A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM

In a recent Blog I told you about Dr. Melvin Morse, a neuroscientist, critical care physician and pediatrician in Seattle who shared children’s drawings and stories on what it is like to die. This doctor was able to resuscitate them and has written about it and told how children spoke of a white-robed spiritual figure in what they called Heaven who had lovingly told them it was not their time to stay in Heaven yet and their parents were praying for them to return. Local libraries may have his book available or will bring it in from another branch or a bookstore can order it for you.

My husband passed away in 2003 after a struggle with Parkinson’s disease. A week later I have a dream one night and find myself driving on a freeway that showed an arrow that seemed to indicate it was my turnoff. I see a large empty parking lot but no other parked cars. A door to the only building on the lot is unlocked. I walk down a long corridor and see my husband, alive and well, coming toward me. I rush toward him but he raises his hand, smiles pleasantly and says, “It is time for us to move on.” He pauses at the next intersection to make a right turn, smiles again and repeats, “It is time for both of us to move on.” I wake up with a moment of sadness that changes to a realization that he seemed to be excited about what lay ahead for him. With his scientific mind he was always full of ideas and made sketches about future inventions. Perhaps his work in this other plane is keeping him busy and happy.

Three days after his passing I had been busy with arrangements for a Celebration of Life for him. A sudden flash of him appeared “in mid air” it seemed. He raised his arms above his head. As his fingertips touched he said in excited tones, “Look I can raise my arms now and clasp my hands together.” Then he disappeared. Parkinson’s disease causes joints to stiffen and even feet seem to “freeze” to the floor temporarily.

These two dreams made it much easier for me to face the future alone without him. There have been such experiences happen for many who are reluctant to speak about them in case they are thought to be losing their minds. But leave it to children to lead us and “tell it like it is” in other planes that await us after the passing of the body.

THE ROYAL BREAKFAST

What did Queen Victoria and Prince Albert have for breakfast? History books often do not detail the day-by-day dining habits of royalty, perhaps concentrating more on relationships with other countries. Her father, George III died when she was just eight months old. Her mother, a German princess of Saxe-Coberg-Gotha gets little mention in history books. The education of the blonde blue-eyed Victoria was supervised by her shrewd uncle Leopold who was elected King of the Belgians in 1831. In 1838 she was crowned in Westminster Abbey. The prince consort, Albert was said to be hard working, studious and patient. He calmed her occasional tantrums, shared her delight in literature and music and catered to her youthful love of pomp and ceremony. Five daughters and four sons were born to them and they firmly instructed the children in religion and family discipline. When Albert died of typhoid fever she was so saddened she went into seclusion from all except for her household and cabinet. The basic principles of life were laid as the British Empire grew on all continents.

It is time to take a peek into Victoria’s dining room and see what the queen and her consort may have had for breakfast. I think it was basically corn bread with a sprinkle of fruits that came by ship from southern possessions like Australia and India. She was deeply interested in the welfare of her people and in the growth of the empire and in l846 supported the repeal of the Corn Laws of 1815 that would lower the price of bread, the chief food of the working people. It apparently took nearly 25 years for the common people to be able to reach for a second serving of corn-bread burgers perhaps with ground lamb as the part of the filling. The Duke of Sandwich was said to have been the first one to officially ask for a sandwich so he wouldn’t have to leave his gaming table to go to the dining room.

According to James Belch, M.D. the only grain that contains a complete protein source is quinoa. Amaranth is second to quinoa in protein and millet comes in third. Buckwheat is high in potassium, rutin, phosphorus, calcium, vitamin E and other B vitamins. Very few people are allergic to rye. Spelt is better tolerated than any other grain with all essential amino acids, the only grain containing mucopolysacciarides. Many of these ancient grains may not have been available in Victoria’s day. We are of course referring to whole grains in all instances.

THE OTHER SIDE OF DEATH'S DOOR

Tremulous times we live in and in so many ways we face the question of survival. No wonder we seek comfort in miraculous reports of transformative near-death experiences or messages from those who have passed over. In his book, “Experiencing the Next World Now,” (Paraview Pocket Books), Michael Grosso, Ph.D., shares with us his discoveries, and they are worth examining.

He points out that deathbed visions fall short, to a logical mind, as proof of actual existence after death but we should not underestimate their value in enhancing our intuitive sense of an afterlife. At times the remaining family members have dreams concerning where a will, the life insurance papers and other valuables including cash can be located, in order to complete the final accounting required for legal papers.

George G. Ritchie, Jr., M.D., author of “Return From Tomorrow,” recommends Robert J. Grant’s book “The Place We Call Home, Exploring the Soul’s Existence After Death”. Of it he says, “After reading this book, you will never again believe that we have no knowledge of life after death. This is the handbook we need to help us prepare for the realms to come.”

An emergency doctor in Seattle gave little thought to the afterlife until he had resuscitated children whose parents feared had drowned. The children told wonderful stories of finding themselves in another world of light. Since they were too young to write he told them to draw pictures. With crayons they drew “stick pictures” of angels and a person in a white robe greeted them warmly but said they were not yet ready to come to Heaven and to think about their parents. They found themselves back on Earth with their parents embracing them. Each child had drawn a large circle with long shining rays depicting the sun. Internet: http://www.edgarcayce.org.

CT SCANS AND CANCER

Health Wire reports that one of every 270 women at age 40 who has CT angiography – a test for clogged coronary arteries – will develop cancer from the radiation used in the test, a study published in the December 14 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine has found.

Those CT scans typically expose women to as much radiation as from 51 mammograms or 309 chest X-rays. Radiation to the abdomen, chest and pelvis is riskier for women than men because of the chance of breast or gynecological cancers.

From: Consumer Reports on Health – March 2010

OKANAGAN VISITORS

My son and his wife come up from the U.S. for a month every summer to visit with family and friends. They stay in a lovely spot where they can enjoy the sounds of a bubbling brook and the sunny skies of our valley. In the afternoons they drive to town to visit family and friends. While his wife goes shopping with friends he stops by to help me with some chores; light bulbs that need replacing and today will install new window blinds.

Sunday morning he picked me up to attend Grace Bible Church. It was so crowded we got jostled close to the front. The orchestra instruments were tuning up and two from the young peoples group arrived on stage to announce the activities slated for the following week and introduce a visitor. I didn’t recognize either of them and was checking the program leaflet when a familiar voice made me look up. It was my grandson, but what happened to his hair. My son explained later that he had challenged his office mates at Kal Tire to contribute a total of up to fifteen hundred dollars for charity (The Heart and Stroke Foundation), he would have his head shaved. Earlier a short film had been made showing hair clippers racing through several stages of hair fashions finishing up with one called the “smooth dome” style. His office friends kept their bargain and so far more than seventeen hundred dollars have been raised for The Heart and Stroke Foundation.

When I was clearing out my files recently I found an article I had clipped from The Morning Star dated August l, 2004. It recounted a story about a local resident, Lisa Hanson who experienced her first mission trip to help underprivileged children in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The trip was organized by the Alliance Church that pictured an orphaned boy of about eight wearing a donated hat from here. Volunteers learned Spanish here before leaving to help a Mexican protestant church that runs a school called School of Champions where they get a meal at the end of the day and the family gets donations of clothes brought by the volunteers. The children are eager to learn English and Math and later are able to qualify for jobs in the tourist industry. Sometimes parents live nearby in hovels and with their children can make up to three dollars a day. One family of five children had been abandoned there and are known as Children of the Dump. Our son tells us that he is amazed at the amount of funds that both Canada and U.S. have given to Haiti after the recent earthquake disaster.

SIZING UP FOOD PORTIONS

A portion is how much food you choose to eat. A two slice sandwich is one portion; a serving of bread is usually one slice. With no measuring cup or spoon handy make a fist for size comparison. One cup is one serving of cereal, milk, yogurt, soup or chopped leafy vegetables. One-half cup is one serving of cooked beans or rice, fruit or most vegetables. Look at your palm for one serving (three ounces) of cooked fish, meat or poultry. Cup the palm of your hand for a one ounce serving of cheese or nuts. For one tablespoon of jam or jelly, or salad dressing, use the thumb nail for a one serving. To size up one serving of butter or oil use the index nail for one teaspoon.

Take time to eat mindfully to enjoy the taste of food and the experience of feeling full. Avoid eating when driving, reading or watching TV. When eating out use a doggy bag for extra food and wrap it up early for "take home" so there’s less temptation. Americans’ average calorie intake has risen nearly 15 percent in the past 20 years so avoid sweetened drinks and order water instead.

Stop eating before you feel full so follow the 80 percent rule and you will feel more comfortable. That is the strategy reportedly common on the Japanese island of Okinawa which has one of the highest concentrations of people in the world living to 100. For a few days keep a journal detailing everything you eat including visits to a snack dish. A list can help you identify where you can cut back. A small silent “thank you” to your taste buds and digestive system with a smile or word of thanks to those loving hands that prepared the food will cap it all off nicely.
Web site: http://www.consumerreports.org/.

HONOURING MOTHER ON HER SPECIAL DAY

This is a picture of my mother that was clipped from a group picture taken at the wedding of their second son in 1939. She is 40 years old here with a new degree after her name, MIL - mother-in law. She dearly loved her new daughter-in-law, as did my father, brothers and sisters. With her love of gardening and good management skills she brought us through THE GREAT DEPRESSION of the 30s with no debts. My sister, Helen, born in 1921 was two years older than me and we were her garden helpers. In the fall hundreds of jars of canned vegetables and meat bubbled away in her oval boiler heated with a wood stove and were lined up in the basement for winter's food supply. Eight children joined the family and Mother used to joke about the "threshing crew" she cooked for each day. At that time the combine had not yet been invented for harvesting the crops in the fall. Together with preserving food for winter and cooking for a large threshing crew it was a busy time. She lived to be 81. Thank you Mother for everything.

FAMILY WITH A TEN MILE DIET

Shown in this picture are my parents John F. Krueger and his bride Elsa Dorothy Marie on their wedding day in l915. Eldest son Paul, on the left and Fred, second son, on the right. Middle row: Albert (Al), Helen, and Sophia (Sue). Bottom row: Esther, Harold, and John. During the depression of the l930's a scarlet fever epidemic took the life of our little brother, Harold.

Our family lived on a farm ten miles south of Orion, Alberta. The mail came once a week and the little store in town carried items of food like baking powder, and other items my mother could not grow in her large garden. Chokecherries grew in the sandy hills four miles distant. We raised chickens for eggs and cattle for milk and protein needs. Fast foods were unknown except for a fast trip to the garden for lettuce for a salad.

IVORY COAST - 1945-1997

Re-reading my sister Helen Krueger’s book about her 52 years in the Ivory Coast, it seems to get more interesting each I time I open it. Through the 85 pages of her book “Chosen to Go” one can feel we’ve been there and walked with her. With more book requests she had an additional 100 copies printed. She sells these reprints at cost which is ten dollars plus postage. She took a tumble when using her walker, is in good spirits, and recovering without complaint from a broken femur. Her phone number is: 1-778-470-4450, or e-mail elhoward@ telus.net.

Helen suggests the people she worked with in the outback of the Ivory Coast gave her tips for everyday living that we all, even now, might benefit from, especially with our increasing needs for energy, air and water. She never asks for money and feels that living honestly and “growing in grace” as scriptures advise us, prayers for necessities are answered. She now lives in the Overlander Care Home in Kamloops with four room mates, knows their names, and many others in the building and adds, “I enjoy them all.”

Before she went to Ivory Coast in 1945 she took a nursing course in Toronto that included basic dental needs. She realized the importance of education and with only a small pension helped Mme.Yvonne Dilou’s two sons complete their university degrees. Mme. Dilou (whose husband was killed in a motor bike accident) had taken care of Helen when she broke her hip in 1997. When able to travel Helen returned to Canada for retirement.

Later when she broke her arm, I went to Kamloops for three weeks to help out and she shared her mail in the evenings. She usually sent “round robin letters” to family and friends. To save paper she might append a note “This letter goes to ‘so and so’ next.” The same pen then went to work making out two cheques for well over two thousand dollars each for two nieces for university tuition when they had expressed desires to become doctors. She handed them to me to check to be sure she had made them out right. One of her letters included a small cheque from friends in our home town with a note that read, “Buy something for your self!” Most of her own clothing always waited hopefully on hangers at the Thrift Store. My younger sister and her husband drive 35 kilometers three times a week to visit her and bring her mail that comes from the Ivory Coast. He has equipped his computer keyboard to include the circumflex letters required for French. After returning home, he types her answers on his keyboard and lets Cyberspace take them the Ivory Coast.