All day I have been thinking about what it means to be a follower of Christ. Does it mean that I dress up and goto a building with other dressed up folks? Does it mean that I pray some prayer and then hope one day to end up on the “right” side of the equation? I know for sure those are not the answers, but I keep searching and wrestling with what it means for me to be a follower of Christ.
In my search, I pray that God will continue to show me what it all means. Right now I get mixed messages from all kinds of sources in my life. Family, friends, and circumstances try to tell me what it means for me to be a follower of Christ.
Andrew and Simon Peter, who were rejected from being a follower of a rabbi during their day, dropped everything to follow a new Rabbi, the Christ. At first, they were left to do the family trade because they did not make the cut. I wonder if they wrestled with the same question I am.
What did it mean for Simon Peter(Kefa) to follow God as he threw his nets into the water everyday? As he walked home, smelling of fish, did his eyes glance up to the heavens and wonder what it was all for?
I feel this longing to make my life matter more than getting married, having kids, a nice home, avoid the “big” sins, and eventually die with no hell.
I want to my life to echo for God’s glory. Or atleast that is what I’m told to do.
As I search, I’ve decided that my attempts are only sucessful if rooted in God’s Word. John calls that Jesus. Deuteronomy calls the Word of God what we live on.
My interest in Jewish History is picking up, I’ve bought 3 books and look forward to seeing what God has for me in those. One thing I picked up was a Jewish New Testament Commentary. It’s a first for me. I do not really know how to use it, but as I read through the New Testament I’ll see what it has to say.
Matthew Strickland
http://www.matthewstrickland.com
No matter what, both types of businesses are enough to make you go crazy when the going gets tough. With a home based business, you need to have extra grit and determination to make it. Finding a viable home based business solution is vital. A home business requires more than passion to build.
If all home based businesses could convert 50% of visitors, each traditional business on earth would have closed shop. Investing in the wrong startup traditional business could easily burn a hole in your pocket. You need to spend money on real estate, furnishing/decorating, supplies and stationery. A traditional business also has higher recurring expenses. Each traditional business takes a different skill set to sell/run. Expanding the business means expanding expenses too, especially on real estate, a major cost. Add to this the risk of inventory loss from hurricane, fire, etc. Have you forgotten high interest on loans and insurance? Employee attrition and retention costs, all add up to count against traditional business. The list is small, but unfortunately, the risks and expenses are not. What about a home based business? What if you could find an online home based business opportunity that ran itself? What if you could find a system that found customers and qualified them for you? Then your home business would run on autopilot, without much legwork from you. It is possible to run an efficient, profitable home based business online with minimal start-up costs. Having a website is half the battle. After that, you just need to find the right home based business system.
Running a home based online business is not a small undertaking. It takes determination and willingness to learn. It also takes being able to do your research to find the right resources. There are plenty of home based business systems out there, but you need to find the one with the right combination of marketing, sales and direction that is suitable for you. You don’t want to spend most of your time chasing and qualifying customers. That is the long road to success. Wouldn’t it be better to find a home based business opportunity that would walk you through the process, then qualify and find customers for you? That’s why you need an online business. Then, you could spend your time on other, more important things!
Is it possible to make a good living online? Of course it is! Choose a business line you are comfortable with and find an online home based business system that is both profitable and easy to use.
Copyright 2006 www.eliasg.com
Elias Georgi makes it easy to build your home based business and earn a substantial income. Learn how to increase your income in the comfort of you own home with minimal effort by visiting:
http://www.eliasg.com
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Headache Hope Through Research
Why Does it Hurt?
What hurts when you have a headache? The bones of the skull and tissues of the brain itself never hurt, because they lack pain-sensitive nerve fibers. Several areas of the head can hurt, including a network of nerves which extends over the scalp and certain nerves in the face, mouth, and throat.
A number of chemicals help transmit pain-related information to the brain. Some of these chemicals are natural painkilling proteins called endorphins, Greek for “the morphine within.”
Not all headaches require medical attention. Some result from missed meals or occasional muscle tension and are easily remedied. But some types of headache are signals of more serious disorders, and call for prompt medical care.
These include:
* Sudden, severe headache * Sudden, severe headache associated with a stiff neck * Headache associated with fever * Headache associated with convulsions * Headache accompanied by confusion or loss of consciousness * Headache following a blow on the head * Headache associated with pain in the eye or ear * Persistent headache in a person who was previously headache free
* Recurring headache in children * Headache which interferes with normal life
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What Tests Are Used to Diagnose Headache?
Patients may be asked: How often do you have headaches? Where is the pain? How long do the headaches last? When did you first develop headaches? The patient’s sleep habits and family and work situations may also be probed.
A complete and careful physical and neurological examination will exclude many possibilities and the suspicion of aneurysm, meningitis, or certain brain tumors. A blood test may be ordered to screen for thyroid disease, anemia, or infections which might cause a headache.
EEG’s can indicate a malfunction in the brain, but they cannot usually pinpoint a problem that might be causing a headache.
Headaches are diagnosed as
* Vascular
* Muscle contraction (tension) * Traction
* Inflammatory
Vascular headaches - a group that includes the well-known migraine - are so named because they are thought to involve abnormal function of the brain’s blood vessels or vascular system.
Muscle contraction headaches appear to involve the tightening or tensing of facial and neck muscles.
Traction and inflammatory headaches are symptoms of other disorders, ranging from stroke to sinus infection. Some people have more than one type of headache.
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When is Headache a Warning of a More Serious Condition?
Like other types of pain, headaches can serve as warning signals of more serious disorders. This is particularly true for headaches caused by traction or inflammation.
Traction headaches can occur if the pain-sensitive parts of the head are pulled, stretched, or displaced, as, for example, when eye muscles are tensed to compensate for eyestrain.
Stroke. Headache may accompany several conditions that can lead to stroke, including hypertension or high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and heart disease. Headaches are also associated with completed stroke, when brain cells die from lack of sufficient oxygen.
Many stroke-related headaches can be prevented by careful management of the patient’s condition through diet, exercise, and medication.
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Conclusion
If you suffer from headaches and none of the standard treatments help, do not despair. Some people find that their headaches disappear once they deal with a troubled marriage, pass their certifying board exams, or resolve some other stressful problem. Others find that if they control their psychological reaction to stress, the headaches disappear.
For those who cannot say no, or who get headaches anyway, today’s headache research offers hope. The work of scientists around the world promises to improve our understanding of this complex disorder and provide better tools to treat it.
This article is just small part’s of a 20 site’s PDF report. And half the size as the original article which is to be found at:
http://www.2u4health.com/052004.html
If you want to read the full report, follow the link below and subscribe to the Newsletter. You will thereby gain access to the growing archive of report’s by Dan Mathiesen:
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Dan Mathiesen is the Athor of the Article and the Owner and Editor of the 2u4health Newsletter.
Visit his site, subscribe to the Newsletter and increase your knowledge on Health.
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The main problem for amateur photographers in public situations is attitude. Being armed with a camera and equipment will make you stand out from the crowd especially if you rush around taking snaps of everything! This sort of exposure can make you self-conscious and lead to stress, anxiety and the inability to think clearly.
Shots become hurried and the controls on the camera can sometime lose their meaning! There is no worse feeling in photography that admitting to your subjects that you don’t know what you are doing!
Professionals get over this problem by exposure - the very thing that often causes panic for amateurs. You need to be there, in the midst, seen and respected. Most people in public are more anxious of the photographer than the photographer is of taking photographs.
Approach each shot with enthusiasm and make it look as though you are in control. State what you want to do (and why, if necessary) and tell your subjects what you are doing at each stage. Gain their confidence and then you will gain their respect.
Be bold - don’t hang around at the back awaiting an opportunity that might just disappear. Make the opportunity happen if you can. Explain who you are (although this will often be obvious) and explain what you want.
Don’t be fearful of others. People often want to be photographed even if they, themselves, are a bit anxious. This is especially true at events or organised activities. If you are on private ground, getting permission for photography beforehand (or on the day) will give you that added spark and lessen the worry.
Take lots of photographs. This will give you more confidence and ensure that you get some decent shots. Try to relax.
In the next article I will cover the question of equipment.
Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com
