Sunday, February 28, 2016

FASTING & PRAYING: IS IT STILL FOR TODAY?

By Dr Margaret Aranda

For the past few Friday nights, perhaps for a month now, our ministry, the First "ON FIRE" Ministry for the Disabled, has been led to pray fervently for the children of the world:

1. CHILDREN:
*  Orphans in our sister missionary church, Hope & Joministries in Kampala, Uganda; 
*  Children stuck in awful divorce proceedings, often used as pawns and alienated against one parent;
*  Children used in sex trafficking;
*  Children that are physically or emotionally abused by their own parent(s);
*  Children who are victims of incest or rape at home, at an uncle's house, or at a girlfriend's who has a big brother;
*  Girls who are forced to undergo female genital mutilation;
*  Girls who are victims of "honor killings;"
*  Girls who are sexually molested by teachers;
*  Runaways;
*  Drug addicts;
*  And special children with disabilities or special needs.
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Image 1. Praying Orphans at Hope & Joy ministries. 
Desperately needed: Click: Sponsor a child for only $38/mo.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2. WIDOWS
3. THE POOR
4. THE SICK
5. ANYONE IN NEED OF PRAYER



ONLINE MEETING TIMES: Fridays, 5:00 - 6:00 pm (PST)
MEETING PLACE: Google+

Praise, Worship, Sermon, Prayer, Listening to the Holy Spirit, a time to receive Christ as your Personal Savior, a time to receive the Gift of Tongues; to take HOLY Communion; more Praise, more Worship, Donation time for our orphans in Kampala ($38/mo to Sponsor a Child), and more....wherever the Holy Spirit leads us. We just get lost in the Holy Spirit, and don't follow any "Rules" of habit. But we always seem to get things done. Praise the Lord! 


***** PRAISE REPORTS *****

1. WEEK #3: Orphanage in Uganda surrounded by militia,   gunshots fired, and orphans and Pastor huddled in a room. We prayed for the militia to "GET OUT!" The next morning, upon awakening, they were gone! POOF! Now, this is a country that is besieged by massacres of innocent civilians & we Praise God for this miracle! All Glory to God! Thanks be to Our Lord!

2. WEEK #4: The night of our Fasting and Prayer, a baby was kidnapped in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The next morning, the baby was found alive! Thank you, Jesus! 


*** So Now, We Expect a Miracle at Every Service!  ***
Join us! Sponsor an Orphan! Fast & Pray!
For the first 100 people that Sponsor an Orphan, 
I will personally autograph and mail you my book,

No More Tears: A Physician Turned Patient 
Inspires Recovery
Image 2. No More Tears. I wrote this after a car accident
that has now left me mostly bed-bound for the last 10 years. 



Image 3. Patient Advocate. This is how I have come to known thousands of chronically ill, and became a Patient Advocate, Recipient of the 2011 Perseverance Award from Invisible Disabilities Association, and the 2015 "Doctors Making Change" by Dr. Pugliese.


   I have not forgotten. Is Fasting & Praying still for today? In my opinion, it is. Absolutely. I believe that when we choose to use this method of getting closer to God, He agrees (and instructs) that we are to hide it from the public and gain our reward from Him, in Heaven. We are not to appear 'sad-faced,' like the Pharisees of the New Testament. 

   Did your mother ever tell you that after you eat, you need to wait an hour before you go swimming? That is because your digestive tract is so huge that the majority of your blood supply will go to your intestines. If you swim, that takes the blood flow away from your intestines and re-routes it to your thighs, and all the muscles that it takes to keep you afloat. 

In the same way, when we fast, we basically tell our stomach pangs of hunger to "Be Quiet!" and 'put our human bodies down.' Instead, our minds can focus on 'higher' things of God, of why we are here, of His plan for our live, of interceding for the orphans and widows, and of listening to God as we meditate upon His Word or meditate in silence so that the Holy Spirit can talk to us. 

Join us one Friday night. Experience the Holy Spirit thickening up your room air, sending goosebumps down your arms. Put down the lust of the flesh, and look up towards pleasing God and seeking His face. You shall be renewed!

And honestly? Millions of orphans go to bed without dinner every night, so it shouldn't be a big deal for most of us to go without one meal, while you sitting with a roof over your head, a refrigerator with food in it, and running water. 75% of the world's children do not even have that. 

Medical Disclaimer: Check with your doctor before making any changes to your diet or medication routine. Not meant to cure, change symptoms, add pain, discomfort, distraction, or adverse sequelae to your participation. You may eat whenever you want. Many of us 'break' the Fast at Midnight, so the Fast is for 8 hrs total. You can start out with a 30 minute Fast, and gradually work your way up. If you need an individualized plan, please ask your doctor for it.

Go with God. May He bless the work of your hands, in all that you do. Amen.

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Dr Aranda's Short Stories


Age 31: The Color Blue

Monday, February 8, 2016

ANTHOLOGY ACCEPTANCE: MONKEY STAR PRESS ARTICLE by DR. ARANDA

by Dr. Margaret Aranda



I remember that it was December of 2015, because I can still see the piece of paper with the date on it. My photographic memory still does work at times, she smiled. Even after two traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Hey, people could steal from me, they could do things behind my back, they could lie to me and about me, but there is one thing that they can not do: they can not take "me" out of myself. I am a child of God, and His Shield protects me, as well as His angels, even His legions of angels, if necessary.

Oh, another day in bed with exercises rolling around in my head, leading me away from all the dread....and then I checked my email. Well what do you know? An email from Monkey Star Press? Wow, that sounds familiar, although I can't really place it. So I open it with just a tinge of curiosity...and find that a short story I wrote about Moms at the Holidays was actually accepted

Slowly and deliberately, so as not to mix up the 5 pages of signed contract, I scan and email each page back to the publisher, fully intact. I can't be interrupted or else I'll lose count. I can't be side-tracked, or I'll 'derail.' I have to focus on such a simple task, to complete it, and to complete it right the first time, so I don't have to go back and remember where and how I did it, re-acclimating myself to the whole project all over again. No, just Shhh! Let me do this!  Ah! Ah~ Wait! I''m almost done and I don't want to get mixed up! Uhmm. .. Uhmm.... OK! It is done. Now we can talk. 

What was my story about? The setting that was given to all the writers was the Holidays. The person of interest was the Mom. That's it. So, I took myself back to a place and time when I went through six extra years of post-doctoral training to become both an anesthesiologist and a critical care intensivist.

And since I never really had a family waiting for me at home, I made one up. But everything else in the middle, everything else I spoke of in the entire body of the story....it was all true. I reminisced like a child who knows the smell of chocolate chip cookies in the oven, or like a dog who hears the food being poured out and already begins to salivate from across the room. Pavlovian, yes. Automatic. It pervaded my being. My goal was to trick myself into thinking that I could have had it all. 


Image 1. Thinking I Could Have it All.
 I still yearn for the same dream. It never left.


So I painted the best picture of the most memorable times, and I filled in the blanks, the missing parts, with my imagination of what I would have liked to come home to. The effervescence of a house that was 'just messy enough,' 'just filled with the right amount of laughter,' and in the background was the dog chasing the cat, and someone with a lost shoe, and romantic, symphonic hard rock speaking in whisps of whispers...and my husband who I adored like no other. 

He would take me in his arms and without so much as one single word, he would make the rest of the work-day disappear, just like a magician pulling a bunny out of a hat. He seemed to live to make me smile and laugh, to be distracted away from the regular and mundane things of this world, and onward to the higher spiritual calling that we both shared. And together, we would get lost in this world, and our children would see us laughing and playing, fully clothed, on our bed. And they would think to themselves, "They're at it again. Let's leave them alone for a time." And they would giggle!

And as the children walked away, they had no idea that we were imprinting their future families inside their own brains, their future spouses and their future children, and yes.....even their future pets. 

And I would smile and beam and laugh with glee, for there was surely nothing better than being a mother and a wife, for the entirety of my life.



I was grateful for this day, for today, I had everything. 
   
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Dr Aranda's Short Stories

Age 31: The Color Blue

WITHDRAWAL OF OPIOIDS AND PAIN MANAGEMENT WITHOUT OPIOIDS By Dr Forest Tennant   We are pleased to share information from Dr. Forest Ten...