Alice Mae Jackson died in 1969 at age 42 of breast cancer, but her daughter, Henrietta, age 61, is alive and is eligible to collect financial compensation from the state of North Carolina for the forced sterilization inflicted on her mother by government officials in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
When Alice Mae Jackson was alive she received state aid with strings attached. During one of her reviews for continuance of state aid Alice Mae Jackson took three of her four children -- 2 girls and a boy -- to the Mecklenburg County welfare department. Mecklenburg welfare officials told her to get sterilized or the state would take her children. Later government officials put Henrietta in an orphanage. After Alice Mae Jackson was sterilized she got Henrietta back.
James 1:27 Amplified Bible says, "External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world."
Aid is supposed to help people and be unspotted and uncontaminated with worldly strings like forced sterilization. Needing assistance is not shameful. Disabled or non-disabled we all need help in various ways. Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. Chen Guangcheng became internationally known for filing a 2005 class-action law suit against Chinese government officials for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured physical and psychological abuse in jail and in house arrest. Chen Guangcheng was in house arrest with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and the couple's daughter. Their son was being "educated." Eventually the Chen family escaped to the United States. Chen Guangcheng, a US immigrant, testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.
Human rights violations such as abortion and forced sterilization are not God's will. God wants people to enjoy living. God the Son Jesus Christ says in John 10:10 Amplified Bible, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
Most parents want their children to enjoy living. The daughter that Alice Mae Jackson did not take to her public assistance review, she had placed with other family.
Later on in life Henrietta met this daughter whose name is Sheila. They met as employees of a nursing home.
Alice, Henrietta, Sheila and their other siblings needed true help instead they received discrimination. Read more about their story at http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/08/08/4223519/alice-mae-jackson-and-eugenics.html.
North Carolina is scheduled to pay $10 million shared equally to victims of forced sterilization. If those forcibly sterilized are dead, the family's estate is eligible for compensation. Forced sterilization was legal in North Carolina based on a 1933 law that allowed government workers to forcibly sterilize people deemed to be 'mentally diseased, feeble-minded or epileptic.' In Oklahoma earlier this year Governor Mary Fallin signed into law the Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act which takes effect November 1 and is modeled after anti-discriminatory language in federal law. The law, the first of its kind to be signed into law in the United States of America, will prevent health care providers like those connected to nursing homes from denying food, water and other assistance "on the basis of a view that treats extending the life of an elderly, disabled, or terminally ill individual as of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, nondisabled, or not terminally ill."
Are creyentes (believers) working in your state to cut government waste like laws that permit abortion, forced sterilization and/or the denial of medical treatment based on disability and/or age? Are creyentes working in your state to improve government fiscal management by compensating victims of forced sterilization? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on http://www.Twitter.com/Michelelove30.
Showing posts with label Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act. Show all posts
Friday, August 9, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Generous, Big-Hearted and Open-Minded
Quincy Jones turned 80 years old in March 2013. In America he could have retired about two decades ago. Instead he has chosen to take his career focus from performer and producer to manager of new musical talent. He is managing Blush, a five-member, Asian, girl band, Emily Bear, an 11-year-old piano prodigy, Alfredo RodrÃguez, a jazz pianist, Justin Kauflin, a blind jazz pianist and others (James C. McKinley Jr., May 22, 2013, The New York Times article "Latest in His Hyphenate? Manager Quincy Jones, After Years as a Performer-Producer, Now Scouts Young Talent.")
Permanent retirement of the elderly is not Biblical. God teaches us to fight the good fight of faith for all of life and to take periodic rest periods of worshiping Him through service. One Sabbath is to take place for one year every seven years. Leviticus 25:3-7 New Living Translation says, "For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces."
Jesus interprets the Mosaic Law and the Prophets in a way that gives God the highest glory and people the greatest good. If they had a one-year Sabbath in the Old Testament, how much better should it be since the birth of the Christian Church?
How to pay for one-year and more of paid employment leave? Here's some ideas:
** All leave balances accrued should be portable from one place of employment to the next.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave benefits instead of a 401K match.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave instead of a monetary increase for merit performance.
** Some may desire a customized benefit package.
Elderly people should not be discriminated against or forced out of the workforce nor should elderly who are no longer able to work be denied the help they need to live well. Governor Mary Fallin signed into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life. The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma will take effect November 1, 2013.
Elderly people have more life experience than other human beings. An African proverb says, "When an elder dies it is as if a whole library had burned down."
God wants our library to be full of a life well lived. John 10:10 Amplified Bible says, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
Perhaps if we listened to and obeyed God about the one-year or more Sabbath, more creative and compassionate solutions to social problems would be found and implemented. Families need more quantity and quality time together. Singles and others need to serve people more. Perhaps we would see more diversity in everyday life. For example, perhaps a way to build more restaurants with African food and food from the peoples of the African diaspora would be in suburb and rural places. More consistent and comprehensive coverage would be found in the media of the disability community, African countries and peoples of the African diaspora. One in six Africans is a Nigerian, but media coverage of Nigeria is rare. Way more coverage exists of the European Union than the African Union.
A Chinese proverb praises the "generous, big-hearted and open-minded." Paid employment leave and diversity exemplify these qualities and are good for everyone.
Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
Permanent retirement of the elderly is not Biblical. God teaches us to fight the good fight of faith for all of life and to take periodic rest periods of worshiping Him through service. One Sabbath is to take place for one year every seven years. Leviticus 25:3-7 New Living Translation says, "For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces."
Jesus interprets the Mosaic Law and the Prophets in a way that gives God the highest glory and people the greatest good. If they had a one-year Sabbath in the Old Testament, how much better should it be since the birth of the Christian Church?
How to pay for one-year and more of paid employment leave? Here's some ideas:
** All leave balances accrued should be portable from one place of employment to the next.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave benefits instead of a 401K match.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave instead of a monetary increase for merit performance.
** Some may desire a customized benefit package.
Elderly people should not be discriminated against or forced out of the workforce nor should elderly who are no longer able to work be denied the help they need to live well. Governor Mary Fallin signed into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life. The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma will take effect November 1, 2013.
Elderly people have more life experience than other human beings. An African proverb says, "When an elder dies it is as if a whole library had burned down."
God wants our library to be full of a life well lived. John 10:10 Amplified Bible says, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
Perhaps if we listened to and obeyed God about the one-year or more Sabbath, more creative and compassionate solutions to social problems would be found and implemented. Families need more quantity and quality time together. Singles and others need to serve people more. Perhaps we would see more diversity in everyday life. For example, perhaps a way to build more restaurants with African food and food from the peoples of the African diaspora would be in suburb and rural places. More consistent and comprehensive coverage would be found in the media of the disability community, African countries and peoples of the African diaspora. One in six Africans is a Nigerian, but media coverage of Nigeria is rare. Way more coverage exists of the European Union than the African Union.
A Chinese proverb praises the "generous, big-hearted and open-minded." Paid employment leave and diversity exemplify these qualities and are good for everyone.
Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
"Dumb Ass" Discrimination
Whether a person is a disabled worker or a disabled person unable to work, disability discrimination can be defeated. On May 1, 2013, a federal jury awarded $240 million to 32 mentally disabled men who endured decades of discrimination and abuse in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act while working for Henry’s Turkey Service. On April 26, 2013, Governor Mary Fallin signed into law the Oklahoma Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act which takes effect November 1 and is modeled after anti-discriminatory language in federal law. The law, the first of its kind to be signed into law in the United States of America, will prevent health care providers from denying treatment "on the basis of a view that treats extending the life of an elderly, disabled, or terminally ill individual as of lower value than extending the life of an individual who is younger, nondisabled, or not terminally ill."
Discrimination against persons with disabilities is widespread. The New York Times says Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities is 75 percent higher than for those with no disabilities.
A May 2, 2013, "Workers win $240 million verdict from Texas company" Star-Telegram article says about the Henry’s Turkey Service case brought to court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), "Jurors were told that the men were called “retarded,” “dumb ass” and “stupid,” and were physically struck and kicked. In at least one case, a disabled worker was handcuffed to a bed. Other punishment included being forced to walk in circles lugging heavy weights. One man had been kicked in the groin and was found with “testicles that were quite swollen,” an EEOC psychologist testified. Others were often locked in their bedrooms at night, she said. Moreover, windows leaked during rainstorms, soaking the men’s beds."
All human life is valuable because each one of us, disabled or typical, is designed by God. Exodus 4:11 New Living Translation Bible says, "Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? "
Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs, writes in his book Unstoppable The Incredible Power of Faith in Action, "Over time I spoke more and more about my faith. Evangelism and inspiration became my greatest passions. Speaking about my love of God and the blessings in my life, including my disabilities and the strength they give me, allows me to serve others. It's given my life a purpose, one that I believe God created for me."
God created all human beings as sexual beings. God designed single sexuality and partner-sex for marriage only. Some persons with disabilities celebrate their sexuality in singleness others in marriage. Vujicic, who is of Serbian heritage, is married to Kanae Loida Vujicic-Miyahara, who is of mixed Latino and Japanese heritage. On February 13, 2013, this married couple celebrated the birth of Kiyoshi James Vujicic, their son and first child.
Christian minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., says, "This is the ultimate tragedy of segregation. It not only harms one physically but injures one spiritually. It scars the soul and degrades the personality. It inflicts the segregated with a false sense of inferiority, while [giving] the segregator...a false estimate of his own superiority." What King said about segregation can be applied to other types of discrimination.
We do not have a federal holiday to recognize the contributions of persons with illnesses and/or disabilities. Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union and battled periods of depression, has some good advice: "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
One way the Japanese get to know people better is by enjoying a tea ceremony. Ethiopians do it by enjoying a coffee ceremony. Tea, coffee and other things can be enjoyed by the disabled and the typical on any day especially on February 12, which is Lincoln's birthday.
Instead of a holiday honoring multiple presidents on one day, what about a separate federal holiday recognizing Lincoln whose birthday is February 12, 1809? Write to me about it at:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Also share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter.
Needing a caretaker or some other type of assistance is not shameful. Disabled or typical, we all need help in various ways. Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. Guangcheng became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured physical and psychological abuse in jail and in house arrest. Eventually he escaped to the United States and testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.
Defeating disability discrimination and other types of discrimination is godly. Disabled or typical God desires a good life for us. Jesus Christ says in John 10:10 Amplified Bible, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
Discrimination against persons with disabilities is widespread. The New York Times says Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities is 75 percent higher than for those with no disabilities.
A May 2, 2013, "Workers win $240 million verdict from Texas company" Star-Telegram article says about the Henry’s Turkey Service case brought to court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), "Jurors were told that the men were called “retarded,” “dumb ass” and “stupid,” and were physically struck and kicked. In at least one case, a disabled worker was handcuffed to a bed. Other punishment included being forced to walk in circles lugging heavy weights. One man had been kicked in the groin and was found with “testicles that were quite swollen,” an EEOC psychologist testified. Others were often locked in their bedrooms at night, she said. Moreover, windows leaked during rainstorms, soaking the men’s beds."
All human life is valuable because each one of us, disabled or typical, is designed by God. Exodus 4:11 New Living Translation Bible says, "Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? "
Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs, writes in his book Unstoppable The Incredible Power of Faith in Action, "Over time I spoke more and more about my faith. Evangelism and inspiration became my greatest passions. Speaking about my love of God and the blessings in my life, including my disabilities and the strength they give me, allows me to serve others. It's given my life a purpose, one that I believe God created for me."
God created all human beings as sexual beings. God designed single sexuality and partner-sex for marriage only. Some persons with disabilities celebrate their sexuality in singleness others in marriage. Vujicic, who is of Serbian heritage, is married to Kanae Loida Vujicic-Miyahara, who is of mixed Latino and Japanese heritage. On February 13, 2013, this married couple celebrated the birth of Kiyoshi James Vujicic, their son and first child.
Christian minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., says, "This is the ultimate tragedy of segregation. It not only harms one physically but injures one spiritually. It scars the soul and degrades the personality. It inflicts the segregated with a false sense of inferiority, while [giving] the segregator...a false estimate of his own superiority." What King said about segregation can be applied to other types of discrimination.
We do not have a federal holiday to recognize the contributions of persons with illnesses and/or disabilities. Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union and battled periods of depression, has some good advice: "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
One way the Japanese get to know people better is by enjoying a tea ceremony. Ethiopians do it by enjoying a coffee ceremony. Tea, coffee and other things can be enjoyed by the disabled and the typical on any day especially on February 12, which is Lincoln's birthday.
Instead of a holiday honoring multiple presidents on one day, what about a separate federal holiday recognizing Lincoln whose birthday is February 12, 1809? Write to me about it at:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Also share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter.
Needing a caretaker or some other type of assistance is not shameful. Disabled or typical, we all need help in various ways. Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. Guangcheng became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured physical and psychological abuse in jail and in house arrest. Eventually he escaped to the United States and testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.
Defeating disability discrimination and other types of discrimination is godly. Disabled or typical God desires a good life for us. Jesus Christ says in John 10:10 Amplified Bible, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Elderly And Able To Work For Good
"Yet despite the overall aging of the work force, many organizations are heading in the opposite direction. One executive at a major investment bank remarked with concern that the average age of his firm was 32. This phenomenon is not unique to corporations. Many medical institutions and universities have also shifted to younger workforces. But according to research by Benjamin Jones of Northwestern University, a 55-year-old and even a 65-year-old have significantly more innovation potential than a 25-year-old.
If an organization wants innovation to flourish, the conversation needs to change from severance packages to retention bonuses. Instead of managing the average age downward, companies should be managing it upward," writes Tom Agan for The New York Times article "Why Innovators Get Better With Age."
The Bible does not endorse retiring at age 62 or any other age. Some of the greatest Biblical leaders were elderly people like Moses, Abraham and Joshua. Abolitionist, Women's Rights Activist and Christian Sojourner Truth was giving speeches in her 80s.
Discrimination against the elderly is not the Bible way. The Bible way is periodic rest, not permanent removal from the workforce.
God teaches us to work well and rest well. The Gospel books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are filled with stories of Jesus Christ challenging His Jewish people to practice the Sabbath in a way that provides maximum help for people. Mark 2:27 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "Jesus finished by saying, “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people."
Leviticus 25:3-7 New Living Translation says, "For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces."
Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
and share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter. In addition to the following ideas, how can employers pay for one-year or more of paid employee leave?
** All leave balances accrued should be portable from one place of employment to the next.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave benefits instead of a 401K match.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave instead of a monetary increase for merit performance.
** Some may desire a customized benefit package.
Jiroemon Kimura celebrated his 116th birthday on April 19, 2013, in Japan making him the world's oldest living man according to the Guinness World Records. Guinness World Records says a Japanese woman, Misao Okawa, at 115 is the world's oldest living woman. Jeanne Louise Calment was 122 when she died in 1997 in France; she holds the record for the world's longest living person in modern times. Calment lived two years longer than Moses, but not as long as Abraham who died at the ripe old age of 175.
Not everyone is going to have a long, healthy life. All life is created by God and valuable. "As long as there is one ... oppressed human being in this world the struggle la lucha continua," said Dr. Georgia McMurray, educator, writer and activist who had the progressively degenerative muscle disorder Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
Creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) are called to speak up for the oppressed. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
The devil doesn't like any human being young, old or somewhere in between because we are made in the image of God, his arch enemy. Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini is in his 30s and being physically and psychologically abused in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith which Iran considers a threat to their national security. A campaign to free him by writing letters and signing a petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "La constancia hace milagros." ("Consistency creates miracles.") God does great things through committed people.
Chen Guangcheng is in his 40s. " “I stayed relevant when I was in jail and later under house arrest,” Chen said to me. “I’ll find ways to stay relevant in America, this free country.”" (Lijia Zhang, April 29, 2013, The New York Times, "Banished, but Not Gone.")
May Guangcheng not retire. May he also have a long, successful career in human rights.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," wrote Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr. from his Letter from Birmingham City Jail.
Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; in America since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion 55 million babies have been killed.
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured physical and psychological abuse in jail and in house arrest. Eventually he escaped to the United States and testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.
Professor Elie Wiesel says, "Remember: silence helps the killer, never his victims."
One can be outspoken and sexually victorious. Christopher Yuan is in his 40s. He is also no longer practicing homosexuality. Yuan is a Christian speaker for life and other Biblical issues.
Recommend this article on Google.
If an organization wants innovation to flourish, the conversation needs to change from severance packages to retention bonuses. Instead of managing the average age downward, companies should be managing it upward," writes Tom Agan for The New York Times article "Why Innovators Get Better With Age."
The Bible does not endorse retiring at age 62 or any other age. Some of the greatest Biblical leaders were elderly people like Moses, Abraham and Joshua. Abolitionist, Women's Rights Activist and Christian Sojourner Truth was giving speeches in her 80s.
Discrimination against the elderly is not the Bible way. The Bible way is periodic rest, not permanent removal from the workforce.
God teaches us to work well and rest well. The Gospel books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are filled with stories of Jesus Christ challenging His Jewish people to practice the Sabbath in a way that provides maximum help for people. Mark 2:27 Contemporary English Version Bible says, "Jesus finished by saying, “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people."
Leviticus 25:3-7 New Living Translation says, "For six years you may plant your fields and prune your vineyards and harvest your crops, but during the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath year of complete rest. It is the Lord’s Sabbath. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards during that year. And don’t store away the crops that grow on their own or gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own during its Sabbath. This applies to you, your male and female servants, your hired workers, and the temporary residents who live with you. Your livestock and the wild animals in your land will also be allowed to eat what the land produces."
Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
and share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter. In addition to the following ideas, how can employers pay for one-year or more of paid employee leave?
** All leave balances accrued should be portable from one place of employment to the next.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave benefits instead of a 401K match.
** Some may prefer increased paid-leave instead of a monetary increase for merit performance.
** Some may desire a customized benefit package.
Jiroemon Kimura celebrated his 116th birthday on April 19, 2013, in Japan making him the world's oldest living man according to the Guinness World Records. Guinness World Records says a Japanese woman, Misao Okawa, at 115 is the world's oldest living woman. Jeanne Louise Calment was 122 when she died in 1997 in France; she holds the record for the world's longest living person in modern times. Calment lived two years longer than Moses, but not as long as Abraham who died at the ripe old age of 175.
Not everyone is going to have a long, healthy life. All life is created by God and valuable. "As long as there is one ... oppressed human being in this world the struggle la lucha continua," said Dr. Georgia McMurray, educator, writer and activist who had the progressively degenerative muscle disorder Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
Creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) are called to speak up for the oppressed. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
The devil doesn't like any human being young, old or somewhere in between because we are made in the image of God, his arch enemy. Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini is in his 30s and being physically and psychologically abused in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith which Iran considers a threat to their national security. A campaign to free him by writing letters and signing a petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "La constancia hace milagros." ("Consistency creates miracles.") God does great things through committed people.
Chen Guangcheng is in his 40s. " “I stayed relevant when I was in jail and later under house arrest,” Chen said to me. “I’ll find ways to stay relevant in America, this free country.”" (Lijia Zhang, April 29, 2013, The New York Times, "Banished, but Not Gone.")
May Guangcheng not retire. May he also have a long, successful career in human rights.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," wrote Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr. from his Letter from Birmingham City Jail.
Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; in America since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion 55 million babies have been killed.
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured physical and psychological abuse in jail and in house arrest. Eventually he escaped to the United States and testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.
Professor Elie Wiesel says, "Remember: silence helps the killer, never his victims."
One can be outspoken and sexually victorious. Christopher Yuan is in his 40s. He is also no longer practicing homosexuality. Yuan is a Christian speaker for life and other Biblical issues.
Recommend this article on Google.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Enjoy Yourself
Entertainment is essential to our well being. Jesus Christ participated in parties like the wedding at Cana (John 2.)
Having a good time helps to make sure we keep a merry heart. Do you shop, play sports or do something else for recreation? Proverbs 17:22 Amplified Bible says, "A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."
An African proverb says, "Work is good, provided you do not forget to live."
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured jail and house arrest. Eventually he escaped to the United States and testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.
Even a human rights activist has fun. Chen Guangcheng went to Disneyland with Actor and Activist Christian Bale in January 2013.
Some people are not in a position to enjoy recreation. Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini is being physically and psychologically abused in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith which Iran considers a threat to their national security. Being able to have fun is something to thank God for giving us in America.
Fun times can be had in church buildings. Some churches have comedy shows, music festivals, dinners, poetry nights and other forms of recreation. Pastor Abedini was setting up Christian house churches and an orphanage in Iran before he was placed under house arrest. A campaign to free him by writing letters and signing a petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Sometimes physical and/or mental sickness steals our ability to participate in recreation. When we don't have ideal life circumstances, creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) don't give up on life. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
What are some things you do to maintain a merry heart? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
and share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter.
Having a good time helps to make sure we keep a merry heart. Do you shop, play sports or do something else for recreation? Proverbs 17:22 Amplified Bible says, "A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."
An African proverb says, "Work is good, provided you do not forget to live."
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Later he endured jail and house arrest. Eventually he escaped to the United States and testified before Congress on April 9, 2013, regarding human rights abuses in China.
Even a human rights activist has fun. Chen Guangcheng went to Disneyland with Actor and Activist Christian Bale in January 2013.
Some people are not in a position to enjoy recreation. Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini is being physically and psychologically abused in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith which Iran considers a threat to their national security. Being able to have fun is something to thank God for giving us in America.
Fun times can be had in church buildings. Some churches have comedy shows, music festivals, dinners, poetry nights and other forms of recreation. Pastor Abedini was setting up Christian house churches and an orphanage in Iran before he was placed under house arrest. A campaign to free him by writing letters and signing a petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Sometimes physical and/or mental sickness steals our ability to participate in recreation. When we don't have ideal life circumstances, creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) don't give up on life. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
What are some things you do to maintain a merry heart? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P.O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
and share a tweet @Michelelove30 via the social media Twitter.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Embrace Godly Emotions
Having emotions and expressing them are part of the life of creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings.) God made each one of us with unique finger prints, eye prints and scents. We will express our emotions in diverse ways. Expressing godly emotions is not a sign of being unbalanced, but is something to engage in with enthusiasm.
King David cried in public to petition God. King David says in Psalm 69:9-12 New Living Translation Bible, "Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. When I weep and fast, they scoff at me. When I dress in burlap to show sorrow, they make fun of me. I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunks sing about me."
God doesn't make fun of or belittle our godly emotions. God has emotions. He created our emotions and encourages emotional expression inspired by Him. A woman kissed and wept over Jesus Christ in Luke 7:38-47 New Living Translation Bible, and Jesus Christ commended her: "Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”"
God likes passionate people. Not only does He accept tears but also laughter and many other emotional expressions. God wants us to do likewise. Romans 12:15 Complete Jewish Bible says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Are you around people who can accept laughter, tears and other expressions?
Some people may weep when praying to free Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini, who is being tortured in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith. They may also be inspired to laugh at the devil regarding the fact that more than 575,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending support to Pastor Abedini who in January 2013 was sentenced by Iranian authorities to an eight-year prison sentence for "threatening the national security of Iran;" Pastor Abedini had been involved in setting up house churches in Iran and also an orphanage. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
The devil rejoices to harm people. Reinas y reyes rejoice to help them. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
Please also write a letter about forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy and human rights abuses of Chen Guangcheng's family and friends to:
Secretary of State John Kerry
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife, Yuan Weijing, and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; in America since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion 55 million babies have been killed.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US one year ago.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives," “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Truth infuriates workers of iniquity. There is such a thing as righteous anger; stir it up to move out evil.
King David cried in public to petition God. King David says in Psalm 69:9-12 New Living Translation Bible, "Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. When I weep and fast, they scoff at me. When I dress in burlap to show sorrow, they make fun of me. I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunks sing about me."
God doesn't make fun of or belittle our godly emotions. God has emotions. He created our emotions and encourages emotional expression inspired by Him. A woman kissed and wept over Jesus Christ in Luke 7:38-47 New Living Translation Bible, and Jesus Christ commended her: "Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”"
God likes passionate people. Not only does He accept tears but also laughter and many other emotional expressions. God wants us to do likewise. Romans 12:15 Complete Jewish Bible says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Are you around people who can accept laughter, tears and other expressions?
Some people may weep when praying to free Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini, who is being tortured in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith. They may also be inspired to laugh at the devil regarding the fact that more than 575,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending support to Pastor Abedini who in January 2013 was sentenced by Iranian authorities to an eight-year prison sentence for "threatening the national security of Iran;" Pastor Abedini had been involved in setting up house churches in Iran and also an orphanage. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
The devil rejoices to harm people. Reinas y reyes rejoice to help them. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
Please also write a letter about forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy and human rights abuses of Chen Guangcheng's family and friends to:
Secretary of State John Kerry
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife, Yuan Weijing, and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; in America since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion 55 million babies have been killed.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US one year ago.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives," “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Truth infuriates workers of iniquity. There is such a thing as righteous anger; stir it up to move out evil.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Would You Accept Infidelity?
Some want to side step clear cases of evil and allow the status quo to continue. Some examples of this are those who refused to speak out against American segregation and spouses of all generations who want their spouses to put up with their same-sex and/or opposite-sex infidelities, lying and other habitual sin attitudes and actions of "I want to feed my appetites with all my might, and I don't care if it's not right."
Jesus Christ says in Matthew 5:6 Amplified Bible, "Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!"
A Rolling Stones laments "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." No one can find satisfaction outside of right standing with God. To thirst after righteousness, God has to deliver us from immersion in the immaturity of me, me, me.
True love is not isolationist neither is it perfectly social except when practiced by God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr. while he was imperfect as is every other human being was not typical in that he had the kind of passionate love that permeated every area of his life.
Light, love, life are all names for God. When God comes to live inside a person, God commands us to cooperate with His process of kicking out licentiousness and other enemies of love. Jesus Christ says in Matthew 5:16 Amplified Bible, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven."
God wants us to love willfully, wonderfully, wholly. God is not about how little His creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) can do to make many people's lives better, but how much. Jesus Christ is the Great Lover, and He is cultivating a kingdom family of great lovers.
More than 574,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending support to Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini who in January 2013 was sentenced by Iranian authorities to an eight-year prison sentence for "threatening the national security of Iran;" Pastor Abedini had been involved in setting up house churches in Iran and also an orphanage. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org. Another good reason to sign the petition and/or write a letter is that Iran will be having elections in June and to continue to pressure the US State Department, the European Union and other countries and organizations to help free Pastor Saeed Abedini.
Have you prayed, signed the petition, wrote a letter or did something else to free Pastor Abedini, who is being tortured in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith?
No matter what abilities and disabilities we have God made us, loves us and respects the life of all people. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
The devil does not like people with disabilities or any human being because we are made in the image of God, his arch enemy.
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife, Yuan Weijing, and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; in America since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion 55 million babies have been killed.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US one year ago.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives, “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Reinas y reyes are called to infuriate the enemy of good relationships. 1 John 3:7-8 the Message Bible says, "So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways."
The devil has had his way in China with more Chinese baby boys and baby girls losing their lives to abortion than the combined total population of the United States of America and Australia! The devil has had his way in America with a baby losing his or her life every 30 seconds!
Christmas 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached the following words: "Now let me say that the next thing we must be concerned about if we are to have peace on earth and good will toward men is the nonviolent affirmation of the sacredness of all human life. Every man is somebody because he is a child of God…Man is more than a tiny vagary of whirling electrons or a wisp of smoke from a limitless smoldering. Man is a child of God, made in His image, and therefore must be respected as such….And when we truly believe in the sacredness of human personality, we won't exploit people, we won't trample over people with the iron feet of oppression, we won't kill anybody."
Talk to God, godly people and write a letter about forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy and human rights abuses of Chen Guangcheng's family and friends to:
Secretary of State John Kerry
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Jesus Christ says in Matthew 5:6 Amplified Bible, "Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!"
A Rolling Stones laments "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." No one can find satisfaction outside of right standing with God. To thirst after righteousness, God has to deliver us from immersion in the immaturity of me, me, me.
True love is not isolationist neither is it perfectly social except when practiced by God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr. while he was imperfect as is every other human being was not typical in that he had the kind of passionate love that permeated every area of his life.
Light, love, life are all names for God. When God comes to live inside a person, God commands us to cooperate with His process of kicking out licentiousness and other enemies of love. Jesus Christ says in Matthew 5:16 Amplified Bible, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven."
God wants us to love willfully, wonderfully, wholly. God is not about how little His creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) can do to make many people's lives better, but how much. Jesus Christ is the Great Lover, and He is cultivating a kingdom family of great lovers.
More than 574,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending support to Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini who in January 2013 was sentenced by Iranian authorities to an eight-year prison sentence for "threatening the national security of Iran;" Pastor Abedini had been involved in setting up house churches in Iran and also an orphanage. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org. Another good reason to sign the petition and/or write a letter is that Iran will be having elections in June and to continue to pressure the US State Department, the European Union and other countries and organizations to help free Pastor Saeed Abedini.
Have you prayed, signed the petition, wrote a letter or did something else to free Pastor Abedini, who is being tortured in an Iranian prison for his Christian faith?
No matter what abilities and disabilities we have God made us, loves us and respects the life of all people. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
The devil does not like people with disabilities or any human being because we are made in the image of God, his arch enemy.
Chen Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, is a self-taught lawyer from China who helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife, Yuan Weijing, and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Since China's one-child policy was implemented in the 1970s more than 336 million babies have been killed by abortion; in America since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion 55 million babies have been killed.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US one year ago.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives, “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Reinas y reyes are called to infuriate the enemy of good relationships. 1 John 3:7-8 the Message Bible says, "So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways."
The devil has had his way in China with more Chinese baby boys and baby girls losing their lives to abortion than the combined total population of the United States of America and Australia! The devil has had his way in America with a baby losing his or her life every 30 seconds!
Christmas 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached the following words: "Now let me say that the next thing we must be concerned about if we are to have peace on earth and good will toward men is the nonviolent affirmation of the sacredness of all human life. Every man is somebody because he is a child of God…Man is more than a tiny vagary of whirling electrons or a wisp of smoke from a limitless smoldering. Man is a child of God, made in His image, and therefore must be respected as such….And when we truly believe in the sacredness of human personality, we won't exploit people, we won't trample over people with the iron feet of oppression, we won't kill anybody."
Talk to God, godly people and write a letter about forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy and human rights abuses of Chen Guangcheng's family and friends to:
Secretary of State John Kerry
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Sexuality In the Service of God
On Saturday, October 29, 1864, Abolitionist and Women's Rights Activist Sojourner Truth and US President Abraham Lincoln met. Toward the end of their meeting, Truth asked Lincoln to sign her Book of Life, which was a combination scrapbook and autograph book. Truth used her Book of Life to enclose personal letters and newspaper clippings and to collect signatures of people she admired and respected.
Truth and Lincoln were not lovers; they were friends. Everyone didn't make it into her Book of Life. Truth also met with President Andrew Johnson, but she did not ask him to sign her Book of Life.
God has the names of creyentes (believers) written in His Book of Life. Creyentes can make their own books of life like Sojourner Truth's Book of Life. Married creyentes can even turn their books of life into Chinese pillow books. Chinese pillow books are small, sex-instruction manuals, each on a specific topic with illustrations. You can include erotic poems written by you or someone else, pressed flowers, cards, mementos, clippings from magazines and/or books with your notes, prose of your own on special paper and whatever you and your spouse enjoy. Books can be titled Touch Me Like This, Play Time, Hot Dates, Beautiful Butts, Fellatio, Cunnilingus, Intercourse Positions, S & M Alternatives or something in a code known only to each other. What are the titles of your Chinese pillow books?
Sex is an integral part of a marriage relationship. Sex is good. Sex is created by God. Sometimes people abuse or fail to appreciate God's creative work. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Amplified Bible says, "But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast."
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "Pueblo dividido, pueblo vencido." ("A people divided, a people conquered.") Chinese pillow books and books of life can build relationships by helping people to appreciate and to understand each other and to seek unity. We all do not think alike and may be surprised to learn certain things about our spouses and friends.
Some people are afraid of and try to suppress open communication. Iranian authorities put Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini under house arrest in July 2012 separating him from his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, and their two children because Pastor Abedini was setting up an orphanage and Christian house churches in Iran. In September 2012 they arrested him. In January 2013 Iranian authorities sentenced him to an eight-year prison sentence for threatening Iran's national security. The US State Department, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the European Union have all called for Pastor Saeed Abedini's release, and over 574,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending him support. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Cherish the God-given ability to communicate. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
"I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real questions," says a character in the book Night by Elie Wiesel. The most important relationship to have is a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost (1 X 1 X 1 = 1). Matthew 22:36-40 English Standard Version Bible says, "“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”"
China is not treating neighbors well. "I escaped so I could tell the world about the situation in China," Chen Guangcheng said in an April 24, 2013, article by Dai Ying for Deutsch Welle.
Guangcheng is from China. He is the husband of Yuan Weijing and the father of a girl and a boy. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng, a self-taught lawyer who also helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures, lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US one year ago.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives, “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Creyentes are called to infuriate the enemy of good relationships. We are all sexual beings, but all are not using sexuality in the service of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. 1 John 3:7-8 the Message Bible says, "So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways."
Write a letter about forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy and human rights abuses of Chen Guangcheng's family and friends to:
Secretary of State John Kerry
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Truth and Lincoln were not lovers; they were friends. Everyone didn't make it into her Book of Life. Truth also met with President Andrew Johnson, but she did not ask him to sign her Book of Life.
God has the names of creyentes (believers) written in His Book of Life. Creyentes can make their own books of life like Sojourner Truth's Book of Life. Married creyentes can even turn their books of life into Chinese pillow books. Chinese pillow books are small, sex-instruction manuals, each on a specific topic with illustrations. You can include erotic poems written by you or someone else, pressed flowers, cards, mementos, clippings from magazines and/or books with your notes, prose of your own on special paper and whatever you and your spouse enjoy. Books can be titled Touch Me Like This, Play Time, Hot Dates, Beautiful Butts, Fellatio, Cunnilingus, Intercourse Positions, S & M Alternatives or something in a code known only to each other. What are the titles of your Chinese pillow books?
Sex is an integral part of a marriage relationship. Sex is good. Sex is created by God. Sometimes people abuse or fail to appreciate God's creative work. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Amplified Bible says, "But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast."
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "Pueblo dividido, pueblo vencido." ("A people divided, a people conquered.") Chinese pillow books and books of life can build relationships by helping people to appreciate and to understand each other and to seek unity. We all do not think alike and may be surprised to learn certain things about our spouses and friends.
Some people are afraid of and try to suppress open communication. Iranian authorities put Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini under house arrest in July 2012 separating him from his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, and their two children because Pastor Abedini was setting up an orphanage and Christian house churches in Iran. In September 2012 they arrested him. In January 2013 Iranian authorities sentenced him to an eight-year prison sentence for threatening Iran's national security. The US State Department, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the European Union have all called for Pastor Saeed Abedini's release, and over 574,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending him support. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Cherish the God-given ability to communicate. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
"I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real questions," says a character in the book Night by Elie Wiesel. The most important relationship to have is a relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost (1 X 1 X 1 = 1). Matthew 22:36-40 English Standard Version Bible says, "“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”"
China is not treating neighbors well. "I escaped so I could tell the world about the situation in China," Chen Guangcheng said in an April 24, 2013, article by Dai Ying for Deutsch Welle.
Guangcheng is from China. He is the husband of Yuan Weijing and the father of a girl and a boy. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng, a self-taught lawyer who also helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures, lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US one year ago.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives, “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Creyentes are called to infuriate the enemy of good relationships. We are all sexual beings, but all are not using sexuality in the service of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. 1 John 3:7-8 the Message Bible says, "So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways."
Write a letter about forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China's one-child policy and human rights abuses of Chen Guangcheng's family and friends to:
Secretary of State John Kerry
US Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Freedom-Loving Friends
Some Southerners spread rumors that Frederick Douglass was never a slave because he spoke so well. Partly in response to these rumors, Douglass wrote his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass that gave specific information about slave owners, slaves and places where his time in slavery happened. Under the Fugitive Slave Law Douglass, who left a slave state for a free one, could be returned to slavery. So Douglass left the United States and went to England.
In England he gave speeches against African-American slavery and in favor of Irish freedom, women's rights and world peace. Douglass made a lot of freedom-loving friends, but his heart was to be in America fighting primarily for the freedom of African Americans.
Proverbs 17:17 Complete Jewish Bible says, "A friend shows his friendship at all times — it is for adversity that [such] a brother is born." Douglass' English abolitionists friends purchased his freedom, so that Douglass would be safer from the Fugitive Slave Act.
We all need to welcome and live in a wide variety of relationships. Chantal Sicile-Kira categorizes relationships in her article, "The Transition To Adulthood: Planning Ahead," for the magazine, Autism File, that is applicable to all people. She describes four circles of relationships:
1) The Circle of Intimacy includes those with whom we share our secrets, dreams and values. These are our best friends and are usually family members, but can and should also include others. We know and share a lot about what is going on in each others lives, our thoughts and feelings. We feel safe enough in these relationships to support each other spiritually and emotionally. Jesus encouraged intimate relationships beyond biology. Mark 3:33-35 New Living Translation Bible says, "Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
2) The Circle of Friendship includes friends or relatives whom we see for occasional social activities, such as for a movie or to eat a meal, but who are not our closest friends. The Bible records that Epaphras and Paul shared some time in jail and time spreading the Gospel, but not with the intensity and intimacy of the relationship between Timothy and Paul.
3) The Circle of Participation includes people who we participate with in our life, such as on the job, business or ministry, our place of worship, schools, sports teams, social clubs and other organizations. This circle contains people who may eventually be in the Circle of Friendship or even the Circle of Intimacy. We can socialize with members of our church, other churches and other groups. Luke 9:49-50 New Living Translation Bible says, "John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.” But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.”"
4) The Circle of Exchange includes people who are paid to be in our lives, such as medical professionals, teachers, counselors, governmental officials, sales associates, auto mechanics, etc. These people can also be cultivated to move into the Circle of Participation, Circle of Friendship and even the Circle of Intimacy. Everyone is a potential friend/disciple. Matthew 28:18-20 the Message Bible says, "Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.""
Like Frederick Douglass had abolitionist friends who purchased his freedom, Chen Guangcheng has friends who helped him to obtain his freedom.
Chen Guangcheng is the husband of Yuan Weijing and the father of a girl and a boy. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng, a self-taught lawyer who also helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures, lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Being able to spend the rest of life with a spouse is a privilege that can be plucked away at any time whether we are a US citizen or a citizen of another country. Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives, “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Iranian authorities are infuriated by the Christian faith and works of Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini. Pastor Abedini was setting up an orphanage and Christian house churches in Iran when Iranian authorities put him under house arrest in July 2012 separating him from his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, and their two children. In September 2012 they arrested him. In January 2013 Iranian authorities sentenced him to an eight-year prison sentence for threatening Iran's national security. The US State Department, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the European Union have all called for Pastor Saeed Abedini's release, and over 573,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending him support. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org. In a February 18, 2013, letter to his wife, Pastor Abedini wrote about physical and psychological abuse inflicted on him to compel him to deny his faith in Jesus Christ. He also wrote of plans to persevere in his relationship with God and to share it with others: "There are empty containers who are thirsty for a taste of the Living Water and we can quench their thirst by giving them Jesus Christ."
In another letter to his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, Pastor Saeed Abedini wrote, "... In the Bible we are all considered brothers and sisters despite our race, color or nationality."
Even though we have many Christians in America, not everyone is treated like a brother and sister. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost welcomes all kinds of people and calls creyentes (believers) friends. Jesus Christ says in Matthew 8:11 English Standard Version Bible, "I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." He says in John 15:14 Amplified Bible, "You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do."
In England he gave speeches against African-American slavery and in favor of Irish freedom, women's rights and world peace. Douglass made a lot of freedom-loving friends, but his heart was to be in America fighting primarily for the freedom of African Americans.
Proverbs 17:17 Complete Jewish Bible says, "A friend shows his friendship at all times — it is for adversity that [such] a brother is born." Douglass' English abolitionists friends purchased his freedom, so that Douglass would be safer from the Fugitive Slave Act.
We all need to welcome and live in a wide variety of relationships. Chantal Sicile-Kira categorizes relationships in her article, "The Transition To Adulthood: Planning Ahead," for the magazine, Autism File, that is applicable to all people. She describes four circles of relationships:
1) The Circle of Intimacy includes those with whom we share our secrets, dreams and values. These are our best friends and are usually family members, but can and should also include others. We know and share a lot about what is going on in each others lives, our thoughts and feelings. We feel safe enough in these relationships to support each other spiritually and emotionally. Jesus encouraged intimate relationships beyond biology. Mark 3:33-35 New Living Translation Bible says, "Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
2) The Circle of Friendship includes friends or relatives whom we see for occasional social activities, such as for a movie or to eat a meal, but who are not our closest friends. The Bible records that Epaphras and Paul shared some time in jail and time spreading the Gospel, but not with the intensity and intimacy of the relationship between Timothy and Paul.
3) The Circle of Participation includes people who we participate with in our life, such as on the job, business or ministry, our place of worship, schools, sports teams, social clubs and other organizations. This circle contains people who may eventually be in the Circle of Friendship or even the Circle of Intimacy. We can socialize with members of our church, other churches and other groups. Luke 9:49-50 New Living Translation Bible says, "John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.” But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.”"
4) The Circle of Exchange includes people who are paid to be in our lives, such as medical professionals, teachers, counselors, governmental officials, sales associates, auto mechanics, etc. These people can also be cultivated to move into the Circle of Participation, Circle of Friendship and even the Circle of Intimacy. Everyone is a potential friend/disciple. Matthew 28:18-20 the Message Bible says, "Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.""
Like Frederick Douglass had abolitionist friends who purchased his freedom, Chen Guangcheng has friends who helped him to obtain his freedom.
Chen Guangcheng is the husband of Yuan Weijing and the father of a girl and a boy. He became internationally known for filing a 2005 law suit against a local government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy.
Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Tejas is the name the Spanish gave to the area that became the US state of Texas. The Spanish chose the name based on a Native American word for "friend."
Guangcheng, who became blind as a result of a childhood illness and now wears dark sunglasses, had friends help him to escape from house arrest in April 2012. He Peirong is a key member of a group of activists who organize support for Guangcheng in China. He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
A deal was worked out between China and the United States; now Guangcheng, a self-taught lawyer who also helped the disabled win public benefits and aided farmers fighting illegal land seizures, lives in New York with his wife, Yuan Weijing, and their two children.
On April 9, 2013, he testified before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee On Foreign Affairs about his family's and other people's persecution in China and other ongoing human rights abuses in China. Guangcheng gave Congress a list of 130,000 Chinese officials involved in forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Being able to spend the rest of life with a spouse is a privilege that can be plucked away at any time whether we are a US citizen or a citizen of another country. Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, has been in jail after using knives to fend off local officials who burst into Kegui's home after Guangcheng's escape. Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin.
"He (Chen Kegui) must be heavily injured, I'm worried about his physical state," Liu Fang said to Reuters reporter Sui-Lee Wee for her May 24, 2012, article "Brother of blind China activist flees village." Liu Fang also said about her husband and Guangcheng's nephew, "Inside, he might be subject to beatings."
Torture and other reprisals by Chinese authorities are happening to family and friends of Guangcheng since his escape from China to the US.
On April 24, 2013, Chen Kegui's mother, Ren Zongju, and Chen Kegui's uncle, Chen Guangjun, were told by Chinese authorities to answer questions about whether they “harbored a criminal” by helping Chen Kegui before his capture. Chen Guangjun is a bother of Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangfu, another brother of Chen Guangcheng, told Chris Buckley of The New York Times for his April 24, 2013, article, "Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Exiled Activist’s Relatives, “I think that this is really about Guangcheng;” “I’ve heard that he spoke at the U.S. Congress and leveled accusations against officials. In my view, that infuriated them.”
Iranian authorities are infuriated by the Christian faith and works of Pastor and U.S. Citizen Saeed Abedini. Pastor Abedini was setting up an orphanage and Christian house churches in Iran when Iranian authorities put him under house arrest in July 2012 separating him from his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, and their two children. In September 2012 they arrested him. In January 2013 Iranian authorities sentenced him to an eight-year prison sentence for threatening Iran's national security. The US State Department, US Secretary of State John Kerry and the European Union have all called for Pastor Saeed Abedini's release, and over 573,000 people worldwide from over 180 countries have signed a petition lending him support. A campaign to write letters to him for his May 7th birthday and to sign the petition is being coordinated at http://www.savesaeed.org. In a February 18, 2013, letter to his wife, Pastor Abedini wrote about physical and psychological abuse inflicted on him to compel him to deny his faith in Jesus Christ. He also wrote of plans to persevere in his relationship with God and to share it with others: "There are empty containers who are thirsty for a taste of the Living Water and we can quench their thirst by giving them Jesus Christ."
In another letter to his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, Pastor Saeed Abedini wrote, "... In the Bible we are all considered brothers and sisters despite our race, color or nationality."
Even though we have many Christians in America, not everyone is treated like a brother and sister. Please call Governor Mary Fallin at (405-521-2342) to ask her to sign into law HB 1403 The Nondiscrimination in Treatment Act of Oklahoma which protects the elderly, seriously ill and disabled by preventing medical providers from denying individuals life-saving treatment based on their quality of life.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost welcomes all kinds of people and calls creyentes (believers) friends. Jesus Christ says in Matthew 8:11 English Standard Version Bible, "I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." He says in John 15:14 Amplified Bible, "You are My friends if you keep on doing the things which I command you to do."
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