Daughter and Heir

Joel Osteen Ministries Called My Friend’s House

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on April 22nd, 2012 — Posted in Cults, Evangelism, Friends, Jesus Christ

  Tags: cult, Evangelism, Friends, Jesus Christ

I have been going through some old emails and such and found a link that my friend, Betty Taylor shared with me.

Joel Osteen has people calling all over to raise (more) money for his false message of Christ and Betty was able to record the conversation.

Like she said in the audio, we are to expose false teachers, and if anyone is a false teacher besides Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, and the like, it’s Joel Osteen. He preaches a new age type of “let’s all just get along” kind of message, not the message of the Bible.

Well, here is Betty talking to one of Joel’s hired hands. It’s not even 8 minutes long, but worth a listen. Link:

http://fisherwoman.podomatic.com/entry/2012-01-10T08_13_39-08_00

You can subscribe to this blog by scrolling up and to the right – enter your email address; you will never be spammed, but will get an email each time I blog. Blessings to you!

Tamara Slack

Interview with HomeBrewedGear Seller on Etsy

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on March 30th, 2012 — Posted in Uncategorized

Interview with HomeBrewedGear Seller on Etsy

Spending quite a bit of time on the BNR (Buy and Replace) Sales on Etsy, especially with the new Etsy Team a friend and I have created “TeamDream” has given me the opportunity to meet some wonderful people! I was curating a sale called a BNS one day and offered a free interview with the last buy-in and the shop HomeBrewedGear was the winner.

She upcycles her items – any pictures you see in this post is hyperlinked directly to the listing if you would like to click on them to see more of what she has for sale!

Here is what we talked about:

Tamara: What is the name of your Etsy shop? And tell me in a few sentences how you came up with the name.

HBG: Home Brewed Gear. I am also a musician and the name of my band is Home Brewed Magic. I have another business providing post partum remedies for women called Baby Home Brewed.

Tamara: Tell us a little about yourself. Maybe about your home life, growing up, how you became an artisan.

HBG: I was born and raised in Columbia, MO. I have created art regularly since I was about 12. I have five brothers and I am the only girl! I am a little feisty due to that, I’m afraid. My mom is a drawer, crafter, painter and I watched her and wanted to do it too! I have two beautiful daughters, 1 and 6 years old. I have always been fascinated with making just about anything, using any medium. So far, painting and drawing are not my forte, but I enjoy trying.

Tamara: What types of items do you sell?

HBG: I try to upcycle everything to make new and exciting items. I make a lot of clothing and jewelry. Just recently, I began painting baby food jars for using as tiki torches. I love to make food from organic, fair trade items. I sell a variety of chocolate items made as such. I will be offering organic, fair trade, fresh roasted coffee and blends soon.

Tamara: What are three things you like about Etsy?

HBG: Amazing people and artists, I get to shop ALL the time, always a lot of inspiration for new ideas.

Tamara: Is there one item that is considered a “hot” item you sell?

HBG: Definitely the chocolates and any kind of cloth diapering, baby supply. (NOTE: See her HERBAL SWEETS section! Nice!)

Tamara: Do you ever offer coupons and discounts and do you have some up and running right now?

HBG: I pretty much always have a coupon running for 15 % off-supercustomer.

Tamara: Are you affiliated with any Etsy Teams or Groups that you would like to mention?

HBG: I am on a TON of teams and love them all. There are some many wonderful people involved in Etsy.

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God bless, Tamara Slack (John 3:3)

Posting about Jesus on Social Media Sites

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on March 15th, 2012 — Posted in Evangelism, Facebook, Friends, Jesus Christ, Writing

  Tags: Evangelism, Facebook, Friends, Jesus Christ, Writing

Famine in My Soul of Late

Lately I have not been reading much of God’s Word. I have noticed somewhat of a famine in my soul too. Interestingly, a friend emailed me saying “I don’t see you posting much on Facebook about God lately. What’s He been doing in your life?” Now, stop right there! Do you see the love in that statement and question? She lovingly showed me how Jesus is with His people. Jesus talked to the hypocrites one way and brought the Law on them to allow them to examine their hearts whereas with His followers (remember Peter denying Him), He spoke in love and compassion. That’s how my friend spoke to me – this is how we should all speak to one another when we see a straying or even blatant sin. The Law does nothing but condemn. The gospel brings true contrition and deeper faith in Christ.

Well, it got me thinking (and praying, for forgiveness and thanking Him for a faithful friend who prays for my soul probably every day!). It got me thinking a few things, one big one is “how much do we have to post on media outlets about Jesus Christ as Christians?”

Posting on Media About Jesus and the Gospel

I’m not sure about this. I know many Christians who post almost nothing but evangelistic messages. Others who post some about their Savior with posts such as their cute kids and things. Then I know some follower of Christ who post almost nothing about God, but more about comical things and political views.

I remember when I was first saved (Oct. 2006), I posted nothing but stuff about Jesus. I leaned way over to one side and became unbalanced. I even had a judgmental attitude about those who put up pictures of little kitties and doggies and talking about how they love them so much. Yes, yes, God has since grown me and granted me repentance in that area. I was, well, a legalist and in sin judging my brothers and sisters in Christ like that.

So how much should be about Jesus and how much should be about other things? I don’t think there is a right answer to that. I think it’s about how God is working in your life to glorify Him. That is the main goal in life: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But… He gives freedom to play, to joke around, to just have fun in this fallen world. Be in the world, not of it.

A Lesson by Luther

I go back to Luther who was asked by a new convert to Christ what he should do to serve Jesus. Luther asked the man what he did for a living. The guy said that he was a shoemaker. Luther responded to this new, enthusiastic Christian: “Then make a good shoe and sell it at a fair price.”

The story shows me a lot of things, but it came to mind when I was asked about what God is doing in my life and how we can’t judge another person’s walk with Christ by what they do and do not post on social media sites – but oh, how wonderful it was for my friend to email me about it (in a non-judgmental way) because I am unbalanced right now. Had she come to me and said “Ummm, yeah, I see you are posting about non-biblical things a lot and so I wanted to let you know you might want to search your heart,” I would have been repulsed by that. Instead, she showed me love. And in love, God tugged at my heart like “Tamara, this is what I have been convicting you about lately. You need to hear your sister. Your life is hid in Christ and I want people to know about Me.”

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Nutritional Blogging and Hawthorn University Whole Foods Study

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on March 9th, 2012 — Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Food, Nutrition

  Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, Food, Nutrition

Nutritional Blog

I am writing more about nutrition than I am about Etsy – well, it may be split 1/2 and 1/2. But I wanted to let readers know I will be transferring the food, nutrition, supplement data from this blog to my Nutrition blog here: http://www.Healthy-Thoughts.com

Current Study for Hawthorn University

You will see most of the information on my new blog, but want to put this out there. I am currently doing a Whole Foods Study with nine participants and would like to continue doing these on different subjects such as Women’s Hormones, Adrenal Dysfunction, Whole Foods vs. Refined Foods Educational Study, and more. If interested in participating in any further studies, please contact me (I do not have a subscribe button yet – my good friend, Michael is working on that), but until then, you may email me at Tamara.Healthy.Thoughts@gmail.com to be put on a list for upcoming studies and free information about dieting, help in creating food that is health-promoting for you and your family, and the like.

Have a healthful day to the glory of God!

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Interview with cutterstone on Etsy – Deni

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on March 5th, 2012 — Posted in Uncategorized

4 Comments

Curating my first BNR Today on Etsy!

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on February 24th, 2012 — Posted in Etsy, Sales

  Tags: Etsy, Sales

I’m curating my first BNR (Buy and Replace Treasury) on Etsy today. Exciting! The pictures above are clickable and will take you to the BNR or to my store. If you are a seller on Etsy and want to be included in the next Round(s), leave a message on this blog post or email me (YarnDesigns (@) gmail.com).

Here’s the link to the BNR sale today:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NjgzMjMwOHwyMjUxMDQ5NjA2/butterflies-in-june-bnr-round-1-open-to?index=0

If you are not an Etsy seller, but want to make purchases, just go to their registration page so you can participate in the great sales here:

https://www.etsy.com/join?from_page=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.etsy.com%2F&ref=so_reg

The BNR is called Butterflies in June and open to anyone who wants to participate. It will run AT LEAST from 1pm to 4pm today. I hope to keep this going every couple of days or so. Not sure how I want to do it. If you would like an email to know of the upcoming sales, email me at the YarnDesigns email address above and I will make sure you are notified but not spammed!

And here are a few of the awesome sellers that are joining me (click on the store name):

Cutterstone

BagsbyHags

EmbellishbyAndrea

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Etsy Treasuries from the Handmade Circle Team

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on February 22nd, 2012 — Posted in Etsy, Sales

  Tags: Etsy, Sales

I put together a couple Treasuries on Etsy today using listings from the Handmade Circle Team which can be found here (join the group if you sell on Etsy too!):

ON ETSY

ON FACEBOOK

Here’s some of the pieces of art I found interesting (each picture is clickable to bring you to the actual sale of the item). From Sarah, Karalee, and Andrea:

And here’s a few more from Mindy, Margalit, and Sayuri:

Aren’t they all beautiful?! Here are the listings to the two Treasuries:

1. Favorite Picks PART 1

2. Favorite Picks PART 2

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4 Comments

Married to Roger Slack 10 Years Today!

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on February 20th, 2012 — Posted in Family, Marriage

  Tags: Family, Marriage

An update for those who already read this via email and facebook: Rog came home with a dozen yellow roses in a beautiful vase that has what looks to be tin in it (tin being the mark of a 10 year anniversary – yeah, all I need is more heavy metals huh? lol). I had bought 2 antique spoons that were engraved “Yours” and “Mine” and ordered a coffee mug with the pictures you see above on it and anniversary wording so we exchanged these thing tonight when he got home. We don’t have money to do things and I’m much too ill to really do anything anyway, so it was just perfect and now, he is making me a baked potato – what more could a girl ask for ‘eh? Okay, here’s the original post:

Today marks 10 years I have been married to Roger. I knew so little of marriage prior to marrying him. I was brought up to believe divorce was okay (and even good if you couldn’t get along or just “fell out of love”). I know of no one in my family who has not been divorced and married two, three, four, and even five times (except my very favorite aunt Nita and Uncle Lowell).

In fact, one of the saddest things I remember as a child is when my mom asked me about my future husband (I don’t remember the whole conversation, but she asked me something about what I want when I am married or something like that). I was young and saw divorce splitting my family apart which caused me so much pain as a child, but I was getting used to it (or so I thought) as nothing I saw lasted and there was no security to know if someone was going to leave me or I wouldn’t have an uncle next month or another step-mother the next. So when she asked, I said something like “well, my second husband will be like….” She said, “second husband, what will you do with the first?” I thought it was normal to have a second husband (or a third and so on, so her question was strange to me). It was normal, for my life.

Well, when I said “I will” to Roger on February 20, 2002, I didn’t mean “I WILL continue to love you when it’s hard” nor “I WILL forgive when you are the worst jerk I ever met” nor “I WILL serve you and care for your needs as Christ means for us to do so.” I meant “I will… SO LONG AS we get along and things go my way more than they don’t go my way. As long as we still FEEL love. As long as you don’t hurt me or sin against me.” <— my selfishness!

What a sad thing to think like this when saying vows. We married in 2002 and I was not saved, I was not born again so like all sinners, I was selfish (not that I don’t struggle with selfishness every day still!). I was also religious (which doesn’t count because Jesus damns the religious who do not have the Spirit of God – this was me and this was Roger). I did not understand that marriage is a picture of Christ loving the Church and the Church submitting to Christ. (Christ being a picture of the husband) and the Church being a picture of the wife). I had no idea about this and no instruction.

In 2006, God made it very clear I was not a Christian, rather a fake one – a false convert who went to church and read the Bible a lot not out of a love and devotion to Jesus, but as a religious practice. God also made it clear I was not a God-honoring Christian wife! The Lord came into my life and started to change me as He worked on my sin areas (whew, He still does and man is it painful sometimes!). He showed me over the past five and a half years that marriage is about many, many things that I had no idea about: it’s about glorifying God by forgiving the man I am married to, it’s about God growing me by the trials marriage produces. It’s about laying down our lives for our spouse- whether that be in reality: really having to die for the other person or dying to sin daily. Laying down pride and revenge and bitterness that can and does creep in at times. It’s about submission to one another and so, so much more.

I am no expert on marriage, but I can say this: five years of living in a marriage with Roger not knowing Christ compared to five years of living in a marriage with Roger knowing Christ – VAST DIFFERENCE. The earlier part was “what about me, how are you going to make me happy?” and now more and more, it is “what can I do to serve you to honor God and you?”

Thank you Lord for the hard times. It’s hard to say that, God. I don’t want difficult times in marriage, but You have grown me and shown me more how to be a wife – submitting to my husband even when I think or know he is wrong. Ah, Lord, it pains me to submit which only shows my indwelling sin which spars against the Spirit. It pains me to serve when I don’t want to serve. So, I thank You for the indwelling Spirit of Christ who always brings me back to worship not of self, not of my husband, nor of anyone else or their opinions, but of You, the maker of marriage. You call me” daughter” and you call Roger “son.” And You call us to be one. I fail so much, but instead of you telling me to “pick myself up by the bootstraps” and try again until I get it right, you point me to the cross where my Savior imputed righteousness to me. How humbling! How undeserved! What folly I fall into when I look at self instead of my Savior. I thank you for the ten years and ask for ten more, if you see fit that this is in Your will. I pray You strengthen our marriage and not allow the world, the devil, nor our flesh to destroy it nor even mar it. May I honor You in how I respond to the trials and tribulations of marriage and may I rejoice in the good and fun times! I deserve nothing but Your wrath, yet You gave me (and continue to give me) good things including marriage. Thank You! In Christ, amen.

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1 Comment

Professional Photography by Peter Wilson – Pickerington, Ohio

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on February 6th, 2012 — Posted in Etsy, Friends

  Tags: Etsy, Friends

Peter Wilson is the photographer I use for my Etsy store. God has really blessed him with a talent to capture beauty through the lens of his camera and I wanted to share a little about him and what he does. He did not ask for this; I had to keep begging him for information so I can get a profile of his work out there – it’s amazing stuff! The photos you see throughout this blog post are some he has done – I will sprinkle them throughout the post for you to see.

I asked Peter some questions and here is what he said:

Tamara: When and how did you get into photography?

Peter: I have always been interested in photography. I remember as a child playing with my dad’s camera and lenses. While in college in the late 90′s I took several photography classes just for fun and fell in love with it. I began reading and studying photography.

After Alyssa and I were married I began looking for a professional camera. My wife said she would begin praying that God would provide one. While working at the hospital one of her coworkers overheard her talking to me over the phone about a professional camera. It turns out this lady’s father was a photographer who was retiring due to health problems. To make a long story short, God provided his camera equipment. I started working for the man who photographed our wedding.

I have had a really good experience being mentored by several photographers.  The first photographer who mentored me was Jack.  He is the one who photographed our wedding. He was very high standards on the technical aspect of photography.  He taught me to be critical about my own work.  The second man that has mentored me is Jon. He has taught me the importance of being a good people person and the importance of marketing (I need to work on both). I am able to do the following types of photography- children, family, senior, sports, weddings, and product.

Tamara: Tell me about you serving at Berean Baptist Church.

Peter: I have attended Berean from birth but became a member sometime in my early teens. I began serving at the church by leading the congregational hymns. My pastor asked me if I would be interested in learning how to lead music, and I agreed to let him teach me. I have been leading the music since I was a teenager. I also direct the choir.

In 1999 I started working with the youth group and young children at the church, and am currently the director of a youth program called AWANA. Several years ago I was voted in as a deacon and have had the privilege of serving in that capacity through today.

Tamara: How long have you known the Lord?

Peter: Growing up in church I had heard the gospel message many times, and could knew all the right answers on how a person is saved. However, I had never really accepted the fact that I was a sinner and that my only hope for salvation was in Jesus Christ. It was at the age of 8 that I came to that conclusion in my life. I had been bothering my brother one evening as usual. I was pestering him unmercifully and finally my parents had had enough.  They sent me to my room as punishment. As I lay there I was so convicted of my wretched life and sin. I realized that my heart was desperately wicked. I remember crying and begging God to forgive me for my sin. I put my faith in Jesus as my only means of salvation.

Tamara: Tell me more about you being a dad and a husband.

Peter: Being a husband and dad- God provided me with the most wonderful help mate in my wife Alyssa. We met in college and were married in June 2000. We have 4 great kids and are expecting our 5th in May.We can only give the credit for staying together to God. He gave us both Christian parents who were good examples growing up.  The fact that both Alyssa and I are Christians definitely helps make our marriage stronger because we ultimately want to please God.

Tamara: Thanks for letting me in on your life a little bit more. How can people contact you to have professional photographs done with you?

Peter: Thank you for helping get my name out there through your blog. People can contact me for pricing. My email address is peterwilsonphoto1 @ yahoo.com and to reach me by phone, they can call 614-834-7246. I am not ready to advertise my website yet. My goal for this winter is to get it up and running.

(note to readers: when Peter does get his site up and running, I’ll be sure to post it here. I got to preview it and it look great!)

If you want awesome photos of your children, holiday pictures, weddings, or anything, contact Peter. I love working with him and adore his work. The Lord has really given him such a great talent.

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2 Comments

Grand Opening of New Jewelry Website – Shop Online

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on January 17th, 2012 — Posted in Facebook, Jewelry

  Tags: Facebook, Jewelry

PICTURES ARE CLICKABLE AND TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO THE NEW STORE

Grand Opening of my new jewelry website (found HERE) where you can purchase online with with free shipping to the continental United States (orders for Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska, please email me for quote).

I’m adding several pieces every couple of days with the goal to have at least 100 pieces of jewelry soon: necklace and pendant sets, earrings, bracelets, and the like. Some are made with sterling silver, silver plated, and others with iron or even stretchy cord for the stretch bracelets. I’m using precious stones, semi-precious stones, and metal like brass and Tibetan silver.

For current discounts, coupons and FREE giveaways, go to my Facebook Fan Page and hit “like” – when you do, you will be able to participate in the freebies and coupon offers. I am currently holding one just for this grand opening until January 18th. To receive that information, go to my Yarn Designs Crochet Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yarn-Designs-Crochet/343725768989974

I am still selling on Etsy as TamaraSlack Yarn Designs for all my handmade crochet work – men’s beanies, women’s berets and other hats, baby bonnets, doll accessories and more! You can view all my crocheted designs HERE.

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Time for Good News

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on January 9th, 2012 — Posted in Evangelism, Jesus Christ

  Tags: Evangelism, Jesus Christ

Time for good news. Perfect picture above for it huh?

There really is good news! We watch t.v. and see such bad news on it, along with the newspaper, but there is good news. I don’t know if you know it or not, but in order for there to be good news, there usually has to be bad news first.

Well, read about the good news here:

http://tamaraslack.org/tam/index.php/good_news

Email: Tamara.Healthy.Thoughts@gmail.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/Romans4

The Columbus Dispatch Has Failed Again

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on January 8th, 2012 — Posted in Uncategorized

Big fat “F” for the Columbus Dispatch… again.

I signed up for the Sunday newspaper to be delivered, well, on Sundays. This was three weeks ago. Did the newspaper come the first Sunday? Ummm, no. How about the second Sunday? You guessed it, nope!

Today is the third Sunday. It is now 10:00am. Think it’s here? I’ll give you a hint: NO!

When people pay me for a service, like when I sell my jewelry from my Smooth-Stones Shop or my crocheted hats on my Etsy Store, I deliver. Why? Well, because it’s the right thing to do. People give me money for stuff they buy. I bought the newspaper and in my excitement, I thought they would actually keep up on their end of the deal.

I wanted the paper for the coupons – did you know in the Sunday paper three weeks ago was a coupon for Michael’s – it gave $5.00 off for every $25.00 you spent. I didn’t get that coupon, but you know what I do to make ends meet? I buy yarn and sell my creations. Would be nice to get my coupons.

The District Manager came by the other day from the Dispatch to give me a (late) Sunday paper and to apologize. This morning, I called the paper’s number (which, in case you also do not get your paper, is 1-877-734-7728) and told them once again I would like my paper, I would like the District Manager to get the paper to me TODAY and I would like a refund…. again. She agreed to all of it, but couldn’t guarantee I would get the paper today. Why not? I signed up for it. I guess people shouldn’t expect to get what they pay for with them.

We’ll see what happens. I wonder if anyone else has such a problem with this newspaper?

Email: Tamara.Healthy.Thoughts@gmail.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/Romans4

Zoho Docs – Better Than Sliced Bread

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on December 29th, 2011 — Posted in Etsy, Writing

  Tags: Etsy, Writing

I know you know about sliced bread and you probably like it, right? Well, I won’t get into the junk in bread you buy at the store (sugars, phytic acid in the grains….). I’m not getting into it because this is even better than Ezekiel Bread! This is Zoho Docs and it is great.

I have been wanting to sell my crochet patterns in my Etsy Shop, but since I don’t have Microsoft Word, my husband found this Zoho Docs and said, “maybe you can do it with this.” Uhhhhh, yep, I can! I can make my document into a Word document or even a PDF which important because my customers sometimes cannot open a PDF and need to be able to receive a Word document.

What is Zoho?

It’s an online document program. It can be used to create Word documents and PDFs too. And, get this! I can email the document to my husband (or anyone) so they can edit it, print it, whatever. I have emailed several documents straight from Zoho to Roger and had him print them out. No hassle of attachment in my gmail account or copy and pasting information from my email account.

Links to Help You Get Started with Zoho

• Frequently Asked Questions HERE
• Take a tour of their program HERE
• Pricing information HERE (I’m using the free one, but maybe there are people out there with massive info they have and need storage space)
• YouTube video on Getting Started with Zoho Docs found HERE

I am a happy camper now, able to write up a storm and create my crochet patterns. It is far superior to Google Docs. Little things in life make me so happy, can you tell?

Email: Tamara.Healthy.Thoughts@gmail.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/Romans4

Selling Men’s Beanies on Etsy – a Man’s Beanie is Hard to Find!

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on December 20th, 2011 — Posted in Etsy, Sales

  Tags: Etsy, Sales

The pictures above are some of the men’s hats in my Etsy Shop. You can click on the picture and it will take you directly to the sale itself.

I’m finding there are quite a few people looking for a hat for men. They search for men’s beanies pretty regularly, yet I make mostly women’s slouchy berets, hats for ladies like bonnets, tams, and I even have some large and extra large ( XL ) hats up in my Etsy store.

I think I need to make more man’s beanie designs though. They are so hard to crochet for though! As I am crocheting for Christmas, I find there are 90% women and children crochet patterns, and like 10% for men and boys – argh! I’m looking into making sports hats like for OSU. If I can get my hands on some scarlet or red and grey yarn, I’ll crochet some OSU beanies along with other football teams like the Cleveland Browns (as I know some people who read this blog like *smile*).

Most of the beanie designs are made from acrylic, but I do have some wool caps available too. There are some for newborns, preemies, girls, boys, and even for dolls! See below for a couple of the children’s winter hats I have made and are up for sale in my store (each picture is clickable so you can get to the actual sale listing)

Email: Tamara.Healthy.Thoughts@gmail.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/Romans4

1 Comment

Christopher Hitchens is Dead

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on December 16th, 2011 — Posted in Atheism, Cults, Jesus Christ

  Tags: Atheism, cult, Jesus Christ

One of the most hardened atheists, Christopher Hitchens, is dead as of yesterday, December 15, 2011. See his Address to the American Atheist Convention 2011 video at the bottom of this post.

It so saddens my heart to know that even though this man hated God, did all he could to tear down people’s faith, lived selfishly, and spent his life against Jesus Christ in lecture, writings, and debates, is in Hell for eternity if he did not repent and believe the gospel.

Wikipedia says this about Mr. Hitchins:

“Identified as a champion of the “New Atheism” movement, Hitchens described himself as an antitheist and a believer in the philosophical values of the Enlightenment.”

This cult of the “New Atheism” is similar to any cult, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the Mormons. They have a following and will not adhere to the Bible. They make a god in their own image. In this case, the New Atheists’s god is self.

I know so many people who are in Hell at this very moment who lived life for self in fornication, adultery, blasphemy (do you say “Oh my God!” or type OMG! – that’s blasphemy), stealing, gossiping, bitterness, and all the Bible says are sins who did not embrace Jesus Christ as LORD (not Saviour – yes, Savior is necessary, but LORD of their lives).

One Must be Born Again – Christopher Hitchens was Not

I”m ever grateful that God forgave me in 2006 for all the horrific sins I committed (including everything I listed). I am no better than Mr. Hitchens, that’s for sure, but God made me born again! Jesus said as recorded in John 3.3, ““Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus is not a liar. I ask you, reader, are you born again? If not, you will not go to Heaven, according to Jesus. If you have questions about how a person is born again so you are 100% sure at your death, you will go to be with the Lord in Heaven, please email me at tamara.healthy.thoughts [@] gmail.com (take out the brackets when emailing).

Hell, the Eternal Destiny for Atheists

4 Comments

New Gift Certificates and Stretchy Bracelets

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on December 3rd, 2011 — Posted in Etsy, Sales

  Tags: Etsy, Sales

I thought it would be a good idea to have Gift Certificates in my Etsy store. I have them in $20.00, $30.00, $50.00, and $100.00 increments.

You can find the $20.00 one HERE if you would like to read about how it is done. By the way, they never expire! The recipient (or you if you want it to go to you so you can present it to the person) will be in a pdf or in a Word document – whichever you prefer. It will have a unique code that the person uses at checkout.

Just wanted to let people know if they are unable to decide on an item to buy, I’ll have these Gift Certificates available for sale for a while.

Also, I’m starting to make stretchy bracelets. Some with just glass beads, and then I went all out and bought some Swarovski beads and made a few. Pretty stuff! I want to keep them all But I want to sell them. Here’s a picture of one I made the other day for Roger’s daughter for Christmas:

Swarovski Crystal Pearl Bracelet

I’ll start putting them up in my store in a week or so.

Tamara Slack

1 Comment

FOUND! Your One-Stop Shop for Handmade Jewelry

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 26th, 2011 — Posted in Etsy, Friends, Sales

  Tags: Etsy, Friends, Sales

My friend, Mindy Upton, of Columbus, Ohio has her new Etsy Shop up and running. She’s offering special pricing right now which you might just want to take a look at – she makes beautiful jewelry! I know, I own a piece. I’m glad to have a friend who is now in Etsy with me so we can share tidbits of info on how to best serve our customers while making money to help bring in side money for our households.

Click on any of the pictures to go straight to her store (and notice the deep discounts she is giving right now!)

Here’s what Mindy’s Etsy Store, called The HoneyComb Keep, is all about, she says:

Many of my items are made with higher quality (and thus a tad bit pricier) materials- such as Czech glass, Swarovski Crystals, and Sterling Silver.

But I also create many designs using more affordable materials. I want my creations to be accessible to everyone, because I know we all have different sized budgets and we all want something special!

And supporting hand-made shops, particularly from fellow Americans, can be a little challenging. Because, let’s face it, we are so used to Wal-Mart prices from China that we forget how time consuming quality hand-crafted items can be.

All my items are created with an eye for detail and alotta love! So I know the sacrifice my customers make by purchasing from The Honeycomb Keep and other like-minded shops. And I for one truly appreciate their business!

I hope you enjoy the sweet things found deep… in the honeycomb keep.

About her sales, promotions, discounts, Mindy says:

I am currently running a promotion. All my items are marked down 20%! And all orders come with a BONUS coupon code for 15% your next purchase in 2012! Hooray!!

- Mindy Upton of The Honeycomb Keep

- Tamara Slack, Etsy Store Owner of Yarn Designs and Freelance Writer for Suite101.

Crockpot Shredded Beef Recipe

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 23rd, 2011 — Posted in Food

  Tags: Food

Crockpot Shredded Beef Recipe

Going through a few of the recipes from AllRecipes, I’ve found one that I’ve changed and added other people’s ideas and recipes to for the most amazing shredded beef in the crockpot.

Adrenal Phone School with Dr. Andrew Neville

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 18th, 2011 — Posted in Adrenal Fatigue

  Tags: Adrenal Fatigue

Dr. Neville of the Clymer Healing Institute will be having monthly phone classes he is calling “Adrenal Phone School” and they are FREE!

If you are an sufferer of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Adrenal Fatigue, or even hormonal problems, I would highly suggest you get on these monthly calls.

What is the Adrenal Phone School?

It is a one-hour class, including time at the end for Q&A, over the phone. Each class will address a different element of Adrenal Dysfunction and its most effective treatments.

The first Friday of every month, from 3pm to 4pm Eastern Time, starting December 2.

How do I get in on the conference call?

A few minutes before 3:00 p.m. EST on December 2, these are the steps:

1. Dial in to 218-237-0330
2. Punch in access code 1014182#

(You are responsible for any long distance charges to the 218 area code)

The classes are for patients, interested parties, and the general public. Anyone with curiosity about why they are so tired and what to do about it to actually get results.

To get in touch with Andrew Neville, ND, go to the Clymer Healing Center Website or call them at 215-536-8001. You can also email them at info@healing.org.

Maybe you have seen me blog about his expertise in adrenal fatigue / CFS before. He is the doctor I have worked with off and on for a couple years. With the book his mentor, Dr. Poesnecker, wrote and Dr. Neville’s help, I am getting better and so is a friend who I recommended to him.

God bless, Tamara Slack

Benzodiazepine Definitions from Friends

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 17th, 2011 — Posted in Klonopin

  Tags: Benzodiazepines, Klonopin

I asked some of the people on the Benzo Yahoo Group, friends, and others who know the devastation of Klonopin (or any benzodiazepine) to give me a definition of benzodiazepines. I simply said, “give me your definition of benzodiazepines and do it in less than 10 sentences.” Here’s their responses:

“A prescription that ruins lives.” – Emily

“Well I think the short answer is that they have been a crime against humanity!” – Anthea

“Anti-living medication would be my definition.” – Val D

“I personally have dubbed it “Benzo Beast”… I hope you include information on the Founding Father of Benzos… Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach. He is my guru… He received the Nobel Prize for his contribution to society in creating 3 billion forms of his initial poisonous concoction, Librium…I am excited about your project….I will be a loyal follower…” – Debra

“When I was growing up, the slogan tossed around was always “Just Say No to Drugs!” But now everywhere you turn, in magazine and TV ads, all you hear is “Take our drugs and your life will get better… as clearly seen by the happy people frolicking around in our ads.” We need to pay close attention to these ads. Look past the smiling faces of people surrounded by loving family and friends- enjoying life, all thanks to a magic pill. Pay attention to the side effects, the contraindications, the dangers- and not just the ones rattled off quickly on a 30 second commercial spot. Do your research. And be sure your research results aren’t all paid for by the drug-pushers themselves. See what others have to say, people who have taken these drugs for any length of time. I have watched friends first hand suffer through the unwanted effects of these legal drugs, specifically benzodiazepines. And getting off of them can literally be hell.” – Mindy U.

Sure, sometimes some drugs have their place in our lives. But more often than not, the slogan should remain “Just Say No.”

“Wolf in sheep’s clothing! I am still in terrible emotional and physical pain being on the Klonopin. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but my Jesus comes to give you life. Unfortunately I feel for the lie that this pill would fix my problems. It did for a while, but what I would say is “try getting off of them.” – Sharon R.

“Don’t listen to the lies! It is addictive!” – Dewey (husband of Sharon R. who is suffering so greatly with benzo withdrawal)

“Crap, these benzo withdrawals are worse than the street drugs I went off of like meth. I’m glad I never went to prescription drugs!” - Laura

If you are thinking of using these tranquilizers, there are other options. I am not giving medical advice to help cure you or direct you – I need to say you need to seek medical advice from a physician.

Doctors put me on Klonopin sixteen years ago and I have nearly died several times trying to get off it. I know a lot about what it’s like to be physically addicted to the drug.

For me, I believe, it’s too late to taper off it unless I can fix the various systems, organs, and glands in my body through orthomolecular means

Like my husband said in late 2010 when my body started shutting down from getting off the medication: “I had to call in to the family, Tamara was about two weeks from being in the grave. I was going to have to look into buying a casket.”

I’m now finding even though I still need to stay on the Klonopin so I don’t die (I’d rather die many days – I would prefer being with Jesus, honestly!), I am resting my adrenal glands, using adrenal glandulars (both the cortex and whole glandulars), and more recently I have added:

• 2,500 mg Niacinamide in divided doses (crosses the blood brain barrier and acts like a benzo so it takes the suffering down many notches)
• 2,000 mg Niacin in divided doses (this stops the adrenaline from rushing out causing panic attacks)
• 1,000 mg Vitamin  C in divided doses (this stops the adrenaline from being oxydized and becoming adrenochrome which is a toxic substance)
• 200 mg Vitamin B6 in divided doses (this helps protein digestion and all sorts of things! If I can get my body to break down proteins into the amino acids and those amino acids flood by body and brain properly, I feel better)

I tell people who ask to read anything you can get your hands on from Dr. Abram Hoffer and Linus Pauling. Using amino acids, the right vitamins and minerals (angstrom sized minerals), and eating the proper foods are so helpful1

You can leave a note here on my blog if you want to chat. God bless!

Tamara Slack

Easy Homemade Organic Sauerkraut Recipe

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 15th, 2011 — Posted in Food, Nutrition, Suite101

  Tags: Food, Nutrition, Suite101

Lactobacillus is the lactic acid bacteria which lives in the small intestines of humans. They are ubiquitous in nature so there’s no need to add the bacteria to the cabbage. They will be there, ready to do their job for you. Fermentation, as in fermented cod liver oil, yogurt, and kefir offer such good microorganisms for your digestion.

Book  Recommendation for More Fermented Foods: Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon

If you make this sauerkraut, will you comment below about how it turned out for you? It’s amazingly tasty and so good for you!

I initially published this recipe on Suite101 where I do some freelance writing at times. You can check out the rest of my articles for more on health and nutrition. I am also starting to write on biblical studies there.

Tamara Slack

1 Comment

I Want to be a Nutritionist When I Grow Up

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 14th, 2011 — Posted in Food, Nutrition, Update

  Tags: Food, Nutrition, Update

So it’s been a toss up about whether I wanted to get a degree in Biblical Counseling with Trinity (but they are not accredited so I couldn’t get licensed) and become a member of NANC or a Nutritionist from an accredited school online. I’m still much too ill to actually be in a classroom and both Trinity and HCHS offer distance learning.

I wouldn’t mind the Bachelor’s degree from Trinity (they are offering 57% off the first 4 courses right now! Sheesh, bad timing) and the Diploma from HCHS along with a Certificate from Ligonier, but together all three – the BA in Biblical Studies, the Diploma in Nutrition, and the Certificate in Church History would be just under $8,000. (Not bad for the Bachelor’s to be that low ‘eh? I could have tons of credit with them I wouldn’t have to pay for Something to work on down the road anyhow.

My heart’s desire has been with nutrition and I can retain loads of information about that subject far more than biblical counseling. The choice has been made – I want to take courses in Comprehensive Nutrition. I’ve been looking at it for two years now and though everything is against me, I want to do this badly.

I want a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, but we don’t have the money for it. The school is Huntington College of Health Sciences (HCHS). It would be so much better to have the B.H.S. I think there is no one in my family who has a college degree; that would be amazing to have that!

I would only have a Diploma in Comprehensive Nutrition which costs about $4,200 including books. The Bachelor’s – yeah – about $25,000. No, we wouldn’t qualify for loans, otherwise I’d do it. But I think all my Diploma credits would transfer to the degree if I later was able to complete that program. Jumping up and down for having to learn Algebra all over again. Not.

I could become “Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition” through the National Association of Nutrition Professionals Credentialing Board if I sit for the exam after I receive the diploma, but Ohio doesn’t acknowledge Nutritionists (in other words I can never get licensed to practice nutrition in the state of Ohio).

There are only four states that allow for practicing nutrition in all the U.S. Sad, huh? To be licensed, I would have to become a Dietitian. I don’t want to be a Dietitian – completely different work and understanding of food; actually opposite.

There is a lawyer, Diane Miller, who is working to help Nutritionists become recognized in Ohio. So, praise God for that! The bills that keep coming forward to say that Nutritionists are practicing medicine would make the health store owner who is asked, “I’ve had headaches recently, what natural product do you have that I can take” – would be illegal if the owner actually answered the question and offered any of his / her products.

Yes, it is that bad! They tried to put a farmer in jail for selling colostrum (straight from his cow, I’m sure) to someone who wasn’t feeling well. It lasted (I think) three years and millions of dollars. There were two hung juries and the farmer didn’t have to go to jail, but still! That’s horrible.

I wouldn’t mind your prayers about this! And pray that our government will allow Nutritionists to practice in Ohio (and all 50 states, not just 4). We still have $3,000 more to come up with for the diploma. But God owns cattle on a thousand hills – He is surely able to put $3,000 into my hands if He so wills. Or even the $25,000 for the B.H.S. degree!

Next step – contacting Napa Valley College for my transcripts because, ummmm, I can’t find my GED!!! I really hope I won’t have to take the GED all over again.

Tamara Slack

Abdul the Muslim at the Courthouse – Old AiC Entry

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 13th, 2011 — Posted in Cults, Evangelism, Islam, Jesus Christ

  Tags: Cults, Evangelism, Islam, Jesus Christ

When Adventures in Christianity (AiC) shut down, oh, 4 years ago maybe, I lost a lot of what I wrote about our street missionary work done with our little evangelism group. But recently I found three such writings I saved on the computer, so I thought I would revisit what we had done. Here is what I had posted on AiC years ago:

Another great day at the Columbus, Ohio Courthouse. Will write up an adventure on that later, but had to tell you about Abdul at the courthouse.

I was witnessing to Kevin at the time while Fred was witnessing to Abdul (I didn’t know his name at the time though). I asked Kevin (a false convert), “so, if Jesus is telling the truth when He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, then Kevin, where does a Muslim go when he dies?”

That’s when the guy Fred was witnessing to turned around and jumped in my conversation (I didn’t know he was a Muslim or anything). He tried to interrupt to ask me a question, but I told him I was busy talking right now and that I would get to him in a minute. He agreed and turned back to Fred.

When I was done with Kevin (who got a load of stuff re: false conversion and all), I went to the Muslim and told him I was ready to talk. He was very excited. Here’s about how the conversation went:

Abdul: “I’m a Muslim.”

Tamara: “I’m a Christian.” And I stuck my hand out and introduced myself. He then introduced himself. He shook my hand.

Abdul: “I believe in Jesus, but in the Quran, it says that He didn’t die on a cross, but I believe He is coming back soon. Do you know about the Quran?”

Tamara: “Yes, I’ve read some of the Quran, but Jesus did die on a cross. I agree – I think He is coming back soon too. The Bible says that God is coming back to judge the world in righteousness, so I agree.”

Abdul: “I have to know what is right. We sit around the mosque and ask each other, “If Jesus is God, then who is in heaven?””

Tamara: “Okay, okay, I understand. Have you talked to Fred about the Good Person Test?”

Abdul: “No! Tell me, what is that???”

Tamara: “Well, you know the Law of Moses, right?”

Abdul: “Yes, yes, the Ten Commandments. Yes.” Abdul is looking kind of frantic at this point and is ready for truth (awesome!)

Tamara: “Abdul, God says not to lie. Have you ever lied?”

Abdul: “Oh yes, millions of times, millions!”

Tamara: “What would that make you Abdul?”

Abdul: “A liar!” And acting like he is ready for the next question to get this all straightened out… by the way, did I tell you that it wasn’t us that went to him… he walked up to Fred and wanted a Million Dollar Bill gospel tract and to talk!

Tamara: “That’s right and the Quran says that no liar goes to Paradise and the Bible agrees with that and says that “all liars will have their part in the lake of fire.””

THEN WE WENT THROUGH THE 8^thAND 7^th COMMANDMENTS, THEN…

Tamara: “Okay, so Abdul, you are a liar, a thief, and an adulterer at heart. You believe God is all merciful, right?”

Abdul: “Yes.”

Tamara: “Well wouldn’t that be kind of a mean god to tell you all the things you have done wrong and then you live your whole life scared to death of him and you don’t get to know if you go to heaven?

Abdul: “Yes.” (uhhhh, wow on that one!)

Tamara: “Your Quran doesn’t tell you about salvation.”

Abdul: “I know, I know.”

I GAVE HIM PART OF THE GOSPEL, HE INTERRUPTED:

Abdul: “Okay, so I don’t understand. I want to understand. It’s hard for me. I’m 48 years old and I don’t want to lose my soul. I don’t want to go to hell. Why so many religions? I have always wanted to know why God would allow so many religions.”

Tamara: “God didn’t do that. Man did that. You know how messed up we are Abdul? You know how we lie and steal? That’s man’s way of doing things. It’s sin. God gave us ONE religion, man made up his own religions.”

Abdul: “I still don’t understand.”

Tamara: “It’s okay. Jesus said He is the only way to Heaven. People will say stupid things like, “that building over there will get me to heaven.””

Abdul: “Yes, I know.” I was trying to show him that man thinks stupid things and makes up their own ways.

Abdul: “Someone told me once about an egg: the outer shell like the Father, the yellow like Jesus, and the jelly stuff like the Holy Spirit. But ONE EGG.”

Tamara: “Yeah, sort of like that. Let’s try water.” We did water, vapor, and ice. He totally understood… I said, “all one substance, but different jobs, you know? Do you have a Bible?”

Abdul: “Yes, a King James Version and a New International Version. I read those.”

Tamara: “Okay, stick with those and don’t try messing around with any other Bibles right now. Just go read those.” Fred had given him a “Why Christianity” booklet from Way of the Master already plus a “Which Religion is Right” and some other things. I pulled out a church flyer thing which has my email address and my pastor’s phone number.

Abdul: “I want to come to your church.”

Tamara: About to praise God openly in front of everyone, but refrained from doing so… “Okay, that’s fine. You can call my pastor and you can email me too.”

Abdul: “I am going to call your pastor! I can’t lose my soul. I saw you giving some CDs to people. I want one.”

GAVE HIM KIRK CAMERON’S “ARISE WITH THE GUYS” CD

Then we parted ways. Now that I look back, I see some mistakes. I should have prayed with him and should have asked him for his phone and/or email address. But I see that this was ALL God!

Fred told me afterward that he and Abdul talked about the deity of Christ and Fred brought up Thomas saying, “My Lord and my God” found in John 20.28. Fred said that Abdul started shaking, realizing , but don’t know if that’s because he’s scared that it may be true and he’s been following a false religion or what. PLEASE pray for Abdul!!!

NOTE: This was a write up I had done in maybe 2007. I have not heard from Abdul, but God knows if he has repented and believed the gospel. It’s not that Abdul was a Muslim that was sending him to Hell, it was that he was born in sin (rebellion against his Creator, like all of us) and we need Jesus Christ’s mercy. If you wonder if you are going to Heaven if you died today, read this from Justin Peters: “Life After Death” and you will know by the end of the article whether you are headed to Christ or to Hell.

Tamara Slack

2 Comments

What the Gospel is Not

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on November 3rd, 2011 — Posted in Jesus Christ, Video

  Tags: Jesus Christ, Video

NOTE: If you are a woman reading this and have ever done something you think might have been “immoral” or had something done to you that you didn’t want done to you (keeping this as kid-friendly as possible), please do continue to read and then watch the video about the Rose. I care about you and hope you get much from it.

Why is it that it seems Christians judge so much? Could it be because of what this guy in the Rose video says he heard from a pastor years ago? The final part of the clip at the bottom is THE POINT of Christianity. Don’t miss it, please.

Maybe this is why when I talk to people who want nothing to do with their Creator and Lord of glory who died on the cross, they think I’m talking about: “clean yourself up first.” That’s a false gospel. How do you think you can clean yourself up for your Creator? What could you possibly do to look good in a perfectly holy God’s eyes? Really, answer the question in your head. What could you do if you stood before Him if your heart gave out right now? What would you say?

“Oh, I gave money to the poor!” And He would say, “So?”

“I stopped this or that sin recenlty!” And He would say, “that’s nice, but that’s not what is required to go to Heaven.”

“I went to church last week!” And He would say, “And the demons go to church too. Anyone can attend church, but a building doesn’t get you to Heaven.”

“I stopped yelling at my kid!” And He would say, “That is good! But when a rapist stops raping a woman and tell the judge so, is he less guilty after he stopped? No.”

Come on, answer it. What will you say when He asks you why He should let you into Heaven? Your answer goes here: ___________________ .

• God is holy and just (in other words, He is without sin and keeps His word).
• God created all things.
• You are one of the things He created.
• God has moral laws (i.e. you shall not steal, you shall not lie, you shall not look with lust, etc.).
• You broke those laws and that’s called sin.
• God hates sin and will not tolerate it (and you thought I was being intolerant as a Christian? God detests sin and will refuse anyone who has sinned without forgiveness. Hey, not my message!).
• Because God is holy and just, it would be against His character to allow you to be with Him in Heaven. (for instance, if you stole something last week from a store and this week you went before a judge, that judge would be unjust and corrupt if he just let you go for no reason. Imagine if someone came in and raped your mom tonight. Would you want a judge to just let the guy go? NO! You want justice. God is thorough in His justice).
• Nothing unclean and tainted with sin can be in His presence because He is holy. That means you and I can’t go to Heaven as we are.
• Because God is also love, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ who fulfilled the Law completely to suffer what you should suffer, that is, the full wrath of God on the cross.
• You did the crime, Jesus paid the fine (and to think how many times we have taken Jesus’ name in vain and not given Him the honor due Him!).
• Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death (in other words, the resurrection… why Easter is celebrated).
• Jesus requires you to repent (turn to Him with a change of mind about your ways) and trust in His good works, not yours. Period.

That is how a person gets to Heaven, by Christ’s good works, not yours. You need to ask His forgiveness. He extends grace to the humble and contrite. Is that you?

The gospel is not:

• Come to Jesus and He will give you a nice life, nor
• Repent of your sin and live a sinless life, nor
• Clean up your life first and then come to Him, nor
• Do everything you can to be like Jesus, nor
• Come to Christ and then you can sin however you like.

The BAD NEWS is that sinners should be punished (that’s called Hell in God’s court… hey, I didn’t make up the idea of Hell; I don’t even LIKE the idea of it. I’m just telling you what the Bible says), but the GOOD NEWS is no matter how much of a broken, beat up sinner you are, no matter how much bad or wrong you have done in comparison to the people you know, or how many times you disobeyed God’s commands, He will give eternal life to those who turn from their sin (repent) to Jesus Christ and believe the gospel. Now, with that said, please watch this four minute clip:

Jesus Wants the Rose

God bless, Tamara Slack

1 Comment

So I Finally Got a Twitter Account

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on August 1st, 2011 — Posted in Freelance Writing

  Tags: Freelance Writing

Well, I’m learning! Look over to the right —->

See that black box? That’s the twitter box – pretty ain’t it? I thought so.

I had an account about a year ago, but never did anything with it. Now I’m plagued with questions – how do people find me? How do people get all those followers? And isn’t knowing you have “followers” kinda creepy sounding?

Since I started doing my freelance writing again on Suite101 (see HERE). I’ve missed it a great deal. Main obsessions in life: reading and writing. So, I grabbed about 1,000 photos from clipart.com and started doing some research. I am still very limited because I am so sick, but I’m taking it in little chunks (okay, that’s a lie – I lay in bed and overwork mysef *sigh*).

I thought I had better work on cleaning up my act – I updated my profile (see HERE) and began the tweets – but to whom? I do not know, but I signed up with some people, so amongst the million plus followers of Brian Williams, maybe, just maybe he will find me! Hey, I can hope!

Since I’ve got Twitter now, and if you’ve got Twitter, maybe we can Tweet sometime. Is that the right tweet talk? Oh, the new technology and stuff I don’t get…

(sorry for the SEE HERE links; the text on this blog won’t turn blue to show that the text is linked and I know just enough html to get me in trouble, so I’m doing it the easy way – sorry for the ugliness of the interruption of text!)

Tamara Slack

FDA Says Mercury Excreted from Infants Okay

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on July 21st, 2011 — Posted in Mercury Poisoning, Thimerosal

  Tags: Mercury, Thimerosal

Well, you know that piqued my interest, so I read through half of it and came across this question about why mercury is of concern (pay attention to what I highlighted in red); from the FDA:

Why is exposure to mercury a concern?

Mercury is an element that is dispersed widely around the earth. Most of the mercury in the water, soil, plants and animals is found as inorganic mercury salts. Mercury accumulates in the aquatic food chain, primarily in the form of the methylmercury, an organomercurial. Methylmercury is more easily absorbed and is less readily eliminated from the body than inorganic mercury. Exposure to one chemical with mercury, i.e., methylmercury, has been shown to pose a variety of health risks to humans. Extremely high levels, such as that observed in poisoning episodes in Japan and Iraq has caused neurological damage and death. The fetus is considered more sensitive to health effects of methylmercury than adults. In recent years some studies have found adverse health effects of methylmercury at levels previously thought to be safe. Other studies, however, have shown conflicting results.

It is important to note that the preservative thimerosal contains ethylmercury, a related though distinct chemical from methylmercury. Moreover, recent studies in animal models exposed to thimerosal containing vaccines or oral methylmercury suggest that methylmercury may not be a suitable reference to assess the risk from exposure to thimerosal (Burbacher et al, 2005). In addition, data from studies in human infants that were given routine immunizations with thimerosal-containing vaccines showed that mercury levels in blood and urine were uniformly below safety guidelines for methyl mercury and that unlike methylmercury excretory profiles, infants excreted significant amounts of mercury in stool after thimerosal (ethylmercury) exposure, thus removing mercury from their bodies (Pichichero ME, et al, 2002).

What? Infants excreting significant amounts of mercury in stool – is this alone not a problem? Mercury is so highly toxic, we shouldn’t even be putting it into our infants in vaccines in the first place (much less our annual flu shot- I really hope none of you get flu shots).

     Secondly, just because the FDA has noted that the mercury came out of their stools does not mean:

1. None of it lodged into soft tissue like their brains and was not discarded through elimination of stools,

2. That thimerosal is safe. They clearly state that significant amounts were excreted. The mercury has to travel through the blood stream (and mercury does cross the blood-brain barrier), and through the liver, etc.

Again (and again, and again), I ask, “how much mercury in the human body is considered “safe”"? NONE. It’s not an essential mineral. It’s not something the body needs, and it is so highly toxic, it kills people. Why, oh, why does our government continue to use mercury in vaccines and call it safe?

I hope people know that it is legal to say “no” to a doctor’s advice to get babies vaccinated. I am not giving medical advice. I just want people to know they have options. I would suggest parents talk these things over with their doctor and make informed decisions for their little ones. I hear different things about thimerosal not being used anymore for infants, which, of course, raises the question, “why did they stop using it if it’s so safe”?Hmmm.

I thank my God that he has shown me not to hope in governments or any earthly institution. I do want to see mercury removed from all vaccines and in mercury amalgams at the dentist’s office. I do want them to take responsibility for what they have done, but I don’t put my hope in it, nor do I expect it; this world is corrupt due to sin and I look forward to a world, a Heaven, God creates where righteousness, love, and peace reign, where greed, sickness, death, and sin will be no more. Amen!

You can read the lengthy FDA article on thimerosal and how they consider if safe HERE if you like.

Tamara Slack

Random Tidbits 7/21/11

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on July 21st, 2011 — Posted in Nutrition, Random Tidbits, Video

  Tags: Nutrition, Random Tidbits, Video

I’ve been researching raw milk and will have an article published on the beneifits of it at Suite101. I did some freelance work there last year and want to continue doing it. You can find my articles HERE. Doing all the research has brought me to understand how to make our own butter. Here’s some random things I’ve come across lately, including how to make your own butter!

Saturated Fats & Heart Disease – It’s not what you think.

How to Make Butter – When making butter, we should always use raw cream for the healthy bacteria and enzymes. We are going to get into a share program next week.

Ultimate Dog Tease – My mother sent this to me. It’s a talking dog! Well, you be the judge – is he really talking?

Top 20 Most Toxic States - What a list. Insane that we have to breathe in all these toxis. We wonder why we are so sick. Hello?

Jazz & Rib Fest – Held in Columbus, Ohio July 22-24. Good place to go for ribs and to share the gospel. A few years ago, we went, and though it was crowded (and loud!), we had good conversations with people.

Is Mormonism Christian?

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on July 20th, 2011 — Posted in Cults, Jesus Christ, Video

  Tags: Cults, Jesus Christ, Video

I am compiling old posts from former blogs. This one I wrote in November, 2008 (with some additional text). Here goes:

Is Mormonism Christian?

From Joseph Smith, the founder and false teacher of the Latter-Day Saint movement:

“God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil–all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . ” (History of the Church, Vol. 6, p. 408-409).

Are you serious, Joseph? You boast of things you say that Jesus couldn’t do. You make yourself better than your Creator (didn’t Satan, that old serpent do this too?), whereas the Apostle Paul humbled himself, Joseph Smith lifts himself higher than God himself.

From Brigham Young, one of the LDS church leaders:

“There is not a man or woman, who violates the covenants made with their God, that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it . . . ” (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 3, page 247; see also, Vol. 4, pp. 53-54, 219-220.)

 

This is clearly blasphemy. The Word of God says that the subsitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ made is sufficient, the only act God will accept to make sinful men and women right with Him. From the New Testament:

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5.21

The Old Testament spoke of Jesus taking on the sin of man long before it happend (and long before the Mormon organization came about). This is what the prophet, Isaiah, said about Jesus Christ hundreds of years before Jesus was even born:

“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities.  The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him and by His scourging we are healed.” – Isaiah 53.4,5

But for some people, Christ’s goodness and His work is just not good enough. They have to add to it by saying they “believe in God” or are church-goers. They say they have been baptized or that their parents were religious, so that makes them good with the Lord and somehow ready to stand before God when they die.

This is the way of not only most people, but especially those caught up in cults. Mormons, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, add to the Bible which says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” - Ehpesians 2.8,9. Jesus doesn’t care if you say you are a Christian because you are “pretty good” or any other reason.

The way to be right with God is to humble yourself before God, trusting in Jesus Christ who fulfilled the Law which you and I can never do. We will always be sinners. The question is, will you be a sinner saved by God’s grace and enter Heaven? Mormons clearly will not - they have a different doctrine which inlcudes works (good deeds) because the sacrifice of Jesus wasn’t good enough. That’s very sad.

Watch this slide show below for answers about whether Mormons are indeed Christians or if they are another religion altogether:

LINK (you have to keep hitting the forward button at the link in order to go to the next slide):

 Tamara Slack

1 Comment

Update: Round 4 of Mercury Detox

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on July 18th, 2011 — Posted in Mercury Poisoning, Update

  Tags: Mercury, Update

I posted earlier this month about my starting the DMSA and Alpha Lipoic Acid protoco again (post found HERE.) l I learned this protocol from Andy Cutler and believe it to be the way to go for me.

How I Feel

The day of detox, well, half way through that day, I feel really good. Theory is that minerals are moving around and so I feel the effects of good mineralization. Another part is that since ALA is high in thiols, I am getting a good feeling from that.

The feeling good from the thiols in the ALA is superficial though because once I’m off the high thiols, I come crashing down. The crash starts the late afternoon of the next day after detox and throughout the next day and evening too.

What I feel from the crash (well, I call it a crash – it’s just the non-detox days) is a depression with crying, bone-crushing type pain, some insomnia, my brain feels squishy, muscle weakness, my mind can’t think clearly (remembering words is difficult), nausea, etc. So to sum it up, because people are emailing asking how I feel:

• Day 1 (detox day): feel pretty good
• Day 2 (1st day after detox): latter half of the day deep depression, pain, heart palpitations, etc.
• Day 3 (2nd day after detox): all day and evening I feel super sick.
• Day 4 (3rd day after detox and is also day before next detox): I feel “okay” like I can get up and make some food for myself, the depression and pain is gone.

Hard on My Adrenal Glands

I am giving myself three days in between detoxing to “heal” as the detoxing is not just hard on my brain and kidneys and all, but also on my adrenals. I get adrenaline rushes, light headed, panic attacks, everything that goes along with adrenal fatigue.

Tomorrow, July 18, I’ll do my 4th round. Here’s the drill: as soon as I wake up, I take 1 DMSA on an empty stomach. Four hours later, I take 1 DMSA and 1 Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) on an empty stomach. Three and a half hours later, same, and three and a half hours later, same, then bed.

Thanks for everyone’s support.

Tamara Slack

1 Comment

For the Bruised Reed

Posted by Tamara Thompson Slack on July 16th, 2011 — Posted in Jesus Christ

  Tags: Jesus Christ

I am compiling old posts from former blogs. This one I wrote in late 2008, I believe. Here goes:

I have written much on the holiness of God, the wretchedness of man, the reality of Hell, and the dangers of sin. Today though, I believe I need to write on the grace of God and help for the bruised reed. I am one an in need of much grace.

The Lord has reminded me through his word that he has much to say about his grace, the love of Jesus Christ, and the promises we need to stand on daily. Here’s a few words from the Lord:

“a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” – Matthew 12.20,21

COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 12:20,21 ABOUT THE BRUISED REED:

He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick affirms that the Messiah will be gentle and kind to those who are helpless and weak. If it is not possible to retain either of the metaphors, He will not break a bruised reed may be translated as “he will be gentle to those who are weak.”

A bruised reed is a metaphor that makes use of a weak and frail object, and the meaning is that the Messiah will not deal harshly with those who are weak. Most scholars interpret the metaphor in this way, and it accords with the figure of speech which follows.

Or quench a smoldering wick is a second metaphor. If it is not possible to retain the metaphor, it may be rendered as “and kind to those who are helpless.”

Here the smoldering wick is acknowledged by all to reflect the symbolism of a flickering lamp; in fact, the flame is out and the glowing wick merely gives off smoke. The Messiah is so gentle and kind that he will not even put out a helpless, flickering lamp. Therefore in cultures where these aspects of the language may be misunderstood or noneffective, the figures may be removed and the parallelism done away with, since the two figures of speech each convey essentially the same meaning.

There are essentially three main ways translators can deal with he will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick. The first is to retain the form, that is, to more or less translate literally. Break may be “break off,” bruised may be “bent,” and quench may be “put out” or “extinguish.” But otherwise the meaning of the metaphors is not given.

A second way is to retain both the form and meaning by using a simile. Examples include “He would no sooner break a bent reed or put out a flickering candle than he would harm people who are weak” and “Just as he wouldn’t break a bent reed or snuff a flickering wick, he would not deal harshly with those who are frail and weak.”

Isn’t that a wonderful promise?! He will not deal harshly with those who are frail and weak. Are you frail and weak? I am! So this means a lot to me. He goes on:

The third manner is to drop the figurative language altogether, just as Today’s English Version has done. Examples are “He will not treat harshly those who are weak, nor do any harm to those who are not strong” and “He will always treat in a gentle way the weak and frail so as not to harm them.”

Till he brings forth justice to victory differs considerably from the Hebrew text of Isaiah, which Revised Standard Version translates as “he will faithfully bring forth justice.” Jerusalem Bible has for the Matthew passage “till he has led the truth to victory,” but it is difficult to see how the translators arrive at this. Mft is consistent with what he did in verse 18: “till he carries religion to victory.” Taking this rendering of Mft as a model for brings justice to victory, translators can say “until he causes justice to triumph” or “until he causes my salvation to be victorious.” However, this does not make clear enough what it means for justice to have victory. Therefore some have said “until he causes people to accept my justice” or “to acknowledge the salvation I offer.”

Till gives the meaning that the servant will persist in being gentle with people until justice is victorious. In may be enough to say “until,” but some have said “That’s how he will be until ….”

- Newman, Barclay Moon ; Stine, Philip C.: A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. New York : United Bible Societies, 1992 (UBS Helps for Translators; UBS Handbook Series), S. 367

 Tamara Slack

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