Serious.Life Magazine - October 2008 by Tulsa Design Works Inc

The serious pursuit of a fulfilling, contented and happy life.

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inside features inside features 24 editor editor readers.talk readers.talk serious.life 28 serious.photos serious.life serious.spirit serious.money serious.pho 34 serious.family serious.spir serious.health serious.extras serious.mon Next Month: serious.fam serious.hea serious.extr

6 serious.photos

Great photos and captions submitted by our readers.

10 letters & feedback

Hear what readers are saying about Serious.Life.Magazine

Sarah Palin: American Western Woman David Dolan gives us the real scoop on the Republican candidate for Vice President.

12 serious.spirit

Spiritual growth, answers to life and personal maturity.

14 serious.money

Each month we talk about personal finances and good money management.

20 serious.family

Great families, great relationships and great stuff about living life!

God Can Even Save Terrorists

Ken McClinton was an terrorist, involved in violence his whole life until he found God while alone in prison.

Winning Isn’t News

What if America won a war of historical proportions and yet the public never heard about it?

22 serious.health

Find out how to live healthy, be fit, enjoy life and take care of yourself.

36 serious.extras

Each month we talk about a couple of different interesting topics or issues.

• Coach Bob Stoops of the Oklahoma Sooners talks with us about visiting seriously ill children in the local hospital and what this has meant to him, his family and his players.

Are you a writer or photographer?

We are always looking for people who want to contribute high quality content and photos to the magazine. Shoot me an email if you’re interested: editor@seriouslifemagazine.com

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A Letter froM THE

Welcome readers!

Serious.Life Magazine... what’s it all about?

The serious pursuit of a fulfilling, contented and happy life. Publisher Tulsa Design Works, Inc

Editor-in-Chief/Designer Brent Riggs Copy & Proofreading Carolyn Hill

Contributing Writers Steve Cummins David Dolan Jim Nienhuis Russ Weir

Subscriptions www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe Website www.seriouslifemagazine.com

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Serious.Life.Magazine is published monthly. Reproductions in whole or in part without permission are prohibited. Serious.Life. MagazineTM is not responsible for the return of unsolicited artwork, photography or manuscripts and will not be responsible for holding fees or similar charges. All digital submissions and correspondence will become property of Serious.Life.MagazineTM. Statements made, implied or expressed in Serious.Life. MagazineTM do not necessarily represent the editorial position of the publisher. TM

Most importantly, this is YOUR magazine... so if you are a writer or photographer (or dream of it), if you have suggestions for stories and improvements, I want to hear from you. You are the most important aspect of this publication so send me your ideas and content. I look foward to hearing from you as we pursue a “serious life” filled with purpose, meaning, contentment and happiness.

LIVING A

Brent Riggs

Editor-In-Chief

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“Serious.Life Magazine” is all about serious stories and content, not in the sense of being somber and sullen, but with regards to what is really meaningful and lasting in life. Whether it’s human interest, spiritual nourishment or just good old fashioned fun and recreation, Serious.Life Magazine is all about what really has meaning and avoiding pop culture worship, fads and “image over substance”.

Comments & Feedback letters@seriouslifemagazine.com

The serious pursuit of a fulfilling, contented and happy life.

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Cover Photo Brent Riggs

It’s about living a life of fulfillment, purpose and happiness that is REAL... not the image driven, consumer-oriented pop-culture fluff that saturates and hypnotizes more and more of our society.

serious.life serious.photos serious.spirit serious.money serious.family serious.health serious.extras

Little girls at an outdoor summer wedding. Is there anything more beautiful in life? (Submitted by Jerry Palmer - palmerimages@gmail.com)

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Orphanage in the mountains This is the view high in the

mountains of Guatemala, not far

from a resort hotel that has been converted into an orphanage.

The Oklahoma 6A Football

Championship game at

Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma

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Football Glory

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serious.life serious.photos serious.spirit serious.money serious.family serious.health serious.extras Beautiful Spring

Amazing blooms in

early spring

on a peaceful,

shaded path.

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OCTOBER 2008

On the cover: Adopted from Guatemala, Abby plays on the beach in Florida. Abby was diagnosed with Leukemia in July 2008 and as of this publication date, is in remission and continuing her chemotherapy treatment.

Mayan Beauty A beautiful Mayan

mother and daughter on the streets of

Antigua, Guatemala.

Waiting in Ethiopia Samrawit was in an Ethiopian

She was very loving to the other

kids and helped care for them.

(Submitted by Michelle Riggs www.riggsfamilyblog.com

W E WA N T T O P U B L I S H Y O U R G R E AT P H O T O S

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Submit your photos online here: www.seriouslifemagazine.com/photos

We want to show everyone your great pics! Send us your best photos along with a caption, and every month, we will publish some of them for everyone to enjoy.

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orphanage awaiting her new family.

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“Your websites, blog and messages are great! I will recommend you to all my friends. I found so much useful content. Thank you!” TR - Orlando, FL

(Editor’s Note: since this is the first issue, obviously we don’t have reader comments or letters from this specific magazine. What follows are comments from readers responding to my writing and content on other sites/blogs. BR)

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I have found Brent Riggs to be one of the most insightful, dedicated and caring persons that I have had the experience of seeking counsel and direction from in time of real need. Not only have I found Brent to have good answers to a multitude of issues and subjects, I also have found that he will pretty much always have some very well thought out reasons for his advice and why it will be beneficial in my life. Gary Richardson, Author & Attorney, Tulsa OK

Keep up the good work. Even when you have to take a day off, there is still plenty information on your sites to checkout. I do not know how you have enough time to keep all of this going! You have also become an internet expert. WOW, again! JD

I wanted to contact you anyway to tell you how much your faith in God has touched me. I won’t bore you with details, but I wanted you to

“I want to thank you, Brent, for your work. You are touching many people’s lifes.” MW - Switzerland

know that your demonstrated faith was and is instrumental in helping me to get through a serious crisis of faith in my own walk. Just know that your example and the love of Christ that is evident in your writings are a daily help to me. I will continue to pray for you and your family. I’d love to meet you someday. May God bless you. BW I have relied on Brent’s wisdom to help guide me in business and personal decisions. I take the advice and teaching that Brent recommends and apply it to my need at the time – it has truly been a blessing to know Brent! Tom Quinn - President of Imagery Concepts, Tulsa OK Over five years ago I felt my marriage and family slipping away from me with no hope of rescue. However it happened, I came across

the advice of Brent Riggs and began to read his content on a daily basis. So many of Brent’s writings spoke to me of changes I needed to make in my personal life. I then started sharing the information with my wife. Our marriage is great now. Thank you Brent! C.C.

Your daily messages and advice are exactly what I need every day to continue to grow personally. Your teaching hits home every time, as if to remind me that I need to stay the course. Patty Reamy

An inmate writes me, “Just keep Brent Riggs coming.” Thanks and thanks so much for answering the questions I write. These will be helpful to the men. In fact the one on loneliness was great. I heard from the man and he said he thought it was written just for him and he thanked me. What he didn’t know is that it was written just for him. BR

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serious.photos serious.spirit God’s Statistics... serious.money Numbers That Give Hope serious.family serious.health serious.extras By Brent Riggs

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OCTOBER 2008

ur adopted Guatemalan daughter, Abby, was diagnosed with Leukemia in July 2008. Here are some statistics about kids with Leukemia:

• 5000 - The number of kids in America who will be diagnosed with Leukemia this year • 9x - The factor of children who are 2-4 years old when diagnosed with Leukemia • 60% - The percentage of children who get the more curable version of Leukema called “A.L.L.” (which we found out is the kind Abby has) • 66% - The percentage of people who completely recover from A.L.L. • 90% - The percentage of children ages 2-4 that recover from Leukemia • 10% - The percentage of children who relapse, usually within three years • 15% - The chance of recovering from a relapse of Leukemia

Those are medical statistics. Let me give you some “God Statistics”:

• 1 - The number of times Jesus gave His life to pay for

our sins • 0 - The number of times God is not watching over every second of our life and every hair on our head • 0% - The chance that God will forsake or forget one of His children • 0% - The percentage of children with Leukemia that God does not care about • 100% - The percentage of hope that Christians have no matter what the circumstances • 100% - The chance that God will hear the prayers of His suffering children • 100% - The percentage of times that every single situation works out exactly the way God wants it to

Resting in the hospital - Soon after her

diagnosis, Abby spent a couple of weeks in the hospital. She quickly became friends with all the nurses and staff.

• 100% - The percentage of people who are blessed when they trust God, thank God, and rejoice in God no matter what the circumstances • Infinite - The amount of love, patience, mercy, compassion and attention God has for each and every one of His own.

Medical statistics are real. By themselves, they can be very difficult, sometimes impossible to confront and accept. As Christians, we have the blessing of filtering all human statistics through “God’s statistics”. Notice that God’s numbers are absolutes... all or none. No guessing, no gray area, no margin of error (or guess). It is in those absolutes, that Christians find security. It is in those boundaries and constraints we get comfort. It is the surety of “all” or “never” that we anchor the frail ships of this life. • God never forgets about us. • God always does what is best for us. • God never deceives us.

A blog is a great place to archive your life to enjoy in the years to come! Free and easy to use blogs like Blogger and Wordpress make it simple and fast to create your own family blog full of memories and pictures. Our family blog is www.riggsfamilyblog.com. Here’s a couple of the stories I have posted on our blog:

“Slurp, Slurp” - We were at the tail end of dinner one night, and a couple of the kids had already finished, were excused and running around playing. My wife and I were playing cards, and one or two kids were still at the table when we kept hearing, “slurp, slurp, slurp....” Like someone sipping soup from a bowl. It took us a minute to track it down and finally we found our two year old, Landis, under his chair, laying flat on his belly, retrieving some spilled Koolaid off the floor using only the tongue and lips God gave him. You wouldn’t believe how proud he was to not only be saving his spilled Koolaid, but to be cleaning up his mess too! He had his eye on some spaghetti noodles under another chair, but we intercepted him before he could “clean up” that lost pasta! ~ “I Sahr-wee” - Landis, two years old was sitting at the table in the kitchen while I (Brent) was cooking dinner. I was talking about something to Garrett, and Landis goes “I said BE quiet!” I looked over at him with my best “oh no you didn’t” mad Drill Sargeant look, and asked him: “WHAT did you say???” Landis with a completely changed tone and demeanor, sheepishly informed me, “I said, I sahr-wee”. ~

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Brent Riggs is an author, mentor and Bible teacher. For Bible teaching and answers, visit his ministry website at www.seriousfaith.com

A Great Way to Archive Family Memories

The absolutes of God’s statistics... have you ever considered them? What’s going on in your life? Are you anchored to, hoping in, and looking towards the “always” and “never” of God’s promises? Hebrews 13:5-6 ... “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (NKJV) ~

Never boring - Landis keeps every laughing in our home.

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• God always cares.

Spiritual Growth > Truth > Eternal Perspective

serious.spirit serious.money Lifestyles of the serious.family Cosmetically Affluent serious.health serious.extras By Brent Riggs

t’s a generally true statement that debt-ridden, credit card addicted people appear to more wealthy and more affluent than they really are. Why? Because they spend their “money” (and credit) on LIFESTYLE expenditures. I overheard a fairly loud twenty something woman in a restaurant (she was purposely being loud enough for all the tables around her to hear). She was going on about how “I love this restaurant, but if I ate here every day, I’d be really heavy and broke”. She was already “heavy” and given the rest of the conversation, mostly likely already broke. I know it’s “mean” to say someone is overweight, but she was the one putting herself out there for public scrutiny by clearly proclaiming she WOULD BE “heavy” if she ate bagels and cinnamon rolls every day. Apparently, she was only eating them every OTHER day if she didn’t consider her current weight “heavy” (probably 100 or more pounds overweight). Predictably, she continued with a conversation about high gas

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OCTOBER 2008

DEBT-RIDDEN, CREDIT CARD ADDICTED PEOPLE USUALLY APPEAR MORE AFFLUENT THAN THEY ARE.

prices, a pile of bills and what the government should do to fix it all. Again predictably, she left in a pretty new, late model car talking on her cell phone, holding her $5.00 latteto-go. Do I say all this to be mean? Funny? Uncaring? Fat-a-phobic? No. Does being overweight automatically

make you a debt junkie or lazy? No… but in this case her physical appearance, along with her words, combined with the other obvious signs made it clear that she was impulsive and undisciplined in general and refused to take responsibility for her own overindulgence. I say “predictably” because this has become all TOO common in America. I tell you this story because it is indicative of those in debt, why they stay in debt, and get deeper debt. They think like poor, debt ridden people. They live like poor debtaddicted people. They complain and refuse personal responsibility like poor debt crazed people. Impulsiveness, lack of discipline, victimhood, entitlement mentality, laziness… all common traits of the debtminded masses, regardless of what appearance they shine themselves up with. They make the lifestyle choices of the affluent and but are poor in genuine wealth and assets. CREDIT gives them a false sense of wealth that is really only cosmetic lifestyle bought on credit. They live impulsively, beyond their means, and without discipline… then complain about being stressed over debt and look for the government to punish credit card companies, oil companies and mortgage lenders, or worse, they

Personal Finances > Debt Reduction > Stewardship

If you want to be debt free, you have to think like debt free people. wait for a government bail out by politicians wanting votes. If you want to be debt free, you have to think like debt free people. If you want to be truly financially independent, you have to think and make choices like disciplined, debthating, financially disciplined adults. You don’t start thinking “debt free” when your debt is GONE; you start thinking “debt free” NOW so that your debt will disappear along with your debt-mentality. People in debt, who will stay in debt, think: • I must have it now. • I deserve it. • You only live once. • I need to treat myself. • It’s got low monthly payments. • I’ll pay it off later. • I’m building my credit. • Everyone needs a ___________ (cell phone, new car, etc.)

People who get out of debt and stay out of debt think: • I’ll wait until I can afford it. • I don’t deserve anything I don’t earn and can’t afford. • You only live once and I don’t want to have a life of regrets. • I’ll treat myself after I’ve been disciplined and not impulsive. • The only “payment plan” is 100% down and no monthly installments. • I won’t buy anything I can’t pay cash for now (a mortgage being the possible exception). • I’m not worried about

“building my credit” and being debt free won’t hurt it. • I only NEED food, shelter, transportation and clothing; everything is a luxury I’ll forego until I can afford it. The second list is OPPOSITE everything American screams at us each day about “lifestyle”. We are bombarded with temptation to increase our status by having newer, faster, bigger, better and more luxurious “stuff”… with plenty of

(continued page after next, right side)

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serious.spirit serious.money Credit Card Traps, serious.family And How To Avoid Them serious.health serious.extras By David Berky

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OCTOBER 2008

% interest* for the first six months, no annual fees** and a low fixed*** rate of only 8.9%****! * Unless you count the deferred interest we will charge you if you don’t pay off the full balance transfer amount when the promotional period ends. ** Except the ones we charge for “late payments****”, going over your balance, cash advances, balance transfers, membership in “rewards” programs, etc., etc., etc. *** Fixed for the first month, but after we may change it without notice for: late payments, going over your balance, changes in the prime rate, or just cause we want more of your money. **** Rate depends on your credit score. (Which we already checked and intend to charge you 19.8% or we wouldn’t bother sending you this great***** offer.) ***** A payment may be late if we just don’t get around to processing it in time no matter when you actually mailed it to us. ****** May not be great in all states. Yes, folks, “the devil is in the details” and the truth is in the fine print. While this is obviously an exaggerated and fictitious example

merchants with their “store credit cards” and “discount cards”. I have seen stores and even car dealerships make “no interest for a year” type announcements and advertisements. But when you actually read the contract (and who does that - they count on you to not read the whole thing and you probably won’t understand it without your attorney) you may find that instead of the regular payments you would expect to start at the end of the no interest period, you are required to pay the full purchase price. If you want to make installment payments, you will be required to pay the payment plus the interest (look for the rate in the fine print) and you may also be required to pay the interest that accrued during your “interest free” period. Gotcha! Or how about the “no annual fees” bit. Look out for the contract to say “no annual fees FOR THE FIRST YEAR”. Or first two years or that a “membership” fee is required. How that differs from an “annual fee” is beyond me. Also watch out for the “no annual fees” for the use of the card but “membership fee required” to participate the in frequent flyer miles or cash back points program (which was probably why you chose that card to begin with). Gotcha! And how about the “fixed” rate? Read the fine print, it will actually say “subject to change without notice”. Is it just me or do I misunderstand the meaning of the word “fixed”?

The devil is in the details The truth is in the fine print I have seen most of these “weasel” clauses in the 100s of credit card offers I receive each year. Some of these tricks and traps are practiced by local and national

Also your “fixed” rate may be raised to the “maximum allowable by state law” if you go over your credit limit (including fees that may put you over your limit before you even know it), make a late payment, miss a payment or do not pay the full amount. Gotcha! And then there is that low “teaser rate”. Yes that’s what it is called in the industry and it is appropriately descriptive. That rate is given out, they aren’t lying about that. But it is only given to the people who have 700 or above credit scores, minimal debt, and a high paying job. The majority of the people who are sent the ad will not get the lowest rate. But you won’t know your rate until you apply for the card. But by the time they tell you what rate you (continued next page)

Personal Finances > Debt Reduction > Stewardship

Lifestyles of the Cosmetically Affluent, cont’d.

easy credit to obtain it. Do you want to get out of debt and stay out of debt forever? You’ve got to quit thinking like an “undisciplined, impulsive, got have it, I deserve, can’t wait, I’ll buy it on credit now and pay for it later” debt junkie. Quit going out to eat every day. Quit buying $4.00 coffee. Quit upgrading your cell phone. Sell the new car you can’t afford. Get out of the house you should have never bought. Dump the 440 satellite movie channels. Quit buying more new shoes and clothes. Cut up your credit cards. Save some money. Think like the wealthy, not the affluent. Think like the disciplined, not the impulsive. Think like a wealth builder, not a debt junkie. Increase income, reduce debt, live frugally, give generously. That’s how you become wealthy. Find out how to get out of debt fast, and stay out of debt in my latest book on the subject: Life Without Debt. ~

Brent Riggs teaches people about getting out of debt, reducing expenses, increasing income and being a good steward of finances on his blog: www.brentriggsmoney.com

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serious.spirit serious.money serious.family serious.health serious.extras

Credit Card Traps, cont’d.

will be at they have already signed you up and issued your card. They count on the fact that most people will just accept the rate and go from there. Gotcha! So how can you avoid these traps? Rule #1, read ALL of the fine print. If you are not clear on something ask someone else what they think it means. Ask an attorney friend, CPA (certified public accountant), financial planner, banker or other person in the financial industry. Chances are they will have several questions about the fine print, too. Rule #2, don’t apply for a card

are not as strict or hard to deal with. Check with your local banks also. At least with a locally issued credit card “you know where they live”. Rule #3, always mail your payment at least 7 days before it is due. Or try paying through the Internet. Many companies now offer that payment method. It can also save you time and stamps. Rule #4, check your statement each month to be sure you are still at the interest rate you signed up for. If your rate has been increased, look for a late payment fee, or some other reason for the increase. Call the company and ask them why they increased your rate. If your rate was unjustly increased (they processed the payment late or credited it to your account late, but it was not received late) then ask them to change your rate back to what it should be. Even if you did make a late payment, most companies will reduce your rate after six months of on-time payments. But if you don’t ask, they will keep you at the higher rate as long as they can. In the credit card business it is definitely “caveat emptor” or buyer beware!

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OCTOBER 2008

Even if you did make a late payment, most companies will reduce your rate after six months of on-time payments. But if you don’t ask, they will keep you At the higher rate as long as they can.

unless or until they tell you what your actual rate will be. This is hard because most of them are not set up to tell you. Generally you will need to know your credit scores and have a copy of your credit report handy. Even then you are unlikely to find someone through their telephone maze that will or can actually answer your question. Try to find a card that gives you a confirmed rate before you apply. A conscientious company will first request a copy of your credit report from one of the credit bureaus before quoting you a rate. Look on http://www.bankrate. com for current rates offered by various credit card companies and banks. Often smaller banks and companies offer better deals and

David Berky is president of Simple Joe, Inc. which sells the Simple Joe’s Debt Eraser PC software. Debt Eraser can help

anyone get out of debt quickly and inexpensively by creating a Rapid Debt Reduction Plan. This article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author’s information and an active link (where possible) are included.

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serious.money serious.family The Value of Family serious.health The True Measure of Success serious.extras By Steve Cummings

S E R I O U S . L I F E . M A G A Z I N E TM

OCTOBER 2008

n his 100th birthday a few years ago, I watched a man being interviewed by a local television station in Birmingham, Alabama. The man was asked the question, “What would you say is the most important thing people need to understand about life?” Without batting an eye he responded, “The older we get, the more we should understand that the key to meaning and purpose in life lies in one’s ability to establish and maintain beautiful, long-lasting, harmonious relationships.” I think he nailed it. You can’t live any better than you can love, and if you’re not doing well in the relationship business, specifically in your family, then you’re just not doing well at life, because life is relationships. To have a great family life is worth any sacrifice one might have to

make to achieve it. It is living life on its highest plane, and there is no substitute for a great family life. Someone once said, “No amount of success in life can compensate for failure in the home.” When you really think about it, that’s a powerful statement. As a 44-yearold husband for 21 years, and a father of four children ranging from 10 to 17 years, I can honestly say that no amount of success in my life, whether academically, athletically, or vocationally, even comes close to the joy and happiness my family brings to my life. Whether married or single, family is so very important, not only to our personal emotional wellbeing, but also to the health and welfare of the world as a whole. No nation ever has, ever can, or ever will rise above the quality of its homes. Theodore Roosevelt once said something that would be ridiculed today by the media and the cultural elite of our day, but it is nonetheless true: “There are exceptional women, there are exceptional men, who have other tasks to perform in addition to, not in substitution for, the task of motherhood and fatherhood, the task of providing for the home and of keeping it. But it is the tasks connected with the home that are the fundamental tasks of humanity. After all,

Marriage > Parenting > Communication > Recreation

The tasks connected to family and home are the fundamental tasks of humanity. we can get along for the time being with an inferior quality of success of other kinds, political or business, or of any kind; because if there are failings in such matters we can make them good in the next generation; but if the mother and daddy does not do their duty, there will either be no next generation, or a next generation that is worse than none at all. In other words, we cannot as a Nation, get along at all if we havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the right kind of home life. Such a life is not only the supreme duty, but also the supreme reward of every mother and father. Every rightly constituted

woman or man, if they are worth their salt, must feel that there is no such ample reward to be found anywhere in life as the reward of children and a happy family life.â&#x20AC;? Where does the value of family rank in your personal measure of success? ~

Steve Cummings is a full-time minister and life strategies coach, who conducts family and communication workshops, instructing people on how to improve all aspects of their interpersonal relationships. Email Steve: steve@tusculum.org

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serious.family serious.health Who Says Seniors serious.extras

Don’t Have Time For Health?

enior health is a popular topic these days as aging baby boomers try to figure out the best ways to keep enjoying their goldenyears… which happily are lasting longer and longer in the 21st Century. Senior fitness is also an important issue as technology and labor-saving devices have created a landscape where ‘hard work’ is diminished… but so are the longterm health benefits that come from leading an active life. And senior health is also a key to a healthy mind. Numerous studies point to a strong connection between regular exercise and emotional stability, providing strong evidence that many seniors can literally exercise away their depression.

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OCTOBER 2008

The ABC of Senior Exercise

For optimum senior health, the ABC of older fitness is actually ESC – Endurance, Strength and Cardio. These three forms of exercise target different senior health needs and should all be integrated into your workout program. Endurance exercise increases blood flow and may protect older people from cardiac injury during a heart attack, according to a new University of Florida study. Strength exercises increase muscle mass and improve metabolism which aids in maintaining a healthy weight…a key challenge in senior health. Workouts that target the cardiovascular system promote heart health. Add stretching and balance exercises for a complete approach to senior health and overall senior fitness.

Fit Seniors Are Smart Seniors, Literally!

When seniors exercise, their workout a positive effect on muscles, joints, and bones. But the amazing news is that exercise for seniors provides far more than just physical fitness. Literally providing a workout for the brain as well as the body, exercise supports senior health by improving blood flow and increasing metabolism. Overall brain function is also improved thanks to better circulation. This can bring a dramatic improvement to a senior’s metal acuity and memory function. Seniors who workout regularly, report that their exercise program leaves them feeling positive and happy, with a positive attitude that carries over into non-workout hours.

Feel The Burn and Set Calories On Fire

Seniors need to be aware of weight and its relationship to fitness. As the body ages, it becomes more difficult to maintain for seniors to maintain an ideal weight without a fitness program, regular workouts and exercise. If you can BOOST YOUR

Fitness > Healthcare > Diet > Lifestyle

One of the ‘secret’ benefits seniors enjoy from exercise is freedom from worry. METABOLISM, your body will be able to burn more calories per day. The good news for senior fitness is that exercise naturally boosts your metabolism. Your fitness level will get a real boost if you add weight training or progressive resistance exercise that builds muscle to your workout. Muscle burns more calories than fat, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when you’re resting.

Senior Exercise Prevents Embarrassing Senior Conditions

One of the ‘secret’ benefits seniors enjoy from exercise is freedom from worry. Exercise strengthens muscles that hold the body’s organs in place to prevent many of the conditions that keep seniors from enjoying their lives fully. The positive effect on the muscles that hold the bladder is the reason many older fitness enthusiasts have found that keeping to a regular workout helps them put off some of the most common (and potentially embarrassing) signs of aging including urinary tract problems. Simple pelvic exercises performed for a few minutes a day several times a week can improve senior health exponentially.

The Secret of Success

There’s no ‘magic bullet’ that guarantees senior health and fitness. There’s not even a ‘magic’ workout or exercise. If there’s any ‘magic’ in senior fitness, it’s a magic word.

That word is COMMITMENT. For any exercise program or fitness regimen to work, you need to follow it regularly…for life. A great way to stay motivated is to KEEP A DAILY EXERCISE JOURNAL. Record the kind of exercise you did that day, your heart rate, and anything else that’s meaningful to you. You’ll feel great when you review the progress you’ve made in creating a lifetime of good health for yourself. ~ (For more articles on how fitness helps seniors stay healthy visit: http://www.smart-shape.com)

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Sarah Palin:

An American Western Woman

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OCTOBER 2008

By David Dolan

was visiting my parents in my home state of Idaho when John McCain announced his surprise selection for vice president—Alaska’s feisty governor Sarah Palin. As the 44 year old female politician was expertly delivering her national “maiden” speech in Dayton Ohio—standing next to the beaming Arizona senator, where she remains to this day—the Northwest media was already noting with some pride that she was born in the beautiful Idaho panhandle town of Sandpoint. The growing lakeside town is just 40 miles north of where I grew up in Coeur d’Alene (forget your French; we pronounce it core-da-lane). Minutes after she finished her stirring speech, regional television and radio stations were broadcasting the news that, while Palin had moved with her family to Alaska when just a toddler, she returned to Idaho

1984 where she majored in journalism, with an emphasis in broadcast news. After a brief college student stint in Alaska, she returned once more to Idaho where she graduated from the state’s top scholastic institution in 1987. The revelation that the suddenly world famous Governor Palin had roots in Idaho—the country’s 13th largest state land wise containing America’s second largest designated wilderness area (after Alaska), but with just over 1.3 million residents— “set the locals abuzz,” as the nearby Spokane Washington Spokesman-Review newspaper headlined the next day. Indeed her father, Chuck Heath, was raised in Hope Idaho, just a few miles east of Sandpoint. So if his lucid daughter becomes the nation’s deputy leader next January 20, Sarah Palin can accurately boast with Bill Clinton that she has some family

in the spring of 1983 to study at North Idaho College, located in scenic Coeur d’Alene. The young woman then transferred to the University of Idaho in Moscow (80 miles south of my hometown) in the fall of

connections to a small American town called Hope. There was another reason why regional media outlets were particularly focused on Palin’s Idaho roots. If she and McCain triumph in the November 4

Like bill clinton, Palin has connections to a town called hope.

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of Americans with parallel family situations. And it probably bought the McCainPalin ticket some additional votes. Sarah Palin’s contention that such children are “a blessing” rang fairly true with me, although I have to admit it has proved to be a mixed one in my family, and I’m sure many others as well. It’s hardly been easy for me or my three male siblings—not to mention our dedicated parents—to watch our sister struggle with frustration as she bravely attempts to figure out how to do simple things that are easy for most of us, like putting batteries into her portable music player with the ends matching the appropriate terminals. Certainly no one would wish to have a mentally or physically handicapped child. But Sarah and Todd Palin’s choice not to abort the baby

Palin, I continued working in the media field, moving in 1980 to Israel where I’ve worked for CBS and other news outlets. There was another, more emotional connection that I quickly felt as the vivacious politician delivered her sizzling Dayton speech. She noted that her fifth child, Trig, only four months old, “has special needs” (Down’s Syndrome), vowing to stand up for all American’s with mental or physical disabilities, which she repeated at the Republican convention. My mom informed me that Palin’s sister also has a handicapped child. Our family was similarly comprised of five children, the youngest born with an especially small cranium that hindered her mental development. So naturally Governor Palin’s pledge touched my heart, as I’m sure it did many of the millions

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election, the Alaska chief executive will be the very first Northwest-born politician to serve as either president or vice president. In fact, only one other regional native had even been placed on a national ticket by either party—Oregon Republican Charles McNary, who ran with Wendell Wilkie against the victorious Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. Of course, others have attempted to move into the White House, including Idaho’s former Democratic Senator Frank Church and Washington’s Henry “Scoop” Jackson. Besides the fact that both of us were born in Idaho, I felt several other personal connections to Palin as I listened to her speak, and later studied her bio on the internet. Like her, I was christened a Roman Catholic as a baby, but as a teenager chose to be baptized as a “born again” Christian. I also majored in broadcast journalism at a Northwest school (in Spokane). With diploma in hand, I similarly began working at a local media outlet (she as a sportscaster at an Anchorage television station, myself as a disc jockey and news writer at a Coeur d’Alene radio station, plus a TV cameraman at the local cable company). Unlike

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Sarah Palin, cont’d. that they knew in advance would require extra care and attention was exemplary for sure. Whether the east coast political and media establishment, not to mention Barack Obama and Joe Biden, likes it or not (and most apparently do not), it is now abundantly clear that John McCain made a brilliant pick for his running mate. Although it might be too much to call her his “Viagra pill” as I heard one female commentator irreverently state this morning on Fox News, Palin has certainly sparked an up tick in the polls for the veteran Republican candidate. But will she help McCain

win over enough votes to clinch the Oval Office? Palin’s growing national popularity will hardly make a difference in Idaho, which always heavily votes Republican in presidential elections. Ditto for Utah and Wyoming. But the hunting and fishing hockey mom might have enough clout to assure that the neighboring Rocky Mountain state of Montana, and possibly Colorado, stay red this November. I would not be terribly surprised if Oregon now also goes Republican, with some normally democratic female voters—still upset that Hillary is not running in the autumn contest—along with

independent male sportsmen (abundant as deer in the rugged Pacific Northwest) pulling the McCain-Palin chain. If this also proved true for neighboring Washington State—although far less likely given the leftist stronghold that is today’s urban Seattle— it might just be enough to put the former prisoner of war over the top, strongly assisted by a straight talking gal from the freedom loving mountainous states of Idaho and Alaska. ~

David Dolan is a Jerusalem based author and journalist. To find out more about his work and read his other posts, go to www.ddolan.com

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God Can Even Reach Terrorists

The Story of Kenny McClinton

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OCTOBER 2008

K 30

enny McClinton was one of the most feared men in Northern Ireland (Ulster). His years of terrorist activity culminated in two life sentences for murder and other acts of terrorist violence. He had become a thorn in the side of the authorities. Even in prison he could not be tamed and found himself in solitary confinement punishment cells fifteen times within one nine month period. He was born in 1947, the second son of a hard-drinking, hard-fighting, coal delivery man; a man who spent all the family income on drink, causing almighty rows in the home an leaving the family in abject poverty. He was brought up in the heart of Protestantism, in the greater Shankill area of Belfast. For much of his young life he lived in a ramshackle ex-army

were the butt of other childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ridicule. His father spent time in prison and later left home, leaving his mother, Catherine, struggling to bring up the family with little social or financial support. Kenny and his brother Davyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reactions to the bullying and derision was to fight back. At an early age they learned how to defend themselves, thinking they were earning the respect of their peers. In fact, they became the terror of the areas in which they lived. Kennyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whole life centered around violence. He lived a kind of nomadic existence during his early years as his mother moved about numerous furnished accommodations in Belfast City. He attended approximately fourteen Primary Schools, always living by the law of the jungle, not realizing that this ruins lives. When talking with Kenny today, he is at pains to say

Nissan hut. His address was simply No. 9 Hut, West Circular Road, West Belfast. He was as familiar with rats as most children are with cats! There was no hot running water in the Hut, and Kenny and his brother

that he does not blame his background for what he later became, although it must have had some effect upon him. When he was fifteen years old he left school. He had no paper qualifications, and his

Even as a kid, kenny learned to respond with violence.

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and much feared Protestant terrorist group.” He led from the front; he trained many others in the use of weapons, machine guns and explosives. He would send lethal book bombs to key I.R.A. terrorists, and attempted to murder many of the I.R.A. Brigade Staff and their families! Again his voice drops as he says, “It was at this time, I am ashamed to say, that I shot and killed two men and attempted to murder a number of others.” After a major bombing campaign he spent two weeks drinking hard. He told me, “I remember waking up one morning in a girlfriend’s bed. I had a dreadful hangover and was sweating profusely and

feeling disgusted with what I had become - a terrorist murderer. For some reason I prayed perhaps my first sincere prayer to God. I prayed, ‘God, I have always believed in You and the Protestant tradition. I am tired of what I have become. I am tired of my life. Please help me to have a new start?’” He remembers that was on a Friday in August 1977. On the following Monday morning, the 29th August, he was woken by a heavy hand hammering on his front door. Upon looking out, he found his home surrounded by armed police and soldiers of the British Army. With little resistance, he was arrested and taken to Castlereagh Interrogation Centre in Belfast. He was questioned for five days, and duly charged with two accounts of murder and many other terrorist offences. Kenny admits, “I had mixed feelings. I obviously did not relish losing my freedom, but in some way it was a relief, because I knew there was no other way but death in which I could get out of the life I was living as a terrorist; I was trapped by my reputation and what my fellow-terrorists expected from me.” In a large scale crack-down hundreds of other terrorists were taken about the same (continued next page)

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only ‘ambition’ was to be a laborer. He finished school on a Friday in 1962 and commenced working the following Monday - as a laborer. Within a year he joined he Merchant Navy and sailed around the world for 12 years. His voice trembles with a sense of shame when he says, “I was involved in the loosest kind of life imaginable, yet, I never ever felt really satisfied. I never found any lasting peace or contentment in this world’s pleasures. I always felt that there was something missing.” Kenny joined the Ulster Defense Regiment of the British Army in 1972. He was duly trained in the use of weapons, yet carried a little ‘yellow card’ that forbid him to shoot at the I.R.A. terrorists unless they first shot at him. He left the U.D.R. Regiment, and in his own words, “Drifted quite naturally into a Protestant Defense organization called the Ulster Defense Association (U.D.A.).” “Because of my violent nature and my previous British Army training, I was promoted to First Lieutenant of an active service unit within a mere three weeks... It was not long before I graduated, as it were, to the Ulster Freedom Fighters (U.F.F.) an even more militant

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OCTOBER 2008

God Can Even Reach Terrorists, cont’d.

time. Looking back, Kenny feels it was a real answer to his sincere prayer, although he couldn’t see it at that time. Within the prison itself terrorist activities did not stop. In fact, there developed a very strong core of militants who were almost a much a threat to the authorities inside the prison, as they had been outside! Kenny was one of the original instigators of the ‘Loyalist Blanket Brigade’ who refused to wear prison clothes nor follow prison rules. The men used to appear in court dressed in their underwear to show their contempt of the British Court System. On one occasion, Kenny and another inmate were reported by the National newspapers as making: ‘A Full Frontal Attack on Society’, as they appeared in court totally naked; an insult to the authorities whom they felt had betrayed Loyalists and let them down in their struggle against the Irish Republican Army terrorists (I.R.A.). Kenny became the main organizer of such acts of contempt and aggression. Within one nine month period he was placed in the punishment cells fifteen times. He was referred to by Prison Staff as ‘that Maniac McClinton’! Looking back on this period of his life Kenny likens himself to the maniac of Gadara in Mark’s Gospel whom nobody could tame. During his times in solitary confinement in the punishment cells - the floor was black, the walls stark white; the cell bare;

and a neon light burned continuously - there was absolutely no means of mental stimulation, so to relieve his utter boredom, Kenny decided to start reading the rather decrepit looking prison issue of the King James Version of the Bible. “I found I quite enjoyed all the stories in the early chapters of the Bible. I could closely relate to the whole tribal attitudes and nomadic experiences; the wars; the plots; the political intrigue. I could understand King David’s skullduggery when he arranged for a man to be killed, after sleeping with his wife and making her pregnant.” “ I could understand the mighty Samson as he fought the Philistine oppressors and eventually pulled down the Dagon Temple upon them, killing thousands of his enemies. That’s what I wanted to do with mine!” Slowly, he read on, and the weeks turned to months; and the months turned to almost two years of solitary confinement punishments. After nearly two years of Remand imprisonment from the time of his arrest in 1977, McClinton was taken to the High Court in Belfast and tried for some seventeen days. He then heard a High Court Judge say: “McClinton, I find that you are a callous, coldblooded, and completely ruthless man. You are in fact, a U.F.F. assassin! I sentence you to two accounts of Life imprisonment with my

stipulation that you serve no less that twenty years. Take him away!” Off Kenny went to the H Blocks of the Maze Prison, but immediately refused to wear the prison uniform, was escorted to H Block 6; stripped off his clothes, and joined the Loyalist Blanket Protest to achieve Political Status for politically motivated offences. “...and no man could tame him.” On one occasion, after three young Loyalist Blanket protesters had been beaten by Prison Guards and abused, Kenny took on fifteen prison officers at once, dressed only in a prison towel around his waist. Eventually they overpowered him, and administered their own kind of ‘justice’ by hanging him upside down by his feet and beating him until he couldn’t breathe. Kenny received twenty-six injuries in the beating, and was ‘awarded’ twenty-two days punishment for ‘attacking fifteen prison officers’. And the solitaryconfinement Bible reading continued. As the months passed in solitary confinement on the Loyalist Blanket Protest, Kenny reached the New Testament in his Bible readings and there in those priceless pages of God’s Word, he experienced the great love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and “...things were never quite the same after that...” Describing his experience he said: “What could not be achieved by prison bars, batons, concrete and solitary

confinement, was quickly achieved by the matchless love of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was nobody to talk at length with me about God; nobody to fully explain the way to become a Christian no books, no tracts, no strains of ‘Oh Lamb of God I come’ during a Gospel Mission. There was only my black burden of sin and guilt and shame - and that old black book of books, the Bible.” Looking back, Kenny remembers his first realization that he was a “... filthy, Hell-deserving sinner...”, but the Bible pointed him to the righteous Jesus Christ who had suffered and died and rose again from the dead in order to offer sinners His forgiveness.

his knees in that solitary cell, he called for a ‘meeting’ in the usual manner. All the Loyalist Blanket Protesters came up to their cell doors to hear what he had to say; expecting some political poem or some morale booster. Instead, he announced, “Today I have taken the most important step of my life. I have renounced violence. I have repented of my sins. I have asked Jesus Christ into my life, and to save me - and I believe He has saved me. From this day forth I cease to be a Military Commander of the U.F.F. and wish only to be a mere volunteer in the army of the Lord Jesus Christ. I will seek to serve Him to the best of my ability. I just wanted you men to know this.”

As he read on, he became aware of a tremendous Spiritual battle that was going on for his soul between Satan and the Lord God. On August 12th 1979 he recalls falling down on his knees in cell 9, H Block 6 of the Maze Prison. He cried out to God in repentance - asked for forgiveness and faith to believe and be saved and, praise God, he trusted in Christ Jesus and he was saved! He had read that one of the conditions of becoming a true Christian was an open, public, confession with his mouth, as well as a genuine belief in his heart. Therefore, after rising from

There was a stunned silence in the H Block prison wing! After a while some made unbelieving and critical remarks such as, ‘what is the maniac up to now?’ However, today two of the men who made those remarks are born again, Bible-believing Christians serving the Lord in Belfast and have been for a long number of years. When Kenny McClinton first went into prison he was semi-literate. After becoming a Christian, God gave him the patience to educate himself as his whole outlook changed dramatically. He painstakingly took correspondence courses

with Emmaus Bible College. He took ‘O’ levels in English and R.S.A. exams. He did various educational courses over a long period of years with the Open University and gained a BA Honors Degree in Criminology and the Social Sciences. After sixteen years of imprisonment McClinton was eventually released on license in 1993. He has since then worshipped, and taught, in a number of Biblebelieving churches, and views the Christian Church as a universal and international Body of born again believers, made up of all nations, colors, and former creeds; with One Head of the Church, Christ Jesus Himself. Employment experts have deemed Kenny ‘unemployable’ due to the high political profile he has and the manner in which he has spoken out against both terrorist violence and State oppression. He was ordained as a Pastor in an international Missions Ministry called Moments of Faith International based in Texas, U.S.A. in 1995, and under the remit of his ordination, formed the Ulster/American Christian Fellowship Ministry. Many - both in America and in his native Northern Ireland, UK (Ulster) - have benefited from his forthright ministry and sound teachings in the Word of God. Kenny met his present wife Wendy - a former Salvation

Kenny found god in prison, all alone with nothing but a biblE.

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God Can Even Reach Terrorists, cont’d. Army Officer for fifteen years - in 1993 and they have a beautiful young ten year old daughter, Abigail Catherine. Abby was saved in August 2003, and they all currently attend and sometimes minister at a local Baptist Church in Portadown. This family has been through the ‘fire’ and though the ‘water’ over the past decade especially murder bids, death threats; slandering; and social and economic marginalization yet God has never forsaken them nor failed to supply their every need. Since September 11th 2001 and the terrible terrorist atrocity visited upon the great American Nation in

New York, Kenny has been denied the necessary visawaivers to come and minister in America. However, in the seven years of dearth that has followed, God’s grace has been richly bestowed. Kenny has achieved a Master’s Degree in Theology; a Ph.D. Doctorate in Philosophy; and in 2004 a second Doctorate in Literature with the European Theological Seminary, based in Birmingham, England. To talk to Dr Kenny McClinton is to talk to a man who has clearly had such a transforming experience that anybody would have to be totally bigoted to disbelieve in the power of God to perform such a miracle of regeneration.

Even if a person’s background were entirely different from Kenny’s, after hearing his story a person would have to be kidding if he/she did not envy him and want what he has found in Christ Jesus the Son of God. Today, the former ‘maniac McClinton’ stands before us, fully clothed, in his right mind, a completely ‘new creature in Christ.’ ~ (Editor note: You can visit Ken’s site at www. ulsterchristians.org; Also, I have been writing Ken’s life story in a book called “Terrorist to Evangelist” which I hope to complete in the next few months. BR)

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Winning Isn’t News

The Surge In Iraq Is An Unparalleled Success... Why Aren’t You Hearing About It?

in the west and central regions of Iraq , has over two years been redu ced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul. The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank President Bush’s surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of surrendering. We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge there,

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he Investor’s Business Daily editorial board ask, ‘What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn’t tell the American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the news that we’ve defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq.’ London ‘s Sunday Times called it ‘the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.’ A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds

The surge in Iraq has been undeniably successful, but you won’t hear in the America media. http://www.defenselink.mil/HomePagePhotos/HomePagePhotos.aspx?month=200806

General David Petraeus in Iraq; www.iraqsinconvenienttruth.com

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Baghdad, an impressive vote of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq . But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, ‘the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday night about the benchmarks’ that signaled political progress. The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don’t seem to consider this historic event a big story. ~

little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization having fled south into the countryside. Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government has achieved ‘satisfactory’ progress on 15 of the 18 political benchmarks, a big change for the better from a year ago. Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while visiting the United Arab Emirates , which over the weekend announced that it was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by

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David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on counter-insurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convinced them America was their friend and AQI their enemy. Al-Qaida’s loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from there. Now, in Operation Lion’s Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended. Sunday Times reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul ,found

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Adoption

All I’m Offering Is the Truth... Nothing more.

By Russ Weir Early in the blockbuster movie, “The Matrix,” Morpheus (a stoic prophet and ship captain played by Laurence Fishburn) offers Neo (a naïve computer programmer played by Keanu Reeves) a choice between two pills – a red one and a blue one. Choosing the blue pill would allow Neo would wake up believing that his visit with Morpheus had just been a dream. The red pill would open Neo up to see the world as it truly exists. As Morpheus tells him, “All I’m offering is the truth … nothing more.” These are the moments that shape us. With the truth lying before you, the only decision that remains is what you will do with that knowledge accept it or hide from it.

Taking the Pill

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OCTOBER 2008

One such “red pill” moment in my life was my wife’s and my decision to adopt a six

year-old girl (now nine) from Guatemala. Since that moment we answered “yes … she’s our daughter,” that movie clip has played repeatedly in my mind. We started out simply wanting to fulfill my wife’s childhood desire to adopt. We soon came to learn quite a bit about ourselves and the world around us. We were offered only the truth … and that truth changed us.

Looking Inside Ourselves

Once you’ve decided to adopt, you’ve likely set aside the fears of bringing a new child into your home and have reconciled yourself with the financial costs. These issues seemed insurmountable in the beginning, but then the truly hard questions came. “What kind of child do you want?” This seems like such a crude question to ask anyway – as if the child were a product on a store shelf. However, it is a core question that must be

answered honestly. Which races will you consider? If not all, why not? What ages are you willing to accept? If not certain ages, why not? Are you open to special needs? If so, which needs and why not others? The list goes on. Once you’ve resolved your answers to these questions, you get the “opportunity” to explain yourself to friends, family and even perfect strangers. Even living in the most diverse county in the U.S. (as we do) does not free you from the public stare or questioning. Most are not malicious, only curious. However, it is difficult to make your daughter feel blended in when so many people frequently remind her that she is different. If you allow them, these questions and experiences can change you. They cause you to walk in the shoes of others and, in doing so, they cause you to develop a greater compassion for people and to see yourself more clearly.

Seeing the World As It Is

Upon first meeting Zoe, we could tell that she was soft at heart, but had experienced so much hardness in life. Her eyes sunk with fear and loss. Zoe lived in conditions of extreme poverty. She went days without food, slept on a wood slat on the floor, drank and bathed in the same

Get a FREE subscription: www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe contaminated water and had no opportunity for education. She was not safe from harm. As a four and five year-old, she woke up before the sun to get supplies for making corn tortillas, which her mom would leave for days to sell at market. It’s one thing when you see such children on television. It’s another thing entirely when that is your child. International adoption is a beautiful experience in an ugly world. It is the moment where suburbia collides with issues of extreme poverty, child trade, preventable disease, racial tension and destructive politics and bureaucracy. These are all real issues and they are more prevalent than we may believe. They are controversial areas where many people have few answers but strong opinions. My wife and I have even been accused of “stealing” Zoe from her parents. Of course, they don’t know Zoe’s story or consider that she won’t even yet return to visit Guatemala for fear of safety. While their improperly placed judgment is no less offensive, I can understand their strong feelings. The world can be a very ugly place.

orphans around the world. Our passions then turned to preventing the causes of orphans (i.e., extreme poverty, preventable disease, child trade, etc.); however, we had no expertise in these areas. Then, we joined with some close friends to launch the Red Letters Campaign. The goal of this campaign is to develop community among people who are passionate about the causes of the orphan, the sick and the extreme poor. The Red Letters Campaign connects likeminded people from around the country to share passions, experiences and knowledge. Then we connect this community with qualified partners and mission

trips as an outlet to make a difference. We recognized that we could join with others to change the life of one community, one family, one child. In that, there is no greater joy than serving as the hands and feet of Christ to the least of these.

All I Offer is the Truth

I took that red pill. It changed my life. It’s not been a field of roses. It’s been tough. At times, it seemed unbearable. Nonetheless, I cannot … would not reverse that decision. It ranks among the greatest turning points in my life. ~

Contact Russ Weir at rusweir@gmail.com

What To Do With It All?

So, what is a person to do with all that they’ve experienced in this process? Well … I believe that is for each to decide for themselves. We developed a passion for the orphaned through our adoptions. Since our adoption of Zoe, we’ve adopted another beautiful two year-old from China (Kaiya). However, we cannot adopt the 140+ million

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Adoption

We Live With HIV Everyday We Choose to Embrace It

S E R I O U S . L I F E . M A G A Z I N E TM

OCTOBER 2008

(The author of this story is a mom who, along with her husband has adopted a young HIV-positive child from the foster system. Because the adoption is not final, the writer and family must remain anonymous. BR)

HIV lives in our home each and every day- by choice. We choose to embrace HIV with open arms. Let me explain. In 2002 our lives were forever changed through the miracle of adoption. God blessed us with a beautiful, healthy, infant daughter from Guatemala and our lives were never to be the same. Again in 2004 God once again gave us a miracle in a precious toddler again from Guatemala. I marveled at how amazing our God was- and because of these precious blessings my eyes were opened to the world around me in a way they never had been before. I no longer cared about material things in life- I no longer strive for success in the eyes of the world. I just wanted to praise God through the way I lived my life all for His glory. I began to pray and thank him and allow him to use me, use my life, in any way He pleased. Because my heart had already been opened to adoption and I was passionate about orphan care- God had already set the steps in notion. Just a few short weeks before we were to bring

home our second daughter from Guatemala God placed children with HIV on my heart. At the time I naively didn’t even know much about the diseaseI questions God and tried to convince him that he had the wrong gal. I bartered back and forth with God and finally said to him “Ok Lord, I’ll do it- but you will have to drop a pile of money in my lap because there is no way I can afford another international adoption”. Little did I know- God had already worked all of that out. Throughout the next year God continued to bring knowledge, people, and attention to HIV in my everyday life. It seemed to be everywhere I turned- the news, magazine articles, books, stories… and slowly I began to educate myself on HIV and open my heart to the idea of adopting an HIV+ child more and more. I had no idea how it would fit into my life and to be honest- I was afraid. Yet my heart ached for more- more of Jesus. On November 21, 2007 the local news channel broad casted a video hoping to locate a family for a foster child in need of a forever family who would be willing to love him just the way he was and willing to advocate for him for life. This little boy was HIV+ and I knew he was to be our son. As the months flew by and we waited for the answer of if we would be chosen to adopt

this little boy. I drew closer and closer to God, relying on His strength to see me through. Some days the fear would become so intense it would almost paralyze me. I doubted myself, my strength, my ability, and quite often my sanity. It was then that I began to really understand God in a new way. I began to realize that God did not want someone qualified, someone gifted- He wanted me. He wanted my heart to be willing- willing to trust Him completely. And I, well, I didn’t want my life to be about ‘me’ anymore at all. I didn’t want each day to be so wrapped up in my silly little emotions, my worries, my struggles- my thinking real happiness was in each new material purchase. I wanted my life to have meaning- I wanted to make a difference. I needed to change. As I began to pray and seek God- He began to reveal Himself to me in ways I had never experienced before. Yet in the end it came down to God asking me one simple, straightforward question…Was I really willing to give Him my life? Was I willing to commit to follow Him, even when it didn’t make sense, and even if I had to make sacrifices? Giving my life to Christ didn’t only mean being willing to die for Him- but being willing to live for Him. For me the answer was so clear. Every Sunday our family would hustle off to church to get our

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Orphans & HIV - There are countless just as we had so longed for. children who have lost parents to HIV and There are now face life not only as an orphan, but nearly 40 million people living with HIV-positive as well. HIV in the world thousands of people will die. today- people who Not only will they die miserable are just like my son. People deaths, but many of them will hoping and praying to be loved die without the knowledge of and accepted just the way Christ and the hope of eternal they are. It’s easy to ignore life. them- to look the other way The consequences of HIV/ and busy ourselves with other AIDS are far reaching, and things- but these are people will be with us for some time. God created and people God The time to act is now- today loves- they count. They are we must be willing to say very real. Every day we choose “enough”. Those of us that to turn our back, every day (continued next page) we do nothing- is a day that

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favorite seat during the service. Every Sunday I would sit and listen, nod my head with what the pastor said, and try to learn more about Jesus. Jesus- the one I so longed to be more like, and yet here was my chance… how would I respond? All fears put aside, all the unknowns still unknown- the truth was- I knew how Jesus would respond to HIV. I knew without a doubt in my mind that Jesus would take my son and love him- just the way he was. Would I? On January 2, 2008 HIV moved into our home- and along with it came a miracle- our son. We finally held ‘more of Jesus’

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OCTOBER 2008

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can only be spread through sexual contact, birth, breast milk and blood to blood contact (such as sharing needles). Not only is it a difficult disease to transmit, but HIV is 100 percent preventable. We can prevent it through education that costs absolutely nothinglike educating people on the importance of being

Sometimes i feel alone as I see the rejection in people eyes.

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HIV does not discriminateHIV affects us all. The basis of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS is fear- and this fear comes mostly from wrong or distorted information. Because HIV is often associated with behaviors that may be considered socially unacceptable, Christians are often the last

monogamous in relationships and to stop using intravenous drugs. If just one generation would do this, the disease would disappear. The number one way someone can help in the fight against HIV/AIDS is to respond to God’s call. If you feel He may be calling you- listen. Obey. By far, the biggest need is more people. The HIV/AIDS pandemic can look overwhelming. Yet, rather than being paralyzed by the enormity of it, we must look to Jesus- who is the answer. We have to be willing to put the fear of ‘self’ aside, tuck away our warped, prejudice, views and hand them over to Jesus. We cannot let ‘us’ get in the way of His work. We have to be willing to bring whatever we have- our talents, skills, resources, our willingness and our availability to the table. We need to give God what we havewe need to be willing. We have to choose to let HIV become a burden we are willing to carry. I choose to carry this burden- yet I often feel as if I am carrying it alone… I have seen the look of rejection in the eyes of those we have told. I have cried over their look of disgust. Would you be willing to honest with yourself right here and now? No one is watching...it’s just between you and God. As you finish reading this- if needed, will you take a moment to really come to terms with your feelings about HIV- and acknowledge your fears. Ask God for His help. ~

to respond. I believe the first step needs to be in correcting misunderstandings about how HIV is transmitted. Ignorance about HIV means that people are frightened. And frightened people do not react or behave rationally. It is hard to blame someone for being afraid of a deadly disease like HIV/AIDS if they do not have the facts. Therefore the answer lies in providing information that will replace this fear with knowledge. When people become educated about HIV and its transmission- they can then reach out in compassion without worrying that they are at risk. While HIV/AIDS is the worst plague ever to hit the earthstrangely, it is really a difficult disease to contract. HIV is not spread by casual contact like sneezing, coughing, eating or drinking from common utensils, shaking hands, hugging, or using restrooms, drinking fountains, swimming pools, or hot tubs. HIV is not spread through saliva. It has been proven that HIV

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know Jesus Christ know that we have the hope that millions are searching for. Therefore we need to reach out in love. A love that speaks of a God who can dispel the stigma, fears and superstitions that so many cultures hold concerning HIV/AIDS. Individuals with HIV/AIDS are often shunnedviewed as dirty, as contagious, as unlovable and unwanted. It is a tragedy that so many stories told in this time of HIV and AIDS are about rejectionwhen this is a place where God’s love should be seen the most. Yet the funny thing is- try as we might- we cannot run from HIV. It is not just going to go away on its own whether we choose to shun those with it or not. One day it will affect you in one way or another- and how you respond will make all the difference. The chance is great that you know someone who is carrying the secret of HIV/AIDS already. Don’t wait for everyone else to respond or until you feel better equipped- you be that light in their darkness- you are able to love today.

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From Your Blog

A Day of Invitation

Each month we choose a blog post that is submitted and publish it, unedited, just like it appears on your blog.If you would like to have something from your blog considered, submit it here.

S E R I O U S . L I F E . M A G A Z I N E TM

OCTOBER 2008

She jokingly said to two of us today, “God brought you here only for me,” while more seriously mentioning, “I think part of your purpose in coming to Nicaragua was to listen and encourage me.”

Itzel is a tall, beautiful Nicaraguan girl with tiny jet black curls that she pulls back on most days. The depth within her eyes draws you in, while her wide smile is incredibly contagious. She is 15, but mature enough to be 20 something, an excellent student, and during her freetime plays on a kickball team (that I must say has improved a whole lot in one week!). Just a couple of days ago she was sharing with Katie a dream

she had. In it she came to the door of the clinic where we are living and we invited her in. During this time we worshipped, prayed together, and there were many tears.... Since the beginning of our time here in Nicaragua all five Itzel - Itzel is a tall, beautiful Nicaraguan girl with tiny jet

black curls that she pulls back on most days

Want us to publish a post from your blog? www.seriouslifemagazine.com/yourblog of us were drawn to Itzel. Until today we only knew part of her story. She is the youngest of one other sister and brother who live with their mom. She became a Christian just one month ago, and is now starving for more. She is hungry for God’s Word and discipleship, and it is very obvious that Jesus is incredibly active within and around her life. He radiates from her life, and when she is around you can’t help but want to be near. Feeling led to invest more into her, we did end up inviting her in. As we ate together over tortillas, eggs, and fruit we learned more of her story. With her head down and tears in her eyes she told us that her father had recently met another woman, and for the past month

hasn’t had any contact with her family. As I listened to Itzel, I couldn’t help but cry with her. Everything inside of me held back from just exploding with tears as I could literally feel the pain of her heart in this moment. God never ceases to amaze me in that he never wastes our hurt, but instead exchanges it for his good in being able to relate and comfort others. Though our stories are somewhat different, they are also very similar and I was able to share what I have learned through my own brokenness in the past. Through listening to her pain, I also realized how much God has been inviting her into intimacy with him. She continued to share with us about a random woman she

never knew, but is her mother’s friend, that has prophetically spoken truth over her life. This woman recently told Itzel’s mom that she has a daughter who will be influential in traveling to the nations to preach to young people. Itzel knows this to be her, as this is part of her heart’s desire. Reflecting upon today, I realize Itzel’s dream became reality. As we sat together over breakfast, worshipped, prayed, and cried together I can’t fully communicate the sweet presence of God’s Spirit among us. Through Itzel’s life I have been reminded of what a fresh invitation of God’s life in our lives looks like. ~

krystal Longmire View the blog here...

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Science

What Is The Real Date Of The Last Global Ice Age?

By James Nienhuis

(The following is excerpted from Nienhuis’s book, “Old Earth? Why Not!”. You can download it free at www.genesisveracity.com)

S E R I O U S . L I F E . M A G A Z I N E TM

OCTOBER 2008

There is much geological evidence to confirm that vast ice sheets once covered portions of northern Europe, northwest Asia and North America,1 as well as all of Antarctica. The cause of the development of these ice sheets remains a mystery to old earthers; however, they are impressed that the earth must have been colder back then.2 But this is a fallacious notion because the atmosphere can hold more water molecules (which form snowflakes) when the air temperature is just

below water’s freezing point, 320 F. The polar regions today are technically deserts, as their super cold temperatures minimize snowfall. Therefore, the popular idea of a colder Ice Age climate is groundlessly proponed by both laymen and scientists. The truths of hydrology dictate that Ice Age winter temperatures actually were warmer than today, much closer to 320 F., as to maximize snowfall amounts in the winter; and in the summer, the temperatures were cooler than today (due to shade from the dense, storm clouds), thus minimizing snowmelt amounts.3 These conditions were absolutely necessary to achieve massive snow accumulation. Water enters the

atmosphere by water evaporation off the oceans, lakes, and rivers. This evaporated water rises and becomes snow or rain clouds. For the development of the dense and extensive snow clouds of the Ice Age, a higher rate of water evaporation must have been feeding an increasing snow cloud coverage. Since the waters of the Great Flood were from the earth’s hot interior, the water that covered the globe and then slid off into the deepened ocean basins was warmer than today, so higher rates of evaporation ensued, which caused more prolific cloud formation. What could possibly cause warmer winters along with cooler summers? These two conditions seem contradictory; with warmer winters you

Get a FREE subscription: www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe they say, the atmosphere and oceans were much warmer, and thus, accommodated abundant dinosaurs and vegetation worldwide. They fail to realize that a warmer Cretaceous ocean would have caused higher evaporation rates and provided conditions for an ice age in the “tropical Cretaceous.”

The cooling of the Floodwater is indicated by the decreasing oxygen isotope levels in progressively shallower icepack samples, so the cooling of the oceans occurred during the ice pack build-up, that is, during the Ice Age, just after the Flood. Since the conditions for the Ice Age were ideal just after the

Obviously, there was no ice age then, as tropical flora and fauna of the Cretaceous strata (which are really sedimentary deposition from the close of the Flood) are found in rock layers that are just beneath the polar icepacks and tundra.6

Flood, that is when the icepack began to build. It began right after the Flood, and started to end about 1500 B.C. when the icepacks melted down to their current sizes. Before the icepack of the Ice Age had reached its maximum range and depth in the several centuries after the Flood, mariners sailed the oceans of the world and made fabulously accurate and detailed maps of land masses before these lands were covered by the snow and ice. These ancient maps were utilized by “Old World” cartographers of the 1500’s, whose maps were compilations of these ancient maps.8 Precise maps were made of Greenland and Antarctica revealing details of these land areas that were only recently rediscovered through utilization of modern

A WARMER CRETACEOUS OCEAN WOULD HAVE CAUSED HIGHER EVAPORATION

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would expect warmer summers, and vice versa. Since there must have been intense cloud cover during the Ice Age, the winters were warmer because the cloud cover (which was intensified further by volcanic ash being blasted into the atmosphere at the close of the Flood) trapped warm air beneath it; and the summers were cooler because the clouds shielded the earth from the sun. Therefore, massive amounts of snow accumulated in the winter, and little of it melted in the summer. Currently the average ocean temperature is about 500 F.; young earthers estimate that the Floodwater was about 800 F.4 The water temperature then gradually decreased through the centuries that followed. This cooling of the post-Flood ocean is reflected in the diminished oxygen isotope concentrations at progressively shallower polar ice pack depths.5 Less oxygen 18 isotopes (bonded in water molecules) entered the atmosphere by evaporation from the oceans as time went on because of centuries of post-Flood water cooling. Therefore, less oxygen isotopes accumulated in the Ice Age precipitation as time passed. Old earthers say that the ocean water has been cooling since the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago) when, so

(continued next page) 47

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S E R I O U S . L I F E . M A G A Z I N E TM

OCTOBER 2008

Science

remote sensing devices capable of penetrating the mile-deep ice (continued on next page) caps that have covered these land masses since the Ice Age. These maps detail coastlines, riverbeds, mountains, and deserts of pre-Ice Age Antarctica, and the two large islands which constituted preIce Age Greenland. Antarctica wasn’t even “discovered” until 1818, and Greenland’s dual island geomorphology was “unknown” until the advent of modern remote sensing devices, yet, ancient mariners saw these pre-Ice Age landforms and mapped them with accuracies of latitudes and longitudes that would be envied by modern cartographers. Partholon, an adventurer of Greek and Egyptian ancestry (eastern Mediterranean area),10 sailed to Ireland in 1485 B.C., leading the ancestors of the Irish people. (The Formorians, a tribe of giants descended from Ham, were removed from Ireland by Partholon’s men). This pioneering group reported three lakes and nine rivers in the land. When a second group arrived in Ireland some 50 years later, they reported that many more lakes and rivers were bursting forth.11 This was the melting of the Ice Age icepack. Ancient Vedic literature (The Venidad) of India indicates that the Aryan tribes retreated from an ever increasing icepack in the north and migrated south into India, pushing the

Dravidian tribes into southern India.12 This happened in the aftermath of the Great Flood, a flood known to tribes of India, as well the whole world (as discussed in Chapter 5). Job speaks of brutal icy storms within his part of the world (the Middle East) in the pages of the Bible.13 Job lived about 2000 B.C. when the Ice Age was at its peak. Remember, Job spoke of dinosaurs living in the land (as referenced in Chapter 1). Quite apparently, the Ice Age occurred after the Flood some 4,000 years ago, when the tribes were spreading away from the Middle East. With so much of the earth’s water tied up in the polar icepacks, sea level was about 200 feet lower than it is today.14 This is confirmed by the presence of ancient settlements on the sea floor, off the coasts of Lebanon (Yarmuta) and India (Gulf of Cambay), among others. The sea floor between Siberia and Alaska was dry land during the Ice Age. This submerged land bridge today, between Alaska and Siberia, has remnants of tundra on it. Tundra grows on land; therefore, this current ocean bottom was once dry land.16 Also, there are underwater canyons that once drained this Bering land bridge while it was exposed during the Ice Age. This land-bridge allowed the migration of people and animals to all of the western hemisphere from the Middle East, where post-Flood civilization began. The Ice

Age had developed in Alaska and Siberia while the Bering land-bridge between them was above sea level. But, a corridor along the ocean shoreline remained clear of snow and ice because of its close proximity to the warm ocean water. So, the people and animals migrated along this ice-free shoreline from Siberia (Asia) to Alaska (Americas). The highly sophisticated mariners of the post- Flood years were also sailing in this Bering area, as they mapped this land-bridge before it submerged at the end of the Ice Age, and revealed its thousand mile width.17 (which jibes with the spatial distribution of the currently submerged river drainage canyons on the Bering Sea floor, which were previously noted). The North Pole currently has a freshwater icepack floating on the salty ocean. As the post-Flood ocean water of the North Pole region cooled down, evaporation lessened, and so cloud generation decreased, and thus facilitated the summer sun’s melting of the icepack that was covering the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere continental landmasses. Coincidentally, this decreased cloud cover lessened the insulation of the

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earth’s atmosphere, so winter temperatures fell, resulting in lessened snowfall. Resultantly, the polar icepack melted prolifically and flowed out into the North Pole ocean, due to warmer summers and colder winters. This freshwater then froze on the ocean’s surface, as this less dense freshwater

floated on the denser salt80 water. Had the freshwater not massively flowed into the North Pole ocean, this North Pole icepack would not have developed because a slow influx of freshwater, rather than a massive flow, would have gradually mixed with the salt water, and thus, no stratification of the fresh water on top of the salt water . The circumstances to facilitate the icepack buildup to maximum (probably within several hundred years), then rapid melt-down (perhaps within 50 years) were in place at the end of the Flood.18 This post-Flood scenario, alone, can rationalize the recent Ice Age. Old earth scientists cannot explain the cause of the Ice Age

because much warmer oceans are associated with a warmer climate, as is surmised for the “age of the dinosaurs” (about 65 million years ago). But, it has been demonstrated that a warmer ocean would greatly increase cloud cover and precipitation, and so, according to the laws of hydrology, an Ice Age should have occurred during the tropical “age of the dinosaurs.” Without the knowledge that hot water from the “fountains of the deep” burst forth during the Flood, the cause of the Ice Age cannot be deduced. ~

Author and speaker, James Nienhuis has a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College. His blog is www.dancingfromgenesis.com

Sarasvati River Paleodrainage

Imagine the combined riverflows of the Ganges, Indus, and Jamuna Rivers of India, in one river, flowing down from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea off Pakistan, that was the flow of the ancient Sarasvati River of ancient hindu vedic literature, which was said to have flowed so wide that one could not see the other bank.

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Scrapbooking

S E R I O U S . L I F E . M A G A Z I N E TM

OCTOBER 2008

Digital Scrapbook Layouts and How to Create Them

Digital Scrapbooking is scrapbooking with the use of a computer and a graphics program such as Paint Shop, to create scrapbookpages. You can also combine the two, by using the pc to create your basic scrapbookpages, then print them, and then further decorating them in the traditional scrapbook manner. Whichever way appeals to you. When you do all of your scrapbooking 100% digitally, you save a lot of space in buying and storing materials. All you need is a working pc with Paint Shop to get started. And, if you want to print your scrapbookpages, you will need a good quality printer and acidfree paper. However, you may want to save your pages to a CD. You might even want to have your completed scrapbook pages bound into a permanent book. Which also is a great idea for a birthday, Christmas or wedding gift! You can ofcourse start with digital kits, which are widely available. All you have to do is insert the photos and be done with it. But why not create your own layouts? This isn’t so hard to do. First you decide on the size of the card or sheet that you want to make. In Paint Shop you want to start with a new image with a size of 680 pizels

width by 1000 pixels height. That will exactly fit on a A4size sheet of paper. You need to alter this size if you are using a different size of paper! You can use a color as background or, use whatever image you have stored on your computer. You may want to play around with this for a bit; using different kinds of images, changing the size of it, etcetera. Because it works with everything, I have compiled a lot of backgrounds that I can use in whatever design I am making. Like mentioned before, you need to play around with this for a while, because not everything is suitable for use as background image, and some need to be resized so they fit better on your page. We now have created a new sheet and included our background and you may

want to save this to your computer for future use. Use these sheets to either insert your photos digitally, or use the backgrounds as such, print them and then paste photos and other embellishments on to it. Composite Sheets as I create them, are sheets that have picture frames, as well as other decor, already inserted. Again, you will need Paint Shop to digitally insert your photos into the frames. Or going the traditional route; cut out the frame and then paste it over your photograph. Whatever you like, it is up to you! When you first save all digital files, you can print as many copies as you want. Make sure you also make a copy of your photo before you begin. Then it won’t matter if you don’t get it right the first time; you can always make another

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copy and start over! You have a frame on your pc that you like for inserting pictures. Open this frame, then copy and paste it on the backgroundsheet you have created before. You can use it once, or twice or as many times as there is space. You can also decide to resize it; larger or smaller, depending on the size of your photos. You can, if the frame allows, rotate it and paste it in another way on the sheet. Or use different frames on the same sheet. Just play around with this to get the feel of it. You now have a sheet with

a background and one or more frames pasted on it. Now weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to insert the photos. You do this with each photo in all the frames on your sheet. You want to check that your photo is suitable for the frame(s) you have chosen; they sometimes will need resizing to make them fit better, or you need to cut out a portion of a photo for insertion in a frame. You are almost done, because now we are going to decorate the sheet. For this you can print it out and then use real embellishments,or do it all digital. Now yoou can use the sheets with frames for

whatever theme you like, be it holidayphotos, babyphotos, weddingphotos etcetera. About the Author: Jeanny Stevens has taken her hobby to the next level at: http://www.creativitycorner. eu/index.htm with lots of ideas, tips, tricks and products for digital scrapbooking! And if you want to learn more about digital scrapbooking? Then get my FREE ebook: Digital Scrapbooking - How to Start Using Paint Shop at: http://info.creativitycorner.eu/ CC0801.htm

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Humor

Women Are Better Investors

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. ‘I may look like just an ordinary man,’ he said to her, ‘but in just a few years, my father will die, and I’ll inherit 20 million dollars.’ Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother. Women are so much better at estate planning than men!

How To Call The Police

George Phillips of Meridian , Mississippi was going up to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things. He phoned the police, who asked ‘Is someone in your house?’ and he said ‘no’. Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an

officer would be along when available. George said, ‘Okay,’ hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again. ‘Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I just shot them.’ Then he hung up. Within five minutes six police cars, a SWAT Team, a helicopter, two fire trucks, a paramedic and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips’ residence and caught the burglars red-handed. One of the Policemen said to George: ‘I thought you said that you’d shot them!’ George said, ‘I thought you said there was nobody available!’ I LOVE IT - Don’t mess with old people.

Some Funnies

One day my houseworkchallenged husband decided to wash his Sweat- shirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, ‘What setting do I use on the washing machine?’ ‘It depends,’ I replied. ‘What does it say on your shirt?’ He yelled back, ‘ University of Oklahoma .’ And they say blondes are dumb. ~~~ A couple is lying in bed. The man says, I am going to make you the happiest woman in the world.’ The woman replies, ‘I’ll miss you...’ ~~~ ‘It’s just too hot to wear clothes today,’ Jack says as he stepped out of the shower, ‘honey, what do you think the neighbors would think if I mowed the lawn like this?’ ‘Probably that I married you for your money,’ she replied. ~~~

Got something funny you want us to include? Email it to editor@seriouslifemagazine.com Dear Lord, I pray for Wisdom to understand my man; Love to forgive him, And Patience for his moods. Because, Lord, if I pray for Strength, I’ll beat him to death. AMEN

Signs Of The Times

Anesthesiologist business card: When you care enough to sleep with the very best. ~~~ Sign over a Gynecologist’s Office: “Dr. Jones, at your cervix.” ~~~ In a Podiatrist’s office: “Time wounds all heels.” ~~~ On a Septic Tank Truck: Yesterday’s Meals on Wheels ~~~ At a Proctologist’s door: “To expedite your visit please back in.” ~~~ On a Plumber’s truck: “We repair what your husband fixed” ~~~ On another Plumber’s truck: “Don’t sleep with a drip.

Call your plumber.” ~~~ On a Church’s Billboard: “7 days without God makes one weak.” ~~~ At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee: “Invite us to your next blowout..” ~~~ At a Towing company: “We don’t charge an arm and a leg.. We want tows.” ~~~ On an Electrician’s truck:

“Let us remove your shorts.” ~~~ In a Nonsmoking Area: “If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.” ~~~ On a Maternity Room door: “Push. Push. Push.” ~~~

What They Wouldn’t Show You In Beijing Click on the video image below for a gold medal performance.

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Reader Recipes

The following recipes were taken from the “Adoption Cookbook”. The pics are from the cookbok. If you would to purchase it, go here.

Guatemalan Corn Soup Ingredients: Kernels from 3 fresh ears of Corn or 1 16-ounce can of sweet corn 1 Onion, sliced finely 1 tbsp. Margarine 2 tbsp. Flour 2 ½ c Milk

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Directions: If using fresh corn, cook it in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes until tender. Drain, keeping water. If you use canned corn, drain and keep liquid. Melt the margarine in a large saucepan and cook the onion until it is soft. Sprinkle in the flour, mixing well. Cook

Kira, South Korea

a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat and slowly pour in the milk, stirring to give a smooth consistency. Add the corn kernels, along with salt and pepper to taste, and about ½ cup reserved liquid. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, stirring as the mixture thickens. Simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy! Submitted by Elena, mother of Olivia, Guatemala

Hearty Italian Soup Ingredients: 1 lb. mild bulk Italian sausage 1 med. Green pepperchopped 1 med. Onion- chopped 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (2) 8 oz. cans tomato sauce (2) 8 oz. cans water 3 cubes chicken bouillon ¾ tsp. garlic powder ¾ c. small shell pasta Shredded mozzarella Directions: In a large sauce pan, brown sausage, green pepper and onion, drain. Stir in remaining ingredients, except past and cheese. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in pasta, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes, until pasta is tender. Serve and top with cheese.

Submitted by Julie, friend of Aleigha, Guatemala

Chinese Raindrop Soup Ingredients: 6 Water Chestnuts 2 Scallions 1 tbsp. Sherry 3 c Chicken Stock 6 oz. diced cooked Chicken Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Slice the water chestnuts and slice the spring onions (scallions) finely. Put these in a saucepan with the chicken stock and the chicken. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the sherry and season to taste. Submitted by Karen, mother of Kaitlyn, China

Nutty Coleslaw Ingredients: 2-3 tbsp. sesame seeds 1 pkg. (2 oz) slivered almonds ½ c, rice vinegar 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. pepper 9 to 12 green onions (finely chopped) 1 lb pkg. coleslaw mix 3 pkg. Ramen Noodles 2/3 c. salad oil ½ c. sugar

Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Toast the sesame seed and almonds in a shallow pan in oven. You can use a little butter if you wish. Let cool. Chop onions, put them in a big bowl with coleslaw mix, the

Got a recipe you want us to print? Email it to recipes@seriouslifemagazine.com toasted seeds and almonds. Add the crunched up ramen noodles. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar and sugar. Pour over the coleslaw mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate to chill. Toss and serve.

Submitted by Diane, mother of Matthew and Nate, Philippines

Chinese Broccoli Noodle Stir-Fry Ingredients: 3 oz. dried fine noodles Sauce: 5 oz. chicken stock 2 tsp. corn flour 1 ½ tsp. soy sauce 1 tsp. rice or white vinegar 1/8 tsp. crushed dried chilies 1 tbsp. cooking oil 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil 10 oz. broccoli florets

Directions: In a lg. sauce pan boil 2 quarts of water. Add noodles and boil, uncovered 5-7 minutes, stir occasionally, drain. Meanwhile for sauce, in a small bowl combine, stock, corn flour, soy sauce, vinegar, and crushed, dried chilies, set aside.

In a wok or lg. frying pan, heat cooking oil and sesame oil over medium heat. Add broccoli, stir-try for 3-4 minutes, or until crispy tender. Stir sauce, then add that and noodles to wok. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Yields 6.

Baked Pasta

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Submitted by Diane, mother of Connor, USA

Isabel, Mia and Jose (Guatemala adoptees beyond infancy)

Ingredients: 2 c. chopped onion 2 lg. garlic cloves ¼ tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp. dried basil 1 tsp. oregano 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced ½ stk. Butter 3 tbsp. flour 2 c. milk 2 cans Italian tomatoes, drained & chopped 1 c. Fontina Cheese, grated 1 c. Gorganzola, grated

Directions: Make a sauce with butter, flour, milk, sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic. Pour sauce over vegetables and add tomatoes. Add seasonings. Set aside ¼ Parmesan cheese and add the rest of the cheeses. Add pasta to boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and add to mushrooms. Add salt and pepper. Place in a buttered 3-4 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with ¼ cup Parmesan cheese and dot with 1 tbsp. butter. Bake 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

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Submitted by Ann, mother of Grace, China

1 ½ c. Parmesan cheese, grated 2/3 c. fresh Parsley, chopped 1 lb. Penne or farfalle Pasta

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The Wine & Spirit Store Brent Riggs

What About Those Holy Business Names?

was driving down the road yesterday when I saw a truck passing me that said “Kingdom Alarm Systems”. I kind of chuckled to myself thinking about how “going out of business” they will be when we are in the real Kingdom. Traveling along I began to recall some of the names that well-meaning Christians have labeled their businesses without really thinking through the implications. Agape Wrecking Service.

Does this mean they unconditionally love all wrecks? Or that they have a Godly love for wrecking things? Believers Polygraph Systems.

Exodus Home Builders.

It would kind of stink to spend six months building your dream home and then immediately have to pack up and walk away from it. At least you might get some cool gifts from your neighbors on your march out of the neighborhood.

Narrow Way Road Construction. I just hope you’re not in a hurry or behind a wide load.

Abundant Life Weight-Loss. Maybe the abundant life is the problem in the first place. A better name might be the Living Sacrifice Weight Loss... on second thought people might just take that to mean grilling more hamburgers... poor cows. (not the people trying to lose weight, the

I used to think the ‘wine & spirits’ store was a communion supply. Heavenly World Travel Agency.

I wonder if they list Moses as one of their clients? It would be a little scary to have to subpoena the Creator of the Universe as a

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Covenant Arbitration Group.

And finally the one that puzzles me the most but I see it everywhere I go: “Wine and Spirit”. At first I used to think this was a store where you picked up Communion supplies but I’m beginning to wonder if those really are Bibles they are hiding in them there brown paper sacks.~

Could this be where angels can book a cruise to the Bahamas? Or where people who are experiencing “hell on earth” can plan a change of scenery?

actual cows that the hamburgers came from!)

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Is this a service that can only tell if Christians are lying? Or perhaps it’s a machine that can tell by your answers whether you really are a believer or not. Maybe it means that believers will pass the test even if they are lying.

defendant. “Mr. Creator Sir, did you understand the terms of the contract? Did you read the fine print?” Exactly who would you get to enforce a monetary judgment against the Almighty?

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