Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, Falling Water

If you want guarantees in life, then you don’t want life. You want rehearsals for a script that’s already been written. Life by its nature cannot have guarantees, or its whole purpose is thwarted. ~Conversations with God

Today I am grateful…

• that experience tells me that if I take the step in front of me I probably won’t trip today. If I do then I can just get right back up and take the next one.
• that today I do not have to play off someone’s pain or loss to gain self adulation
• that yesterday afternoon I and a friend totally escaped by seeing September Issue
• that Sesame Street celebrates 40 years. It was not a part of my childhood, but it has delighted million of children and taught some seeking the freedoms we have to learn a new language
• that often I feel intense gratitude, like a friend standing at my back with its arms around my chest

What is not love is fear. Anger is one of fear's most potent faces.
And it does exactly what fear wants it to do. It keeps us from
receiving love at exactly the moment when we need it most.

~Marianne Williamson

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. ~Hans Christian Anderson

The Royal College of Nursing in England issued a report suggesting that alcohol use will cause over 90,000 avoidable deaths in the next decade.

The Royal College of Nursing wants better regulation of the alcohol industry to lessen the dangers and health care costs associated with heavy drinking.

“For 90,000 lives to be thrown away as a result of excessive drinkRead More...]]> http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170104.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170104.php http://texandave.blogspot.com/2009/11/knowing-difference.html http://texandave.blogspot.com/2009/11/knowing-difference.html

Today I am grateful…

• for bullet points
• for Live Writer which I am posting through. Thanks Piglet! This is going to change how I blog!
• that this is a test post
• for double gratitude lists (see below)
• that the weather is GLORIOUS!

We of A.A. obey spiritual principles, at first because we must, then because we ought to, and ultimately because we love the kind of life such obedience brings. Great suffering and great love are A.A.'s disciplinarians; we need no others. -12 and 12, p. 174

• that I do not have to apologize to anyone for my sobriety
• that I can live in a flow of gratitude
• that I have been given the grace to want to write a gratitude list daily
• that every day I concentrate on turning things over and letting them go in an attempt to express my gratitude to my Higher Power. I strive for trust.
• that I forget that you may have the same feelings as I, that you may be hurting or you may have the same feelings of fear
• for prayers for those who no longer come to meetings at Lambda. There are newcomers that will not know their experience, strength and hope.
• that today I will try hard not to whine

The future is always beginning now. ~Mark Strand, Reasons for Moving

Your genetic content may predispose you to drink more but may not increase your genetic risk for alcoholism. New research pinpoints genetic pathways and genes associated with levels of alcohol consumption but not with alcohol dependence in rats and humans.

Researchers at the University of Colorado used rats to identify the genetic pathways affecting alcohol drinking behavior. They found that the rats’ drRead More...]]> http://www.treatment-centers.net/blog/thursday-11-5-09-blog-othe-day.html http://www.treatment-centers.net/blog/thursday-11-5-09-blog-othe-day.html

The future is always beginning now. ~Mark Strand, Reasons for Moving

Your genetic content may predispose you to drink more but may not increase your genetic risk for alcoholism. New research pinpoints genetic pathways and genes associated with levels of alcohol consumption but not with alcohol dependence in rats and humans.

Researchers at the University of Colorado used rats to identify the genetic pathways affecting alcohol drinking behavior. They found that the rats’ drRead More...]]> http://texandave.blogspot.com/2009/11/onward.html http://texandave.blogspot.com/2009/11/onward.html

Unless I accept my faults I will most certainly doubt my virtues. ~Hugh Prather

Alcohol consumption has long been linked to cancer and its spread, but the underlying mechanism has never been clear. Now, researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago have identified a cellular pathway that may explain the link.

The researchers found that alcohol stimulates what is called the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, in which ordinary cancer cells morph into a more aggressiRead More...]]> http://www.dawnfarm.org/2009/11/almost-impossible-to-ignore.html http://www.dawnfarm.org/2009/11/almost-impossible-to-ignore.html An interesting explanation of dopamine's function--distinguishing drive and motivation from pleasure and reward:

In the emerging view, discussed in part at the Society for Neuroscience meeting last week in Chicago, dopamine is less about pleasure and reward than about drive and motivation, about figuring out what you have to do to survive and then doing it. “When you can’t breathe, and you’re gasping for air, would you call that pleasurable?” said Nora D. Volkow, a dopamine researcher and director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Or when you’re so hungry that you eat something disgusting, is that pleasurable?”

In both responses, Dr. Volkow said, the gasping for oxygen and the wolfing down of something you would ordinarily spurn, the dopamine pathways of the brain are at full throttle. “The whole brain is of one mindset,” she said. “The intense drive to get you out of a state of deprivation and keep you alive.”

Dopamine is also part of the brain’s salience filter, its get-a-load-of-this device. “You can’t pay attention to everything, but you want to be adept as an organism at recognizing things that are novel,” Dr. Volkow said. “You might not notice a fly in the room, but if that fly was fluorescent, your dopamine cells would fire.”

In addition, our dopamine-driven salience detector will focus on familiar objects that we have imbued with high value, both positive and negative: objects we want and objects we fear. If we love chocolate, our dopamine neurons will most likely start to fire at the sight of a pert little chocolate bean lying on the counter. But if we fear cockroaches, those same neurons may fire even harder when we notice that the “bean” has six legs. The pleasurable taste of chocolate per se, however, or the anxiety of cockroach phobia, may well be the handiwork of other signaling molecules, like opiates or stress hormones. Dopamine simply makes a relevant object almost impossible to ignore.

Remove Aspergers as a Diagnosis?

Encouraging findings for people trying to quit smoking:

Smokers are more than twice as likely to quit if they use the nicotine patch along with nicotine lozenges—compared to lozenges or patches alone, buproprion (Xyban), buproprion plus the lozenges or placebo.  The trial was the largest study ever to compare these approaches head to head, and included 1,504 smokers.

All of the treatment groups did better than placebo—but the effect was strongest for the patch/lozenge combination, 40% of whom successfully kicked the habit.  Smokers using this combo were not only more likely to quit, but also less likely to have a “slip” prompt a return to regular smoking.

The study adds support to a growing body of research that suggests that offering addicts access to drugs similar to their drug of choice—or even that drug itself—can actually help them quit or at least dramatically reduce the harm associated with their addiction.

• Baby Boomers and retirees are plunging into the medical marijuana business
• A short history of Gemini Dream

holy cow, it’s happening to you too.

H1N1, Vaccines, and Mercury

November 2: World Pneumonia Day

COPD Awareness Month: November

November Is Diabetes Month

(The Tina Barry Story)

The young social worker opened the door of the abandoned building and could not believe what she saw. Trash was all over the floor, including rotten chicken bones and other rotten foods, and in the midst of this disgusting mess were four little girls. These girls were sleeping on old mattresses that were thrown on the floor and a baby bed with a mattress that was oozing its stuffing’s and covered in baby excrement.

These four little girls ranged in age nine months to six years old. The social worker noticed the youngest was naked, covered in scum and near death from starvation. She quickly picked up the nine-month-old and wrapped her in an old skirt that was lying nearby.

Russell and Vera Roark had three children of their own. Their youngest was born ten years after the first two. She was the only one living at home, and she was lonely. The Roark’s decided to adopt in hopes of giving their daughter a companion.

After their application was accepted, a 22-month-old little girl was brought to their home. Russell sat her on his lap and removed the shoes from her feet. (Shoes, which were much too small). She was much younger than what they were hoping for, but they quickly fell in love with her. I was that little child.

The agency was in a hurry to find me a home. They were fearful that my lack of stimulation and time in a home for retarded children would cause me to be developmentally delayed. My doctors were convinced that I would not be as normal as other children. I would take one step forward and stumble back three, it seemed.

Vera would cut my food into small bites. If she didn’t, I would shove a large piece in my mouth. I never had anything but a baby bottle and baby food up to this point.

Whenever I would see a mentally handicapped child, I would begin to scream hysterically and hide behind Vera. Vera would wake up in the night and find me banging my doll’s head on the wall of my room.

Eventually everyone’s fears were put to rest. Surrounded by love and prayers, I slowly began to improve. I was very much a normal child. In fact, I entered the first grade when I was age five. By the time I was in high school, I was running on a track team and on the school honor roll. May God be glorified for
showering His grace on me.

Vera was very active in her local church. From the time I arrived at the Roark’s, I began attending church with her. I accepted Jesus as my Savior at age eight. This was just one month after the Roark’s officially adopted me.

Did life’s challenges stop after that? Hardly! During the time I was growing up, fostered and adopted children were like outcasts. Most of my schoolmates did not accept me. They made fun of me, calling me names. They tormented me when the teacher would leave the room. I was stolen from, beat up, and even spat on. It was not until my senior year in high school that I gained some acceptance.

The Roark’s were close to Vera’s sister and brother-in-law. They spent much time together on weekends and vacations. I would spend two weeks every summer in their home. Unknown to the Roark’s, Vera’s brother-in-law was a child molester. Every time he was alone with me, he would molest me. This went on from the time I was six or seven until I was fourteen, and was then able to fight him off.

The last time I was in their home, I became ill with toxic shock syndrome and almost died. This scared my aunt so badly that I was no longer invited to stay in their home. Praise God!

On my 18th birthday, Russell sat me on his lap, once again … as he did my first day in his home. He told me of my three birth siblings, and that he would do whatever he could to help me find them. Less than three weeks later, Russell died of a heart attack.

Almost exactly one year after Russell’s death, I married John. We had met four years earlier on a church hayride. Like myself, John was active in church. We had been close friends for three years before we knew that we were to spend our lives together.

John and I moved to a small town in Mid-Missouri, and soon our family began to grow. Before long, we had two sons. I had tried, unsuccessfully, to find my birth siblings when I was first married. Now, five years later, my young sons triggered my desire to search again.

It was Thanksgiving weekend, 1990, when John and I went to the St. Louis Library to do research. On our way there, I prayed, “Father, let me find them so I can tell them about You.”

Our research proved once again to be unsuccessful. In my first search however, I unknowingly made a valuable contact. The very week after Thanksgiving, I received a phone call from this contact. I was told that my older birth sister was trying to contact me!

On December 1, 1990, Doris and I met for the first time. We spent the day looking at photos and sharing our lives. I found out that she did not just have three siblings, but there were fourteen, including myself. God has a way of proving Himself faithful.

Over the next few months and years, all but two of the siblings and relatives were united. In so doing, I ended up finding out about the dark side of my family's past. It is a sad story, but mostly with good outcomes for my brothers and sisters, compared to how difficult it most likely would have been for us had we remained in the same environment we started out in life with.

Here is what I learned about my mother, Rebecca. At age 25, she found herself in a local mental health facility. From the beginning, she had emotional outbursts of anger and was unstable emotionally. She had just experienced major rejection from a man whom she had intended to marry. This had pushed her over the edge.

The physicians diagnosed her with schizophrenia, and she was treated with insulin shock therapy and electroshock therapy. During her treatments, she claimed that she was pregnant. The physicians didn’t believe her. They believed it was just one of her delusions.

She was released in July of 1955. In August, she gave birth to a baby girl. This baby girl was placed for adoption.

Prior to her illness, Rebecca had been a teacher with a Bachelor’s degree. After her release, she returned to her teaching position, which did not last long. Soon she became ill again and had to return for more treatments. She was then given a double lobotomy

During her second set of treatments, she met Marvin. Marvin tested out with an IQ of 52 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He and Rebecca made plans to marry after their release.

Just as they had planned, Marvin and Rebecca married soon after their release from the mental health facility. Shortly thereafter she became pregnant again. She gave birth to a daughter, and thirteen months later she, gave birth to a second daughter.

She returned to her teaching position, and Marvin went to work doing odd jobs for cash. While they were at work, my sisters were left alone in a playpen with a loaf of bread and a baby bottle. Relatives eventually found out and began taking care of them. This lasted for five years and then they were released for adoption.

In 1963, Rebecca became pregnant again. This time a baby boy was born. Rebecca and Marvin were not getting along well, so she took her infant son and went with a male friend to Little Rock, Arkansas. It was there that she sold my brother for $1,000. Rebecca went back to Marvin, and they had another girl thirteen months later. I was that baby girl. Marvin was still angry concerning his son, so they took me to Little Rock and attempted, unsuccessfully, to trade me for my brother.

At this point there was no reconciling their marriage. Marvin and Rebecca divorced. Marvin remarried. Soon he and his second wife, Iris, had a son. He was immediately placed for adoption.

Rebecca soon married again. She kept me with her, and Harvey, her second husband, had three out of four of his daughters with him. We lived in an abandoned building in St. Louis. This is where my stepsisters and I were found.

Rebecca and Harvey eventually had four children of their own. The younger boy and girl were taken to a local hospital for treatment and left. They were quickly placed for adoption. The older boy and girl lived with them until they were five and six years old. They endured much abuse and were removed from the home when Rebecca was seen chasing my brother from the home with a butcher knife and stabbing him in the back.

This information was very hard for Rebecca's children to accept. Some were able to handle it better than others. It was difficult for me, but I was able to go on and recognize the miraculous work of God in my life.

God gave me an opportunity to share the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins with my siblings. They were raised in homes where they heard this gospel message, but only one other than myself was living for Jesus. They were not receptive to hearing of the Lord at that time, and so all I could do was continue to pray for them.

Our family continued to grow with the birth of a daughter. No more children were born after this, but our family continued to grow in the Lord. I was set free from the pain and hurt of the abuses I suffered in my younger life, and by the wonderful grace of God, I have been able to use those past trials and tribulations to help others. I believe God desires that for all of us – become healed emotionally from past hurts, and then allow God to use those painful trials of our past to give others hope, rather than allowing them to hold us in the dark prison they can hold a person in all the way to their grave.

Our children have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and we now have a ministry of sharing music and the word of God. We have been blessed to see the lost come to know the Lord, and we have seen lives changed and people healed. God is still proving Himself faithful.

As of this writing, I recently received a phone call from one of my brothers, telling me of his family’s salvation and a desire to serve the Lord! Praise God!

I am living proof of the love of God and His faithfulness. No matter what your life experience … He can change it. He can heal you and set you free! He can take your mess, and turn it into one glorious message to reach out and touch others. The very purpose of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is to see people saved, healed, and delivered from the snare of Satan.

In the Bible, in the Book of Revelation, starting in Chapter 2, then ending with Chapter 3, God is addressing His Church. In reading what God has to say to us, we find one common theme:

“To him who overcomes, and keeps my works until the very end, I will …”

Before a person gives their life fully to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is one’s nature to believe that God is most likely not a very compassionate and loving God, especially if a person has one hardship thrown at them after another.

After a person becomes spiritually born again and taps into the power of the Holy Spirit, having their eyes opened to Biblical Truth, they begin to realize that obstacles in one’s life are really mountains to be conquered and/or removed, and it is these obstacles God has allowed to be placed in our life - for us to overcome them, rather than being overcome by them - thereby allowing Him to form Godly character in us that will pay huge dividends through all eternity.

Romans 8:28-29 assures us of this, as does II Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, (in light of eternity; interjection mine), is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

In Christ, we truly can be overcomers. Will it always be easy? No. Yet it light of eternity, will it be worth it? Absolutely! God promises that if we don’t give place to bitterness and anger and resentment regarding the trials that life hands us, but rather, dig in with the strength of Christ to see us through (See: Philippians 4:13) … our persevering through those trials, no matter the outcome, will produce for us “an eternal weight of glory.”

How can we possibly lose by being overcomers in Christ? We cannot. By: Rev. Tina Barry

Faithful Father

Editorial Note: On April 24, 2006, Tina encountered a rather unexpected mountain. She was thrown from a horse and death should have been imminent. Yet she survived. Tina was taped on the helpline TV program with Dr. Morris Cerullo.

Perhaps there is a better way - we think so. For we are now on a different basis; the basis of trusting and relying upon God. We trust infinite God rather than our finite selves. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity.

When we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. It we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care. These were the new attitudes that finally brought many of us an inner strength and peace that could not be deeply shaken by the shortcomings of others or by any calamity not of our own making. (Page 116, Twelve and Twelve)

Simple clean living just like that

Watching the kids while the wife is at a funeral in NY.