Medicine~Hazardous to Your Health

What doctors may or may not know but probably won't tell you, and what the drug companies certainly know and certainly won't tell you, and what the FDA certainly knows but is afraid to tell you - I will tell you, because you must know.

[Image, courtesy of MedShadow.org]

          Please hear me - doctors save lives. Drugs save lives. My son would not be alive without the surgical intervention of a liver transplant or anti-rejection drugs. But doctors don't know everything, and they certainly make mistakes. And drugs kill and cause permanent damage and disabilities. You must advocate for your own personal health, wellness, and safety. You must ask various health-care practitioners the pertinent questions, do your own research, and make a concerted effort to change dietary habits, activity levels, and seek natural alternatives, where available, to maintain your health and well-being.

          The potential dangers and damaging effects of prescription drugs are precisely why the very first point of my Outline for Life - Physical Well-Being and the Wellness Questionnaire address this issue first - nothing is more paramount. Even if you are doing everything else right, prescription drugs could be tearing you apart.

          For more information on prescription drugs, see my Outline for Life and the Wellness Excerpts from My Blog on the Resources page of my website, JeffHoracek.com/resources. In addition, a great resource of information on prescription drugs, medical devices and implants, and alternatives can be found at MedShadow.org. Furthermore, to help you evaluate your prescription medications, I have created the Medication Worksheets, found on my Resources page next to the Wellness Questionnaire, that you can use to list all your medications and begin the evaluation process in association with your doctor or qualified health-care practitioner. Once you have your list, you can enter the appropriate information into the medication analyzer at MedStopper.com to help you and your doctor begin the tapering process of non-essential medications. The recommendations given by the MedStopper medication analyzer are only approximations. The longer you have been on a drug, the higher the dose, and the more sensitive you are will require slowing down the tapering process significantly - often only reducing dosages by 10% every 2-4 weeks, or even slower if symptoms dictate. This is especially true of any mentally- or emotionally-active drugs such as the benzodiazepines (Ativan, Halcion, Klonopin, Librium, Restoril, Valium, Xanax) and those used for anxiety, depression, or sleep disorders. Please note that any reduction in a pharmaceutical will also require changes in your diet, level of exercise, and supplementation with appropriate nutraceuticals. This is essential for establishing and maintaining your healthy well-being.

God wants you to be healthy and well. And so do I. I'm praying for you.

www.JeffHoracek.com

Love Becomes One

We’ve all probably had Divine encounters, but a Divine appointed match made in heaven is a most marvelous thing.

The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one’s relationship has a glowing depth, beauty and joy as the years increase. This inner progressiveness of love between two human beings is a most marvelous thing, it cannot be found by looking for it or by passionately wishing for it. It is a sort of Divine accident.

               —Sir Hugh Walpole

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Ephesians 5:31 NIV 

               Love and our interpersonal relationships can grow and blossom if we continually put forth effort to cultivate them. But just like the best of gardens, if we ignore our love and those relationships, they will soon be overtaken by weeds or die from lack of care. It is truly a wonderful thing to experience the years go by and find love ever strengthening and the garden more beautiful and the harvest grander each year. When two can intertwine together in true love, they have a very special relationship indeed—oneness together and with God is a glorious thing never to be taken for granted.

               Love may start out immature, as an attraction or infatuation, but there is always the opportunity for love to grow and mature into the perfect union of oneness. It doesn’t always work out this way, but when that bond strengthens and solidifies and becomes one, it is the grandest of all Divine blessings.

[Excerpt from my book, Restore My Spirit, O God, p71–72.]

You can read more about God’s love for us and our love for God and others in my books, Restore My Spirit, O God, pages 49–75 and Renew My Heart, O God, pages 53–84. For more on building strong relationships, see my Outline for Life—Soul, point 7, pages 8–10, downloadable on the Resources page of my website, JeffHoracek.com/resources. 

www.JeffHoracek.com

Love Chooses to Overlook

Love says, “Before you recount all the flaws of others, make sure you look in the mirror first and count all yours.”

Love is not blind, it sees more not less;

But because it sees more it chooses to see less.

               —Author Unknown

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 NIV

               Real love sees all the flaws of the one loved in all aspects of their true nature but chooses not to emphasize or bring attention to those flaws but promotes and acknowledges all that is positive. Real love is not vindictive, condescending, or critical but is protective, encouraging, and uplifting. Love should always be honest with compassion, respectful and helpful, and instructive in positive ways. Love doesn’t promote self at the expense of another, nor does it ever reveal personal intimacies for public consumption. Love is ever forgiving and, most importantly, forgetful of the wrongs received and the negatives displayed, and love refuses to continually bring to mind or voice those same issues. Real love never uses itself as leverage to gain something for self. Love is always understanding and never condemning. Love has enormous power to influence when used appropriately and has the unique ability to bring about the positive change that nothing else could do.

               So I ask you, does this love describe your love? If you want to be loved like that, then you must first love like that. Rejoice in your ability to love and do not be sorrowful in what you receive. Love as if you’ve never been hurt, and love as if your next breath depended upon it.

Excerpt from my book, Restore My Spirit, O God, p 70–71.

You can read more about God’s love for us and our love for God and others in my books, Restore My Spirit, O God, pages 49–75 and Renew My Heart, O God, pages 53–84. For more on building strong relationships, see my Outline for Life—Soul, point 7, pages 8–10, downloadable on the Resources page of my website, JeffHoracek.com/resources.

www.JeffHoracek.com

Love~Willingly Surrendered

Unlimited in its power and scope, irresistible in influence, indestructible in its character, impossible to force or coerce, unavailable for sale, undaunted by circumstance, and in infinite supply to meet the demand—it’s called love.

Love is the only service that power cannot command and money cannot buy.

               —Author Unknown

 

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:9–10 NIV

               Love cannot be forced, coerced, or bought. True love is only given freely. God gave us free will so that we could love Him back on our own accord, not as a robot programmed unknowingly to respond in a desired and appropriate way. Love is sincere when it puts the best interest of another first, with all due honor and respect. True love is not manipulative, judgmental, nor condemning, but always gracious, merciful, understanding, and forgiving. It does not embrace or condone evil, but it serves to compassionately bring wrong into the light. Love is not wielded as a sword; it is submissively surrendered. Although it may sound or seem as if love is weak, it is the most powerful, most motivational, and most influential force that exists in the human experience.  Love can propel and enable you to do what no other force could possibly bring about. It was not ropes and spikes of iron that held Christ to the Cross. It was love.

[Excerpt from my book, Restore My Spirit, O God, p 68–69.]

You can read more about God’s love for us and our love for God and others in my books, Restore My Spirit, O God, pages 49–75 and Renew My Heart, O God, pages 53–84. For more on building strong relationships, see my Outline for Life—Soul, point 7, pages 8–10, downloadable on the Resources page of my website, JeffHoracek.com/resources.  

www.JeffHoracek.com

Your Wellness Starts Here!

The Wellness Questionnaire is the starting point for wholeness and wellness - body, soul, and spirit - by God's design. Simply take your time to answer the 60 poignant questions covering 37 areas of your entire nature - physical, mental and emotional, and spiritual - to clearly ascertain where you are doing well and areas that need more attention. For those areas needing attention (the unchecked boxes), refer to the reference key at the end of each statement in brackets (such as [Soul-5]) and go to that discussion point in your wellness guide, Outline for Life - Intro, Body, Soul, Spirit, for information and help to get you healthy and well in that area. Take one point at a time. This is not a test nor is this a sprint to the finish. This is your life race guide to wellness. 
You can access and download all the pertinent documents on the Resources page of my website, JeffHoracek.com/resources. Make sure you read the Introduction page for Outline for Life to take full advantage of all the information that is there, and also take note of the explanation on the last page of the Wellness Questionnaire. May God bless you with wellness in every way! My prayers are with you!
[Photo, courtesy of Galen Horacek, taken on our property, The Redbud.]

www.JeffHoracek.com