God Help The Australians

       Breaking news of a horrific nature…Australia has been experiencing some terrible fires, overnight, that has caused major damage to some towns and at least 84 deaths.  Although that number may continue to climb as they gain control of the brush fires.   There are many who were hospitalized with burns and some of them may yet lose their lives because of their injuries.  This is the deadliest wildfire that Australia has ever had.  The areas that have been the most impacted were in the southeastern area of Australia; as well as  towns about 50 miles north and east of the capital, Melbourne.

         People have lost their homes, their livelihoods in some cases and many have lost their loved ones or their own lives.  Some people were killed in the fires as they tried to escape in their vehicles.  This is horrible; it is suspected that some of these fires were deliberately set.   If that is true; it is a crime, the murders of innocent people are on the hands of those who set these fires.  It is unfathamable why anyone would wish to do such harm.  The firefighters are bravely trying to fight the fires, which may take days to control.  I pray that God help the Australians by bringing some rain and helping the firefighters to gain control and help the people of Australia as they cope with their losses.

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A Life Worth Saving-National Suicide Prevention Week

      Anyone who has lost someone to death realizes just how precious life is.  Anyone who has lost someone, due to suicide, realizes what a waste of precious life, suicide is.  No one wants to talk about the horror of suicide; there is no way, to make the subject easy to discuss.  When the media does a story on suicide…it seems that there is an increase in suicides attempts that take place.  It is a careful balance to bring awareness to a terrible tragedy that affects so very many people; and yet, not give it so much attention that it plants seeds in the minds of those who are most vulnerable.  Here is a site that can shed some light on the subject:  http://www.suicidology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=2

         This week is National Suicide Prevention Week.  It is important to bring the message of hope and restoration.  Hurting people need to have a reason to live; they need to know that someone cares and is listening to them.  Those same people need human intervention to help them when they are vulnerable.   It is crucial to educate the public on ways to observe and interact with individuals who are struggling in their life and may be at risk for a suicide attempt.  People experiencing loss, loneliness, physical or mental health problems, financial problems, depression or isolation are at risk.   Every life has value and is worth saving!  Won’t you take a few minutes to learn more?

        There is a team of committed people who are working very hard to educate and bring awareness to the public about the issue of suicide prevention.  The team is called Ken McArthur’s Impact Action Team; and they are trying to communicate the importance of teen suicide prevention.  Here is a glimpse into the combined efforts of the Impact Action Team : http://speakupsavelives.org/general/speak-up-save-lives-message-to-be-broadcast-live-to-15-million-people-wednesday-morning-at-730-am-on-comcast-cn8  Check out their message and their goals…witness the impact that individuals can have by joining together with like-minded people.  Have you been affected by suicide during your lifetime?  If you could do ONE thing to help prevent a suicide, what would it be?  Speak up…someone who needs to know could be listening! 

       

       

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It Is Not Going To Be That Easy!

       A week ago we were all horrified to learn of a young 22 year old man who was stabbed to death while he slept on a greyhoud bus that was traveling through Canada.  This young man did nothing wrong and yet, he was vicously stabbed over and over again; and then, sorry for having to say this…was beheaded by his attacker.  The attacker, Vince Weiguang Li, then ate parts of the body.  That is a violation of mind, body and spirit and is hard to understand how someone could act so normal and be so unbalanced.

         As all of this was happening, the other bus occupants left the bus for their safety.  An officer reported seeing some of the horrifying actions of Vince Li.  He was arrested and has gone before a judge who asked him if he wanted a lawyer.  He supposedly shook his head and said, “Please Kill Me”.

          Killing him would be all too easy.  Yes, I am sure there are many who wish that to be his punnishment.  Even if that is the end result, it is not going to be that easy.  There will be a process for Li that takes time.  You don’t request death and it is done instantly through legal proceedings.  It is not going to be that easy for Li.  He will have a long time to relive the horror that he perpetrated.  Over and over again, he will be tortured by memories of what he did. 

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Josef, An Emotionally Broken Man-Why Should We Care?

        Josef Fritzl aged 73 is supposedly, “an emotionally broken man”, according to his  lawyer, Rudolf Mayer.  Josef came to be known to the world, last week, as the twisted father from Austria.   He admitted to imprisoning his 18 year old daughter for 24 years so that he could sexually assault her; in his specially designed dungeon, in secret rooms, underneath the home that he shared with his daughter Elisabeth’s mother.

         The man allegedly kept his daughter on a leash like an animal in that basement for the first nine months or so.  Then, over the 24 years, he fathered 7 children with her.  One of those children died days after birth and he put it’s body into the furnace.  He “allowed”  3 of the children to be raised by himself and the grandmother; she believed her daughter ran off to join a cult when she was 18 and couldn’t care for the children.

         The man was convicted of raping another woman when Elisabeth was about to be born.  He served time for that offense about 18 months.  After that time…he had been planning this dungeon with evil intent.

          The lawyer claims that Josef is an emotionally broken man…and many would say, why should we care?  We should care because this man is someone who could be studied to deconstruct the mind of someone so hideously mis-wired as to do this kind of harm to his own flesh and blood.  We can learn alot from the workings of his mind; so that we could hopefully prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening to another human being.

         If they let this man off from serving the rest of his days in a prison somewhere because of his “brokeness” then, there is no justice.  He has destroyed the lives of so many people.  Elisabeth and her children will forever struggle just to heal from this scarring of their minds and bodies.  Josef does not deserve to live out his remaining time on earth in a mental hospital. 

         We should care that he is broken only out of respect for those lives that he tried to destroy and control.  They deserve to know that he is serving his time in a prison that he cannot escape from…just as he sentenced them when he was in control.   I pray that somehow…they are able to heal enough to have some joy in life. 

         I must say that i am inspired by Elisabeth’s courage to survive all of those years.  To care for her children the best that she could.  Even now, she helped the authorities by going back into that place where he kept her imprisoned to help them to know more about this horror she lived for 24 years.  May God bless her and the family.

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Derranged Daddy Destroys

       By now, most of you have probably heard about the derranged daddy who destroyed the lives of at least 8 people.  They lived in Austria.  He locked his 18 year old daughter in his specially designed, tiny basement for 24 years.  He abused her;  impregnating her 7 times.  One of the babies died soon after birth; and, the father allegedly put the baby into the furnace.  What a psychological nightmare…something out of an almost unbelievable book of fiction; that noone wants to read.

        Over the years, he had the daughter write a letter saying she could not care for her 3 of her children…after she “disappeared”.  The mother raised three of the children.  How could she do this and not push for some answers?  Did she push for answers?  Or was she just as abused in her own way by this man?   Three more of the children were locked in this basement along side of their mother.  This is the only world they have ever known.  The trauma,fear and pain they must all be in seems almost too much to bear.

       Many people are saying…did the mother know> how could she NOT know?>why would she not push to know more>   There is so much that we do not understand at this time; i am afraid there will be even more horrors to come out in time.  For instance, who helped him build this basement with secretive rooms?  Why didn’t authorities search his home when the daughter went missing?  How did food and water…and other basic necessities keep them alive without SOMEONE KNOWING?  And if someone did know…how could they not do something to end this world of pain and suffering?  There are more questions than answers at this point in time.

       The father admits this horror is true.  His daughter and her three children, that were confined, are getting help; but it may take a lifetime.  But truly, is any amount of help ever going to allow these poor people to live a normal life?   They certainly deserve to live in peace and safety. 

        What about the three children who lived “upstairs” with their grandmother and for lack of a better term GRANDFATHER?  Were they abused?  How will they process the fact that they lived right above their mother and siblings?  How will they deal with the knowledge that their mother and siblings lived like caged animals while they did not?  There is going to be long term mental health treatment for all of these people. 

        They have never had education, normal human interaction, health care, or freedom.  It must be a bit like flying into space and finding an alien environment and being forced to land there and function. 

         And let’s talk about the father…how does someone become such a detached person to cause such damage to those you are “wired” to love and protect in a normal way?  What a contemptible situation for human beings to be in. 

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Hatred Is A Sickness

       Hatred is a sickness…it needs tending.  To maintain a good solid hatred, a person has to work at it.  It needs constant time and attention.  It starts to consume a person’s thoughts day and night.  It is destructive.  Hatred can start from a misunderstanding, from hurtful words or actions, it can start from the simplest thing.  But, to build to a point where it starts to destroy…someone really has to invest themselves into it.

        It is sad…but hatred can actually be contagious.  Hatred has claimed another soul…news reports today tell of a young man consumed with hatred.  He has been nurting a hatred for people different from himself allegedly.  The reasons why are on video…to be learned by the public later.   He lives in Chesterfield, South Carolina.   I don’t want to name him…as i think by doing so, sometimes it encourages others who think that they will become famous by following in the footsteps of others who seek to destroy.  That needs to stop. 

        This young man’s parents turned him in to the police.  That had to be one of the most difficult things they have had to do in their lives.  I admire their courage…we need to pray for them. He is still their son.  As a parent we dont have to understand or agree with the things our children do…but we still have to love them and be there for them.   Unfortunately, their son had ordered some ammonium nitrate (10 lbs of it).   The parents had been notified by the Postal Service of an impending delivery and they called the police when they realized what he had done.

         It was then discovered that the young man had a journal where he documented his hatred of others for the last year.  This young man seemed to perform successfully in school and was one of the school’s top students.  He has not been in serious trouble before.  How could this hatred have been bubbling under the surface, without anyone knowing it existed?  Or is there more to the story?  It will unfold in time.

         It seems the young man may have made maps of his school that he intended to blow up.  The young man made a video to be played after his “death”.  He planned for it to be shown after the destruction of his school by his bomb attack.   It has been reported that he had plans to create several bombs; and, he was planning on styling his “attack” to be modeled somewhat after those who implemented the Columbine High School murders in Colorado nine years ago…the anniversary of that horror will be observed this coming sunday.  How close were we to another such national tramatic school attack?  There was no time frame in the young man’s journal…but the nitrate was being delivered just before the anniverary of Columbine High School shootings.  Coincidence…probably not when he already said in his journal that he admired the shooters from the Columbine attack.

          I think the parents of this young man have potentially saved many lives by doing the right (and difficult) thing by contacting the authorities.  Certainly, all of the details are not yet known…the investigation has just begun. 

          However, I am glad that this time, hatred was stopped in it’s tracks.  I am sorry for the parents of the young man.  I am sad at the waste of this young man’s life…as he will most certainly be spending some time behind bars or institutionalized.  However, I am also glad that there is not another “role model” of hatred to be held up and admired by others who are consumed with the need to hate, to destroy and to grab their 15 minutes of “fame” in the media, by trying to kill as many innocent lives as they can with their violence.

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