with the Priests for Life organization, has established the observance of “Terri’s Day” each March 31, the anniversary of her death by deliberate dehydration.Bobby Schindler, Terri’s brother, said, “This third anniversary should be an occasion for all of us to both remember the injustice done to Terri, and reach out to others with prayer and concrete action when they need the kind of help Terri needed.”Continue reading

As you might imagine, I am decidedly Pro-Life.  I offer this news I received from the Family Research Council.  One of my questions is, since the business of providing abortions is such an extremely lucrative business and they have such deep, deep pockets why are our tax dollars subsidizing them?

 Abortion Leads the PAC For Planned Parenthood, weighed down by new criminal charges and legal suits, the best defense seems to be a good offense. The organization is sinking $10 million into its PAC, hoping to load the Congress with abortion allies who would help protect–if not increase–its multi-million federal funding stream. The amount allocated for political races is triple what the organization has spent in past elections. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) is even wading into local politics, a scene it had previously ignored. NARAL Pro-Choice America and PPAF will spend a combined $20 million in the 2008 election cycle on contests for the House, Senate, and White House. Phill Kline, the former Kansas Attorney General who is leading an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s legal violations, says, “They’re trying to influence public policy in a way that allows them to continue what they’re doing.” With the congressional majority and U.S. Supreme Court in the balance, November’s outcomes will have a significant impact on the future of Roe v. Wade. Another group that has promoted more than its share of radical, anti-life candidates, the National Education Association (NEA), found a new way to support the abortion cause by playing host to some of the movement’s heaviest hitters at its headquarters last week. The NEA donated its facilities to an annual conference of the National Council of Women’s Organization, a far-left group that counts among its members NOW, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, the National Abortion Federation, the Center for Reproductive Freedom, and others. Equally shocking, the NEA shared its stage with notorious abortionist George Tiller, who has been charged with performing almost 20 illegal late-term abortions. Tiller, a target of Phill Kline’s investigations, was honored with a standing ovation and given an opportunity to showcase photos of his gruesome work. To cap off his appearance, the Feminist Majority Foundation announced that it would devote its resources to keeping Tiller’s Kansas clinic open. Since the NEA’s role in the event became public, the group has struggled to defend itself. When asked by pro-life members why it serves as a revolving door for abortion activists, one NEA official said that it has always allowed “likeminded groups” to use the building. If you’re a teacher who belongs to the NEA and are frustrated by how your dues fund the organization’s radical political causes, please protest. Call the national headquarters at (202) 833-4000 and urge them to focus on education, not the pet causes of the leftwing elite. While you have the phone in your hand and are dialing Washington, don’t forget to call the White House Comment Line at (202) 456-1414. Urge President Bush to act now on the proposal on his desk to end the meshing of federal Title X funds with abortion clinics. Urge him also to end the abortion referral mandate under Title X. There is no excuse for federal subsidies for the abortion industry.
                                                                                           [emphasis mine]

  If you are Pro-Life I urge you to join me in making those phone calls.  If you are not, then I’m sure your calls will be for the opposite purpose.

The March 28, 2008 blog entry at FRC is cause to Praise the Lord!There is a 3min. video  featuring 3 different people whose adult stem cell treatments were tremendously successful .

1.  Amy, Systemic Scleraderma

2.  Jill, Antiphospholipid Syndrome (a lupus-like disorder)

3. Barry, multiple sclerosis

Their ability to fully function in life has been returned to them through the successful adult stem cell treatments they received. 

Watch this video and share in their joy!  Praise be to God.

FRC blog:  http://www.frcblog.com/

Support H.R. 2807 — The Patient’s First Bill

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