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Jonah goes to Nineveh
When GOD told Jonah to go to Nineveh to give the inhabitants a chance to save themselves, Jonah tried to run away from the task that he had been given. So much so that he didn’t really care if he would live or die as long as he did not have to tell the wicked people in Nineveh that they could be saved.
As far as he was concerned they were bad people who deserved what was coming to them and he was not prepared to help save them from their fate.
Jonah tried without much success to hide from GOD; he was thrown out of the boat, swallowed by the whale, spat out on the beach and eventually did as he was told.
Jonah sulked when people were forgiven
Soon after Jonah delivered his message to the people of Nineveh they felt bad enough about their wicked deeds to ask GOD to forgive them. And GOD forgave them. This made Jonah even more upset than he had been before and he went to sulk outside of the city in the shade and told GOD, “It is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah wished death upon himself because he was so very angry that GOD forgave wicked people after they asked him for forgiveness.
Jonah experienced GOD’s compassion himself when he was forgiven after running away from GOD. And when he consequently was thrown into the sea and swallowed by a whale and yet lived. GOD even grew Jonah a large plant to shade him from the hot sun whilst Jonah was feeling sorry for himself. Yet Jonah struggled to understand why GOD would forgive evil people even though they showed some measure of remorse for their bad deeds.
Jonah felt sorry for a plant which withered but couldn’t forgive people who showed remorse after they had done the wrong thing.
GOD is merciful and responds to remorse
Jonah said “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”
The book of Jonah teaches us about God’s mercy and is read in its entirety during the Feast of Yom Kippor which is the day of atonement as mentioned in the bible.
Jonah – A Lesson in Compassion by Rabbi Dr Greg Killian
Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian tells us in his study “Jonah – a lesson in compassion” that “Yonah son of Amittai was the son of the widow from Tzorphath with whom Elijah the prophet stayed during the years of famine, and that it was this boy that Elijah revived.”
Yonah’s mother was from the tribe of Asher, and his father from Zevulun.
Amittai is derived from the Hebrew word: ‘emet’, meaning truth. From this we understand that Jonah (Yonah means dove in Hebrew) is a man of truth. Truth, as Jonah understands it, demands that evil never be overlooked; evil must be punished. Jonah is the “son of truth”, a man of unbending commitment to the truth. This may explain Jonah’s stance that evil must be punished. He was struggling to comprehend GOD’s compassion for evil people even though he experienced GOD’s mercy himself.
The story of Jonah teaches us to be compassionate towards one and other.
The following joke by Emo Philips has been voted the funniest religious joke of all times.
Loving each other
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!”
He said, “Nobody loves me.”
I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
He said, “Yes.”
I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?”
He said, “A Christian.”
I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?”
He said, “Protestant.”
I said, “Me, too! What franchise?”
He said, “Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.”
I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative†Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”
I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.
Believers are commanded to love one and other
Believers are commanded to love one and other. The Commandments tell us this and Jesus summed it up just as His Father did, by saying, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
Jokes are usually funniest when they resemble real life. Many religious people find it easy to love each other when they are in agreement on the doctrine, but as soon as there is the slightest disagreement many of us are happy to threaten each other with hell fire.
My teacher taught me to continue loving people when I’m in disagreement with them too. In Scripture we are not asked to love each other, but we are ‘commanded’ to love one and other. Jesus said that his disciples can be recognised by the love they have for one and other.
And yet one of the scariest things for me is to share my love of Scripture with others. Why is it scary to share my love of Scripture particularly with other believers? Because many believers think that the only right way to believe is ‘their’ way. This is beautifully illustrated by Elmo’s joke as mentioned above.
The Bible tells me that God knows the heart and that we are not to judge each other. Many people turn away from religion because of the hypocrisy. Just the other day I read a lovely quote by a religious man who said that he ‘put all the books aside.’ And now his religion is “Never be the source of anyone’s misfortune and never pass up the opportunity to perform a charitable deed.” That is all. By Carl D’Agostino. I think that sums the teachings up just nicely.
A star rating is just someone’s opinion and beauty is in the eye of the beholder
The above joke by Elmo tells us that religion is no joke and that there is a lot of room for improvement. The following three scenarios highlight the inanity to expect others to see anything at all the same way as we do ourselves.
Scenario one
Whenever I go to Amazon books and read the reviews about any given book, it never ceases to amaze me how many different opinions are given for any particular book. Whilst many people may hit the five star button, there’s usually also a fair few who hit the one or two star button. And all that this shows me is that human beings tend to have different opinions about the same thing.
The five star opinion nor the one star opinion make the book necessarily a good or a bad book. The star rating is just a measure of someone’s opinion about the book.
Scenario two
A friend brought in her new puppy dog the other day and the neighbour’s child ran out crying after the puppy jumped up at her and licked her. The child thought that the dog attacked her whilst in reality the dog was trying to make a new friend.
A little later, whilst my daughter was sitting on the floor playing with the puppy, the child’s mum walked in and asked if this was a guide dog in training.
The first person thought that the puppy was an vicious monster, the mum thought that the dog was a guide dog and my daughter saw the same animal as a playmate. Could they all be right at the same time?
Scenario three
Standing on the shore line one day my cousin pointed to a boat in the distance and said that he could see the coast guard. My brother who was standing next to him and expecting one of his sailor friends to drop by, insisted it was a yacht. His ten year old son peering through his new binoculars could only see a pirate ship.
All three of them were looking at the same boat at the same time.
Please don’t push me off the bridge
Considering the three above given scenarios; what makes us think that we are ever going to be in agreement over religion, denominations or churches, temples and synagogues? We all have different viewpoints and different religions, yet we are all human beings who share this planet and our stories in order to be of benefit to one and other.
I’ll be talking about God’s Word and how it has impacted my life and why it works for me and my family. What I have learned in the process is that everyone will give their own interpretation about their own religion or lack thereof. Yet in the end it is all about what is in a person’s heart.
I love GOD’s Word because it has given me a template to live by and it answers every single question I’ve ever had. I am very grateful and keen to share this with anyone who wants to hear because God’s Word kept me alive and has given me hope for a new life and new future and I know it will do the same for others too.
I am tentatively taking my first few new steps.
I’ll admit that at times I felt that a good smack on the bum would perhaps go a long way. Yet my heart urged me to be patient and involve as many people as I could find to regain some balance and stability for all of us.
I found friends and family, teachers, neighbours and acquaintances, anyone who ever had anything to do with Georgie and who liked her smile or who enjoyed her company, even if only briefly. Late at night with the rest of the family sound asleep, I found events, people, places and objects. I unearthed everything in Georgie’s past that gave her a little pleasure at some stage. And I strung all of these stories and messages together to bring her a message of love and worthiness and appreciation.
After many months of hard work, at Georgie’s 13th birthday I presented her with Georgie’s “Life so far” manuscript and our management plan based on what I had uncovered.
It worked .. for a little while.
Did I find a miracle cure for depression? Nope. Did we find a way to manage Georgie’s depression? Yes, very much so.
We went from a dizzying rollercoaster ride to a tame merry-go-round, which occasionally malfunctions, by either going a little too fast or stopping altogether. But ask either one of us which we prefer and the crooked merry-go-round will get thumbs up every time.
The events described above took place between 1987 and 2001.
Afterword written in the year 2014
Today I read in the news that psychiatric drugs soar among Aussie kids. The website News.com.au tells me that the number of prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs jumped 49 percent among 10 to 14-year-olds over a four-year period, according to a study of government subsidised prescriptions.
The number of prescriptions for antidepressants increased by more than a third in that age group, according to figures for 2009 to 2012 published in the latest issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.
It doesn’t look as if we have made much progress with regards to helping our troubled youth.
You cannot protect people from themselves.
Georgie letter to self
The most terrifying thing for me throughout the whole ordeal was the feeling that unless I kept my eyes on Georgie constantly … she was not safe. Of course, it is impossible to keep your eyes constantly on any child. This meant that I lived in constant fear. Eventually, I came to realise that you cannot protect anyone from himself or herself.
Fifteen years later
It is now fifteen years later and we’ve travelled a few more valleys since. We’ve tried and applied whatever is available for mood disorders and then some.
We discovered and applied God’s Word
We gave up altogether on counselling, natural therapies and whatever else we tried that worked a little, for a while. What happened was that we discovered God’s Word and instead of searching out new methods, therapies and supplements, we prayed. We prayed a lot. We searched the Scriptures and applied whatever verses were relevant and we did so continuously and persistently.
Slowly, little by little, dark clouds parted and little devils got chased out … and some big ones too.
I’m proud to say that Georgie has matured into an adolescent who’s managed to grab hold of her mind and her life and with God’s help is rapidly becoming the master of her universe.
God heard our prayers
Once more God heard our prayers. In the process, I learned much. One major lesson for me was, that as human beings we have many limitations and not in my hand but,
Is Georgie still fighting demons? You betcha, but no more than any of us. Nowadays she battles her demons so gracefully and with such a sense of humor that I enjoy hearing about her adventures, and instead of pulling my hair out, I now roll over laughing when she relays her occasional roller coaster rides.
Hahaha, all my fears have evaporated, both my girls are now better to me than seven sons each and I really did give birth to an angel all those years ago …
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word; Sola Scripture. Popular opinion tells us that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all.
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
The episodes where Georgie was depressed, phobic and anorexic were becoming longer and longer and it became harder to find the vivacious, charming and cheerful Georgie.
I was getting scared. I took her suicidal thoughts serious and every time I found it a little more difficult to cope with her dark episodes. Georgie’s black moods were running our lives. My decisions were now influenced and motivated by fear. If only I could find this one person who understands and can help us. If only…
As mentioned earlier, helpful doctor friends wrote prescriptions for Zoloft and all sorts of medications for me to administer as I saw fit. After all, I’m a doctor’s wife; I had tricks up my sleeve and was capable. Or so they seemed to think. I certainly didn’t feel capable. I felt utterly alone and lost.
Suicidal thoughts
After seeing all the therapists, counsellors and doctors, we were still no further to get a hold on the problem or even get a decent diagnosis. It was clear that she was depressed and hid behind her phobias. It was clear that Georgie had suicidal thoughts and was dead set on becoming the slimmest girl in town. It was obvious that her emotions on a daily basis ranged from as low as you can go, to as high as the sky. But why? This mixed bag of observations didn’t get me any closer to sorting any of it out or even getting a handle on it.
I was obviously not helping by refusing to put Georgie on permanent medication and also refusing to accept any labels that I felt could be detrimental to her sense of wellbeing. Feeble as that sense of well-being might have been.
Opposing opinions
The various doctors and therapists gave opposing opinions ranging from chemical and hormonal imbalance to blaming her environment, parents, schooling, and genes, to prescribing antidepressants, counselling therapies and natural medications. All the while my girl was slipping away from me whilst I was holding her hand. She was clearly not in control of this demon called depression and nor was I.
Why would any child feel the way Georgie did when all around her did their utmost to help her out of her dark moods into the ordinary humdrum of daily life?
letter by Georgie
Permanent roller coaster
By the time she was twelve years old, she was on a permanent roller coaster of emotions. When I held her hand I got dizzy on the highs and nauseous on the bends. When I occasionally let go of her hand, she disappeared into the dips and valleys and every time this happened it was a little harder to find her and get her back on track. When she is on track, Georgie is a vivacious and talented student. She is also a born performer, dancer and singer with a natural ability for public speaking.
When the gene factor was mentioned, I remembered Georgie’s grandfather self-medicating with liquor and beer for his seemingly continuous depressive state. There have been suicides on both sides of the family. One of Georgie’s uncles was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and committed suicide at age forty-seven, as did another uncle in his thirties who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Some genes.
What was I to do?
Medicating Georgie permanently was never optional because both her uncles had been on meds when they took their own lives. It is a well-known medical fact that anti-depression meds can bring on suicidal tendencies in certain people. For the brief period that she was on anti-depressants, Georgie found the side effects the meds brought on more alarming than ‘her natural self.’
I live proudly with the overprotective mother label. There are many things a mother may not advertise when she lives with a child who is not your typical average child. Most mothers in this situation will choose to keep their child safe and alive, above complying with social convention and order. I am certainly one of them.
But if I was part of the problem, I could also be part of the solution. I didn’t know how, but I was going to find out.
I decided that I was the authority on my child’s health. I was the one who walked, limped and crawled with Georgie as we tackled the valleys and hills of her disease. Over the years I’d taken a lot of notes and made many observations.
I learned to read her eyes and judge her frame of mind long before she came crashing down or was aware of another episode coming on. I noticed what it was that brought on these episodes. Even though some of them came out of the blue, others were brought on by situations, circumstances and diet.
Pull out all stops
I learned that the priority is not to pick her up after she’s crumbled, but to pull out all stops to keep her well.
I said to Georgie, ”It’s you and me, kid. This is what we do. Tell me what you love doing best of all, what makes your heart sing?”
It was a struggle to find favourite things to do and love because by now Georgie was depressed most of the time. Asking her what it was that makes her heart sing was enough reason for her to burst out in tears and tell me that there was absolutely nothing on this planet that made her happy.
It broke my heart that my 12-year-old daughter couldn’t think of anything at all that made her happy.
I reminded her of the times that we had an ice cream on the beach and I asked, did that make her happy at the time? When she answered “yes,” I suggested that if it made her happy some of the time in the past then perhaps another ice cream could make her happy sometime in the future. So was it OK to add it to our list? She nodded yes.
Even as we were working on her Happy List, she told me more or less every day that her life wasn’t worth living and why bother? And she wanted me to know that, really, she wasn’t worth the effort.
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word; Sola Scripture. Popular opinion tells us that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all.
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
All rights reserved – I Thought It Was A Little Angel – part 2
copyright myemmanuel 2014
names and places may have been changed for privacy reasons.
This is a true story.
“Oh, look,” I whispered, “It’s a little angel.”
It was twenty past ten in the morning at The Birthing Centre of the Royal Women’s Hospital in Paddington on a chilly May morning. “Oh, look,” I whispered “It’s a little angel.”
Little did I know.
Even before she had teeth, this little angel bit my nipples so hard with her gums that it brought tears to my eyes. She went on doing this for as long as I was breastfeeding. At the time I thought that all babies did that. As soon as she could talk she told me that she would like to cut me up in little pieces and fry me in a frypan. The first words she wrote down on a piece of paper said: “I hat you”.
I loved her more than I had ever loved anything in my life.
Euphoria
The feeling of euphoria after her birth was, and still is, unequalled. The feeling of despair that followed is similarly unmatched.
I still don’t know if my feelings of despair were due to undiagnosed postnatal depression, chronic sleep deprivation or the inability to cope with a baby born with rage in her soul.
My beautiful newborn baby didn’t like me or the world very much and she made sure we all knew it. From the moment she was born till the birth of her sister two years later, she cried or screamed most of the time, unless I held her.
No time for dreaming
With my husband as a doctor, people thought that I had it all under control. In my dreams. That is, if I was ever to get any more dreams with this child demanding two hourly breast-feeds around the clock. And even well after her first birthday, she still refused to be weaned. She trained me so well, the only option left for me was to oblige.
She refused to be cared for by anyone other than Mummy. This arrangement was flattering, impractical and utterly exhausting.
When Georgie (her birth certificate reads Georgina Angelina) was fourteen months old, I hadn’t slept more than two hours in a row since her birth. The only thing that seemed to pacify her was rocking her to Joe Cocker or BB King tunes. Remember the one ‘getting by with a little help from my friends?’
I can tell you right now, not a friend in sight when I was carrying my screaming baby.
Big salty tears
In a desperate cry for help, I took my severely sleep deprived body and baby to the Canterbury Children’s Hospital.The registrar at the hospital assured me that the rats crawling over me at home at night were mere hallucinations due to chronic sleep deprivation. I found comfort in this.
The hospital didn’t help. A shortage of beds meant that I attempted to get some shuteye on a straight-backed plastic chair. The screaming of other children kept me awake. After one night of this, the third in a row with my eyes wide open, I took my baby back home. My husband collected me from Bondi beach with my eyes still wide open and big salty tears running down my cheeks.
Two days later there was a knock at the door. The hospital had sent a social worker to check up on us.
The timing was perfect. It was another of those mornings when I had forgotten to check what Her Majesty wanted for breakfast. Georgie wanted cornflakes. I opened the front door with my face and hair covered in porridge. The social worker looked at us and asked if I wanted any help.
I said, “Yes please”. My husband said, “No thanks. We’re coping really well”.
Who’s the captain?
After the social worker left, there was one sentence playing endlessly in my head: “Who’s the captain? Who’s the captain?”Sh..t, I didn’t even know I was on a ship, let alone that someone needed to be steering it.
I get seasick at the best of times .. no wonder this wasn’t working.
Thank you God.
Some months later Crystal was born. Georgie now has a playmate. A sister who not only tolerates her quirky and energetic behaviour but actually delights in it.
Thank you, God.
Georgie was a demanding baby. Nothing prepared me however for this demanding baby turning into an angry two-year-old, an obnoxious three-year-old and a bossy and fussy four-year-old. When Georgie turned five we all agreed that she wanted to go to kindy. I took her to our local Rudolf Steiner School a couple of mornings a week, for socializing. She could be utterly charming when she wanted to be, she approached all strangers with the biggest widest smile you’d ever see and a greeting of “Hi, do you want to be my friend?” Few did.
Mood meter
She was forceful, bossy, angry and disarmingly charming. I discovered that when she ate certain bread with sugar and preservatives in them, she transformed from a reasonably ok child into an angry belligerent monster. Georgie went through periods of phobias and food disorders, and by the time she was nine I’d taken her to see every alternative therapist within fifty kilometres of where we lived.
Many sand therapy, Alexander, Bowen, Homeopathy, Yoga, Aikido and herbal remedy sessions later we’re still none the wiser.
By the time she was twelve, Georgie had had several bouts of severe depression, written several suicide songs, and invented a mood meter. By then I had taken her to see all the doctors, paediatricians, counsellors, psychiatrists and natural healers I omitted last time around.
The treasure I was left with after my travels was a free trial box of Zoloft (anti-depressant) to give my twelve-year-old, “As you see fit.”
At my wit’s end
I was truly at my wit’s end. I discovered that Georgie couldn’t eat chocolate or anything containing sugar without getting severely depressed. She needed regular meals or would become hypoglycemic and severely depressed. She needed to stay in a safe, secure and familiar environment or she became disoriented and guess what? Depressed.
Upsets, loud voices, arguments and disagreements all led to silent tears and Georgie checking out. In fact, any stress she experienced, no matter how small, was likely to find her in quiet little corners of her bedroom with eyes staring blankly into nothingness.
The depression Monster was getting the better of me. I don’t know which one I found harder to cope with: the raging toddler destroying anything in sight or the despondent, withdrawn teen. Some of her depressive episodes were severe and prolonged and the only way I knew how to nurse her out of them was to hold her tight, kiss her tears away whilst repeating a million times over; “it’s OK,” don’t worry, it’ll be OK.” When these episodes occurred, all was black and dark in and around her, access was denied and she couldn’t perform even the most basic of human functions without help or assistance.
The whole situation was becoming quite unmanageable.
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word; Sola Scripture. Popular opinion tells us that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all.
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
A lawyer asked Jesus, Is it possible to live forever? What do I need to do if I want to live forever? And Jesus answered, What do you think? What does the law tell you?
And the man said, The law tells me to love God with all my heart and soul and strength and mind and to love my neighbour as myself.
And Jesus said, Well done. If you do this, then you shall live.
Who is my neighbour?
Then the lawyer said to Jesus, Who is my neighbour?
And Jesus answered; a person was traveling from a town called Jerusalem to another town called Jericho. And as he was traveling, a bunch of thieves attacked him; they took his clothes and beat him up so bad that he nearly died.
And when this poor man was laying on the road, half dead, a priest saw him there and quickly walked across to the other side of the road pretending not to see the poor man.
A little bit later a minister/pastor (levite) did exactly the same thing. He also saw this poor man who desperately needed help and then this minister also walked over to the other side of the road continuing his journey, without helping the wounded man.
So here were two religious people, possibly leaders of churches and neither one of them helped the person who had been beaten up and robbed by thieves.
But a man called a Samaritan saw the man laying on the road and he felt sorry for him and went over to him. He cleaned up and covered his wounds and put him on his own animal to take him to a motel where the traveler continued to took care of this wounded man.
And the next day when he had to continue his journey the Samaritan went to the person in charge of the motel, gave him some money and said please look after this man. And if you have to spend more money than what I am giving you now, then next time when I visit I will pay this money back to you.
After Jesus told this story He asked the lawyer, There were three people who all passed this poor man on the road which had been beaten up and robbed of everything he had by thieves. Now which of the three do you think was acting like a good neighbour? Was that the priest or the minister who saw the man laying on the road but pretended not to see him and crossed the road so that they wouldn’t need to help him? Or was it the Samaritan who cleaned his wounds and took him to a motel to look after him and make sure that he would recover?
Who was the good neighbour?
And the lawyer who had asked Jesus the question about eternal life answered, The good neighbour was the kind man, the Samaritan, who took care of the poor fellow who had been robbed and beaten up.
And Jesus said, You are absolutely right. Now you go and do the same.
all rights reserved copyright myemmanuel 2014 reprinted with permission Australian version of the Good Samaritan story Luke 10:25-37
Jewish people are excellent record keepers
Jewish people are excellent record keepers. In fact there is not a nation comparable when it comes to chronicling the history of a people. The bible or TORAH as the Jewish people call it, is this history book. The bible records in minute detail the birth of the Jewish nation within a certain time frame and contains in depth documentation of the genealogy of the Jewish nation. If you don’t believe me check out the Books of Numbers in the bible which lists endless names and lineage of the Jewish people.
Why does any of this matter in the context of living for ever?
I tell you why this matters. It matters because within the first few chapters of the bible we are told why no-one automatically receives eternal life. The bible is the only history book on the planet earth which explains how this happened.
It was not always so. In the days of the garden of Eden, both Adam and Eve took living in paradise for granted as if it were their birth right. When they refused to obey God however they were thrown out of the garden of Eden, so that they would not automatically live for ever. From this we can see, that eternal life is not for free. There is a price. What price? The price is obedience. You have to follow what God commands you to do.
Church heaven
If your church tells you that all you have to do is believe and have faith .. I’m telling them to pull the other one. Maybe you’ll go to church heaven if you follow their doctrine. If you like your church buddies you’re already living in paradise and all is good.
The majority of American people believe that Noah’s ark is a true story and literally happened. And up to nearly a third of non-believers agree with those sentiments. What about Noah? Noah also taught us that GOD loves obedient people.
At some stage early on in our history humanity had so lost the plot that GOD decided to destroy his creation altogether. It was only because of Noah that he decided to keep a handful to try again. Eight people were saved because of Noah’s obedience to GOD. The rest of humanity was wiped out because of their disobedience.
GOD loves the obedient
When people say that GOD loves us all no matter what … nah, not according to the bible I’m reading. God loves his obedient children and He patiently waits for the disobedient to (re)turn to Him. From reading His Word as well as personal experience I know that he continuously nudges us in the right direction. But if people don’t want to play by the rules … eventually, He’ll pull the plug.
That is what the bible tells us according to Adam and Eve, Noah and his family and Joshua and Caleb.
all rights reserved copyright myemmanuel 2014
Far Out!
For a number of years I’ve struggled with serious health problems. So much so that whenever my daughters phone one of my previous doctors for health advice or a chat, he invariable says, ‘What … is your mum still going? Really? Far out!’ More than six years ago he told me that I was by far the worst patient in his practice and he pretty much begged me to go to hospital so that ‘when’ I died, he would not be investigated. As a family we prayed instead. We love this doctor dearly, he has been very good to us.
What I learned from having health challenges is to never ever give up. And never ever accept a death sentence handed out to you by people in white coats with stethoscopes around their neck. Medico’s overall have treated me very well and been very kind to me but, like all of us, they are mere mortals and their knowledge and expertise is limited. There is only One who knows all.
With My Right Hand Will I Hold Thee
‘With my right hand will I hold thee’, says my favourite author from my favourite book. In against all odds and medical and scientific evidence, ‘With my right hand will I hold thee.’ That’s all that matters to me. That is what keeps me going as well as two smiley faces beaming at me as I’m served my breakfast in bed.
Don’t Give Up
When people give up, everyone loses. Lives are lost and good friends and family members are lost when people give up. Whatever you do, don’t give up!
A transcript of the best advice and most inspiring speech about not giving up is pasted below. If you prefer to listen to it here is the link to do so.
Speech by by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven, ninth commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, at the University-wide Commencement at The University of Texas at Austin a few weeks ago on May 17, 2014 from the University website.
“President Powers, Provost Fenves, Deans, members of the faculty, family and friends and most importantly, the class of 2014. Congratulations on your achievement.
It’s been almost 37 years to the day that I graduated from UT.
I remember a lot of things about that day.
I remember I had throbbing headache from a party the night before. I remember I had a serious girlfriend, whom I later married—that’s important to remember by the way—and I remember that I was getting commissioned in the Navy that day.
But of all the things I remember, I don’t have a clue who the commencement speaker was that evening and I certainly don’t remember anything they said.
So…acknowledging that fact—if I can’t make this commencement speech memorable—I will at least try to make it short.
What Starts here Changes The World
The University’s slogan is,
“What starts here changes the world.”
I have to admit—I kinda like it.
“What starts here changes the world.”
Tonight there are almost 8,000 students graduating from UT.
That great paragon of analytical rigor, Ask.Com says that the average American will meet 10,000 people in their life time.
That’s a lot of folks.
But, if every one of you changed the lives of just ten people—and each one of those folks changed the lives of another ten people—just ten—then in five generations—125 years—the class of 2014 will have changed the lives of 800 million people.
800 million people—think of it—over twice the population of the United States. Go one more generation and you can change the entire population of the world—8 billion people.
Generations are saved by one decision—by one person
If you think it’s hard to change the lives of ten people—change their lives forever—you’re wrong.
I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A young Army officer makes a decision to go left instead of right down a road in Baghdad and the ten soldiers in his squad are saved from close-in ambush.
In Kandahar province, Afghanistan, a non-commissioned officer from the Female Engagement Team senses something isn’t right and directs the infantry platoon away from a 500 pound IED, saving the lives of a dozen soldiers.
But, if you think about it, not only were these soldiers saved by the decisions of one person, but their children yet unborn—were also saved. And their children’s children—were saved.
Generations were saved by one decision—by one person.
But changing the world can happen anywhere and anyone can do it.
So, what starts here can indeed change the world, but the question is…what will the world look like after you change it?
Well, I am confident that it will look much, much better, but if you will humor this old sailor for just a moment, I have a few suggestions that may help you on your way to a better a world.
And while these lessons were learned during my time in the military, I can assure you that it matters not whether you ever served a day in uniform.
It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation, or your social status.
Our struggles in this world are similar and the lessons to overcome those struggles and to move forward—changing ourselves and the world around us—will apply equally to all.
Basic SEAL training in Coronado, California.
I have been a Navy SEAL for 36 years. But it all began when I left UT for Basic SEAL training in Coronado, California.
Basic SEAL training is six months of long torturous runs in the soft sand, midnight swims in the cold water off San Diego, obstacles courses, unending calisthenics, days without sleep and always being cold, wet and miserable.
It is six months of being constantly harassed by professionally trained warriors who seek to find the weak of mind and body and eliminate them from ever becoming a Navy SEAL.
But, the training also seeks to find those students who can lead in an environment of constant stress, chaos, failure and hardships.
To me basic SEAL training was a life time of challenges crammed into six months.
So, here are the ten lesson’s I learned from basic SEAL training that hopefully will be of value to you as you move forward in life.
1. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed
Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centred just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack — rack — that’s Navy talk for bed.
It was a simple task — mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors; tough battle hardened SEALs. But the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.
If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.
If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.
And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.
2. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle
During SEAL training the students are broken down into boat crews. Each crew is seven students — three on each side of a small rubber boat and one coxswain to help guide the dingy.
Every day your boat crew forms up on the beach and is instructed to get through the surf zone and paddle several miles down the coast.
In the winter, the surf off San Diego can get to be 8 to 10 feet high and it is exceedingly difficult to paddle through the plunging surf unless everyone digs in. Every paddle must be synchronised to the stroke count of the coxswain. Everyone must exert equal effort or the boat will turn against the wave and be unceremoniously tossed back on the beach. For the boat to make it to its destination, everyone must paddle.
You can’t change the world alone — you will need some help — and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the good will of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.
3. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers
Over a few weeks of difficult training my SEAL class which started with 150 men was down to just 35. There were now six boat crews of seven men each.
I was in the boat with the tall guys, but the best boat crew we had was made up of the little guys — the munchkin crew we called them — no one was over about 5-foot five. The munchkin boat crew had one American Indian, one African American, one Polish American, one Greek American, one Italian American, and two tough kids from the mid-west. They out paddled, outran, and out swam all the other boat crews.
The big men in the other boat crews would always make good natured fun of the tiny little flippers the munchkins put on their tiny little feet prior to every swim. But somehow these little guys, from every corner of the nation and the world, always had the last laugh, swimming faster than everyone and reaching the shore long before the rest of us.
SEAL training was a great equaliser. Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your colour, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.
4. If you want to change the world get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward
Several times a week, the instructors would line up the class and do a uniform inspection. It was exceptionally thorough. Your hat had to be perfectly starched, your uniform immaculately pressed and your belt buckle shiny and void of any smudges.
But it seemed that no matter how much effort you put into starching your hat, or pressing your uniform or polishing your belt buckle — it just wasn’t good enough. The instructors would find something wrong.
For failing the uniform inspection, the student had to run, fully clothed into the surfzone and then, wet from head to toe, roll around on the beach until every part of your body was covered with sand. The effect was known as a “sugar cookie.” You stayed in that uniform the rest of the day — cold, wet and sandy.
There were many a student who just couldn’t accept the fact that all their effort was in vain. That no matter how hard they tried to get the uniform right — it was unappreciated. Those students didn’t make it through training. Those students didn’t understand the purpose of the drill.
You were never going to succeed. You were never going to have a perfect uniform. Sometimes no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform you still end up as a sugar cookie. It’s just the way life is sometimes. If you want to change the world get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.
5. If you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses
Every day during training you were challenged with multiple physical events — long runs, long swims, obstacle courses, hours of callisthenics — something designed to test your mettle. Every event had standards — times you had to meet. If you failed to meet those standards your name was posted on a list and at the end of the day those on the list were invited to — a “circus.”
A circus was two hours of additional callisthenics — designed to wear you down, to break your spirit, to force you to quit. No one wanted a circus. A circus meant that for that day you didn’t measure up. A circus meant more fatigue — and more fatigue meant that the following day would be more difficult — and more circuses were likely.
At some time during SEAL training, everyone — everyone — made the circus list. But an interesting thing happened to those who were constantly on the list. Over time those students who did two hours of extra callisthenics got stronger and stronger. The pain of the circuses built inner strength-built physical resiliency.
Life is filled with circuses. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core. But if you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.
6. If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first
At least twice a week, the trainees were required to run the obstacle course. The obstacle course contained 25 obstacles including a 10-foot high wall, a 30-foot cargo net, and a barbed wire crawl to name a few.
But the most challenging obstacle was the ‘slide for life’. It had a three level 30 foot tower at one end and a one level tower at the other. In between was a 200-foot long rope. You had to climb the three tiered tower and once at the top, you grabbed the rope, swung underneath the rope and pulled yourself hand over hand until you got to the other end.
The record for the obstacle course had stood for years when my class began training in 1977. The record seemed unbeatable, until one day, a student decided to go down the slide for life — head first. Instead of swinging his body underneath the rope and inching his way down, he bravely mounted the TOP of the rope and thrust himself forward.
It was a dangerous move, seemingly foolish, and fraught with risk. Failure could mean injury and being dropped from the training. Without hesitation the student slid down the rope perilously fast. Instead of several minutes, it only took him half that time and by the end of the course he had broken the record. If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first.
7. If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks
During the land warfare phase of training, the students are flown out to San Clemente Island which lies off the coast of San Diego. The waters off San Clemente are a breeding ground for the great white sharks. To pass SEAL training there are a series of long swims that must be completed. One is the night swim.
Before the swim the instructors joyfully brief the trainees on all the species of sharks that inhabit the waters off San Clemente. They assure you, however, that no student has ever been eaten by a shark — at least not recently.
But, you are also taught that if a shark begins to circle your position, stand your ground. Do not swim away. Do not act afraid. And if the shark, hungry for a midnight snack, darts towards you, then summon up all your strength and punch him in the snout and he will turn and swim away.
There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim you will have to deal with them. So if you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.
8. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment
As Navy SEALs one of our jobs is to conduct underwater attacks against enemy shipping. We practised this technique extensively during basic training.
The ship attack mission is where a pair of SEAL divers are dropped off outside an enemy harbour and then swims well over two miles — underwater — using nothing but a depth gauge and a compass to get to their target.
During the entire swim, even well below the surface there is some light that comes through. It is comforting to know that there is open water above you. But as you approach the ship, which is tied to a pier, the light begins to fade. The steel structure of the ship blocks the moonlight. It blocks the surrounding street lamps. It blocks all ambient light.
To be successful in your mission, you have to swim under the ship and find the keel — the centre line and the deepest part of the ship. This is your objective. But the keel is also the darkest part of the ship, where you cannot see your hand in front of your face, where the noise from the ship’s machinery is deafening and where it is easy to get disoriented and fail.
Every SEAL knows that under the keel, at the darkest moment of the mission, is the time when you must be calm, composed — when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.
9. If you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud
The ninth week of training is referred to as “Hell Week.” It is six days of no sleep, constant physical and mental harassment, and one special day at the Mud Flats.
The Mud Flats are an area between San Diego and Tijuana, where the water runs off and creates the Tijuana slue’s — a swampy patch of terrain where the mud will engulf you.
It is on the Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing cold mud, the howling wind and the incessant pressure to quit from the instructors.
As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening, my training class, having committed some “egregious infraction of the rules” was ordered into the mud. The mud consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit. Just five men and we could get out of the oppressive cold.
Looking around the mud flat it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up … eight more hours of bone chilling cold. The chattering teeth and shivering moans of the trainees were so loud it was hard to hear anything.
And then, one voice began to echo through the night — one voice raised in song.
The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two and two became three and before long everyone in the class was singing. We knew that if one man could rise above the misery then others could as well.
The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing — but the singing persisted. And somehow — the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away.
If I have learned anything in my time travelling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person — Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala — one person can change the world by giving people hope. If you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.
10. If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.
Finally, in SEAL training there is a bell. A brass bell that hangs in the centre of the compound for all the students to see.
All you have to do to quit is ring the bell. Ring the bell and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o’clock. Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the freezing cold swims.
Ring the bell and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT — and you no longer have to endure the hardships of training. Just ring the bell.
If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.
You can affect the lives of 800 million people in the next century
To the graduating class of 2014, you are moments away from graduating. Moments away from beginning your journey through life. Moments away from starting to change the world — for the better. It will not be easy. But YOU are the class of 2014 — the class that can affect the lives of 800 million people in the next century.
Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often, but if you take some risks, step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up — if you do these things, the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today, and what started here will indeed have changed the world — for the better.”
end of speech.
Wow, some speech. Makes me think that we can all do with a touch of SEAL training in our youth.
Not everyone wants to change the world. I just want to share my story and let my readers know what I discovered about Living Forever. Regardless of what we’re about though, every single decision we make changes something and usually affects other people. So why not change for the better by resolving to never ever give up and inspiring others to do the same.
Below I’ve summed up Admiral William H. McRaven’s speech to print out and hang on my wall.
If you want to change the world … advice from Admiral William McRaven
Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often, but if you take some risks, step up when the times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden and never, ever give up.
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.
If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle.
If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.
If you want to change the world get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward.
If you want to change the world, don’t be afraid of the circuses.
If you want to change the world sometimes you have to slide down the obstacle head first.
If you want to change the world, don’t back down from the sharks.
If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.
If you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.
If you want to change the world don’t ever, ever ring the bell.
Why would any one write a blog on Living For Ever?
That’s a good question and I’ll tell you why. Exactly ten years ago my favourite cousin Les asked me this question during one of his visits to my house: ‘How long do you expect to live for?’
To be honest I had never given it any thought. So I reflected on his question briefly and told him that a clairvoyant’s crystal ball once portrayed me at a ripe old age with hair as white as snow. ‘I’ll sign up for that,’I said, at a time when I still believed in soothsayers. ‘What about you Les?’ I asked.
Les and I had great rapport, which may have had something to do with the fact that we were of the same vintage.
‘Me,’ he said, ‘I’ll be living forever.’
He grinned at me with a smile bigger than the sun, ‘Me,’he said, whilst poking his finger at his chest, ‘I’ll be living for ever!’
A week later he had taken his own life. I wrote a small article about it in 2005 as part of a feature story on teenage depression, you can read about that below.
The concept of living for ever somehow sounded different to ‘heaven.’
Like most people I had heard about heaven but it was my cousin Les who introduced me to the concept of living for ever. The concept of living for ever somehow sounded different to ‘heaven.’
The passing of my favourite cousin combined with several near death experiences experienced by myself were some of the reasons that prompted me to study living for ever intensely for the next decade.
Les wrote poetry during his lifetime but this particular poem as printed above was artistic licence from the author to fit in with the story and convey Les’ mood on his last visit to his cousin (me). For help with or information on depression visit beyondblue.org.au, the black dog institute, pressonaustralia or phone Lifeline on 131 114.
all rights reserved copyright myemmanuel 2014
How Many Of Us Get To Go To Heaven?
Who is it that gets to live forever? Do we even want to live forever? A little while ago Daily Post’s Scott Berkun posed exactly that question, ‘Do you want to live forever?’ and received widely varied responses.
Did you know that Americans Stand a Better Chance To Get to Heaven?
First of all you need to know that Americans stand a better chance than others to get into heaven, it is a mathematical fact and you can read more about that here.
Only Two People Entered the Promised Land
Secondly you need to know that out of the whole Hebrew nation, which 3500 years ago was around one million people, only two out of one million got to enter the promised land. After a long forty year journey through the wilderness, only two.
Why Only Two Out Of A Million?
Why was this? Because these were the only two that obeyed God. Yep. That’s what the bible tells us. Even Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land. Who were the two that were allowed to enter the promised land?
Caleb and Joshua. It is good to keep in mind that the Jewish people are meticulous record keepers. And there you have it, Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun were the only two out of the original tribe which entered the promised land because they were the only two that followed God.
Many seek to enter in.
Many Seek To Enter In. Most people I know expect to go to heaven, just because … They have faith and all that. They reckon they’ll be fine.
This doesn’t correlate with what the Good Book tells us. The bible tells us that two were kicked out of paradise for not obeying God and two out of around one million entered into the promised land because they were the only two who obeyed God.
What are your chances that you’ll end up in heaven?
So, what are your chances that you’ll end up in heaven? Unless you’re an American … the bible tells us that only two out of a nation of around one million people entered the promised land.
Reading the above made me wonder what the parameters are.
