tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9690202969354041112024-03-13T02:03:31.152-07:00Somebody Else's StorySusanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-43101219018926725182022-01-11T11:02:00.032-08:002022-01-11T11:48:30.311-08:00She once ran with drug addicts and prostitutes; now she ministers to them!<div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">
While Sharon Dutra’s story is an American one, her hardships and tumultuous early life could all have happened in any country in the world—places where she also now freely shares her ministry and Bible Study books. Over the years, she has become a great friend, prayer partner and encourager to me.</span></i></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Sharon Dutra’s emotions ranged from wonder to worry and back again as she headed—voluntarily this time—into the California Institution for Women. She had shared a tiny cell at this women’s state prison in southern California with another inmate several decades ago in what proved to be the last stop in an already long series of arrests and incarcerations.
</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Like most who end up ‘on the wrong side of the tracks,’ Sharon’s early life reads like a dark thriller. Her mother left when Sharon was about five; her alcoholic, womanizing father had been married four times by the time she was 17. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Young Sharon, shuttled from one foster home to another, felt abandoned and alone. By 13, she resorted to drugs to dull the pain and growing sense of worthlessness and by 15, had run from her latest home to an even worse life on the streets.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">In and out of various detention facilities in the years that followed, with each escape she learned more about ‘life on the streets’, while her self-hatred and contempt for others escalated. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Marriage with an ex-con and two children later, her life continued its increasingly dark and steep downward spiral. Hard-core drugs, near-death experiences, prostitution, homelessness, suicide attempts—all culminated in her thirteenth and final arrest.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">“Because of my lengthy criminal record,” she explains,” I was sent to a women’s prison in Southern California, where I already knew some of the inmates from my time on the street.”</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhF1t4312_uDwcpi42EiZ_RUf3HzKKsd5HHcGUODWzBAQ8lbwPxCmgLmKlBEu_YFCUnaQ7fWOk-zJ8AwTalZXnLtjL5Wi1tHuXQqTzqXXkmpYYkOZMjslVc2OJE7_1FtRZUbbj0LNDUo0dbUbqG4dTYcsfI4YINQrRnrLUjnX9Sd1pOGS7kFCHFNsFc-A=s1000" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="403" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhF1t4312_uDwcpi42EiZ_RUf3HzKKsd5HHcGUODWzBAQ8lbwPxCmgLmKlBEu_YFCUnaQ7fWOk-zJ8AwTalZXnLtjL5Wi1tHuXQqTzqXXkmpYYkOZMjslVc2OJE7_1FtRZUbbj0LNDUo0dbUbqG4dTYcsfI4YINQrRnrLUjnX9Sd1pOGS7kFCHFNsFc-A=w537-h403" width="537" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="proxima-nova" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: start; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: pre-wrap;">A VIEW FROM OUTSIDE THE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN; PHOTO: TAG CHRISTOF</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">That, thankfully, proved to be her ultimate conviction in more ways than one. While there, she read <em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Al Capone’s Devil Driver, </em>by and about George Meyer, the notorious crime boss’s chauffeur who had killed many people himself and ended up in prison, where he eventually traded in his life of crime for Life with Jesus.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The book helped open her eyes to the divine realization that God alone could help her out of her misery and pain and was right there with her, waiting to be invited into her life.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">“I got on my knees and cried out to Him for over an hour,” she remembers, “weeping for all the wrongs I had done. When I got up off the cell floor, I was a brand-new person.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">A few weeks later, Sharon moved from 23-hour-a-day lockdown to the general prison population. She immediately began attending church, where the prison chaplain presented her with her very own bible.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">“I read it for hours every day!” she recalls. “After a lifetime derailed by destructive lies, finding God’s truth felt like discovering a cool stream in the desert.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">“At first, I could hardly fathom that Jesus would love a sinner like me, much less that my sins were totally forgiven,” she marvels. “But the more I read, the more the Holy Spirit confirmed the shocking reality of the Gospel! I drew special encouragement from Joel 2:25, which speaks of God ‘repaying us for the years the locusts have eaten’.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">She couldn’t help but share the astonishingly freeing Good News with others in prison, and soon picked back up her guitar-playing to lead in worship. Eventually, she also began teaching Bible studies for fellow prisoners. When finally </span><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.38px;">released, she returned to her hometown of Santa Cruz, California. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">“But the only people I knew there were drug addicts and prostitutes!” she recalls. “I wondered why God had returned me to this kind of environment. How would I overcome my reputation there? But God graciously gave me many opportunities to witness to those I had run with.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">She eventually returned to school, earned a registered nursing degree, and married. She and her husband Michael, through their <a href="https://betransformedministries.com/" style="color: #055b99; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;">Be Transformed Ministries</a>, now help people from many backgrounds both come to know Jesus and become His disciples. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.38px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">She began leading Bible studies while still in prison and continues to, now using books she has written herself to fill needs and answer questions she couldn’t find in existing materials. Her books (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Be-Transformed-Spirit-Living-God/dp/1479188719/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Sharon+Dutra&qid=1641242600&sr=8-1" style="color: #055b99; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"><em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Be Transformed</em></a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/New-Beginnings-Understanding-Principles-Christian/dp/069286413X/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Sharon+Dutra&qid=1641242600&sr=8-3" style="color: #055b99; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"><em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">New Beginnings</em></a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fishers-Men-Becoming-Dynamic-Disciple/dp/0578673975/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Sharon+Dutra&qid=1641242600&sr=8-2" style="color: #055b99; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"><em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">Fishers of Men</em></a>) have been translated into Spanish, Japanese and Farsi; many have been freely sent overseas (mostly for pastoral training) and over 35,000 of her books have been sent to prisons, jails and rehab centers across the U.S. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWGvv-Z0F0pfnyHhgRviH7xr1Rtka0nOcpRkquekawh9vW0CDXXR0Mcp7sKPtExYpMWBzg37muvkEoyvlDh0-Z3jV777_yMuG8CtQLEjM717chPB1l3TP2mBphHeShdUDqGCosflo2a-_aXpjzw_jT8l0kqPkermiZl7gEyyNoPrYME1Y7gQCmItGFBQ=s1023" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1023" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWGvv-Z0F0pfnyHhgRviH7xr1Rtka0nOcpRkquekawh9vW0CDXXR0Mcp7sKPtExYpMWBzg37muvkEoyvlDh0-Z3jV777_yMuG8CtQLEjM717chPB1l3TP2mBphHeShdUDqGCosflo2a-_aXpjzw_jT8l0kqPkermiZl7gEyyNoPrYME1Y7gQCmItGFBQ=w575-h316" width="575" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="proxima-nova" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: start; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: pre-wrap;">250 BIBLES AND 500 OF SHARON’S BOOKS WERE SHIPPED TO GHANA TO BE USED IN CHURCHES AND PRISONS.
HERE IS A PRESENTATION IN A GHANA PRISON
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2lncE6xjy3-8Y7lH0eoG-cFELdvj7iLk3hhaSgp0Bq_1oEkj8Z6Wa1WAXGL-8Aw7tutpAshtQ9gkp6nTMkJdfls3rLV3GQYt65SdtB0IZPk8l8f5GgsGBHOz45HB8oixdb3Nj4QGYoA-zBu1XFNZH73VIyb04s7jYqKPsdkrTkWaegKAvVbz5mTYaJw=s1442" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1442" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2lncE6xjy3-8Y7lH0eoG-cFELdvj7iLk3hhaSgp0Bq_1oEkj8Z6Wa1WAXGL-8Aw7tutpAshtQ9gkp6nTMkJdfls3rLV3GQYt65SdtB0IZPk8l8f5GgsGBHOz45HB8oixdb3Nj4QGYoA-zBu1XFNZH73VIyb04s7jYqKPsdkrTkWaegKAvVbz5mTYaJw=w579-h309" width="579" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="proxima-nova" style="background-color: white; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; text-align: start; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: pre-wrap;">PASTORS IN SOUTH AFRICA GATHER AFTER TRAINING WITH SHARON’S BOOKS</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.02em; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">On her December return to the prison where she had met Jesus, Sharon shared her story with a roomful of hungry inmates—making new friends and several new converts before ‘escaping’ into the waiting arms of her husband outside the prison. They rejoiced together over all God had done and continues to do through their own and others’ lives redirected to the One who created them.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.02em; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0.02em; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">“After so many years on the run—from home, from authority, from life itself—I praise God for giving rest to my weary soul,” she explains. “No life is too broken for God to heal. I am living proof.”</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 19px; letter-spacing: 0.02em;">
</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.36px;">_____________</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.38px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.38px;">
</span><i style="font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.02em;">Christianity Today</i></span><b style="letter-spacing: 0.02em;"> </b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.02em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">recently featured Sharon’s story (</span><a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/december/sharon-dutra-homeless-drug-addicts-prostitutes-gospel.html?share=bAnHlHkC0Kg9PCkh3NacWQ%2bTo%2b0CtdJN&utm_medium=widgetsocial" style="background-color: white; color: #055b99; font-family: helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.02em; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><b>I</b></em><strong style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"><em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"> Used to Run with Drug Addicts and Prostitutes. Now I Share the Gospel with Them</em></strong></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.02em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">) and</span><strong style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.02em; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Victorious Living</strong></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; letter-spacing: 0.02em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> has her story in their January 2022 issue</span>.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19px; letter-spacing: 0.02em; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div><div class="sqs-block image-block sqs-block-image sqs-col-7 span-7 float float-right sqs-text-ready" data-block-type="5" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1641416208765_6106" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; float: right; font-family: proxima-nova; font-size: 19px; height: auto; letter-spacing: 0.38px; margin-left: 17px; outline: none; padding: 17px; position: relative; width: 327.94px; z-index: 10;"><div class="sqs-block-content" id="yui_3_17_2_1_1641927159240_397"><div class="image-block-outer-wrapper layout-caption-below design-layout-inline combination-animation-none individual-animation-none individual-text-animation-none sqs-narrow-width" data-test="image-block-inline-outer-wrapper" id="yui_3_17_2_1_1641927159240_396"><figure class="sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic" id="yui_3_17_2_1_1641927159240_395" style="margin: auto; max-width: 762px;"><div class="image-block-wrapper" data-animation-role="image" id="yui_3_17_2_1_1641927159240_394" style="line-height: 0; overflow: hidden; position: relative; text-align: center;"><div class="sqs-image-shape-container-element has-aspect-ratio" id="yui_3_17_2_1_1641927159240_393" style="overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 296.264px; position: relative;"><img alt="" class="thumb-image loaded" data-image-dimensions="762x768" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-image-id="61d6063cf5b735539ee4a212" data-image-resolution="500w" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58a5e7cf1e5b6cbb3b4b0c06/029eb064-0e1b-4bf3-9597-98acf2343407/Sharon+and+Mike+with+book.jpg" data-load="false" data-src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58a5e7cf1e5b6cbb3b4b0c06/029eb064-0e1b-4bf3-9597-98acf2343407/Sharon+and+Mike+with+book.jpg" data-type="image" height="272" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58a5e7cf1e5b6cbb3b4b0c06/029eb064-0e1b-4bf3-9597-98acf2343407/Sharon+and+Mike+with+book.jpg?format=500w" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: 296.577px; left: 0px; max-width: none; position: absolute; top: -0.15625px; vertical-align: middle; width: 293.963px;" width="269" /></div></div><figcaption class="image-caption-wrapper" style="padding-top: 18px;"><div class="image-caption"><p style="color: initial; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: 1.68em; margin: 0px 0px 24px; text-transform: uppercase; white-space: pre-wrap;">MICHAEL AND SHARON DUTRA WITH ONE OF SHARON’S BOOKS</p></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-yui_3_17_2_1_1641416208765_30153" style="background-color: white; clear: none; height: auto; letter-spacing: 0.38px; outline: none; padding: 17px; position: relative;"><div class="sqs-block-content" style="outline: none; text-align: left;"><div style="letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">To see and hear Sharon’s testimony, please visit:<strong style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"> </strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuH8U_dRdiw" style="color: #055b99; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;"><strong style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuH8U_dRdiw</strong></a></span></div><div style="letter-spacing: 0.02em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 24px 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.02em; overflow-wrap: break-word;">To contact Sharon or learn more about her ministry, please visit: </span><a href="http://betransformedministries.com/" style="color: #cc0516; letter-spacing: 0.02em; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em style="overflow-wrap: break-word;">betransformedministries.com</em></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.02em;"> </span><em style="letter-spacing: 0.02em; overflow-wrap: break-word;">or email her at: betransformed@betransformedministries</em></span></div></div></div></div>Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-29754168143441671922016-07-18T08:49:00.000-07:002016-12-08T08:30:35.416-08:00Soul ties, and how to be free of the unhealthy ones<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">God created humanity with the ability to form soul
ties, intending for them to be healthy and life-promoting. The deep connections
we develop with parents, siblings, friends, spouses and many others root
themselves down in the depths of our beings and create seemingly unbreakable
bonds. The profound and mysterious links may even be to a belief system, a
group or a community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">The
strongest ties form when a couple engages in sexual activity, especially the
‘Adam knew Eve’ kind. They unite each individual’s body of course,
but also each spirit and each soul (mind/conscience, will and emotions). The
more we discover how profound those bonds can be, the more absolute and eternal
God’s idea of ‘sex only within the bounds of marriage’ makes unshakable sense.
These and any other kind of soul ties can too easily turn sour when, for
example, abuse, abandonment, hurt of any kind—including of course
divorce—happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">In
today’s communicative, connective, and hypersexual society, forging unhealthy
soul connections with others is crazy easy. Few realize the widespread
havoc this causes for individuals, families, groups and communities. A look
around, however, provides abundant evidence of exactly that. Soon after toxic
bonds form, disorder then too easily moves out in concentric, yet connected,
circles.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45ocq5snM7OpB5duP7ZzrnqO0PIdda0-4sZf8SRK4Yns7zsVZPmALAXP3bYTV8hCOshZge-_TXruzSszawNlH37Objj_fNqixfpy8rqpHV783uRaSYvQzcKliuBnBnBFYC8aawFAVE29R/s1600/breaking+chains+lo-res+for+post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45ocq5snM7OpB5duP7ZzrnqO0PIdda0-4sZf8SRK4Yns7zsVZPmALAXP3bYTV8hCOshZge-_TXruzSszawNlH37Objj_fNqixfpy8rqpHV783uRaSYvQzcKliuBnBnBFYC8aawFAVE29R/s400/breaking+chains+lo-res+for+post.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;"></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Obviously no one solution can fit all, but a
remarkably simple prayer will, I promise you, help. From my own and countless
others’ experiences with this prayer strategy, huge burdens and entanglements
can be broken and lifted off forever, and incredible freedom found and continually walked
in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">So
here’s how I and many others have found a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>true<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>way out and forward. As a preamble, I
would like to explain the way this prayer developed. It goes far deeper and
further than most ‘prayers to break soul ties’ in that we take into account the
bonafide TRUTH existing in what is often said about AIDS: “When you sleep with
someone, you sleep with every other individual that person has slept with.”
The creation of the bond means a sharing of each party’s being with the
other, a giving of one to the other, and a taking from that other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">To
experience the greatest freedom, then, unhealthy soul ties must be broken not
only from between the person wanting healing and the one they have direct soul
ties with, but also from between that person and every other individual the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">other<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>has ‘slept with’—all the
‘indirect’ soul connections. You then need to pray for the return to yourself
(or the individual being prayed for) all that has been taken, as well as
for the return to all the others what has been taken from them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">While
it sounds complicated, the following suggested prayer succinctly and powerfully
wraps it all up. It can be easily altered when you’re praying for someone else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">PRAYER</span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">“Dear
Lord, I confess to unhealthy connections with __________________ . Please
forgive me and help me be free. In the name of Jesus and by the power of his
blood, I take the sword of the Spirit and I cut through all unhealthy soul ties
between myself and __________________, and between myself and all
the people, places, systems, world systems, organizations, belief structures
and demonic architectures that __________________ has soul ties with, and
that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(all the others) have soul ties with.
Please cauterize these severance points with Your Love, Lord. I
pray now that You would return to me what is mine, to __________________ what
is his/hers, and to all the others what is theirs. In Jesus’ mighty name,
thank-you and amen.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45ocq5snM7OpB5duP7ZzrnqO0PIdda0-4sZf8SRK4Yns7zsVZPmALAXP3bYTV8hCOshZge-_TXruzSszawNlH37Objj_fNqixfpy8rqpHV783uRaSYvQzcKliuBnBnBFYC8aawFAVE29R/s1600/breaking+chains+lo-res+for+post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
</a>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-61480130423491822742014-06-27T08:54:00.001-07:002016-08-12T11:16:28.690-07:00Seeing, not seeing, and seeing differently: Blindness, physical and spiritual<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Do you see what I see? Do I
see what you see?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Sherlock
Holmes wondered the same thing on a camping trip with his faithful sidekick
Watson. After a long hike over the moors and mountains, setting up the tent, a
good meal and a bottle of red, they lay down for the night and soon went to
sleep. Some hours later Holmes woke up, nudged his faithful friend and said,
"Watson, I want you to look up at the sky and tell me what you see."</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9h4WZlgE0y0W3AbFOml8atfLsO9pWyb0y1Mdxip6fiFVCb1M3zIcFQS1njTvDq3s8RjPP60T8N5xyQ2VRobCcg7ehl9S9SH3lovHkDdRTpZETCWZVeg8fGLNgnvLpgqmiya-it4jZNzbT/s1600/Sherlock+lo-res+at+nite.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9h4WZlgE0y0W3AbFOml8atfLsO9pWyb0y1Mdxip6fiFVCb1M3zIcFQS1njTvDq3s8RjPP60T8N5xyQ2VRobCcg7ehl9S9SH3lovHkDdRTpZETCWZVeg8fGLNgnvLpgqmiya-it4jZNzbT/s1600/Sherlock+lo-res+at+nite.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Watson pondered a minute or so and then replied.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">"Astronomically, it tells me that
there are millions of of galaxies and potentially billions of planets, and I
also observe that Saturn is in the constellation of Leo. Horologically, I
deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three in the morning.
Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and
insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day
today. What does it tell you?"</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Holmes
was silent for about 30 seconds and said, "Watson, you idiot! Someone has
stolen our tent!"<br />
<br />
The necessity of ‘eyes to see’ looms large in Christianity. While Jesus healed
the physically blind, he simultaneously heaped criticism on pharisaic types
suffering spiritual blindness. The problem was not they couldn’t see, but that
as spiritual teachers, they were sure they could.<br />
<br />
How can one possibly perceive the 'Light of the world' without spiritual
eyes—without an ability to see beyond the physical? John 9 succinctly reveals
these truths, and in likely the most memorable way in scripture.<br />
<br />
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world", Jesus announces to
those around him, including a fellow he’d just met who had been blind from
birth. What follows may be the strangest of Jesus’ recorded miracles. He “spit
on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the [blind] man's
eyes. 'Go,' he told him, 'wash in the Pool of Siloam' (this word means 'Sent'). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing" (vv.
6-7).<br />
<br />
How on earth could a man born blind—and now with his eyes full of mud—make his
way to the pool of Siloam to wash away the mess? We know he did of course, and
perhaps some supernaturally endowed spiritual sight helped him to. After
cleansing, he gained physical sight as well, sending the hyper-critical
Pharisees into religious overload.<br />
<br />
Jesus had worked a miracle on the Sabbath, and so violated the Sabbath ‘no
work’ laws. But he really tangled up their taut tidiness with his next
statement, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind
will see and those who see will become blind" (John 9: 39). A better
summation of Jesus’ ‘doing away with the Law’ may be hard to find.<br />
<br />
"What? Are we blind too?" the incredulous Pharisees replied. To which
Jesus answered, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but
now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9: 40-41).<br />
<br />
<i>Prayer for the day</i>: 'Dear Lord, preserve us from the spirit of stupid!'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-36386716528211544082013-02-23T10:35:00.000-08:002016-08-12T11:21:03.694-07:00Holy Chutzpah! Viewing Israel from the inside with the movie 'Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">A poll spanning 22 countries done recently for BBC’s
World Service suggests people view North Korea and Israel equally negatively.
The utterly cool movie<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Israel
Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(link below) may change some
naysayers’ minds … then again, maybe not. Closed minds are just that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Narrated
by<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>New York Times</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>bestselling author and former Harvard
lecturer, Dr. Tal Ben Shahar, the film uncovers how despite incredible
challenges, Israeli creativity, innovation and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>chutzpah</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>have triumphed over adversities
ranging from geographic to unspeakable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Hundreds
of TV networks and programs have profiled the brilliant, personable PhD and
family man, including<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>60
Minutes</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Daily Show with Jon Stewart</i>.
He now consults and lectures around the world to executives in multinational
corporations, Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, and for the
general public. His topics include leadership, education, ethics, happiness,
self-esteem, resilience, goal-setting, and mindfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Israeli-born
and American-raised, Dr. Tal taught Harvard’s most popular course ever,
'Positive Psychology', and his international best sellers<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Being Happy</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Happier</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>have been translated into 25
languages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">You
can view a ten-minute version of the movie here:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDqo8mu5u8U" target="_blank"><i>Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes
a Big Difference</i></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-77727247532014219712012-11-17T06:50:00.002-08:002016-08-12T10:40:01.920-07:00Surprisingly unknown Good News about Vincent van Gogh’s journey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">No one viewing Vincent Van Gogh's painting Starry
Night walks away unmoved.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br />
But how many know about Van Gogh's abiding </span><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">faith in Christ? Both his father and
grandfather were pastors in the Dutch Reformed Church, and apparently many in
the family gravitated toward religion or art.</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"> </span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaZ-RggycnOhcU_ptxqznS2m3y9eKN9083fBsWpk8qJWghKvSobq_9SoHgA0aWjA5IvBZxU2HTmOYI5uf3VT-KpS_UPmPRKZl8CDtPysJ-OR-Lw5uH7AgInJa-LTsoFPQD8I0aLtrkEKJ/s1600/Starry+Night+by+Vincent+loer+res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaZ-RggycnOhcU_ptxqznS2m3y9eKN9083fBsWpk8qJWghKvSobq_9SoHgA0aWjA5IvBZxU2HTmOYI5uf3VT-KpS_UPmPRKZl8CDtPysJ-OR-Lw5uH7AgInJa-LTsoFPQD8I0aLtrkEKJ/s320/Starry+Night+by+Vincent+loer+res.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">
Vincent’s zeal for Jesus grew in his early twenties. Wanting to study theology,
he unfortunately failed the seminary entrance exam, so went off to serve as a
missionary to coal miners in Belgium instead.<br />
<br />
Much evidence exists of his literally pouring out his life in sacrifice and
service on behalf of the diseased and destitute. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Sadly, and likely a
contributing factor to his later psychological problems, even church
authorities rejected him for what they thought was his improper dress and
excessive zeal.<br />
<br />
Read the whole amazing story by Mark Ellis<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i><a href="http://blog.godreports.com/2012/11/vincent-van-goghs-unappreciated-journey-with-christ/">here</a></i>,
including reprints of some of his more overtly Christian-themed paintings.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-23876582469092522232012-08-06T09:43:00.000-07:002016-08-12T11:23:40.740-07:00The Invisible Ceiling: Breakthrough to freedom for all<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZMvZDWRPfdIi8AEUTRNq7sFs1dpdOgw4lWPb1pCYmRzAjv6g2vLhyphenhyphennin0Zq8P6g6zqIT00gTfSSyOw2fmedFlxguk33zRxUhmMK20ZeBVyiXG2WdkFnmo-HZZQPPZVTqZnmkvhW5q-Wr/s1600/blue+planet+better+rotated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZMvZDWRPfdIi8AEUTRNq7sFs1dpdOgw4lWPb1pCYmRzAjv6g2vLhyphenhyphennin0Zq8P6g6zqIT00gTfSSyOw2fmedFlxguk33zRxUhmMK20ZeBVyiXG2WdkFnmo-HZZQPPZVTqZnmkvhW5q-Wr/s400/blue+planet+better+rotated.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">We live on a beautiful blue planet suspended in
sparkly darkness, lit up half the time by our glorious sun and the other half
(sort of) by our reflective moon. Life should be good—for all of us. It is good
for many, but not for too many more ... and atrociously horrific for all the
rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Wherever
you stand in your belief system, you know this is not right. Whether something
good went wrong, or really wherever and however infection set in, we are
infected. The planet and its people are infected. If you’re not infected
personally, you are at least affected. And infection always spreads. With nearly
as many permutations and combinations as beauty, it keeps us ever seeking new
antidotes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Mysteriously
however, a huge infection being slowly well-treated in most of society
continues to infect, primarily, people of faith. As much as we Christians in particular
proclaim freedom for all, an oppressed people group remains in our midst:
women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">“Nonsense,”
church men reply. “I let my wife do whatever she wants.” You<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>let</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>your wife?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">And
it’s not just church men. I know otherwise powerful women, in Christian
ministry themselves, who have confessed to traces of misogyny. When you’re in
the culture, absorbing, for example, all the scriptural references to men, how
can you not feel at best ‘less than’, at worst, invisible?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Once
upon a time I dated a black fellow who would proclaim he was not ‘black’, but
‘brown’. Well yeah ... and I’m not white, I’m pink. But I didn't feel any need
to make that point. Obscure analogy I admit, but perhaps it begins to at least
partially, racially, illustrate the gender issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Recently
I listened to, and was gobsmacked and hugely healed while listening to, a talk
by Danny Silk. So in the spirit of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Somebody
Else’s Story</i>, I want to share that talk with you (see link below). As Danny
says, the message is for "anyone who knows a woman.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Preview</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">: did Jesus—this
Friend of humanity/brother/prophet—come only to break the curse over men … and
not women? You can download Danny's talk here:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i><a href="http://www.ibethel.org/podcast/2012/07/31/the-invisible-ceiling">The
Invisible Ceiling</a></i>. He has also published a book on the topic:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://store.ibethel.org/p6824/powerful-and-free-confronting-the-glass-ceiling-for-women-in-the-church"><i>Powerful
and Free: Confronting the Glass Ceiling for Women in the Church</i></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJoLyEG2wqBC7p_il4qkMXR8CBL7a2YEKed9adB_QspJNMA9t7XDDZVgDKkcjM-lvrDrxZwLZpW-yT57UykhJmoxxpSdm-9beSu-5ebjIeMC0EHClhIXTh4q2cxDxIJdi0vZz5BJ76r25Q/s1600/RAINBOW+HOPE+COVER+PIC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJoLyEG2wqBC7p_il4qkMXR8CBL7a2YEKed9adB_QspJNMA9t7XDDZVgDKkcjM-lvrDrxZwLZpW-yT57UykhJmoxxpSdm-9beSu-5ebjIeMC0EHClhIXTh4q2cxDxIJdi0vZz5BJ76r25Q/s400/RAINBOW+HOPE+COVER+PIC.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-23935603347396839272012-06-30T09:37:00.001-07:002016-08-12T11:40:37.208-07:00God's Chosen Argumentative Ones?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Jewish people, says Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu,
"are not so much God's chosen people as His argumentative ones. They don't
take things on faith. Abraham, Moses and Job," he notes, "all argued
with God. And sometimes won."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">As
TIME magazine's Richard Stengel wrote recently:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 11.35pt 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">"Like Bibi, they were
ornery and maybe had a chip on their shoulder. You can imagine Bibi arguing
with God, and he probably does. Israeli society hums with contest and
grievance. The name Israel derives from Jacob's wrestling with the angel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 11.35pt 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 11.35pt 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">"Islam, Bibi has
suggested, is about submission, Judaism about arguing. And if you disagree, he
will argue with you. Just because everyone thinks something, he says, doesn't
mean it's right."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 11.35pt; margin-right: 11.35pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">—Richard Stengel, TIME magazine,
May 28, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-3591698580315828042012-06-29T15:03:00.001-07:002016-08-12T11:41:39.930-07:00And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HV0A19x5mXKazSlAO6wHS_oAiUseEdz_cPR83vdSedDu9YsDPW3jF3pEE2I5XSzGLtlDiITU022VBcNX7qirJskyvON5Fb5dF9uDQlZBCUOien8TniGvZ5DPgTz1kh-S71tAp72E1dZl/s1600/FB+lo-res+happy+cda+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HV0A19x5mXKazSlAO6wHS_oAiUseEdz_cPR83vdSedDu9YsDPW3jF3pEE2I5XSzGLtlDiITU022VBcNX7qirJskyvON5Fb5dF9uDQlZBCUOien8TniGvZ5DPgTz1kh-S71tAp72E1dZl/s640/FB+lo-res+happy+cda+day.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-82945114605149429692012-06-29T12:51:00.000-07:002016-08-12T11:46:06.679-07:00No high like the Most High<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Anyone born with multidimensional human DNA—which
should be most of us—either knows or hopes life consists of more than the
physically visible and measurable. Extra-terrestrials? Harry Potter? New-do
voodoo?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">In
helping come to the conclusion "There is no high like the Most
High!" two somebody else's stories here tell the biggest one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">The
first is a clip from the brilliant PIXAR people:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6f6BIQKj48"><i>Alien abduction gone
wrong!</i></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">In
the second, <a href="http://www.cbn.com/media/index.aspx?s=%2Fmp4%2FAR97v2_WS"><b>Rising and
Falling through Santeria</b></a>, <span style="background: white;">John Ramirez
describes his search for fatherly acceptance, prestige, power, and respect
from others in the Bronx, New York. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-75230926861045509012012-06-27T14:47:00.000-07:002016-08-12T12:08:31.856-07:00 Why are kids so happy?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNiCaa62DzToEHqQmBKMBzx1roZD9ReGlF3uSgSXM1wdJk4ktICOD4VZeS6MfSkRGAwScHX6V7S8q-FEfyYvhS8F84LV8lILlwHcuSC9QFhRD-yuG9mYFcfQ8ayTO2GX6pNcsQTeoC_Lx/s1600/reaching+hi+for+smoke+IMG_3356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNiCaa62DzToEHqQmBKMBzx1roZD9ReGlF3uSgSXM1wdJk4ktICOD4VZeS6MfSkRGAwScHX6V7S8q-FEfyYvhS8F84LV8lILlwHcuSC9QFhRD-yuG9mYFcfQ8ayTO2GX6pNcsQTeoC_Lx/s400/reaching+hi+for+smoke+IMG_3356.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">When you are changing and learning, </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">it's the happiest time of
life.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Something
to learn there, no?</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-70570498608478887972012-06-27T10:05:00.002-07:002017-05-03T07:45:05.336-07:00Miracle at the Temple Gate<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">While our tour group enters and learns all about the
temple in Edfu, Egypt, I sit at the temple gate drinking water, watching people
come and go, and quietly praying and singing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">In
comes a lovely young couple, she wearing the most beautiful combination of
colours and patterns I’ve seen a Muslim woman wear. I watch as he takes
pictures of her, then he asks if I could take one of the two of them. I comment
on her beautiful outfit; we all agree the whole black get-out many married
Muslim wear is sad, hot and ugly. I ask if I can also take a picture of her,
and we then get into a long conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Turns
out the young man lives a few streets away from our Toronto house! Traveled
from Egypt to get his PhD in electrical engineering at University of Toronto
(which I also briefly sorta studied at nearby Waterloo University)! He now
works for a consulting company my brother has also consulted for, and which my
husband's former employer had hired consultants from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">They
got married January 6 that year in Egypt, and were awaiting the paperwork for
her to join him in Toronto—where she had never been. He took his
cellphone/camera back out and in the flash of an eye we were Facebook friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Touring
the huge Valley of the Kings at various stops on our Nile Cruise, we King’s
kids ran into each other FOUR more times. Increasingly astonished, I had my
husband snap the photo below for evidence of this encounter number three, taken
a day or two after our first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">By
our sixth or seventh meeting I simply exclaimed: "Maybe we're all supposed
to live together!" And that, my friends, is the gospel truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4Xcqs4ESaJ9pz1foWeW-guo-jkdulnh0nrEd-ot3D79XQut9yolJTJps9zZ8n09xpwJ1I5WYRfer4SrptzH2I2GG-SV9bQFBQVio8gOHosj-rfj-BI57DOqDp223o383eaQCKwDZT5N1/s1600/w+Shymaa+&+Abdel+1212.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4Xcqs4ESaJ9pz1foWeW-guo-jkdulnh0nrEd-ot3D79XQut9yolJTJps9zZ8n09xpwJ1I5WYRfer4SrptzH2I2GG-SV9bQFBQVio8gOHosj-rfj-BI57DOqDp223o383eaQCKwDZT5N1/s640/w+Shymaa+&+Abdel+1212.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-1234084782036140062012-06-25T14:35:00.001-07:002017-05-03T07:42:45.783-07:00Dancing over Deep Mysteries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkrOPGjlme7idFowubWaoFxj3Mg3BKjVaTaj2zVEyzCP1jHfyvJ7zaYARioMHEE-z5g9KZ90raJlNhmmHFKlSyZEsZRQ7O0RzEjvdq7oCZj6ZEXxcebFlV_hKEVpfYM7W3EgSxQ5Hu_1q/s1600/Sea+of+Galilee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkrOPGjlme7idFowubWaoFxj3Mg3BKjVaTaj2zVEyzCP1jHfyvJ7zaYARioMHEE-z5g9KZ90raJlNhmmHFKlSyZEsZRQ7O0RzEjvdq7oCZj6ZEXxcebFlV_hKEVpfYM7W3EgSxQ5Hu_1q/s640/Sea+of+Galilee.jpg" width="520" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">Our guide and shepherd in Israel was </span><span style="font-size: 16.6667px;">encyclopedic</span><span style="font-size: 12.5pt;">-brained Mordecai. Skilled tourist-bus driver Mohammed steered
us—40 mostly Christians from many different countries—safely along and through
scores of treacherous curves, alleyways, passageways and mountain roads. Guide
Morty and driver Mohammed, obvious good friends, both live with their families
in the Tel Aviv area.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">As we drove north from Jerusalem through the Jordan
Valley, Morty explained our plan to drive along the shores of the Sea of
Galilee, then on to Capernaum. But Mohammed, phoning local friends and yanking
a few strings, arranged a special side-trip for us to cruise the Sea of
Galilee. An optional ‘extra’ which none of us turned down … and complete with
that haunting Hebrew music that has you either weeping, dancing or both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">I’d
already fallen in love with fellow tourist Sandra, a messianic Jewish woman
visiting Israel for the first time with her husband and two young sons.
Originally from Columbia, South America, they now live near Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan (Canada) in the tiny town of Elbow. Incredibly, six people in all
had all travelled from Elbow (pop. 294)!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">As
we sailed over these special waters, I noticed Sandra bouncing on her bench as
the music tempo livened. I couldn’t sit still any longer either, so hopped up
and invited her to join me on the deck between us and the sea. Sandra and I
skipped and twirled around awhile, and then she coaxed her
seemingly-on-the-way-to-becoming-ultra-Orthodox hubby up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-1M8Mr0yUwSQzLF12QcIQATJo6fquvjwDFQzHOPRR2nPv_wHmUBL_KSkJGzidz5J38Q6xCw51gvN_qF0feWlijyETi9TFmjEPiRjchzhtTdQi-YCIbB5jC0tGK54n1yb0EKsG0FgL01-/s1600/dancing+on+Sea+of+Galilee+623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-1M8Mr0yUwSQzLF12QcIQATJo6fquvjwDFQzHOPRR2nPv_wHmUBL_KSkJGzidz5J38Q6xCw51gvN_qF0feWlijyETi9TFmjEPiRjchzhtTdQi-YCIbB5jC0tGK54n1yb0EKsG0FgL01-/s400/dancing+on+Sea+of+Galilee+623.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Here he tries (as he tried throughout) to get me to do
it, ah, properly. Apparently I wasn’t even saying, or singing, 'Hallelujah right. It’s '<i>CCHHH..cchhAAlleluia'</i> (beginning with the funny chokey sound
Czechs, Dutch and Germans do so well), he corrected me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Mohammed
gave me a couple of gifts on separate occasions, making like it was a great
secret to offer them. First he passed along a little wooden dove pin (not sure
what the dove is carrying: looks like it could be a fish, or maybe a carrot,
but likely supposed to be an olive branch); then a few days later a Jerusalem
cross made of local wood..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">While
my husband and I ate breakfast with him one morning, I asked Mohammed if he is
Christian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;"> “A
little bit,” he replied, with a twinkle in his eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">As
Mohammed dropped us off at our last hotel, I thanked he and Morty for being
so fantastic at their jobs, and remarked how I loved that their names were
practically archetypical Muslim and Jewish. And how it was too bad Ishmael and
Isaac hadn’t gotten along so well!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Morty seemed puzzled. “Was it Ishmael?” He looked at Mohammed and they shared a few
words in Hebrew. Then he peered back at me. “They probably did!” he replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">“Yeah,
I bet you’re right,” I agreed in wonder. “They were brothers after all.” We
left it at that, but had definitely reached another level of the deep mysteries
of Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969020296935404111.post-34217618214979852502012-06-25T12:42:00.001-07:002016-08-12T12:04:26.617-07:00Story behind THIS Somebody Else’s Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Tired of the ‘me’ culture most of western society has
become, I’ve always, for one, been enchanted by the seeming selflessness of
Japanese society. Even their language reflects this. As an example, the word a
Japanese person would use for his/her own house would be different from that
for your house. Something like ‘my little shack’ and ‘your wonderful mansion’
(I exaggerate but only slightly).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">The
title for this blog has been borrowed from a song that still grips me:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Somebody Else’s Story</i>, by John
Waller. Stay tuned!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HjAmdzsOR7w" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Susanna Perry-Ettelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10650142877201374167noreply@blogger.com0