"I believe the best way to honor those who have died in war, both combatants and civilians, is to work to abolish war. We must end the killing and suffering caused by war."
Quote by Michael T. McPhearson, former field artillery officer in the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, also known as Gulf War I and former executive director of Veterans For Peace
1965
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
The Lord Jesus Christ
Matthew 5:43-45
Memorial Day 2011
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
By the Grace of God This Family Survived the Joplin Tornado
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Looking for That Blessed Hope
In spite of the false claims of Harold Camping about yesterday being judgment day, let us not loose sight of what the Bible says in Titus 2 :
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."
Scripture is clear: no man knows the day nor the hour of Christ's return. So whether we die or the Lord returns, we each need to be ready TODAY.
So are you ready? If yes, great! But if not, why not? Friend, now is time to get ready and stay ready.
Mat 24:35,36 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:48-51 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite [his] fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mar 13:32 But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Luk 12:46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
MORE ABOUT HAROLD CAMPING
http://www.christianpost.com/news/who-is-harold-camping-really-50368/
Who is Harold Camping, Really?
By Ariel R. Rey | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > U.S.|Sat, May. 21 2011 03:25 PM EDT
Harold Camping will long be associated with the failed predictions of the end of the word. But who is this man responsible for the multimillion dollar campaign declaring May 21 as Judgment Day?
He was born by the name of Harold Egbert Camping in 1921 in Boulder, Colo. At an early age, he moved to California where his interest in math and science developed, later taking him to University of California Berkeley during World War II, where he received a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering.
Shortly after the end of World War II, he began his own construction business where he was able to earn his own living.
In 1943, he married his wife Shirley with whom he had seven children. During their early years they were congregants at First Christian Reformed Church of Alameda where he shined as the most popular Bible studies teacher.
He had become a self-taught Bible instructor for his students. His charisma and eye for biblical details helped him gain popularity among his students and the church.
From 1954, he became the owner of Camping Construction Company, and by 1958 he and two others formed the non-profit ministry of Family Stations, Inc. in San Francisco.
Family Radio was the ministry’s Christian educational network and it expanded over the decades as it broadcast teachings, Bible readings as well as Christian music such as southern gospel music across the country. Some stations chose to play contemporary Christian music.
When he was in his 40s, he began hosting his own Open Forum program during the weekends, which still continues to be broadcast on more than 140 stations in the U.S.
In 1973, he sold his business and became a full-time volunteer employer of Family Radio where he served as the president and general manager of the stations.
The network is reportedly now worth more than $120 million and has 66 stations throughout the country. The network's broadcasts can reach as far as Nigeria and are available in 61 languages online.
In 1970, Camping published the Biblical Calendar History, where he proclaimed that the creations of the world happened in 11,013 BC and Noah’s flood, 4990 BC.
While 1988 became a popular doomsday year due to a book written by Edgar Whisenant, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could be in 1988, Camping began to proclaim the world’s impending end during his radio program as well in his Bible class.
Camping didn’t agree with Whisenant’s end of the word date but he didn't yet provide his own prediction.
Due to his persistence on the end of the world, his church elders told him to cease all prophesying about the apocalypse. He, his family and 110 members decided to leave the church, according to The Huffington Post.
In 1992, he published his book 1994? where he predicted that the world would end, though he wasn’t certain about the year; he was only certain that it would happen sometime soon.
In 1994, his followers gathered inside Alameda’s Veterans’ Memorial Building to wait for the return of Christ. People dressed themselves in their Sunday best and held their Bibles open faced towards heaven.
But nothing happened.
Camping said that was just a “preliminary study,” hence the question mark in the title of the book, and he spent the next decade completing that study.
In 2002, he announced the end of the church age and claimed that God was no longer blessing and using local churches because of their apostasy and that believers should quit the church. Three years later, he published Time Has an End where he officially began proclaiming that he had recalculated the rapture date to be May 21, 2011.
According to his prediction, around 200 million people will be raptured at 6 p.m. that day and the rest will suffer for five months until Oct. 21, making it the definitive date for complete world obliteration.
Currently, among his family members, only his wife of 68 years believes him and none of his six living children, 28 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren believe in his theories.
--- end ---
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110521/sc_livescience/whendoomsdayisntbelieversstruggletocope
When Doomsday Isn't, Believers Struggle to Cope
Stephanie Pappas, Livescience Senior Writer,
livescience.com – Sat May 21, 10:31 pm ET
If you're reading this, Harold Camping's predictions that the end of the world would start Saturday (May 21) failed to pan out.
That's good news for most of us, but Camping and his followers were looking forward to the end. After all, they believed that they were likely to be among the 200 million souls sent to live in paradise forever. So how do believers cope when their doomsday predictions fail?
It depends, said Lorenzo DiTommaso, a professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal who studies the history of doomsday predictions.
"If you have a strong leader, the group survives," DiTommaso told LiveScience. "Sometimes the group falls apart. Most often, the answer given by the group is that the prophecy is true, but the interpretation was wrong." [Read: Why People Look Forward to the End]
In 1994, Camping predicted a September doomsday, but hedged his bets with a question mark. On his website (familyradio.com), Camping wrote that he had misunderstood a key biblical passage, but since that time, biblical evidence for a 2011 end had "greatly solidified."
Doomsdays without doom
The classic study of "doomsdays gone bad" took place in 1954. A Chicago woman named Dorothy Martin predicted a cataclysmic flood from which a few true believers would be saved by aliens. Martin and her cult, The Seekers, gathered the night before the expected flood to await the flying saucer. Unbeknown to them, however, their group had been infiltrated by psychologist Leon Festinger, who hoped to find out what happens when the rug of people's beliefs is pulled out from under them.
Festinger's study, which became the basis of the book "When Prophecy Fails" (Harper-Torchbooks 1956), revealed that as the appointed time passed with no alien visitors, the group sat stunned. But a few hours before dawn, Martin suddenly received a new prophecy, stating that The Seekers had been so devout that God had called off the apocalypse. At that, the group rejoiced — and started calling newspapers to boast of what they'd done. Eventually, the group fell apart. Martin later changed her name to "Sister Thedra" and continued her prophecies.
Other failed doomsday prophets have struggled to keep their followers in line. One self-proclaimed prophet, Mariana Andrada (later known as Mariana La Loca), preached to a gang of followers in the 1880s in the San Joaquin Valley of California, predicting doomsday by 1886. But Andrada was not consistent with her predictions, and believers began to defect. Trying to keep one family from leaving, Andrada told them one of them would die on the journey. Sure enough, the family's young son soon fell violently ill and passed away. The family accused Andrada of poisoning him. She was arrested and found not guilty, but never returned to preach to her followers.
Searching for explanations
How Camping's followers will cope with a failed doomsday prediction depends on the structure of the group, said Steve Hassan, a counseling psychologist and cult expert who runs the online Freedom of Mind Resource Center. [After Doomsday: How Humans Get Off Earth]
"The more people have connections outside of the group, the more likely it is that they're going to stop looking to [Camping] as the mouth of God on Earth," Hassan told LiveScience. "Information control is one of the most important features of mind control."
In his experience, Hassan said, about a third of believers become disillusioned after a failed prediction, while another third find reason to believe more strongly. The remaining group members fall somewhere in between, he said.
Doomsday groups in history have run a gamut of responses after failed predictions, said Stephen Kent, a sociologist at the University of Alberta who studies new and alternative religions. On occasion, a leader will admit he or she was wrong; other groups will come up with a face-saving explanation. Some groups may blame themselves, rationalizing that their lack of faith caused the failure, Kent told LiveScience. Other groups blame outside forces and redouble their efforts.
"One of the options is for the group to say, 'Society wasn't ready, Jesus felt there weren't enough people worthy of rapturing. Hence, we've got to go out and convert more people,'" Kent said.
After the apocalypse
Often, a failed prediction leads to splinter groups and re-entrenchment. After Baptist preacher William Miller predicted the end of the world on Oct. 22, 1844 — a date thereafter known as "The Great Disappointment" when nothing happened — his followers struggled to explain their mistake. One subset decided that on that date, Jesus had shifted his location in heaven in preparation to return to Earth. This group later became the Seventh-Day Adventist church. [Infographic: Doomsdays Past and Present]
Sociologists and doomsday experts agree that Camping is likely convinced of doomsday rather than perpetuating a hoax or running a scam. A con artist, Hassan said, would never set himself up for failure by giving a firm date.
A belief in doomsday gives followers a clear sense of the world and their place in it, Kent said. Those comforting beliefs are difficult to maintain after the world fails to end.
"This could be a fairly sad day for these people," Kent said. "There will be some greatly disheartened people who may be terribly confused about what didn't happen."
--- end ---
Doomsday believer donates entire inheritance to Family Radio
Blake Ellis, On Wednesday June 1, 2011, 5:07 pm EDT
When the world didn't end on May 21, many people who had given up their earthly possessions were left with nothing.
But one believer never lived to see the day. She left nearly her entire estate -- around $300,000 -- to the group behind the failed prediction, leaving some family members out in the cold.
Eileen Heuwetter was shocked to find out that her aunt left the majority of her estate to Family Radio, the group responsible for the doomsday warnings that the world would end on May 21. She and her sister were each left $25,000 from their aunt's estate. The rest is going to Family Radio.
The network of Christian radio stations based in Oakland, Ca., is almost entirely funded by donations. According to IRS filings, the group brought in $18 million in contributions in 2009 alone.
Heuwetter, the executor of the will, knew how much her aunt loved the radio station and admired its leader, Harold Camping, who is viewed as a prophet by many of his followers.
While other family members insisted it was crazy to let her aunt give all that money to a radio station, Heuwetter didn't initially contest the conditions of the will. She knew little about the Christian radio station, but knew her aunt, Doris Schmitt, found comfort in it.
Schmitt had lived a tough life, struggling with alcoholism and losing her two children to drug addictions before dying alone at 78 on May 2, 2010 in her small home in Queens, New York.
"This was not a woman who had anything. She literally had Family Radio on day and night -- she went to bed with it and woke up to it," said Heuwetter. "That was all she had."
It wasn't until recently that Heuwetter learned who was really getting her aunt's bequest. She said she first realized this was the same group when she saw buses driving around New York City the weekend before the supposed end of the world, spreading the doomsday message. "I'm looking at these brand new buses drive around with Family Radio's name on them, saying 'Doomsday is May 21', and I said, 'Oh my god, this is who my aunt gave all of her money to," Heuwetter said. "I didn't know he was so crazy, and at this point I was incensed that this man was going to get everything my aunt had left."
While Heuwetter says she didn't necessarily need the extra cash, other family members were struggling and could have used a little help, she said.
Even worse, Heuwetter said, was that Camping's prediction never came to fruition. Heuwetter's family members were just as angry when they learned about Family Radio's failed prophecy, so they brought the case to several lawyers, who sympathized with the family, but agreed they had no case. Family Radio did not respond to requests for comment.
The estate is within weeks of closing, and Heuwetter knows it's a lost cause.
"It's just so frustrating because I know there's nothing I can do about it -- this man is going to get hundreds of thousands of dollars from my aunt," she said. "And she wasn't a rich woman."
Though Camping later clarified that his prediction actually extends until October, many followers were disappointed when the rapture didn't happen on May 21. Heuwetter said there is no way her aunt would have given the money to Family Radio, had she lived to see Camping's doomsday-gone-wrong.
"She would have been devastated," Heuwetter said. "Listening to him say things would be better in paradise made her feel better -- she totally believed she would leave this world on May 21, and she needed to believe that."
If she were here to watch the world continue after May 21, she would have likely given her money to other family members, said Heuwetter.
"It was a good amount of money that would have helped a lot of people live better today -- but now it's not helping anyone."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Doomsday-believer-donates-cnnm-2627911146.html
--- end ---
PREVIOUS POSTS
Is Harold Camping a False Prophet?
False Prophet Harold Camping Now Has Billboards
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee."
Scripture is clear: no man knows the day nor the hour of Christ's return. So whether we die or the Lord returns, we each need to be ready TODAY.
So are you ready? If yes, great! But if not, why not? Friend, now is time to get ready and stay ready.
Mat 24:35,36 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mat 24:48-51 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite [his] fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mar 13:32 But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Luk 12:46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
MORE ABOUT HAROLD CAMPING
http://www.christianpost.com/news/who-is-harold-camping-really-50368/
Who is Harold Camping, Really?
By Ariel R. Rey | Christian Post Contributor
The Christian Post > U.S.|Sat, May. 21 2011 03:25 PM EDT
Harold Camping will long be associated with the failed predictions of the end of the word. But who is this man responsible for the multimillion dollar campaign declaring May 21 as Judgment Day?
He was born by the name of Harold Egbert Camping in 1921 in Boulder, Colo. At an early age, he moved to California where his interest in math and science developed, later taking him to University of California Berkeley during World War II, where he received a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering.
Shortly after the end of World War II, he began his own construction business where he was able to earn his own living.
In 1943, he married his wife Shirley with whom he had seven children. During their early years they were congregants at First Christian Reformed Church of Alameda where he shined as the most popular Bible studies teacher.
He had become a self-taught Bible instructor for his students. His charisma and eye for biblical details helped him gain popularity among his students and the church.
From 1954, he became the owner of Camping Construction Company, and by 1958 he and two others formed the non-profit ministry of Family Stations, Inc. in San Francisco.
Family Radio was the ministry’s Christian educational network and it expanded over the decades as it broadcast teachings, Bible readings as well as Christian music such as southern gospel music across the country. Some stations chose to play contemporary Christian music.
When he was in his 40s, he began hosting his own Open Forum program during the weekends, which still continues to be broadcast on more than 140 stations in the U.S.
In 1973, he sold his business and became a full-time volunteer employer of Family Radio where he served as the president and general manager of the stations.
The network is reportedly now worth more than $120 million and has 66 stations throughout the country. The network's broadcasts can reach as far as Nigeria and are available in 61 languages online.
In 1970, Camping published the Biblical Calendar History, where he proclaimed that the creations of the world happened in 11,013 BC and Noah’s flood, 4990 BC.
While 1988 became a popular doomsday year due to a book written by Edgar Whisenant, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could be in 1988, Camping began to proclaim the world’s impending end during his radio program as well in his Bible class.
Camping didn’t agree with Whisenant’s end of the word date but he didn't yet provide his own prediction.
Due to his persistence on the end of the world, his church elders told him to cease all prophesying about the apocalypse. He, his family and 110 members decided to leave the church, according to The Huffington Post.
In 1992, he published his book 1994? where he predicted that the world would end, though he wasn’t certain about the year; he was only certain that it would happen sometime soon.
In 1994, his followers gathered inside Alameda’s Veterans’ Memorial Building to wait for the return of Christ. People dressed themselves in their Sunday best and held their Bibles open faced towards heaven.
But nothing happened.
Camping said that was just a “preliminary study,” hence the question mark in the title of the book, and he spent the next decade completing that study.
In 2002, he announced the end of the church age and claimed that God was no longer blessing and using local churches because of their apostasy and that believers should quit the church. Three years later, he published Time Has an End where he officially began proclaiming that he had recalculated the rapture date to be May 21, 2011.
According to his prediction, around 200 million people will be raptured at 6 p.m. that day and the rest will suffer for five months until Oct. 21, making it the definitive date for complete world obliteration.
Currently, among his family members, only his wife of 68 years believes him and none of his six living children, 28 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren believe in his theories.
--- end ---
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110521/sc_livescience/whendoomsdayisntbelieversstruggletocope
When Doomsday Isn't, Believers Struggle to Cope
Stephanie Pappas, Livescience Senior Writer,
livescience.com – Sat May 21, 10:31 pm ET
If you're reading this, Harold Camping's predictions that the end of the world would start Saturday (May 21) failed to pan out.
That's good news for most of us, but Camping and his followers were looking forward to the end. After all, they believed that they were likely to be among the 200 million souls sent to live in paradise forever. So how do believers cope when their doomsday predictions fail?
It depends, said Lorenzo DiTommaso, a professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal who studies the history of doomsday predictions.
"If you have a strong leader, the group survives," DiTommaso told LiveScience. "Sometimes the group falls apart. Most often, the answer given by the group is that the prophecy is true, but the interpretation was wrong." [Read: Why People Look Forward to the End]
In 1994, Camping predicted a September doomsday, but hedged his bets with a question mark. On his website (familyradio.com), Camping wrote that he had misunderstood a key biblical passage, but since that time, biblical evidence for a 2011 end had "greatly solidified."
Doomsdays without doom
The classic study of "doomsdays gone bad" took place in 1954. A Chicago woman named Dorothy Martin predicted a cataclysmic flood from which a few true believers would be saved by aliens. Martin and her cult, The Seekers, gathered the night before the expected flood to await the flying saucer. Unbeknown to them, however, their group had been infiltrated by psychologist Leon Festinger, who hoped to find out what happens when the rug of people's beliefs is pulled out from under them.
Festinger's study, which became the basis of the book "When Prophecy Fails" (Harper-Torchbooks 1956), revealed that as the appointed time passed with no alien visitors, the group sat stunned. But a few hours before dawn, Martin suddenly received a new prophecy, stating that The Seekers had been so devout that God had called off the apocalypse. At that, the group rejoiced — and started calling newspapers to boast of what they'd done. Eventually, the group fell apart. Martin later changed her name to "Sister Thedra" and continued her prophecies.
Other failed doomsday prophets have struggled to keep their followers in line. One self-proclaimed prophet, Mariana Andrada (later known as Mariana La Loca), preached to a gang of followers in the 1880s in the San Joaquin Valley of California, predicting doomsday by 1886. But Andrada was not consistent with her predictions, and believers began to defect. Trying to keep one family from leaving, Andrada told them one of them would die on the journey. Sure enough, the family's young son soon fell violently ill and passed away. The family accused Andrada of poisoning him. She was arrested and found not guilty, but never returned to preach to her followers.
Searching for explanations
How Camping's followers will cope with a failed doomsday prediction depends on the structure of the group, said Steve Hassan, a counseling psychologist and cult expert who runs the online Freedom of Mind Resource Center. [After Doomsday: How Humans Get Off Earth]
"The more people have connections outside of the group, the more likely it is that they're going to stop looking to [Camping] as the mouth of God on Earth," Hassan told LiveScience. "Information control is one of the most important features of mind control."
In his experience, Hassan said, about a third of believers become disillusioned after a failed prediction, while another third find reason to believe more strongly. The remaining group members fall somewhere in between, he said.
Doomsday groups in history have run a gamut of responses after failed predictions, said Stephen Kent, a sociologist at the University of Alberta who studies new and alternative religions. On occasion, a leader will admit he or she was wrong; other groups will come up with a face-saving explanation. Some groups may blame themselves, rationalizing that their lack of faith caused the failure, Kent told LiveScience. Other groups blame outside forces and redouble their efforts.
"One of the options is for the group to say, 'Society wasn't ready, Jesus felt there weren't enough people worthy of rapturing. Hence, we've got to go out and convert more people,'" Kent said.
After the apocalypse
Often, a failed prediction leads to splinter groups and re-entrenchment. After Baptist preacher William Miller predicted the end of the world on Oct. 22, 1844 — a date thereafter known as "The Great Disappointment" when nothing happened — his followers struggled to explain their mistake. One subset decided that on that date, Jesus had shifted his location in heaven in preparation to return to Earth. This group later became the Seventh-Day Adventist church. [Infographic: Doomsdays Past and Present]
Sociologists and doomsday experts agree that Camping is likely convinced of doomsday rather than perpetuating a hoax or running a scam. A con artist, Hassan said, would never set himself up for failure by giving a firm date.
A belief in doomsday gives followers a clear sense of the world and their place in it, Kent said. Those comforting beliefs are difficult to maintain after the world fails to end.
"This could be a fairly sad day for these people," Kent said. "There will be some greatly disheartened people who may be terribly confused about what didn't happen."
--- end ---
JUNE 2, 2011 UPDATE
More Camping insanity...
Doomsday believer donates entire inheritance to Family Radio
Blake Ellis, On Wednesday June 1, 2011, 5:07 pm EDT
When the world didn't end on May 21, many people who had given up their earthly possessions were left with nothing.
But one believer never lived to see the day. She left nearly her entire estate -- around $300,000 -- to the group behind the failed prediction, leaving some family members out in the cold.
Eileen Heuwetter was shocked to find out that her aunt left the majority of her estate to Family Radio, the group responsible for the doomsday warnings that the world would end on May 21. She and her sister were each left $25,000 from their aunt's estate. The rest is going to Family Radio.
The network of Christian radio stations based in Oakland, Ca., is almost entirely funded by donations. According to IRS filings, the group brought in $18 million in contributions in 2009 alone.
Heuwetter, the executor of the will, knew how much her aunt loved the radio station and admired its leader, Harold Camping, who is viewed as a prophet by many of his followers.
While other family members insisted it was crazy to let her aunt give all that money to a radio station, Heuwetter didn't initially contest the conditions of the will. She knew little about the Christian radio station, but knew her aunt, Doris Schmitt, found comfort in it.
Schmitt had lived a tough life, struggling with alcoholism and losing her two children to drug addictions before dying alone at 78 on May 2, 2010 in her small home in Queens, New York.
"This was not a woman who had anything. She literally had Family Radio on day and night -- she went to bed with it and woke up to it," said Heuwetter. "That was all she had."
It wasn't until recently that Heuwetter learned who was really getting her aunt's bequest. She said she first realized this was the same group when she saw buses driving around New York City the weekend before the supposed end of the world, spreading the doomsday message. "I'm looking at these brand new buses drive around with Family Radio's name on them, saying 'Doomsday is May 21', and I said, 'Oh my god, this is who my aunt gave all of her money to," Heuwetter said. "I didn't know he was so crazy, and at this point I was incensed that this man was going to get everything my aunt had left."
While Heuwetter says she didn't necessarily need the extra cash, other family members were struggling and could have used a little help, she said.
Even worse, Heuwetter said, was that Camping's prediction never came to fruition. Heuwetter's family members were just as angry when they learned about Family Radio's failed prophecy, so they brought the case to several lawyers, who sympathized with the family, but agreed they had no case. Family Radio did not respond to requests for comment.
The estate is within weeks of closing, and Heuwetter knows it's a lost cause.
"It's just so frustrating because I know there's nothing I can do about it -- this man is going to get hundreds of thousands of dollars from my aunt," she said. "And she wasn't a rich woman."
Though Camping later clarified that his prediction actually extends until October, many followers were disappointed when the rapture didn't happen on May 21. Heuwetter said there is no way her aunt would have given the money to Family Radio, had she lived to see Camping's doomsday-gone-wrong.
"She would have been devastated," Heuwetter said. "Listening to him say things would be better in paradise made her feel better -- she totally believed she would leave this world on May 21, and she needed to believe that."
If she were here to watch the world continue after May 21, she would have likely given her money to other family members, said Heuwetter.
"It was a good amount of money that would have helped a lot of people live better today -- but now it's not helping anyone."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Doomsday-believer-donates-cnnm-2627911146.html
--- end ---
PREVIOUS POSTS
Is Harold Camping a False Prophet?
False Prophet Harold Camping Now Has Billboards
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Let No Man Deceive You
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mar 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any [man] deceive you:
1Cr 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
1Jo 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Look Beyond the Chemtrails
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Word Gone by Zeph Daniels
A dear friend sent me this link to a recent podcast by Zeph Daniels and I found it to be quite good.
http://zephdaniel.podbean.com/2011/05/16/pod-word-gone/
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
Genesis 1:26
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:"
Amos 8:11
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:1
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
John 1:14
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Doctrines of Devils
Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/Formertelecomguy
This video will cover Doctrines #31-35.
31. Must use Hebrew names for God or we are worshipping a false god or even Satan
32. Universalism: Everyone is going to be saved
33. Pre tribulation rapture
34. The gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased
35. The Bible IS or IS NOT the WORD OF GOD
Here is the whole list of fifty, subject to me finishing the uploads of #31 to #50
DOCTRINES OF DEMONS
1. We can rebel against God (practice sin) and surely shall not die
2. Man chooses God and thereby saves themselves by choice
3. The true gospel pleases flesh and is attractive to people
4. Jesus as Lord is a different God from the Old Testament God
5. There is no need to fear the Lord anymore
6. Jesus walked the earth with His godly power
7. Christians are not suppose be judging
Part Two
8. The devil has escaped God's control
9. Faith means simply believing Jesus is Savior
10. God is only Love and loves everyone
11. Grace is blanket forgiveness for all sin, past present and future
12. Teaching obedience is works
13. Salvation is a ONE TIME event not a journey
Part Three
14. The Law of God no longer applies to Christians
15. Christians are spared tribulation and severe afflictions
16. We can ignore the devil as Jesus took care of it on the cross
17. We are judged by the perfect obedience of Jesus
18. The Gift of eternal life has no conditions attached to it
19. Once saved, we cannot lose our salvation
20. Christians cannot have demons
Part Four
21. God hears all our prayers
22. The Word of God Unites people
23. The nation of Israel is God's Israel
24. We must keep the Sabbath to be saved
25. We are commanded to go to church
Part Five
26. Knowing Jesus means knowing about Jesus
27. Jesus accepts us just as we are
28. We must be absolutely sinless to enter eternal life
29. When we fall away from faith, we cannot come back
30. We must tithe 10% of our income
Part Six
31. Must use Hebrew names for God or we are worshipping a false god or even Satan
32. Universalism: Everyone is going to be saved
33. Pre tribulation rapture
34. The gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased
35. The Bible IS or IS NOT the WORD OF GOD
Part Seven Coming Soon
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."
1 Timothy 4:1-3
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Crossing America
CROSSING AMERICA: Morgan Strong carries her cross along Hwy. 98 and 30A
May 12, 2011 9:53 AM
Megan R. Moseley
http://www.waltonsun.com/news/strong-6786-cross-year.html
Morgan Strong attracts attention while wheeling her 12-foot wooden cross across Hwy. 98. For obvious reasons, it's a conversation starter.
Strong explained last week at South Walton's Grayton Beach, where she sat in the shade resting her tired feet that she is on a mission from God.
She came to South Walton from Oklahoma City, and has hauled her cross a total of 850 miles with 3,150 more to go.
A year ago, Strong hadn't ever explored outside of her hometown. It wasn't until last year when she made a plan to leave everything she knew behind and venture off to answer God's calling that she found herself and America.
Strong is hiking from Oklahoma to Philadelphia where she plans to meet with a ministry called The Simple Way. Strong said her adventure is no easy task, but she is determined.
While admitting she is not the most athletic individual or the most resourceful, she said she has had times where she has second guessed herself. However, through those moments of doubt, she has found the strength that she never knew she had.
Strong's cross-country adventure was an idea she got after going through a series of traumatic events.
"I had reached the bottom and I said, 'OK, God, I need a sign,' " she said. “I was expecting butterflies or green traffic lights, but nope. Instead, I kept getting this idea to go for a walk."
Strong said she did not want to walk, and tried to ignore the thought for months.
But the thought just wouldn't let up and there came a point where she had to make a decision.
"I felt as if there was something I was supposed to do and I wasn't doing it," she said. “It was kind of like that feeling when you go home and you're like 'did I turn the coffee pot off?' There was that pull toward something."
That something, she found, was to walk across America pulling the cross and meeting people "on their level."
Strong originally went for a walk without bearing her cross. But without the cross, Strong felt as if she was “just another person walking." That's when she got the idea to build the cross and walk the path God had laid before her.
When she started all she had was a backpack, her tent and $20 - and she was 40 pounds heavier. Since that day, she's acquired a few things along the way, but for the most part she depends on God to find her what she needs. That, she said, is the point of her trip.
“I've literally had to go across country to walk with God," she said. "I have to rely on God for things as small as where I can go to the bathroom. It's hard for me to trust, and through this I have had to learn to trust."
Trust has been an issue for Strong her whole life. Having grown up in an abusive home, she lived homeless throughout high school and was a victim of rape. Strong has had to deal with more than most people ever will have to. All the bad stuff, however, is what brought her to where she is today.
"You know, I'm at peace with the things that have happened to me in my life because out of all of it I became a Christian," she said.
During her travels, Strong has encountered new and adventurous experiences. Whether it was crossing paths with a copperhead snake or making a difference in people's lives, she said for the first time she feels as if she is walking on the right path.
"I have people stop me on the highway saying they were asking for a sign from God and came around the corner and there I was," she said.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Q. What Can Wash Away My Sin?
A. Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Hbr 10:19-22 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And [having] an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hbr 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.
Hbr 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Hbr 13:20,21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jo 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
Rev 1:5,6 And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Hbr 10:19-22 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And [having] an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hbr 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.
Hbr 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Hbr 13:20,21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jo 5:6 This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
Rev 1:5,6 And from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, [and] the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Jubilee! Missing Canadian Woman Found Alive After 49 Days
Family prays for "another miracle" as searchers scour Nevada wilderness for missing Penticton man
By Frank Luba and Cheryl Chan, The Province May 8, 2011
Albert and Rita Chretien left Penticton at about 6 a.m. on Mar. 19 and were last seen crossing the border into the U.S. at Oroville just over an hour later.
Albert and Rita Chretien left Penticton at about 6 a.m. on Mar. 19 and were last seen crossing the border into the U.S. at Oroville just over an hour later.
Photograph by: Handout, Chretien family
The day before she was found, Penticton mother Rita Chretien felt she was either going to die or be rescued after being stranded for 49 days on a remote forest road on the Nevada-Idaho border.
Chretien, 56, was ready to either “go home to be with her Saviour or to be rescued,” said her son, Raymond, on Sunday.
“She was prepared and she had a clear indication there would be something on Friday,” he said.
Hunters stumbled upon Chretien on Friday, just as her premonition had suggested. The remote area is 1,585 metres above sea level and 32 kilometres from the nearest highway.
A massive search for her and her 59-year-old husband, Albert, had previously found no trace of the couple, who had been driving to a construction trade show in Las Vegas when they went missing.
“Never give up, never lose your faith,” said Raymond. “Miracles happen, and never underestimate that.”
Now the family is hoping for another miracle — to find Albert alive. After their van got stuck, Albert took a GPS and left his wife to go for help. He has not been seen since.
“We are celebrating, but we are also, of course, praying for another miracle and praying it will have the outcome we desire,” said Raymond at a press conference in Twin Falls, Idaho, where his mother is recuperating at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Centre.
“We do have faith, and we know someone else is in control — and whatever the outcome, we can accept that,” said Raymond.
Chretien survived by rationing what little food she had and using snow for water. She used the sun to melt snow.
Her daily diet was limited to a spoonful of trail mix, a fish oil pill and a piece of hard candy. She lost 14 kilograms.
Chretien is now on a liquid diet before transitioning back to solid food. Her son was amazed at her condition.
“Honestly, I would’ve hardly known anything has happened to her,” he said. “It’s beyond belief . . . It’s just her, just the way I remember. It’s amazing.”
Dr. James Westberry, an internal medicine specialist at St. Luke’s, was also surprised by Chretien’s survival.
He credited determination to survive as crucial to the happy outcome.
“Not giving up — that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Everything else had to stem from that, so I’m thankful she has the spiritual basis to keep going in the face of what, for most people, would be overwhelming odds.
“It’s understandable to call it a miracle.”
Raymond said his mother read the books she had in the car, including a Bible. Of particular importance was Psalm 86. The first verse, in the King James Version of the Holy Bible, reads: “Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me, for I am poor and in need.”
Raymond said his parents were using both regular maps and GPS to make their way to Las Vegas.
“I believe they underestimated the conditions of that road,” he said. “They thought it would be more reliable. Before they knew it, it was the evening hours.
“They may have made a wrong turn, I don’t know,” he said. “What they expected wasn’t what they got.”
Det. Jim Carpenter of the Elko County Sheriff’s Department in Nevada said the hunters were probably looking for “horn shed” — the discarded antlers of deer and elk — not a missing Canadian in a stranded van.
Bad weather made it impossible to mount an aerial search Sunday for the missing man, but it’s hoped the weather will improve enough today to get a plane to comb the rugged terrain.
Carpenter said seven searchers from his department and another seven from the neighbouring Owyhee County sheriff’s department from Idaho, as well as search dogs, were hunting for Albert Chretien.
He said the search began in the area near the van, but on Sunday the search moved from State Highway 225 back to where the van was located. The search is not easy.
“It’s like a giant spider’s web out there,” said Carpenter of the road network, plus there’s snow and landslides to contend with.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Family+prays+another+miracle+searchers+scour+Nevada+wilderness+missing+Penticton/4747820/story.html#ixzz1LsI9Nl7c
--- end ---
Travelers in U.S. warned not to rely only on GPS
Fri May 13, 2011 6:48pm GMT
http://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE74C5ZL20110513?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
By Laura Zuckerman
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Travelers in the western United States should not rely solely on technology such as GPS for navigation, authorities said, after a Canadian couple were lost in the Nevada wilderness for 48 days.
Albert Chretien, 59, and his wife Rita Chretien, 56, sought a shorter route between Boise, Idaho and Jackpot, Nevada during a road trip from British Columbia to Las Vegas.
Rita Chretien drank water from a stream and rationed meagre supplies until hunters found her on Friday. Albert Chretien has been missing since March 22, when he went to seek help.
The Chretians mapped the route on their hand-held GPS, an electronic device tied to global satellites and commonly used for navigation.
Law enforcement and search and rescue officials said that too many travellers are letting technology lull them into a false sense of security.
"There are times when you need to put the GPS down and look out the window," said Howard Paul, veteran search and rescue official with the Colorado Search and Rescue Board, the volunteer organisation that coordinates that state's missions.
Sheriff's offices in remote, high-elevation parts of Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming report the past two years have brought a rise in the number of GPS-guided travellers driving off marked and paved highways and into trouble.
The spike has prompted Death Valley National Park in California to caution on its web site that "GPS navigation to sites to remote locations like Death Valley are notoriously unreliable."
When two roads diverge in Western lands, take the one more travelled, authorities said.
"You've got people driving into the middle of a field because a machine showed a route that was shorter and quicker -- which it ultimately is not," said Rob DeBree, undersheriff in Albany County in southeastern Wyoming.
Searching for travellers who veer off an interstate highway in a county the size of Connecticut can be costly, time-consuming and dangerous for rescuers, he said.
Jerry Colson, sheriff of neighbouring Carbon County, issued a broad appeal this winter to stay on paved roadways after several motorists consulted GPS devices for shortcuts and ploughed into snowdrifts on roads to nowhere.
Authorities said such incidents show there is no substitute for common sense.
"Your machine may tell you the quickest route but it might not take into account there are impassable canyons between you and your destination," said Daryl Crandall, sheriff of Owyhee County in southwest Idaho.
Kevin McKinney, detective sergeant with the sheriff's office in Elko County, Nevada that is heading up the search for Albert Chretien, said motorists risk hardships on the patchwork of primitive roads in the wilds of northern Nevada where technology is ineffective.
"This country is as rugged and as unforgiving as you can get," he said.
(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Greg McCune)
By Frank Luba and Cheryl Chan, The Province May 8, 2011
Albert and Rita Chretien left Penticton at about 6 a.m. on Mar. 19 and were last seen crossing the border into the U.S. at Oroville just over an hour later.
Albert and Rita Chretien left Penticton at about 6 a.m. on Mar. 19 and were last seen crossing the border into the U.S. at Oroville just over an hour later.
Photograph by: Handout, Chretien family
The day before she was found, Penticton mother Rita Chretien felt she was either going to die or be rescued after being stranded for 49 days on a remote forest road on the Nevada-Idaho border.
Chretien, 56, was ready to either “go home to be with her Saviour or to be rescued,” said her son, Raymond, on Sunday.
“She was prepared and she had a clear indication there would be something on Friday,” he said.
Hunters stumbled upon Chretien on Friday, just as her premonition had suggested. The remote area is 1,585 metres above sea level and 32 kilometres from the nearest highway.
A massive search for her and her 59-year-old husband, Albert, had previously found no trace of the couple, who had been driving to a construction trade show in Las Vegas when they went missing.
“Never give up, never lose your faith,” said Raymond. “Miracles happen, and never underestimate that.”
Now the family is hoping for another miracle — to find Albert alive. After their van got stuck, Albert took a GPS and left his wife to go for help. He has not been seen since.
“We are celebrating, but we are also, of course, praying for another miracle and praying it will have the outcome we desire,” said Raymond at a press conference in Twin Falls, Idaho, where his mother is recuperating at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Centre.
“We do have faith, and we know someone else is in control — and whatever the outcome, we can accept that,” said Raymond.
Chretien survived by rationing what little food she had and using snow for water. She used the sun to melt snow.
Her daily diet was limited to a spoonful of trail mix, a fish oil pill and a piece of hard candy. She lost 14 kilograms.
Chretien is now on a liquid diet before transitioning back to solid food. Her son was amazed at her condition.
“Honestly, I would’ve hardly known anything has happened to her,” he said. “It’s beyond belief . . . It’s just her, just the way I remember. It’s amazing.”
Dr. James Westberry, an internal medicine specialist at St. Luke’s, was also surprised by Chretien’s survival.
He credited determination to survive as crucial to the happy outcome.
“Not giving up — that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Everything else had to stem from that, so I’m thankful she has the spiritual basis to keep going in the face of what, for most people, would be overwhelming odds.
“It’s understandable to call it a miracle.”
Raymond said his mother read the books she had in the car, including a Bible. Of particular importance was Psalm 86. The first verse, in the King James Version of the Holy Bible, reads: “Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me, for I am poor and in need.”
Raymond said his parents were using both regular maps and GPS to make their way to Las Vegas.
“I believe they underestimated the conditions of that road,” he said. “They thought it would be more reliable. Before they knew it, it was the evening hours.
“They may have made a wrong turn, I don’t know,” he said. “What they expected wasn’t what they got.”
Det. Jim Carpenter of the Elko County Sheriff’s Department in Nevada said the hunters were probably looking for “horn shed” — the discarded antlers of deer and elk — not a missing Canadian in a stranded van.
Bad weather made it impossible to mount an aerial search Sunday for the missing man, but it’s hoped the weather will improve enough today to get a plane to comb the rugged terrain.
Carpenter said seven searchers from his department and another seven from the neighbouring Owyhee County sheriff’s department from Idaho, as well as search dogs, were hunting for Albert Chretien.
He said the search began in the area near the van, but on Sunday the search moved from State Highway 225 back to where the van was located. The search is not easy.
“It’s like a giant spider’s web out there,” said Carpenter of the road network, plus there’s snow and landslides to contend with.
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Family+prays+another+miracle+searchers+scour+Nevada+wilderness+missing+Penticton/4747820/story.html#ixzz1LsI9Nl7c
--- end ---
MAY 13, 3011 UPDATE
Travelers in U.S. warned not to rely only on GPS
Fri May 13, 2011 6:48pm GMT
http://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE74C5ZL20110513?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true
By Laura Zuckerman
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Travelers in the western United States should not rely solely on technology such as GPS for navigation, authorities said, after a Canadian couple were lost in the Nevada wilderness for 48 days.
Albert Chretien, 59, and his wife Rita Chretien, 56, sought a shorter route between Boise, Idaho and Jackpot, Nevada during a road trip from British Columbia to Las Vegas.
Rita Chretien drank water from a stream and rationed meagre supplies until hunters found her on Friday. Albert Chretien has been missing since March 22, when he went to seek help.
The Chretians mapped the route on their hand-held GPS, an electronic device tied to global satellites and commonly used for navigation.
Law enforcement and search and rescue officials said that too many travellers are letting technology lull them into a false sense of security.
"There are times when you need to put the GPS down and look out the window," said Howard Paul, veteran search and rescue official with the Colorado Search and Rescue Board, the volunteer organisation that coordinates that state's missions.
Sheriff's offices in remote, high-elevation parts of Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming report the past two years have brought a rise in the number of GPS-guided travellers driving off marked and paved highways and into trouble.
The spike has prompted Death Valley National Park in California to caution on its web site that "GPS navigation to sites to remote locations like Death Valley are notoriously unreliable."
When two roads diverge in Western lands, take the one more travelled, authorities said.
"You've got people driving into the middle of a field because a machine showed a route that was shorter and quicker -- which it ultimately is not," said Rob DeBree, undersheriff in Albany County in southeastern Wyoming.
Searching for travellers who veer off an interstate highway in a county the size of Connecticut can be costly, time-consuming and dangerous for rescuers, he said.
Jerry Colson, sheriff of neighbouring Carbon County, issued a broad appeal this winter to stay on paved roadways after several motorists consulted GPS devices for shortcuts and ploughed into snowdrifts on roads to nowhere.
Authorities said such incidents show there is no substitute for common sense.
"Your machine may tell you the quickest route but it might not take into account there are impassable canyons between you and your destination," said Daryl Crandall, sheriff of Owyhee County in southwest Idaho.
Kevin McKinney, detective sergeant with the sheriff's office in Elko County, Nevada that is heading up the search for Albert Chretien, said motorists risk hardships on the patchwork of primitive roads in the wilds of northern Nevada where technology is ineffective.
"This country is as rugged and as unforgiving as you can get," he said.
(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Greg McCune)
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
Soul Surfer Bethany Hamiliton
A friend just saw and recommended the movie 'Soul Surfer' which I hope to view, so posted this article and movie trailer here...
'Soul Surfer' Bethany Hamilton rides a big-screen wave
By Tom Hoffarth on April 8, 2011 6:00 AM
http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2011/04/soul-surfer-the.html
In real life, Bethany Hamilton is among the top women's surfers the world.
In reel life, her story, "Soul Surfer," which hit theatres today, would rank among any sport's top comeback flicks of all time. Not even Hollywood could mess up this script.
More than seven years ago, before dawn on Halloween morning, she had her left arm taken off by a 14-foot tiger shark while they were both sharing the waters off the shore of Kauai, Hawaii.
"When can I surf again?" the 13-year-old asked after her emergency surgery.
She returned almost immediately, and began to spread the word of her story, in hopes of helping others overcoming obstacles put in front of them.
Hamilton, now 21 and on the women's pro tour since 2007, talks about the reaction so far to her life story, and why it still resonates:
QUESTION: How did you gauge the reaction from the audience after you attended the "blue carpet" premiere recently in L.A.?
ANSWER: I thought everyone was stoked on it. That's really nice. I had heard it was hard to get good feedback from L.A. because everyone can be so critical about movies. It was cool. Everyone enjoyed it, and we had a wonderful night with my family and some of my best friends.
Q: As a competitive athlete now, do you find yourself actually some kind of psychological advantage over opponents? In that you're able to do what you do so well without both arms?
A: Surfing is very different from a lot of other sports, because there's so much arm movement, and having to paddle fast, and position yourself properly. For me, I really have to focus and think through my heat and study the lineup. I really don't think of it as having any kind of advantage. If anything, it can still hold me back in certain waves. But once you're up on the board, and as long as I get two good waves, I'm good. The girls I compete against, we're all good friends, so once we're on land, we don't talk much about the competition or who has advantages.
Q: Does competitive surfing at times take anything away from the pure fun of riding the board?
A: I can see where there are times when I'm so focused on getting better in a competition, I forget to just have fun and be in the ocean. I always come back to being grateful just to be able to continue surfing, especially after those long trips. I'm stoked to get back in the water. I know the name of the movie, and when you talk about 'soul surfers,' most of them you don't consider to be competitive. I interpret it as: If you find something you're passionate about, no matter what, you love it. And whether I'm competing or not, I'd be in the water loving it. Some do get burned out and lose their passion. But that's not the case for me. When the waves are good, I'll be out there all day.
Q: Have you gotten used to the media fishbowl yet, especially now, with this new wave of it, after all these years? Did it make you grow up fast?
A: Yeah, it's been crazy coming from mellow Kauai to get thrown into all this crazy, but it's all been a good experience, a way to reach more people and share our story with everything. It's a lot of hoping on planes and sleeping in hotels and getting homesick, but even worse, being away from the ocean.
Q: Reading your book again, you didn't seem to be someone who took things for granted. You're very grounded in Christianity. Is that even more the case now than back then, and would it be something that you'd have anyway because you're more you're more mature, not just because of the accident that happened?
A: My faith in Jesus has always kept me grounded me, and keeps me going, and inspires me every day. I know I'm not perfect and God loves me and He can help me get through things, guide me on life decisions. There are so many decisions that have to be made, and making the movie became very intense sometimes because we had to be on top of everything. There was some stuff we didn't approve of. But it's been awesome to be able to trust in God and know His plan is much better than the one I have.
Q: Where are the best places you've found to surf in California?
A: I love going out at 'Lowers' (Lower Trestles in Orange County), but the crowd can be intense. I just try to find a spot where it's a little less known. We always have a stop in Huntington (Beach), and it gets pretty hectic there, too, but it's also great to see all the people come together to support it. I stay with a good friend when I'm there and manage to get some quiet time around Orange County when I'm there.
Q: Even though actors play you throughout the films, primarily AnnaSophia Robb, you managed to do make an appearance in the movie, right?
A: I got to do a lot of the one-armed stunt surfing and have a cameo in one scene.
Q: What was the strangest part about seeing someone play you on the big screen? Was there a scene that you reacted to that caught you by surprise?
A: I became good friends with AnnaSophia, and the way she portrayed me, it was easier to take in.
Q: Your book is the basis for the movie, but what did Hollywood do to your story to add to it, as it tends to do sometimes?
A: There are two fictional characters. "Maria" is a competitive surfer who has a rivalry with me. But I liked that aspect of the movie. There's competitiveness, so it works and we end up friends in the movie. Then there's a friend of mine named "Taoki," and I liked how his character worked. So even if there is some fiction in there, my family and I approved of it and we really worked with the writers and directors to come up with something that moves the story as long as it doesn't water things down.
Q: What do you hope movie goers take away from "Soul Surfer," particularly those who may not know about the religious faith aspect that kind of holds your story together?
A: Of course, I want to share my faith, and my love of surfing, but I want it to be natural. I didn't want to push it on anyone. I want them to just be encouraged, see how good things can come from bad. Everyone thinks, 'How horrible,' but I see all the good that has come out of it. I'm still surfing, all over the world. It's cool to know that hopefully we can have another surfing movie on the big screen.
Q: Has anyone made comparisons to your movie and the James Franco movie, "127 Hours"?
A: Not too many, but it's funny -- we both lost our arms in the same year (2003) and the movies came out the same year, and we're still both doing the things we love. I haven't met (mountain climber Aron Ralston), but I did see his film and enjoyed it. It was cool to see the similarities in our stories.
Q: Really? How did you react to the scene where he lost his arm?
A: I like how we did the scene in 'Soul Surfer' better - it happened quick, we did the scene quick. It's not too much for kids to handle. We didn't want it to turn into a 'Jaws' movie. But in ("127 Hours"), honestly, I fast forwarded (on the DVD) that part. It was gnarly. So gnarly.
== More:
== Bethany Hamilton's official website (linked here)
== The "Soul Surfer" movie website (linked here)
2020 Article: Surfer Girl Rides Waves Again After Losing Arm from Shark Attack (linked here)
WATCH MOVIE TRAILER
Previous 2004 post (linked here)
'Soul Surfer' Bethany Hamilton rides a big-screen wave
By Tom Hoffarth on April 8, 2011 6:00 AM
http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2011/04/soul-surfer-the.html
In real life, Bethany Hamilton is among the top women's surfers the world.
In reel life, her story, "Soul Surfer," which hit theatres today, would rank among any sport's top comeback flicks of all time. Not even Hollywood could mess up this script.
More than seven years ago, before dawn on Halloween morning, she had her left arm taken off by a 14-foot tiger shark while they were both sharing the waters off the shore of Kauai, Hawaii.
"When can I surf again?" the 13-year-old asked after her emergency surgery.
She returned almost immediately, and began to spread the word of her story, in hopes of helping others overcoming obstacles put in front of them.
Hamilton, now 21 and on the women's pro tour since 2007, talks about the reaction so far to her life story, and why it still resonates:
QUESTION: How did you gauge the reaction from the audience after you attended the "blue carpet" premiere recently in L.A.?
ANSWER: I thought everyone was stoked on it. That's really nice. I had heard it was hard to get good feedback from L.A. because everyone can be so critical about movies. It was cool. Everyone enjoyed it, and we had a wonderful night with my family and some of my best friends.
Q: As a competitive athlete now, do you find yourself actually some kind of psychological advantage over opponents? In that you're able to do what you do so well without both arms?
A: Surfing is very different from a lot of other sports, because there's so much arm movement, and having to paddle fast, and position yourself properly. For me, I really have to focus and think through my heat and study the lineup. I really don't think of it as having any kind of advantage. If anything, it can still hold me back in certain waves. But once you're up on the board, and as long as I get two good waves, I'm good. The girls I compete against, we're all good friends, so once we're on land, we don't talk much about the competition or who has advantages.
Q: Does competitive surfing at times take anything away from the pure fun of riding the board?
A: I can see where there are times when I'm so focused on getting better in a competition, I forget to just have fun and be in the ocean. I always come back to being grateful just to be able to continue surfing, especially after those long trips. I'm stoked to get back in the water. I know the name of the movie, and when you talk about 'soul surfers,' most of them you don't consider to be competitive. I interpret it as: If you find something you're passionate about, no matter what, you love it. And whether I'm competing or not, I'd be in the water loving it. Some do get burned out and lose their passion. But that's not the case for me. When the waves are good, I'll be out there all day.
Q: Have you gotten used to the media fishbowl yet, especially now, with this new wave of it, after all these years? Did it make you grow up fast?
A: Yeah, it's been crazy coming from mellow Kauai to get thrown into all this crazy, but it's all been a good experience, a way to reach more people and share our story with everything. It's a lot of hoping on planes and sleeping in hotels and getting homesick, but even worse, being away from the ocean.
Q: Reading your book again, you didn't seem to be someone who took things for granted. You're very grounded in Christianity. Is that even more the case now than back then, and would it be something that you'd have anyway because you're more you're more mature, not just because of the accident that happened?
A: My faith in Jesus has always kept me grounded me, and keeps me going, and inspires me every day. I know I'm not perfect and God loves me and He can help me get through things, guide me on life decisions. There are so many decisions that have to be made, and making the movie became very intense sometimes because we had to be on top of everything. There was some stuff we didn't approve of. But it's been awesome to be able to trust in God and know His plan is much better than the one I have.
Q: Where are the best places you've found to surf in California?
A: I love going out at 'Lowers' (Lower Trestles in Orange County), but the crowd can be intense. I just try to find a spot where it's a little less known. We always have a stop in Huntington (Beach), and it gets pretty hectic there, too, but it's also great to see all the people come together to support it. I stay with a good friend when I'm there and manage to get some quiet time around Orange County when I'm there.
Q: Even though actors play you throughout the films, primarily AnnaSophia Robb, you managed to do make an appearance in the movie, right?
A: I got to do a lot of the one-armed stunt surfing and have a cameo in one scene.
Q: What was the strangest part about seeing someone play you on the big screen? Was there a scene that you reacted to that caught you by surprise?
A: I became good friends with AnnaSophia, and the way she portrayed me, it was easier to take in.
Q: Your book is the basis for the movie, but what did Hollywood do to your story to add to it, as it tends to do sometimes?
A: There are two fictional characters. "Maria" is a competitive surfer who has a rivalry with me. But I liked that aspect of the movie. There's competitiveness, so it works and we end up friends in the movie. Then there's a friend of mine named "Taoki," and I liked how his character worked. So even if there is some fiction in there, my family and I approved of it and we really worked with the writers and directors to come up with something that moves the story as long as it doesn't water things down.
Q: What do you hope movie goers take away from "Soul Surfer," particularly those who may not know about the religious faith aspect that kind of holds your story together?
A: Of course, I want to share my faith, and my love of surfing, but I want it to be natural. I didn't want to push it on anyone. I want them to just be encouraged, see how good things can come from bad. Everyone thinks, 'How horrible,' but I see all the good that has come out of it. I'm still surfing, all over the world. It's cool to know that hopefully we can have another surfing movie on the big screen.
Q: Has anyone made comparisons to your movie and the James Franco movie, "127 Hours"?
A: Not too many, but it's funny -- we both lost our arms in the same year (2003) and the movies came out the same year, and we're still both doing the things we love. I haven't met (mountain climber Aron Ralston), but I did see his film and enjoyed it. It was cool to see the similarities in our stories.
Q: Really? How did you react to the scene where he lost his arm?
A: I like how we did the scene in 'Soul Surfer' better - it happened quick, we did the scene quick. It's not too much for kids to handle. We didn't want it to turn into a 'Jaws' movie. But in ("127 Hours"), honestly, I fast forwarded (on the DVD) that part. It was gnarly. So gnarly.
== More:
== Bethany Hamilton's official website (linked here)
== The "Soul Surfer" movie website (linked here)
2020 Article: Surfer Girl Rides Waves Again After Losing Arm from Shark Attack (linked here)
WATCH MOVIE TRAILER
Previous 2004 post (linked here)
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
May 2, 1611 King James Authorized Bible First Published
400 years ago TODAY, the King James version of the Bible was first published.
As a small child, my father gave me a King James Bible that he bought while working on the movie 'The Ten Commandments' in Egypt which I still have but it was hard for me to read.
And it wasn't until after I became born-again (read John 3), that I could understand any of it!
Then over the years, I started reading many of the modern versions: New International, New American Standard, Good News for Modern Man, Amplified, Living Bible, etc etc.
However, in 2005 while living in Berlin, Germany, as a missionary, my eyes were opened to the needless changes and removal of words/verses in these modern versions thus watering down the diety of Christ. Stunned by this discovery, I tossed them all and returned to the King James version.
Now most everyday, I read at least one chapter and just like our bodies need physical food, our soul needs spiritual food. Reading the Scriptures brings great comfort and hope!
"And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Luke 4:4
Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
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