Good Riddance 2011

In case you did not hear, today is "Good Riddance 2011 Day." This is the 5th year for Good Riddance Day and it provides residents and tourists in New York City a chance to make way for the new year by destroying their bad memories and regrets from 2011. Participants can stop by the location in Times Square to shred or smash things they would rather leave behind in 2011. "All you need to do is write out, or bring in, whatever it is you would like to forget, and the Times Square Alliance will take care of it." "Anything you write on a piece of paper goes into this shredder and actually everything gets recycled so eventually your ex-boyfriend will turn into a paper cup or toilet paper, says Lori Raimondo of the Times Square Alliance. "And if it is a physical object wee have this here so if you want to destroy that cell phone or chairs that's been so uncomfortable, you can come here and take this mallet. We'll give you safety goggles and you just pummel it." The most creative person to say good riddance will win an Apple iPad.

As I listened to this story on TV news this morning, I thought about how God has so much more to offer people than simply smashing a bad experience from 2011. God tells us in His word that He offers us the opportunity for anyone to become a new creation through faith in Jesus Christ, If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is so much more profound than simply shredding a piece of paper, it involves starting a new life in relationship with our Creator! It involves experiencing the forgiveness of our sins, freedom from guilt and shame, and the promise of eternal life.

For the believer, God is also the God of new beginnings. Paul tells believers in Philippians 3:13, Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to sin the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. This past year might have been a year of difficulty, disappointment, or despair, but God has promised that He will never leave you or forsake you, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is always good to re-evaluate your life and stake stock of where you are as you enter a new year. And that may include leaving behind some things in 2011. But whether 2011 was a good or bad year, God offers so much more than a shredder and a sledge hammer. May God bless you throughout this coming year.

Blessings,

Dr. Paul

Thankfulness Leads to a Healthier Life

Do you want to live healthier? A number of recent studies have found that living with a thankful perspective on life actually increases your general sense of well being and your physical healthi Our natural tendency is for our minds to dwell on problems unresolved, opportunities missed, relationships broken, promises unkept, faded dreams, fears of uncertainty, and guilt over past mistakes. While life does bring its share of challenges and disappointments, it also brings us great joys: problems solved, opportunities seized, relationships built, promises kept, dreams fulfilled, hope that reassures our fear—blessing upon blessing.

An attitude of gratitude provides a lifeline to carry us through the darkest moments and uncertainties of life as it reaches into the depths of our souls with awareness of God’s faithful provision for us. That same spirit of thankfulness causes our hearts to overflow with joy. A few years ago, researchers Robert A. Emmons from the University of California, Davis and Michael E. McCullough from the University of Miami conducted a study on the dimensions of gratitude. They considered how an attitude of thankfulness influences our emotional and physical well-being, and they found that it really does make a healthier difference.

But there's a catch: You have to do it even when the calendar does not say "Thanksgiving.""It doesn't really work if you do it only once a year," says Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at the University of California-Riverside.Practicing gratitude is like exercising, says Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California-Davis: Use it, and you won't lose it, even when times are tough, as they are for many folks right now.

Lyubomirsky and Emmons are among researchers who have studied the power of gratitude and learned, for example, that:

•People with high blood pressure not only lower their blood pressure, but feel less hostile and are more likely quit smoking and lose weight when they practice gratitude. In one study, patients just called a research hotline once a week to report on the things that made them grateful.

•People who care for relatives with Alzheimer's disease feel less stress and depression when they keep daily gratitude journals, listing the positive things in their lives.

•Those who maintain a thankful attitude through life appear to have lower risks of several disorders, including depression, phobias, bulimia and alcoholism.

•Most people can lift their mood simply by writing a letter of thanks to someone. Hand-deliver the letter, and the boost in happiness can last weeks or months.

Practicing gratitude in these systematic ways changes people by changing brains that "are wired for negativity, for noticing gaps and omissions," Emmons says. "When you express a feeling, you amplify it. When you express anger, you get angrier; when you express gratitude, you become more grateful." And grateful people, he says, don't focus so much on pain and problems. They also are quicker to realize they have friends, families and communities to assist them in times of need. They see how they can help others in distress as well, he says.

After 9/11, many people reported increased feelings of gratitude, says Chris Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. It's too soon for studies on the influence of the nation's financial meltdown, but Peterson says he hears a lot of people counting their blessing these days. "There are people who say 'It could be worse, and I'm glad I have my health.' " Gratitude won't get those people new jobs or replenish their retirement accounts, but it could give them the energy to tackle their challenges, Peterson says: "It can only help."

So as you gather today with family to give thanks, keep that attitude of gratitude throughout the year. You will be happier for it.

Blessings,

Dr. Paul

Happiness and Longevity

How happy are you? If you are more of a happy person, you stand a much greater chance of living a longer life. A new study out of England suggests that people who are happy live 35% longer. The study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that those who reported feeling happiest had a 35% reduced risk of dying compared with those who reported feeling least happy.

Rather than rely on recollections about their feelings of happiness as in earlier studies, this British study of 3,853 participants ages 52-79 rated their feelings at different times on one particular day. Five years later, researchers recorded the number who died and controlled for a variety of factors, including age, gender, health, wealth, education and marital status.

This approach "gets closer to measuring how people actually feel" rather than relying on recollections or general questions about well-being, says epidemiologist Andrew Steptoe, a psychology professor at University College in London, who co-authored the study.

How happy a person is at any point in time, he says, is a product of "some background disposition; some people tend to be happier than others," but also "what they are doing, who they are with, and other features of that point in time. Both are important."

"It's perfectly true that someone's happiness over a single day will be affected by what happens to them over that period," Steptoe says. "However, survey experts and psychologists have come to the view that in many ways, this is a better approach to understanding how people actually feel than asking them general questions about how happy they are. Responses to general questions are influenced strongly by personality, by what people think they 'ought' to say and by recollections that might not be quite accurate," Steptoe says.

Certainly more research can help solidify the results of this particular study, but it does add to the growing amount of research linking inner well being and physical heath. Who would have thought that when the Bible says to "rejoice always" that it could lead to a longer life!

Blessings,

(A Happy) Dr. Paul

Steve Jobs' Legacy

Steve Jobs, the creative genius behind Apple, passed away earlier this month after battling cancer. His death is a great loss to his family, to Apple, and to all of us who benefit from the technology he helped to develop. I am currently typing this on an Apple computer after driving home listening to music on my iPod from my day of counseling and working with a group of pastors in Lancaster. The pioneering work he did has literally changed the way we listen to music, work with computers, and talk to people on the phone. I would say it is safe to call him a modern day, computer era Thomas Edison.

With all of the success of Apple, Steve Jobs was a very private person. Sure, any time Apple would introduce a new product, Steve would be the one to unveil it to the world with great fanfare. But other than that, you wouldn't really see or hear much about him, or his family. I admire that, actually, keeping his private life private.

For all of his success, there is at least one area where Steve Jobs felt he came up short, and that is his role as a father. As he faced his impending death, he felt it was time to address his life as a dad. Here is how he was quoted in USA Today:

"I wanted my kids to know me," Jobs was quoted as saying by Pulitzer Prize nominee Walter Isaacson, when he asked the Apple co-founder why he authorized a tell-all biography after living a private, almost ascetic life. "I wasn't always there for them, and I wanted them to know why and to understand what I did," Jobs told Isaacson in their final interview at Jobs' home in Palo Alto, California.

This, to me, is very sad. Jobs leaves a tremendous tremendous legacy in business and computer technology, but his own children are left to learn about who their dad really was by reading a book. Instead of their minds filled with memories of spending time with their father, they are left with words on a page.

When I was a teenager, the song Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin, was very popular. I think the words of this song are apparently something Steve Jobs' children will identify with:

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

So dad's what kind of legacy will you leave for your children? If you want to learn more about how to be a dad who will make a difference in the lives of your children, get out to the theatre and see the movie "Courageous," produced by the makers of the "Fireproof." You will be glad you did. I went with my wife and my sons, and we were all blessed by it.

Blessings,

Dr. Paul

The Tyranny of the Urgent

Today I was reading in the Gospel of Luke about how Jesus would take time to get away from the crowds and the hectic pace of ministry to spend time in prayer with God the Father. Luke 5:16 simply says, "But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray." Nothing fancy, just getting away from the craziness of life. When was he last time you withdrew to a desolate place to pray? For those of you who are raising young kids, you are probably laughing right now, along with those of you who are working two jobs to try to keep up with the financial needs of your family. I understand, I work two jobs, and my three kids were all young once too (we had a 4 year old, two year old, and an infant when Andrew was born).

The tyranny of the urgent can all get the best of us. It happens to us who are pastors too. But as busy as you and I might be, I don't think we are any busier than Jesus, whose mission was to save the world! And yet he found time to get alone with God the Father. Notice how Jesus would not only withdraw, but he would seek out a "desolate place." Do you have a desolate place? Maybe you can't get too far with your responsibilities, but find a place and time where you can be alone. It may even be a place in your home, or a nearby park, or even closing the door of your office or the front seat of your car. Wherever that place may be, get to it on a regular if not daily basis and spend some time, as unhurried as possible, and seek out the Lord. He will bless you for it, and you will find that you have lot more peace in the craziness of your life.

Blessings,

Dr. Paul

We Made It!

Recently my wife Phyllis and I reached a milestone of parenting, we graduated from the teen years! Our youngest son turned 20 and for the first time in a decade we no longer are parents of a teenager. Most parents approach the teen years with a lot of fear and worry. Horror stories abound at the PTA meeting, the hair salon, on the side lines of the little league game, etc. I have to admit that I shared some of those fears when our oldest was getting close to being a teenager. But I also thought that the fear and dread many parents expressed might be setting them up for failure. Isn't God in control? And don't I have the power of prayer and the wisdom that comes from years in the school of life to give me an important edge? So I entered these years of parenting with more of a sense of anticipation and optomism than fear and dread. And by the grace of God, in spite of many mistakes made by me as a parent along the way, none of our kids is a criminal, an addict, a bum, or a parent. So how did we not only survive but even thrive at times?

I don't propose to be an expert on all things parenting, but I would like to share some advice from what we learned after seeing our three kids navigate the teen years. Phyllis and I are far from being perfect parents. We both have things we would do differently if we had the opportunity to do it again. So here goes in no special order or preference:

1. Pray, pray, pray.

2. Don't neglect your marriage.

3. Decide what battles are worth fighting and what battles are not.

4. Decide #3 with your spouse away from the kids and present a united front.

5. Have dinner together as a family on the majority of nights.

6. Don't just drop your kids at church, but bring your kids with you to church.

7. Be the same person in private that you are in public.

8. Spend time with each of your kids on a weekly basis.

9. Show an interest in the things your teen enjoys even if you don't like or understand it.

10. Reserve the right to inspect any and all of your child's belongings and room at any time.

So there you have it, our first ten items. Let me know what you think. Share some of your ideas with me, I would enjoy hearing from you.

Blessings,

Dr. Paul

The Financial Impact of Federal Policy on Families

There is a lot of concern, and rightly so, about the looming financial crisis surrounding the raising of our national debt limit. Both democrats and republicans have dug in for a fight and are risking a default by our government for the first time in history. This will have a devastating impact if it is allowed to happen.
As much as I am concerned about this current crisis, I have been concerned for a long time about the financial impact of our federal government on marriage and family. Here are three areas that are big on my radar screen. And they are so big because they are all areas where our federal government has a negative financial impact.
First, the failure of our government to keep up with the child deduction. This has fallen further and further behind and has a big impact on families. When first enacted back in the 1950’s, it was designed to lesson the tax burden on families who are raising children. But congress has failed to raise it sufficiently to keep up with inflation. If they had, what is a $2000 deduction today would be much higher, over $8000. Imagine the benefit to families who now often need both parents to work to pay their bills. How many mothers would rather be at home instead of placing their children in day care?
Second, the impact of the marriage penalty. The way our over complicated tax law is written, a couple who are married and file jointly pay more taxes than a couple who are not married but living together. The family is the foundation of any society, and yet we make it harder for couples who want to be married. So what if people simply live together? There are many negative outcomes for a couple who chose to live together, including a higher rate of break up if they stay unmarried, and a higher rate of divorce if they do eventually marry. Our government should be doing everything it can to strengthen marriage and family, not undermining it through the tax code.
Third, school choice. By any measure you can think of, our public schools are doing a poor job when compared to other industrialized nations. We spend more money per student than any time in our nation’s history, and yet our schools are not keeping up with the rest of the world. In this global economy, parents should have the opportunity to send their children to the best school possible, public, private, or religious. We are a free, capitalist society and that allows for one of the greatest incentives to do better ever devised, competition. If schools and teachers were forced to compete, I can guarantee that their performance would improve, and as a result of that, the education that our students receive. This is an issue that our federal government can and should address.
Am I concerned about the looming federal debt crisis, you bet, and I have called my representative and senators about it. You can be sure this will have a very negative impact on your family if it isn’t resolved now: higher costs, higher interest rates, more difficulty obtaining credit, etc. But what concerns me just as much, if not more, is the negative financial impact of a government that is increasing undermining the support for marriage and family.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

What is Infidelity Today?

The national media are all over the situation with Congressman Weiner admitting to sending inappropriate, sexually charged text messages and pictures to as many as six different women. The congressman in his press conference yesterday seemed to draw a line between sending these messages, which he agreed were wrong, and having actual physical contact with these women. So where do we draw the line, and what is marital infidelity today?
I would like to suggest two points to consider in answer to this question. First, anytime you have to hide something from your spouse regarding any form of communication to a member of the opposite sex, you are being unfaithful. If you can't be open and honest about it from the get go, then there is a problem.
Second, just because there is any physical contact does not mean it is ok either. The sexually suggestive or explicit content, or emotionally making a connection to someone in a way that you should only be connected to your spouse are all examples of crossing the line of what is wrong in a relationship where two people are committed to each other. In addition, once you start moving down this track it is only a matter of time before the two people involved find themselves in each others arms in what would be considered cheating before the electronic era in which we live.
Unfortunately, while electronic forms of communciation provide wonderful opportunities to share information or stay connected with friends and family, it also makes inappropriate connections much easier. The best defense is having a strong moral compass to keep you grounded in the truth and in your commitment to your spouse.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

A Father's Prayer

I write this blog with a lot of emotion. My daughter Stephanie is getting married in two days. Not only do I have the priviledge of walking her down the aisle, but she and her husband-to-be asked me to complete the ceremony for them after I give her away. I remember her saying to me, "Daddy, I have always dreamed that you would walk me down the aisle and then marry me and my husband, is that ok?" Of course I said yes, how could I do otherwise as she looked at me with those beautiful eyes which remind me of her mother.


Today I will be putting the finishing touches on my message to her and Ben, along with a lot of running around for wedding logistics. Things have gotten a bit stressful lately as we enter these final days before the big day, as they do in any family preparing for their daughter's wedding. And so what is the FOB (Father of Bride) to do? In a word, pray. Phyllis and I have prayed a lot for her and our sons over the years. Not only have we prayed for them, we have prayed for their future spouses if God desired them to be married. God answered our prayer in Ben, a fine Christian man who loves our daughter with all of his heart and who our daughter loves with all of her heart. But we loved her first, and that love will never end just because she leaves our home to start a new family. I always knew this day would come, and now that it is just about here, there are tears that cloud my view of this computer screen. Tears of joy for her, tears of pride, tears of gratitude for my wife who has done so much in raising our children and working so hard as a nurse, tears of gratitude for the family God has given us with our daughter and two sons, tears of letting her go, tears of thanks for the man who has become her primary love in life. She will always be my girl, but now I need to place her hand into Ben's. This isn't easy for Phyllis and I, would we ever be completely ready for this? But the time has come in the unfolding of God's plan for our daughter.

And so I have prayed for God to bless Stephanie and Ben as He has blessed us as a family. I pray that God would watch over her as we let her go. I pray for Phyllis and I that we would be brought closer together through this experience. In some ways this is harder for her as a mother and daugther share a special bond. I pray for our sons, Paul and Andrew, that they would blessed as they have a part in the letting go of their sister and the welcoming of Ben into our family. I pray for Ben's family as they experience all of this from their perspective as his parents and siblings. I pray for the details of that day (good weather, smooth logistics, everyone working together, that I don't blubber down the aisle, etc., etc., etc.). I pray that their marraige would be a testimony to God's love and grace. And I pray that even as we let her go, that we would remember that we are still a family, Stephanie is still our daughter, that we have gained a new son, that one day we will be grandparents if God so blesses them, and that in Phyllis' heart she will still be her daughter, continuing to share so much that mothers and daughters enjoy, and in my heart, she will always be daddy's little girl.


Love,


Dad

Wedding Preparations

The royal wedding is now over and the happy couple are on the way to their honeymoon. For the last few months, the news media has been all over the preparations for the big day. We have heard all about every detail of every phase of this wedding of the century. My wife and daughter were glued to the TV on that morning. It is estimated that two billion people watched the bride walk 300 hundred steps from the back of the church to the altar for the ceremony. So what have I been thinking about through all of this? To be honest, I am a little tired of all of the hype and hysteria over it, unlike my wife and daughter who, like many women, are enjoying every moment. But I would like to use the occasion of the royal wedding to make a more serious point. It is obvious that no expense was spared to make this wedding the most glamorous. Everything was planned to the last detail. However, with all of these preparations, did any effort go into planning the marriage? What I am talking about here is the importance of preparing for the kind of marriage the husband and wife will have, in other words, pre-marital counseling. Like most couples, a lot of time and energy goes into planning the wedding and reception to follow. And certainly there is nothing wrong with that. I want to make a plea for couples to take as serious the need to get pre-marital counseling so the husband and bride to be can have the greatest opportunity for a successful life together. With the track record of the Windsor family marriages, William and Catherine need all the help they can get, as do any couple contemplating this important commitment for life.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

"What in the world is going on?"

One of the guys in my firehouse asked me this question recently. A few of us were discussing the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear emergency in Japan, along with combat in Lybia, problems in the Middle East, etc. So he turned to me for some answers. My response was two fold. First, I can't answer specifically for God, but I do know that God is in control, He has a plan, and is never taken by surprise. He has a plan for the world, and Satan will do everything he can to try and stop it. Plus, we live in a physical world that is impacted by the fall of Adam, so natural disasters and other physical suffering will take place. Second, God loves and cares for us, and for the hurting people around the world. He cares so much that He became a man in the person of Jesus to experience life as we do, including all of the hurt, suffering, and betrayal we could ever experience.
This is seen in many of the promises He gives us in the Bible. One of my favorite is Psalm 46, God is my refuge and strength, and a very present help in times of trouble.
What in the world is going on? God has a plan, and that plan includes the return of His Son. So expect more natural disasters along with wars and rumors of war as we move closer to the completion of His plan.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

Kids and Facebook

How old should a child be to be on social media? This is a hot question today. Michelle Obama made some comments lately that provoked a lot of debate among parents. Speaking of her daughters, she said, “I’m not a big fan of children having FB, it’s not something they need.” Social media like Facebook have a policy requiring kids to be at least 13 years old. But is this too young? Here is what a study, the Internet and American Life Project funded by the Pew Foundation, recently discovered. This study found that 93% of children 12 to 17 are online.
73% of them are on one or more social media. This means that a lot of 12 and 13 year olds are using social media.
In a recent survey conducted by ABC News, most parents feel that age 15 is the youngest for social media. Even more striking, 43% of parents felt that social media are not appropriate for anyone under 18 years of age. Obviously, there is a disconnect between what parents said in the ABC survey and the amount of kids who are using social media according to the Pew study.
So what is a parent to do? Here are some things to consider:
The maturity level of your child.
Your child's school performance.
How social is your child?
What real activities is your child involved in?
How much are you willing and able to monitor your child's activity?
Regardless of the age which you select for your child's participation in social media, you want to impress upon your child some important safeguards:
Only allow selected friends to see your child's information and posts.
Never provide address and home or cell phone numbers.
Make sure your child understands that inappropriate photographs, posts, and comments can cause great harm, impact future job prospects, etc.
Have all passwords and make sure you can access all of their accounts. Go on their social media on a regular basis to monitor your child's activity.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

Why Does a Couple Break Up After So Many Years?

Today Governor Rendell and his wife announced that they are separating after 40 years of marriage. Wow, 40 years, that is a long time. Some Hollywood marriages only last 40 days. I don't know the governor and his wife, they seem nice enough, even if you don't agree with their politics or public policy. I can give some reasons why a couple may chose to separate or divorce after 2o or more years. If there is no infidelity, physical or emotional abuse, or substance abuse, it often involves a gradual erosion of the relationship. The couple may have fallen for the common myth that marriage problems will just work themselves out over time. Actually, problems get worse over time, not better. As these problems get worse, and others are added, the couple finds themselves drifting further apart.
Another reason I see is reflected in the words of this man who was married for 25 years, “We never had a very close relationship, but the kids kept us together, they were our connecting point. When they left home, it was just the two of us, with no buffers. We had nothing in common and decided it was crazy to waste the rest of our lives. So we divorced." One or both of the spouses pour themselves into their children, or their career, or a hobby, or some other pursuit. Now there is nothing wrong with being a good parent, or seeking to do well in your job, or having a hobby. The problem is when any of these pursuits overtakes investing time and effort in your marriage.
Marriage takes work, and that work continues for the life of the husband and wife. James Dobson of Focus on the Family notes that “Married life offers no panacea, if it is going to reach its potential, it will require an all out investment by both husband and wife.” Are you making your marriage an all out investment? Take some time to think about how much effort you are putting into your marriage. Then ask your spouse how he/she thinks you are doing in making your marriage the most important relationship you have, next to your relationship to God.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

The Latest Deadly Drug Habit

Who would have thought that bath salts could be deadly. When Neil Brown got high on dangerous chemicals sold as bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven't been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Wave, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.
Some say the effects of the powders are as powerful as abusing methamphetamine. Increasingly, law enforcement agents and poison control centers say the advertised bath salts with complex chemical names are an emerging menace in several U.S. states where authorities talk of banning their sale.
Apparently there are some brands of bath salts that include a chemicals from China and India called Mephadrone and MDPV. These organic chemicals are imported from these countries, added to the salts, and then marketed in the US. Names of the salts also include "White Lightning," and "Hurricane Charlie." Teens and adults are smoking it, snorting it, and injecting it.
The results of this abuse are deadly. Users of this experience hallucinations, altered speech pattern, delirium, severe paranoia, pscyhosis, and suicide. Mississippi lawmakers this week began considering a proposal to ban the sale of the powders, and a similar step is being sought in Kentucky. In Louisiana, the bath salts were outlawed by an emergency order after the state's poison center received more than 125 calls in the last three months of 2010 involving exposure to the chemicals.
In Brown's case, he said he had tried every drug from heroin to crack and was so shaken by terrifying hallucinations that he wrote one Mississippi paper urging people to stay away from the advertised bath salts.
"I couldn't tell you why I did it," Brown said, pointing to his scars. "The psychological effects are still there."
While Brown survived, sheriff's authorities in one Mississippi county say they believe one woman overdosed on the powders there. In southern Louisiana, the family of a 21-year-old man says he cut his throat and ended his life with a gunshot. Authorities are investigating whether a man charged with capital murder in the December death of a Tippah County, Miss., sheriff's deputy was under the influence of the bath salts.
At the present time, federal authorities are also looking into what can be done to stop the sale of these "bath salts." In the mean time, parents need to be aware of this new danger.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

Philadelphia's Abortion Horror

Here in Philadelphia an abortion doctor, Kermit Gosnell, M.D., has been charged with murder in the death of a woman, 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar, who came for an abortion. According to the Grand Jury inditement, he allowed untrained personel to adminster powerful anesthesia drugs which resulted in her death. Many other women wound up in emergency rooms with various injuries from his malpractice. In addition, a number of babies were born as a result of his performing late term abortions and he murdered them with a pair of sciossors. Philadelphia District Attorney, Seth Williams said during a press conference Wednesday that Gosnell "induced labor, forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh, eighth month of pregnancy and then killed those babies by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord."The district attorney also said patients were subjected to squalid and barbaric conditions at Gosnell's Women's Medical Society.Authorities went to investigate drug-related complaints at the clinic last year and stumbled on what Williams called a "house of horrors.""There were bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses scattered throughout the building," Williams said. "There were jars, lining shelves, with severed feet that he kept for no medical purpose."
The clinic was shut down and Gosnell's medical license was suspended after the raid.
Workers, some of whom were also charged with murder, were untrained and unlicensed, including a high-school student who performed anesthesia with potentially lethal narcotics, Williams said.
Not only am I, like any decent person would be, horrified and sickened by the horrific acts committed by this sick excuse for a physician. But I also think about the fact that the authorities who have oversight of the abortion clincs allowed this facility to operate for years. State regulators were given numerous reports of problems and yet NO ONE BOTHERED TO INVESTIGATE! Those of us who are Pro-Life have warned that the abortion business culture of death would lead to a de-valuing of human life. While this case is a more extreme example, it seems to me that the culture of death has desensitized us as a nation to the sanctity of life. If there is another explanation for the fact that, as D.A. Williams said, there is more oversight of a beauty parlor than an abortion clinic, I would like to hear it.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

Haiti One Year After the Earthquake

On January 12 it will be one year since the devastating earthquake that hit the nation of Haiti, one of the poorest on the planet. It has been 8 months since I went to Haiti for the pastor's conference in Port Au Prince. Haiti is about the size of Maryland with a population of 10 million people. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 80% of the population living under the poverty line, and 54% living in adject poverty. The daily personal income averages to $2 per day.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck at 4:53 in the afternoon with the epicenter 10 miles West of Port-au-Prince. As many as 250,000 people were killed and 1.2 million people were displaced . Since then there have been 33 aftershocks.

To me, the biggest aftershock is not the physical impact of the earthquake, as horrible as that was and how it continues to impact the people. It is the spiritual aftershocks. God is working in the midst of the incredible suffering. It is hard to imagine what a tent city is like until you are there and see an ocean of tents as far as the eye can see. When we came for the conference, we met pastors who had suffered so much, yet were hungry for what God could do in their lives and in their congregations and communities. Here is an excerpt from my first message which opened the conference:
We want you to know that as a pastor, who knows Christ, armed with the Word of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, you are more capable than you realize to help the people suffering in your church, and in your community. You don’t need to be an expert in post-traumatic stress, or have a doctoral degree to make a difference.
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me, to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted.
But we also want to bind up your wounds, to minister to your hearts. Our goal is that as you experience the ministry of God to you, you will begin to experience healing, your hope will be renewed, and you will be better equipped to be servant leaders to your people.

Little did I how prophetic these words would be. God is doing amazing things in Haiti, breaking the stronghold of supersition and vodoo which has gripped so many. The church is rebuilding and revival is breaking out.

To find out more, I encourage you to go to the web site of the organization which sponsored the conference in which I participated, http://www.churcheshelpingchurches.org/. Pray for the pastors and people of Haiti. Our God is an awesome God!
Blessings,
Dr. Paul

I Thought I was a Dad

This is not exactly how I envisioned my first blog entry of 2011, but the U.S. State Department has a new policy that I just can't ignore. For the last 23 years, I was known as Dad, the father of my first child, followed in the next couple of years as being Dad to my two sons. I like the idea of being Dad. But according to the State Department application for a passport, I am no longer know as this. I am simply "Parent #1" or "Parent #2" depending on how I might feel when filling out the application. In the latest example of trying to redefine the family, and wanting to be overly sensitive to situations where a child has two members of the same sex for his adoptive parents, the terms "mother" and "father" are now removed. I am simply either Thing 1 or Thing 2, no, wait a minute, that is Parent 1 or Parent 2.
How pathetic are we getting as a nation? Here is what Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has to say about this change: "Only in the topsy-turvy world of left-wing political correctness could it be considered an ‘improvement’ for a birth-related document to provide less information about the circumstances of that birth,” Family Research Council president Tony Perkins wrote in a statement to Fox News Radio. “This is clearly designed to advance the causes of same-sex ‘marriage’ and homosexual parenting without statutory authority, and violates the spirit if not the letter of the Defense of Marriage Act.”
So much for being a Dad.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul