JESUS LOVES YOU!

4:15:51 PM PDT

Being a Christian is more than just believing in God.  Being a Christian is obeying God. Being a Christian is doing acts of good deeds. Acts which bear good fruits.

 

Fulltime, not just part-time or only when you feel like it.

 

Not believing in God is an excuse to be evil. An excuse to do evil things.

 

When someone denies God they have all the right to do wrong.  That is because without God there is no law. There is no righteousness and one can do whatever he or she desires.

 

Being a Christian means many things. Positive things. Things like being moral. Morality is a blanket of many good things. Morality is having good principles, ethics, goodness, doing right, having decency, morals, honesty, integrity, kindness, righteousness, justice, virtues, value, worth, merit, moral behavior, honor, properness, relevance, truthfulness, faithfulness, and synonyms in a basket full of good fruits.

 

Ones deeds reflect the degree of Christianity a person holds. Simply believing in God is not enough to make one a good Christian. A True Christian. A Devoted Christian.  Simply doing good deeds or performing righteous acts is not enough to be considered a good Christian. One must do both, believe in God and obey God.

 

Believing in God and obeying God is what a True Christian is. There are no excuses, no exceptions. 

 

One must fully commit to God and one must fully obey Him by following all of His laws and do all of the things He tells us to do. We can not work part-time for God. We can not do some of the things He asks us to do and ignore the other things He commands us to do. God’s laws and principles are our road map in life. Without this road map we get lost and find ourselves going down the wrong road, a road often leading to evil.

 

It is up to us to navigate which direction our lives will take. If we believe in God and we obey God, we will journey down a road worth traveling and our end destiny will be a rewarding one.

 

But if we allow ourselves to wander and explore the forbidden lands of life, traveling down dark roads filled with evil, then we can only expect to find evil and evil will be the face we see when we look into the mirror.

 

God’s Path

God forces no one. To become a Christian is an act of choice. God provides an ultimatum, but He does not force anyone to decide the course of their eternal journey.

 

Repent, Believe, Ask & Receive

If one chooses to be saved by and have faith in Jesus Christ as being their Saviour, by confessing ones sins, repenting, and believing that the Lord Jesus Christ died for his or her sins on the Cross and was raised for his or her justification, and asks Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and to be saved, and one receives Him and confesses Him as their personal Saviour, then one is promised by God to have eternal life. One then becomes a Christian.

 

The ultimatum is death. Spiritual death. Choose not to believe and be damned to Hell.

 

As a Christian of Eastern Orthodox faith, I do not hold the traditional Western view that one is automatically “saved”. Being saved is a process of “being saved”. In other words, it is a process which continues for the rest of your human life here on earth and your obedience to God and your actions and behavior is a continuation or extension of your Christian growth. That is, a continuation to the point when you eventually become holy.

 

You become holy by your advanced learning and obedience of God’s knowledge in which He shares with you. By the activation of the Holy Spirit within you. When God lives in your heart and totally guides you and you are 100% obedient to Him, your belief and your obedience is 100%, then are you holy and then are you truly saved.

 

Many think they can sin or do evil and simply repent and continue to be “saved”. Obedience requires virtue. There is more to being saved than some Christians tend to believe. Yet being saved is the first step in a long process of becoming a true and devoted Christian and eventually becoming holy.

 

I never interfere with another’s Christian religious views, unless invited to do so. I seldom comment to anyone about their personal faith or denomination without invitation. It’s God’s job to judge, not mine. There are many Christian denominations which I find rather upsetting. There are some pretty wild teachings out there under the cover of Bible-based, Christian blanket. However, if one is a Christian, believing in Jesus Christ, and has taken the steps to be “saved” and is being taught by a Bible-based church or ministry and/or is regularly reading the Bible on his or her own, and is truly committed to Jesus Christ, I believe eventually that person will find the corrections needed to modify his or her Christian standings. Jesus Christ will lead Children of God to the Father. Remember, He is the Shepherd.

 

The main reason I take this view is because I know if one asks Jesus Christ to help them in learning and guide them toward His convictions He will.

 

The other reason I take this position is because in all reality, being a Christian or becoming a Christian is not unlike the educational process we receive in our academic life. We often first start our education by being enrolled into Head-Start and then move through the education system by entering kindergarten and thus moving up the educational ladder through K12 and beyond. Some of us drop out before then. Others return and receive their GED. Still others move on to college with a variation from certificates, vocational training, 2-year or 4-year degrees to masters or doctorate degrees. We are God’s little children. Some of us are simply more developed than others. Some of us simply need to grow and learn more about God and we will. For He is a patient Father.

 

The growth and learning of God’s Knowledge as a Christian is done in the same or similar manner. Some of us grow to the point of becoming holy. Others drop out and back step. Still others are caught somewhere between. Man has tampered with God’s words for centuries and some are at the receiving end of bad teaching. But if that someone really digs into the Bible and let’s Jesus Christ guide him, letting the Holy Spirit, the Helper take control, that someone will eventually override the bad teaching and get correct knowledge directly from God.

 

Let God take over and replace the false teaching of men if need be in order to gain the full benefit directly from God. He can and will teach all who desire to learn.

 

Our hearts tell us when we are doing wrong. The Holy Spirit will correct us, or scold us and teach us righteousness.

 

How many times have you done something your heart has told you was wrong?

Perhaps you were rude to a stranger, and later regretted your own bad-mannered behavior? Maybe you said something to someone that you later wish you had not said, but find yourself in a position where you are uncomfortable with yourself because you can not apologies to that person because they are no longer around?

 

With practice, being careful of our actions, we can prevent such future occurrences which offend others for the sake of ourselves.

 

Too often ministries perform initial “saving” prayers with individuals and then drop the ball. People are confused today. There is such a widespread of so-called Christian denominations, and even such hideous versions of the “bible” on the market today that no wonder people are confused. Individuals who are guided to being converted to Christianity need special, on-going, personal attention to help them over the hurdles of confusion. People need help advancing from Head-Start toward the Christian education and understanding levels that lead beyond K-12. Being a Christian is an individual thing as well as a group thing. Meeting good, honest Christians and sharing with one another what we have learned, and helping others grow, is good food for the soul.

 

In a world of perils and confusion, one needs to keep in mind that being a True Christian is not for the benefit or comfort of man, but for God.

 

Our Christian faith should not be based on man’s comfort, or slanted for the benefit of man, but on obedience to God.

 

Being a Christian is more than just believing in God.  Being a Christian is obeying God. Being a Christian is doing acts of good deeds. Acts which bear good fruits.

 

Not believing in God is an excuse to be evil. An excuse to do evil things.

 

The Bible teaches us how to solve all of our problems. Every one of them.

 

That fact alone is enough reason to believe in God.  God teaches us in the Bible all of the things we need in order to live a good life. There is no other form of instructions which can come remotely close.  One amazing thing about the Bible, no matter how many times you read it, even the same verses or passages, you always learn something new with each reading.

 

Why believe in God? Because there is no other alternative which comes remotely close to make you feel complete. There is no other source of happiness. No other means of satisfaction. No other source of security. No other medicine to help you through sickness or sorrow. No other standards of moral or definition of righteousness. No greater teacher, time tested and true. No better discipline for self-discipline. No greater antidote for low self-esteem or lost self-control. No better authority on law and order. No greater guidelines on how we should live. How we should act and behave. How we should treat our neighbors and those unfortunate ones. How we should treat each other. And, how we should love one another. There is no source in the universe greater than the Knowledge of God and His Word, Jesus Christ, and His Bible. None!

 

That’s why we should believe in God and there are infinite other reasons, too.

 

Not believing in God and disobeying God can only lead to evil. Evil leads too wrong and wrong leads to disease, murder, rape, hate, stealing, injustice, immorality, lying, wickedness, corruption and well… you know the list.

 

Even Satan believes in God.

 

The Scriptures are the basis for human and spiritual survival. Satan is the guarantee of certain death.  Good vs. evil.

 

Which team do you want to be on? If you chose God’s team then come aboard, completely. Leave your baggage behind and start anew. God is waiting to show you the most satisfying and righteous life you have ever known. Be Blessed.

 

Thank you for joining me. God Bless You.

And always remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River

Las Vegas, Nevada

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

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4:57:58 PM PDT

After completing two and a half weeks on the streets during my most recent mission I returned with mixed emotions. Those two and a half weeks have brought emotional highs as well as lows. The lows were due to the fact I didn’t have the funds to do what I wanted to accomplish, such as feeding the hungry. However, I made use of the time by accomplishing other things such as learning of other services for the homeless that I wasn’t previously aware of or hadn’t previously experienced.

 

The most pleasant thing occurred a couple of weeks ago. I was at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission talking with Jim Crelia from the Valley Bible Fellowship after he gave his open-air ministry under the shade dome outside the Mission. Being a Sunday, Jim provides religious services for the homeless prior to the early feeding of soup.

 

As I turned, there grinning at me from ear-to-ear was the familiar face of Mel Gibson’s look-a-like, my old friend, David. “What are you doing here?” we both said to each other, at the same time.

 

I hadn’t seen David in over a year. Seeing him again was the most rewarding sight I could have ever imagined. I mention David in a piece I wrote in the ROCK, called:

I Am My Brother's Keeper He is visiting Vegas for a month, before he returns to Tennessee.  I am so proud of David’s accomplishments and I am so happy of his strong faith in God.

 

David was the most instrumental person in helping me survive on the streets during my first homeless experience in the winter of 2007. Shamus Elliott, another homeless friend, helped me with locating many services during that initial time when I first became homeless. The three of us met at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission where we stayed for seven nights during the coldest Las Vegas winter in twenty years. During the day, when we had to leave the Mission, we traveled together on the streets. I was severally handicapped at the time and had difficulty walking because I have fragmented knees. I needed to use a cane to get around. Both David and Shay looked after me during those turbulent times I was forced to walk around in dire pain.

 

Recently, Shamus and I found each other again, after over a year of not seeing one another. Like David and I, we caught up on the events which had taken place in each of our lives during the course of one year.

 

As delighted as I was in finding both David and Shamus again, and bringing one another up to date, the sad thing is they are both leaving town soon. David will return to Tennessee and continue working with his church and doing God’s work there. Shamus will head north for a promise of a better life.

 

Both of these guys would be a valuable asset to the RIVER Organization and could provide superb talent to the mission of the organization. Both of them believed, trusted and supported me when I mentioned early during my initial homelessness that I believed Jesus Christ put me on the streets so I could see and understand what was happening to the homeless in Las Vegas, and so I could do something about it.

 

It is such a tremendous loss to the organization that they will both be leaving Las Vegas soon. But perhaps, over time, we can reunite again, or at least communicate over the websites of the RIVER Organization. Their input and ideas would be most valuable. Their combined and individual experiences would be priceless. They both have diverse talent which could help the organization become a viable force to help eradicate homelessness, especially during the start-up phase.

 

But life goes on and we need to make do with what we have. I am greatly indebted to both David and Shay for what I’ve learned from them during the time I have known them. It is unlikely, without them, I would have survived due to my physical condition at that time.

 

During the past two weeks, after meeting David again, we stayed on Skid Row, Foremaster Street. Just like old times. The August heat was relentless. Even in the night, with 100 degrees at ten o’clock and the concrete baking from a day’s sun scorching the body. Sleeping on cardboard, and what blankets we could later find. Life on Foremaster was pretty much unchanged, the darkness of Satan abound.

 

The newspaper strewn sidewalks where homeless people slept on cardboard or newsprint showed its ugly face in the morning when the sun came up.

 

The stench of urine, believe it or not, was a better smell than which came in the night. Behind us were four crematories and after darkness falls you could smell the stench of human hair and human flesh burning. The prelude to nightmares. Nothing could foster the imagination of darkness more than that stench, in the sleep. Some needed to be told what that smell was, it’s unforgiving in the sleeping mind.

 

A 66-year-old black man, who exchanged seldom words, sleeps on cardboard to my right. David slept on my left. I’m deaf in my right ear and have a substantial hearing loss in my left. So, David beds down on the side of my “good ear” so I can hear him when he speaks. The old black man is deaf in his right ear, too. And he has the same first name as mine.

 

In the morning, when I awake, he asks, “Are you a Christian?”

 

I ask David what he said, because I could not hear him. David tells me what he said.

“Yes, I am,” I said, pulling my cross forward and up, to show him. He nods and grins.

 

He said something else, and again, I ask him what he said. Again, David translates.

 

“He said, you were talking in your sleep, you kept calling out to, ‘The Son of God’”

 

“Gees, I hope it wasn’t judgment day.” I joked. “Not yet, anyways.”  The old black man said, “You said good things in your sleep.” He smiled, new friendships were made.

 

A new day was born. Scratching and itching from our bug bites from the night, we gather up our belongings and leave the littered, newspaper strewn sidewalk behind. It’s just another day in the life of the homeless. It’s time to move on.

 

Over the course of a few days, David and I traveled, usually on foot for lack of bus passes, and sought food and shade were we could, during the horrendous August heat—the unforgiving Nevada sun.

 

David showed me places I hadn’t yet visited, and I showed him a few places he was unaware of, too. The joint company “Mel Gibson” and “John Wayne” shared during our adventures of knowledge collecting was truly rewarding to the soul.

 

I was amazed and content as I listened to David speak to homeless people enlightening them with sound advise to encourage them to find their exit from street life, through spiritual means and self-determination.

 

I spoke with Gail Sacco, a long-time homeless advocate in the Las Vegas area and editor of the Forgotten Voice. The mayor wants to sell the Frank Wright Plaza, the only park the homeless are allowed to go in the city, without fear of arrest for trespassing,for a fraction of its value to the new owners of the Lady Luck casino and hotel, so they can build a high-rise. Oscar wants to sell all city parks so they can be privatized, so the city doesn’t have to deal with the homeless population.

 

The old and the frail are still woken up and sometimes arrested and taken away in handcuffs for napping inside the DTC lobby. The homeless are still woken up and sometimes told to get off the bus they were riding because sleeping on the bus is not allowed.

 

There are more Asians on the streets than ever before. For some reason, Asians were always a rare minority before, but no longer is that true. What ever it was that seemed to reduce the Asian population from being homeless doesn’t seem to be working now.

 

There are more fresh faces on the streets, more people who don’t look homeless, and the foreclosures of the nation’s number one city of housing failures causing a new wave of first-time street people. Faces filled with sadness and disbelief that they could be living this way.

 

Foremaster Street has more people sleeping on the streets than I had seen in nearly two years. Services for the homeless are being cut and reduced just when services are needed the most. Just when things are getting worst, the top brass are slashing programs. Times are bad, and there is no let up in sight. The challenges are great.

 

Another man dies in the streets and even the most harden street people are upset because of the lack of assistance for him while he was dying and the willingness to call for medical help. It’s a common occurrence, dying in the streets and the lack of those who could render assistance to do so. What is the value of a human life when time is of the essence?

 

There is more bad news than good news. There have been many improvements over the last couple of years toward services for the homeless or public attitude toward the homeless. I attribute that mostly to the Forgotten Voice and folks like Amanda Haymond and Gail Sacco. At the same time, much needed services are being cut due to lack of funding—or will.

 

The difference between what the RIVER Organization will be, and is, is that we will not wait for the homeless to come to us. We will go to the homeless. We know who the homeless are; we can identify those in true need. We can do this, because we are there, and we see who the ones are that need the most help. Those who are crowed out by the aggressors suffer and go without in the game of the streets.

 

Aggressive homeless people often take more than they need. It is the survival of the fittest. The strong prey upon the weak, the weak goes without. Be it food, such as bread, or clothing. The aggressive take more than their share and the weak walk away empty handed. I will take clothes to those who have none. Or need some.  I will go to them, for I know who needs what. The destiny of the RIVER Organization shall be in the hands of the poor, and as long as there is a need, we will be there doing what we can to provide what comfort we can for the poor.

 

The Son of God has called our name and we shall hear Him with the ears of our heart. We shall see with our own eyes the need of our fulfillment of His commandments.

 

It will obviously be a long road for us to travel, (To bring the RIVER Organization beyond the start-up phase) but then if we don’t take the first step we will never get there, to our destination. So, forward we go, in obedience to and of, the Son of God.

 

RIVER'S JUKEBOX

JOHN WAYNE, WHY I LOVE HER

 

Thank You for Joining Me

God Bless You

And Always Remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River

Las Vegas, Nevada

Tuesday, 19 August 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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6:15:41 PM PDT

Hi, Folks!

I'm out of time and have to run. I'm going to catch a bus and go to the inner city on a mission. I'll be camping out for two weeks.

I wanted to spend more time here today, but I am unable to.

I'll be back in a coupe of weeks or so.

I just wanted you to know, I will get back to this site someday and finish my unfinished work.

I NEED YOUR HELP!

My analytics shows the RIVER Organization is getting a lot of world-wide hits, but no one is leaving a comment, yet. Everyone is afraid to be first.

 PLEASE, check out the sites and leave a comment. Your support is always appreaciated. And while you are there, you'll see what I've been up to during the last month. Yes, the RIVER Organization is having a grand opeing, lol.

The RIVER Organization has begun.

Sorry, I don't have more time. But I'll come back when I can.

At the bottom of the left sidebar, the last four links show our websites. Once in, you can use the "Family of Websites" to navigate between the RIVER sites.

Here are the full links as well.

http://www.riverorganization.blogspot.com/

http://homewardboundvoicesfromthestreets.blogspot.com/

http://homewardboundthehomelessvoice.blogspot.com/

http://riverstreetbridgeclub.blogspot.com/

And...

http://rochapelofknowledge.blogspot.com/

I will continue this site, I just need to go help the homeless in Las Vegas for now.

Thanks for your support. I'll get back to you all soon.

GOD BLESS YOU!

And always remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River

 

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5:23:32 PM PDT

This morning female suicide bombers murdered a total of at least 57 people and wounded nearly 300 more.

 

Three female suicide bombers detonated their explosive vests inside a crowd of pilgrims in Baghdad killing at least 32 people and wounding 102. Iraqi police and health officials said most of the dead were women and children.

 

In the northern city of Kirkuk, another female suicide bomber reportedly killed another 25 people and wounded 185. The blast tore through crowds of Kurds during a protest rally.

 

Al-Qaida is blamed for the Baghdad attack and other terrorist groups may or may not be responsible for the attacks on the Kurds.

 

The Islam power play is just as deadly for Arabs as it is for any other group of people.

 

The continued violence in the Middle East can only be stopped if the Arab people themselves stop it.

 

The senseless killing of women and children, especially by women and children can not be considered a religion. It is absolutely anything but a religion. It is something of a cult. A cult run by murderous psychopaths who hide in the shadows, distances from harms way.  Psychopaths, who prey upon those with low self-esteem and those with low self-control, recruiting them to become suicide bombers.

 

There is nothing religious about these suicide-bombing massacres. These are criminal psychopaths that issue or carryout the attack orders, using religion as a means to justify their barbaric thinking. The Arabs and the world need to understand that and respond with absolute deadly force against the terrorist.

 

The Arab nations stand by and allow such widespread terrorist to continue. Terrorism which kills their own people. The Arab nations could end the Middle East daily killings simply by tracking and hunting down various terrorist groups such as al-Qaida.

 

The global killers, the murders of innocent men, women and children, are the brothers and sisters of Arab people. The Arab people know where these global gangsters live and hide and they could go after them and end their killing spree.

 

Until such time they do, then all Arab nations must be held responsible for the international terrorist attacks committed by members from their communities.

 

The Arabs can no longer hide from responsibility and let the western nations wage war against their own. The Arabs must be more aggressive than the west if there shall ever be peace on that side of the world.

 

The Israelis can not be blamed for the deaths of innocent women and children as have occurred this morning.

 

Only the Arabs themselves can be blamed, since it is the Arabs who are allowing violence to spread while they do nothing whatsoever to end it.

 

Thank You for Joining Me. God Bless You!

And Always Remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River

Monday, 28 July 2008

Las Vegas, Nevada

 

Tags: Suicide Bombers, Iraq, Mass Murder, Terrorist, Terrorism, Women, Children, Islam, Arabs, Middle East

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11:21:30 AM PDT

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an entry consisting of a mini auto-bio. I had spent a few hours and had tried to show my readers of the diverse, yet united family and friends environment I had grown up with. I needed to do much research and that required me to jump back and forth to other windows. Needless to say, when I was just about done and ready to publish my entry I accidentally clicked the back button on the "Add An Entry" window and lost everything.

Just like flushing the toilet a masterpiece went down the drain. As the grandpa on the Real McCoy's would have said, "No brag, just facts."

I then wrote an entry scolding AOL for having such an outdated program, of which I deleted/canceled. But I will say this, Come on AOL, pull your pants up and get with the program. It is the year 2008 of our Lord. Most journals or blogs or any other text entry has a safety switch with something like, "If you exit this work all will be lost, do you wish to continue to exit?" Um, duh?

I have friends who are far left-wing liberals. I have just as many friends who are right-wing conservatives. Many of my friends in New York have labeled me a Liberal Republican. Others called me a Conservative Democrat. And  still others called me an Independent. Some have called my way of thinking as radical. I am none of the above, really. I take each issue or subject at hand and make my decision which I feel is right or wrong. There is a right way and there is a wrong way.

In my mini auto-bio I had written about being raised with traditional American values. I'm not radical at all. The world around me is radical. In the late 60s and early 70s our nation changed. It changed radically. Men who went to Nam came back home to find the nation they had fought for entirely something different than when they went to that Asian war, which was never classified as a war until much later.

Legalized abortions, same-sex marriages, and a whole lot of things changed since that time in the late 60s. That was radical, not traditional.

Growing up as a 4-H Club member (Two clubs) I carried on the 4-H motto and pledge throughout my life.

4-H Motto:

To Make The Best BETTER

4-H Pledge:

I pledge my HEAD to clearer thinking

my HEART to greater loyalty

my HANDS to larger service

and my HEALTH to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world.

That is what the four Hs stand for. That is me. That is traditional. That is right, not wrong, in a world that has gone drastically wrong since I first made my pledge and promised to make the best BETTER.

That was before the day after tomorrow.

Life went on. I remember being in high school when the first radical teacher's strike struck. An old school teacher who came out of retirement to fill the class while the younger teachers were on strike said to us in her first moment of class, "When I was a teacher, I taught because my heart was in teaching. My husband was the breadwinner, and I wanted nothing more than to teach...."

And so the world changed.

That is not to say that today's teachers are less than those of yesterday. A good teacher, like a good nurse, like a good police officer comes from the heart. The heart of greater loyalty.

But we seem to follow the pack sometimes, even when the pack goes down the wrong path. Some 1600 to 1700 years ago a man wrote this passage which is just as true today as it was back then. Just like the Bible is as true today as it was back when. Some things never change.

Following The Crowd

"Young men don't laugh much on their own, or boast much on their own. But when they get together, what starts as fun ends up as something cruel, greedy or vicious. They're afraid of being different, of standing against the crowd, of being thought of as cowards. They are ashamed that they aren't shameless! What a travesty of human nature, that friendship and companionship, gifts of God, can be so perverted -- that what is essentially good can yet seduce us into sin." -- Saint Augustine, The Subtlety of Sin, in the Confessions

Christ's Choice

"He could have come down from the cross, but he preferred to rise up from the tomb." -- Saint Augustine, The Wisdom of Saint Augustine

Baron vs Beagle, The Original Dogfight

A Dog's Dream

River's Jukebox

Royal Guardsmen: Snoopy & The Red Baron

A Salute

America's First Team Fallen Soldiers

First Team Videos & More

Black Horse

To make the best BETTER. We can never go wrong if we conduct our lives with a motto like that. If we add the GMC motto to that, "Do one thing and do it well" we as a nation can accomplish anything our hearts desire. If we joined hands in the unbroken circle, we together can all make the world a better place to be. If we stop saying, "Me Me Me", and start saying, "Us Us Us," or say "We" instead of "I" our team would be a First Team. A Team second to none. A team that would change the world and make the best BETTER.

Our hearts tell us which is right and which is wrong. That is the Holy Spirit within us, guiding us. The Teacher, teaching. If we listen we can always make the best BETTER.

Thank you for joining me. God Bless You.

And always remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River,

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sunday, 1 June 2008

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4:46:03 PM PDT
Hearing God Bless America

I wasn't able to use a computer on Memorial Day. Since I had to work and was staying at a motel on the other side of town, I'll make my entry today.  Nor was I able to go home to New York and visit the graves of loved ones there. From the distance, the memories are close.

Our fallen soldiers shall not be forgotten.

Since I only have a few minutes on the computer, I think I'll borrow something from Wanda's Kitchen from the sidebar on the left. It says something like what I would have said had I more time.

The Battle of the Flag

And something from Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of America have continued the tradition of making America's children grow into men and women of ethical standards. They have helped in developing our nation's children into fine adults.

River's Jukebox

God Bless America

Kate Smith: God Bless America

(You are showing your age if you remember Kate Smith)

Thank You for Joining Me. God Bless You!

And Always Remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River

Las Vegas, Nevada

Tuesday, 27 May 2008

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9:05:24 AM PDT
Hearing The Ballad of the Green Berets

17 May 2008

Today is a day of honor for those who have served. Freedom is not free. Many have paid the price with their lives or limb to ensure that Democracy stands. The fallen soldiers shall never be forgotten. Let us pray for those who are today in battle. We pray for all of those brave ones who fight for our liberty and the freedom of others with the courage of being America's Best. God Bless all of the men and women of our Armed Forces. For those who stand in harms way to assure liberty, our prayers are with you. You are America's Best.

America's Best

Armed Forces Day

Taps

Fulfill the Dream  (Graphic Viewer Beware)

JFK Speech Fulfill the Dream

Let Every Nation Know...

Rangers in Nam

Fighting Soldiers From The Sky

SSgt. Barry Sadler

The Ballad of the Green Berets

I'm The Lucky One

The Soldier's Creed

"Let every nation know.... that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of Liberty." JFK

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5:48:08 PM PDT

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

      A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

      A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

      A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

      A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

      A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

      A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

      A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

                                                                                 Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 KJV

 

  

 

Thanks for joining me. God Bless You.

And always remember, JESUS LOVES YOU!

River

Las Vegas, Nevada

Thursday, 15 May 2008

 

 

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4:30:16 PM PDT

 

Eight Years of Medical Disasters & Personal Tragedies

My mother was in a coma for nearly six years. The final cost was over one-million dollars.($14,000 per month) While she was at the local hospital my brothers, my step-father and I were at her side 24-hours a day. Someone from the family was always there, praying, talking to her, waiting and hoping she would come out of the coma. We watched for signs of response to our talking to her or touching her.

 

Eventually, we did research to find a medical institution that specialized in head injuries and found one in Boston. Boston was known to have some of the best hospitals in the world. A place called the Greenery Rehabilitation Center in Brighton, Mass was a leading head injury medical center which had had some remarkable results bringing people out of comas. The family decided we should move her to Boston and get her under specialized head-injury care. But there was a problem. The local hospital would not release her. If a patient is under a doctor’s care or a hospital’s care they can prevent you from transferring. The hospital refused to let us transfer my mother to Boston.

 

I immediately enlisted the aid of Congressman Gerald Solomon, a well-known fighter for veterans and he moved swiftly applying pressure on the local hospital to release my mother. Daily I was meeting with hospital officials who were refusing to let us get my mother to Boston. The local hospital had a nursery and skilled nursing care unit and it was evident they did not want to release my mother from under their care when they could make a lot of money with my mother being in their catastrophic nursing unit.

 

Finally, Congressman Solomon convinced the hospital to release my mother and I was informed we could make the transfer to Boston. Family members and others engaged in the process to get my mother moved. The arrangement was made to transport her long distance to Boston by ambulance. Following behind the ambulance, several family members rode with me as I drove in my car.

 

When we finally arrived at the Greenery several hours later, we were greeted by doctors and nurses and other medical staff. The first thing they told us was they needed to remove the oxygen the local hospital had kept my mother on.  The oxygen prevented my mother from trying to breathe on her own and would hamper her recovery, not enhance it. The second thing they told us, was that if they had gotten my mother sooner they could have brought her out of the coma but with the local hospital not releasing her (Six months had elapsed) it damaged and severely weakened her chance for recovery primarily because the local hospital had not been providing the proper care to stimulate her to come out of the coma. They had only stabilized and maintained her.

 

At the Greenery, my mother was not on any life support machines of any kind. She fought death and hung in there on her own, with the Lord. She only had a trac or feeding tube track. Nearly six years went by with my brothers and step-father and I making weekly and sometimes twice weekly trips to Boston. I wore out two cars in that time. It was an eight-hour round trip driving made once or twice a week. We would roll her out to the court yard in her wheel chair and talk with her in the sunny fresh air. But after six years, hope was fading. The Greenery had done some remarkable things. Each visit we saw the results of people who would have died if left at local hospitals. The Greenery was years, perhaps light years ahead of other medical centers in bringing people out of comas. They had a remarkable success rate. It was astonishing, almost a miracle to witness the people who had survived head injuries and comas.

 

One year to the date that my mother went into the local hospital the new law went into effect that exempted the forced sale of personal and real estate property for those families with catastrophic patients receiving government assistance with medical bills. The county had moved swiftly, and afterwards it was apparent why, they knew the law was coming, it was on the books. Family property had been sold and lost to satisfy the county. In the end, as much as the lost of property stung, the amount of dollars in medical care was far more than what the property was worth. Yet, had the county not been so aggressive, in the few weeks that followed, that property would have been exempted. I learned later, that one county employee in a management position quit his job and left government work because of the incident which he thought was wrong, being that the property was soon to be exempt and the county’s push for selling the assets had been so aggressive.

 

The Greenery eventually announced they no longer felt that there was any chance my mother could come out of the coma.  We then tried to get her back to New York so my step-father could visit her daily. Not at the local hospital were we originally started from, but another specialized hospital nursery in town. (Once Mom was out of the local hospital, I started talking with some top lawyers to discuss suing the hospital. We obtained the records and the lawyer I was dealing with was also a doctor and professor. He taught malpractice law to other doctors and attorneys. Eventually we decided not to sue. The Lawyer had offered to use a team of young, fresh out of college law students who had just came to work for his law firm. I felt they would be an excellent choice since they would want to make a name for themselves and the senior lawyer would be guiding them. It would have been a win-win situation since a number of wrongful deaths had occurred at the local hospital and many law suits were opening up. But a law suit would not bring back my mother and financially damaging a place that was a hospital didn’t seem right. The hospital had made a number of changes including firing administrators on down to nurses who had neglected their duties. So, the end result was the change which had come about as the hospital improved patient care. Therefore, we never followed through with the law suit.)

 

But we were never able to move my mom back home, either, at least not alive. She had been transferred to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Boston. They had discovered she had cancer. We drove to Boston and spoke to a team of doctors. Her cancer was at an elevated state and they informed us she would not have long to live. When I asked the doctor how long we could expect, he said, “It’s not like on TV, we really don’t know. It could be a few days, weeks or even months. But the only thing I can tell you, it will eventually happen, the cancer is well-developed.” I was baffled how she could have been under medical care in medical facilities all this time and the cancer could have developed to such a late stage without detection. My only conclusion was that there was no medical way possible she was going to come out of the coma, at this point, and it was the Lord who said it was time to take her home and end the heavy burden this had on the family for so many years. But if we had to do it all over again, we would not have changed anything, except to have been more aggressive in getting her out of the local hospital and under the care of those who knew how to bring someone out of a coma. Incidentally, there have been cases where people have been in a coma for up to a quarter of a century and had one day woken up. Faith is what held us together during those long years. Faith kept us strong in the hours of our weakest moments.

 

Less than a couple of weeks, perhaps even a few days, she was gone. The local funeral home director, someone who grew up with me and my brothers transported her body back to New York and we had a funeral. It was Christmas. The nearly six years of personal agony was over with. My mother had fought a long, hard battle but ultimately lost. Now she could be in peace. I asked a priest one time why my family always died at Christmas time. After a long pause, the reply was, “because they were going home to be with the Lord for Christmas.” It was the salutation I needed. The moment those words were spoken to me it felt like a ton of bricks lifted off my shoulders. It was the only thing that made sense. I could look at it in a different way now, thanks to the priest.

 

My father had died when I was 17. He died the winter before my high school graduation. He never got to see me graduate, at least not from an earthy view. I was too young to loose a father and too old to gain another one. My step-father and I had some very turbulent years when he first came into the picture. We had been friends, and he was a good man, a family friend, and he brought food over and looked after us after Dad died. But once he started courting my mom sometime later, my younger brother and I wasn’t ready for that. The other four older siblings were out of the house, off to war or college.  But eventually, the genuine love he displayed toward my mother made me realize I was out of line. His unbridled love for my mother appeased any previous displeasure I may have had in their relationship. They were both truly happy.  And that’s all that counts. As the years went by I developed great respect for him. While my mom was in the coma he stayed by her side all those years, never once did his faith falter. He never went to a bingo game without her. He never went out on any social outing. He waited and waited for her to come home. Right up until the day she died, he had faith and hope that she would come out of the coma and come back home to be with him. He was a man who had won incredible odds before and his faith wouldn’t falter now.

 

Six months later, (after Mom died) my step-father suffered from a serious stroke. He was paralyzed and his speech was gone. Over the next two years my younger brother and me wou