I looked at a photograph album the other day with great sadness for all the innocent victims of the Holocaust. It is the only surviving photo album from the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. These are the last photos taken of many Jews who were "exterminated" upon their arrival. This horrific time in history is now denied by many to have ever happened. Mankind does not learn from history, thus he tends to repeat it. This atrocity should not be allowed to disappear from history books. It is not a fabrication.
THE AUSCHWITZ ALBUM
This Album memorializes the arrival of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz in May of 1944.
It is the only one of its kind, and it is solely due to this album that we have a visual history of what occurred in the Auschwitz-Birchenau death camp.
The album was discovered after the war by an Auschwitz survivor, Lily Jacob, who donated it to Yad Vashem in 1980.
Now, with the aid of the Internet, it can be viewed by millions of people, anywhere in the world.
Click here to view the Auschwitz Album
If you would like more information on Auschwitz, click here.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Adopted for Life
Albert Mohler wrote a beautiful story on his blog about the adoption of a young Haitian boy. The story will both bring you to tears and make you smile, as he uses it to illustrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Adopted for Life .... and in Death
Adopted for Life .... and in Death
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Where Were You
Job has never been one of my favorite Bible books. I always found it very hard reading and Job's friends speeches incomprehensible. (Sorry, just being honest here.) But the last few chapters have always intrigued me. The ones where God asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?"
The next four chapters extol some of God's awesome power and majesty to a chastened Job. I have always found these chapters awesome, but never as much as when I read it today -- very slowly -- in the New American Standard Bible.
God's wisdom and power make my, or rather our puny problems appear inconsequential. Whatever the difficulty that needs to be resolved, God is able to handle it. He is omniscient and omnipotent and he does deliver His children.
We are fortunate to have the words of Job to encourage us to seek to know God as He actually is and not as we tend to want to embrace Him.
When God finished speaking, Job, thoroughly humbled, said, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You." What a blessing!
If you would like to read any or all of Job in the New American Standard Bible, click here.
The next four chapters extol some of God's awesome power and majesty to a chastened Job. I have always found these chapters awesome, but never as much as when I read it today -- very slowly -- in the New American Standard Bible.
God's wisdom and power make my, or rather our puny problems appear inconsequential. Whatever the difficulty that needs to be resolved, God is able to handle it. He is omniscient and omnipotent and he does deliver His children.
We are fortunate to have the words of Job to encourage us to seek to know God as He actually is and not as we tend to want to embrace Him.
When God finished speaking, Job, thoroughly humbled, said, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You." What a blessing!
If you would like to read any or all of Job in the New American Standard Bible, click here.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Hammering A Toe
Now, that might sound like a strange title but it's very apropos for this post. Those of you who are still subscribed to this blog (which I call MAP) undoubtedly know it has been a long time since I posted regularly here. I have been busy with life and trying to build up another blog, Jan's Funny Farm, in order to find a means to survive financially. Plus, I've had a lot of excess stress since my mother died three years ago and I haven't felt prepared to post on this blog.
It stays on my mind that I want to continue it. But in what capacity? For some time I thought of posting a Bible verse a day, but I was so overwhelmed with things that have to be done I never got around to it. Then I made a decision to post something, anything until I could figure it out. So at 10:53 am on Friday, January 15th, I dived in and just posted an entire chapter, Matthew 1. I didn't think MAP had any readers left, so it didn't matter. It was a beginning.
Now, at this time I had a recovering cat and a sore toe, but both were improving. I fed the dogs about 6:30 pm, Buddy on one side and Sam & Merci on the other. Buddy (about 40 pounds) finished his food and suddenly leaped at Sam's dish. One foot landed squarely on my sore toe so hard I thought he'd broken it. I screamed! Still, they had to go for their after dinner walk. It was a short one! When we turned toward home, Sam (about 65 - 75 pounds) started barking at something across the street. I stopped to peer into the darkness. Sam, highly excited, leaped into the air while swinging his body around. When he does that, it just about knocks me down. This time he landed squarely on the painful toe. I screamed.
There were two more incidents at bedtime. There was a lot of screaming that night. And during the next week because the mishaps kept occurring and the infection set in around the toenail. My recovering cat took a sudden turn for the worse. By Wednesday, pain, exhaustion and a couple of other health issues crowded out all thoughts of MAP posts. (Imagine hitting your thumb nail with a hammer. And then again and again and ..... Pain would cloud your mind.)
In the early hours of Sunday, January 24, my cat died. Before I could get dressed and bury him, I knocked a large spray bottle off a table directly onto my toe. It burst the sac of infection. I screamed and cried. Yet the nightmare wasn't finished. There was another blow to the toe to come at bedtime. Were there more after that? I can't and don't want to remember!
Although MAP posts fell by the wayside through this, my faith in God has not. When I can't sleep for the pain, I try to remember the good things God has done for me -- for us -- and praise/thank Him for it. Going through a painful trial does not mean He has abandoned us or is any less deserving of praise. In fact, our praise/thanksgiving is more precious at such times. It's easy to be thankful when things are going well.
The last few days, Ephesians 6 has been running through my mind. So today as I was reading it, I decided to share it with you. Ephesians 6 is the "Armor of God" chapter. I've heard a few jokes recently about needing steel toed boots, but what I really need is the armor of God to protect me in my struggle "against principalities, against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
You can pooh-pooh this connection if you want or call it coincidence, but consider that I spent several days limping on a sore toe without incident and my cat was doing well. However, within a few hours of posting the first Bible chapter, things changed, and posting was soon neglected. Again.
I don't promise to post here daily, but I do intend to post more frequently. Even if only a Bible verse. Sometimes a Bible verse is all it takes to turn a cloudy day into a sunny one.
I know God does help us through the emotional pain of losing someone close to us, as well as through the pain of losing a beloved pet. And he also helps us through the physical pains of life, even when they seem overwhelming and God is silent. My toe is still painful and ugly but I am hopeful it will heal soon.
It stays on my mind that I want to continue it. But in what capacity? For some time I thought of posting a Bible verse a day, but I was so overwhelmed with things that have to be done I never got around to it. Then I made a decision to post something, anything until I could figure it out. So at 10:53 am on Friday, January 15th, I dived in and just posted an entire chapter, Matthew 1. I didn't think MAP had any readers left, so it didn't matter. It was a beginning.
Now, at this time I had a recovering cat and a sore toe, but both were improving. I fed the dogs about 6:30 pm, Buddy on one side and Sam & Merci on the other. Buddy (about 40 pounds) finished his food and suddenly leaped at Sam's dish. One foot landed squarely on my sore toe so hard I thought he'd broken it. I screamed! Still, they had to go for their after dinner walk. It was a short one! When we turned toward home, Sam (about 65 - 75 pounds) started barking at something across the street. I stopped to peer into the darkness. Sam, highly excited, leaped into the air while swinging his body around. When he does that, it just about knocks me down. This time he landed squarely on the painful toe. I screamed.
There were two more incidents at bedtime. There was a lot of screaming that night. And during the next week because the mishaps kept occurring and the infection set in around the toenail. My recovering cat took a sudden turn for the worse. By Wednesday, pain, exhaustion and a couple of other health issues crowded out all thoughts of MAP posts. (Imagine hitting your thumb nail with a hammer. And then again and again and ..... Pain would cloud your mind.)
In the early hours of Sunday, January 24, my cat died. Before I could get dressed and bury him, I knocked a large spray bottle off a table directly onto my toe. It burst the sac of infection. I screamed and cried. Yet the nightmare wasn't finished. There was another blow to the toe to come at bedtime. Were there more after that? I can't and don't want to remember!
Although MAP posts fell by the wayside through this, my faith in God has not. When I can't sleep for the pain, I try to remember the good things God has done for me -- for us -- and praise/thank Him for it. Going through a painful trial does not mean He has abandoned us or is any less deserving of praise. In fact, our praise/thanksgiving is more precious at such times. It's easy to be thankful when things are going well.
The last few days, Ephesians 6 has been running through my mind. So today as I was reading it, I decided to share it with you. Ephesians 6 is the "Armor of God" chapter. I've heard a few jokes recently about needing steel toed boots, but what I really need is the armor of God to protect me in my struggle "against principalities, against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
You can pooh-pooh this connection if you want or call it coincidence, but consider that I spent several days limping on a sore toe without incident and my cat was doing well. However, within a few hours of posting the first Bible chapter, things changed, and posting was soon neglected. Again.
I don't promise to post here daily, but I do intend to post more frequently. Even if only a Bible verse. Sometimes a Bible verse is all it takes to turn a cloudy day into a sunny one.
I know God does help us through the emotional pain of losing someone close to us, as well as through the pain of losing a beloved pet. And he also helps us through the physical pains of life, even when they seem overwhelming and God is silent. My toe is still painful and ugly but I am hopeful it will heal soon.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Psalm 148
Psalm 148 kjv
1Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
2Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
3Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
4Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
6He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
8Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
9Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
11Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
12Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
14He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
1Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
2Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
3Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
4Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.
6He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
8Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
9Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
11Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth:
12Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
14He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
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