The connective issue, the laminin of life, The Cross

http://www.christusrex.com/www1/jvc/TVCproc.html

The cross is a well recognized symbol of the christian faith but why do people use it as such? That lovely polished silver item that you will find hanging from a chain is a far cry from how it originated in Christ's story. Christ's cross was a tortuous method of execution for criminals in roman days.

"During the first two centuries of Christianity, the cross may have been rare in Christian iconography, as it depicts a purposely painful and gruesome method of public execution. The cross as a Christian symbol or "seal" came into use at least as early as the second century.

In contemporary Christianity the cross reminds Christians of God's act of love and atonement in Christ's sacrifice at Calvary—'the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' The cross also reminds Christians of Jesus' victory over sin and death, since it is believed that through His death and resurrection He conquered death itself."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_cross

Lets talk for a minute about Laminin's.
Laminin essentially “glues” the cells (such as those lining the stomach and intestines) to a foundation of connective tissue.

Laminin is a protein that is part of the extracellular matrix in humans and animals. The extracellular matrix (ECM) lies outside of cells and provides support and attachment for cells inside organs (along with many other functions). Laminin has “arms” that associate with other laminin molecules to form sheets and bind to cells. Laminin and other ECM proteins essentially “glue” the cells (such as those lining the stomach and intestines) to a foundation of connective tissue. This keeps the cells in place and allows them to function properly. The structure of laminin is very important for its function (as is true for all proteins). One type of congenital muscular dystrophy results from defects in laminin.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v3/n1/laminin-and-the-cross

An email that was circulated re this inspirational fact is found:
http://www.snopes.com/glurge/laminin.asp
Louie Giglio
along with Louis Giglio's youtube lecture. Very much worth the time to read and click, so very interesting. Many views presented.

Pretty cool the way the scientific model of the structure of laminin looks like a cross. The Bible tells us Christ is the glue that holds us all together. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Without Him we would be in a sorry state.

I found another piece of God's amazing interestingness here: http://www.bartonpublishing.com/blog/2008/05/27/gods-pharmacy-foods-that-resemble-the-body-parts-they-help

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye… and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today sh ow s grape s are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food. (For more heart-healthy remedies, visit www.BloodPressureNormalized.com and http://www.cholesterolsecrets.com/)

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys. (For a natural kidney stone remedy, visit http://www.kidneystonenaturaltreatment.com/)

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them)

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. )
Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits .
look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Proverbs 1:7 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”.

Easter is the most sacred and Holy of all the holidays that the Christian church celebrates no matter what your denomination is. But it was a total suprise to me when I came accross this article from:
http://www.gotquestions.org/easter-origins.html and found out some facts I didn't know.

Question: "What are the origins of Easter?"

Answer: The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe.

A festival called Eastre was held during the spring equinox by these people to honor her. The goddess Eastre’s earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also known as a symbol of fertility.
Today, Easter is almost a completely commercialized holiday, with all the focus on Easter eggs and the Easter bunny being remnants of the goddess worship.

In the Christian faith, Easter has come to mean the celebration of the resurrection of Christ three days after His crucifixion.

It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year because of the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the events upon which Christianity is based.

Easter Sunday is preceded by the season of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and repentance culminating in Holy Week and followed by a 50-day Easter season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.Because of the commercialization and pagan origins of Easter, many churches prefer to refer to it as “Resurrection Sunday.”

The rationale is the more we focus on Christ and the less we focus on the pagan holiday, the better. As previously mentioned, the resurrection of Christ is the central theme of Christianity.

Paul says that without this, our faith is futile (1 Corinthians 15:17). What more wonderful reason could we have to celebrate!

What is important is the true reason behind our celebration, which is that Christ was resurrected from the dead, making it possible for us to have eternal life (Romans 6:4)!

Should we celebrate Easter or allow our children to go on Easter eggs hunts? This is a question both parents and church leaders struggle with. There is nothing essentially evil about painting and hiding eggs and having children search for them.

What is important is our focus. If our focus is on Christ and not the eggs, our children will understand that the eggs are just a game. Children can participate in an Easter egg hunt as long as the true meaning of the day is explained and emphasized, but ultimately this must be left up to the discretion of parents..

Thank you:
vintage post cards
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzee_que/sets/72157612951468219/
article content
http://www.gotquestions.org/easter-origins.html

Easter Greetings

"this life is therefore,
not righteousness,

but growth in righteousness,
not health, but healing,
not being, but becoming,
not rest, but exercise.
we are not yet what we shall be,
but we are growing toward it,
the process is not yet finished
but it is going on,
this is not the end,
but it is the road.
all does not yet gleam in glory,
but all is being purified."
(martin luther, defense of all the articles 1521)


Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546) was a Christian theologian and Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of Protestant and other Christian traditions. Martin Luther was born to Hans and Margaretha Luder on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Germany and was baptised the next day on the feast of St. Martin of Tours, after whom he was named. Luther’s call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible resulted in the formation of new traditions within Christianity and the Counter-Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church, culminating at the Council of Trent.

His translation of the Bible also helped to develop a standard version of the German language and added several principles to the art of translation. Luther's hymns sparked the development of congregational singing in Christianity. His marriage, on June 13, 1525, to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, began the tradition of clerical marriage within several Christian traditions.

http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/martin-luther.html

Thank you for vintage Easter images from:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzee_que/sets/72157612951468219/

Chick update

OK, OK. I know I run a certain risk of having a post titled 'Chick update' on spring break. Somebody might get the wrong idea.

Lots of college guys thinking....um, well, you know what they are thinking.

There are probably tons of posts named Chick update and they have nothing to do with Eastery farm animals.

But here is the long awaited follow up to my funny life....drum roll please.....

ta da! a chicken-ette!

still not more than 6 inches tall, but just look at that handsome face! This is the littlest of them all, she still has the tiny fluffy body but she has the biggest head of all of them.

She's funny. In a good way.


Look at these wing feathers only the big girls have those! They all have the prettiest markings, and they are all just plain egg laying chickens, when we went back to the Grange, you should have seen the fancy $3.50 chickies!!! They were pretty, they had fluffy feet.
Did you notice the chicken wire in the picture above? ha, that's because even little peepers can jump out of their safe and cozy box.

We were having coffee, sitting at the table talking, when all of a sudden there was a blood curdling screaming banshee peep peep peep at my feet.

I thought, what thuuuhhhh....and looked down, and there was a peeper!
Out of the box, scream peeping.
Well she was scared half to death, looking for her sisters.
And needless to say, she scared the peep out of me as well. So we utilized the tool that has been invented for just this occasion, chicken wire.

So far, so good, no more escapes. It also acts as a screen for the many objects that the grand kids want to "show" their new buddies.

Only small, less deadly objects than tonka trucks will pass through.
Look at these wings! They are destined to be showgirls, er showchicks?

Anywany, they are beautiful. I have digressed.

Well, as I was saying, we were talking chicken when our little screaming peeper distracted us, and it just so happens, we were talking coop as she tried to fly the coop.
My husband is a funny bird too, with sort of an OCD kind of disposition, and when he gets it in his mind that he's going to do something, he ruminates. I mean RUMINATES to the point that he is up, out of bed, in the middle of a perfectly good sleeping night.

I say, is there any thing wrong dear? he says...nope, just plannin my coop.

What's a chick to do, but go back to bed shaking her head smiling.
Well many ruminating illuminating nights later, ladies and gentlemen we have our coop, not just any coop, the shangricoop of the entire Valley.







.......Ta Da!
Yes, this is my husband, and yes, he is doing the happy chicken dance, as he says 'we can grow some mighty big chickens in here'.

Yes, he really did say that.

And yes, those are windows (cough) in our chicken house. 'Well, they need the sun in the winter' he says.

I personally think he gave them a room with a view out of love.
This is my husband pointing to the chicken door, saying with a chuckle,

"we'll have to get Nick
(our son, he does finish carpentry, the real kind, on big expensive houses)
to build a staircase here -with a banister".

Yes, yes, I know, he chuckled,
but that was just a diversion chuckle, he thinks I don't know that he really means it.
He thinks if its pine, not mahogany, it will just blend in and not be too noticeable.

It looks like he is still ruminating.

This is the rear view. Notice, there is a ladder at the base of the rear view and a ladder at the base of the front view?

I don't ask.

I know it is part of
el grande macho,
the infernal 24 inch bicep machisimo.

Its just the way the big wheel turns (creak) -by engaging one cog at a time.

A ladder here, a ladder there, I guess I just don't need to know why...the male mind has its reasons, best not to dive in too far here on the farm.