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Save the Glaciers - Wrapping Paper
Adorn your gifts with this Save the Glaciers wrapping paper.
Featuring SAVE THE GLACIERS, a limited edition collection raising awareness of Switzerland's beautiful and endangered glaciers.
I am donating 20% of the proceeds from this collection to the Swiss Association for Climate Protection, which launched the Glacier Initiative. Their goal is to eliminate emissions by 2050, to anchor the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement in the Swiss Constitution and to promote climate protection in Switzerland.
I believe in more than just 'raising awareness' of endangered glaciers, I believe in taking action, positive change and education.

subset: commoncrawl


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How Copper Pipes Affect Your Water
If your home was not built with PEX pipes, they may be made of copper. If your water is more acidic, it can strip the copper away from your pipes and into your water supply. High concentrations of copper comes primarily from corrosion of interior copper plumbing.
Coating tends to build up over time in copper pipes and form a protective barrier from the water and copper, however, new homes with new pipes may be susceptible to this issue, as this coating has not built up yet in the new piping.
The best indicator of whether you may have corrosion in your copper pipes is if the pH level in your water is acidic (less than 7). There are a number of solutions for acidic water, including a whole home water filter.
If you are concerned enough to replace your copper pipes altogether, the best alternative is likely PEX (crosslinked polyethylene). Along with cost and flexibility advantages, it provides resistance to scale and chlorine. Other options vary – check your building code and do your research before making a decision on whether to switch from copper piping, and determine what is best for you.
Infants and Wilson's Disease Risks
The body has a natural way of regulating copper. However, children under one year old do not have this mechanism yet. Those with Wilson's Disease also have difficulty maintaining proper copper levels. People with Wilson's Disease can not regulate copper properly, and it can build up in their liver, brain and other organs. The condition is treatable if diagnosed early. If you have an infant or someone in your household has Wilson's Disease, make sure you know the composition of your indoor plumbing.
Suggested Products
The Aquasential® Smart Reverse Osmosis Water Filter (RO)
- 7 stages of filtration and 12 filter options
- Certified for reduction of 58 contaminants
- 2-in-1 sediment and carbon filter screens out sediment and particles
- Can alert you and your dealer when service or filter replacements are needed
Aquasential™ Smart High Efficiency Whole House Water Filters
Reduce sediments in your water and contaminants that cause your water to appear, taste, and smell unpleasant. Your system can also lessen the taste and odor of chlorine, and prevent pipe damage and staining from low pH water. Additional customizations include:
- Culligan® Filtr-Cleer® Water Filters – Reduces Sediment Problems
- Culligan® Cullar® Water Filters – Reduces Taste and Odor Problems
- Culligan® Cullneu Water Filters – Reduces Acid Problems


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Learn to sail with our RYA sailing school |
Poros Yachting Academy, our sailing school, is a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) recognised sail training school offering both RYA and non-RYA sail training courses. Come and enjoy learning to sail the crystal clear waters of the Aegean and enjoy the warmth of the Greek sun & hospitality. |
Sail training and RYA training courses |
Learn to sail enquiry | ||
We are currently not taking bookings for RYA courses pending the appointment of a new chief instructor. Feel free to ask for information and we will contact you as soon as we are ready to take your booking. You have probably arrived here because you have decided you would like to start sailing or want to progress to a higher sailing qualification and need to find out how the courses are structured and how you may book a sail training course. If you're not sure where to start, then the RYA 'Competent Crew' course is a good starting point. The course lasts a week and gives you an all-round grounding in how to sail a yacht. For full details of the various courses and how they relate to each other, please refer to our RYA Sailing course structure page, but please remember, we're always happy to discuss your particular interests & requirements. Poros Yachting Academy - an RYA recognised training centreGreek Sails offer sail training at our own sailing school, Poros Yachting Academy, which is a recognised Royal Yachting Association (RYA) sail training centre. The RYA is one of the foremost sail training organisations in the world and RYA sailing qualifications are recognised & accepted by yacht charter companies all over the world. The RYA provides a range of courses starting with the aptly named 'Start yachting' course, right up to the 'Yachtmaster Ocean' qualification that qualifies you to skipper a vessel of up to 200 gross tonnes anywhere in the world! The training includes both theory & practical courses and for the higher qualifications, independent examination. RYA sailing courses offered by Poros Yachting Academy (PYA)We offer a full range of both practical (non-tidal) & theory (shore-based) sail training courses suitable all levels of sailing experience, from the novice to those with experience & existing sailing qualifications seeking to achieve higher qualification. The RYA practical sailing courses Poros Yachting Academy offer are:
Poros Yachting Academy also run RYA theory (shore-based) courses:
Non-RYA sailing courses offered by Poros Yachting Academy (PYA)For those not wanting to take a formal sailing course, Poros Yachting Academy also offer a range of non-RYA sail training courses designed for those looking to refresh their sailing skills or who are sailing in the area for the first time. Because these aren't formal sailing courses following a prescribed syllabus, we are often able to tailor these courses to your individual needs. These non-RYA sailing courses can also be combined with a week of sailing and a week of relaxing or exploring Poros and the nearby Peloponnese coast which is an excellent option for a mixed preference holiday group. Poros Yachting Academy offer the following non-RYA sail training courses:
You may book any of these sail training courses on one of our tuition yachts. These yachts accommodate a maximum of five students plus the instructor and all courses are in English. Alternatively, if you are on your own or on one of our charter yachts for a holiday, we also offer our own yacht tuition option. In this case, all or part of your party (up to five students) can receive tuition. The group may be of mixed ability, with members qualifying at different levels depending on their experience and ability. Pricing for learn to sail holidaysPricing for our sailing courses and learn to sail holidays can be found in Table 6 on the 'Sailing holiday, charter & learn to sail prices' page. |
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Ultimate Questions by John Blanchard
The text below is from The Highway. Order your copy in print today at the Westminster Bookstore.
This is the fundamental question. If God does not exist, searching for him is pointless. Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists. (Hebrews 11:6) While it is impossible to 'prove' God in a mathematical sense, the evidence is very convincing. Take the existence of the universe. To call it the result of an 'accident' raises many questions – and answers none. The same is true of the 'Big Bang' theory. Where, for instance, did the raw materials come from? Not even a 'big bang' can make something out of nothing! The evolutionary idea is widespread but just as weak; how can 'nothing' evolve into 'something', let alone earth's amazingly complex life forms?
All other theories are equally fragile. The only satisfactory explanation is this: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis1:1) Our world is not the random result of a gigantic fluke involving ingredients that were 'always there'. Instead, the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3) Creation had a beginning, and it was God who brought it into being. He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. (Psalm 33:9)
This is reinforced by the amazing order and design seen everywhere and by the universal laws which hold everything together, from the vastness of outer space to microscopic organisms. But design demands a designer and laws a law-giver – and God is both! The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. (Acts 17:24)
But the strongest 'creation evidence' is man himself. Unlike other animals, man has something we call 'personality'; he makes intelligent choices, has a conscience and can distinguish between right and wrong. He is capable of love and compassion. Above all, he has an instinct to worship. Where did he get these qualities? Neither evolution nor an avalanche of accidents could have produced them. The clearest answer is this: The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) Man is not an accident; he is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) by the Creator of the universe.
The question is vital. Left to ourselves we are totally ignorant of God. Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? (Job 11:7) God is beyond our understanding and we need him to reveal himself to us.
Creation is one of the main ways in which he does so. The heavens declare the glory of God . the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1) The sheer size of the universe and its amazing balance, variety and beauty reveal a great deal about the God who made it. In creation God shows his stupendous power, awesome intelligence and brilliant imagination. Since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)
When we communicate with one another we rely heavily on words. God also speaks to men through words – the words of the Bible. Nearly 4000 times in the Old Testament alone (500 times in the first five books) you will find phrases like 'the Lord spoke', 'the Lord commanded' and 'the Lord said'. This is why it is claimed that Scripture never had its origin in the word of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2Peter 1:21)
In no other literature can we find scores of clear and detailed prophecies made by men claiming to speak from God, and later fulfilled to the letter. The odds against this happening by chance are too vast to be taken seriously.
Then there is the Bible's impact on people's lives. No other book has had such a life changing power. Millions of people, over thousands of years, have proved by personal experience that the law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. (Psalm 19:7-8)
After 2,000 years no expert in any field has ever disproved a single statement in the Bible. The reason is this: All Scripture is God breathed. (2 Timothy 3:16) We should therefore accept it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
This is obviously the next question to be faced. To acknowledge that God exists is one thing, and to acknowledge him in the general sense that God speaks to us in creation and through the pages of the Bible is another. But we need to know more. What is God actually like? The Bible gives us many clear and positive answers to this tremendously important question. Here are some of them.
God is personal. God is not a 'thing', power, or influence. He thinks, feels desires and acts in ways that show him to be a living personal Being. But he is not just 'the man upstairs' or some kind of 'superman'. The Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. (Jeremiah 10:10)
God is one. There is only one true God. He says, I am the first and the last; apart from me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6) Yet God has revealed himself as a 'trinity' of three Persons – the Father, the son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit each of whom is truly, fully and equally God. The Bible speaks of the glory of God the Father; (Philippians 2:11) it says that the Word (Jesus Christ) was God; (John 1:1) and it speaks of the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18) While there is only one God, there are three persons in the Godhead.
God is spirit. He has no physical dimensions. He does not have a body, nor does he have any characteristics that can be defined in terms of size and shape. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) This means that God is invisible. No one has ever seen God. (John 1:18) It also means that he is not confined to one place at a time, but is everywhere all the time: 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?' declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:24) Quite apart from anything else, this means that God is fully aware of everything that happens everywhere. This includes not only everything you do and say, but every thought that passes through your mind.
God is eternal. God has no beginning. In the Bible's words from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2) There never was a time when God did not exist and there never will be a time when he will not exist. God describes himself as the one who is, and who was, and who is to come. (Revelation 1:8) And he remains eternally the same: I the Lord do not change. (Malachi 3:6) All that God ever was he still is and always will be.
God is independent. Every other living being is dependent on people or things, and ultimately on God – but God is totally independent of his creation. He can survive on his own. He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. (Acts 17:25)
God is holy. He is majestic in holiness, awesome in glory. (Exodus 15:11) There can be no comparison with the holiness of God. There is no one holy like the Lord, (1 Samuel 2:2) who is utterly without fault or defect. The Bible says of him, Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. (Habakkuk 1:13) And this holy God demands holiness from every one of us. His command to us today is: Be holy, because I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16)
God is just. The Bible says that the Lord is a God of justice and that righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. (Isaiah 30:18; Psalm 97:2) God is not only our Creator and Sustainer; he is also our Judge rewarding and punishing, in time and eternity, with a justice that is perfect and beyond any appeal or dispute.
God is perfect. His knowledge is perfect. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13) God knows everything in the past, present and future, including all our thoughts, words and deeds. His wisdom is perfect and utterly beyond our understanding. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33)
God is sovereign. He is the sole and supreme ruler of the universe and nothing whatever is outside of his control. The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth. (Psalm 135:6) With God there are no accidents or surprises. He writes all the world's history and works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. (Ephesians 1:11) God needs no advice or consent for anything he chooses to do. Nor can anyone prevent him doing what he pleases: No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have you done?' (Daniel 4:35)
God is omnipotent. He is all-powerful. In his own words I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27) This does not mean that God can do anything (he cannot lie, or change, or make mistakes, or sin, or deny himself) but that he can do anything he wishes consistent with his character.
These are just brief sketches of some of the things God has revealed in the Bible about his own nature and character. There are other truths about God in the Bible (and we will look at one of these later on) though there are many things about him we cannot possibly understand. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. (Job 5:9) In that sense, the Almighty is beyond our reach (Job 37:23) and no amount of human intelligence or reasoning can change that. This should hardly surprise us: If we could understand God he would be unworthy of our worship.
The pressures and problems of modern living are driving many people to a restless search for meaning and purpose in life. We have seen something of who God is; what about us? Why do we exist? Why are we here? Does human life have any meaning or purpose?
The first thing to get clear is that man does not merely 'exist'. He is more than an accidental accumulation of atoms which all happen to fit together into a convenient package we call 'a human being'. The Bible tells us that he was specifically created by a wise and holy God. God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) Man is more than a highly developed animal or refined ape. He is as different from other creatures as animals are from vegetables and vegetables are from minerals. In terms of size, man is minute compared with the sun, moon and stars, but God has given him a unique and honoured place in the universe.
This is seen in one of God's first commands to man: Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (Genesis 1:28) Man became God's personal representative on earth, with authority over all other living creatures.
But man was also given special dignity. Being created 'in the image of God' does not mean that he was made the same size or shape as God (we have seen that God does not have 'size' or 'shape') nor that man was a miniature of God, possessing all his qualities in small quantities. It means that man was created as a spiritual, rational moral and immortal being, with a nature that was perfect. In other words he was a true reflection of God's holy character.
What is more; man gladly and constantly chose to obey all God's commands and as a result lived in perfect harmony with him. Man had no 'identity crisis' then! He knew exactly who he was and why he was in the world, and he obediently took his God given place.
But not only was man totally fulfilled and completely satisfied with his position in the world. God was satisfied with man! We know this because the Bible tells us that when his work of creation was complete, with man as its crowning glory, God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31) At that point in history; perfect people lived in a perfect environment in a perfect relationship with each other and in perfect harmony with God.
This is hardly the situation today! What happened?
The straightforward answer to the question is this: sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin. (Romans 5:12)
The first man and woman (Adam and Eve) were given great freedom, but also one serious warning. You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. (Genesis 2:17) This was an ideal test of man's willingness to obey what God said simply because God said it. But the devil tempted Eve to disbelieve and disobey God's words, and she did. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6)
At that moment 'sin entered the world'. By his deliberate disobedience man cut himself off from God. Instead of loving God, Adam and Eve were terrified of him: they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8) Instead of being assured confident and happy, their sin had made them ashamed, guilty and afraid.
But God had said that man would die if he disobeyed, and he did. Death means separation, and in one terrible moment man became separated from God; he died spiritually. He also began to die physically, and now had a dead soul and a dying body. But that was not all: the children of Adam and Eve inherited their corrupt nature and sinful character. From then on, like pollution at the source of a river, the poison of sin has flowed to all Adam's descendants, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
Notice that important word 'all', which obviously includes the writer and the reader of this page. We may never meet on this earth, but we have this in common – we are sinners and we are dying. If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, (1 John 1:8) and if we claim not to be dying we are being ridiculous. Fooling around with the facts does nothing to change them.
Many of today's newspaper, television and radio headlines remind us of the fact that the world is in a mess. It is easy to condemn violence, injustice, disorder and wrongdoing in society, but before criticizing others ask yourself whether you are perfect and living a life pleasing to a holy God. Are you absolutely honest, pure, loving and selfless? God knows the answers to these questions – and so do you! All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) You are a sinner by birth, by nature, by practice and by choice, and you urgently need to ace the facts – and the consequences.
When disease is diagnosed, it is important to ask the question: 'Is it serious?' It is even more important to ask that question about the spiritual disease of sin. Many people will almost cheerfully admit to being sinners, because they have no idea what this means. They treat it as being 'just human nature', or they shelter behind the fact that 'everybody does it' . But those statements dodge the real issue: is sin serious? Here are some of the things the Bible says about you as a sinner.
You are debased. This does not mean that you are as bad as you can possibly be, nor that you are constantly committing every sin. Nor does it mean that you cannot tell right from wrong, or do things that are pleasant and helpful. But it does mean that sin has invaded every part of your nature and personality – your mind, will, affections, conscience, disposition and imagination. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. (Jeremiah 17:9) The root of your trouble is not what you do but what you are! You sin because you are a sinner.
You are defiled. The Bible pulls no punches here: For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. (Mark 7:21-22) Notice that the list includes thoughts, words and actions. This shows that in God's sight all sin is equally serious: Some people limit their idea of sin to things like murder, adultery and robbery, but the Bible makes it clear that we have no right to think of sin in this way. Sin is anything that fails to meet God's perfect standards. Anything we say, think or do that is less than perfect is sin. Now face up to this question: Who can say, 'I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin'? (Proverbs 20:9) Can you? If not, you are defiled.
You are defiant. The Bible teaches that sin is lawlessness, (1 John 3:4) deliberate rebellion against God's authority and law. No civil law forces you to lie, cheat, have impure thoughts, or sin in any other way. You choose to sin. You choose to break God's holy law. You deliberately disobey him and that is serious, because God is a righteous judge who expresses his wrath every day. (Psalm 7:11) God can never be 'soft' about sin, and you can be sure that not even one sin will go unpunished.
Some small part of God's punishment of sin comes in this life (though we may not recognize it). But the final punishment will be inflicted after death, when on the Day of Judgement each one of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)
There are many ideas about what happens when we die. Some say we are all annihilated, some that we all go to heaven. Others believe in a place where sinful souls are prepared for heaven. But nothing in the Bible supports any of these ideas.
Instead, we read this: man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement. (Hebrews 9:27) Those in a right relationship with God will then be welcomed into heaven, to spend eternity in his glorious presence. All others will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:9) The Bible's most common word for this is 'hell'. Here are four important truths about it:
Hell is factual. It is not something 'invented by the church'. The Bible says more about hell than it does about heaven and leaves no doubt about its reality. It speaks of people being condemned to hell and thrown into hell. (Matthew 23:33; Matthew 5:29)
Hell is fearful. It is described in the Bible as a place of torment; a fiery furnace; a place of everlasting burning and unquenchable fire. (Luke 16:28; Matthew 13:42; Isaiah 33:14; Matthew 3:12) It is a place of suffering, with weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13) and in which there is no rest day or night. (Revelation 14:11) These are terrible words, but they are true. Those in hell are cut off from all good, cursed by God and banished from even the smallest help or comfort that his presence brings.
Hell is final. All the roads to hell are one way streets. There is no exit. Between hell and heaven a great chasm has been fixed. (Luke 16:26) The horror, loneliness and agony of hell are not in order to purify but to punish – for ever!
Hell is fair. The Bible tells us that God will judge the world with justice, (Acts 17:31) and he is perfectly just in sending sinners to hell. After all, he is giving them what they have chosen. They reject God here; he rejects them there. They choose to live ungodly lives; he confirms their choice – for ever. God can hardly be accused of injustice or unfairness!
In the light of these terrible truths, you need to think very carefully about a question once put to a group of people in the New Testament: How will you escape belong condemned to hell? (Matthew 23:33)
Man has been called a religious animal. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics lists hundreds of ways in which men have tried to satisfy their religious longings and feelings. They have worshipped the sun, moon and stars; earth, fire and water idols of wood, stone and metal; fish, birds and animals. They have worshipped countless gods and spirits which have been the products of their own perverted imagination. Others have attempted to worship the true God through a vast variety of sacrifices, ceremonies, sacraments and services. But 'religion', however sincere, can never solve man's sin problem, for at least three reasons.
Religion can never satisfy God. Religion is man's attempt to make himself right with God, but any such attempt is futile because even man's best efforts are flawed and so are unacceptable to God. The Bible could not be clearer: all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) God demands perfection; religion fails to meet the demand.
Religion can never remove sin. Your virtues can never cancel out your vices. Good deeds can never remove bad ones, If a person gets right with God it is not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:9) No religious efforts or experiences – christening, confirmation, baptism, holy communion, churchgoing, prayers, gifts, sacrifices of time and effort, Bible reading or anything else – can cancel out a single sin.
Religion can never change man's sinful nature. A person's behaviour is not the problem, only the symptom. The heart of man's problem is the problem of man's heart, and by nature man's heart is corrupt and depraved. Going to church and taking part in religious ceremonies may make you feel good but they cannot make you good. Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! (Job 14:4)
Some of the religious activities mentioned above are obviously 'good' in themselves. For example, it is right to go to church, to read the Bible and to pray, because God tells us to do these things. But you dare not rely on them to make you right with God, Not only are they powerless to do so; trusting in them actually adds to your sin and to your condemnation.
Yes there is! and God has provided it. The central message of the Bible is summed up in these words: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
We saw earlier that a just and holy God must punish sin. But the Bible also tells us that God is love. (1 John 4:8) While God hates sin he loves sinners and longs to forgive them. But how can a sinner be justly pardoned when God's law demands his spiritual and physical death? Only God could solve that problem, and he did so in the person of Jesus Christ. The Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world. (1 John 4:14)
God the Son became a man by taking upon himself human nature. Although Jesus became fully man, he remained fully God: the Bible says that in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. (Colossians 2:9) He remained as completely God as if he had not become man; he became as completely man as if he were not God. Jesus Christ is therefore unique and the Bible confirms this in many ways. His conception was unique; he had no human father but was conceived in a virgin's womb by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. His words were unique: people were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. (Luke 4:32) His miracles were unique: he went about healing every sickness and disease among the people, (Matthew 4:23) and on several occasions even raised the dead. His character was unique: he was tempted in every way just as we are – yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15) so that God the Father could say of him, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.' (Matthew 3:17)
Notice that last sentence! This means that as a man Jesus kept the law of God in every part and therefore was not subject to sin's double death penalty. Yet he was arrested on a trumped up charge, sentenced on false evidence, and eventually crucified at Jerusalem. But his death was not a 'freak' or an unavoidable accident. It was all part of God's set purpose and foreknowledge. (Acts 2:23) The Father sent the Son for the very purpose of paying sin's death penalty, and Jesus willingly came. In his own words, the purpose of his coming into the world was to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28) His death, like his life, was unique.
This makes it vital that you understand what happened when Jesus died, and what his death can mean to you.
All the Bible's teaching points to the death of Jesus. Neither his perfect life nor his marvelous teaching nor his powerful miracles are the focus of the Bible's message. These are all important, but above all else Jesus came into the world to die. What makes his death so important? The answer is that he died as a Substitute, a Sin bearer and a Savior.
Jesus the Substitute. This demonstrates the love of God. Sinners are guilty, lost and helpless in the face of God's holy law, which demands punishment for every sin. How can they possibly escape God's righteous wrath? The Bible's answer is this: God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) As part of an amazing rescue plan God the Son volunteered to take the place of sinners and bear the just penalty for their sin. The sinless Son of God willingly suffered and died for them, the righteous for the unrighteous. (1 Peter 3:18)
Jesus the Sin-bearer. This demonstrates the holiness of God. There was nothing 'faked' about Christ's death. The penalty for the sins of others was paid in full by the death of God's sinless Son. As he hung on the cross he cried out, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Mark 15:34) At that terrible moment God the Father turned his back on his beloved Son, who then endured the penalty of separation from God. Notice how this shows God's perfect holiness. All sin, every sin, must be punished – and when Jesus took the place of sinners he became as accountable for their sins as if he had been responsible for them. The one man who lived a perfect life suffered the double death penalty of the guilty.
Jesus the Savior. This demonstrates the power of God. Three days after his death, Christ was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. (Romans 1:4) He gave many convincing proofs that he was alive and he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. (Acts 1:3; Romans 6:9) In raising Christ from the dead, God powerfully demonstrated that he accepted his death in the place of sinners as the full and perfect payment of sin's penalty and as the basis on which he can offer a full and free pardon to those who would otherwise be doomed to spend eternity in hell.
But how does all this apply to you? How can you get right with God? How can Christ become your Savior?
Having read this far, do you genuinely want to be saved? Do you want to get right with God – whatever the cost or consequences? If not, you have not grasped the importance of the pages you have read. You should therefore read them again slowly and carefully, asking God to show you the truth.
If God has shown you your need, and you do want to be saved, then you must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)
You must repent. This means a complete change regarding sin. There must be a change of mind. You must admit that you are a sinner, a rebel against a holy and loving God. There must be a change of heart – genuine sorrow and shame at the vileness: and filthiness of your sin. Then you must be willing to forsake it and change the direction of your life. God challenges people to prove their repentance by their deeds. (Acts 26:20) You must do this. God will not forgive any sin you are not willing to forsake. To repent is to go in a new direction, seeking wholeheartedly to live in a way that pleases God.
You must have faith in Christ. First of all, this means accepting that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16) and that Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6) Secondly, it means believing that in the power and love Christ is able and willing to save you. Thirdly it means actually putting your trust in Christ, relying upon him and him alone to make you right with God. Your proud; sinful nature will fight against abandoning trust in your own 'goodness' or religion. Yet you have no alternative. You must stop trusting in anything else and trust only in Christ, who is able to save completely those who come to God through him. (Hebrews 7:25)
If God has shown you your need, and given you this desire, then turn to Christ – and do it now! Ideally, pray aloud to him; this may help you to be clear about what you are doing. Confess that you are a guilty, lost and helpless sinner, and with all your heart ask Christ to save you, and to take his rightful place as the Lord of your life, enabling you to turn from sin and to live for him.
The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved and that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:9; Romans 10:13) If you truly trust Christ as your Saviour and acknowledge him as your Lord, you can claim these promises as your own.
If you are now trusting in Christ there are many wonderful things in which you can rejoice. For instance, you are now in a right relationship with God: the Bible calls this being 'justified' and says that since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1) Through Christ, your sins have been dealt with: everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:43) You are now a member of God's family: all who trust in Christ are given the right to become children of God. (John 1:12) You are eternally secure: there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) God himself has come into your life in the person of the Holy Spirit: the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you. (Romans 8:11) What great truths these are!
Now you need to grow in your new spiritual life. Here are four important things to which you will need to give close attention:
Prayer. You are now able to speak to God as your Father, something you have never been able to do before. You can worship him, praising him for his glory, power, holiness and love. You can ask for daily forgiveness. Not even those who become children of God are perfect, but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) You can thank him every day for his goodness to you. There are so many things for which you will want to thank him including the everyday benefits of life that we can so easily take for granted. But you will specially want to thank him for saving you for accepting you into his family, and for giving you eternal life. You should never find it difficult to do this ! You can also ask for his help, strength and guidance in your own life and in the lives of others. In particular, you will want to pray for other people you know who are away from God as you once were.
Bible reading. In prayer, you speak to God; in the Bible, God speaks to you. It is therefore very important that you read it every day, to find out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 5:10) As you do this, ask him to enable you to understand its meaning and to obey its teaching, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. (1 Peter 2:2) If you need help in beginning to study the Bible, send for your free copy of the booklet Read, Mark, Learn, a book of guidelines for personal Bible Study based on Mark's Gospel by John Blanchard c/o Evangelical Press at the address below.
Fellowship. Now that you have become a member of God's family he wants you to meet regularly with your brothers and sisters! Let us not give up meeting together … let us encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:25) This means joining a local church, so make sure that you do this as soon as possible. Choosing the right church is not always easy and you will want to find one which clearly believes and teaches the biblical truths you have been reading in these pages. In your local church you will find out more about God; you will benefit from the experience of others; you will learn the importance of God's special directions about baptism and holy communion; and you will discover the joy of sharing with others the gifts and abilities God has given you. You need the church, and the church needs you!
Service. It will now be your privilege to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 10:12) Always remember that God has saved us and called us to a holy life. (2 Timothy 1:9) Make holiness an absolute priority; it is God's will that you should be holy. (1 Thessalonians 4:3) Then, seek to use your particular gifts in God's service; bear in mind that you were created in Christ Jesus to do good works. (Ephesians 2:10) Finally, be alert for opportunities of telling others how much the Lord has done for you. (Mark 5:19) Telling others about Christ is not only the duty of those who trust him, it is an exhilarating experience!
From now on seek to live in such a way that in every part of your life you declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light! (1 Peter 2:9)
John Blanchard's Ultimate Questions
Copyright 1987 Evangelical Press
Published by Evangelical Press
Faverdale, North Darlington County
Durham, England
The booklet is available in 3 English versions (AV/KJV, NIV and NKJV) and over 40 other languages. Currently, there are almost 15 million copies in print. Full details are available at the Evangelical Press web site at: www.evangelicalpress.org.


text:
The Transfiguration of Jesus – Matthew 17:1—9
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."


text:
Description: Hulk is very angry and he wants to smash everything in his sight. You have to help Hulk to create as much damage as possible to the city before the time runs out and he turns back into his human form Dr. Bruce banner. Use the left and right arrow keys to move, up and down arrow keys to climb up and down the sides of buildings, press spacebar to punch, and use the control key and the direction key in combination to jump. Watch out for the army tanks, helicopters, etc and try to avoid the bullets otherwise you will lose precious times.
Follow instruction inside the game.


text:
It is enlightening to see how pugnacious the U.S. establishment, led by a Peace Laureate, has been in dealing with the Ukraine crisis. The crisis arguably began when the Yanukovich government rejected an EU bailout program in favor of one offered by Russia. The mainstream media (MSM) have virtually suppressed the fact that the EU proposal was not only less generous than the one offered by Russia, but that, whereas the Russian plan did not preclude further Ukrainian deals with the EU, the EU plan would have required a cut-off of further Russian arrangements. And whereas the Russian deal had no military clauses, that of the EU required that Ukraine affiliate with NATO. Insofar as the MSM dealt with this set of offers, they not only suppressed the exclusionary and militarized character of the EU offer, they tended to view the Russian deal as an improper use of economic leverage, "bludgeoning," but the EU proposal was "constructive and reasonable" (Ed., NYT, November 20, 2014). Double standards seem to be fully internalized within the U.S. establishment. The protests that ensued in Ukraine were surely based in part on real grievances against a corrupt government, but they were also pushed along by right-wing groups and by U.S. and allied encouragement and support that increasingly had an anti-Russian and pro-accelerated regime change flavor. They also increased in level of violence. The sniper killings of police and protesters in Maidan on February 21, 2014 brought the crisis to a new head. This violence overlapped with, and eventually terminated, a negotiated settlement of the struggle brokered by EU members that would have ended the violence, created an interim government, and required elections by December. The accelerated violence ended this transitional plan, which was replaced by a coup takeover along with the forced flight of Victor Yanukovich.
There is credible evidence that the sniper shootings of both protesters and police were carried out by a segment of the protesters in a false-flag operation that worked exceedingly well, "government" violence serving as one ground for the ouster of Yanukovich. Most telling was the intercepted phone message between Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Urmas Paet, and EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Upton, in which Paet regretfully reported compelling evidence that the shots killing both police and protesters came from a segment of the protesters. This account was almost entirely suppressed in the MSM. For example, the New York Times never mentioned it once through the following two months. It is also enlightening that the protesters at Maidan were never called "militants" in the MSM, although a major and effective segment was armed and violent—that term was reserved for protesters in Eastern Ukraine, who were commonly designated "pro-Russian" as well as militants (for details see the tabulation in Herman and Peterson, "The Ukraine Crisis and the Propaganda System in Overdrive," in Stephen Lendman, ed,, Flashpoint in Ukraine). There is also every reason to believe that the coup and establishment of a right-wing and anti-Russian government were encouraged and actively supported by U.S. officials.
Victoria Nuland's intercepted "fuck the EU" words express her hostility to a group that, while generally compliant and subservient, departed from neocon plans for a proper government in Kiev headed by somebody like "Yats." So she would surely have been pleased when the EU-supported February compromise plan was ended by the violence and coup. The U.S. support of the coup government has been enthusiastic and unqualified. Whereas Kerry and company delayed recognition of the elected government of Maduro in Venezuela,and have strongly urged him to dialogue and negotiate with the Venezuelan protesters—in fact, threatening him if he doesn't—Kerry and company have not done the same in Ukraine where the Kiev government forces have slowly escalated their attacks on the Eastern Ukraine, but not on "protesters," only on "militants."
The Kiev government's military is now using jets and helicopters to bomb targets in the East and heavy artillery and mortars in its ground operations. Its targets have included hospitals and schools. As of June 8, civilian casualties have been in the hundreds. A dramatic massacre of 40 or more pro-Russian protesters in Odessa on May 2 by a well-organized cadre of neo-Nazi supporters, possibly agents of the Kiev government, was an early high point in this pacification campaign. No investigation of this slaughter has been mounted by the Kiev government or "international community" and it has not interfered in the slightest with Western support of Kiev. In parallel, the MSM have treated it in very low key. (The New York Times buried this incident in a back page continuation of a story on "Deadly Clashes Erupt in Ukraine," May 5, which succeeds in covering up the affiliation of the killers). Kerry has been silent, though we may imagine his certain frenzy if Maduro's agents had carried out a similar action in Venezuela. Recall the "Racak massacre," where the deaths of 40 alleged victims of the Serb military created an international frenzy. But in that case the United States needed a casus belli, whereas in the Odessa case there is a pacification war already in process by a U.S. client, so MSM silence is in order.
It is an interesting feature of media coverage of the Ukraine crisis that there is a regular focus on alleged or possible Russian aid, control of and participation in the actions of the protesters/militants/insurgents in Eastern Ukraine. This was evident in the Times's gullible acceptance of a claim that photos of insurgents included a Russian pictured in Russia, later acknowledged to be problematic (Andrew Higgins, Michael Gordon, and Andrew Kramer, "Photos Link Masked Men in East Ukraine to Russia," NYT, April 20, 2014) and another lead article, which was almost entirely speculation (Sabrina Tavernise, "In Ukraine Kremlin Leaves No Fingerprints," NYT, June 1, 2014). But this interest in foreign intrusion in Ukraine affairs, with the implication of wrongdoing, does not extend to evidence of U.S. and other NATO power aid and control. Visits by Biden, Cain, Nuland and intelligence and Pentagon figures are sometimes mentioned, but the scope and character of aid and advice, of U.S. "fingerprints," is not discussed and seems to be of little interest. It is in fact normalized so that, as with the aid plans in which Russian, proposals are "bludgeons" but U.S.- EU plans are "constructive and reasonable" the double standard is in good working order here as well.
Isn't there a danger that Russia will enter this war on behalf of the pro-Russian majority of the eastern part of Ukraine now under assault? Possibly, but not likely, as Putin is well aware that the Obama-neocon-military-industrial complex crowd would welcome this and would use it, at minimum, as a means of further dividing Russia from the EU powers, further militarizing U.S. clients and allies, and firming up the MIC's command of the U.S. national budget. Certainly there are important forces in this country that would love to see a war with Russia and it is notable how common are political comments, criticisms, and regrets at Obama's weak response to Russian "aggression" (e.g., David Sanger, "Obama Policy Is put to Test: Global Crises Challenge a Strategy of Caution," NYT, March 17, 2014). But so far Putin refuses to bite.
In response to this pressure from the powerful war-loving and war-making U.S. constituencies, Obama has been furiously denouncing Russia and has hastened to exclude it from the G-8, impose sanctions and penalties on the villain state, increase U.S. troops and press military aid on the near-Russia states allegedly terrified at the Russian threat, carry out training exercises, and maneuvers with these allies and clients, assure them of the sacredness of our commitment to their security, and press these states and major allies to increase their military budgets. One thing he hasn't done is to restrain his Kiev client in dealing with the insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Another is engaging Putin in an attempt at a settlement. Putin has stressed the importance of a constitutional formation of a Ukraine federation in which a still intact Ukraine would allow significant autonomy to the Eastern provinces. There was a Geneva meeting and joint statement on April 17 in which all sides pledged a de-escalation effort, disarming irregulars, and constitutional reform. But it was weak, without enforcement mechanisms, and had no effect. The most important requirement for de-escalation would be the termination of what is clearly a Kiev pacification program for Eastern Ukraine. That is not happening, because Obama doesn't want it to happen. In fact, he takes the position that it is up to Russia to curb the separatists in East Ukraine and he has gotten his G-7 puppies to agree to give Russia one month to do this or face more severe penalties.
This situation calls to mind Gareth Porter's analysis of the "perils of dominance," where he argued that the Vietnam war occurred and became a very large one because U.S. officials thought that, with their overwhelming military superiority North Vietnam and its allies in the south would surrender and accept U.S. terms—most importantly a U.S.-controlled South Vietnam—as military escalation took place and a growing toll was imposed on the Vietnamese (see his Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam). It didn't work. In the Ukraine context, the United States once again has a militarily dominant position. On its own and through its NATO arm it has encircled Russia with satellites established in violation of the 1990 promise of James Baker and Hans-Dietrch Genscher to Mikhail Gorbachev to not move eastward "one inch," and it has placed anti-missile weapons right on Russia's borders. And now it has engineered a coup in Ukraine that empowered a government openly hostile to Russia, threatening both the well-being of Russian-speaking Ukrainians and the control of the major Russian naval base in Crimea. Putin's action in reincorporating Crimea into Russia was an inevitable defensive reaction to a serious threat to Russian national security. But it may have surprised the Obama team, just as the Vietnamese refusal to accept surrender terms may have surprised the Johnson administration. Continuing to push the Vietnamese by escalation didn't work, although it did kill and injure millions and ended the Vietnamese alternative way. Continuing and escalating actions against Russia in 2014 may involve a higher risk for the real aggressor and for the world, but there are real spinoff benefits to Lockheed and other members of the MIC.
Edward S. Herman is an economist, author, and media critic.


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A Conversation Between First Lady Michelle Obama and Mrs. Laura Bush Moderated by Cokie Roberts at "Investing in our Future," a Symposium for Spouses on Advancements for Women and Girls in Africa
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
MS. ROBERTS: Well, I am so excited that we get to do this again.
MRS. BUSH: We did this last summer in Dar es Salaam.
MS. ROBERTS: In Tanzania. And thank you so much for that. It was a wonderful, wonderful experience for all of us to be there with you. So thank you for hosting us last year. And thank you for hosting us this year. So here we are.
MRS. OBAMA: It's my pleasure.
MS. ROBERTS: But it is -- I remember, as I recall, when were -- last year you were still getting blowback about your bangs. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: Yes, that's over.
MRS. BUSH: That's an important issue. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: Let's see what they say about this one.
MS. ROBERTS: But the program -- you have bangs in the program, I just have to -- (laughter) -- and since then, your daughter has turned 16.
MRS. OBAMA: Yes, I know. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: I know, but I have to tell you, I am envious to anybody who's had a daughter turn 16, as envious to have it happen in the White House where you kind of can keep an eye on her.
MRS. OBAMA: We can share the experience with the world. (Laughter.) All the pain and pleasure that goes along with it.
MS. ROBERTS: I remember Lucy Johnson, President Johnson's daughter, saying when she turned 16 in the White House and got a driver's license, she said, it was permission to drive a motor vehicle. That's all it was. (Laughter.) For most people, a driver's license is freedom.
MRS. OBAMA: That's right. That's right.
MS. ROBERTS: But you're experiencing it well, right?
MRS. OBAMA: The girls are growing up. And as Laura and the President know, that it is a true testament to the parents to raise wonderful young people through this experience. And we have had some terrific role models -- Jenna and Barbara are just amazing young women who are doing extraordinary things, not just in this country, but around the globe. And once again, they're setting a high bar. But the girls are doing great. I'm very proud of them.
MS. ROBERTS: And you have a grand-baby, a girl.
MRS. BUSH: That's right. We have our first grand-baby. Yes, exactly. (Applause.) Our darling little Mila. George and I are just gaga over our baby.
MRS. OBAMA: How old is she now?
MRS. BUSH: She's 16 months.
MRS. OBAMA: Oh, she's doing real things.
MS. ROBERTS: Also 16.
MRS. BUSH: Yes, exactly -- 16 months. She's doing great.
MS. ROBERTS: So we just saw that very important video. And, Mrs. Obama, you spoke last week to the Young African leaders, and you were very strong in your statements about the need for educating girls and treating women and girls with dignity and equality. Why did you choose to do that?
MRS. OBAMA: Well, so often what we find in our positions is that you can -- you have to change attitudes before you can change behaviors. And one of the things I said to the young people, that we can talk about the need for more resources as it comes -- when it concerns girls' education, the need for school fees and the need to improve transportation. But the bottom line is that until men, leaders, women, until we value women and girls, we won't tackle those other problems. Until we prioritize our girls and understand that they are as important and their education is as important as the education of our sons, then we will have lots of work to do.
And I wanted to just implant that notion in the minds of these young leaders, because they have to approach their work with a whole new attitude. And one of the things I asked the young men is that you have to be introspective and ask yourselves whether you truly believe that women can be your equal. And in sharing my story, just understanding the power of having men in my life who valued me and put me first and treated me with respect and didn't abuse me, and didn't talk down to me -- I want young men around the world to understand that they have a role to play alongside women who are fighting for these rights, and I want our young men to understand this at an early age. (Applause.)
MS. ROBERTS: Mrs. Bush, you have been working on this issue for a long time, particularly with women of Afghanistan. And are you still doing that? Tell us about where --
MRS. BUSH: Yes, we're still working on that. After September 11th, when the spotlight turned to Afghanistan and we in the United States looked at the way women in Afghanistan were treated, many, many people, women and men in the U.S., were concerned. And that's when I first started working with women in Afghanistan.
And Mrs. Obama is right -- in fact, one person said to me one time, why are you working with women, it's men who have the problem. (Laughter.) And I think we do need to make sure worldwide that all humans are valued -- that women and men are valued, that girls and boys are valued, and that human life is valued. I think that's really the most important thing we can do, all of us can do, is try to increase that knowledge worldwide that every life is precious.
MS. ROBERTS: And of course on this question, the question of girls' education and women's health and all that, we have so much data now that shows that if you educate a girl, you save a country. So are you finding that you're able to keep working on that, that that's something you're able -- because one of the questions I got last year after you all finished talking and I stayed for a couple of days from these wonderful women was, how do you keep it going?
MRS. BUSH: Well, one of the things we've done, George and I have done -- obviously when you live in the White House you have a platform. But former First Ladies and former Presidents continue to have a platform and a convening power, and we've tried to do that with the First Ladies Initiative that we started last summer with the first conference in Dar es Salaam, and that is to bring together First Ladies really from around the world.
We started with African First Ladies but we're interested in engaging women from every -- First Ladies from every country to talk about the very unique platform that the spouses of world leaders have to help the women in their countries, to make sure that everyone is paying attention to the education of boys and girls in their country, and that we're making sure that women have the opportunity to be involved in the economic life of their country.
Because only countries where all people are involved can be successful. When we look around the world and we see countries where half of the population is marginalized or left out, then we usually see countries that are failing. So it's important to keep talking about that.
MRS. OBAMA: And it's important, as I said in my opening remarks, to make room for the next generation of leaders. Because one of the things that the young people said to me, as I mentioned, is that they asked me to ask the first spouses to make room for them because they're looking for a place at the table. And they specifically said that when you meet with the spouses of our country, tell that we want to help, that we want a voice, and that we're looking to them. They're looking to all of us to provide that seat.
And that's where that platform that Mrs. Bush speaks of, why it's so important. Because these young people, they believe that we -- they get their inspiration from us. They're looking to us. They still don't quite know that they have the expertise and the skills already, they think we know more.
MS. ROBERTS: We actually do. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: We do, we do. But when you listen to just the opening speakers, when you think about social media -- I mean, just listening to the hashtags and the Twitter accounts -- I mean, that was a little nutty. (Laughter.) But it's how you continue the conversation.
MS. ROBERTS: And globalize it.
MRS. OBAMA: And globalize it. And young people are just more adept at that. And they can -- as I tease my kids, I tell them I want them to use Instagram to take a picture of something really important rather than their food. (Laughter.) But young people can be a support to us. I mean, no one really cares what you had for lunch. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: Well, you both talked last year when we were having this conversation about shining a light on an issue, and that you -- in this unique position, that you have the opportunity to shine the light. At some point, people stop looking at what you're wearing and see what you're aiming at.
One of the questions I get all the time is, how do you choose? How do you choose what issue to shine a light on? Now, you knew when you came in that you wanted to do something about military families, but it was kind of inchoate, right? You expected to do something about early childhood education and cognition, and of course, September 11th changed all of that. How do you put it together to decide exactly what you're going to do?
MRS. BUSH: Well, I think you look at yourself and see what your expertise is. When I came to the White House, I was a -- had been a librarian. I loved to read. I had been a teacher. And so, education and literacy were very, very obvious interests of mine and expertise of mine, so what's I started with.
But then, also you look at what appears, and are there ways you can take advantage of different things that happen to go in another way. I got a phone call, for instance, from the head of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute here in Washington and she said, did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death among American women? And I didn't know that. I just had assumed cancer was the leading cause of death among American women. So I knew if I didn't know that heart disease was the leading cause of death, that many American women didn't know that either.
And so I was presented with the opportunity to talk about The Heart Truth and to get the word out to American women that heart disease was the leading cause of death so that they could start doing things, because heart disease is often preventable. But also, if you know that you might have a heart attack, it wouldn't just be your husband that had a heart attack, then you can rush to the hospital yourself and get the kind of treatment that you would demand for your husband but you might not realize you would need it yourself.
So I think there are both ways, both look to your own expertise and then just take advantage of other interests that come up and see if you can make a difference in your countries.
MRS. OBAMA: Also, where your passions lie. Because I've found that I've been most effective when I am uniquely authentic, there's an authenticity to what I say. So that means I have to really believe passionately in the causes that I take on. And that lends itself to more power, more effectiveness. It just makes you a better advocate, because this is something you care deeply about. This was true when it came to the issue of educating our young people.
I just started an initiative this year, Reach Higher, because one of the things I'm deeply passionate about is the role that education has to play in the lives of our young people. And my story is the story that I try to share with young people to motivate them. There is nothing in my life that would indicate that I would be sitting here on this stage with a former First Lady and one of the most renowned journalists and every first spouse in Africa. (Laughter.) Nothing in my life indicated that.
But my parents believed in the value of education, even though they were not educated themselves. And they pushed my brother and I to do the best that we could do. So what I want young people in America to understand is that we are blessed in this country to have public education, to have opportunities that many girls around the world are putting their lives at risk to achieve. So it's incumbent upon us here in America to take advantage of every opportunity. And young people have to own their education.
I can do that because I believe it. It is my story. It is why I'm sitting here. And my hope is that I can start a national conversation about reigniting that hunger for education in our young people and using that to talk about the issues that our girls around the world are facing with 60 million girls today not in school, 30 million of those in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I want our young people across the globe to be talking about how do we fix that. So that's just an example. I'm clearly passionate about that. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: But one of the things that we're going to do today in the various panels is how-to, essentially. And you all have done the how-to. And part of that is private-public partnerships. And on all of your initiatives it seems to me that you've both done that; that you've brought in universities, companies, foundations, whatever combination of things works. Can you talk about it, for instance, with Helping America's Youth?
MRS. BUSH: Sure. Helping America's Youth was one of my initiatives. And I traveled around the country and had summits, actually conferences in many parts of the United States with all of the youth-serving agencies, types of agencies -- from individual foundations that people had to individuals themselves; two men, for instance, who used sports to teach character building in Seattle and worked with sports groups because they knew they could attract boys, and then they attracted their mothers there because their mothers would bring the boys to their sports practices. So they would talk about sportsmanship in a way that really talked about life, and the way that people can use all the characteristics of a good sport to also be a good person.
But what they discovered, then, was that their mothers were, in many cases, single mothers. They didn't have a community really of their own. And so they started -- after the sports games, they would have barbecues so the mothers could meet each other and be with each other. And really, they were out to help the boys, but found out they helped the whole family with this one agency -- or one foundation that these two men started. And that's just one example of many, many others that were part of Helping America's Youth.
MS. ROBERTS: And helping people get off of drugs or not get into drugs.
MRS. BUSH: That's right.
MS. ROBERTS: And it seems to me in some ways you've built on that with Let's Move. It is being preventatively healthy all along. So talk to us a little bit about how you've put that together.
MRS. OBAMA: For those of you who don't know, Let's Move is my initiative to end childhood obesity in a generation. And we have really relied greatly on public-private partnerships because what we all have to understand is government has limits -- limited resources, a limited base of power. People look to government and think that government can do everything, but many of the solutions that we're trying to achieve require the involvement of the nonprofit sector and the private sector.
So we've really enlisted companies to market food differently to kids so that they are not marketing unhealthy products. We've enlisted sports organizations to get kids up and moving, try to invest in more sports in communities that are underserved. Whether it's the U.S. Tennis Association or the NBA or what have you, many of these private players have been very eager to step up and partner with us to achieve this goal, because we all have an interest in making sure that the next generation is as healthy as possible. We spend billions of dollars in covering obesity-related illnesses, and all of these illnesses are completely preventable with good diet and nutrition, exercise.
So what we have said to many of our partners is that we all have an interest in this, and there's a way that we can all do well by doing good. We can -- companies can still be profitable by creating foods and educating parents and families to help them make better choices about what they feed their kids.
MS. ROBERTS: I must say, with teenage daughters, though, it must be -- I would suspect that sometimes they say to you, let's move, mom. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: Yes, you've been sitting at our dining room table, Cokie? (Laughter.) Well, you know, every teenager has a little smart aleck in them, it's true.
But one of the things we've found in our household is that kids listen. They take on these new messages even when we don't think they're paying attention. And that's one of the things that we try to tell parents, is that they don't -- you don't know that they're listening, but I see how my children make different decisions about what they eat now as teenagers now that they have control because they have the information about how food affects their overall health and their ability to perform. But it's our job to empower parents and families to make the choices that are best for them.
MS. ROBERTS: You've gotten some blowback for it, which to some ways --
MRS. OBAMA: Surprising. (Laughter.) Blowback, right?
MS. ROBERTS: Don't worry, that was --
MRS. OBAMA: I don't know.
MRS. BUSH: No good deed goes --
MRS. OBAMA: Right. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: That was just where I was headed. I know that you both get into these things and you're doing them for the good of the country, and suddenly you get criticized for it. And it must just be such a shock in a way.
MRS. BUSH: Well, I was not that shocked. (Laughter.) Remember, we had somebody that lived in the White House that we watched very closely that we loved -- President Bush and Barbara Bush. And so I was very aware when George ran for President that you're always going to be characterized in a way that you aren't, really. And so I don't think it was any big surprise to me. That doesn't make it any less hurtful.
But on the other hand, I think anyone who's in a leadership position of any sort knows that you're going to be criticized and a target, really, for criticism.
MRS. OBAMA: That's absolutely true. And that's really the role of leadership. It's not about amassing power; it's taking some of those hits and continuing to do the work, even when it's painful and sometimes unappreciated.
But that's why it's important for all of us to have a vision as first spouses. Because if you have your vision and you know what you're passionate about, and you know what direction you're going in, then all of the arrows and the spears and the criticisms, they just -- they bounce off of you because you keep doing the work every day.
MS. ROBERTS: They might pinch a little.
MRS. OBAMA: They might pinch a little bit. You might get shot in the eye. You just sort of go to the doctor, patch yourself up and get back in the game.
MS. ROBERTS: Well, I think that's an important message for people to hear, because it's hard to do what you all are doing. And you talked about "it's not about amassing power" -- it's certainly not for the spouses. It's not being in that role, and still, you get the criticism. So it's important to say that you've lived through it. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: Well, and everyone comes to these positions with different temperaments. And watching Mrs. Bush, she has been able to traverse all of this with a level of grace and kindness and compassion. Just seeing how our transition worked -- and we talked about this in Tanzania -- that people are who they are. I said this in my convention speech about the President -- being President doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are. And that's true for first spouses as well.
You come to this with a temperament. Some people are shy and never want the limelight; other people are much more outgoing and maybe a bit more aggressive and able to withstand the heat of the spotlight that shines on us. But I think that all of us, we have to bring what is uniquely us to the table and work within that. And that's sometimes what people around the world don't understand. First spouses, we don't choose this position, we just happen to be in it, and we do the --
MRS. BUSH: We're elected by one man. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: Right, right.
MS. ROBERTS: And you can't be fired.
MRS. OBAMA: Can't be fired.
MRS. BUSH: We certainly hope not. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: I guess we'll see. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: Well, one of the things that is unique is your voice as women, and you both talked about that last year. I went back and looked at -- you were both quite eloquent about how important it is for women to use to your voices and your power. And I think, Mrs. Obama, you said, we're not complicated, but we're complex. And I think that's a good way of putting it. But again, Mrs. Bush, why is it important for women's voices in this particular position to be heard?
MRS. BUSH: For the First Lady, well, I think it's important because the First Lady has an opportunity really to talk about what is most interesting to her and what she thinks she can help -- the ways she thinks she can help her country and the people in her country the best. I love to quote Lady Bird Johnson, who said, the First Lady has a podium and she intended to use it -- and she did. She was another Texas First Lady, and I admired her from a distance. I didn't know her then, but got to know her later when George was governor and we lived in Austin.
But she really did, she used what she loved. And she happened to love native flowers and the natural beauty of our country. And she made a huge difference.
MS. ROBERTS: Well, and Head Start.
MRS. BUSH: The daffodils that you see blooming here along the George Washington Parkway were planted because of Lady Bird Johnson. But, yes, she used education and civil rights. And she was a southern First Lady, so it was very important for her to speak out about civil rights, and she did. She campaigned all across the South for the civil rights laws that were passed and signed during President Johnson's administration.
MRS. OBAMA: Once again, I always go back to young people. We meet -- I know I do -- we meet thousands of just wonderful young people in our countries and around the world. And to have a seven year old or a 12 year old walk up to you or send you a letter and tell them thank you for what you do, I look up to you, you inspire me. That reminds us all that whether we like it or not, we are role models. And as women, we have -- the young girls in our worlds, in our countries, they're looking to us. They're looking to us for how we should be, how we should think, how to use our voices.
And as a result, we have a responsibility to show them the way in whatever way we can. And that may be something as simple as embracing a child on the line and telling them that they're beautiful and that you're proud of them, and that you know that they're important and they're valued. I think about that, because every time I meet a child I think, who knows what's going on in her life, whether she was just bullied or whether she had a bad day at school or whether she lost a parent -- that interaction that we have with that individual, that child for that moment, could change their life.
So we can't waste this spotlight. It is temporary and life is short, and change is needed. And women are smarter than men. (Laughter and applause.)
MS. ROBERTS: That just goes without saying. (Laughter.)
MRS. OBAMA: And the men can't complain, because you're outnumbered today. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: But Mrs. Bush, you've talked about that before, too, that it's a temporary spotlight. But you are now working hard to carry it on. And I think that sense of continuity is very important, so you have the George W. Bush First Ladies Initiative, you have the Global Women's Initiative, the women for Afghanistan -- you're keeping going.
MRS. BUSH: We are continuing to work, both George and I are, through the George Bush Institute, which is in Dallas now at the Bush Library and Museum. And it gives both of us a chance to keep working on the issues that were the most important to us. Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon is our global health initiative. Many of you already know about that. We've launched in three countries in Africa, and we're going to hear about some more in a few minutes.
Because PEPFAR was started while George was President, the President's emergency plan for AIDS relief, we wanted to be able to continue a global health initiative that builds on PEPFAR. And when we looked at the cancer numbers across Africa, and really across the world, and saw that cervical cancer -- which is preventable -- is the leading cause of cancer death among African women, we figured out there was a way we could use the PEPFAR platform that's already established and add the testing and treatment for cervical and breast cancer to PEPFAR.
And so, that's our global health initiative. It's given us a way to keep building. And we have a number of terrific partners who are in the room, so thank you all to all the partners, and thanks to the First Ladies in the countries where we've already launched and where we're getting ready to launch.
MS. ROBERTS: I just thought that was such a smart initiative, because it really does combine so many elements that are just sensible, which is another thing women are good at. But the fact is, is that you had the PEPFAR clinics, so the women were already coming in, but you needed -- since breast cancer isn't caused by the same diseases, you needed to get somebody else in so you got Susan G. Komen and the pharmaceutical companies in. And it's really now turned out to be a total women's health platform.
MRS. BUSH: It is, really. And it's partnering, obviously, with the U.S. government as well, using the -- U.S. State Department is our partner, because we are using the PEPFAR platform to add. And the great news is that cervical cancer really can be treated -- not when it's advanced, which is why it's so important that women come to be screened early on and then be treated. And then, the vaccination programs with the HPV vaccination is important. And I think many African First Ladies are trying now to manage these vaccination programs, so that we really won't even have to worry about cervical cancer when these girls who are vaccinated grow up.
Q And do you think about that, Mrs. Obama? I know you're still right in the middle of it.
MRS. BUSH: I hope you're not thinking about that, yet.
MRS. OBAMA: Oh, no, not at all. Not at all. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: But about how you can carry on some of these -- and talk about some of your other initiatives too while you're doing it, because you have done these private-public partnerships, particularly around the military families.
MRS. OBAMA: Well, Dr. Biden and I, we started Joining Forces, which is a nationwide effort to provide the support, respect to our men and women in uniform and their families. We have worked with private companies to create jobs as these men and women transition to civilian life, working on making sure they get the education benefits, all the support that they should expect having put their lives on the line and their families' lives on hold.
MS. ROBERTS: And the medical schools -- you're working with medical schools too?
MRS. OBAMA: Well, nurses are becoming trained to be able to identify and support men and women who may have post-traumatic stress disorder; just educating the entire country on what PTSD means, trying to de-stigmatize it so that these men and women feel like they can seek help when they need it. All of that has been -- it is a passion for both Jill and I.
Jill is a Blue Star Mom, and she proudly says that. She has grandchildren who she has seen grow up while her son Beau was deployed, so it's truly a passion for her. And for me, this is something that I'm going to do long after we leave the White House, because these needs will always be there. And as I've been able to see through former first spouses and former Presidents, that the platform is -- it continues. And that's something that I would encourage all of you to think about as well, is how do you sort of lay the foundation for the legacy that you want to create for yourselves.
And I think as women, we shouldn't be afraid to talk about our legacies, what we want to leave behind in the work that we do. Yes, there are so many important, symbolic responsibilities that we have in our roles, but there is nothing wrong with thinking about legacy and what we want to leave for the world.
But that takes planning. It takes coordination. It takes partnerships. And I don't think that we should be afraid as women to have those conversations. It's too soon for me to do it now -- (laughter) -- but the time will come and I will embrace that, because what I've seen from the Bush family is that there is a level of freedom that also comes after you're out of the spotlight; it's a new spotlight, it's a different spotlight. But I think that there is more that you're able to do outside of office oftentimes than you can do when you're in office.
MS. ROBERTS: Except you don't have the same -- I remember you saying at one point, Mrs. Bush, you could pick up the phone and call a member of Congress and get something done. (Laughter.)
MRS. BUSH: Yes, exactly. (Laughter.)
MS. ROBERTS: But I also just want to come back because we are at an African summit and both of you have exhibited such a strong interest in Africa, and I think you have very much helped to shine a spotlight on the continent and caused us all to learn a great deal more about the good news that's going on in Africa. But I'm kind of wondering how you got there. I mean, Mrs. Bush, I know you were in 75 countries when you were First Lady, which is a lot, but why Africa?
MRS. BUSH: Well, obviously, it started with PEPFAR. When George launched PEPFAR in 2003, remember what it was like -- people were dying every single day all across Africa. It was a huge pandemic that was going to leave a continent of orphans if no one did anything about it. And so George saw that it was really important for the United States to be actively involved in helping in Africa. It was so important for us, as the wealthiest country in the world, both because we could, but also because we should morally try to save as many lives as possible.
So I went on that trip with George in 2003 when PEPFAR was launched. And our daughter Barbara was with us as well, and she has really made her life choices because of that trip. She is now the head of Global Health Corps, she engages young people from every part of the world.
MS. ROBERTS: She created it, right?
MRS. BUSH: She created Global Health Corps, founded it to engage young people to work in the health field. And she has Global Health Corps fellows in Africa and also here in the United States.
But I think because of that first trip and because of PEPFAR, we just got a huge interest in Africa and traveled there many times, and of course have traveled there many times since we've been home. We just had a wonderful trip this last March -- a private trip, not a business trip -- to Ethiopia to visit the Christian sites in Ethiopia. So Africa has become a very important continent to us, partly because of that, because of PEPFAR, but just also because of our experiences there.
MRS. OBAMA: And Africa is an important continent to the rest of the world. Its success is integral to the success of this nation, the United States and the world. And it is an under-valued, under-appreciated continent. So it is incumbent upon the world to have a better understanding of what Africa has to offer.
The importance of Africa is very personal to me because, as the President said last night in his toast, Africa is home for us. His family is there. We have relatives there. We have visited the continent on several occasions. We have taken our daughters back to his grandfather's village and they have seen a part of themselves.
So the partnership with this continent means a great deal to us. And we've seen the power, the potential -- I mean, to meet these young leaders and to see how hungry they are to take their countries to a new level, that kind of passion is infectious, and it's something that young people here should know and understand.
We want people from America to travel to Africa, to understand its languages and its different cultures, and not to see it as a monolith, and to truly see the investment opportunities -- which is one of the reasons why this summit has been so important, because it hasn't just been a conversation with world leaders, but some of the nation's most powerful businesses are here; some of the most prestigious non-profits are here. That's why today's session is so important, because our success as a nation is directly tied to the success of Africa. And now it is time for the United States as a whole to embrace that reality.
So this is the beginning of a lot of work that needs to be done, but it is -- we are encouraged and we are optimistic.
MS. ROBERTS: Well, I think this week has been very instructive for the whole country. I really do. It was wonderful to be in Africa, but to have African leaders here in the United States is educating the country about what is going on there.
But I am going to end where we began, which is that as good as the news is coming out of much of Africa, it won't be as good as it can be until we do more about the girls.
MRS. BUSH: That's right.
MS. ROBERTS: And if you all want to just say a finishing word on that subject, and then we will conclude.
MRS. BUSH: Well, let me just thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Michelle, and thank you to President Obama for hosting the African Leaders Summit here. And thank you for inviting the Bush Institute to be a part of the First Lady's initiative. Thank you for coming to our First Lady's Conference last summer as well.
And thanks to all the First Ladies who have joined us. Thank you for the great work you're already doing in your countries, which we'll hear about in a few minutes. And thank you for all the good work you will do.
Thanks, Cokie. (Applause.)
MRS. OBAMA: Well, thank you. Back at you. (Laughter.) But, Laura, no, absolutely. We are here today because of the example that was set in Tanzania through the summit that the Bush Institute organized. And as my Chief of Staff stated, that when this summit was being organized, we jumped at the chance to do something similar and to continue this conversation and to come together as first spouses, and to continue to be inspired by each other.
What I would say just in closing is that we have to fight for our girls. There should never be a girl in this world who has to fear getting educated. That should be something that is intolerable to all of us.
I can only think of my own girls, and I think we all have to see our daughters in these young girls. We want the best for our daughters. We want them to be smart and empowered and loved. We want them to be healthy. We want them to be mentally sound. And if it's good enough for our girls, it's good enough for every single girl in the world.
But it's going to take leadership like us, women like us speaking up in our countries and making sure that young girls are not subject to abuse, and that they are loved and valued. And until we do that, we will not solve these problems. Investing in our women -- the people who raise our children, the people who take care of families -- they have to be healthy and whole. And that is the most important work that we do. Whether we talk about clean energy or economic empowerment, until we start to value women and girls, we will continue to struggle on this planet.
But I have high hopes when I look around this room that we won't tolerate that, not anywhere on the planet. And if we continue to work together and continue to lift up our young people who we're fighting for a better future, then I think we will see some progress on these issues.
So I look forward to working with all of you in the years ahead. So thank you all, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the conference.
Cokie, thank you. Thank you, as well.
MRS. BUSH: Thank you. (Applause.)
MS. ROBERTS: Thank you both so much for the work you're doing, first of all, for coming together. I keep saying you've set such a good example for the men. (Laughter.) But also for allowing me to participate in this conversation. Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)
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