Miracle is A Two-Way Street

Recently, I often hear people claiming they believe in God, who walks in the realm of impossibility. They have faith in the Lord, who makes all things possible for all who trust in Him.
I say "Amen!" to that.

But, sometimes, people respond to the above notion a bit out of the intended scope. Yes, it's true: our Lord, the Creator of the Universe, is the "Maker of Miracles, working wonders."
Nevertheless, He does not always work that way!
If He does, what's the need to establish the natural axioms of the universe for?

Let's take some miraculous examples:

- Abraham had a son at 100 years old. How miraculous!
But, look at it closely: there was a span of 25 years between the moment God gave the promise until it was finally fulfilled. Abraham had to prove his faith to God and serve Him wholeheartedly until he was proven worthy to receive the fulfillment of God's promise.
Beside, Isaac was not born out of thin air. He was conceived for nine months and was delivered naturally from the womb of his aged mother, Sarah.

- Joshua cried out to God and the entire solar system stopped moving. Awesome!
But it only happened because Joshua was out on a military campaign prompted by the will of God, not his own.
It was God's will and power that stopped the movement of the sun and moon, and He heard Joshua's prayer because he was a general who understood the will of God.

- Over 5,000 people were fed and be filled when Jesus broke the five loaves and two fishes. But Jesus did not perform the miracle before they had followed Him for three days on foot, only to listen attentively to His teaching.
Their faith and longing for His words were the reasons behind their following the Lord, despite the long journey, hunger, and thirst. In turn, it moved the Lord's heart with compassion. And a miracle happened!

- Many people were healed from their illnesses and demon-possession in the days of the apostles. But, did they simply come casually and received healing without a price? No!
During the early years of the church, Christianity was banned and considered a threat to the status quo. Anyone who believed and accepted the teaching should be marked as a traitor and ought to answer to the authority.
So, these people came to the apostles to be miraculously healed in full understanding that, by doing so, they could forfeit their very lives! It was their faith and courage that allowed God to perform miracles in them.

What I am saying is: God is truly the God of miracles who walks in the realm of impossibility, but in all things, there is a process!

We can't expect God to work miracles in our lives and blow our problems away in a single flick of His fingers!
That is not His modus of operation.
This is God's way of dealing with man: teamwork.
Meaning?

We handle all the possible, He'll handle the impossible.
We work out the process, He'll come out with the result.
We follow His will through His words, He'll fulfill His wonderful plans in our lives.
We pray, He'll act.

Miracle is a two-way street: we do our part, God does His.
And when the miracle takes place, we'll realize that He doesn't merely change the situation. He changes our hearts as well.
And compared to the new person He has forged us into, the miracle itself will seem smaller than it's expected at the beginning.

Our God is not only beyond impossibility.
He is way beyond imagination!
Amen.

A Fourteen-Years Lesson

Recess, two weeks prior to my seventeenth birthday: January 16, 1997.

Everything went normal at school that fine morning, except for a simple notification that said I was expected at the staff's office.
I walked briskly up the stairs, opened the door, and was told, "We've prepared the car for you, Shinta. You need to get home immediately. Your brother just passed away."

How would you feel if that news was directed to you?

For me, it was as if the entire world collapsed.
Receiving the message that my eldest brother died, five months after my dad's funeral, simply didn't make any sense.

How much probability one could suggest?
One in a thousand?
That's 0.001 chance!
But it did happen -- one out of a thousand chance.

Cardiac arrest.
He was 28.

I was overwhelmed.
I was broken to pieces.
I was grieved beyond belief.

But the strange thing was: I didn't ask "why."
I didn't know why I didn't question anything or blamed anyone.
There was nothing I did but went on with life, no matter how tearfully painful and drenched in sorrow it had been.

I was 16!
I hadn't had the wisdom to understand that when faced to Fate, asking "why" wouldn't solve anything or did any good.
It was the "how" that mattered.

Fourteen years afterwards, I look back and finally understand:

- How I learned to stand on my own.
- How to search for rainbows beyond the clouds.
- How to stop being a spoiled little girl, grow up, and take responsibility over my own choices.
- How to have faith for a better future when the present doesn't seem to be promising much.
- How to build everything from zero and enjoy the fruit of my own labor.

He was gone and left me shattered.
But he had gone to a much better place.
And from the debris of heartbreak, I rose up and turned into someone new.

Sometimes, the very thing that breaks us to pieces, rebuilds us twice stronger -- depending on how we give the right response.
Now I know, that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Somewhere, I see beyond the clouds, over the rainbow: skies are blue.

Friends

A friend is someone we turn to

when our spirits need a lift.

A friend is someone we treasure

for our friendship is a gift.

A friend is someone who fills our lives

with beauty, joy, and grace.

And makes the whole world we live in

a better and happier place.



- Jean Kyler McManus -

Goji Berries & Their Amazing Health Facts

Goji berries have become a new rising star in the world of natural health science. This tiny red berries from the Himalayan Mountains, also known as the Lycium Barbarum, has been proven as the world's most nutritionally dense food.

Recent studies have shown that goji berries contain:

- 19 amino acids (the building blocks of protein), including all eight that are essential for life.

- 21 trace minerals, including germanium, an anti-cancer trace mineral rarely found in foods.

- more protein than whole-wheat (13%).

- a complete spectrum of antioxidant carotenoids, including beta-carotene (a better source than even carrots!) and zeaxanthin (protects the eyes). Goji berries are the richest source of carotenoids of all known foods.

- vitamin C at higher levels than even those found in oranges.

- B-complex vitamins, necessary for converting food into energy.

- vitamin E (very rarely found in fruits, only in grains and seeds).

- Beta-sitosterol, an anti-inflammatory agent. Beta-sitosterol also lowers cholesterol and has been used to treat impotence and prostate enlargement.

- Essential fatty acids, which are required for the body's production of hormones and for the smooth functioning of the brain and nervous system.

- Cyperone, a sesquiterpene that benefits the heart and blood pressure, alleviate menstrual discomfort, and has been used in the treatment of cervical cancer.

- Solavetivone, a powerful anti-fungal and anti-bacterial compound.

- Physalin, a natural compound that is active against all major types of leukemia. It has been shown to increase splenic natural killer cell activity in normal and tumor-bearing mice, with broad-spectrum anti-cancer effect. It has also been used as a treatment for hepatitis B.

- Betaine, which is used by the liver to produce choline, a compound that calms nervousness, enhance memory, promote muscle growth, and protects against fatty liver disease. Betain also provides methyl groups in the body's energy reactions and can help reduce levels of homocysteine, a prime risk factor in heart disease. It also protects DNA.


In his book, Goji: The Himalayan Health Secret, Rick Handel listed 34 health benefits of goji berries which had been discovered through latest scientific researches:

1. Extend your life, protecting your body from premature aging through its powerful antioxidant action.

2. Increase your energy and strength, especially when fighting disease.

3. Make you look and feel younger. Goji stimulates the secretion of HGH (Human Growth Hormone), the "youth hormone."

4. Lower your blood pressure.

5. Prevent cancer.

6. Maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

7. Balance blood-sugar and manage diabetes.

8. Enhance libido and sexual function.

9. Lose weight.

10. Relieve headaches and dizziness.

11. Get better sleep.

12. Improve your vision.

13. Strengthen your heart.

14. Inhibit lipid peroxidation. Accumulation of sticy lipid peroxides in the blood can lead to cardiovascular disease, heart attack, atherosclerosis, and stroke. Goji increases levels of an important blood enzyme that inhibits their formation.

15. Resist disease.

16. Improve immune response by balancing the activity of all classes of immune cells, including T-cells, cytotoxic T-cells, NK celss, lysozyme, tumore necrosis factor-alpha, and the immunoglobulins IgG and IgA.

17. Manage and fight cancer, including regressions of malignant melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, lung cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and malignant hydrothorax.

18. Protect your precious DNA, the most important chemical in your body, ensuring that -- as they need replacement -- your 10 trillion cells are faithfully reproduced as healthy, exact duplicates, and restoring and repairing damaged DNA.

19. Inhibit tumor growth.

20. Reduce the toxic effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

21. Build strong blood, enhancing production of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

22. Help chronic dry cough.

23. Fight inflammation and arthritis by restoring the balance of the importan anti-inflammatory SOD enzyme.

24. Improve your lymphocyte count. A lymphocyte is any of a group of white blood cells important to the adaptive part of the body's immune system. Goji increases lymphocyte count.

25. Treat menopausal symptoms.

26. Prevent morning sickness in the first trimester of pregnancy.

27. Improve fertility.

28. Strengthen your muscles and bones.

29. Support kidney health.

30. Improve your memory.

31. Support healthy liver function.

32. Alleviate anxiety and stress.

33. Promote cheerfulness and brighten your spirit, explaining why goji is called the "happy berry." In fact, it has been noted that the only known side-effect of goji is that continued consumption may make it impossible for you to stop smiling!

34. Improve digestion.


With all those remarkable benefits listed above, it's no wonder that the Hunza people of Himalaya who eat the goji berries regularly live to the average age of 100 - 120 years old! Records prove that these people live a long, full, joyful life in perfect health due to their natural diet and regular consumption of fruits, including the multi-benefits goji berries.