The reality of the Bible illustrated

In Acts 16:11-40 is the story of a young slave girl controlled by evil spirits to tell fortunes and make profits for her owners. She was set free of evil infuence by Apostle Paul. No longer able to make money for her masters they sought to imprison Paul for their disruption of business.
I can remember talking to young prostitutes (ages 13 and 14) about the gospel who were beat up for talking to me. The girls were a mess the next time I talked to them. The johns who drove by to use these girls I used to yell at them in their cars, "Don't I know you? Hey I bet the misses would like to know what you're doing!" They always sped off. After a couple of memorable confrontations with the pimps I was asked to lead the discipleship program and was moved away from the red light district. (Co-workers feared retaliation) Most of the prostitutes were on the younger side of 15 and all were abused by the pimps. If you want to see evil you don't have to look far.

Philippian Jail in Paul's Day

Life has many bumps, and often for doing right by others. Paul for helping this abused slave girl used in perverted ways only to make money was thrown into prison. There he was beaten and his companion and put in prison. In the picture you can see the actual prison he was thrown into. You can see where the rocks are built up from the ruins found. You can see the Roman Street in the lower left. The prison and town was a real location. The evil in slavery we still see today. Young men and women are still enslaved all over the globe for sexual and human misuse for money. The events of the Bible are in real places effecting real people. Protecting our girls from abuse is still as vital as it was in the Roman world with 60% slavery. People still may suffer for doing the right thing. The good news of Christ still delivers people from evil. Keep walking.

Dealing with arhtritus

We don't need assault rifles. Personal defense guy weighs in

Hit the link below for the awesome graphic.

         I don't know if you can access this page from the New York Times, but it is an amazing graphic. Chicago is #1 but note it records children killed by guns in the urban setting. Loads of data, how many are gang related? How many involve 17-23? How many are domestic? How many are legal and illegal guns? How many have a racial component? Race killings go each way not just white on black, but black on white also. With the increase of Latino there is a factor as well. Ethnic violence? How many involve mental health? Most who use a gun are not mentally ill. How many deaths were involved in a legal self defense? How many self defenses were unjustified?
        We are divided about guns with people like me would like an option against possible fatal attacks (we don't need assault rifles unless we are invaded by foreign powers, unlikely in my life time) and people who want a ban on guns. Our biggest need is for people to embrace life and hate murder. Too many have a low opinion of others.
        Responsible ownership of guns looks at the intent of the gun for self defense, hunting,

Actual weapon found in hotel room in Vegas

target shooting for sport or recreation. Murder, suicide, mass murder, crime and drugs needs law and regulation. People in the cites need to be challenged on many destructive behaviors, illegal gun running needs stiffer penalties.

       The shooting in Vegas underscores assaut rifles can be modified for greater killing potential. It is clear we need to address this type of gun. We cannot ignore it. The purpose of this gun goes beyond personal defense, hunting and sport shooting. Guns like this for military or law enforcement require discipline and training with these guns. Reagan called it common sense. 

America responded on Dec. 7, 1941. They again went into action on on Sept. 11, 2001. Assault weapons have been used in semi automatic in up close mass killings and now modified for mass destruction from a 1/4 mile away. There are people who have them and use them within the law, but the potential for mass murder requires we the people have to move with a better measures to stop what may be only the beginning. It looks like this guy was also open to use the bomb power like Timothy McVey. 

A few targeted the audience in the Country music crowd, but this guy was planning an analysis of a rap concert in Chicago. These killings were not the fault of Rock fans in France, or gays in Orlando, or co-workers on California. We don't know the motive, but he had one and he forced his violence on others with planning and ability to carry it out. Everybody wants to play a psychiatrist and diagnose this evil, he is nuts but he is responsible, a year to 6 months of planning. 

Back to graphic about urban violence,  each death here with the symbols needs to be accounted for. What ever your opinion this is an awesome visual to understand the complicated problem we have. The human race demonstrates our bent towards sin.I am going to do my best to chase down information in the Chicago deaths. Deaths in other urban centers may be slower to reach the body count in Las Vegas but maybe causes are similar or maybe there will be differences. These deaths are too many and do call for a different response than the usual banter. Keep walking, but be safe.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/06/us/las-vegas-gun-deaths.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

We are getting older embrace mental health p. 1

“Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6, 7 Like Ps. 4 at the end of a stressful day we can call on the Lord in our anxiety and He can give us peace.

I have had many days where God gave me peace and a confidence to trust him concerning something I was worried about. I have read along time ago that 95% of the things we worry about never come true. That should give us confidence, but we are probably thinking about the 5%.

Due to long term insomnia, triggered by traumatic recovery my mental health broke down. As savvy as I am concerning awareness from scripture, psychology and 50+ years I could not resolve my problems. With panic attacks, sleep deprivation I slipped into a clinical depression. Inside my brain was not functioning the way it should. Insight from my son and wife told me I could not solve this. I needed help.

On one side, we are told to understand people with mental illness with compassion. There is more hope today

Will, my son intervened when I needed
it most. Will earned his masters this
summer from Kansas University this
summer, (proud dad!!!!)

to help people cope with their illnesses. After both medical and therapeutic support my depression and anxiety is in remission. These days I am actually sleeping and I feel pretty good mentally. I am going to start a treatment to boost my metabolism to counter act the weight gain that comes with the medicine. Every medicine we take has the side effect. This latest treatment I am going to double check with my GP, and there may be adjustments. 

On the other side, being open about mental illness can also have a negative affect as to how people view you. Generally I am okay with this because I want people to feel good about seeking care for a mental health as we get older. Some things I know:

• 25% of us at the age of 63 may be clinically depressed
• By the age of 85, 50% of us have some form of dementia
• My uncle from my mother side told me how many people in the family develop panic attacks around the age 55
• Wear and tear in our body also occurs in our brain. We are becoming aware of concussions that we may have had earlier now come to roost as we get older. Sad but true, I have two rocks in my head from previous injury. Those of you who know me you might be thinking "I knew it!” 
• I am just learning process of Alzheimer's developing in the brain. It is now believed it starts in about 20 years before any symptoms develop. It could be soon we learn how to be detected earlier and work on treatments to further delay development of disease. There are eight other common dementias.

Obviously mental health is personal and there are genetic factors from all sides of my family. But I am becoming aware through both experience an increasing data that as we age our brain ages with us. Every part of us ages. I believe it is imperative that we developed a friendly view concerning mental health. Rather than fear it let's embrace it.

Getting treated for depression is certainly better than trying to live with it on your own.

Mental illness is not first and foremost criminal. The vast majority of people are trying to cope with mental illness as best they can. We need to make it easier for people to get help. Right now to enter a mental hospital you have to demonstrate you are a danger to yourself or others. I think this is okay for a legal point of view to help people who are in danger to themselves or others. But the vast majority of people with mental illness may need to technology in the hospital for evaluation and emergency care. In my experience, I under went five days of evaluation in the mental hospital and then continued my care as an outpatient. In the daytime I underwent intensive therapy and medicine adjustments. I could sleep in my home bed and begin practicing the therapy I was learning with panic attacks. 

I have known hundreds of mentally ill people from my seven years of working in the mental hospital and 9 weeks of therapy that included group education and group therapy. My perspective now comes from both sides of care and being cared for. People who were severely mentally ill are not generally criminal. There are a very few who are extremely dangerous. I personally know two people that would become mass murderers. Both had informed others of their intentions before they happened.

I have known several to attack their own families. Many chronic mentally ill people there occurs a painful unofficial divorce that usually happens in their 20s. This isolation is real and you can see it in the many single room hotels and homeless peoples through out our country. There is a large gap between the poor and working poor and mental care. The cost of the mental health professional is too high for too many people. No professional in any field wants to cut their salary to care for the poor. Greed is a powerful thing.

From many I have known there is a sincere desire to get help and be for functional in their relationships, work and daily living. There are many who do just that.  Getting older,  consider adding a mental health professional on your care team. Keep walking

Do you have to walk shorter distances? It is OK

Barb walking, I just love that
smile

At the end of the day when on days I am too sedimentary it is nice to take the dog for a walk. Do you know people with a dog walk up to 20 minutes a day more that non dog owners? I don't have one but dogs can keep people more active. When I say I am taking a dog for a walk I am referring to a walk at the end of a day for about 20 minutes that can be so good for you on days where you did not get your walk or workouts in. At a steady even pace it stretches out my muscles which helps relax and fight tightness that CP brings at the end of the day. Here is where movement works better than pain killers or muscle relaxers. To confuse my metaphor even more I often like to get on my indoor recumbent bike (must for seniors) and open up a mystery to listen to. I set my bike to a very easy level and listen to the story. 

I am a big Craig Johnson fan and I've been following the Longmire series for over six years. The title of the story is The Western Star. The story takes you back to the 1970s riding a train across the state of Wyoming with all the county sheriffs and guests. It bounces back to the future where Walt has to deal with the contemporary issue of compassionate release of an inmate who committed multiple murders. While I was on the bike listening to a back flash Walt is on the train with his wife who is pregnant and having a painful conversation about whether they would stay married. From the books Martha and Walt had a loving marriage. The conflict they had here the author made very interesting and before you know it I am biked 12 minutes at an easy pace. 

Muscles we're loosened up and I felt pretty good. Originally I thought of going only 20 minutes at various speeds. But now I felt good and moved on to a 30 minute bike ride. So for the next 15 minutes I moved between levels two and three before finishing the biking to 30+ minutes and three miles. My recombinant top speed is 9.9 miles an hour. So I was moving along at 6 miles an hour.

Still listening to the story, I did my fat man push-ups, sit ups, squats and one round of resistance exercises with my blue band. I top it off with stretching while finishing chapter 9. The whole experience left me feeling pretty good. As I eased off to sleep I prayed a little bit.

Walking right now has its limits for me. Indoor walking with Leslie Sansone moves my body in many ways to help balance and use more muscle. For me right now it is a safe way to walk. I have never fallen using her program. If I was walking outside I would've fallen many times. My body can't take that anymore. One of the results of having one leg a quarter of an inch shorter than the other is my back is messed up. Right now I can only walking short bursts at a time. So I walking multiple quarter of a mile segments using various mi. walking mile programs to keep me moving. 

Something like this may help keep track & motivate

On my computer I posted a sticky where I can mark my distances around the house that I walk. My goal is to walk at least one mile with Leslie and keep track of my other steps and exercises to push my walking to 5000 or 6000 steps and then when I do my biking where I will get close to 10,000 steps and sleep like a baby. I don't always reach my goals but I'm coming closer. Other days I have fitness and resistance workouts. 

While writing this post I did two quarter mile walks. Leslie engages all muscles of the body. If you like working on the computer there are all kinds of ways to move to help heart, muscles, bones and all the needs of movement for your body.  Keep walking

We have a need for a medical advocate

Being a senior citizen may lead to being ignored by health professionals. Something changes in how we are viewed. 

Many have reported in the world of work changes happen where the older worker is treated more like one would treat a child. 

In my work the teens definitely treated me more like a grandparent than an adult in middle age. While there were times when I had to be the adult I also adapted the grandparent role to manipulate the students in more successful student behaviors and responsibilities. While they took on responsibilities for both themselves and me, this was a breakthrough to tap into their own growing up. Behavioral goals and education roles were reached as students became less dependent on me and assume greater responsibility for themselves. Underneath my façade I was still managing my role and function. The atmosphere in the classroom was less adversarial and more cooperative. 

There was an incident in which two girls were in a fight. I was the first on the scene so I was sorting out how to intervene a real physical fight, when two damsels came to my rescue. I being the gentleman that I am, gladly step aside as the two younger women competently dealt with situation. Would I have done that 20 years ago? I don't think so. As I walk back to my work area I was smiling thinking that I handled it quite well. 

But there're other times when people talk to me in a louder voice, repeated instructions several times, and I wasn't being asked to do the things I am done before. The times were changing. Some of this relates to aging. Toward the end of my career I did have significant issues with insomnia any ability to come to work everyday. While I resolve these issues it also became apparent to me that it was time for me to change. I would have to say I was given a lot of support. When I was at work I was good; but I also was missing too many days. This all happened in a time I could retire. 

Over the years I have heard many conversations that younger people have concerning older workers. It is not hard for people to pick up the vibrations that are negative.

Due to due process I can't disclosed a case ongoing. But It is possible to go into medical care and be ignored or not treated because of medicare limits or negligence. I would encourage each senior to have an advocate to speak out for your interests just in case you can't. A person who understands what is going on and will question things, look out for neglect and fight for you. Medical people may view you as an old geezer complaining with attitudes. We may say or feel things and express our selves in a bad way. We would not have done this earlier. Bottom line we may be written off. Hospitals like teachers, lawyers, can be lazy. We need a check and balance as we seek care. With so many things that can go wrong we want to communicate in such a way that we have a chance to survive. If the hospital is not really treating the problem we could be in serious trouble. Keep walking

Things to do to survive an heart attack from shareware

In the news

It is a good thing to be aware of things to do to survive a heart attack.

things-do-after-heart-attack

Read and prioritize information in article from Share care. I have a good idea related to being calm, but the article doesn't say this. My input is in (brackets)

Know the signs - (Sometimes it can be confusing...if you think you are call and sort it out later...time saves muscle)

Call the pros 911

Stay calm - (high emotions can be a trigger, particularly anger. My tip learn breathing exercises for just this type of occasion. Focus on surviving not dying.)

Take an aspirin 

Gather info - have a prepared list in purse or wallet - check the article for what type of info. (be positive with those trying to help you. I am going to make a cards to fit in my wallet that can be given. Seems smarter than trying to remember stuff. The list gets longer as we age)

After survival 

(thanks!)

Understand your treatment (Know the gameplay you are the quarterback)

Get back on your feet

Drop bad habits (new habits can be enjoyable-changing to a healthy diet can be a tasty- exercise can be liberating and reduce pain)