War on Cancer

Wikipedia:

The War on Cancer refers to the effort to find a cure for cancer by increased research to improve the understanding of cancer biology and the development of more effective cancer treatments, such as targeted drug therapies. The aim of such efforts is to eradicate cancer as a major cause of death......

Despite significant progress in the treatment of certain forms of cancer (such as childhood leukemia^[2]), cancer in general remains a major cause of death nearly 40 years after this war on cancer began,^[3] 

Photograph by Moredun Animal Health Ltd/Science Photo Library

I hate that phrase:  War on Cancer.  

I understand the original reference, the commitment to finding a cure, and discovering the causes.  But after 40 years of this 'war' the culprit(s) and treatments have already been discovered, and yet that information continues to be virtually ignored by allopathic doctors and the pharmaceutical industry, and the people who trust them.  They are still looking for 'the cure', but ignorantly reject the clear evidence of an answer that doesn't come in a package they can sell (ie. no money to be made). And so they keep on searching, while people with cancer die because the truth isn't shared, or acknowledged, or embraced. 

I believe that for many, many people, the possibility that the choices that they have made in their own lives might have played a major role in them having cancer is just too much for their pride to handle.  It is easier for them to believe that they just got the short end of the stick.  Or somehow its just the roll of the genes.

I can't say that 100% of cancers are self- or environmentally induced.  That would be presumptuous.  But I do believe that cancer and other diseases are more from our lifestyles then they are by randomness and our genes.  

There's more to read about the War on Cancer over at Dr Mercola's site and The Health Ranger also has something written by Dr. David Jockers about how to prevent cancer in the first place.

Charter of Health Freedom

As a Canadian, do you have any idea that your Freedom to choose concerning your own individual Health is greatly jeopardized?  Do you know that producers of supplements and alternative health products are being denied product numbers so that they can't sell to you and I any more?

Earlier this week I went to the local healthfood store to ask about Colostrum.  (You can check out this if you are curious).  Anyways, its not on the shelves and I wanted to know why, while in pill form it is still on the shelves at a store up island (I know, because I asked Rauchelle to check for me).  I discovered that once Naked Naturals supply is gone, they won't be able to carry it either.

Why?

Because in this lay-persons words, our government thinks that I am not smart enough to read literature, research for myself, and decide for myself what products I think would be healthful for me to ingest or even use topically.  Like, I'm not wise enough to decide whether taking cinnamon in capsules would or would not help me with blood sugars.  Or that MSM lotion would be beneficial to lather on my scar tissue. Or if I might find that butcher's broom helps with my varicose veins.

Instead, they are limiting all of this Freedom to Choose so that I have the freedom to choose their pharmaceuticals or nothing.  Or grow my own, I suppose.  But then they would likely come and confiscate even that because it would appear that I am undermining Canada's Healthcare by not purchasing their chemicals to ingest.

In scenario, if I were to discover that I had some type of cancer, I would be able to chose allopathy protocol of surgery/radiation/chemotherapy; Invasive and Chemical.  Or I could choose to do nothing.
Or I could pay tens-of-thousands of dollars to go internationally and be treated by some alternative health practitioner (with a greater success-rate than North American rates concerning cancer, I might add).  But I can't go to a local business and purchase natural products (herbs & supplements, etc) that have a long history of being successfully used to help ones body heal itself.  Because it hasn't been tested in their labs and because it can't be patented,  it won't be available to us.

Why?

Because they will lose too much money.

Let's face it, people.  The whole talk about Health Care isn't about Health.  It's about Sick Care and the money they make off of the citizens being sick and staying chronically sick.  If we stay healthy, or get better ...........where is the money in that?

PLEASE!!!!  go to Charter of Health Freedom and find out how you can add your name to the petition, or sign at a healthfood store that has a petition already underway.  We need 3 million signatures by March.  There's a long ways to go, but it can be done.

About Shame & Vulnerability

A heart to heart about our biggest fears and the door to joy and authenticity.  Living a life where "I am Enough" and "I Accept Myself" even though I know I am not perfect.  And needing to ingrain that in my children.

With all of our imperfections, we are still worthy.

In Flanders Fields

Class/Grade IV Cancer STINKS

I'd heard of stage 4, as in the last stages of cancer before one is expected to die.

But I hadn't heard of Class IV or Grade IV.

I enter a whole new arena, from a (unfortunately) personal position.  It isn't just somebody I know or have heard about.  It is my brother. My brother has Class IV brain cancer.

David with his wife and their sons.

Well, this isn't the first time cancer has touched our family.  My father had skin cancer, but it wasn't a big concern, and it was heart failure that took him (22 years next month!).  And my paternal Grandma (whom I didn't know) died of cancer.

The most involved I've been with a cancer patient was when Everette's Dad was diagnosed with colon cancer just over 5 years ago.  They figured he'd have about 2 years to live.  We buried him in 3.5 months.  And during those months we dropped most of our family projects (we were doing major landscaping) in favour of spending as much time with him as we could.  And when things suddenly turned for the worst we were so glad we hadn't banked on the two-years-we-didn't-get.  Danaka and Rauchelle had spent the last week staying with Grandma & Grandpa, memories they can always hold on to, knowing they were loving on them with their presence,  a held hand, a sip of water offered, a needed hug.

I believe in instantaneous and progressive miracles.  I do.  I've seen them.  My husband has been a part of them.  I WANT ONE NOW!!!  Yes, I'm yelling that.  My insides are screaming for that!  I WANT MY BROTHER HEALED!!!

Born on Christmas Day, next year we will be celebrating David's 50th Birthday.  It shall be a BIG CELEBRATION.  I say that in Faith for a great outcome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tumor grade

The grade of a tumor refers to how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread. Cells removed by biopsy are used for grading. The following grading system may be used for adult brain tumors:

Grade I
The tumor grows slowly, has cells that look similar to normal cells, and rarely spreads into nearby tissues. It may be possible to remove the entire tumor by surgery.

Grade II
The tumor grows slowly, but may spread into nearby tissue and may become a higher-grade tumor.

Grade III
The tumor grows quickly, is likely to spread into nearby tissue, and the tumor cells look very different from normal cells.

Grade IV
The tumor grows very aggressively, has cells that look very different from normal cells, and is difficult to treat successfully.                            (from http://wiki.medpedia.com/Brain_Tumors)


I wish I had never had to know that.  I wish I didn't even know that Class IV existed.  Sometimes naivety seems more comfortable.  But that's not my option.  Unfortunately.

I know I will have much to learn as we walk this part of our journey.  Learn some things about cancer and health and the medical system.  But more than that, we have much to learn about relationships, about supporting one another in spite of personal view points, about patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, etc.....and self-control.  About forgiveness, about gentle answers turn away wrath, about preferring one another above ourselves.  Tough life lessons.

And about letting go.  Hopefully, we don't need to let go of David because hopefully he's stuck with us for a very long time.  But I probably have lessons to learn about letting go of my ideals, agendas, etc.

Class IV Cancer STINKS!!!!  but the lessons that surround it will be priceless.  This I do know.

Retired Vax Scientist Speaks Out

This is long, but a very insightful interview with a Retired Vaccination Scientist talking about his work, the industry of making vaccinations, and how he would never ever vaccinate his own children.

Worship Part II

Look at some things that happen when we worship!!!

Isa 45:5
I am the Lord, and there is no one else; there is no God besides Me. I will gird and arm you, though you have not known Me

Acts 16:22-26
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.


Psalm 8:2
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.


from Psalm 9
I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may declare your praises
in the gates of the Daughter of Zion
and there rejoice in your salvation.


Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph;
let the nations be judged in your presence.
Strike them with terror, O LORD;
let the nations know they are but men.
Selah


What kind of power is in our Worship?
Why do we not take it serious?????

This is part of my what I ask the Lord for. Note, 'the house of the Lord', 'his temple', 'the courts of the Lord', 'the house where you live', 'the place where your glory dwells'.....that's you and me!!!! That's not one physical place, for its where His Spirit is. His Spirit lives in each of His children. He takes up residence in His people. GLORY!!!

Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 84:2
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God. 8 I love the house where you live, O LORD,
the place where your glory dwells.

Oh my, I am just so excited even reading these scriptures right now. What a priviledge I have to commune with Him, personally, wherever I may be. In spirit and in truth.

Psalm 5:11-12
But you'll welcome us with open arms
when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
for decking us out in delight.


Psalm 148
Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven,
praise him from the mountaintops;
Praise him, all you his angels,
praise him, all you his warriors,
Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, you morning stars;
Praise him, high heaven,
praise him, heavenly rain clouds;
Praise, oh let them praise the name of God—
he spoke the word, and there they were!

Question for You: Where do you feel most free to worship?

Victory!

The word came loudly as I was hanging up freshly laundered curtains in the living room. Victory in Jesus. Not by my own strength, but in Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross. Victory over my sin. Victory over sickness and disease. Victory over poverty.

Victory is mine. Not because of my own strength. Not because I'm a really nice person . Not because I was born to Bible-believing parents. There is nothing I have to do to be victorious really, except to believe that God's word is truth. When I believe it, then I will start applying those truths to my life.

I use these following scriptures to decree what the truth is, no matter how I am feeling or what my mind tells me. I accept the Word of the Lord to be truth, over and above what I might see happening around me. I know that He is Truth, and He cannot lie (Titus 1:2)

Rom 8: 37-39 Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us. For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Cor 2:14 (AMP)
But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ's victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,

2 Corinthians 5:17, 21
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Cor 10: 3-5 (NIV)
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

1 Peter 2:9(NLT)
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[a] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.


Eph 4:27 (NIV) (I) do not give the devil a foothold.

Eph 6:14 (NIV)
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

1 John 1:9(AMP)
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

1 John 2:1 (AMP)
My little children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God's law and sin. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father--[it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father's will in every purpose, thought, and action].

Rev 12:11 (NIV)
They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;

Isa 54:17 (NLT)
But in that coming day
no weapon turned against you will succeed.
You will silence every voice
raised up to accuse you.
These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord;
their vindication will come from me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Col 1:13 (NASB)
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

2 Tim 1:7(AMP)
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Psalm 27:1 (AMP)
The Lord is my Light and my Salvation--whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?

Deut 28:13 (NIV)
The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

Psa 91:7 (NLT)
Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.

Luke 10:19 (AMP)
Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

I am a big fan of reading or listening to Decrees. I use them to get my heart and mind onto what the Lord says pertaining my life. I know that satan is the father of lies, and loves to feed falsehood to me at every corner (John 8:44). But I refuse to listen to him. The best way is to defute those lies with the Truth, which is Jesus.

Remember, "I cannot afford to have a thought in my head about me that is not in His." Bill Johnson

To keep thoughts about me that are not in His, is to believe a lie. To accept and believe His Word about me, is to know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)


Question for You: Do you use Decrees?

Sap-Suckers

I've always thought it was important to have good character. As a homeschooling parent I have purchased Christian curriculum that was to aid me in building godly attributes into my developing adults. I thought this would produce good character. But I don't see it that way anymore. I am not against these curriculums, per se, but I do see something wrong with the way we approach good character.

I think that we are focusing on an end product we'd like to have, but haven't rightly got our eye on what the source of it is.

We might agree that the things listed in the verses below would be major proponents of what makes one have good character.

Galatians 5:22-23 (New Living Translation)
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:22-23 (Amplified Bible)
22But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,
23Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [[a]that can bring a charge].

What I want you to notice is.....whose fruit is this? Who does the producing???

It is the fruit of the Spirit. It is He who produces it in our lives! It isn't by my own effort. It is a working of His Spirit.

When I got a grasp of that, it kinda shook me. I thought I just had to try harder to be good and kind, and particularly to have self-control. But that only produces goodworks, not necessarily good character.

In John 15:4-8 it gives the analogy of the vine, branches and fruit. Jesus says,

4Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.

5I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

8When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

This is how I see my life now:
I need to abide in Jesus, and His Spirit will produce all the good character I need.

The more I am enveloped in Him, the more the fruit just shows up and multiplies. The branch doesn't have to focus on producing fruit, sending messages to 'grow, grow, grow'. The branch just needs to be well attached to the trunk/vine from which it gets its nourishment. The better that connection is, the better the sap can flow through the branch and it will naturally produce fruit without effort.

I believe that much of our struggles as Christians is because our gaze is redirected from the most important things, like abiding, and onto minor things. Yes, we need good character, but we don't get it or produce it in our lives by focusing on it. We produce it by abiding in Jesus. Rest in His Presence. Stop striving. Become a Sap-Sucker.


Question for You: Do you have particular things (ie, notes, certain chores, particular emotional feelings, etc) you use to remind you to get back to abiding?