Author Archives: Becky Hastings

About Becky Hastings

I am a wife, a mom, a grandmother. I am passionate about Jesus and health - the two are intricately woven - and I am passionate about helping others who desire to learn more about both.

Too Smart for God?

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ChildWith all my heart I desire to connect with God. I didn’t always understand that it was actually a really simple process. It might not be easy, but it is simple. It might take a life-time to master, but Jesus made it clear in this prayer He prayed which was recorded by Matthew in chapter 11:

‘Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank You for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased You do it this way.’

 

Jesus continued, to His disciples:

My Father has entrusted everything to Me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

What does it take to connect with God, our creative designer of infinite intelligence and complexity?

We have to admit we don’t know everything. As long as we think we are really really smart we won’t see the way to God.

I pray that everyone who reads these words would simply ask themselves,

  • Do I think I am smarter than God?
  • Do I think I know better than Him what to do?
  • Do I put more faith in men and their design than in God?
  • Do I think I can understand everything in history without God?

God is looking for childlike hope and trust in Him. He will never disappoint. He doesn’t mind if you want to take a very small baby step in His direction. He can handle that. He is looking for those small steps!

Child 2Jesus’ message was simple, but His action was powerful. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are the reason we can have that childlike faith and approach God. You can read all about it in the collection of ancient writings we call the Bible. I hope you do.

Day 14 of Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

If you have been helped in any way through my musings, please give glory to God. If you find anything disappointing or offensive – please let me know so I can improve 

 

Thinking About Babies?

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Happy Grandparents June 13Pre-pregnancy thoughts:

Who’s cute? Who’s sexy? Who likes who?

Baby thoughts:

Boy names? Girl names?

Nurseries, color schemes…

Car seats, strollers

Cloth or disposable?

Breast or alternative?

Babywraps, Baby monitors, Babysitters…

Baby Photographers – to capture every special moment –

A new camera – essential!

New cell phone WITH a better camera…

You might be an expectant mom, dad, grandma, aunt, good friend. Everyone shares the excitement over this new life, this brand new bundle of potential!

Are we researching and thinking about the most important things?

Are we getting the WHOLE TRUTH?

What medical procedures will your healthy newborn baby need?

If you don’t think about it, other people will have an agenda that they will automatically give you. It is best to think about it well in advance.

This could be the single most important topic your unborn baby needs YOU to know about. It deserves more research than any other significant purchase you might make for your new baby.

Flu shot in pregnancy? DTaP in pregnancy? Rubella shot? Rhogam shot? Vitamin K shot at birth? Antibiotic ointment in baby’s eyes at birth? Hepatitis B shot at birth (hepatitis, most of us don’t think about this in association with a baby because it’s the illness that prostitutes and IV drug users are at risk of developing)? 2 month well baby visits and the multiple injections, followed by 4 month multiple injections and 6 month multiple injections. Sorry to bombard you, but there is a LARGE NUMBER OF MEDICAL PROCEDURES someone else has already decided your healthy full-term newborn needs.

Expecting a baby can be such an exciting time. It is also natural to feel nervous and perhaps unprepared. There is the birth to consider and then everything after that is brand new and will involve a learning curve.

Please investigate vaccines before you allow anyone to inject your precious baby. Please do your own personal research. Asking your doctor or your friend their opinion doesn’t qualify as research. Reading the complete list of ingredients and reading the entire vaccine package insert for each shot is a great start. Joining an open frank discussion group can be a safe place to ask your questions without judgement or criticism.

Yes, it can be really hard and confusing to wade through a lot of information. People want to bombard you with information from all sides. Keep going until you find significant answers to the most important questions:

  • What are the ingredients in this shot?
  • Are there other ingredients too? (excipients)
  • What disease is it targeting?
  • What are my risks for this disease?
  • Are there risks in receiving this shot?
  • How will my baby’s immune system respond to this?
  • Are there any factors in our medical history that suggest this shot is not the best thing for us?
  • If I don’t give vaccines will my baby be healthy? Will my baby be at a great risk of catching some infectious illness?

Don’t just go along. Get answers from someone other than the person with the needle. You need some true unbiased research in making such important decisions.  AND…

Watch for your fear level. Some information will create a fear response. It is never a good idea to make a decision based on fear. Take your time and seek knowledge that will guide you to making a rational decision. This is an emotive topic. But emotions aren’t the best guide to great decisions.

Listen for your intuition. YOU are responsible to protect your baby. YOU will live with the results of whatever decision you make. You have been given intuition. Tune in.

I wish you all the best for the health of you and your new baby. I LOVE babies. The picture on the top is my husband and I with our three grandchildren. We have one more we are expecting any day now! Love, Becky

30 ways in 30 Days, Exploring Vaccines: Day 15

 

 

 

Where can I Find Hope?

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Hope StreetMany times people push back when you want to tell them about Jesus. I’m sure there are many great reasons for this response. Quite possibly, the way we Christians sometimes talk about Him or represent Him could be quite off-putting and instead of drawing people to find out more, they decide to have nothing to do with him.

Jesus came to be a Savior, but if you don’t think you are drowning, what good is a Savior?

Everywhere I look in the world I see uncertainty. The wars never seem to stop and they seem to get more and more controversial. There are opinions and theories abounding on what is going on, who is responsible, and what we should do, but most of us average people FEEL POWERLESS. I mean really, what can I possible do to be part of the solution for the many areas plagued by years of war and aggression? Yet everyday I get fresh reminders of the conflict.

I’m not beginning to say who is right and who is wrong.

Then, there are the medical and health challenges everywhere we turn. Ebola, infectious diseases, cancer, childhood cancer, auto-immune epidemics, severe life threatening food allergies, autism, strokes, seizures, etc. It is a world gone crazy. We get conflicting advice on all sides. We hear new stories every day of friends or acquaintances who are facing a new physical/medical issue.

I’m not going to start talking about why it’s happening or if there might be a ‘behind the scenes agenda.’ No matter what you believe, it is clear to see there are hectic challenges in the medical world of today. What can I possibly do when faced with all this chaotic confusing information? How can I stay healthy?

There are also people who fear economic collages. People are teaching and learning survival skills in preparation for a catastrophe of mammoth proportions. There is a lot of information to guide you if you decide you want to be a Prepper (Survivalism is a movement of individuals or groups, i.e. survivalists or preppers, who are actively preparing for emergencies).

There is also greed and corruption at an unprecedented level. We may have different opinions about what exactly is going on and who exactly is responsible, but most of us will agree that there is some hectic crime and we feel powerless to change it.

Then there is human trafficking. I’m told there are currently 33 Million people in slavery in the world today. More than at the height of the slave trade. Everywhere, even in the USA, right under our noses in most major cities, people are bought and sold.

I’m sure there are other disturbing aspects of our current world situation that I have left out. I think that’s about all I can handle. I can feel my anxiety and cortisol levels rise. No wonder we are so stressed out. AND people are struggling financially. I know of so many people out of work. People have serious struggles and don’t have clear answers.

In the midst of this sort of desperation I think we are all looking for hope. We might not admit it, but we would really like a Savior.

John the Baptist was facing the worst challenge of his life after he was thrown into a Roman prison without a trial. He had been loudly proclaiming Jesus as the hero – the one who was coming to bring hope, rescue, and freedom. He thought it might include political freedom from Roman oppression, but once in prison he began to wonder, ‘Is Jesus really a Savior? Is he really someone who can do anything in the midst of all this corruption? Is he actually going to do anything to fix my terrible situation?’

If we are honest, we are looking for a hero and we are asking similar questions.

John the Baptist sent some of his followers to Jesus to ask this question: “Are you Him or is there someone else?” Are you the one who is capable of fixing this mess that I’m surrounded with, or should we forget about you and look for someone else? Actually Jesus, the reason I am asking is because it looks like you’re doing a pretty bad job, so if this is your solution, I hope there is someone else; someone who will be a little more effective, a little more proactive.

Jesus’ agenda was confusing for John. Jesus did not meet John’s expectations. Sometimes Jesus’ agenda is confusing for us and he doesn’t meet our expectations. Are we honestly seeking TRUTH about Jesus, and desiring to understand WHAT he came to do and HOW he accomplished it? Or, are we just wanting our current troubling situation fixed?

I need a Savior. I need help every single day. I find my strength, my hope, and my joy in Jesus. It is my prayer that you will seek him and discover his power and ability to be your Savior too – regardless of the situation you currently find yourself in.

Jesus invites us all:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-29

Day 13 of Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

If you have been helped in any way through my musings, please give glory to God. If you find anything disappointing or offensive – please let me know so I can improve 

Is our Hope in Congress?

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tmr-homepage-final4The autism epidemic continues to skyrocket, but the head of the Congressional Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) investigating all the factors involved, claims they have no power and can do nothing. Anne Dachel summarizes the recent disappointing meeting. At least, concerned, knowledgeable parents, and those working with autism families, were disappointed. I’m guessing the pharmaceutical companies and others supporting the vaccine industry were also watching and listening, and probably came away with relief that they continue to be safe – for the moment.

Listening to a recording of the speech given by Megan Davenhall at the September 2014 IACC meeting gives me hope, but not hope in what Congress can or will do, hope in what a grassroots movement of parents can do.  This impassioned, yet calm, rational, and highly thoughtful plea describes the dilemma faced by autism parents who have helplessly watched their child regress after vaccines, live with the enormous daily challenges of vaccine induced autism, and helplessly watch Congress give lip service to the concept of exploring causes and treatments.

And the head of this illustrious gathering of highly educated congressional committee members, Thomas Insel, MD (Director of NIMH) sums it all up by saying,

We have no money. We have no resources. We are just a bully pulpit. We have no recourse. The public doesn’t understand this. We can have honest exchanges like this and listen.

Summary: ‘Basically, we are powerless to effect chang don’t get your hopes up.’ But he does mention the real powers in the room, the NIH, the CDC and others who hold all the power and money in this debate. That, folks, is the problem. Those with the money do not have the will to explore and expose the cause and effective treatment to prevent autism.

  • They do have the money to continue to heavily lobby congress with their point of view.
  • They do have the money to heavily influence doctors to continue to give too many vaccines too early.
  • They do have the money to advertise their shots through every means possible, including the March of Dimes.
  • They do have the money to publish fraudulent research (#CDCwhistleblower) and the money to keep the mainstream media from reporting on it.

Money talks. Every time a child gets a vaccine it keeps the wheels of the machinery working. Even if a child is injured by a vaccine, it still generates revenue because they become a lifelong client for medical services – an infinite variety of medical services.

Megan Davenhall, President of The Thinking Moms Revolution, and many others have been relentless in leading a charge FOR TEN YEARS to inform those in authority – this committee of esteemed health experts who hold important positions, and who they thought were able to make a difference. These are mainly parents who live with the reality of vaccine induced brain damage causing medically induced autism EVERY SINGLE DAY.

They had hoped their pleas and volumes of information provided to Congress was going to make a difference. I believe we are reaching a tipping point. But Congress is not our hope. It is going to take a grassroots movement of EVERYONE to make a change. The autism parents’ burden is too great. They need those of us who are informed and aware to help them.

The recent autism statistics were 1:23 ten-year olds are autistic. In 1980 it was 1:10,000. At this rate, even if your child remains unscathed, chances are a significant number of his friends and peers will be. October is Autism Awareness month. Share. Those of us outside of this debate need to be informed and we need to speak up to expose this greed induced epidemic.

This autism is extremely different… It’s pain.  It’s bowel disease.  It’s mitochondrial dysfunction.  It’s seizures.  It’s immune deficiency.  And in many cases, it is a silent plea for help through head banging, and self-injurious behaviors and aggression.  Parents have been searching for treatment for these co-conditions for years. We pay out-of-pocket because insurance won’t cover the staggering cost of healing the many physical ailments our children suffer from.  Our kids who fall into this model of autism, the ones who are healthy and become urgently ill, need to be treated with respect and like human beings who are sick. Their physical symptoms need to be addressed by medical professionals in the same ways that they would be handled in a person without autism.

 

Parents have been telling you for years that there was some trigger that sent their healthy child into a physical and developmental tailspin. They watched this happen to their kids. And we’re ignored. You ignore our firsthand eyewitness accounts of damage to our children. You hold these meetings that accomplish nothing. And [you] give us the mic a few times a year and we tell you, ‘Autism is medical.’ This version of autism that the parents come here and talk to you about. Let me be clear on that. Our children get better when we treat the medical problems they have. Their behaviors that land them on the spectrum in the first place, improve when they get healthier. And you don’t hear us. You give us fifteen minutes of your day and interrupt parents who travel on their own dime to come here and speak to you. If they go over their allotted three minutes, they get interrupted–as long as we end the meeting by five. Megan Davenhall

The Age of Autism has volumes of information if you care to learn more.

30 ways in 30 Days, Exploring Vaccines: Day 14

 

 

Our Designer

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cosmosEvery aspect of Creation confirms to me an incredible designer.

Paul was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw as he walked around the city of Athens.

When I read about this in Acts 17, it resonated in my heart with the way I sometimes feel walking around some parts of our modern world. Paul was troubled because of all the idols he saw. We don’t think too much about idols, but I think there are many things in our world we put in a higher place than God. An idol is something that takes the place of God.

When I walk or drive around I am deluged with advertising for flu shots. This deeply troubles me. I walk through the supermarket and see all manner of toxic combinations sold as ‘food.’

I’m wondering if I am stretching parallels too far.

Paul told the Athenians that

God has no needs. He does not NEED anything FROM us. He, Himself, gives life and breath to everything, and satisfies every need. His purpose was for nations to seek after Him.

Can we see that our nation has also abandoned God for worthless idols?

  • Have we abandoned our immune system for harmful/toxic vaccines and medications?
  • Abandoned real food for processed packaged toxic laden food like products
  • Abandoned natural plants for genetically modified mystery results?

All because we CAN? Because we think we are so smart? Because we think we don’t need God, or what He provided? Because we fail to recognize Him as our Creator, our Designer and the Giver of all good things?

Do we think we know better and we can control and manipulate God and His Creation?

Do we even think we can comprehend ALL THAT HE IS?

Is He not GOD – far beyond our understanding?

24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17

Just my ramblings on idols in our current context…

Day 12 of Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

If you have been helped in any way through my musings, please give glory to God. If you find anything disappointing or offensive – please let me know so I can improve 

Worse than death?

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pregnant2To my dear pregnant friends

Is anything worse than the death of a baby?

I am really really sorry to have to write about this topic. Many doctors will categorically deny everything I am about to say. I wish every tragic story  of vaccine injury never happened. I feel a collective guilt for what families have endured through the death of perfectly healthy babies through vaccine injury. In no way do I want to minimize the pain of those who have lost babies; I hope I never offend you.

It is tragic when normal healthy babies die after receiving the recommended vaccines. There aren’t enough words to describe how terrible this is.

But, I have come to the conclusion that maybe, maybe, the ongoing severe vaccine injury resulting in permanent brain damage might be worse than the death of a baby. And even the intense vaccine induced brain damage types of autism that can show signs of recovery through biomedical interventions – but requires gargantuan effort, time and money to achieve, with sporadic progress, is a heavier load to bear than the grief caused by death.

I conclude that it is probably unfair to compare the two situations. Both are equally tragic. Both cause ENORMOUS ongoing pain and grief. But the daily struggle, 24/7, year after year, of caring for a vaccine injured child is something no one hopes for and most of us simply cannot comprehend.

It is so hard for those of us without experience to understand the pain and anguish of either situation, but a severely brain injured child due to vaccine injury is a tragedy that continues EVERY SINGLE DAY. The pain of a child with a severe vaccine injury is always front and center.

I can only imagine some of the emotions these parents must feel: Betrayal. Isolation. Helplessness. Exhaustion. Desperation. Anger. Hopelessness. Alienation. Victimized. Maligned. Condemned. Guilt. Crushed Dreams for their precious children.

IMG_1231I can’t fully know. I can only try to empathize with their experience by reading their stories. The Thinking Moms Revolution is the most incredible group of fierce parent warriors on our planet! I also know that my worst day, containing the biggest challenges I have ever faced, pales in comparison to what these brave warrior parents face EVERY SINGLE DAY.

There are many variables in their stories, but many share these similarities:

  • They believed their doctors and the health recommendations by the CDC so they took their children for routine vaccinations.
  • Their child had a severe reaction.
  • Their child lost speech abilities, many physical abilities, and lost all of their personality.
  • Their child had severe pain yet no ability to explain it.
  • Parents and their doctors had no understanding of what was causing the pain and how to help.
  • The disabilities continue, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
  • Every member of the family suffers. They can’t have a normal family life. 80% of the marriages end in divorce or separation because the pressure is just too great. Siblings bear an enormous weight.
  • Many of these children regress so badly they physically harm themselves and destroy property all around them. They often need to be physically restrained. AND then they grow up and they continue to have similar issues, yet now they are stronger and can cause injury to those who love them and are trying to care for them.
  • Many of these kids never get out of the diaper (nappy) stage. And some have a fascination for fecal matter that defies our imagination or desire to know about.
  • Parents are often blamed for their child’s state and are rarely well supported by the doctors who administered the vaccines.
  • They are shunned in public and pushed to give their kids more vaccines so that they will be “protected” or to “protect other children.”

This is the daily reality of thousands of parents, maybe hundreds of thousands. We don’t really know how many. They don’t have time to write about it (too much). But when they do, it is heart wrenching.

These parents need our understanding and our support. They need financial support because the cost of caring for a severely vaccine injured child can be OVERWHELMING. Very few of these parents have ever received compensation through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, many denied after years of administrative efforts.

These parents should be awarded  compensation from the pharmaceutical companies for the damage caused by their toxic drug cocktails. Most will never receive justice or compensation. Vaccine manufacturers are shielded from all liability and can never be taken to court for any injury their shots cause. Doctors who administer them and the CDC that recommends them are all protected.

What are we doing? How can we allow this travesty of justice of epic proportions to continue? More parents continue getting their kids vaccinated EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Educate yourself. The parents of vaccine injured kids are doing their best to share their painful reality with you to help you avoid being yet another tragedy. Read their stories.

Never vaccinate because of fear, pressure, or bullying. Take your time. You can always vaccinate later if your research leads you to that decision. You can never un-vaccinate.

There are soooooo many families who wish to spare you the pain of living EVERY SINGLE DAY with a vaccine injured child. Please listen.

30 ways in 30 Days, Exploring Vaccines: Day 13

 

Healthy Babies Don’t Just Die

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UPDATE: An audio reading of this blog is now available on Youtube [May 2018]:

This is a really hard blog to write. I wish I didn’t have to. I wish it weren’t true. My eyes are filled with tears as I consider the reality of every word that I am going to share.

Healthy Babies Don’t Just Die,
Some Healthy Babies that get vaccinated Do

Poster Baby

This is sweet Gunner Wayne,

Born on January 14, 2014.

His life was cut short on March 13, 2014.

He received the shots recommended by the CDC and his doctor for infants his age:

  • HIB (PEDVAXHIB)
  • PEDIARIX (DTAP-HEP B-IPV)
  • PREVNAR
  • ROTATEQ 3

and was dead less than 18 hours later.

His mom, Alicia LeAnn Bohn shares her story in the hope of helping other parents avoid the pain she experienced.

He went in for shots on March 12 at 4pm and we lost him the next morning at 9:30 am.

I urge parents and new parents to be, to do your research before you inject your child with a lethal set of cocktail shots. I would give anything to have this little boy back!! RESEARCH BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!!!!

He never saw his 2 month birthday because of the 2 month recommended vaccines.

No one takes their child for shots recommended by experts in health to “protect” them from illness, expecting that their baby might DIE after receiving them.

Unfortunately is happens FAR TOO OFTEN. Exactly how often, we don’t know for many reasons:

  • Many, if not most, of these infant deaths in a normal healthy baby, soon after receiving vaccinations, are not reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) by their doctors.
  • VAERS actually says on their website that children are at greatest risk for certain medical adverse events including high fevers, seizures, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) between 2 and 6 months of age, but it is just a coincidence that they happen right after receiving multiple vaccines. While VAERS encourages doctors to report all events, the underlying message is that coincidences make it difficult to know if there was any connection to a vaccine.
  • Most of the time the cause of death is listed as SIDS and not attributed to the vaccines.
  • Parents are told that their baby’s death was not caused by vaccines and it takes them time to put the events together.

In the midst of their grief the parents are denied information and support to understand the cause of death and they are not given recourse to justice for their personal tragedy, since all vaccine manufacturers are protected from any and all liability for damages their products might inflict.

Mothers are uniting in their pain to help others. They are allowing their pain to bind them together with a strong mission to protect babies. There are many Facebook Groups that have been formed with the sole purpose of sharing these stories to bless and inform new parents. https://www.facebook.com/groups/AngelBabiesKids/ now has 340 members. It is an open group made especially for “OUR” ANGEL BABIES! I encourage you to visit their page and read some of the stories of babies lost to vaccine injuries. They are real. They are tragic. These moms are amazing to share their pain despite a lot of opposition by many. I support these moms in their mission of sharing the truth.

Alicia has also shared her story on the Vaccination Information Network.

There are no words to express comfort to these parents. We can’t possibly understand the personal pain and anguish they continue to feel every single day. We can admire them and support them in their efforts to let the world know the truth about what happened to their beautiful healthy babies. We can join with them to share their stories in the hopes of helping them save other babies. Please share with your pregnant friends.

Too many vaccines too early. Please do some research before making this important medical decision. Your baby’s health and LIFE may depend on it.

30 ways in 30 Days, Exploring Vaccines: Day 12

DSC_0062postscript: Some readers of this blog have mistakenly assumed that I am the mother of Gunner Wade pictured above. His mom, Alicia, shared his story with me and, while I am not his mom, I wrote this blog with her permission, to increase awareness of vaccine injuries. My name is Becky and I am a mother of 5 mostly grown children and 3 grandchildren. If you were my adult children, this my message to you. Love, Becky

Follow up to this post:

One essential to come to God

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PresentThere is only one essential thing required when we approach God.

This is a difficult concept to fully grasp. We have a propensity to make things complicated. We love lists of rules. We have rules for ourselves – to guide and direct our own behavior. We might not think of them as ‘rules’, but we all operate with a set of principles that we feel are good and right.

We often apply our set of ‘rules’ to other people and when they treat us differently we feel offended. Wars are the result of nations feeling other nations are violating the accepted ‘rules.’

As parents we know there are certain ways of behaving that we need to ingrain into our children and we do our best to teach them. We find it exasperating when they don’t cooperate and we can spend a lot of time agonizing over how to guide or control the behavior of our children.

Society has a lot of rules for us and there are many authorities committed to seeing that we follow them. Recent advertisements on billboards remind me that if I don’t obey laws on the road, they will be delighted to catch me. Every year I am reminded that I need to present a financial account to my government or face penalties.

Many people think the Bible is full of rules and might cite the Ten Commandments as an example of the things you must do to please God. The Bible is a collection of ancient literature written over thousands of years by dozens of different authors with one unified intention: to reveal God to us and inform us of how we can have a relationship with Him.

Jesus came to earth to physically demonstrate God, to teach and gather followers and to die – much to His followers surprise and dismay. They didn’t realize that it was all a part of God’s plan for Jesus to die, but once they experienced the resurrected Jesus, everything He did came into perspective.

From that point on they put all their energy into conveying the message of God to everyone they could. Jesus was an integral part of that message.

So what did Jesus say was the ONE THING required to approach God?

Need. We must first recognize that we need Him. We need to know that we have a problem. I have to understand and recognize that I have a problem and I have no ability to fix myself.

We might have an obvious problem, a secret problem, or a problem concerning someone we love for whom we desperately need God’s help.

Matthew was someone who realized he had a big problem and responded to Jesus’ invitation to join him. He writes about it in a book about Jesus’ life and ministry that has been included in the collection of ancient literature we call the Bible. In chapter 9 he describes Jesus’ invitation to himself, as well as Jesus’ interaction with many other people and how they realized their need and received Jesus’ invitation and power.

That is all. That is the first step.

Jesus said “I have come to call those who know they are sinners.”

“Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Everywhere Jesus went He taught and He healed. Many times our physical problems can drive us to God. The people who were healed by Jesus had to first acknowledge their need – often publically – and they had to have faith that Jesus could help. Jesus had power over the cruel circumstances they found themselves in. He brought hope and healing in the midst of their desperation.

I believe Jesus has the same power and the same compassion on people today. He can bring hope and healing in the midst of desperation, when we acknowledge we have a problem and we come to Him.

What prevents you from coming just a bit closer to Jesus today? Will you read Matthew chapter 9 and discover the variety of ways Jesus was able to help and heal?

Day 11 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

If you have been helped in any way through my musings, please give glory to God. If you find anything disappointing or offensive – please let me know so I can improve.

 

How does faith begin?

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ladderI am in the midst of an attempt to describe and encourage faith in Jesus Christ:                 30 different ways in 30 days.

I am afraid I am doing a very imperfect job. I’d really love any feedback you might have to offer. I’m serious! Please use the comments at the bottom!

There are many descriptions of faith given to us from the ancient writings grouped together to form the Bible.

“Faith comes by hearing.” Another version puts it like this:

So faith proceeds from hearing, as we listen to the message about God’s Anointed.

When we are faced with a choice or a new possibility or path – like seeing the ladder in the picture, we want to know that the choice is able to bear my weight. If I decide to climb that rope ladder, am I sure it is stable enough to hold me?

Is it possible for you to take a leap of faith to consider that God might actually desire a relationship with you? That, in accepting His offer of a relationship, it might lead to a lot of good results in your life. Not necessarily the results we might order if it were possible to choose them, like on a menu. But results that we could look back on, after a period of time, and reflect that choosing a life of faith has yielded more good things than we could possibly have imagined.

So, even if you might not feel ready to begin a life of faith, maybe you could begin by simply reading more about the message God has preserved for us. All of the ancient writings point to His Son and keep telling us the story from many different angles.

We had a problem. We need to realize it and acknowledge it and turn to God. As we turn to Him in faith, He will open up insight and life to us through Jesus Christ. Everything begins and ends with Jesus. His invitation is to everyone no matter what nationality or religious background. He is not offering us a religion, but a relationship. There are no cultural barriers.

We don’t even need to believe to start. We can just start.

Faith comes through hearing. Are you willing to hear? If you’re not yet ready, are you ready to examine whether the ladder of faith is Jesus is secure enough to hold you?

But a right relationship based on faith sounds like this: “Do not say to yourselves, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’” (that is, to bring down the Anointed One), “or, ‘Who will go down into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring the Anointed One up from the dead).  But what does it actually say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the good news we have been called to preach to you). So if you believe deep in your heart that God raised Jesus from the pit of death and if you voice your allegiance by confessing the truth that “Jesus is Lord,” then you will be saved! Belief begins in the heart and leads to a life that’s right with God; confession departs from our lips and brings eternal salvation. Romans 10:7-11

 

Day 10 Encouraging people to Seek Jesus: 30 ways in 30 days

 

Flu Shots in Pregnancy?

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pregnantMany parents are experiencing a lot of confusion and stress in trying to make wise choices for their babies. There is an unbelievable amount of push for pregnant moms to get vaccines during pregnancy. This was UNHEARD until the last few years. As a breastfeeding advocate and health proponent I have tried to imagine how, when, and why there was such a big switch in policy that now ENCOURAGES all pregnant women to accept vaccines.

After tragic widespread birth defects resulting from drug use in pregnancy (one example being thalidomide), doctors became extremely cautious about recommending any drug for pregnant women.

So why did the recommendations change? Did someone study the flu shot when used by pregnant women? If you read the vaccine package insert you will find most of them state that the flu shot has never been studied for safety in pregnancy.

If you dig deeper into the statistics available you will find that there is a huge increase in miscarriage after receiving the flu shot.

Someone somewhere must have thought it was a good idea to give pregnant women “protection” from the flu. But I can’t help but wonder if this was a disinformation campaign to try and sell more flu shots, reduce the birth rate (by purposely promoting miscarriage), hide the correlation between infant vaccines and injury by injecting the moms with the toxic chemical cocktail before the baby is even born.

I guess I’ve been researching into vaccine science and vaccine safety too long and I have become cynical. Maybe there are good reasons, but for me, I’d far rather take my chances with my God given immune system, natural vitamin D, supplements of vitamin D3, and the actual flu virus, than any concoction man has put together to try and circumvent it. Vaccines are known to be unavoidably unsafe. Humans have survived for thousands of years without them. We can’t protect ourselves from every calamity in life, but I am certain I want to protect myself from the calamities caused by vaccines.

There is so much to read on the efficacy of the flu vaccine, the ingredients (including aborted human fetal cell tissue and other foreign proteins), I urge you to explore it extensively before complying with a flu shot. Ask your doctor to list the ingredients or the contra-indications, or even if they have read the package insert. Ask them who will be responsible if you have a reaction or a miscarriage.

I’ve written a brief blog with links to four great videos here. Take some time to investigate the facts and the science before you make up your mind.

September 2014 blog by the Thinking Moms Revolution – boy do I admire everything those brave warrior moms do!

Your baby is much too precious to risk to disinformation.

Thanksgiving 2015

Author: Becky Hastings, wife of 35 years, mother to five plus two, grandmother to four so far, passionate about truth, health, and healthy babies. I’ve been a breastfeeding counselor for 23+ years. I love helping moms succeed in mothering through breastfeeding. I can’t keep quiet and watch moms struggle because of the pressure they face to throw themselves and their babies ‘under the pharmaceutical bus’ and hope for the best. Moms need to know the truth.

Vaccines in Pregnancy? Really??

This blog post is the 11th in a series of blogs I wrote in 2014 called, 30 ways in 30 Days, Exploring Vaccines.