Invaders I don't invite in to my life

August 22, 2019

Dear Beloved Reader:

We have invaders!

My husband just came in from our “Flower-pot” garden, and he had a huge beautiful red ripe tomato in his hands, juice dripping from where a squirrel obviously took a bite. L

Life is full of “invaders,” some just a pest, and some downright dangerous. I had to smile recently when the news reported an invasion of tarantulas in La Junta, Colo., and I remembered my precious friend Sandy Tetley telling me about tarantulas. She grew up in La Junta, and I sang with her and her husband in the Damacus Singers for many years. She told me one summer the huge scary-looking tarantulas were so thick they covered the highway and as you drove you could hear their crunch under the tires because you couldn’t avoid them.

I’m told their bite isn’t that dangerous, but I wouldn’t want to try it and find out, although I’ve seen kids take tarantulas by the leg and go around scaring people. Probably being “scared to death” is more dangerous than the venom.

A big sea turtle came into the yard of our son, Jaron, earlier this week and his wife, son Tyler, and daughter Keira, rescued it after it tried to go through their playground. The turtle’s shell stuck in the equipment. I think they named her “Sally” and they’ll watch out for her when she lays her eggs in sand near the dock on their lake. Last year another turtle came and did that while they peeked.

The world has so many things for us to see, study and enjoy and we have little time to sample it all. As we know, knowledge is vital to our lives. Yet, we don’t need or want to know everything. I’m tired of news that seems to only report murder and mayhem. I’m a retired newspaper reporter (The Pueblo Chieftain) and I know the internet has taken a big gulp of newspapers’ budgets, but I keep wondering, “Can’t they hire a few observant reporters to find good news?”

There’s good news out there. Scientific knowledge, especially in health care, is constantly making advances in treatments and saving lives. Many achievers are doing fantastic things, and God is still working miracles, but most of these stories aren’t seeing the light of day.

 Some things I don’t want to know. Schools and universities now are assigning obscenity for youth to study. Once you’re exposed, you can’t get that stuff out of your head. I thank God for Christian schools and homeschooling. I’m also thankful I went to school in a different era—although in college I had to ask for a substitute for assigned and extra-credit books.

Too many Christians exposed to filthy language and obscenity are becoming immune to it. I heard a lot of it during my work years and I’ve prayed if I come down with Alzheimer’s’ or any other kind of dementia, I won’t speak what I overheard.

We know what we read, study, or hear can affect who we are. See how St. John was affected by experiences: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us; (1 John 1-2).

John was talking about Jesus and the Resurrection.

I have nine books: four fiction and five non-fiction, all written with great characters, suspense, and Stick-to Your Soul Encouragement. They contain knowledge you can use, even the fiction.  Get them here: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KJ2C06

WHY DO WE AGE?

                                       

  By Ada Brownell

      My skin is shriveling up like wadded paper while I’m still in it. My face is showing tracks of all my smiles and frowns.

      “You know, Mom, if you wore long dangly earrings I could use your wrinkles like venetian blinds,” my youngest son once told me—and that was years ago.

      Now my arms joined the show, the covering looking like a balloon that’s been blown up and released one time too many. My hide is so loose I could shake it like a dog’s. If this keeps up, two people will fit in my skin.

      Why do our bodies age anyway?

      Some of us might make jokes about wrinkles, white hair, deafness and “senior moments,” but as my step-mother used to say, aging isn’t for sissies.

      David wrote, “Lord make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, you have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before you” (Psalm 39:4-5).        

      When I wrote the book, Swallowed by LIFE, Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, I told how our cells are constantly dying and being replaced, rebuilding our bodies, including the skeleton, every seven years. Now I ask, “Why aren’t we like new every seven years?”

      In my research about aging, one section I studied was titled, “Aging: A Vital Process.” (Not encouraging.)

      “No matter what genes you have inherited, your body is continually undergoing complex biochemical reactions and ultimately, aging in the body,” explained Mark Stibich, Ph.D., author of Why We Age—Theories and Effects of Aging.

Here are theories about why we grow old, and a few of my comments:

·       The human body is programmed to age. (Duh!)

·       Certain genes switch off and on over time (Turn them back on, Doc!)

·       Aging is caused by hormonal changes

·       Immune systems are programmed to lessen their battle against attack

·       Environmental damage (Where’s the EPA?)

·       Wear and tear of tissues and cells

·       A faster pace of living shortens life (What happened to wear out or rust out?)

·       Cross-linked proteins slow down body processes

·       Free radicals damage and impair cells

·       Cells malfunction because of genetic mutations

Some of the above are theories, but seriously, we know our flesh gets sick, wears out and dies because of sin. That’s the harmful gene we inherit from Adam and Eve, and the only way to conquer it is to accept life eternal through God’s sacrifice for sin, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (See John 3:16).

Sidebar:

HOW TO STAY YOUNGER AND LIVE LONGER (This is more than a theory)

·                 Inherit longevity genes

·                 Eat foods loaded with antioxidants such as green tea and blueberries

·                 Exercise to limit muscle and bone loss

·                 Keep cholesterol low

·                 Use your brain cells to keep them fit

·                 Practice positive thinking

·                 Accept redemption through Jesus Christ and live forever! (see John 3:16).

Ada’s blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

Ada Brownell is author of the book, Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal. Paperbacks are available at Amazon.com http://buhff.ly/TLkr0a

8aDA BROWNELL IS A RETIRED MEDICAL REPORTER FOR THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

DOES THE FUTURE LOOK DARK?

By Ada Brownell

I've never been afraid of the dark. When I was a kid the darker it was, the better we liked it.

The main reason for that is during the summer my siblings and I played Kick the Can after dark. The game was similar to Hide and Seek, except we set an empty can upside down in the middle of the yard.  The person who was “It” had to count to 100 while we hid and then begin searching.

 If the “It” person found us, we could race and kick the can before the person who was “It” could do it.  If we beat him to the can, then we could hide again and the person who was “It” had to count and go back to hunting. Sometimes we’d sneak around and kick the can even when we hadn’t been found because then the “It” person had to count to 100 again and we’d hide.

I slept outside under the stars with friends during the summer, too. Dark night didn’t scare me. In those days there wasn’t much to be frightened of in the dark, or even the light.

One night, though, while walking to church by myself when I was 12 or 13, I noticed the neighbor who lived across the street stumbling along toward me on the sidewalk, singing. He was drunk! I was halfway between church and home so I decided to walk as quietly as I could on the edge of the sidewalk and perhaps he wouldn’t notice me.

 Instead, when I tiptoed beside him, he shouted, “Boo!”

I shot down the street as his loud laughs echoed all over the neighborhood.  I arrived at church in record time, huffing and puffing.

After I was married, in a little town with no street lights I went out to empty the trash in a fenced pit area. Thought nothing of it because I knew where it was, even in the dark. Just as I dumped the waste basket a cat shot up out of the bin with a loud yowl. I about left my skin there.

Today, however, on occasion reality causes me and many Christians to view the future as a trip into darkness because of fearsome unknowns. We’re told in 2 Timothy 3:1 that in the last days before Christ’s return, perilous times shall come. Jesus even said, “In this world you will have tribulation.”

How should we respond? The answer is to get into God’s Word. God inspired the writers to insert so many promises there. Jesus’s warning in John 16:33 is followed by, “But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”

Only recently I noticed a scripture that hadn’t caught my attention before, “The Lord said that He would dwell in the thick darkness” (1 Kings 8:12).

Solomon reminded Israel of that during the temple dedication when the presence of God came as a cloud and filled the temple and priests couldn’t even minister. Perhaps some in attendance trembled, scared out of what they couldn’t see. It was as silly then to be afraid of the dark as it is now. The cloud blocking the light in the temple was God’s awesome glory and should cause joy instead of fear.

Today if He’s our Lord, we know God is with us—even in the dark. He promised to never leave or forsake (Hebrews 13:5), and we can hold on to that, even when the future seems to look dark and foreboding. God even dwells in the thick darkness!

Copyright Ada Brownell 2016

Ada Brownell, a retired reporter for The Pueblo Chieftain, is the author of nine books, including Peach Blossom Rancher, an historical romance released  by Elk Lake Publishing. Go to her Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/author/adabrownell