I love this piece... it says so much about the company you keep.

It's entitled Sobriety Lost. It's by Nu-mi from Poland. I found it on quarterlife.com

Lent Devotion--- very fitting for me

MARCH 5 - FAITH IS THE KEY



By Heather Zimmerman, a junior American Sign Language major from Barrigada, Guam
SCRIPTURE: Romans 4:13-25 (NRSV) Scroll down for complete Scripture.
DEVOTIONAL: What is the promise that the author of today?s Scripture speaks about? It is righteousness. But what is righteousness? Webster?s Dictionary defines righteousness as being just, honorable, free from guilt/wrong. How can we obtain righteousness? Can we as mere humans, whose hearts are wicked, become righteous?

The Chinese pronounce righteousness as ?Yi.? This symbol has two characters that together mean righteousness, but separately mean ?lamb? and ?me.? This is what righteousness is my friends. It is a right relationship with God by Jesus Christ, who is the lamb. We are made righteous in God?s sight by the price Jesus paid on the cross. This is not by any of our own efforts, quite the contrary, for in verse 16 it is made clear that this promise of righteousness is a free gift that is accepted by faith.

Faith is the key. Righteousness is by faith in Christ, not the Law, not academics, not ?good living,? not eco-friendly protests, not acceptance by peers and not by works. We can conquer the world, save lives, feed the hungry, clothe the needy and heal the sick?but it would all be a worthless effort and impossible if we did not have faith in God.

Faith is the key, and it is the key to everything. Faith is one of the most powerful tools that God has given us. In 1 Corinthians 13 it says that three things will remain: faith, hope, and love. Faith is what kept Abraham strong and brought glory to God. Abraham?s faith was so strong in God, despite the circumstances that he was in. Abraham was a weak old man, his wife was barren, he had no children and God promised him that he would be the father of many nations. He did not even see this promise completely fulfilled, however his faith did not waver, it grew stronger and that brought glory to the heavenly Father. Because of Abraham?s faith God declared him righteous, not because of his works, his good deeds or his wealth, but it was because of his faith.

Faith is the key. Faith that God has made us righteous by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Will you accept this gift today? Will you bring glory to God by stepping out in gaith like Abraham?

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PRAYER:
Father God, thank you for your Son?s sacrifice. Thank you for declaring us righteous through faith. I pray that you will help me to have faith in you today, and the rest of my days. I pray that I will have faith that you will fulfill all your promises you have spoken over me. In Jesus name. Amen.

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SCRIPTURE: Romans 4:13-25 (NRSV)

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.

For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, ?I have made you the father of many nations?) ? in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become ?the father of many nations?, according to what was said, ?So numerous shall your descendants be.? He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah?s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith ?was reckoned to him as righteousness.? Now the words, ?it was reckoned to him?, were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Random thoughts from Denny's... (btw love eggs over medium)

My thoughts are swimming
My brain has been inspired by floating memories of information overload
Handwriting is fast and furious
I may explode with thought any moment
Which quite frankly frightens me
What if they (they being thoughts, ideas and etc) decide to do the breast stroke into forgotteness as many "theys" do

Guess I should make one of my many lists
And catalogue each divinity of creativity

Who knew the internet and writings on such things could make me wild and restless...

It's better than thinking on
deficiant bank accounts
and looming eviction notices

At least these dog paddling ideas bring hope
instead of defeat

Wow my handwriting just got
STEADY AGAIN...

Crazy how sobering thoughts can do that.

Check out this article and sign.... Let's help eliminate malaria!

AFRICA: New hope for malaria vaccine
Health experts say any future vaccine should be part of broad prevention efforts

DAKAR, 22 December 2008 (IRIN) -

The world’s most clinically advanced malaria vaccine trials have given new hope in the fight against the disease, which in sub-Saharan Africa kills a child every 30 seconds. Malaria experts recently meeting in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou say promising vaccine research aside, governments in West Africa must step up existing measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Results published on 11 December in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the vaccine candidate RTS,S/AS (made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biologicals), provides both infants and young children with significant protection against malaria. “We are closer than ever before to developing a malaria vaccine," said Christian Loucq, director of PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), the organisation coordinating the global effort.

The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partnership says malaria is the leading cause of death of under-five children in Africa, and in pregnant women increases the chances of low birth weight, anaemia or early infant death. Malaria is endemic in most West African countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says malaria causes an average loss of 1.3 percent of economic growth in countries with intense transmission. Scientific success Two separate ‘second phase’ trials of versions of the RTS,S/AS drug were conducted in Kenya and Tanzania, and reaffirmed earlier study results, supporting the launch of a further, ‘stage three’ trial. In children aged five months to seventeen months, the candidate RTS,S/AS01 reduced the risk of clinical episodes of malaria by 53 percent, over an eight-month period.

It was also shown to have a promising safety profile. And for the first time, data from the study of RTS,S/AS02 showed that the drug can be used in infants, as part of existing national immunisation programmes. “The vaccine works alongside standard infant vaccines of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI), and has consistently shown a significant efficacy level,” said Joe Cohen, a co-inventor of the vaccine and vice-president of Research & Development, Emerging Diseases & HIV at GSK Biologicals. Holistic approachOne RBM official, who took part in the Ouagadougou malaria conference, said the vaccine progress is welcome news but does not change the need for better prevention efforts in West Africa. “This new research is positive but it doesn’t change our message – countries still need to modify their strategies, especially in prevention and treatment”, Boi-Betty Udom, RBM partnership facilitator, told IRIN. “We’re hopeful a vaccine could be part of a holistic approach to malaria control, as a way to reduce the severity of malaria attacks.”

At the Ouagadougou meeting WHO and RBM officials urged West African governments to work to reach more people with preventive measures. Udom said just 20 percent of people – mainly under-five children and pregnant women – are being targeted. Stephan Tohon of WHO’s malaria programme in Burkina Faso said too narrow a focus might mean that preventive tools like insecticide-treated nets (ITN) are not being used as they should. “Ten years ago we focused on the most vulnerable populations – women and under-five children – but today we realise that where there is a mosquito net it’s often the head of the household who uses it.” WHO’s latest world malaria report says surveys in 2006-07 in 18 African countries showed that 34 percent of households owned ITNs and 23 percent of under-five children slept under the nets. Experts at the meeting noted that none of the countries in West Africa have met the African Union’s 2003 Maputo declaration, which stipulated that governments allot 15 percent of the national budget to the health sector.

Sign this petition to support the RTS, S drug for malaria.