I don't think it was ever a conscious decision I made, to always go into God's presence through praise and worship... and only then start praying and lifting up my needs to Him. But now, looking back, I know He taught me this lesson somewhere along the way. I was by far not conscious about the importance and the meaning of it, but I am seeing it now.

Praise and worship does something that no prayer can ever do. We can go and pray to God, without giving Him the glory He is worthy of and because of His immense love for us, He does grant us our requests... but HOW much more He desires to bless us when we start telling Him how much we love Him and that He means everything to us. I mean, don't we love it when our kids and spouses and loved ones tell us how wonderful we are and how they appreciate everything we do for them. Whohoo! This just lifts us on a completely new level in our desire to please them and do them good. It is the same with our Heavenly Father.

He does love and treasure each and every one of us. He has printed our names on the palms of His hands. We are the apples of His eye. We are His treasures... but wow, what a blessing it is to Him when we go to Him and say, Daddy, Daddy, I love You, I adore You, I treasure You! This touches His heart like nothing else does. This blesses Him and the desire to bless us "superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] to ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]" (Eph.3:20b) fills His heart.

We only know to ask so little. He is able to give us so much more. His power to bestow us with all those immense, superabundant blessings is released through our praise and worship. There is a wonderful testimony in Luke 17:12-19,

"And as He was going into one village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance. And they raised up their voices and called, Jesus, Master, take pity and have mercy on us! And when He saw them, He said to them, Go [at once] and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cured and made clean."

The lepers asked for healing and Jesus told them what was their part in order to receive the healing they desired. The lepers obeyed and they were all cured and made clean. How awesome! They were happy... even though the verse doesn't tell us that, I am sure they were happy. Verse 15 continues,

"Then one of them, upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice; and he fell prostrate at Jesus' feet, thanking Him [over and over]. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, Were not [all] ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was there no one found to return and to recognize and give thanks and praise to God except this alien? And He said to him, Get up and go on your way. Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God) has restored you to health."

All 10 lepers got healed. They received what they had asked for in faith. But Jesus was ready to do SO much more for them! Leprosy is a disease that eats up the leper's body parts... so, most likely all 10 of them had something missing. Some of them had just one ear and some of them had a finger missing of even a nose eaten up. It was so uncomfortable for them to live in the disease that they were happy to only get healed. Their faith was not even thinking higher. They were not even dreaming about having their missing body parts completely restored. So, they got what they had asked for and left... going back in a hurry to their families and loved ones with the good news. They could once again return to their (almost) normal lives.

But the Samaritan could not leave without going back to Jesus and giving Him thanks and praising Him. He wanted everyone to know what God had done to Him. So, he went prostrating himself at Jesus' feet and not being able to stop praising and thanking Him. This so touched Jesus' heart. He was so happy that He could at least bless one of them by restoring him to complete health... giving him back all his missing body parts, removing all scars, renewing his skin.

Jesus said to him, "Your faith - your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God - has restored you to health." Jesus heard him praising Him and giving Him thanks and He acknowledged it as faith, giving him superabundantly, far over and above all that he even dared to ask or think, He gave him infinitely beyond his highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, and dreams. The Samaritan leper was truly able to go back to a normal life. No one even could tell that he had ever had leprosy. This is how Jesus desired to restore each and every one of them... but they were not ready to receive.

Through praise and worship we enter a completely new level of faith. It is a place where Jesus' own faith is added to our faith and we are able to receive so much more. Mark 11:22 in an original text, exhorts us to constantly have the God kind of faith. We can have it when our faith is added to God's own faith. This faith truly moves the mountains.

"Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men!" (Psalm 31:19)

"Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine." (Ps. 33:18-19)

"The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [who revere and worship Him with awe] and each of them He delivers. ...there is no want to those who truly revere and worship Him with godly fear." (Ps.34:7,9)

I know we all have read the awesome story in the 2 Chronicles 20 where "the Moabites, the Ammonites, and with them the Meunites came against Jehoshaphat to battle." The Bible tells us that, "Jesosaphat feared, and set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord; he proclaimed a fast in all Judah."

Jehoshaphat was a wise king. Verse 2 says that the armies that came against Judah were a great multitude and sure, this scared the king, but he immediately set himself, as his vital need, to seek the Lord, proclaiming the fast in all Judah. Verse 18 describes it, "And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him. And some Levites of the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice."

This is actually one of the very best things we could ever do in the face of fear or any other negative feeling - stand up to praise the Lord with a very loud voice! This is the one sure thing that dispels all fear and all negativity. Jehoshaphat also spoke against fear. He spoke the words of faith, encouraging his army. Those words not only strengthened others, they also built up the king himself. There is such power in our words... and at times we need to speak TO ourselves.

Verse 20 continues to unfold the victorious story, "And they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established... he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise Him in their holy [priestly] garments as they went out before the army, saying, Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever! And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were [self-] slaughtered."

As the priests started to sing, the whole army heard the words of faith. They all lifted their eyes from their earthly abilities and put their eyes on the Lord their God. As their faith was united to the faith of their Lord and Savior, a miracle happened. Their tiny army did not even have to fight. The multitude was self-slaughtered. Their enemy armies destroyed each other.

They Lord had given them the Word, "You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord [Who is] with you." (v.17) In order to hear the battle plan of the Lord, we need to stand still. We need to take our eyes off of our situations and lift them on the Lord where our help comes from. Through praise and worship we lift our eyes from our feeble abilities to the Almighty God Who is ready and able to fight our battles.

"They looked to Him and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused." (Ps. 34:5)

He is our help, our shield, our protection... whatever we need Him to be for us. Lets put our hope in Him and give Him praise, let us worship Him! Lets put AND keep our eyes on Him.

Many, many blessings to You,

I think it is so great that You, Americans, are celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday! We do not observe this holiday in Europe, though, I am sure quite a few of us would joyfully adopt the festivities. Actually, giving thanks and cultivating a grateful heart is a great boost to our overall health.

Robert A. Emmons, a psychologist at the University of California at Davis and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology, recently published the book “Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier,” where Emmons shares his thoughts about happiness phenomenon.

In his book, Emmons concludes from his extensive eight-year research that people who decide not to be consumed with the daily grind and who focus on what they have been blessed with do, in fact, live more satisfying lives.

Emmons, along with Michael McCollough, a professor at Southern Methodist University, conducted a study involving hundreds of participants who were divided into three experimental groups. The first group kept daily journals of the day’s events. The second group kept journals of their unpleasant experiences during the day, while the third group kept journals of a daily list of things which they were thankful for.

The results of the study proved the third group, the people who practiced intentional gratefulness, showed an overall healthier lifestyle. The people in this group reported to exercising more regularly, feeling decreased physical ailments, feeling increased optimism about upcoming events and making progress toward personal goals.

Gratitude has forever been promoted by a Christian community all over the world, proving that it has tangible effects on a thanksgiver's life. Now it has also been recognized by the science community as a solid fact.

Benefits of Gratitude

Grateful people — those who perceive gratitude as a permanent trait rather than a temporary state of mind — have an edge on the not-so-grateful when it comes to health, according to Emmons’ research on gratitude. “Grateful people take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, regular physical examinations,” Emmons tells WebMD.

Stress Buster
It’s no secret that stress can make us sick, particularly when we can’t cope with it. It’s linked to several leading causes of death, including heart disease and cancer, and claims responsibility for up to 90 percent of all doctor visits. Gratitude, it turns out, can help us better manage stress. “Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress,” Emmons says.

Immune Booster
Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that researchers say boosts the immune system. “There are some very interesting studies linking optimism to better immune function,” says Lisa Aspinwall, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Utah. In one, researchers comparing the immune systems of healthy, first-year law students under stress found that, by midterm, students characterized as optimistic (based on survey responses) maintained higher numbers of blood cells that protect the immune system, compared with their more pessimistic classmates.

Optimism also has a positive health impact on people with compromised health. In separate studies, patients confronting AIDS, as well as those preparing to undergo surgery, had better health outcomes when they maintained attitudes of optimism.

Gratitude in the Face of Loss
Even in the face of tremendous loss or tragedy, it’s possible to feel gratitude. In fact, adversity can boost gratitude, recent findings show. In a Web-based survey tracking the personal strengths of more than 3,000 American respondents, researchers noted an immediate surge in feelings of gratitude after Sept. 11, 2001.

Why would such a tragic event provoke gratitude, and what is its impact? Christopher Peterson, Ph.D., the University of Michigan psychologist who posted the survey, attributes this surge in gratitude among Americans post 9/11 to a sense of increased belonging. These feelings offered more than community building. Gratitude in the aftermath of 9/11 helped buffer people against the negative effects of stress, making them less likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, explains Emmons.

Who Feels Gratitude?
How is it that some people manage to feel grateful in the face of challenging life circumstances, while others sink into despair? “So much of gratitude is about one’s perspective and framework for looking at the world and at self. People who tend to be more mindful of the benefits they’ve received tend to focus their attention outward,” Emmons explains.

You don’t need to have a lot to be mindful of what you’ve got, according to Edward Diener, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, who has studied extensively life satisfaction of people from various cultures. Not surprising, he found that people in India living in poverty report low levels of life satisfaction. However, a high percentage of people in affluent Japan do, too. Diener suggests that, for the Japanese, their culture’s emphasis on materialism is to blame.

Who, then, has a high level of life satisfaction, if not the very poor or the very rich? The middle class do, according to Diener’s findings — particularly those who have risen from poverty. Moreover, he reports that the people of Ireland, a country boasting a “count your blessings” culture, report high levels of life satisfaction. As for a group of multimillionaires from the Forbes 400 list? They weren’t much happier than the average suburbanite.

After coming to the scientific conclusion that grateful people live comparatively better lives, Emmons makes several recommendations on how to achieve and maintain a healthy and beneficial level of gratitude:

• Keep a gratitude journal.

• Remember the bad. Contrasting the good with the bad will encourage gratitude.

• Ask yourself three questions. Choose a person that you know and ask yourself what you received from them, what you have given them and what trouble you have caused them.

• Pray.

• Use your senses.

• Use visual reminders of your attitude of gratitude, like a sign on your mirror.

• Make a vow to practice gratitude.

• Think grateful thoughts.

• Acting grateful will result in being grateful.

• Be creative, like try being grateful to your enemies.

I keep coming back to this verse of Scripture... for a reason. It seems like there is great pressure on the people of God all over the world at the moment. There is pressure on ministries and on individuals. I believe God is moving and doing a new thing and so the enemy is alert and fighting with all its might, trying to abort the work of God.

We too have to be alert and fighting - with the weapons of God. When we start praising and thanking God and worshipping Him, we are not just honoring God, we are releasing His power to move on our behalf. Also, when we start lifting our eyes from our problems and worries, by putting them on God through praise and worship and thanksgiving, we begin to hear from heaven. We will be given strategies for our present situations. Psalm 16:8-9 says,

"I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my inner self] rejoices; my body too shall rest and confidently dwell in safety."

God moves in the spirit realm. For us, the physical realm of see, feel, hear, smell, touch is still much more real and we react to the physical irritants. But our opponents are spiritual powers and we fight them with spiritual weapons (Ephesians 6:12-13). In order to win victories in the natural realm, we need to first win those victories in the spiritual realm. Just like David did when he conquered the much feared giant whom no one else dared to fight. He declared the victory in the name of His God and through the power of His God thus breaking the power of the devil, and releasing the victory to manifest in the physical realm. David declared,

"You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I COME TO YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF THE RANKS OF ISRAEL, Whom you have defied. THIS DAY THE LORD WILL DELIVER YOU INTO MY HAND, and I will smite you and cut off your head. And I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that THE LORD SAVES NOT WITH SWORD AND SPEAR; FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU INTO OUR HANDS." (1 Sam.17:45-47)

David declared what God had already promised in His Word. Bible tells us that David was a man according to God's own heart. He was a man who went through a very thorough preparation process until he was finally ready to step on a podium as a king. David went through extreme hardships and pains. So often, in the Psalms, David is crying out to God in despair. But it is interesting to note that even though the Psalms start with despair, they end with hope in God, with the words of faith and confidence. David indeed knew the heart of God. He knew that crying and begging was not the way to get God's help (though, God does help us when we cry out to Him for salvation and for help when we do not yet know Him through His Word. When we come to Him, He expects us to start growing into spiritual maturity and learning to fight our battles with the weapons He has already provided... He has even provided victory to us in every situation... the Truth is, we only have to step into the victory by faith). David always went to God with an honest heart, pouring out all his pain and anger or whatever feelings he had... being completely honest with God... but he did not leave it at that. He confessed his confidence and trust in His God.

In Psalm 108:1 David declares, "O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast, in the confidence of faith); I will sing, yes, I will sing praises, even with my glory [all the faculties and powers of one created in Your image]!"

Singing praises is also our confession of faith. David said that his heart was fixed, steadfast, in the confidence of faith. We do not start praising and thanking God after He has fulfilled our prayers. We start praising and worshipping God BEFORE we have received our victory. Praise and worship are the tools that bring our victory from the spirit realm into the natural, physical realm.

God desires to fight our battles but His hands are tied as long as we try to so hard to do things according to our own human wisdom. When we are doing the fighting with our human weapons, seeing people as our enemies and trying to fix them, or fighting in our financial problems or health problems only on physical levels, the Lord has got to just stand by. We release the Lord to move on our behalf when we do what He has told us to do - praise & worship, speak the Word, pray in tongues.

Psalm 149:6 teaches us, "Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands." We have to have the praises of God on our lips constantly. This keeps us in unbreakable communion with the Lord throughout the day, allowing His wisdom to flow to us unhindered. We have to take the two-edged sword in our hands and start wielding it. We have the sword all right, but it has no power on its own. We need to use it. Ephesians 6 lists the sword of the Spirit - the Word of God - as our ONLY weapon of offence. Hey, if it is our ONLY weapon of offence, this mean we do not have any other weapon to fight our battles with. Everything else is for our protection.

I remember years ago, when I had no idea how to worship God at home, all by myself, I took the Christmas songs and started to sing them to the Lord...until I found that I could speak the Psalms to the Lord as praises. I especially love the last Psalms, they are such beautiful songs to the Lord. We can just start speaking those praises out loud... and very soon we will feel the difference in our hearts and all around us - the Lord's presence is there and this changes everything! The Word says that the more we draw near to God, the more He draws near to us. The closer to Him we learn to live, the more His power is within us, around us and at our disposal... the more we become like Him.

I love what Psalm 84 says, "Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; they will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills [the pools] with blessings. They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]." (v.4-7)

We all have those "Valleys of Weeping" in our lives... but if we are the ones who draw close to God, "singing Him praises all the day long" (attitude of our hearts), we will indeed "make those Valleys of Weeping into a place of springs; the early rain also fills the pools with blessings. And we will go from strength to strength - increasing in victorious power." What a promise!

Times of pressure are not forever... though, it is us who make a decision to come through victoriously, or we choose to stay in the Valley of Weeping, feeling sorry for ourselves. None of us likes pain. None of us chooses the Valleys of Weeping. But they are on our way. We will have to make a change in our attitudes... from pity and faultfinding and anger... into praising and worshipping and rejoicing in the Lord. Especially during those tough times we require strength... and Nehemiah 8:10 exhorts us to, "be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold."

Isn't is just so beautiful that our praises and songs of joy build an impenetrable stronghold around us in the spirit! When we praise and worship, we are in the safe place where no enemy can touch us. Years ago the Lord gave me a vision of me being in a bubble. As long as I kept my eyes on Jesus, praising and worshipping, speaking words of faith, the bubble around me was completely intact and no fiery darts of the enemy were able to penetrate through my protective surrounding. When I took my eyes of off Jesus and started to concentrate on my troubles and pains and worries, suddenly my bubble began to allow the enemy darts through.

When we keep our eyes on the Lord, we are in the safe place. Psalm 91:1 talks about this place, "He who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]." No painful enemy darts can penetrate the protection of the Lord. We stay in this protected place through praise and worship and thanksgiving, through praying in tongues, meditating and speaking the promises of God. Even when very painful things happen around us, we can stay safe and protected throughout the whole ordeal... and come out the other end much stronger.

Lets draw closer to God than ever before. He is calling for us and promising us, I will show you the path of life; in My presence is fullness of joy, at My right hand there are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11) Wow! What a promise!

Many, many blessings to You all,

Hey, I hope You guys are all doing well! I just got back from our Summer house... and I've kind of really missed You all! At my previous post (health post) I sent You greetings from Saaremaa... well, I prepared the post over there but I could only post it once I got back as we do not have an internet connection in our Summer house.

Since we had the two great weekends of worship and praise in Tallinn, the Lord has drawn me into deeper understanding of the power of worship and praise and thanksgiving. Goodness, when He starts teaching like that, it feels like I have been living in the dark in this area. I have taken the time to worship the Lord daily and I have even taught on the subject... but wow, I sure have not comprehended the whole thing the way I am starting to grasp it now. Boy, do I love it when the Word of God becomes alive!!

I'm so exited to share the few things that the Lord has taught me... though, I do feel I need to go even deeper and do a more thorough study on the subject... unless the Lord has something else for me.

Psalm 138:1-3 is so powerful, "I will confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness... in the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self."

I sure have quoted the third verse, In the day when I call, Lord, You will answer me; and You will strengthen me with strength - might and inflexibility to temptation - in my inner self. ...not really grasping that those 3 verses go all together! When I do the first two, the Lord immediately does His part, recorded in the third verse. When I take the time to praise and worship the Lord with all my heart, THEN He is able to answer me the same day when I need His answer and wisdom.

If I haven't taken the time to daily put my eyes on the Lord through praise and worship, He won't even be able to get an answer to me the same day I need His help... for my eyes are NOT on Him... my eyes are on the trouble, beholding the facts, rather than the Truth that contains the answer.

Psalm 50:14-15 confirms it, "Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High, and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me."

First, God tells us to give Him thanks and praise Him... and then when we call on Him in the day of trouble, He will deliver us. It is so, so important that we make the time daily to put our eyes on the Lord through praise and thanksgiving and worship for it will save us on the day of trouble. Remember the testimony of the missionary lady who attracted the fatal disease... and the Lord showed her that as she had not taken the time to praise and worship Him daily, she had no sacrifice of thanksgiving laid up for the day of trouble - so, she was in great destitution indeed! But she did not waste any time. She started to praise and worship the Lord right there, in the hospital bed, and the Lord healed her.

It is much better to start laying up the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving right now... and have something to draw upon when we hit the rough spot. We all have the 15 minutes to spare. Think about it, He has done so much for us. He deserves us to worship Him all day long... even if us getting saved and being able to go to heaven when we die was the only thing we could have from Him. I mean, c'mon, our eternity is secured! This is enough to rejoice and dance before the Lord! But He has given us so much more.

When we praise and worship the Lord, we do it through our spirits. Most of the time our flesh has no desire to rejoice and worship. Our flesh wants to watch TV or talk over the phone or complain... . The Word says that our spirit and our flesh are in constant battle with each another - both want to rule! So, which one shall we allow to dominate? The Word tells us that when we sow to the spirit, we will reap blessings from the Lord but when we sow to the flesh, we will reap death, for the flesh is the part of us that decays day by day.

I believe the speed with which the help of the Lord is able to reach us in trouble completely depends on us and not on the Lord. He is ready to help us immediately, but if we have been sowing to our flesh - being carnal Christians (unfortunately there are many times more carnal Christians than there are truly spiritual Christians, allowing our feelings and desires to dictate our actions, rather than allowing the Word of God to move us) - God is not even able to get the wisdom to us that we need. In order for us to hear from the spirit realm, we need to be connected to the spirit realm. The Word says in John 4:23-24,

"The true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality)."

When we begin to worship the Lord, we enter into the spirit realm, where we are connected to the Lord and to His infinite wisdom. This is the reason Psalm 100:4 tells us to, "enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise!" Other than that, we pray out of our flesh - often whining and begging, being full of self-pity, or telling God what we want Him to do for us - and such prayers do not get answered. But when we take the time to do things the way the Lord has taught us - in order to get the results He has promised - we will be praying prayers that flow out of our spirits, rather than out of our flesh.

May be You think it will take more time to do things this way. True, it will take more time, but it will get answers to us many times more quickly... and on top of that I have noticed, in my own life, that God helps me to get all other things done much faster than I naturally could do them! He literally multiplies my time when I choose to spend a portion of it with Him, fellowshipping, worshiping! Aren't His ways just so awesome!

There are some really good examples in the Word. I love Matthew 15:22-28, "And behold. a woman who was a Canaanite from that district came out and, with a [loud, troublesomely urgent] cry, begged, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is miserably and distressingly and cruelly possessed by a demon! But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, Send her away, for she is crying out after us."

A woman in real trouble came to Jesus and asked for His help, yet, Jesus did not pay any attention to her whatsoever. Doesn't sound like Jesus, does it! Why did He not answer her? Because she was a Canaanite? I do not think so. I believe He did not pay any attention to her because she came with NO faith. She came crying and begging and whining. Well, crying and begging and whining does not get the attention of Jesus. Its a good thing to remember.

The woman was so loud and neurotic that the disciples begged Jesus to send her away... but Jesus does not ever cast away someone who needs help. Just like then, He still desires us to learn to come to Him in faith. He wanted to teach the lady this very important lesson. His intention was for her to learn that begging and whining and crying won't bring her the results she needed. Jesus was teaching the woman to come to Him in faith, putting her eyes on His ability and power to help, instead of keeping her eyes on her problem... and the woman learned, for verse 25 says, "she came and, kneeling, worshiped Him."

As the woman was learning the very important faith lesson, Jesus showed her that He was starting to pay attention. Though, Jesus did test whether the woman's worship and faith were real and coming from the heart, saying, "it is not right (proper, becoming, or fair) to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." This time, the lady's answer was full of faith, exactly what Jesus had been expecting from her all along. She answered, "yes, Lord, yet even the little pups (little whelps) eat the crumbs, that fall from their [young] master's table."

"Then Jesus answered her, O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you wish. And her daughter was cured from that moment." (verse 28) ...isn't it just so incredibly amazing HOW patient the Lord was with her and is with every one of us! He did not react to begging and whining and crying... but He did wait patiently for the lady to learn the vital worship and faith lessons, which, as soon as she applied, provided her what she had come for.

Praise and worship do get the attention of our Lord!

It is great to go to the Lord through worship in order to ask for our needs to be met... but honestly, He has done so much for us that it should really become a habit for us to praise and worship Him... for He is worthy of our praise. So, let us "be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name! For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations." (Psalm 100:4-5) Worship is not something we do on Sundays in church, it is a life-style.

Many, many blessings to You,

Greetings to You from the island of Saaremaa! I pray that You are doing well and enjoying the last days of Autumn (Spring in Australia). We have already had our first snow, although, I must admit, it did not survive for more than an hour or two. It did remind us of the cold season arriving in full trot, though.

I have been able to, yet again, sneak away from the city, escaping to the sea and meadows and woods of the largest island of Estonia. When I arrived at our Summer house this time, I found that my mom had taken up yet another hobby - photography! She has snapped some truly magnificent shots. This pic of the Autumn sea is by my mom. I'm so proud of her. When she turned sixty-four, she took up a hobby of restoring furniture. She is completely into antiques, so, she figured she should have a hobby that would support her love for ancient things. Since then she has fixed up literally countless pieces of furniture and other stuff. She still attends classes for it. My mom is the constant reminder to me that life is a never-ending succession of lessons to be learned, new things to be experienced, and new people to be met... that's what makes life worth living!

Yesterday afternoon, we had a tiny surprise waiting for us in our neatly stacked log pile behind the house. My mom was gathering some logs for the fire... and there it was - a tiny bat. It had picked a log as a perfect spot for hibernation. We had to remove the log from the top shelf and stick it in the middle of the pile. The tiny thing, covered with sawdust, sure was pretty mad at us for disturbing its sleep. He, or she, was baring its teeth and making angry noises at us, while holding on to its chosen log with all its might... but he/she was so, so beautiful. I had never seen a bat from this close before.

Later in the evening I went for a walk by the sea... which is so refreshing and invigorating. I love those times of quiet meditation and clearing of my thoughts. Autumn tides had washed a lot of seaweed ashore. As a child, I used to dislike the smell of it, but over the years I've learned to appreciate and even enjoy it. My mom gathers it for her rosebushes and strawberries. Seaweed is perfect to keep plants moist, also protecting them from cold during the winter, and it keeps weeds at bay. Some of the seaweeds, washed ashore, are used to make marmalade for candy. In this newsletter I would like to share with You the numerous health benefits of sea vegetables.

Sea Vegetables are wild ocean plants, or marine algae. They grow both in marine salt waters and in fresh water lakes and seas. Sea vegetables are categorized by color. There are about 6,000 species of red, 2,000 species of brown, and 1,200 species of green sea vegetables. But only a small number of those are used as human food. The most popular edible sea vegetables are dulse, kelp, sea lettuce, laver, alaria, bladderwrack, sea palm, and Asian varieties nori, hijki, arame, kombu, wakame.

History: Sea vegetables have been consumed by the Japanese for more than 10,000 years. In Ancient China, sea vegetables were a great delicacy, suitable for highly honored guests and royalty. Also other countries, situated by water, like Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Iceland, New Zealand and coastal South American countries have been using sea vegetables for food and medicinal purposes for thousands of years.

Rich in: Sea vegetables provide the broadest range of minerals, containing practically all minerals found in the ocean. All seaweed contains in differing amounts protein; carbohydrates; fiber; marine phytochemicals; lignans; fat; the minerals potassium, iodine, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, manganese, copper, chromium, fluoride, and zinc; and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, and E.

Internal use: Japanese and Chinese medical practitioners have long been using sea vegetables as a treatment for cancer. More recent studies indicate that seaweed, especially kelps, can inhibit cancer cell growth. They are especially beneficial for postmenopausal women who are more at risk of breast cancer and menopausal women to reduce the symptoms of menopause. Sea vegetables are efficient in lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol; reducing the risk of heart disease, cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and birth defects; and promoting a healthy thyroid function. Sea vegetables are powerful detoxifiers and well known for their ability to treat radiation and heavy metal poisonings. They are also powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. Sea vegetables boost the immune system and help our bodies fight stress, allergies, infections, and anxiety; they also help to prevent migraines and fatigue and reduce the severity of asthma.

How to prepare: To promote tissue healing, before and/or after operations, Dr. Ryan Drum, herbalist and seaweed specialist, suggests taking about 1 ½ cups of dried brown sea vegetable and boiling/simmering it in a quart of water for 20-40 minutes. Drink this extract daily for 1-2 weeks. Dried dulce makes a very salty snack or, cut into small pieces, makes a good seasoning for eggs, potatoes, rice, vegetables, casseroles, salads, and pizza.

Seaweed is a good addition to every healthy diet. Health Food stores sell different preparations of sea vegetables and also sell dried seaweed for cooking and as a condiment.

Warning: Do not use northern deep-water kelps in case of iodine sensitivity. Dulse, laver, Nori and bladderwrack are good alternatives.

External use: Hot seaweed baths relieve muscle aches and joint pains. Continuous baths cure even joint deterioration. Freshly prepared seaweed masks nourish all skins.

I hope You enjoyed the tips in the newsletter and will be able put some of them into a healthful use.

I wish You a wonderful, healthful and happy November,