MEDITATIONS AND PRAYERS BY EDDIE ASKEW

READ: MATTHEW 6:31-34

It's easy talking lord,

about not being anxious.

Taking each day as it comes.

"No point in worrying" they say.

I'm not so sure of that,

the things I worry about don't usually happen!

I look at Joseph,

and his responsibilities.

A wife. New baby.

away from home,and pushed further

by forces he couldn't control.

Did he have the same moment of panic

that I have?

Bleak moments,

when it seems that nothing I know

will help me through the day.

And I'm running scared, tail down,

ready to jump in the nearest hole.

Sometimes, Lord,

I wish you'd tell me more.

Prepare me,

Whisper in my ear

a weather forecast of a sunnier day tomorrow.

Or warn me of the storm to come,

so I could grab a spiritual umbrella

and sty dry.

But then I realise

I know all I need to know.

And that's the fact

that you know all my needs.

And, wet or dry,

in calm or storm,

you're in it with me.

and that's enough.

Just for today.

Written by Eddie Askew

WHEN WILL I GET SOME PEACE?

That is a question aye!  Well I got my benefit reinstated because I had to appeal their decision, now its all waiting time and timing to get a good out come.  I have been in touch with my union and my bad luck I got the same REP that upset me last year, I am wondering what I have done in this life to have the luck I have?  So after making call after call because he kept saying I will phone you back in five mins which he did not, he was giving me the run around, then he promised that he was going back to the office and he would call me and then he would write a letter to my company.  Five hours later I had to call him, he gets paid for what he does not me and I have to pay fees.  People wonder why I get so stressed out.  He recons, the rep that is, he will send the letter off, I do not trust him but what choice do I have? 

So now I am hoping that the appeal with my benefit takes a good few months and with that time the union and I can get my stupid good for nothing company to lay me off.

JUST HOW MUCH MORE CAN I TAKE?

I cannot believe since last July just how much I had to go through since. Having the trauma of my company treating me badly and lack of support pushing me to I just cannot take any more stress having to give in to my stress give up my job go on sick and lose over a thousand pounds per month, then the trauma of having to go and lower myself to ask for help with my rent and council tax, having to put up with both benefit departments not doing their jobs correct being told to pay the wrong amount of money having to go back to these people over and over again and argue the point while trying to get back on my feet, not forgetting to mention the incompetence of my company having to chase them on a couple of occasions to pay me my SSP.


I feel like I am in a corner trying my hardest to get out and every time I take one step I am punched in the guts and pushed back into the corner. Is it no wonder every time I get a letter in the post from these councils I get very worried and wonder what they have done to me now?
Then I have to go to a medical that in reality is not put in place to help me but to unfairly judge me as a benefit cheat and no matter what questions I answer will seal my fate and no matter what my own doctor says about my health and that I am not a 100% and I am not strong enough or ready to go back to work. Now this is where it gets complicated, I am technically employed by PCL but I have been told by one of the directors that they have no work for me. My doctor stipulated that I can only work no more than 4 hours a day and PCL does not want to accommodate this, so when that stupid doctor at the medical sealed my fate he was condemning me to have no money and to more stress and worry. So now my money has been stopped and told you are fit for work, I say what work? If I was well enough to go back to work I cannot claim Job seeker's benefit because I am employed. So I have to fight once again, I had to get in touch with my union who back last August upset me so much and let me down when I did try to stand up to PCL that I had to let it go because it was making me more ill. I have to now get them to fight my company to lay me off, which could go to a tribunal which will just make me more stressed, and to top that I am in the middle of an appeal with my ESA benefit which also could go to a tribunal. So what I am saying is: Just how much more stress can I take?

QUOTES

"Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought."

- Henri L. Bergson

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

- Helen Keller

"Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough."

- Josh Billings

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there"

- Will Rogers

"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning."

- Mahatma Gandhi

"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."

- Christopher Columbus

"To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both."

- St Catherine of Siena

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we took so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened up for us"

- Helen Keller

"We don't see the things the way they are. We see things the way WE are."

- Talmund

"Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds."

- Norman Vincent Peale

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

- Dr Wayne Dayer

"The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem."

- Theodore Rubin

"Pessimist : A person who says that O is the last letter of ZERO, instead of the first letter in word OPPORTUNITY."

- Anonymous

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

- Thomas A Edison

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting"

- Elizabeth Bibesco

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present."

- B. Olatunji

"When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and hang on."

- Franklin D Roosevelt

"Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude."

- Zig Ziglar

"If you're going through hell, keep going."

- Winston Churchill

"The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching."

- Dennis Green

"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."

- Muhammad Ali

"Most of the important things in the world have been accompanied by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."

- Dale Carnegie

"So many of our dreams at first seems impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."

- Christopher Reeve

"Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."

- Sam Ewing

"There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there's virtually no competition."

- Steven J Ross

"Our greatest glory is never in failure, but in rising every time we fall."

- Confucious

"Many of life's failures are people who had not realized how close they were to success when they gave up."

- Thomas A Edison

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."

- Stephen Covey

"Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things."

- Peter Drucker

"Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!"

- Donald Gardner

"Success is what you attract by the person you become."

- Jim Rohn

"You have to 'Be' before you can 'Do' and 'Do' before you can 'Have'.

- Zig Ziglar

"You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people to get what they want."

- Zig Ziglar

"The test we must set for ourselves is not to march alone but to march in such a way that others wish to join us."

- Hubert Humphrey

"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus when the limo breaks down."

- Oprah Winfrey

"Formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune."

- Jim Rohn

"It isn't what the book costs. It's what it will cost you if you don't read it."

- Jim Rohn

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."

- Mahatma Gandhi

"The future has several names. For the weak, it is the impossible. For the fainthearted, it is the unknown. For the thoughtful and valiant, it is the ideal."

- Victor Hugo

"There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice."

- Po Bronson

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

- Waldo Emerson

"Use what talents you possess, the woods will be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

- Henry van Dyke

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."

- Bertrand Russell

"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it."

- Winston Churchill

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life's about creating yourself."

- George Bernard Shaw

"Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vintage point."

- Harold B Melchart

"The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach."

- Benjamin Mays

"More often in life, we end up regretting the chances in life that we had, but didn't take them, than those chances that we took and wished we hadn't."

- Anonymous

"An excuse is worse and more terrible than a lie, for an excuse is a lie guarded."

- Pope John Paul I

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom."

- Earl Shoaf

ME TO A TEE

This is so me I had to include it in my blog hehe!

Destressing time

Well I have not written a blog in a while so much going on but not good things, I feel much ‘put on’ at one point in the last couple of weeks I had to fight the housing benefit people because they were taking my whole pension in rent, then the Council Tax people where taking out of my benefit. I was left with only £17 per week to feed myself and essentials it was not right so I made a few phone calls and was insulted told that it was right but it did not feel right and it was not morally right, so after getting nowhere and was very distressed with the whole thing I decided to phone up the complaints department at my council and put my case to the man on the phone he said he would get back to me and he did a couple of hours later, yes they were wrong and if I had not pursued it they would have gotten away with it, they were underpaying me in other words taking too much money off me, the man said he looked into my whole account and now I do not owe no money and my housing benefit has gone up. They put me through all that stress for nothing. At the same time I was in the middle of a change of meds and withdrawing from the old so I was not in a good place and really did not need these people doing their jobs wrong.



It did not stop there I was called for the ESA medical last Thursday so I was quite worried and distressed over this, I had been told by many people that most people are made fit for work so I did not hold much hope that these people would listen to me. I got there and I went through so many emotions I cried, got angry, and aggressive with this doctor, they have a set amount of questions that come off a program on the computer and you have to get 15 points to pass this, as the time went on I could see that the questions were not related to my illness and it really bothered me. I have to wait for my judgement the doctor sends the results to the ESA people then they decide my fate, my money will be taken away if I fail and I will be made fit for work, wither I am fit or not. The Stress gets even worse before the medical I got in touch with my company asking them if they could lay me off or make me redundant after not getting back to me I had to phone them three times on the 3rd time I was told they could not lay me off. Now what is wrong about this?  If I am made fit I have not a job to go back too, they won’t lay me off so I will be just on the books with not job and no money, so as you can imagine I will have another lot of stress to get through I really cannot take much more of this crap!

Let down and unsupported

I feel so let down by many people I cry for support and what do I get more stress more tears more left in the pit.

I have been off sick since July last year 2010, since then I had the housing people, council tax people, and the Benefit people on my back. Mistake after mistake, and it gets me so down, it’s bad enough that the government only give you pittance to live on, but to have these people not do their job right, make mistakes and make me pay for their mistakes, making me pay money out of my little bit of savings that was just over £5000 last July, now stands at £1000. I worked hard for 35 years, looked after my parents until the days they died, had my relationships just collapse then after giving my all my body a sprit to look after others and my dad who was the last person to love my unconditionally, die and then 7 years on my own, working myself to destruction, end up being pushed over the edge with work where I just could not cope anymore, no strength left sole broken and hurting.


Still these people want their pound of flesh hounding me, forcing me to go to a medical assessment where the odds are stacked against me; that they will force me back to work.


It is no surprise that I had had enough. Is there anyone out there that is going to give me a break because I just cannot take anymore?

The Simple Woman's Daybook 21st April 2011

FOR TODAY

I just like to apologise in advance I am a bit down so this reflects in my post!!


Outside my window... the sun is shining brightly I can see a big tree in full bloom, a few clouds in the horizon, it’s kind of quite because it is Passover week and I live in a very Frum Area.


I am thinking... dreaming of decorating, watching a makeover program on TV and wishing it was my house that was having a makeover.


I am thankful for... Being nice and calm, no one wanting anything from me, ppeaceful week, and Benji’s lump was benign so he can keep his tail. I am very grateful for that. Oh and lovely new Front door and Double Glazing windows that were put in last week.


From the kitchen.. Washing up still in the sink, my oven chips and Chicken in the Oven


I am wearing... Black tee shirt and blue bottoms


I am creating... nothing at the moment wish I could make a magic wand to make myself slim.


I am going... I am sitting in my bed. Now it is morning the next day, and thinking I really need to go swimming but I am still sitting here (sigh)


I am reading... Two Books: Facing the Storm and Talking with Hedgehogs by Eddie Askew


I am hoping... To get my mind set on loosing this weigh that I have gained in the last 3 months of giving up smoking, yes its good I have given up smoking but it’s taken away my motivation I had for doing a lot of things. I am sure it’s all to do with Bipolar because I have come out of my manic phase.


I am hearing... The Birds singing outside my window, I like that, now and then some traffic going by, and Benji deciding where he going to lay.


Around the house... Quietness, that happens when you live on your own, sometimes I hear the kids next door running up and down the stairs I like the sound of kids.


One of my favourite things... I am in a negative mood today so I am having trouble thinking, if I think about it then I would have to say feeling happy would be one of my favourite things.


A few plans for the rest of the week: Its Depressing really, I will be on my own all over the Holiday Weekend, but tomorrow I will got to church and again on Sunday, but I feel quite sad that just like Christmas; I be in this house alone again. My family have better things to do then worry about me being alone it just does not enter there minds that I might be sad to be alone. (sigh)


Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

My dad, who loved me unconditionally he passed 8 years ago this month the 7th of April 2003, I miss him lots he looked after me and I looked after him, I was not alone when he was here. (sigh)

 http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
This is the link if you want to share you thoughts. 

Olivia Rose Lyons 1st Birthday Photos

That's my Great niece haha

Olivia is such a poser

OH DEAR SHE IS WAFFLING AGAIN

Life is so strange I find it so hard to keep up with, one week I was so stressed that I had an emotional breakdown in the middle of my doctor's waiting room where I just could not stop crying and I was thinking why oh why am I so unlucky?  Then the next week I have new windows and doors put in and I am hyper and happy that I have something new the thought of a warmer house in the winter brings my mood up a couple of notches I just can not keep up.

I have lived in my house since I was 1 year old back in September 1961 my family moved in here a family of 3 boys and me, my sister lived with my nan.  I have not had the best of times in this house I remember waking up with ice inside the windows, and oil heaters all around the house which did not smell the best, we were never rich and I had to have second-hand clothes, but we had food in our tummy.  Now I could go on and on with my hard luck story and get you feeling very sorry for me, but I do not need that because I have enough of that that I do myself, I have not had the best of life never got married (bad relationships one after the other) no children but lost two on the way.  Never leaving home because mum and dad held on to me for dear life helping me to believe that I could not live without them, never allowing me to grow up or mature. 

No wonder I have turned into the mess I am now, split between a child and an adult yes that is how I feel inside a child that never had or felt like a real person.  Someone who seemed to have lived their life for everyone else and now is left alone and trying to work out what is really going on in this brain of mine.

This last year I have turned to God, I just want some Peace and Rest in my life, I am tired so very tired of this roller coaster that I am on I want to get off.  Yes I do find some peace in reading God's word and some of his principles do help, but sometimes I lose my faith and have lots of doubts, but I guess that happens to most people aye?  When I am all alone in my house and I do not want all the thoughts running around in my brain, I pick up my Bible and try to find some peace.

The Simple Women's Daybook Sun 10th April

FOR TODAY



Outside my window... A lovely view, the leaves are coming out on the trees, the sun is shining, and the best thing of all is I have new windows to look out, I now have double glazing and I feel so blessed.


I am thinking... That life has so many ups and downs that my life is like a roller coaster up and down even I cannot keep up some times. Also thinking, what shall I do? Go to Church or carry on isolating myself, now that is a question?


I am thankful for... My new windows and new doors, feeling better this week, after having a horrid week last week where I broke down in the doctors waiting room in floods of tears where I was so emotionally upset I was at the end of my tither.


From the kitchen... Not a lot


I am wearing... tee shirt with velour bottoms and a fleece jacket.


I am creating... Havoc?


I am going... have no plans just yet still deciding wither to carry on isolating myself or get out there!


I am reading... Many Voices One Voice – Meditations and Prayers by Eddie Askew


I am hoping... that when I go to the vets next week that they will say that the cyst they took off Benji tail is Benine and Benji can keep is tail, other wise ~Benji tail might be amputated.


I am hearing... The BBC News on the TV, Birds singing outside.


Around the house... not a lot.


One of my favourite things... having new things like my windows, books, or anything new that will boost my mood.


A few plans for the rest of the week: Tomorrow back to the vets for Benji to have his stiches out, Wednesday back to the hospital about my finger which has bent again so all the treatment I been having as not worked once the splint came off the finger bent down again.


Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

My new door which I love, I have been in this house all my life all of 52 years and this is the best door; the one they took off had been there since the house was built back in the 20's





Link for the Simple woman’s daybook.


http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

"With all of the different religions, how can I know which one is correct?"

Question: "With all of the different religions, how can I know which one is correct?"

Answer: There is no doubt that the number of different religions in the world makes it a challenge to know which one is correct. First, let’s consider some thoughts on the overall subject and then look at how one might approach the topic in a manner that can actually get to a right conclusion about God. The challenge of different answers to a particular issue is not unique to the topic of religion. For example, you can sit 100 math students down, give them a complex problem to solve, and it is likely that many will get the answer wrong. But does this mean that a correct answer does not exist? Not at all. Those who get the answer wrong simply need to be shown their error and know the techniques necessary to arrive at the correct answer.






How do we arrive at the truth about God? We use a systematic methodology that is designed to separate truth from error by using various tests for truth, with the end result being a set of right conclusions. Can you imagine the end results a scientist would arrive at if he went into the lab and just started mixing things together with no rhyme or reason? Or if a physician just started treating a patient with random medicines in the hope of making him well? Neither the scientist nor the physician takes this approach; instead, they use systematic methods that are methodical, logical, evidential, and proven to yield the right end result.






This being the case, why think theology—the study of God—should be any different? Why believe it can be approached in a haphazard and undisciplined way and still yield right conclusions? Unfortunately, this is the approach many take, and this is one of the reasons why so many religions exist. That said, we now return to the question of how to reach truthful conclusions about God. What systematic approach should be used? First, we need to establish a framework for testing various truth claims, and then we need a roadmap to follow to reach a right conclusion. Here is a good framework to use:






1. Logical consistency—the claims of a belief system must logically cohere to each other and not contradict in any way. As an example, the end goal of Buddhism is to rid oneself of all desires. Yet, one must have a desire to rid oneself of all desires, which is a contradictory and illogical principle.






2. Empirical adequacy—is there evidence to support the belief system (whether the evidence is rational, externally evidential, etc.)? Naturally, it is only right to want proof for important claims being made so the assertions can be verified. For example, Mormons teach that Jesus lived in North America. Yet there is absolutely no proof, archaeological or otherwise, to support such a claim.






3. Existential relevancy—the belief system must conform to reality as we know it, and it must make a meaningful difference in the life of the adherent. Deism, for example, claims that God just threw the spinning world into the universe and does not interact with those who live on it. How does such a belief impact someone in a day-to-day manner? In short, it does not.






The above framework, when applied to the topic of religion, will help lead one to a right view of God and will answer the four big questions of life:






1. Origin – where did we come from?


2. Ethics – how should we live?


3. Meaning – what is the purpose for life?


4. Destiny – where is mankind heading?






But how does one go about applying this framework in the pursuit of God? A step-by-step question/answer approach is one of the best tactics to employ. Narrowing the list of possible questions down produces the following:






1. Does absolute truth exist?


2. Do reason and religion mix?


3. Does God exist?


4. Can God be known?


5. Is Jesus God?


6. Does God care about me?






First we need to know if absolute truth exists. If it does not, then we really cannot be sure of anything (spiritual or not), and we end up either an agnostic, unsure if we can really know anything, or a pluralist, accepting every position because we are not sure which, if any, is right.






Absolute truth is defined as that which matches reality, that which corresponds to its object, telling it like it is. Some say there is no such thing as absolute truth, but taking such a position becomes self-defeating. For example, the relativist says, “All truth is relative,” yet one must ask: is that statement absolutely true? If so, then absolute truth exists; if not, then why consider it? Postmodernism affirms no truth, yet it affirms at least one absolute truth: postmodernism is true. In the end, absolute truth becomes undeniable.






Further, absolute truth is naturally narrow and excludes its opposite. Two plus two equals four, with no other answer being possible. This point becomes critical as different belief systems and worldviews are compared. If one belief system has components that are proven true, then any competing belief system with contrary claims must be false. Also, we must keep in mind that absolute truth is not impacted by sincerity and desire. No matter how sincerely someone embraces a lie, it is still a lie. And no desire in the world can make something true that is false.






The answer of question one is that absolute truth exists. This being the case, agnosticism, postmodernism, relativism, and skepticism are all false positions.






This leads us to the next question of whether reason/logic can be used in matters of religion. Some say this is not possible, but—why not? The truth is, logic is vital when examining spiritual claims because it helps us understand why some claims should be excluded and others embraced. Logic is absolutely critical in dismantling pluralism (which says that all truth claims, even those that oppose each other, are equal and valid).






For example, Islam and Judaism claim that Jesus is not God, whereas Christianity claims He is. One of the core laws of logic is the law of non-contradiction, which says something cannot be both “A” and “non-A” at the same time and in the same sense. Applying this law to the claims Judaism, Islam, and Christianity means that one is right and the other two are wrong. Jesus cannot be both God and not God. Used properly, logic is a potent weapon against pluralism because it clearly demonstrates that contrary truth claims cannot both be true. This understanding topples the whole “true for you but not for me” mindset.






Logic also dispels the whole “all roads lead to the top of the mountain” analogy that pluralists use. Logic shows that each belief system has its own set of signs that point to radically different locations in the end. Logic shows that the proper illustration of a search for spiritual truth is more like a maze—one path makes it through to truth, while all others arrive at dead ends. All faiths may have some surface similarities, but they differ in major ways in their core doctrines.






The conclusion is that you can use reason and logic in matters of religion. That being the case, pluralism (the belief that all truth claims are equally true and valid) is ruled out because it is illogical and contradictory to believe that diametrically opposing truth claims can both be right.






Next comes the big question: does God exist? Atheists and naturalists (who do not accept anything beyond this physical world and universe) say “no.” While volumes have been written and debates have raged throughout history on this question, it is actually not difficult to answer. To give it proper attention, you must first ask this question: Why do we have something rather than nothing at all? In other words, how did you and everything around you get here? The argument for God can be presented very simply:






Something exists.


You do not get something from nothing.


Therefore, a necessary and eternal Being exists.






You cannot deny you exist because you have to exist in order to deny your own existence (which is self-defeating), so the first premise above is true. No one believes you can get something from nothing (i.e., that ”nothing” produced the universe), so the second premise is true. Therefore, the third premise must be true—an eternal Being responsible for everything must exist.






This is a position no thinking atheist denies; they just claim that the universe is that eternal being. However, the problem with that stance is that all scientific evidence points to the fact that the universe had a beginning (the ‘big bang’). And everything that has a beginning must have a cause; therefore, the universe had a cause and is not eternal. Because the only two sources of eternality are an eternal universe (proven to be untrue) or an eternal Creator, the only logical conclusion is that God exists. Answering the question of God’s existence in the affirmative rules out atheism as a valid belief system.






Now, this conclusion says nothing about what kind of God exists, but amazingly enough, it does do one sweeping thing—it rules out all pantheistic religions. All pantheistic worldviews say that the universe is God and is eternal. And this assertion is false. So, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and all other pantheistic religions are ruled out as valid belief systems.






Further, we learn some interesting things about this God who created the universe. He is:






• Supernatural in nature (as He exists outside of His creation)


• Incredibly powerful (to have created all that is known)


• Eternal (self-existent, as He exists outside of time and space)


• Omnipresent (He created space and is not limited by it)


• Timeless and changeless (He created time)


• Immaterial (because He transcends space)


• Personal (the impersonal can’t create personality)


• Necessary (as everything else depends on Him)


• Infinite and singular (as you cannot have two infinites)


• Diverse yet has unity (as nature exhibits diversity)


• Intelligent (supremely, to create everything)


• Purposeful (as He deliberately created everything)


• Moral (no moral law can exist without a lawgiver)


• Caring (or no moral laws would have been given)






This Being exhibits characteristics very similar to the God of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, which interestingly enough, are the only core faiths left standing after atheism and pantheism have been eliminated. Note also that one of the big questions in life (origins) is now answered: we know where we came from.






This leads to the next question: can we know God? At this point, the need for religion is replaced by something more important—the need for revelation. If mankind is to know this God well, it is up to God to reveal Himself to His creation. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all claim to have a book that is God’s revelation to man, but the question is which (if any) is actually true? Pushing aside minor differences, the two core areas of dispute are 1) the New Testament of the Bible 2) the person of Jesus Christ. Islam and Judaism both claim the New Testament of the Bible is untrue in what it claims, and both deny that Jesus is God incarnate, while Christianity affirms both to be true.






There is no faith on the planet that can match the mountains of evidence that exist for Christianity. From the voluminous number of ancient manuscripts, to the very early dating of the documents written during the lifetime of the eyewitnesses (some only 15 years after Christ’s death), to the multiplicity of the accounts (nine authors in 27 books of the New Testament), to the archaeological evidence—none of which has ever contradicted a single claim the New Testament makes—to the fact that the apostles went to their deaths claiming they had seen Jesus in action and that He had come back from the dead, Christianity sets the bar in terms of providing the proof to back up its claims. The New Testament’s historical authenticity—that it conveys a truthful account of the actual events as they occurred—is the only right conclusion to reach once all the evidence has been examined.






When it comes to Jesus, one finds a very curious thing about Him—He claimed to be God in the flesh. Jesus own words (e.g., “Before Abraham was born I AM”), His actions (e.g., forgiving sins, accepting worship), His sinless and miraculous life (which He used to prove His truth claims over opposing claims), and His resurrection all support His claims to be God. The New Testament writers affirm this fact over and over again in their writings.






Now, if Jesus is God, then what He says must be true. And if Jesus said that the Bible is inerrant and true in everything it says (which He did), this must mean that the Bible is true in what it proclaims. As we have already learned, two competing truth claims cannot both be right. So anything in the Islamic Koran or writings of Judaism that contradict the Bible cannot be true. In fact, both Islam and Judaism fail since they both say that Jesus is not God incarnate, while the evidence says otherwise. And because we can indeed know God (because He has revealed Himself in His written Word and in Christ), all forms of agnosticism are refuted. Lastly, another big question of life is answered—that of ethics—as the Bible contains clear instructions on how mankind ought to live.






This same Bible proclaims that God cares deeply for mankind and wishes all to know Him intimately. In fact, He cares so much that He became a man to show His creation exactly what He is like. There are many men who have sought to be God, but only one God who sought to be man so He could save those He deeply loves from an eternity separated from Him. This fact demonstrates the existential relevancy of Christianity and also answers that last two big questions of life—meaning and destiny. Each person has been designed by God for a purpose, and each has a destiny that awaits him—one of eternal life with God or eternal separation from Him. This deduction (and the point of God’s becoming a man in Christ) also refutes Deism, which says God is not interested in the affairs of mankind.






In the end, we see that ultimate truth about God can be found and the worldview maze successfully navigated by testing various truth claims and systematically pushing aside falsehoods so that only the truth remains. Using the tests of logical consistency, empirical adequacy, and existential relevancy, coupled with asking the right questions, yields truthful and reasonable conclusions about religion and God. Everyone should agree that the only reason to believe something is that it is true—nothing more. Sadly, true belief is a matter of the will, and no matter how much logical evidence is presented, some will still choose to deny the God who is there and miss the one true path to harmony with Him.

The Simple Womans Daybook 25th March 2011

FOR TODAY


Outside my window... I am very glad to be able to say its real nice outside my window this morning, the sun is shining, the trees have buds on them and it’s not cold but warmish the birds are singing and its great. Spring is my fav season.


I am thinking... why do people disappoint me, why is it when you think your used to be best friend more like a sister can have a toxic effect on your life? I am sad very sad about this, but hey ho that’s life I guess!!


I am thankful for... my Bible, Jusus, who at the moment is my best friend, next to Benji who loves me unconditionally, when I am down and lonely I pick up my Bible and then I do not feel so alone.


From the kitchen... Nice and clean the sun shining through the window, and nothing in plan just yet.


I am wearing... my normal sloppy clothes that I wear in doors.


I am creating... well if all goes well, and I see the right doctors, and get the right meds a whole new life with a better outlook and years to look forward too for a change. (Sorry for being so deep)


I am going... nothing planned for today; I will just take the day as it comes, enjoy the warmer weather because the weather man said it’s going to get cold again over the weekend.


I am reading... still getting through my ‘Eddie Askew’ Meditations and Prayers books, I am now on “Many Voices One Voice”

This is another full colour edition of a collection of 31 prayers and meditations that will inspire, challenge and encourage readers everywhere.

Eddie encourages his readers to listen out for God’s voice amidst the clamour of daily life. ‘Lord, help me to make a quiet place, a space where you and I can meet at peace.’
Illustrated with Eddie’s own pencil drawings.

I am hoping... just hoping to feel ok and get the right advice, doctors, treatment to help me be a better person for once in my life. (Sorry being deep again)


I am hearing... just the fan in my laptop purring, the birds singing outside.


Around the house... not a lot going on, Benji is laying on his rug half in my bedroom and half out in the hall the sun is shining on him, after waking me up he is now sleeping again that’s about right hehe.


One of my favourite things... being able to connect with the world through my computer and being able to open my heart up and tell all how I really feel and be safe.


A few plans for the rest of the week: so far just Church on Sunday, not got anything else planned.


Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

My Great Niece Olivia is growing up fast!!

HERE IS THE LINK IF YOU WANT TO JOIN US..... http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

DISAPPOINTED

I am very disappointed, people sometimes do not know what they say can hurt and affect a person and that is the way my so called friend who used to be so close to me more like a sister; left me feeling.  I am trying my best to get thru this difficult time I am going thru not just the situation but my depression or whatever it is because I never had a diagnosis for all the years that I had my melts downs. My doctor is wonderful and is trying his best to help me much more that any of the other doctors have ever done for me. I really do want to move on get the right medication and just have a better life than I am having now and what did my so called used to be best friend say?



She said to me that I really don’t think you are going to change now, and when I was talking about all my ups and downs she said “I Know I have been there" like I am some kind of freak I really did not want that kind of talk from her at all, I needed encouragement not told that I am going to feel like I feel for the rest of my life. I am so glad that I am not close to her anymore she only phoned me because she wants the spare keys that I have of hers, I now know that yes I am right, keeping my distance from her because she does not help she makes me feel worse like I am some kind of freak and I know I am not.  I am just someone one that cannot cope in a crisis and for me that can be a little thing, I really do not know why she affects me like she does but she really does.

Photo's of Olivia and Family

This might be my bike but there is no way I want to see Olivia riding one of these when she grows up!

Hey mum look at me!

Thats my dad!

Tomorrow?

Oh well, the anger has subsided feeling a bit better today, had a good talking too from my brother who puts it all in black and white, he is right in what he says I have to look at my employer’s point of view as hard as it is, I am to them a liability I take up time for them as wasted administration they don’t need. I am not working for them and not making them money so I am just getting in the way. Harsh I know, but that is it in black and white they are not going to lose any sleep about me not being able to pay my rent.



I have my paperwork from them, which came in the post yesterday morning so now I have to get my act together and go to the housing in the morning to let them know the situation. Maybe the benefit forms will arrive in the morning so I can get that done and sent on that is all I can do for now. Emotion does not come into it, none of these people the housing, or my company are not going to give me a second thought, so that’s it. Yes, it is hard for me, but I have only myself to look after myself and no matter how many anger fits I throw or how many tears I shed the situation is not going to change, no body going to wave a magic wand to make it all better for me. Yes sometimes I do wish I had a companion that takes me in their arms and gives me a great big hug and tells me it’s all going to be all right but there is no one, I know this sounds so sad, but that life take it or leave it. I am trying to think of:

Matthew 6: 34


Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.