Mag for April...Shop Smart

Shop Smart Magazine from Consumer Reports!

Full of great buys, bargains and shopping tips from household appliances, cars, to everyday items like food and clothing.  Provides info for internet shopping at the best sites on the web and much more.  
Products are tested by consumer reports technicians before they are published. +++

Good Book, Good Read:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

What are HELA cells? Who is Henrietta Lacks? Very informative book about the origin of medical advancement in the past 60 years. The medical research/pharma community got incredibly rich of HELA cells and left the family of this young, black mother in poverty who died of cervical cancer.  Of course, her children found out and it changed their lives forever. 
This book makes the reader think about ethical and legal ramifications and who has rights to "medical waste". 
This book is intriguing.  And, it should be IMO required reading for science students.  


Amazon review:
 From a single, abbreviated life grew a seemingly immortal line of cells that made some of the most crucial innovations in modern science possible. And from that same life, and those cells, Rebecca Skloot has fashioned in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a fascinating and moving story of medicine and family, of how life is sustained in laboratories and in memory. Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs, beginning with the cure for polio. Meanwhile, Henrietta's family continued to live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her unknowing contribution--and her cells' strange survival--left them full of pride, anger, and suspicion. For a decade, Skloot doggedly but compassionately gathered the threads of these stories, slowly gaining the trust of the family while helping them learn the truth about Henrietta, and with their aid she tells a rich and haunting story that asks the questions, Who owns our bodies? And who carries our memories? --Tom Nissley

Yes, I Am A Sinner

This song puts me in tears every time I hear it. Why? Because I am a human being and like everyone else face the human dilemma. I am a sinner who has fallen short of the glory of God.  I am so imperfect.  Even though I have been washed by the blood of the Lamb, I find myself still a sinner in need of repentance and forgiveness. As the Bible states,... my righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  
I think about my sins of yesterday and today and my heart cries-  Oh, how I have disappointed my Savior, my Lord, my Father, My Jesus!  But, in the midst of my grief and sorrow I hear the Shepherd calling my name, leaving the fold to come and find me again, and again, and again...because He loves me and died on the cross for my sins.  I have a promise in Jesus that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" I John 1:9. 
God turns everything around for those who love Him!  Only through Jesus am I holy and righteous.  I've learned a long time ago that I can not live this life on my own.  My life is empty and torn.  Jesus has come to bring me life and life more abundantly.  Through confession and Jesus' forgiveness I can stand before my king as Esther had done..."Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16.

April 1st, April Fool's Day~Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fool%27s_Day

I'm A Pentecostal

Read Acts 2:38~It's where it's at people!

Wheel of Prophecy

"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9

Let's Just Praise The Lord!

There's a song that has been around for over 25 years. Hearing it and singing it over and over again still brings victory and joy through the Holy Ghost. It's a song that Russ Taff sang and the Imperial's still sing; it's called “Praise The Lord”. Those three words when put into action are powerful and life changing. Praise is truly key in winning spiritual warfare.

I would like to share a short personal testimony of such a victory in my life. When I was a teenager I was diagnosed with bipolar depression. I even tried to take my own life twice before I turned 18. Into adulthood I allowed life situations and struggles to worry me causing so much doubt and fear. I spent many years believing I was useless and a failure. During it all Jesus found me and filled me with His Holy Spirit (Later on , I was taught and received the precious truth of who Jesus is, and was re-baptized in Jesus Name). Yet, I was still living under the cloud of defeat and low self esteem.

One day while I was in church , I was feeling miserable about something going on in my life at the time, as well as ruminating over my past. While others around me were singing, clapping, shouting, and praising, I stood behind the pew crying and praying for the Lord to help me. Feeling powerless, I sat down and opened my Bible hoping that the Lord would speak words of wisdom and comfort to lift my spirits. What I received from the Lord that day would change my outlook on life forever!

In Exodus 17: 9-12 the Israelites fought a battle against the Amalekites. And the Lord did something quite miraculous. Moses lifted up his hands until he could lift them no more. His friends, Aaron and Hur, had to hold Moses's arms up for him. They had noticed an important pattern in the midst of their battle. Every time Moses' arms were lowered the Amalekites prevailed. But, every time Moses' arms were raised the Israelites were victorious!

As I was flipping through the pages of the Bible that morning, the Holy Ghost redirected me. He said, “Put the Bible down. Stand up and praise Me! Lift up your hands and sing!”. The Lord had reminded me of Moses lifting up his arms and winning that battle. I learned that day that praise is the key to victory. God is bigger than anything that can come my way. When we give praise we are opening doors for the Lord to fight the enemy for us! When we praise the Lord we are allowing Jesus to come in and be our Comforter, our Rock, our Provider, our Healer, our Strength, our Song. He is everything we need.

“By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Hebrews 13:15. Praise God even when you don't feel like it. When the devil has you convinced that you are defeated and there is no way out of a situation praise Him anyhow. That's the sacrifice of praise.

The devil is out in this world trying to take away our joy in the Lord (1 Peter 5:8). He is seeking to devour God's people. Years of habitual thinking and familiar feelings still affect me sometimes. But, now I have a choice and so do you. Just like Moses, we have the choice to accept defeat and lower our hands because of heaviness; or, we can raise them and win battles in the Name of Jesus Christ. Just like Moses, we have friends who are there to help lift them up through prayer. I choose to sing “...so, lift up the mighty shield of faith for battle must be won. We know that Jesus Christ is risen so the works already done. Praise the Lord...”!