Friday, December 28, 2007

working at sally ann

i volunteer in the kitchen at salvation army every thursday morning. i start the day bagging fruits and vegetables for the clients. the donations vary from day to day but we always get bread and buns. when we have so much of an item we just leave them in cases for people to help themselves. we put everything on rolling shelving units and the clients can help themselves.

yesterday we were busier than usual so i took one of the shelving units outside. men were instantly attacking the shelves above me and on both sides of me to get at the food and i was getting knocked down. i could hear a man tell the crowd to let me get back inside. it was kinda scary and made me think of what must happen when people panic.

some people just want what they want and to hell with everyone else.

the best part is serving coffee to everyone while they are having lunch.

last week a lady asked if she could hug me and pray for me. she said she never hugs anyone. she had lived in vancouver's east side and she said her life and memory were destroyed there but that God had resurrected her into a new life in Him. she prayed that God would double His use in me. it was a switch but it was cool.

i love working there.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Christmas eve

i wanted so much to go to Christmas eve service with my grandchildren but instead went to my sister's for dinner. i couldn't get to my own church but stopped in at a church on my way home and managed to get the last 15 minutes. after singing silent night i wished the small, wrinkled little old lady beside me a merry Christmas. she wished me the same and hugged me. i had no idea how badly i needed that hug but after saying God bless you to her, and she to me, i left the church and started weeping as i walked out to my truck and started driving home.

BBB's top ten scams

This year’s list of the Top Ten Scams sees some old dogs coming back with some new tricks. New social marketing websites like Facebook and MySpace have opened new doors for identity thieves to access your information, while some unscrupulous door-to-door gas marketers put this category back on this list.

I have never signed on to facebook or myspace and can not believe the number of people that are on it. seeing this report on the better business bureau's website just confirms my suspicions that facebook and myspace are wide open to identity theft.

BBB

**TOP TEN SCAMS**
This year’s list of the Top Ten Scams sees some old dogs coming back with some new tricks. New social marketing websites like Facebook and MySpace have opened new doors for identity thieves to access your information, while some unscrupulous door-to-door gas marketers put this category back on this list.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS POEM

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps Canadian, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Dieppe on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in that Korean Land',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
Something red and, white, ... A Canadian flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a trench with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbour no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

naturopathic vs traditional medicine

saw the naturopath last week, my numbers were so high they were almost off the scale. he asked if i had pain anywhere because his tests showed that i had inflammation everywhere. he asked if i still had the supplements he had given me, truthfully i said i did have them but i didn't tell him i hadn't been taking them.

i have pain in my ears, in my jaw, almost everywhere except maybe the small toe on each foot.

yesterday i saw my gp and told him i felt like 100 years old and like i'd been hit by a truck. he told me to quit taking the hormone drug he had prescribed 3 weeks ago because depending on a stress test (because the least effort exhausts me) he was going to order, which wouldn't be til january, they wouldn't be good for me. as it was i hadn't picked up the prescription yet but this is something he has prescribed for me for the past 15 years. he told me to take baby aspirin instead.

as the naturopath has said my lymph nodes are so completely congested they are causing the inflammation/pain. him i believe and i wonder what's the point of the gp's tests.

i can go to the naturopath and he can tell me which organs aren't functioning properly and he can give me supplements that restore my health. i go to my gp who prescribes something then tells me i shouldn't take it and can not tell me why there is so much pain in my body and yet he thinks all naturopathic medicine is a crock.

he's ordered blood work that is totally different from what the oncologist does so my wanting to have proof in black and white that couldn't be disputed isn't going to happen.

so in the morning i'll do the glucose fasting blood work and right after i'm back on xango. i may not be able to prove it on paper but my entire body will know the difference.

i know when i see the naturopath again that my numbers are going to be back down in the normal range because the inflammation will be all gone.

the research on mangosteen shows that it's effective in reducing inflammation in the body. it also says that most diseases are caused by inflammation.

i wish i could afford to give it away because i am convinced it will relieve people's symptoms. i know it will relieve mine.

i have pictures of a langley burn victim whose face and neck were badly burned and after applying strips of gauze soaked in xango the burns on his face totally healed. his hands didn't because he kept washing his hands after applying the gauze. this is another amazing xango testimony.

i gave a small bottle to a cbc student and told her i didn't expect her to buy it but asked her if it helped her extremely bad acne to tell others what it did for her. we agreed it might not do too much because it was a small 3 oz bottle. she told me it had helped a little and believed more would have helped more.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

xango - it's a food product not a drug

xango - it's a food product. people have asked about it and said they want to ask their doctors about it to see whether it's ok if they take it together with the meds they are taking.

i wonder - do they take their orange or apple juice to the doctors to ask if it's ok to take them with their meds? what do they think mangosteen is?

absolutely i agree - people should check with their doctors when they're prescribed drugs to make sure there are no contraindications. you definitely want to make sure that the drugs your doctor has prescribed for you last year are what you should still be taking this year, and that they won't cause any problems with the new prescription he wants to give you.

i'm amazed at the number of stories i've heard lately from people that have gone to their doctors for whatever and the doctor's are saying 'oh are you still taking that medicine?' like they don't know. every one has said their doctor has taken them off the old drug. they have so many people going through their doors they don't remember who you are or what they've prescribed for you.

doctors and pharmacists have to know their drugs to know to warn about this or that. you have to read the warning labels on everything to make sure you can take cough syrup with aspirin and to know how much to give what age group.

oranges - just eat 'em. apple juice - just drink it. it's food - it's good for you.

doctors will even tell you it's good to eat fruit. fruit is good for you. you know - an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

well in this case it's mangosteen fruit - it's food - it's good for you. it's a fruit - fruit is good for you. and a lot of people are finding a couple of ounces of mangosteen juice a day is keeping the doctor away.

i have to remember to ask people when they say they want to ask their doctor if it's ok to drink xango if they also ask if it's ok to drink apple and orange juice.

Diabetes - Globe and Mail

i read the following article (check the Globe & Mail archives to view the whole article) and shook my head. lately i have become more aware of the risks associated with taking prescribed medicines. they warn about taking certain meds with foods, take others without foods, don't take with this drug, don't take with that drug. it's scary.


Study flags Avandia risks
ANDRÉ PICARD

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

December 12, 2007 at 10:01 AM EST

A new Canadian study provides the strongest evidence to date of the dangers of the popular diabetes drug Avandia, particularly when used by seniors.

The research, published in today's edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association, is the latest in a series of studies calling the safety of the drug into question.

Older diabetics taking the drug have a risk of congestive heart failure 60 per cent higher than those taking other diabetes drugs, the study found. Those on the drug also show a 40-per-cent jump in the risk of heart attack and a 29-per-cent increase in the risk of death.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

100 years old & hit by a truck

i feel like i'm a hundred years old and i've been hit by a truck. wanting relief from pain and stiffness in my hands i started drinking xango. i had no idea it would do anything for the cancer. i heard stories from people saying they'd been healed of cancer but until i stopped taking it on the 29th i had no idea what the difference was. i wasn't expecting it to do anything for the cancer. man was i wrong.

my cancer is in my lymph nodes which are all throughout the body. some i can actually see that they are swollen. but the pain is everywhere because the nodes are everywhere. it goes through my core front to back, it's in my armpits and going down my left arm and it's in my groin. the rest of my body just aches everywhere with occasional stabs of pain. i have no energy at all and the least effort exhausts me. and of course the pain and stiffness is back in my hands.

but.... relief is in sight. i remember feeling this way before i went on xango and now that i know that xango will take the pain away and restore my energy i am so looking forward to the 17th when after i see my gp and have tests i'll be back on it.

when someone asks me how i'm doing i say i'm fine. i figure no one wants to hear about my aches and pain. now i know that xango is making a difference so when i am back on it i can truthfully say i am fine.

after this i don't ever plan on being without xango again. i thought of what a wuss i would be at the end stages of the disease but if i keep drinking xango maybe i'll never get to the end stages.

Friday, December 07, 2007

God and Xango

since i started drinking xango and have noticed how it has helped me and listened to others tell me how it's helped them i have wanted to tell everyone about it. people say they have this or that ailment and i tell them about xango.

i know it works. i know it works for me. i believe it will work for others. so when people tell me they are sick i want to tell them about xango because i want them to get better.

i know God works. i know He works for me and i know He will work for others. so why don't i tell sick people what He will do for them when i know i want them to get better and i know He will make them better.

some people that are physically sick don't want to hear about xango. they don't believe it will do anything for them.

spiritually sick people don't want to hear about Jesus. they don't believe He can do anything for them.

i've been thinking about this 'comparison' a lot lately. i find it so easy to talk to people about xango and i want to talk to them about xango because i want them to get better.

i absolutely love talking about Jesus. He's my favourite subject. why will i go out of my way to talk to people about xango but only talk to people about Jesus when they ask me.

we live in a sick society. xango may give you relief from physical symptoms of illness but Jesus is the absolute sure-fire cure for what really ails you.

depending on what ails you, you need to keep drinking xango. i drink 1 oz 3 times a day and i feel great. but as i've discovered when i haven't had xango for a few days the pain comes back and i feel crappy.

you need to keep drinking in Jesus too. saying you believe in Him is one thing but if you really want to feel great you need to take Him in regularly throughout the day. i know when i don't get enough of Jesus. i feel empty and terrible.

you only drink 1 oz of xango and don't notice any change - drink more.

you only spend 1 minute with God and don't notice any change - spend more time with Him.

i thank God that He gave us the mangosteen to help us feel better. i thank God and praise Him for the precious gift of His Son to save us and His Holy Spirit to make us better.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

xango and non-hodgkins lymphoma

i stopped drinking xango a week ago to prove a point to my gp. i had no idea i would notice such a difference myself considering i only started drinking it for the pain and stiffness in my hands.

i hurt. for the past several days i've noticed that the lymph nodes in my groin and armpits are painful, my hands hurt and are stiff again. i'm determined to see what the difference would be in my blood work from almost 3 weeks without xango when my gp checks me out to being back on xango for 3 weeks and being re-tested by the oncologist. i can tell him how i feel but if he can see the facts for himself how can he deny them.

most people are skeptics and need proof before they believe in something. thinking of Jesus just now and even then people didn't believe when the truth was right in front of them.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

cancer

I read something that says we all have cancer cells in our body so it's just a matter of time before everyone of us gets it. And hearing daily of someone else being diagnosed with cancer I'm believing it.

I stopped Xango 3 days ago to see if it makes any difference in how I feel from the cancer and my lymph nodes that had hurt before Xango, that didn't hurt on Xango, are now hurting again. I saw my doctor on Thursday and he said he wants to do a head to toe physical on the 17th so I wanted to not be on Xango and see what my blood levels and everything says and then when I see the oncologist on Jan 10th compare my blood levels again.

I talk to friends who are all coming down with colds or flu and I'm not sure I want to have either so I can prove a point to the doctor except that I do want to prove the point to the doctor.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

World Aid's Day

There is no medical cure for HIV/AIDS. There is hope for those affected. This pandemic not only devastates human lives, it leaves broken hearts in despair and without hope. On this World AIDS Day, I call on churches and Christians around the world to pray for those suffering from this terrible disease and to ask God for His intervening, healing hand. My personal prayer is that each individual affected by HIV/AIDS will sense God’s love and come to know—in a personal way—the Creator and Savior of their souls, Jesus Christ.

Franklin Graham President and Chief Executive Officer Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

A Guide For Prayer: World AIDS Day Thank you for praying with us for the estimated 33 million people around the world who suffer from the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Pray for the thousands of young people who become orphans each day because they lose parents to AIDS. Pray that God will provide for these children and comfort them.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will intercede for those who suffer, that they might experience God's healing hand and find real hope in His love.

Pray for families who face emotional and financial difficulties because of this potentially costly disease.

Pray that the love of Jesus Christ will shine through doctors,missionaries, workers, and volunteers worldwide as they labor to comfort and care for the millions who suffer from HIV/AIDS.

Pray for HIV/AIDS education to increase throughout the world so that people will know how to protect themselves, prevent the spread of this deadly virus, and make wise choices that honor God.

Pray that God will give people the courage to speak up and take action in ways that will change the path of this pandemic.

Praying for Regions of the World

Pray for Africa—the continent that has suffered the most from the effects of HIV/AIDS. Pray that wars will cease and economic instability will be solved in African countries so that the spread of HIV/AIDS will lessen and people will have access to decent nutrition and medical care.

Pray for Asia, where Franklin Graham will be visiting November 29-December 2, 2007 for the Hong Kong Franklin Graham Festival. AIDS is a relatively new struggle for Asian countries, but it is a real threat. Pray that God will bless Asia, bringing citizens to salvation, unity, and understanding.

Pray for Europe, the Caribbean, North America, and Latin America, as well as other areas of the world where people endure the consequences of the AIDS crisis.