Privilege

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” (Marcus Aurelius)

A person never runs out of reasons to live thankful. In scripture the idea of living thankful, is not a recommendation. It’s a command. It carries the same weight as “love your neighbor” and “give to the poor.” More than a hundred times, either by imperative or example, the Bible commands us to be thankful. Ingratitude is the original sin.  Adam and Eve had a many reasons to give thanks because they lived in a perfect world.

Then Satan slithered into the garden and, just like that, Eden wasn’t enough. So thank God for who and what you are grateful for. When you have an attitude of gratitude, you will appreciate life, be happy and positive, and celebrate the blessings and yourself. Live thanks all year long. Tell t and show those you are thankful for regularly how much they mean to you. In gratitude for all God has done to rescue us from our sin, He wants us to…

Love God above all else

  You are not to serve any other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3, VOICE)

Interact with God on His terms

You are not to make any idol or image of other gods. In fact, you are not to make an image of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath. You are not to bow down and serve any image, for I, the Eternal your God, am a jealous God. As for those who are not loyal to Me, their children will endure the consequences of their sins for three or four generations. But for those who love Me and keep My directives, their children will experience My loyal love for a thousand generations. (Exodus 20:4-6, VOICE)

Value God’s name

You are not to use My name for your own idle purposes, for the Eternal will punish anyone who treats His name as anything less than sacred. (Exodus 20:7, VOICE)

Enjoy God’s holy day

You and your family are to remember the Sabbath Day; set it apart, and keep it holy. You have six days to do all your work, but the seventh day is to be different; it is the Sabbath of the Eternal your God. Keep it holy by not doing any work—not you, your sons, your daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, or any outsiders living among you. For the Eternal made the heavens above, the earth below, the seas, and all the creatures in them in six days. Then, on the seventh day, He rested. That is why He blessed the Sabbath Day and made it sacred. (Exodus 20:8-11, VOICE)

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for   tomorrow. “(Melody Beattie)[i]

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[i] Inspired by the sermon “ThanksLiving: LIVE Thanks” (installment two) Sunday November 18, 2018, Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.

 

Additional sources used:

·        “Don't Just Give Thanks, Live Thanks” by Jennifer Gluckow

·        “Thank God—For Everything” by Max Lucado

 

 

The Victory

  “It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, Heaven or Hell.” (Buddha)

The New Testament (of the Bible) tells us some of the signs of demonic possession. It’s important to understand is that demonically possessed people are controlled by a demonic presence. Though the symptoms may appear to be psychological dysfunction, in actuality, the main issue is demonic possession.  Those who were possessed by demons in scripture showed certain symptoms that included the following:

A person who is under the control of a demon cannot control themselves. The evil spirit is able to speak through their lips or can make them mute as it so desires. Scripture gives examples of demon-possessed people who were mute. Jesus forced the demon to leave the man. Then the man who couldn’t talk was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.” (Matthew 9:33, ICB)
Demonic possession means that a new personality is introduced to that person. The victim becomes a different person. The Gadarene demonic men acted and spoke as one who was controlled by another personality

The two men came to Jesus and shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Did you come here to punish us before the right time?” (Matthew 8:29, ICB)

Sometimes those who are demonically possessed speak with a different voice. On one occasion, when Jesus asked the name of the demon, the demon spoke through the man and said:

Then Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?” The man answered, “My name is Legion, because I have many spirits in me.”  (Mark 5:9, ICB)

This understanding of Jesus' identity came from supernatural knowledge. For at this time, Jesus had not yet revealed Himself to His disciples, or to the world as the promised Messiah. In one incident, the demons speaking through a man, immediately recognized Jesus as the Messiah.

 While Jesus was in the synagogue, a man was there who had an evil spirit inside him. The man shouted, “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”(Mark 1:23-24, ERV)

A person who is demonically possessed acquires new abilities. For example, those possessed by demons can demonstrate superhuman strength. The Bible speaks of one demonic  manin the following way.

“Many times people had used chains to tie the man’s hands and feet. But he always broke the chains off. No one was strong enough to control him.  Day and night he would wander around the burial caves and on the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones.”  (Mark 5:4-5, ICB)

Demonic possession can lead to suicidal tendencies. The Bible says of one person who was demonically possessed. It seems that demons want to physically destroy the person they possess

“The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you can do anything for him, please have pity on us and help us.” (Mark 9:22, ICB)

In today’s world demonic possession still exists. If you believe this is something you may struggle with, notice that some or all of these traits could be evident. Please seek further assistance, if a logical explanation cannot be found for any of the symptoms below:

1.     A sudden onset of anxiety or bouts of depression (especially after hospitalization or any other trauma)

2.     Character shifts or mood swings

3.     Impulsive behavior

4.     Inner voice or voices speaking to you

5.     Low energy levels

6.     Memory problems

7.     Poor concentration

8.     Sudden onset of physical problems

9.     Weight gain with no obvious cause

 “I never thought of it as God. I didn't know what to call it. I don't believe in devils, but demons I do because everyone at one time or another has some kind of a demon, even if you call it by another name that drives them. “(Gene Wilder)[i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “9 WAYS TO TELL IF YOU’RE POSSESSED” by Marge Floori

·        “What Happens When a Person Is Demon-Possessed?” by Don Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Enforced

“Indigestion is charged by God with enforcing morality on the stomach.” (Victor Hugo)

Indigestion and heartburn can be common problems for both children and adults.  Indigestion (dyspepsia) is another name for an upset stomach. It occurs when men eat too much, too fast, or foods that don't agree with them. Sometimes heartburn connects with indigestion. Stress, not enough sleep, smoking, or drinking alcohol also can make indigestion worse.

Heartburn is a burning feeling that travels from a person's chest up to the neck and throat. It's caused by stomach acid. With heartburn, stomach acid splashes up and irritates the esophagus. The tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach is called esophageal reflux, and can leave a sour or bitter taste in a person's mouth.  Digestive problems, such as ulcers, can cause the symptoms of indigestion and heartburn.

In addition to heartburn, if you have indigestion, you'll probably have one or more of the following symptoms: pain or burning in your upper belly (usually in the middle), nausea, bloating, and burping (that you have a hard time controlling).Indigestion is certainly common. It is estimated that almost 5 million men in the United States alone suffer from frequent indigestion. There many things you can do to help prevent indigestion and improve your overall digestive health. Here are five of them:

1.   Chew your food, and eat less of it: Chewing is one of the most important parts of digestion, yet it is probably the most forgotten. Chewing not only helps break down food, it also signals the salivary glands, stomach, and the small intestine to start releasing digestive enzymes.

On a related note, try not to overeat. Your body has only so many digestive enzymes to go around. Also, a bigger meal means that your stomach must produce more acid to help digest that food, which will increase your chances of getting heartburn and indigestion.

2.   Don't overuse antacids: Acids in the stomach help the body digest food. However in some cases, these acids can "reflux" or back up into the esophagus thus causing the burning sensation of indigestion.

When this happens, men often reach for antacids — usually an over-the-counter type that works by neutralizing stomach acids. However, when overused, antacids can cause the stomach to lose its function and leaves it vulnerable to bacterial infections.

3.   Eat plenty of fiber every day: Fiber is important to keeping indigestion at a distance, but it is essential for your overall health. A lot of men's diets consist of fast foods, red meat, and meals that are high in fat certainly a recipe for indigestion. A high-fiber diet is an important part of healthy eating in addition to helping digestion; it can also help prevent diabetes, coronary heart disease, hemorrhoids, colorectal cancer, and other diseases.

On average, American men eat only 10 to 15 grams of fiber, or half of the recommended daily intake. Increasing your daily fiber intake is usually synonymous with eating healthier, considering vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and nuts contain plenty of fiber.

It doesn't even have to be painful — you can choose high-fiber cereals for breakfast, eat whole-wheat bread instead of white, and snack on air-popped popcorn instead of candy. Avoid foods that can give you gas — these include broccoli, baked beans, cabbage, cauliflower, and carbonated drinks. For some men, starches — such as wheat, oats and potatoes — can also lead to excess gas.

 If you are lactose intolerant, then lay off dairy products or take lactase enzymes to help with digestion. Remember to drink plenty of water, since it can lubricate food in the digestive tract, help dissolve minerals, vitamins and nutrients for easier absorption, and keep stool moist to prevent constipation.

4.   Exercise regularly, and avoid stress: In addition to helping you maintain a healthy lifestyle, exercise can also help with digestion. Physical activity can help reduce many digestive problems. There is a link between obesity, lack of exercise, stomach pain, diarrhea, and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Stress, on the other hand, can have a negative effect on your digestion.

This is because, in most men, the "fight or flight" response that results from stress reduces blood flow to the abdomen and the production of digestive enzymes, and slows the digestive process, which results in heartburn, bloating and constipation.

5.   Take digestive enzyme supplements: Digestive enzymes derived from plant sources can help promote good digestion and even enhance nutrient absorption. In cases where men are lacking adequate amounts of digestive enzymes due to poor diet and health, taking enzyme supplements can reduce the symptoms of indigestion and upset stomach.

Even in healthy men, taking extra enzymes can help maintain digestive health. A good digestive enzyme contains a mix of amylase, lipase, cellulase (for digesting plant fibers), and protease. This variety of enzymes is key to achieving good digestion of many foods.

“Water is the medicine for indigestion; it is invigorating when the food that is eaten is well digested; it is like nectar when drunk in the middle of a dinner; and it is like poison when taken at the end of a meal.” (Chanakya) [i]

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[i] Sources used:

 

·  “5 Tips to Help Prevent Indigestion” by Alex Santoso (AskMen)

·         “Indigestion “Reviewed by: J. Fernando del Rosario

 

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Representative

“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.” (Benjamin Franklin)

Have you ever cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner without using your oven? The methods below are some popular alternatives to cooking a turkey in an oven just in case you want to try something different this Thanksgiving (or your oven breaks down) .However you decide to cook your turkey, remember these basic turkey cooking guidelines for best results:  

·     Check the internal temperature of the turkey with a meat thermometer for safety. Test the temperature in the inner thigh, not touching the bone. The turkey is done when the thermometer reads 170 degrees F for an unstuffed turkey or 180 degrees F for a stuffed turkey.

·        When the turkey is finished cooking, cover it with foil and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

·        Refrigerate turkey leftovers as soon as possible.

 Deep Fried Turkey: If you do decide to deep fry a turkey, be sure you follow the recommended safety precautions. These include:  

·        Set up your turkey cooker outside, on a flat surface away from your house and car, and not on a wood deck or in your garage.

·     Ensure your turkey is completely thawed and dried off before cooking to avoid the oil boiling over and burning you or starting a fire.

Deep-frying a turkey isn't as hard as it sounds (though it does require caution). You can use different kinds of equipment: a stockpot, an electric fryer, a pot-and-propane setup (you can buy these at hardware stores or online at sites like Cajun-outdoor-cooking.com).

Barbecued Turkey: Turkeys can be cooked on the barbecue either using a rotisserie or placed in a roasting pan on the grill. If using a rotisserie, it's recommended that your turkey be less than 12 pounds. Your turkey should be completely thawed before cooking it in a barbecue. It's best to cook it without any stuffing inside to ensure it’s cooked properly throughout. This is the method that results in a turkey the most similar to a turkey roasted in an oven.

Turkey Weight	Estimated BBQ Time
6-8 lbs	1 - 1 3/4 hours
8-10 lbs	1 1/4 - 2 hours
10-12 lbs	1 1/2 - 2 1/4 hours
12-16 lbs	2 - 2 3/4 hours
16-22 lbs	2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours

Slow Cooker Turkey: A whole chicken cooked in a Crockpot  turns out very moist and juicy. It doesn't get the nicely browned crisp skin in a Crockpot, Be sure to keep this in mind to avoid disappointment. If you had a very large slow cooker and a small turkey, then you could cook it whole just like you would cook a chicken. In most cases, you would have to chop up the turkey into parts before cooking it in a slow cooker, or cook one of those large turkey breast roasts instead. As we've mentioned, some folks don't like how naturally dry turkey meat is

Smoked Turkey: If you have a grill with a lid and a bag of hickory chips you can smoke a turkey. The recipe for this Slow-Smoked Turkey with Cane Syrup–Coffee Glaze starts by braising the bird first in a mix of coffee, apple cider vinegar and cane syrup or brown sugar. The resulting flavors are marvelously complex—sweet, bitter and herbaceous

Braised Turkey: Braised turkey doesn't mesh well with Thanksgiving tradition, which states that the bird must be a stuffed, golden centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table. But some cooks argue that hacking apart the main dish and braising it does the most to ensure moisture is retained in the meat—a crucial quality that so many recipes fail to address, given the natural dryness of turkey.

Turkey Propped on a Beer Can: You have to see this one to believe it. It involves steam-infusing your bird with beer (and, optionally, herbs) by shoving a partially full 24 or 32-ounce can into the cavity and using it as a stand. It's brilliant and any way to combine beer and food is a worthy endeavor. The turkey is cooked on a large grill using indirect heat, with the beer-can stand ensuring mostly uniform cooking. The evaporating beer keeps the interior moist, and the herbs add flavor. In a sense, this method is like the perfect combination of grilling and smoking: You're using an indirect heat source, but at much higher temperatures than a smoker (usually around 350ºF).

 

 “Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.” (Erma Bombeck)[i]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2018 FROM ROBERT AND BOBBI KINKER

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[i] Sources used:

·     “5 Ways to Cook a Turkey without an Oven” by Kathy Sima

·      “5 Ways to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey without an Oven” by Food & Wine

·     “10 alternative ways to cook a Thanksgiving turkey” by Reviewed

 

 

 

Hope

“To just meet people that have Crohn's or colitis and to hear their stories gives me a lot of hope and a lot of courage.” (Mike McCready)

Dear Crohn’s Disease,

You’ve been a part of me for so long that it’s difficult for me to remember my life before you. You’ve challenged me, shaken me to the core, tested me, and taught me. You’ve pushed me to my limits, but grounded me at the same time. You’ve caused me to think about health in a whole different light. The stigma of living with you and the lack of education out there about what you are is still a surprise to me. You are so much more than a “bathroom” disease or a bad stomach ache. You demand constant attention and don’t care who has plans because you do things on your own timetable.

You perplex me because just when I think I’m in a good place, and have figured you out. You love to play hard to get, and rarely take my feelings into consideration. You test my patience, and have created a constant inner dialogue in my head since the moment the doctor opened up his mouth and uttered the words, “You have Crohn’s Disease.” 

I will give you credit that you’ve responded well to medication, and have allowed me to keep my drug regimen in check the last nine years. I’m thankful you’ve enabled me to stay on Humira, and that I have yet to build an antibody to the drug even though I went off of it for three months while healing from my bowel resection surgery. You obviously love when I’m pregnant. You tempt me to want a huge family even though you’ve stricken me with several scary hospital stays, surgery, and tests. You stayed silent on my wedding day, and enabled me to become a mom without causing one complication. I am eternally grateful for that.

You’ve empowered me and brought clarity to my life about what’s important, and how far a compassionate heart can go. While most of the time I think of you as my greatest enemy. At times you’re also my greatest ally. You show me people’s true character, and who is a true friend. You shed light on which I can lean on when I’m too weak to stand on my own. You helped me navigate relationships and realize that my husband, Bobby, was the best person and caretaker a woman could ask for. When you decided to strike, I was a frail 21-year-old girl, fresh out of college, wondering how I was ever going to live a normal life and work full-time. In the last dozen years, you’ve been with me every step of the way, and witnessed firsthand how I’ve overcome each setback, each flare-up, all the scares and all the daily worries. I hope you’re scared of me now because I deserve many more years as both a wife and mother.

Natalie

 “Crohn's doesn't define who you are. You are a human being; you are special and a great addition to society. Crohn's is just a part of your life. Try to be positive and proactive - therein lies the     solution. “(Mike McCready)[i]

 

Natalie Hayden and family

 

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[i] Sources used:

·        “12 Years Later: A Letter to My Crohn's Disease” by Natalie Hayden

·        “An Interview With My Husband on What It's Like Caring for a Wife With Crohn's”  by Natalie Hayden

 

 

A Conversation

“Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well. “(Mark Haddon)

If you spend more time in the car driving to and from work than you have time to read, you are a good candidate for audiobooks. As the name suggests, audiobooks are voice recordings of the text of a book that you listen to rather than read. Audiobooks can be exact word-for-word versions of books or abridged versions. You can listen to audiobooks on a portable music player, cell phone, computer, tablet, home speaker system, or in cars that support streaming audio.

Spoken word recordings first became possible with the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877. Phonographic books were one of the original applications envisioned by Edison to speak to blind people without effort on their part. Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the age of videocassettes, DVDs, compact discs, and downloadable audio often of poetry and plays rather than books. It was not until the 1980s that the medium began to attract book retailers, and then book retailers started displaying audiobooks on bookshelves rather than in separate displays.  Here are myths and facts on the wonderful medium of audiobooks:

1.     MYTH: I’ll miss out on something if I don’t read the print.

FACT: Listening to an audiobook doesn’t have to be a shortcut. Think of it as watching the whole production on Broadway versus reading the play for your high school English class. Audiobook narrators often breathe new life into books with their amazing nuanced interpretations, which excels if it’s read by the author and the author’s good at reading out loud.

I confess I never really got the big deal about Harry Potter when I read the series in print, but then I listened to the brilliant Jim Dale who finally brought J.K. Rowling’s universe alive for me through his characterizations and inflections. The audiobook brought it to a whole new level.

2.     MYTH: Audiobooks narrators have annoying voices.

FACT: Remember that Seinfeld episode from the nineties when George freaks out because his book on tape sounds exactly like himself? The production value of audiobooks has gotten much better. These days, celebrity actors, comedians, and even the authors themselves narrate books (and some readers have even become famous just for doing audiobooks).

If you haven’t listened to an audiobook narrated by David Sedaris, Tina Fey, Patti Smith, James Earl Jones, or Matt Damon yet, you’re so totally missing out. The rare reader’s voice might occasionally drive you crazy. Don’t let that stop you from a whole wide world of wonderful.

3.     MYTH: Audiobooks are for people who don’t really like to read.

FACT: You know the type: that soccer mom who joined a book club just for the box wine and grabbed a last-minute Sue Grafton audiobook for the family road trip to Yosemite. I once stereotyped every single audiobook listener this way. Then I met Kelly. Kelly and I worked together at my very first library job, and I used to think she was a witch because she finished books so fast.

She blazed her way through the American Library Association’s entire list of banned books in mere weeks. Then I realized Kelly wasn’t supernatural; she was always listening to an audiobook — in her car while shelving new nonfiction at the library. Chances are if you know someone who reads more than you thought humanly possible, they are at least supplementing with audiobooks.

4.     MYTH: I have no reason to listen to audiobooks when I can just read the print.

FACT: My absolute number one reason for loving audiobooks is that they let me keep right on reading whether I’m walking, running, driving, knitting, cooking, canoeing, or folding origami peacocks. With audiobooks, any activity that requires the use of your eyes and hands, but not your ears is now potential reading time. Audiobooks let you maximize your reading time and read all things.

5.     MYTH: Audiobooks are less intimate than print.

FACT: This is both true and not true. I don’t read audiobooks curled up in bed or by the ocean or over a steaming cup of coffee on Sunday mornings. For me, these reflective moments call for a quieter kind of reading with a tangible bookish object. But one of my favorite kinds of audiobooks are memoirs, and the intimacy of listening to an author read her life story to me while it’s just she and I alone together in my car.

6.     MYTH: It’s too hard to follow what’s happening in an audiobook.

FACT: I was a little disoriented when I first started listening to audiobooks. You almost have to train your ear how to listen to the narrative, and it can be frustrating not to be able to jump back and reread things you didn’t quite catch the first time.

If you can follow a radio show or a podcast, you can follow an audiobook. It might just take a tiny bit of practice. Some types of books are also just easier to listen to than others so experiment a little. A lot of people say they really like listening to a nonfiction narrative on audio.

7.     MYTH: Audiobooks are too expensive.

FACT: Any public library is going to have an enormous audiobook collection of current sought-after titles. If they don’t have the exact title you want, they’ll borrow it from another library for you. They’ll carry audiobooks in multiple formats, including audio cds, mp3 cds, and downloadable mp3s through apps like Overdrive and One Click Digital.

 “I’ve never listened to an audiobook before, and I have to say it’s a totally different experience. When you read a book, the story definitely takes place in your head. When you listen, it seems to happen in a little cloud all around it, like a fuzzy knit cap pulled down over your eyes” (Robin Sloan)[i]

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[i] Sources used:

·        “Audiobook” from Wikipedia

·        “Listening to Books is Cheating” and 7 More Myths About Audiobooks” by Rachel Smalter Hall

·        “What Are Audiobooks?” By Lifewire