Worries for parents in America Today

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid reports of a growing youth mental health crisis, four-in-ten U.S. parents with children younger than 18 say they are extremely or very worried that their children might struggle with anxiety or depression at some point. In fact, mental health concerns top the list of parental worries, followed by 35% who are similarly concerned about their children being bullied, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. These items trump parents’ concerns about certain physical threats to their children, the dangers of drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy and getting in trouble with the police.

Parenting a child of any age is tough—”the toughest job you’ll ever love,” to quote a line from the Peace Corps — but parenting a teenager can be challenging on a whole other level. It’s as if the day your first child turns 13, you get a force-fed dose of Morpheus’ “red pill,” causing you to fall down the rabbit hole of The Matrix and into a disorienting reality where every aspect of your psychological existence is not as it seems.

When asked about their aspirations for their children when they reach adulthood, parents prioritize financial independence and career satisfaction. Roughly nine-in-ten parents say it’s extremely or very important to them that their children be financially independent when they are adults, and the same share say it’s equally important that their children have jobs or careers they enjoy. About four-in-ten (41%) say it’s extremely or very important to them that their children earn a college degree, while smaller shares place a lot of importance on their children eventually becoming parents (20%) and getting married (21%).

There are sharp differences by race and ethnicity when it comes to the importance parents place on their children graduating from college: 70% of Asian parents say this is extremely or very important to them, compared with 57% of Hispanic parents, 51% of Black parents, and just 29% of White parents.

In a nod to the adage about family life that parenting is the hardest job in the world, most parents (62%) say being a parent has been at least somewhat harder than they expected, with about a quarter (26%) saying it’s been a lot harder. This is especially true of mothers, 30% of whom say being a parent has been a lot harder than they expected (compared with 20% of fathers).

At the same time, most parents give themselves high marks for the job they’re doing, with 64% saying they do an excellent or very good job as a parent; 32% say they do a good job, while just 4% say they do an only fair or poor job as a parent. Mothers and fathers give themselves similarly high ratings, but there are differences by income and by race and ethnicity (upper-income and Black and White parents are the most likely to say they do an excellent or very good job).

 

Come to read more:

Parenting in America Today

What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Teenager

The reason your constant cough will not budge

The Covid pandemic has made us armchair experts on our own health, but we risk becoming a nation of hypochondriacs.

In pre-pandemic times, you’d never have called the office and said:

“Sorry, I’ve got a bad case of human rhinovirus A.”

A cold was a cold, and you’d probably have gone into work coughing and spluttering. Now we have swung to the other extreme: not only would a tickle in the throat make us think twice about leaving the house, but we’re armchair experts on precisely what variant of the coronavirus we think has infected us.

Psychologists agree that many of us have become more focused on our own health and are worrying over the meaning of each cough or sniffle in case it turns out to be something with a scary scientific name.

“We are sensitised to these symptoms and it causes us a shock of the stress hormone cortisol,”

says clinical psychologist Linda Blair.

“We’re overreacting and many people will then catastrophise.”

This January weekly data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), has found high rates of flu and other respiratory viruses.

Prof Hawthorne said:

“It’s not clear why some of the current respiratory infections going around do seem to be lasting longer than usual – this has been noticed by doctors as well as patients, but we are not entirely sure why this is happening.

If you have had a constant cough this winter that you cannot budge, you are not alone. A royal college has warned that coughs that will not go away may actually be one infection following another after social distancing weakened the nation’s immunity. Prof Kamila Hawthorne, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said doctors have observed that respiratory infections seems to be lasting longer than usual. Coughs that won’t go away may be one infection after another, after social distancing weakened the nation’s immunity, a royal college has warned.

 

Health editor Laura Donnelly explains when coughs should be investigated.

What 2022 brought to us and looking forward to 2023

Liberation

Lots of people thought 2022 would be the year of liberating us from that terrible virus which got the world in its grip. Though not a liberation became several people on their part, an even more senseless killing ‘disease’ came unto Europe.

The leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who would love to find a renewed Soviet Union, said at the beginning of the year he would bring liberation to the Ukrainians. Instead, his “bloodstained” tyranny plunged Europe into the war on a scale not seen since 1945 as Russian troops advanced on Kyiv on Thursday night, February 24th.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is shocking and disgraceful. It is the latest terrible aggression by the Putin regime and the latest damaging conflict in our world, with so many people being killed or injured, losing loved ones and seeing their homes destroyed.

2022 has been a tough year to navigate, with a series of political and economic crises that continue to shape our world.

One powerful man

Who could have ever imagined that one man, from up north, would single-handedly turn the world upside down? However, he has succeeded very well in not only bringing black snow over several people, and literally turning the landscape blood-red, he has severely disrupted economic life in several countries.

Following two long pandemic years – with many still experiencing the effects – we’ve witnessed the outbreak of war in Ukraine and could feel in our purse how it affects us also in our region. We cannot ignore this war that has affected many citizens. At our new WordPress Site “Some View on the World” we have given a voice to those suffering in the conflict as well as reporting the situation on the ground and providing the expertise needed to understand geopolitics.

Picturing what is happening in the world

As best we can, we try to give a picture of what is happening in the world on the continuation of “Our World“. 2022 was another year of figuring out how we would be able to keep up with bringing political and religious news alongside our other spiritual websites. We hope to find that balance further in 2023.

By nature, I am not an easy person and have dared to clash several times by speaking my mind outright. Even in the articles, I publish here and on my other websites, my thinking is based on my personal opinion. One can agree or disagree with that view. I, therefore, appreciate that people also dare to express their opinions. But in general, there is a little reaction in that area. Still, I hope the articles brought, can make people think. For instance, I was happy to find that my op-eds on Christmas in the Daily Telegraph were able to bring a debate after all.

Hoping to expose wrongdoings

With the news we place at Some View on the World we do hope we also could be able to expose the mistreatment and deaths of migrant workers in Qatar for almost a decade as well as other wrong attitudes towards people as well as animals and plants. At my personal site and this site as well, in particular on “Some View on the World” we continue to bear witness to the climate crisis as it destroys lives, uproots whole communities and changes the course of our shared future. We hope for 2023 to be able to bring regular news about our environment.

The fallout from the January 6 hearings and Donald Trump’s presidency could get our attention, and we hold our hearts for the intentions of Mr Trump, wanting to come back as president of the U.S.A..

Independence of my websites

For all the reporting we do here, and on my other websites, I would like to remind you, readers, that there is no financial support from companies anywhere and that all reporting is based on personal and independent reporting, where I keep searching for this site among texts that appear on the net what could possibly be fascinating for you to read as well, and thus to reblog them here.

2022 could bring lots of blogs on the net of which we presented some selections over here too. At Firefox several could find their way into ‘Pocket’, like: Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid, How to Want Less, A Neurologist’s Tips to Protect Your Memory, Why You Should Really Stop Charging Your Phone Overnight, A Guide to Getting Rid of Almost Everything, a.o. most read.

Uncovering and unravelling

Whether on social, political or religious issues, we are eager to seek the truth and expose false reports. Exposing wariness is not always appreciated, but is very important in our view. To do that, we can count on several investigative journalists and some newspapers to join in the pursuit of that muddle, so that together we can make certain things known to the world while others would rather see them covered up.

At Some View on the World we have maintained round-the-clock coverage from several places, not always bringing nice news, like mass graves of Bucha, Izium and many war crimes.

The war accelerated a global economic slump, sending costs soaring, throttling energy supplies and raising the spectre of blackouts, malnutrition and a winter of discontent across dozens of countries. As global food supplies fluctuated, we reported on the hunger gripping the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan. In 2022, it became impossible to ignore those victims in poorer countries. But sadly, we had to observe how little the public cared about those people living far from their homes. And closer, many did not wish to have refugees, so we could speak of a refugee crisis again this year.

Here in Belgium, the influx of refugees seems completely uncontrollable and many, even with small children, shamefully had to sleep outside several nights through rain and wind. This while in Great Britain, the reception was also not going smoothly and people started looking for a housing solution in Rwanda, and proceeded to deportations.

Condition of mother earth

A lot of people do not want to realise that things are very bad for Mother Earth. To this, in 2022, several scientists again tried to make it clear to the world that we need to think seriously about this and take action. We were confronted with UK’s hottest summer, a very early and long great Summer in Belgium, drought in Europe, and the accompanying fires.

Heating the houses became for many difficult to keep in the household budget. It looked like mother nature felt the pressure on the energy market, as well. Everywhere in Europe, we had extremely high temperatures for the time of year. In Belgium 2022 became the warmest year since measurements.

The climate emergency ran as a constant thread through much of our Some View on the World journalism in 2022.

While many European countries were suffering from a shortage of water, they had it in other countries, like Pakistan, too much. Devastating floods in Pakistan, encountering one of its worst natural catastrophes, Sydney’s wettest year on record, ferocious heatwaves in the US southwest and the costliest Atlantic hurricane for years, could catch our attention.

At Cop27 in Egypt, the Guardian asked the tough questions. Though, we did not give so much attention to the changing tactics of activists, now more likely to throw soup at a painting as they are to glue themselves to a public highway.

Uprising

In my view, many other protests could get our attention earlier, as they were carried out in a more correct way. Coming from a not expected corner, sparked by the death in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini.

Once again, we were able to conclude in Afghanistan and Iran that there is no improvement in human rights yet. The Iranian authorities tightly control reporting inside the country, so we counted on the teams of the Guardian to redouble efforts to reach protagonists to tell their stories. Social media remained also important for this, so it was satisfying to see the Guardian Instagram video on why Iranians are risking everything for change reach more than 2 million viewers.

It is impossible for me to have news sources everywhere, which is why we must also call on professional companies, for which we must also pay. Financial aid is therefore very welcome to cover these expenses. Nevertheless, we try to be as aware as possible of the general events, for which we also make further use of the known news channels and reliable TV channels and newspapers.

United States debacle

In terms of exposure, it was imperative to look at the Trumpists who still claim high and low that the US elections were forged.

The country which was formed on the idea that it could be a free world where everybody could express himself freely and would not be bounded by limitations through a government, in 2022 came to see deep political divisions, caused by a man who as 45th president of the U.S.A. did mutiny on that state and brought democracy in danger. His party made the ongoing climate crisis and racial, economic and health inequalities worsened. It was impossible to ignore the fallout from the January 6 hearings and Donald Trump’s presidency, as well as his willingness to come back as president.

The repeal of Roe v Wade provided a divisive backdrop to the November midterm elections. The conservative, or better said, the extremist Christians in the U.S., made it possible that women lost even the right to their own bodies. They also did not want to give an eye for mother nature nor for all those poor Americans who have no house or anywhere to live except on the streets, where many in the last weeks of the year found their dead by Winter storm Elliott. Buffalo got the worst hit by that bomb cyclone.

Political storms

In 2022 there were more significant elections in America which caught our attention. In Brazil, there were an anxious few weeks as Jair Bolsonaro wanted to do like his friend Trump, saying the votes were falsified. Finally, he suffered a chastening defeat by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who completed a comeback from prison to the presidential palace.

To our annoyance, we in northern Europe had to observe an inverse movement towards South America. The far right in Sweden, Italy and Israel, could get most seats in parliament. Despite her political prowess, the 45-year-old from Rome, whose strong will and determination has drawn comparisons to Margaret Thatcher, Giorgia Meloni has spent three decades fighting her way to the top of Italian politics. She is clear evidence that go-getters win. In October last year, after Brothers of Italy managed to draw votes away from the Northern League in its northern strongholds in local elections, a secret recording revealed Matteo Salvini hitting out at Meloni, calling her a “pain in the ass”.

In Belgium, too, the newspapers disguised several polls, clearly showing that the right is making a strong rise and where voices can already be heard that NVA will have to make the choice to form a majority coalition with Vlaams Belang.

As for British politics, prime ministers came and went with alarming regularity and the nation buried the pound, Queen Elizabeth and its global standing in quick succession. For 10 days in September, the future of the monarchy dominated the newsroom. The crazy game of the English conservatives who wanted their leader to put his capsones under the benches and to ask the people to stay at home because of Corona and not to have parties seemed to think it normal that their leader could do that and lie about it too. The whole world could laugh at the blunders of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, while the British citizen seemed not to mind. In any case, they did not demand new elections and left it to the Tory members to elect the new prime minister.

In Australia Labour could note a historic federal election victory.

Economical storms

The struggle between Russia and Ukraine is also a struggle between the Putin regime and Western Europe.

The war accelerated a global economic slump, sending costs soaring, throttling energy supplies and raising the spectre of blackouts, malnutrition and a winter of discontent across dozens of countries. But we also noticed that certain companies were abusing the war in Ukraine to raise their prices.

Cereals and gas were not released enough by blockades from the Russians, which caused major food problems, especially in Africa. In Western Europe we felt our energy prices skyrocket due to the pressure on the export and import markets. In Belgium, it took forever for the government to take measures to mitigate the costs of its citizens. After several months of calls by the Labour Party PvdA/PtB to reduce VAT to 6% and by their appeals to the public to put pressure on the government, things finally came to a head.

Health matters

2022 received big leaps forward for Alzheimer’s treatments, bowel cancer prevention and understanding depression.

In several countries there was joy that people could come together again to party and that the elderly should no longer be separated from their children and grandchildren. The lockdown had made it very clear how important personal contact is. It was striking how in 2022 teenagers and twens still had many psychological difficulties, which were not resolved. Bad enough, many could not be admitted in time, causing unnecessarily too many young people to die, while this could have been avoided.

Post-pandemic in Europe in danger

For months Europe tried to combat Covid-19. We started the annual overview with the relaxation of the Corona measures. But at the end of December, they now appear to be endangered because Europe does not want to take strict measures for the Chinese who are now allowed by their government to travel outside China again, which will allow them to spread the increased disease further outside China. With the coming Chinese New Year, they could start a new pandemic as in Belgium, it started in Antwerp.

For much of the world, a sort of post-pandemic normality has resumed – with one striking exception: the country where it all began. Chinese leaders faced a rapid spread of public anger caused by their draconian Covid lockdown policy. Only after some activists could ignite a revolt against the lockdown and more people joined them on the streets, even coming to shout to get rid of the Chinese leader and communist party, the government got seriously afraid and eased the lockdown measures. After they had done that another hell broke down, the virus rapidly spreading and killing so many people the mortuaries could not handle it anymore.

While the Chinese seem to be in the first Corona wave, as it were, the rest of the world has gotten out over time and everyone is now looking forward to a shock-free 2023.

We too look forward to an ending of the war in Ukraine and to a peaceful solution between Kosovo and Serbia.

At Some View of the World and at my other personal Space, we shall try to bring you up-to-date news of the happenings in the world, and here on this website, we hope we shall still be able to offer you and share with you, some worthwhile articles to read in this coming New Year.

 

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A sincere thank you to our readers and supporters – wherever you are in the world,
we wish you a wonderful end to 2022 and an optimistic 2023.

°°°

In case you like our work,
do not forget that we always can use your support.

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With mention: support websites

For which we thank you wholeheartedly

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Additional reading

1. G7 agreed to ban or phase out Russian oil and gas imports
2. 2022 the year of fearing some wars

A selection of articles for Healthy Living – December 2022

Three stories you should read today How to shift midlife weight gain for good We’ve identified five reasons your stomach might be less svelte now than in your youth – and what you can do to regain your waist ‘The NHS said I had to wait three years – so I went to Lithuania’ Seeking treatment abroad is often cheaper than going private in the UK and there are no lengthy NHS waiting lists, but there are risks The black mould hotspots in your home – and how to beat them Those dreaded spots could pose a bigger threat than ever this winter. Here’s how to fight the fungus

Three things to do now to avoid the winter sniffles

Don’t let the yuletide lurgy get you down this Christmas – use these easy preemptive steps to boost your immunity To help you out today There is a sense that we have moved on from the pandemic – but for our children, this is not the case, writes Bryony Gordon. Find out why – and how you can help. Gaslighting is officially the word of the year – and the meaning is evolving. Find out how it could be happening to you with Shane Watson’s guide to the seven different types. Rates of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are skyrocketing, particularly among over-40s. Find out what’s behind the rise of midlife ADHD, plus the telltale signs. ‘Every year my husband volunteers in a homeless shelter – but he never lifts a finger at home,’ writes our anonymous author. Find out why she’s tired of being a Christmas widow.

Vivamos Videre, the more we live, the more we are a witness to life

Kone, Krusos, Kronos

“Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn! Look to this Day! For it is Life, the very Life of Life. In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your Existence. The Bliss of Growth, The Glory of Action, The Splendor of Beauty; For Yesterday is but a Dream, And To-morrow is only a Vision; But To-day well lived makes Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness, And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope. Look well therefore to this Day! Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!”

Kalidasa

The more we grow old, the more things we experience in life, some of them a great surprise, and a thing that makes us ponder at life itself.

It’s meaning, and our lot in it.

And we talk, and feel according as to what we consider it was good, or bad, but we did gain anything on it?

I mean even…

View original post 350 more words

“I want to draw closer to God, but…”

We, at our office, regularly receive letters from people who would love to come to know God and want to feel closer to Him. Several people tell us how difficult it is for them to see God near to them when they are confronted with so many difficulties.

Especially during the Corona period, we received many requests to tell more about suffering, illness, life and death. The pandemic made many people reflect on the how and why of our presence here on earth and what would be after death.

Seeking God

Some days, it can feel like all of life’s demands are conspiring together to consume you. But, seeking God in His Word has the power to bring positive change into your life. We are convinced that God Himself has made the answers available by recording His Words and thus enabling them to be passed on through the ages.
So if you are looking for answers to the many questions in your life, we recommend reading the Bible daily. There you shall be able to find a “A living Word giving confidence“.

Daily rhythm

How can you find that daily rhythm?

By setting small, achievable goals… and taking them on one by one.

To help you, the Christadelphians provide some help to go through the Bible day by day in a year. They also provide next to the Bible Reading Plan or chart some inspirational texts in their “Thought for today“. That Bible Companion or guide developed by the Christadelphians to aid reading the Bible, is just a practical aid, encouraging people to continue their Bible reading in a way that they do not skip the same chapters, but go from one book to the other, chapter after chapter, each year. It was first produced by Robert Roberts when he was 14 years of age, in about 1853, and revised by him over a number of years into its current format.

Please do find a 2-page PDF document Bible Reading Plan

Bible apps

Modern technology also has provided several applications. You always could use a bible app to have it presenting some daily bible verses, to think about.

Did a particular Bible verse really speak to your heart? Highlight it, and you’ll unlock the Highlight Badge. Keep highlighting, and you’ll “level up” each time you reach the next milestone. Try the same thing with Bookmarks, and unlock and level up your Bookmark Badge!

Motivate yourself.

Complete one of our annual challenges (like the Christmas Challenge), and you’ll earn a Badge. Subscribe to a Bible Plan, and you’ll unlock the Plan Subscription Badge. Finish that Plan, and you’ll unlock the Plan Completion Badge. Keep starting and finishing Plans, and you’ll level up both.

Build momentum.

Your home feed shows your progress on Badges. Go to your profile to see all the Badges you’ve unlocked so far… and which other Badges are available. Once you’ve encouraged yourself with some of the smaller Badges, maybe you’ll feel inspired to chase the Whole Bible Badge.

And inspire others.

Your friends will see your Badges in their feeds, or you can share your journey and invite them to join you, on social media or by text. And, when you see your friends’ Badge progress in your feed, you can like or comment to encourage them.

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God’s Word is with you.

Tens of millions of people are using the Bible App™ to make God’s Word a part of their daily lives. Download the free app and access your bookmarks, notes, and reading plans from anywhere. Enjoy hundreds of versions, including audio, all on your mobile device.

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Preceding

Hide and Seek ~

In October-November People often too busy with death and the dead

You don’t have to walk through the fire

Knowledge of God by reading and willingness to open your mind to transform you

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Additional reading

1. Souls and Religions with Nirvana and light
2. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
3. People Seeking for God 2 Human interpretations
4. People Seeking for God 4 Biblical terms
5. People Seeking for God 6 Strategy
6. People Seeking for God 7 The Lord and lords
7. Struggles of life
8. When you don’t know what to do and hate yourself
9. Major challenges and great things happpening in our life
10. Isaiah 55-56, Revelation 11
11. Being religious has benefits even in this life
12. Healthy life can be found in sacred books
13. Creator and Blogger God 7 A Blog of a Book 1 Believing the Blogger
14. A living Word giving confidence
15. Daily Spiritual Food To prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God
16. Bible
17. Bible Word of God inspired and infallible
18. Word of God
19. Gospel or Good News – Evangelie of Goede Nieuws
20. Questions on the Bible and Crossword Books
21. Today’s thought “A New Year” (January 01)
22. Today’s thought “Blessed the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly” (January 01)
23. Today’s thought “Going with the right people” (January 01)
24. Today’s thought “Jehovah God makes us dwell in safety and confident trust” (January 02)
25. God is the strength of my heart
26. Concerning prayer and thought for the day

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Related

1. Seeking God; April 27, 2022
2. Looking For God in Our Daily Lives
3. God Did All This
4. No Short-Cuts
5. Finders, Seekers
6. Sticky Note From God ~05.17.22~
7. May 21st-a reminder to seek God diligently; we know not how we may be blessed along the journey
8. May 22nd-Why not make a commitment to seek God through fasting and prayer for that situation that is right now giving us great concern?
9. Quiet time, Part 1
10. Connection is Vital
11. Outward vs. Inward: A matter of heart
12. Where do I  start reading my Bible?
13. Did you remember to read your Bible? One Year Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Today’s Bible Reading: March 8 Download the full one-year Bible reading plan here
14. Did you remember to read your Bible?
15. Psalms 30 Day Reading Plan

Passover 7 days of meditation opening a way to conversion

Immanuel Verbondskind looks back at the lockdown period and the impact on the small Jeshuaist community and some Jewish communities. For Jews it has even been more difficult to undergo the lockdown, because many do have no television or internet and have been in a real-time strict isolation, not being able to have worship moments with brethren and sisters.

Those times of seclusion and restriction could be called a ‘reflection time‘ or retreat, where one had enough time to think about faith and religion. On the 15th of April this year (2022) it was 14 Nisan, the evening to remember the liberation of God’s People from the enslavement in Egypt, but also to remember the gathering of Jeshua and his disciples, where at the last supper Jesus talked about the blood being shed for the liberation of all people.

In Wintertime, many Christians celebrate Christmas and have some holiday, where they also can think about the light that came in the darkness. For true Christians and for Jews, 14-22 Nisan is the most sacred period of the religious year, where is remembered how the Elohim brought to light in the dark night by passing over the houses where there was the blood of the lamb, giving the opportunity for the Jews to flee their world of slavery in Egypt.

True Christians with Jeshuaists remember also the Passover lamb Jeshua (Jesus Christ) and show their gratitude for the salvation by the Grace of God, Him accepting that ransom Jesus was willing to pay for all people.

 

Since Friday night Jeshuaists and Christadelphians, like other true Christians, since some long time of isolation because of lockdown, could at some places get together (in restricted form) and make connections with other brothers and sisters, either in place or via the internet streaming. Many, the previous time in isolation got lots of opportunities to think about the value of such a connection or ‘fraternity‘. They had enough time in the lockdown period to think about their religious affiliation, and some also about their need to go over into a conversion. Because the last few months, more signs could be seen that we are entering a new period in the Time of Ages or in God’s Plan.

Because of those “Signs of the Times” there has come a certain pressure to know what to do and which direction to go. Now many more ask themselves who shall be part of the things going to be there after the big battle or great tribullation.

Several people have wondered in those Covid times if it would not be better to become part of a community. There also have been Jews by race or non-believing and non-practising Jews, who started to change ideas about the world and its Creator. The Jews from Middle European origin also started wondering by which denomination of Jews they would best join. Those people living here in Belgium, France, Holland and Germany wonder if they would convert to Judaism, if they then would be accepted as a Jew.

Anti-Zionists often claim that Ashkenazi Jews are white imposters, fake Jews who are entirely descended from European converts to Judaism. This is completely rebutted by genetic studies which have proven a Middle Eastern patrilineal origin for Ashkenazi Jewry. However, when the Anti-Zionists make the Apartheid accusation are Jews suddenly a single racial group. The notion that Jews generally constitute a racial group is Nazi in origin and is at the core of the Anti-Jewish Apartheid libel. {Why Many Ashkenazi Jews “Look” European}

There is a long history of the racialization of Jews. There have also been religious and non-religious Jews in several countries.

Racialization of Jews have a long pedigree in the history of Anti-Semitism. Racialization of Jews was practiced in Spain against the Anusim (“Marranos”), Jews who were involuntarily converted to Christianity during the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Racialization of Jews in Germany became prominent already in the second half of the 19th century when religious Anti-Semitism (Anti-Judaism) was increasingly supplanted by racializing Anti-Semitism. The third phase is the current racialization of Jews by the extreme left.

Racialization of Jews is intended to paint Jews as “genetic aliens” in a certain country (e.g. Spain, Germany or Israel). Of course painting any other people as “genetic aliens” is not socially acceptable beyond Nazi circles. But Anti-Semitic opponents of Israel systematically engage in discourse to stigmatize the Jews in the land of Israel as genetic aliens despite Ashkenazim, Sephardim and Mizrahim patrilineally being very very genetically similar to Palestinians due to common historical origin, with the genetic divergence accounted for by historical conversions to Judaism and by immigration to the land of Israel from other parts of the Middle East during the Islamic era.

Ashkenazim, Sephardim and Mizrahim are more similar to each other than to any other populations and are predominantly of Middle Eastern origin in genetically confirming the historical narrative of ancient Israelite origin. The Anti-Semitic accusation according to which Ashkenazi Jews are exclusively descended from European converts to Judaism despite that part of Ashkenazi ancestry accounting only for only 30% of the Ashkenazi gene pool with the remaining 70% being Middle Eastern in origin is used by Anti-Semites such as Palestinian-American professor of Columbia University Joseph Massad to libelously paint Israeli Jews as “European colonizers” and against the scientific consensus denying that most modern Israeli Jews are Levantine returnees to Israel. The false claim that Ashkenazi Jews are “European colonizers” is in fact one of the main claims involved in the Anti-Semitic racialization of Ashkenazi Jewry. {Jews are a Nation of Color}

After the covid pandemic several feel a greater need to come to connect with one or another Jewish or Jeshuaist denomination. Having been on their own, in their own living room, with nobody else to share the faith, was too lonely. Some, who were previously connected with a shul, lost contact but also interest to go to a prayer and study house. Though others have now, even more than ever before, felt the need to be connected to other fellow believers.

This Passover is for several an essential time to consider the way how God handled His People and how, also today, He is still willing to guide them through the desert of this (non-religious) world.

Some people take time to think about separation and isolation, and look at the lessons we get from the Scrolls that teach that the priests were deliberately separated from everyone else. They even couldn’t go to family funerals, like many could not in the Corona crisis. Their job was to remain separate from the people they served, which may sound strange. But their goal was to maintain their close connection with the Most High in purity or holiness.

To remain separate at all times isn’t healthy for anyone. All over the world many learned that all too well the last two years. this year many felt a great joy they were able again to come together with some friends to do like the apostles did, following up the permanent ordinance… a celebration for all of God’s people throughout all time, remembering Passover.

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Find to read:

Times of seclusion, restriction, liberation, connection, religious affiliation and conversion

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Preceding

Measure of loneliness whilst time drags

Adar 6, Matan Torah remembering the giving of Torah

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Additional reading

1. Jewish diaspora
2. December a joyful time for many
3. Lenten Season and our minds and hearts the spiritual temple in which God seeks to live
4. Remember the day
5. Ransom for all
6. A perfect life, obedient death, and glorious resurrection
7. Redemption #4 The Passover Lamb
8. Redemption #7 Christ alive in the faithful
9. Atonement And Fellowship 8/8
10. A strange thing might happen when you come under Christ
11. Seeing or not seeing and willingness to find God
12. Falling figures for identifying Christians
13. What is happening in America to religion and to the language of faith
14. Who is a Jew?
15. Counting sands and stars
16. We Count. We Just Weren’t Counted.
17. Judaism and Jeshuaism a religion of the future
18. Great tribulation and Armageddon
19. Armageddon or the Great Tribulation
20. Ashkenazi Jews are extremely inbred

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Related

1. Passover Blessings – April 15th through 22nd, 2014
2. Proselytism
3. Jesus Became Our Passover Lamb
4. How Jews look to non-Jews – Part 1
5. Going back to shul
6. Fighting ignorance

Sudha Mehta looking at prophesies, False Prophets and Teachers #2 Toxic people and wars

Sudha Mehta thinks all around the world today people are seeing conditions get worse day by day, and many would like to know what is ahead and that is what he wishes to address in some of his writings on the net, in his One Way Studies.

The Book of books teaches us to be diligent and to acknowledge those who work hard among us, who care for us in the Lord and who admonish us. In a Christian community, there should be those who warn and kindly reprove and exhort those in the community. The apostles urged their followers already to be as brothers and sisters, warning those who are idle and disruptive, encouraging the disheartened, helping the weak, and being patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-20)

According to Mr. Mehta and us, this is a

Recipe for Christian living. No matter the time or the circumstance!

Do this and you will walk in a blessed life, again “No matter the time or the circumstance! 

Circumstances can be bad, sometimes really, really bad! Yet here is what Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 10: 13 No temptation (trial) has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.(ESV) {Wolves and Sheep}

In the previous posting we mentioned already the danger of so called leaders or teachers, that hide amongst the people, and are not easily recognised by the general laity. For Mr. Mehta

they are just as, or even more dangerous than someone speaking false teaching overtly. These are the true wolves in sheep’s clothing. {Wolves and Sheep}

We can check how those preachers or pastors act and should be careful with murmurers (grumblers) who complain [of their lot in life], going after their own (evil) desires [controlled by their passions] trying to be in control.

False teachers and christs aim to misdirect people away from the revealed truth of the Bible. (Matthew 24:4,5)

False teachers and christs look to glorify themselves instead of God. Their only purpose is to take advantage of you. (Jude 1:16)

False teachers and christs are controlling and dictatorial. They will move to isolate you from others including family and friends if necesary in order to control you. (Jude 1:16) {Wolves and Sheep}

What should worry us most is how certain pastors use the name of God or the name of Christ to mislead people. Sometimes they even go so far as to tell they are chosen by God to do his work here on earth.

Mehta writes

False christs and teachers will want to control your children as well, seeking to indoctrinate your whole family in their way. They use the name of God to control every facet of your life, but their own life is not surrendered to God.  They are arrogant and follow in their own lusts. (Jude 1:16) {Wolves and Sheep}

Most striking are the news reports that we receive here in Europe of preachers in mega-churches who, without any shame, rip off money from less fortunate people and enrich themselves wonderfully with all kinds of luxury products, cars, and even aeroplanes.

Mehta continues

If you know the Bible, you will discover that these are toxic people and divide families, disrupt churches and mislead the weak and the vulnerable. As Jude says:

Jude 1: 16These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.

17But you, beloved, remember what was foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ 18 when they said to you,

“In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”

19These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.(BSB)

So, know the Word, follow the truth, pray for discerment and steer clear of such leaders, prophets, teachers and pastors. Gather together with others and study, get to know the One who created you. {Wolves and Sheep}

Concerning what happens in the world, Mehta writes

I think we all can agree that in all of human history wars have been happening since the beginning. In a rudimentary form, Cain waged a war against Abel, killing him. Left to his own devices, and indwelt by a sin nature that corrupts, man has an innate desire to push the limits and conquer. This desire stems from a number of things like pride, jealousy and covetousness which is a desire to own what belongs to someone else. It is a quest for power over others, a demonstration of a lack of contentment . . . in short all things that come from Satan, NOT from God.

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According to sources such as Necrometrics, in the 20th Century wars took a toll as never before. While the numbers vary, deaths related to wars, and warring activities resulted in unimaginable loss of human life, young and old. {Wars and Rumors of Wars}

The last few centuries the world has undergone several battles. The seem to be part of humankind/ So how would we know when other times will start?

We have to know that man shall not be able to escape what is foretold in the Scriptures. In that Book of books there are prophecies given which shall be fulfilled whatever man shall try to do. It is written down in that Book of books, the Bible, that there will be terrible times in the last days. We shall be able to see how people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lovers of material gadgets. Their interest shall go more to worldly things instead of to spiritual matters. But their character shall not be for the better, having to cope with boastful, proud, abusive and disobedient people. We also shall come to see that in that particular time people shall not be very grateful, and missing that so needed love. The world shall be full of unforgiving, slanderous people, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, but false, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

3 But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].

² For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.

³ [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.

⁴ [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.

⁵ For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them]. (2 Timothy 3:1-5 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)

God with his prophets asks us to look … and Jesus adds

“look up because redemption is coming?!”

We would love to see that redemption and the wonderful promised world coming soon.

Truth is all of us would love to live forever in a Utopian world where there is no war, or dissension of anykind, ever. We would all love to be at peace with our neighbors, and have the children play without fear outside, no matter where we live.

We would love to see an end to all rioting, and violence from the mobs. It would be great if no stray bullet ever hit and killed a loved one asleep in the bed or crib. No driveby shootings. {Wars and Rumors of Wars}

The World be so much better if there were no drug cartels ruling our inner cities, no mothers weeping over their child’s coffins whether the death occured from an overdose, a bullet or a knife.  We all want a place where children are not abused physically or sexually, where women are not beaten for causing some little displeasure to their husbands, where lives, young and old are not sold in underground makets for profit. {Wars and Rumors of Wars}

Lots of people think there shall come an end to the world, but they do not know God’s Plan. In that Plan there is no end to the world. No human being shall be able to destroy the earth totally. Its foundations can never be moved.

⁵ You laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. (Psalm 104:5 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)

⁴ One generation goes and another generation comes, but the earth remains forever. (Ecclesiastes 1:4 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)

We should take the words of the Bible to our heart

Isaiah 2: 4b They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.(NKJV)

The Bible tells us not even in the animal kingdom will there be a hint of danger:

from wildbranches.blogspot

Isaiah 11: 6“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.(NKJV)

Photo from pinterest

I cannot imagine a more peaceful world. Can you?!

Weapons will be destroyed and there will be peace. An era without guns that so many of you long for will come. The above Scripture speaks in the language of the Old Testament assuring us of a time of peace in the future. The signs of turmoil today merely point to this time coming. Jesus said to look up, for in truth God is our only hope.  {Wars and Rumors of Wars}

Today a lot is going on that should worry us. Perhaps we are coming very close to a prophesied time.

Prophecy is the roadmap that gives us all the signs we need to follow. It lends clarity to life and the world around us. If we understand prophecy, we can avoid the pitfalls, the sharp bends in the road, and cliffs that lead to dangerous falls.  It gives us hope when things do not look good for we know He will not abandon His children. Prophecy is a roadmap as well as a timeline, so we have an understanding of things from a higher perspective.    {Wars and Rumors of Wars}

What is happening the last few weeks is something we could have seen in a lesser threatening form in the period of the Cold War.

This is a war of a different sort and one that we see riseing quickly today. It isn’t that it hasn’t always been an issue all around the world all along, it has . . . but  where progress had been made to bring peace, it has been lost for the most part.

The word nation in this text derives from the word “Ethnos.” So, nation refers to ethnicity! This breaks it down to racial issues of the day. Ethnic hostility is growing around the world at a rapid pace. {Nation against Nation}

photo from finacial express.

There is a simmering hostility just under the surface, trust is eroded in all sectors . . . no one wants to be called a racist and everyone is afraid to be labeled one. Truth be told most people aren’t racists, and yet fear makes everyone more suspicious of everyone else. There is a palpable tension in the air. More in the cities than in the country, but nonetheless, it exists. Whether it is the color of your skin, the shape of your nose, the size of your body, many find reason to take offense, and destroy someone’s life by shaming them in return, “canceling” them, and so much more. {Nation against Nation}

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The intensity of emotions in politically charged discussions is hard to watch. Families are divided, brothers and sisters do not speak, parents are shunning children, friendships are ending . . . the list goes on. {Nation against Nation}

These race wars and rioting we see today are actually incited in good measure by those people who have no love for God and His creatures. They are the adversaries of God (Satan) who not only war amongst themselves for superiority, but also raise and incite trouble amongst other human beings and bring damage to nature (plants and animals).

Though wars have always been part of human history, the Scriptures tells us that they will increase near the end times and give enough warnings concerning the signs of such times.

Jesus adds to the list by telling His disciples (and us) that in this time we will also see a sharp increase in famines, pestilences, earthquakes. These will not be limited to one or two places but will be scattered throughout the world. If you have watched any news at all, you know these things are happening, and perhaps you yourself have been impacted as well.

There are famines in many countries today. People have seen famines through the centuries, it is not a new phenomena, but you will see more of this as time goes on. I just read a report that China is hoarding grain, and by now they are hoarding 52 percent of the world’s grain supply. Do they know something we don’t, or are they planning something we are yet unaware of?

Inflation is hitting virtually every country, prices are rising fast and people’s income is not going to keep up. Supply chains are faltering or breaking in different lands. The Bible tells us a time is coming when a day’s wages will barely buy you the day’s bread!

Revelation 6: 5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”(NKJV)

This verse 6 in today’s language describes conditions of famine for the masses. It also tells us the rich will not be impacted. In other words two classes of people will remain, the rich and the poor. It will be the poor that will work hard and suffer most. In Jesus time, a denarius was the average wage for a day’s work for a laborer. A time is coming when a full days wage will only be enough to buy one quart of wheat to make bread for one day for the family, or three quarts of barley (which was a cheaper grain at the time). So, if you have a small family, you may make wheat bread, but if you have a few children, better to buy barley.

The oil and the wine are luxuries the common man will no longer afford, but the rich will enjoy. Yes. for the common man it will be a famine.

Nothing breaks down a society like fear for their lives. So, what better to cause a breakdown than pestilence (a pandemic)? Add to that all the variants and questionable efficacy of the vaccines, and you have the perfect scenario for chaos.

Covid is a pestilence. It is Worldwide and is impacting virtually everyone in every nation. There will be more pestilences! This is not the only one. Get used to it, this is the “New Normal!” Rest assured life will never be what it was before Covid. You will have periods of relief, but they won’t last!

As for earthquakes, as I have said before there is a huge uptick in the number of earthquakes around the world. This also relates to volcanic eruptions, which impact the climate as well. Undersea earthquakes cause tectonic shifts that cause Tsunamis, that also affect the climate. So, yes! While the politicians are busy creating fear in the name of climate change, they are unaware of the real Climate Change that is coming soon. Addressed in Scripture . . . coming in the near future, it is not the result of man’s mismanagement of the planet, rather it is the wrath of God whose patience has nearly run out at this point. {Nation against Nation}

Natural disasters around the World shall augment.

Their intensity will grow, and they will come in quick clusters. Like labor pains when a woman is birthing a child.

Matthew 24: 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.(ESV)

Even though we see a convergence of all kinds of natural catastrophies, wars, ethnic divisions, false messiahs and more, Jesus assures us that these are but a sign of end times, it is not the end itself yet. {Climate and Much More!}

Today, we have come into an era where

The leaders/ pastors and false prophets themselves have sold out to Mammon and in some cases debauchery and revelry. They have managed to reimagine Christ according to their own wanton desires for influence and power, and have misled many. So, the love of many has grown cold. They have lost all understanding and the power (2 Timothy 3: 5) of that Name, the Name forever to be lauded with ernest love for His sacrifice. {Climate and Much More!}

Real lovers of God do know that they should not give their heart to this world and to all those pagan holidays (a.o. Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc.) With the knowledge that we should never give our hearts to this world or to any of the things in it, we shall be able to look at the things of the world as something that passes, being limited in existence.

One of the many signs is that man shall love the world more than the heavenly Father. We can clearly see that the whole world system is based as it is, on men’s primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, which is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself.

The world and all its passionate desires will one day disappear. But the man who is following God’s will is part of the permanent Who cannot die.

With peace of mind, full of trust in the Most High, we cannot but watch the world go round in a bad way. But we must not let this spoil our hopes for better times. For the One True God, Who is an Almighty Immortal or Eternal Spirit, will let those who practice the spiritual come to Himself and to His aid. True believers will be allowed to rest in Him.

Let us have faith in God’s promisses.

¹⁷ And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever. (1 John 2:17 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)

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Preceding

Sudha Mehta looking at prophesies, False Prophets and Teachers #1 Counterfeits

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Additional reading

1. Why believing the Bible
2. Prophecies over coming days
3. Today’s thought “Do not harm … until” (December 24)
4. As you see the Day approaching
5. To be prepared and very well oiled
6. Looking into the Future
7. Matthew 24 about temples or Houses of God and the end of the age
8. Matthew 24 about temples or Houses of God and the end of the age
9. Matthew 24:4-8 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Answer: Part One – Beware Being Misled
10. Matthew 24:29-35 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Answer Part Two – Sign 2: The Parousia. A Sign after the Great Oppression
11. Matthew 24:42-51 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Stay Awake!
12. Signs of the Last Days
13. Signs of the last days when difficult times will come
14. Sign of the Times and the Last Days #1 The Son of man revealing
15. Sign of the Times and the Last Days #2 Wars, natural disasters, famine and false Messiahs
16. Today’s thought “Disaster after disaster: behold it comes” (September 11)
17. Towards a Third World War or not

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Related

1. A Brief Look at NATO and Russia’s Push to Reform the Old Soviet Union
2. The Salvation Of Israel
3. War on the Arabian Peninsula? What are We to Make of It?
4. The Mark
5. We have no need to fear the things coming this year leading to the End of Years. But simply FEAR GOD and FOLLOW JESUS faithfully every day enduring to the End of the World (Matthew 24:1-36) (Revelation 11:18).
6. When Will Jesus Come?
7. How to Prepare for Persecution
8. Wars and Rumors of War…Russia Moves into Belarus
9. Do Not Fear the End Times Part 131: Be Christian or Be Roman
10. 1st the tribulation and then the 2nd coming of Yahshua!
11. Part 3; The End Times, The Book of Revelation
12. Science infiltration on human race: end times invasion (part2)
13. And Then the End Will Come
14. The Day Of Judgment is the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ, the Last Day of habitation of life on this earth, The End of the World (Matthew 24:36) (Revelation 11:18, 20:11-15).
15. A Picture of Bible Prophecy from the Golan Heights
16. Consumed with the Vision
17. The ‘End Of Days’ is rising on the horizon: Be Prepared for the beginning of the End Of Years (Matthew 24:1-31)!
18. False Christs, False Prophets
19. Daniel’s 70th Week
20. “HP Lovecraft & The War Of The Worlds” – November 3, 2021
21. KTF News – China plans to have 1,000 nuclear weapons within 10 years
22. Invading God’s Holy Temple: The human upgrade
23. The Cost of Complaining

Andrá Tutto Bene, Everything will be fine!

Throughout 2020 and 2021 people wondered how long their restrictions would take. In many countries doctors and nursers had to give more than their best to save lives. In the health area they were at war, daily fighting this war whose enemy is invisible.
For them, there is this message.

We keep praying for all those involved to help people to survive this crisis.

As citizens, we can all do our best to stay safe by keeping to the Corona measures. Let us not forget all those health workers and in respect of them stay protected at home stay.

Andrá Tutto Bene, Everything will be fine!

**

Dear 2021,

So many might be cross with 2021 and by taking on such a negative view on that Corona year miss out on all the blessings they had that year.

It is true many of us would have wished it would have gone differently, but no matter what came over this world, a naughty virus, limiting us in many ways, it also created many opportunities.

Let it be known, in a few years time everything of 2019, 2020 and 2021 might be forgotten as in a sealed book somewhere up high in the bookcase or in a bookshelf in a dark corner.

The good things of it we carry with us with pleasure and hope soon to be relieved from that virus, but in the meantime, we shall not let us bring down.

 

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Preceding

Let’s count…

Musings of a Bookworm

Before I start I have to thank Deepthy from Random Specific Thoughts for coming up with this idea and then letting me borrow it for a post. You should definitely check out her post here.

So here goes…

Photo by Sindre Stru00f8m on Pexels.com

Dear 2021,

The things we experience in life change us, they shape our understanding and the way we view the world. And so, for me 2021, a year that can only be described as a rollercoaster of a year, wasn’t all bad.

Of course at times I wished things were different, and, to be perfectly honest, I still do. However that isn’t your fault 2021, it’s not the actual events that cause these feelings, it’s my perception and the experience I have of them. This may seem like an odd thing to say, especially taking in to consideration the pandemic and all its effects, but…

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Let’s count…

Now that we have closed the curtains of the year 2021, when we open the blinds for 2022, let us consider how lucky we are to have the light of 2022 coming to us.

On January 8, 2021 Sushmita Sahay wanted to start with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen to you, her and us. On the next new year’s eve, we then could open it and see what an awesome year it has been. She wrote:

Imagine what a life it has been for all of us… You tell me, is it worth it, all these plans, new year resolutions etc ? Shut inside our holes, masked up faces, sanitizing any human presence… simply praying to see just another day; unscathed. God managed to puncture the great human Ego. So it’s time to start with counting our blessings in reflection:

The lockdown proved it beyond doubt that we could all cook, or at least potter around the kitchen with productive results. God and government kept our food supplies running, thank God. {This Year…}

So many people found so much to complain, about being limited in their freedom, about not being able to do what they wanted to do, etc.. Many could be at home for more hours than they would have been able when normal work times would have gone on. Instead of enjoying the extra free time at home they looked for reasons to complain and moan.

Last year many people could enjoy more time for themselves. Like the year before:

Snatched moments of fresh air on the terrace, walking in solitude on deserted garden paths became the most beautiful experience. Alps can wait forever. {This Year…}

2021 had started with so many wishes and what did we finally get?

The virus marauded us… taking away our loved ones. {and it’s December}

All the year through, we heard cyphers and numbers, see lots of statistics and heard lots of predictions.

Two years of confinement, new words in our lexicon and the undying spirit! With such optimism, we tread on, specially we the 1.39 billion! …. it’s all up to the media… They are capable of pushing things out of collective memory! …. {and it’s December}

No end to woes, it seems Covid likes reruns…race for cure began, vaccine came, but new strains came in stronger. {This and that}

The Indian traveller still went from the extreme South to the East in all PPE and social distancing that an economy class ticket of a budget airline could vouch for, whilst she hoped she and her fellow Indians can resist this virus as well. She like we came to see that

A virus can change the fabric of a society; this has been proved beyond doubt, as human survival takes over all social gimmickry. Weddings and funerals being binding factors in the Indian context, have been eye openers in the recent times. The virus has successfully imparted a life-lesson at what all can you manage without. When attendees numbers were compulsorily reduced, it was about making do with barest minimum people and paraphernalia. Covid reduced expenses, alright, but also reduced the need for bonding between neighbours, relatives and friends… {This and that}

For this New Year we should try to open our eyes again with the positive colours of life, being grateful for all the things we still have.

Heartfelt

Remember what I said at the start of this year? No? Read it here👇 http://sushmitasahay.com/2021/01/08/this-year/

Although it was an emotional watershed year…we still have lots to be thankful for if we begin to count our blessings one by one. Just for starts, here I go…

1. We are still here, me writing you reading.

2. Hopefully, not all our loved ones are gone, some still are waiting with enough warmth in their embrace to hug our miseries away.

3. Then there is this immense blue sky, filling us up with thoughts of immense infinity.

4. A child/ your child smiled back at you, just like that! No reason( Its a wonderful Kodak moment, I tell you 🥰)

5. You were able to help someone in dire monetary need without expecting a return because God has been kind to you.

6. Like me, you didn’t have to visit the doctor this…

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Sunshine for a New Year

Even when so many celebrate the birth of Jesus not on his real date of birth (October 17) but on the birthday of the goddess of light (December 25), at the end of the civic year we, before going into a new year, can bring our thoughts to him and his heavenly Father, the Divine Creator and giver of all good things around us. Let us in these darker days remember and be thankful for the light given to the world.

praise2worshipdotnet

Milk Eggs and Worry in the New Year by Peter Caligiuri

That is why I say to you, don’t worry about living—wondering what you are going to eat or drink, or what you are going to wear. Surely life is more important than food, and the body more important than the clothes you wear. Look at the birds in the sky. They never sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:25- 26 Phillips

I must confess that we New Englanders brag a lot about how tough we are when it comes to winter. We laugh uproariously at stories of school districts in the South shutting down because of a couple of inches of snow. But no matter how many New England snowstorms we have lived through, often our conversation at home when it starts falling, begins with the words, “Honey, can…

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My perspective: Virtual v Physical church attendance

After several months having the churches being closed, people now allowed again to meet in small circles (with the Covid Safe Ticket or Pass) every individual should check for himself or herself and should examine for the family if it would already be safe to go to gatherings, be it for relaxation, Bible study or church service.

Going to “the grocery store, the restaurants, the beauty shop, the office, the classroom, the gym, and the doctor” is something totally different than going to a church, where people are sitting close together and normally also would sing and say prayers together in an enclosed space making it very easy for a virus to spread.

When people go to the supermarket, they are only limited by the amount of people allowed per square metre, and as such have to follow the red and green light indications or the stewards allowing only the right amount of people entering the wide space. To enter the shops only a regulated amount of people per square metre is allowed and often only two at a time, plus always with a mouth mask.

To go to a café, snackbar or restaurant a person has to have the Covid Safe Ticket or Pass and the same regulation is there for other places (as churches) and events.

For going to a gp or doctor one must make an appointment and maximum two people are allowed in the waiting room, which should be ventilated and normally is spacey enough to receive much more people than two.

For going to church there is in many cases no controlling system, though there should be someone at the door asking and checking your CST.

Worship and Bible class are not simply about our being fed spiritually and matters that can be done on our own or via online meetings. Such online meetings can never take in the place of an actual real-life meeting. But we must be fully aware of the present conditions and dangers for each other when coming together in real life.
For every follower of Christ and every lover of God the gathering between all members of the faith community should be very important and not negligible. But, and a great But, we should be fully aware of the situation.

We must consider one another to stimulate unto love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24), and that the best way to do that would be in connection with assembling together (Heb. 10:25), but this also can be done by going in conversation online by the present technical progress. There are Zoom, Jitsi a.o. to have interaction when meeting online.

That people would stay away from the assembly in present times does not mean that they would be less religious or would have abandoned their faith. It is essential to protect the own health as well as the health of others. This can mean that we still have to wait sometime before coming together in real-time and/or real life.

Our relationship with God and with His beloved son shall not be less or of less value. It is from the depth of our heart that the love for God should rise above all our present limitations.

 

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Preceding

Ideas about Religiosity

May we have doubts

Religious Resistance against vaccination

Covid-19 update | Covid Safe Ticket

New rules in Belgium to stop the spread of coronavirus

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Additional reading

1. Christian in Christendom or in Christianity
2. Daily thought for July the 8th and the Summer months
3. Not created to be on our own
4. No time yet to relax the CoViD-19 restriction measures
5. Fourth wave of COVID-19 a pandemic of the unvaccinated
6. According to Pew Most White Evangelicals Don’t Think COVID-19 is a Medical Crisis
7. Did the first followers of Jesus have ‘church’
8. Priorities for our Christadelphian community and for the spreading of Good News
9. Worship

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Related

1. Get Back to Church
2. Is church attendance linked to higher rates of coronavirus?
3. Enjoying Christian Fellowship
4. Church attendance is often a distraction from biblical Christianity
5. Normal Christian Doctrine Explained: Church Attendance
6. Three good reasons to come back to church
7. Millions skipped church during pandemic; will they return?
8. No Family Is Too Busy for Church by Desiring God
9. Why are people attending church less frequently?
10. Why We’re Not Going Back to Church

OMT's Digest

This post is dedicated to all the virtual churchgoers like myself and those who are still unsure about whether it is best to worship virtually or physically in a church every Sunday. If this is the first time reading any of my blog posts and you want a straight answer, then please don’t proceed because this post is meant to get you thinking to find the answer within yourself.

Prior to COVID, I wouldn’t say I was a consistent church goer. If there was an attendance register, I am sure I would be called to ask why I get in late or why I have been absenting myself from church. COVID however resulted in a lot of churches going online because of physical safety restrictions so I guess I found it very convenient to wake up and have church right in the comfort of my living room.

Afterall, we learn…

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Why haven’t you ended the pandemic

 

Freedom for whom?

 

East of Eden

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drag on, one thing is emminently clear to politicians, scientisits, business leaders and the public at large: mass vaccination is the only way out of the pandemic, and thus the only way out of the cycle of restrictions that have been imposed on our lives. Most people can see this, and thus most people in Britain have already gotten vaccinated at this point. But of course, not every country is as fortunate to have vaccination rates as high as ours.

In Austria, which has among the lowest vaccination rates in Europe at 42%, has recently become the first country in Europe to make it mandatory for all eligible citizens to recieve the Covid vaccine. In the US, only about 59% of the population has been vaccinated, which sounds fine until you remember that a large and vocal part of the population resists the idea…

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Don’t Get Vaccinated, It’s Dangerous

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Preceding

Pan 1- Past Pandemics

Mountains of information, disinformation and breaking away

Vaccinations and anti-vaxers

Consequences of our digital environment

Facts: Why they matter and how to check them

Too Many People Are Dying Right Now 

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Additional reading

1. More care needed for older getting population
2. Disinformation evolving threat
3. Here is the truth or the lie
4. Conspiracy theories in plenty-fold
5. 💬 Misquotation Pandemic and Disinformation Polemic: 🧠 Mind Pollution by Viral Falsity 
6. Fact-Checking: Information Today
7. Media Literacy
8. Fourth wave of COVID-19 a pandemic of the unvaccinated

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Related

1. Difficult Conversations – Open Letter to the Anti-Vaxxers
2. Anti-Coders (#SegregationInAction)
3. Anti-vaxxers are undermining our success at curbing virus
4. Predictable Outcomes and Other Things
5. Pro-COVID Republicans Help USA Stay Viral
6. Pricing of choice
7. Covid ‘protest’ straight from agitation playbook
8. Former ‘The View’ Co-Host Jedediah Bila Returns For Virtual Debate Over Vaccines
9. Subvert the dominant paradigm
10. Orban: It’ll Be ‘Jab or Death’ for Anti-Vaxxers
11. ABC Amplifies Anti-vaxxers
12. Kelly, GOP leadership on the wrong side of good public health
13. The fourth wave: how can Australia avoid another Covid outbreak as it reopens to the world? | Health | The Guardian
14. COVID misinformation spreading about Aboriginal community lockdown
15. Truly Cold
16. My Body My Choice: Polarization and Outrage, But Who Is Pulling The Strings?
17. Truly Stupid
18. Trump stoked Covid in red states – but there are blue anti-vaxxers too | Robert Reich | The Guardian
19. Freedom for whom?
20. Dispatch from the slaughterhouse
21. November 29, 2021 Set an Example
22. An Amped Up Don Jr. Thinks Americans Should Be Rioting Against Vaccine Mandates
23. Calling bluffs by Susan Grimsdell
24. Ocean of Disinformation: Afghan Refugees in North Macedonia
25. Red States, It’s Time to Get Vaccinated
26. A Pandemic Worst Practices and Declaring War on Fauci Limerick 1.1
27. Getting the needle!
28. Vaccine: The Battle and the Lesson

Social Media@ NYUPraha

The COVID-19 pandemic. It has been almost two years since the death toll has started to surge millions of people around the world. With the uncertainty around the emergence of a new virus, the demand for information naturally increased. There was not only a rapid exchange of information that allowed citizens to make informed decisions, but also a widespread of disinformation and misinformation – about the virus, its origins, effective prevention and treatment measures, and the legitimacy of the vaccines – both intended and unintended to harm. In this shift from the public to the digital sphere were social media and its paramount role in creating an “infodemic.”

During the pandemic (and the infodemic), there has been government control over surveillance, censorship, and the free flow of information. In addition to this, the value of social media has been highlighted by political leaders, who have strategically…

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Freedom is unthinkable without responsibility

“Freedom is unthinkable without responsibility.
Personal freedom finds its limit in the freedom of one’s neighbour.
Responsible action is needed to protect our fellow human beings in this pandemic.
According to scientific findings, vaccination is an effective means of combating the Corona pandemic. We see it as an obligation to be vaccinated, provided there are no medical reasons against it,” emphasises Diocesan Council Rottenburg-Stuttgart spokesman Dr Johannes Warmbrunn.

Original: Freiheit ist ohne Verantwortung undenkbar

Allister Heath on people who have a vested interest in this permanent Covid emergency

In the Daily Telegraph Allister Heath brings a comment where he blames that the pandemic has become a convenient excuse for bodies that fail to do their jobs properly

He writes:

There is much that we have learnt about the character of modern Britain since Covid burst so disastrously on the scene almost two years ago. The only unambiguous positive is that our community spirit is alive and well, with millions ready to volunteer for the general good. We are more trusting of political and medical authorities than most other societies, and in return the British state has remained ever so slightly more liberal towards us; unfortunately, our second-rate machinery of government is still scandalously unprepared for modern-day pandemics, new variants or any kind of genuine crisis.

Read further: Too many people have a vested interest in this permanent Covid emergency

You also may find more crucial insights and in-depth analysis as Boris Johnson announces all adults will be offered booster vaccinations by the end of January. The Telegraph’s expert team will talk you through everything you need to know about the third vaccine dose. You’ll also find answers to our readers’ most pressing questions on the omicron variant, including how the symptoms differ and what protection vaccines offer. Paul Nuki examines whether the new variant will cause severe disease or just a runny nose, while Sarah Knapton explains why “The Ghosts of Variants Past may bring comfort amid omicron gloom”.

Sherelle Jacobs provides illuminating commentary as she warns that “The failed Whitehall blob threatens to push Britain back into lockdown”. Tom Harris is incisive as he explores “Why many on the Left want another lockdown”. Plus, as new rules are brought in to combat the variant’s spread, Tim Stanley laments that “Lockdown looms and our liberties are in tatters”.

To save, or not to save: that is the question.

The big problem for today’s youth is that governments do everything they can to pamper the big landowners and owners of international chains and companies and give them as many financial benefits as possible, while the citizens are taxed very heavily and do not get paid for their work as it should be, while goods become more and more expensive (even the necessities of life such as shelter, water and energy).

Yet they will have to know and learn that it is best to put some money aside for later, because to lay something for a rainy day is now more necessary than ever. If they do not provide for their old age now, they could end up very poor when they retire.

The Curmudgeon in the Cottage

It has been a long time since I last posted. I had a piece nearly ready to go and then Austria’s political crisis and resignation of the Generation Y Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, rendered it all out of date without a significant rewrite. And I will concede that the last couple of months have been a struggle in terms of sitting down to write a blog. But I am back.

Yesterday saw me visit my bank branch for the first time in 18 months: there hadn’t been any need to do so, and even yesterday’s visit would not have been classed as being an essential one. I did however come close to going into a bank with my neighbour, who wanted to give the first lockdown the finger, in April 2020 by collecting her pension in person until I managed to dissuade her. All my payments have long been made…

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MoonDay Musings: the magic of storytelling

In a certain way it is a shame, the tradition of telling about the past of the family, does not exist anymore.

Probably, for some time, the Boom generation is the last generation where the youngsters sat on the lap of their grandparents listening to those very interesting stories of the past as well as to the many fairytales and fables.
As kids we could dream about wonder tales involving marvellous elements and occurrences, bringing us in dreamland. Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm ( Jacob Ludwig Carl and Wilhelm Carl Grimm) , were daily food for many of the generations born before 1960, who also grew up with several fables or parables.

In many industrialised countries there is no time given anymore to public storytellers or to public poets .It would not be bad to have again a bearer of “old lore” (seanchas) or have again recitals by bards, to bring the past back to life.
We may not forget that by telling about the past we can learn for the future and find ways to strengthen ourselves.

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Additional reading

1. To relive that what happened in the past
2. Stories of the beginnings, and one Main book composed of four major sections
3. The flood, floods and mythic flood stories 6 European myths
4. Dia de Los Muertos – Day of the dead
5. Allhallowtide with Halloween, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day

Inner Journey Events Blog

Photo by Nong Vang on Unsplash

We learn history in many ways — from school textbooks, non-fiction scholarly works, novels, television, documentaries and films, the nightly news and more — and some of those sources may even be accurate. 

But what of cultural lore and traditions, and family history?

In the past, these stories were shared at family gatherings, at times of celebration such as festivals like Samhain and Bealtaine, but also on special days for individuals such as births, birthdays or naming days, weddings, and —yes — deaths, as families gathered to celebrate the life of a loved one who had passed. 

In ancient Irish traditions — and many other cultures and places with strong oral traditions — families, villages, clans and tribes honoured the role of the story teller.

These were known as the fílidh (pronounced fee-lee) in Druidic and Celtic traditions, poet-seers who learned hundred…

View original post 418 more words